The serologic microarray for HSV, VZV and CMV antibody detection gave good specificities for IgG. However, sensitivities of the assay varied depending on the herpesvirus detected. The serological microarray showed potential for screening purposes. The microarray based analyses were easy to perform, and HSV-1, HSV-2, VZV, and CMV antibodies could be detected on the same microarray. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.”
“Understanding neurotoxic mechanisms is a challenge of deciphering which genes and gene products in the developing or mature nervous

system are targeted for disruption by chemicals we encounter in our environment. Our understanding of nervous system development and physiology Ralimetinib solubility dmso is highly advanced due in large part to studies conducted in simple non-mammalian models. The paucity of toxicological data for the more than 80,000 chemicals https://www.selleckchem.com/products/blasticidin-s-hcl.html in commercial use today, and the approximately 2000 new chemicals introduced

each year, makes development of sensitive and rapid assays to screen for neurotoxicity paramount. In this article I advocate the use of Drosophila in the modern regimen of toxicological testing, emphasizing its unique attributes for assaying neurodevelopment and behavior. Features of the Drosophila model are reviewed and a generalized overall scheme for its use in toxicology is presented. Examples of where the fly has proven fruitful in evaluating common toxicants in our environment are also highlighted. Attention is drawn to three areas where development and application of the fly model might benefit toxicology the most: 1) optimizing sensitive endpoints for pathway-specific screening, 2) accommodating high throughput demands for analysis of chemical toxicant libraries, 3) optimizing genetic and molecular protocols for more rapid identification toxicant-by-gene interactions. While there are shortcomings in the Drosophila model. which exclude it from effective

toxicological testing in certain arenas, conservation of fundamental cellular and developmental mechanisms between flies and man is extensive enough G protein-coupled receptor kinase to warrant a central role for the Drosophila model in toxicological testing of today. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.”
“Human parainfluenza viruses (HPIVs) are distributed worldwide and are involved mainly in the pathogenesis of respiratory tract infections. The development and optimization of three quantitative reverse transcription real time polymerase chain reactions (RT Real Time Qt-PCRs) and an indirect immunofluorescence (IFA) for the detection and quantitation of HPIV-1, -2 and -3 in clinical samples are described. Efficiency, sensitivity, specificity, inter- and intra-assay variability and turnaround time of the two methods were compared. These assays have been validated on 131 bronchoalveolar lavage specimens.