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Accurate and rapid diagnosis of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is essential for timely administration of appropriate treatment and reducing the spread of the disease. We examined the performance of the new Alinity m STI assay, a qualitative real-time multiplex PCR test for simultaneous identification of Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG), Mycoplasma genitalium (MG), and Trichomonas vaginalis (TV) run on the fully automated Alinity m platform.

Automated molecular analyzers have accelerated diagnosis, allowing earlier intervention and better patient follow-up. A recently developed completely automated molecular analyzer, Alinity™ m (Abbott), offers consolidated, continuous, and random-access testing that may improve molecular laboratory workflow.

Background: Species of the genus Bartonella are facultative intracellular alphaproteobacteria with zoonotic potential. Bartonella infections in humans range from mild with unspecific symptoms to life threatening, and can be transmitted via arthropod vectors or through direct contact with infected hosts, although the latter mode of transmission is rare. Among the small mammals that harbour Bartonella spp., rodents are the most speciose group and harbour the highest diversity of these parasites. Human-rodent interactions are not unlikely as many rodent species live in proximity to humans. However, a surprisingly low number of clinical cases of bartonellosis related to rodent-associated Bartonella spp. have thus far been recorded in humans., Methods: The main purpose of this review is to determine explanatory factors for this unexpected finding, by taking a closer look at published clinical cases of bartonellosis connected with rodent-associated Bartonella species, some of which have been newly described in recent years. Thus, another focus of this review are these recently proposed species., Conclusions: Worldwide, only 24 cases of bartonellosis caused by rodent-associated bartonellae have been reported in humans. Possible reasons for this low number of cases in comparison to the high prevalences of Bartonella in small mammal species are (i) a lack of awareness amongst physicians of Bartonella infections in humans in general, and especially those caused by rodent-associated bartonellae; and (ii) a frequent lack of the sophisticated equipment required for the confirmation of Bartonella infections in laboratories that undertake routine diagnostic testing. As regards recently described Bartonella spp., there are presently 14 rodent-associated Candidatus taxa. In contrast to species which have been taxonomically classified, there is no official process for the review of proposed Candidatus species and their names before they are published. This had led to the use of malformed names that are not based on the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes. Researchers are thus encouraged to propose Candidatus names to the International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes for approval before publishing them, and only to propose new species of Bartonella when the relevant datasets allow them to be clearly differentiated from known species and subspecies., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

The purpose of the study was to compare conventional to digital workflows of occlusal splint production regarding time efficiency, overall fit, and wear. Fifteen Michigan splints were fabricated with a conventional and digital method. The duration for the dentist's and the dental technician's workload was recorded. Subsequently, the overall fit was examined with a four-level score (1-4). Paired t-tests were used to compare the time results for the conventional and digital workflows and the sign test to compare the overall fit. The mean time (16 min 58 s) for computerized optical impressions was longer than for conventional impressions (6 min 59 s; p = 0.0001). However, the dental technician needed significantly less mean time for the digital splint production (47 min 52 s) than for the conventional (163 min 32 s; p = 0.001). The overall fit of the digitally-fabricated splints was significantly better compared to the conventionally-fabricated splints ( p = 0.002). There was no impact of the different materials used in the conventional and digital workflow on the wear ( p = 0.26). The results suggest that the digital workflow for the production of occlusal splints is more time efficient and leads to a better fit than the conventional workflow.

Objectives: To investigate the wear resistance of polymers for injection molding, subtractive and additive manufacturing of occlusal devices in comparison with enamel antagonist wear and material properties (i.e., hardness, flexural strength, and flexural modulus)., Methods: Injection molding was compared with milling and the additive technologies stereolithography, low force stereolithography, and digital light processing. For each material, eight specimens were produced for wear measurements. Extracted human premolars served as indenters. All samples were subjected to two series of a 2-body wear test consisting of 200,000 circular loading cycles with an applied load of 1) 20 N and 2) 50 N in a thermocycling environment (5/55 °C, 30 s, 3860 cycles, H 2 O). Wear resistance was characterized by means of maximum depth and volume of the resulting traces. In addition, enamel wear of the indenters and Vickers hardness, flexural strength, and flexural modulus of the polymers were determined. Wear was statistically analyzed with linear general models for repeated measures and material properties with one-way ANOVA with post-hoc Tukey-HSD tests., Results: Wear of the antagonists was not influenced by the material (P ≥ 0.343). Likewise, no differences in wear resistance were found between materials after cyclic loading with 20 N or 50 N (P ≥ 0.074). Material properties investigated revealed decreased values for the resins for the additive manufacturing with the exception of flexural strength of one material., Significance: Within the limitations of this in-vitro study, arylates for conventional, subtractive, and additive manufacturing of occlusal devices differ in material properties but not in wear resistance and antagonist wear., (Copyright © 2020 The Academy of Dental Materials. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Regular HIV-1 viral load monitoring forms an essential part of any successful HIV-1 treatment programme. Abbott Molecular recently released the Alinity m HIV-1 assay to be run on the Alinity m System, a fully automated, continuous and random access analyser using ReadiFlex™ technology., Objectives: Our study investigated the performance of the Alinity m HIV-1 assay in comparison to the cobas® HIV-1 test in a high-throughput molecular laboratory., Study Design: We compared the performance of the Alinity m HIV-1 assay with the cobas® HIV-1 test, performed on both the cobas® 4800 and cobas® 6800 systems at three clinically relevant thresholds (50, 200 and 1000 cp/mL)., Results: Excellent correlation (r = 0.98) and agreement (mean bias -0.004 Log 10 cp/mL) was achieved between the cobas® 4800 and Alinity m HIV-1 assay. While there was good correlation between the Alinity m HIV-1 assay and the cobas® 6800 (r = 0.99), Bland-Altman analysis indicated that the cobas® 6800 on average measured 0.22 Log 10 cp/mL higher than the Alinity m HIV-1 assay across the dynamic range. Percentage agreement was excellent at the 200 cp/mL and 1000 cp/mL thresholds and was slightly lower at 50 cp/mL in comparison with the cobas® systems., Conclusions: The Alinity m HIV-1 assay compared well with the cobas® HIV-1 test on both the cobas® 4800 and cobas® 6800 systems in a high-throughput molecular laboratory in South Africa, a low- to middle-income country., (Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Nucleic acid testing is essential for the detection and quantification of HCV RNA in the diagnosis of HCV infection and treatment monitoring. The Alinity m HCV assay was recently developed by Abbott Molecular for rapid detection and quantification of HCV RNA on the fully automated, continuous, random-access Alinity m analyzer., Objectives: Our study assessed the performance of the new Alinity m HCV assay for detection and quantification of HCV RNA in a large series of patient samples of various genotypes. This international, multicentric study evaluated the linearity, precision, and reproducibility of the Alinity m HCV assay and its performance in comparison to three other HCV assays currently used in clinical practice., Results: The Alinity m HCV assay demonstrated high linearity (correlation coefficient r = 1.00), precision (coefficients of variation [CV] 6.6-13.5 %) and reproducibility (CV 1.7-4.3 % across three control lots). At a concentration near the lower limit of detection, the Alinity m HCV assay exhibited >98 % detectability. The Alinity m HCV assay showed excellent correlation with comparator HCV assays in serum (n = 406) and plasma (n = 1401) samples (correlation coefficients ≥0.96, bias 0.01 to 0.14 Log 10 IU/mL). More than 95 % of the quantified results with the Alinity m HCV assay were less than mean bias ± 1.96 SD different from those of the comparator assays., Conclusions: The newly developed Alinity m HCV assay is sensitive, reproducible, and accurately quantifies HCV RNA levels in serum and plasma samples from patients with chronic HCV infection, with no impact of HCV genotype on assay performance., (Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Accurate molecular methods to detect and quantify hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA are essential to diagnose chronic infections, guide treatment decisions, assess response to treatment, and determine risk of HBV-related complications. New generations of real-time HBV DNA assay platforms provide results in less than 2-3 h, with continuous loading of specimens and true random-access capability., Objectives: We examined the clinical performance of the new Alinity m HBV assay, run on the fully automated, continuous, random-access Alinity m platform, to accurately detect and quantify HBV DNA in a large series of patient samples infected with different HBV genotypes frequently encountered in clinical practice., Study Design: This international, multisite study assessed the precision and reproducibility of the Alinity m HBV assay and compared its performance to four HBV assays currently in clinical use., Results: The Alinity m HBV assay demonstrated linear quantitation of HBV DNA in plasma samples, with high precision (coefficient of variation 4.1 %-8.8 %) and reproducibility. The Alinity m HBV assay showed excellent correlation (correlation coefficients ≥0.947) with comparator HBV assays, with an overall observed bias ranging from -0.07 to 0.17 Log 10 IU/mL. 97 % of quantifiable patient results were <1 Log 10 IU/mL different than the respective comparator assays, with comparable results across HBV genotypes., Conclusions: The newly developed real-time PCR-based Alinity m HBV assay is sensitive, reproducible, and accurately quantifies HBV DNA levels from HBsAg-positive patients across the full dynamic range of quantification., (Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Accurate, rapid detection of HIV-1 RNA is critical for early diagnosis, treatment decision making, and long-term management of HIV-1 infection., Objective: We evaluated the diagnostic performance of the Alinity m HIV-1 assay, which uses a dual target/dual probe design against highly conserved target regions of the HIV-1 genome and is run on the fully automated Alinity m platform., Study Design: This was an international, multisite study that compared the diagnostic performance of the Alinity m HIV-1 assay to four commercially available HIV-1 assays routinely used in nine independent clinical laboratories. Alinity m HIV-1 assay precision, detectability, and reproducibility was compared across four study sites., Results: The Alinity m HIV-1 assay produced comparable results to currently available HIV-1 assays (correlation coefficient >0.995), with an overall bias of -0.1 to 0.10 Log 10 copies/mL. The Alinity m HIV-1 assay and its predecessor m2000 HIV-1 assay demonstrated comparable detection of 16 different HIV-1 subtypes (R 2  = 0.956). A high level of agreement (>88 %) between all HIV-1 assays was seen near clinical decision points of 1.7 Log 10 copies/mL (50 copies/mL) and 2.0 Log 10 copies/mL (200 copies/mL). Alinity m HIV-1 assay precision was 0.08 and 0.21 Log 10 copies/mL at VLs of 1000 and 50 copies/mL, respectively, with a high level of detectability (≥97 % hit rate) and reproducibility across sites., Conclusions: The Alinity m HIV-1 assay provides comparable diagnostic accuracy to current HIV-1 assays, and when run on the Alinity m system, has the capacity to shorten the time between diagnosis and treatment., (Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Bartonella spp. are vector-borne pathogens transmitted to humans via blood-sucking arthropods. Rodents such as the black rat (Rattus rattus) and Norway rat (R. norvegicus) are thought to be the main reservoirs. An infection with rodent-associated Bartonella spp. may cause severe symptoms in humans such as endocarditis and neuroretinitis. The current knowledge of Bartonella prevalence in rats from western Europe is scarce., Methods: Rats and a few other rodent by-catches were trapped in the context of a rodenticide resistance study at different sites in Flanders, Belgium. During dissection, biometric data were collected, and spleen tissues were taken. DNA was extracted from spleen samples and tested for Bartonella spp. by conventional generic polymerase chain reaction (PCR). To determine the Bartonella species, a selected number of amplicons were sequenced and compared with GenBank entries., Results: In total, 1123 rodents were trapped. The predominate species was R. norvegicus (99.64%). Other rodents trapped included: two water voles (Arvicola amphibius, 0.18%); one colour rat (R. norvegicus forma domestica, 0.09%); and one muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus, 0.09%). PCR analysis of 1097 rodents resulted in 410 (37.37%, 95% CI: 34.50-40.31%) Bartonella spp. DNA-positive samples. Bartonella tribocorum (94.68%, 95% CI: 88.02-98.25%) was the most frequently detected Bartonella species, followed by B. grahamii (3.19%, 95% CI: 0.66-9.04%) and B. doshiae (1.06%, 95% CI: 0.03-5.79%). An uncultured Bartonella species occurred in one water vole (1.06%, 95% CI: 0.03-5.79%). There was a significantly higher Bartonella prevalence in older rats compared to juveniles and a significant difference in Bartonella prevalence concerning the localisation of trapping sites. In contrast, there was no statistically significant difference in Bartonella prevalence regarding sex, degree of urbanisation and season., Conclusions: Based on the high prevalence found, we conclude that the Norway rat seems to be a key reservoir host for zoonotic B. tribocorum in Belgium.

Since sulphur dioxide (SO(2)) is associated with health risks, the wine industry endeavours to reduce SO(2) levels in wines with new innovative techniques. The aim of this study was, therefore, to investigate the efficacy of ultraviolet radiation (UV)-C (254 nm) as an alternative technology to inactivate microorganisms in grape juices and wines. A pilot-scale UV-C technology (SurePure, South Africa) consisting of an UV-C germicidal lamp (100 W output; 30 W UV-C output) was used to apply UV-C dosages ranging from 0 to 3672 J l(-1), at a constant flow rate of 4000 l h(-1) (Re > 7500). Yeasts, lactic and acetic acid bacteria were singly and co-inoculated into 20 l batches of Chenin blanc juice, Shiraz juice, Chardonnay wine and Pinotage wine, respectively. A dosage of 3672 J l(-1), resulted in an average log(10) microbial reduction of 4.97 and 4.89 in Chardonnay and Pinotage, respectively. In Chenin blanc and Shiraz juice, an average log(10) reduction of 4.48 and 4.25 was obtained, respectively. UV-C efficacy may be influenced by liquid properties such as colour and turbidity. These results had clearly indicated significant (p < 0.05) germicidal effect against wine-specific microorganisms; hence, UV-C radiation may stabilize grape juice and wine microbiologically in conjunction with reduced SO(2) levels., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The functional set-up of a static inhalation device is described. The closed system consists of a reservoir for the circulating test gas, an inhalator for "nose-only" exposure of 10 rats, and analyzers for the test gas and CO2. It has an overall volume of 200 liters. The following LCt50 values for rats exposed to noxious vapors were determined: DFP 3629, sarin 191, and soman 211 mg X min X m-3. Pretreatment with atropine (10 mg/kg) together with the oximes Toxogonin or HJ6 (each 13 mg/kg) 10 min before the exposure raised the LCt50 of sarin by a factor of 2.5 and 14, respectively. In case of soman poisoning, only HJ6 (50 mg/kg) together with atropine was effective, which increased the LCt50 by a factor of 7.