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The abnormal growth of cells in the liver causes liver cancer which is also known as hepatic cancer, where, Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of liver cancer which makes up 75% of cases. The detection of this tumour is difficult and mostly found at advanced stage which causes life-threatening issues. Hence it is far essential to discover the tumour at an early stage. So the principle intention of this project is to detect liver cancer at earlier stage using image processing technique. Here the malignant liver tumours are detected from Computed Tomography (CT) images. The image undergoes enhancement using anisotropic diffusion filters and segmented by morphological operations which is simple and easy to work. This operation uses combination of two processes, dilation and erosion. The scope of this propounded technique is to highlight the tumour region present in the Computed Tomography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

African swine fever (ASF) is a contagious disease of wild boar and domestic pigs notifiable to the World Organisation for Animal Health due to its high socio-economic impact. ASF is caused by the complex ASF virus (ASFV), and it can present different clinical manifestations that can be confused with other diseases; for this reason, laboratory testing is necessary for the proper diagnosis of clinically suspected animals. Despite the efforts put into it over decades, no treatment or safe vaccine is globally available, and disease control is based on early diagnosis and the implementation of strict biosecurity measures. In this context, rapid tests have the potential to accelerate and facilitate the identification of infected animals by giving fast on-site results. In this work, we improved the available point-of-care assays for the diagnosis of the disease by the development of a more specific antigen test and a more sensitive antibody test. This antibody detection test allowed for the earlier detection of infected animals than two commercial indirect ELISAs (statistically significant). Moreover, we developed a combined dual rapid test, unifying, in the same cassette, an antigen detection strip and an antibody detection strip. In this study, we confirmed that this combo approach is a useful tool for implementing rapid tests in the field since it increases the percentage of positive samples detected, even when PCR turns negative, while maintaining a good specificity.

Background : Patient safety is a priority of any healthcare system, and one of the most effective measures is hand hygiene. For this, it is important that health staff have correct adherence and perform the technique properly. Otherwise, the incidence of nosocomial infections can increase, with consequent complications. The aim here was to analyze hand hygiene training and the effectiveness of different methods and educational strategies among nurses and whether they maintained correct adherence over time. Methods : A systematic review was conducted in the sources CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature), Dialnet, Lilacs (Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature), ProQuest (Proquest Health and Medical Complete), Medline, SciELO (Scientific Electronic Library Online), and Scopus. The search equation with Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) descriptors was "Nurs* AND (handwashing OR hand hygiene) AND clinical trial". The review was performed following the recommendations of the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. Results : n = 17 clinical trials were included, with a total of 5747 nurses and nursing students. Strategies such as reminder sounds, practical simulations, videos, and audiovisual media improved handwashing compliance. Adherence overtime increased by up to 60%. The greatest effectiveness was related to the use of povidone-iodine, which reduced colony formation compared Hand hygiene teaching strategies among nursing staff: a systematic review to soap. Conclusions : The strategies that go beyond teaching techniques such as lectures may be more effective at increasing hand hygiene compliance. Combined approaches to learning/instruction improve user satisfaction by enabling self-management, flexibility, and repetition.

Metastatic spread is responsible for the majority of cancer deaths and identification of metastasis-related therapeutic targets is compulsory. TMPRSS4 is a pro-metastatic druggable transmembrane type II serine protease whose expression has been associated with the development of several cancer types and poor prognosis. To study the role and expression of this protease in cancer, we have developed molecular tools (active recombinant proteins and a polyclonal antibody) that can be used for diagnostic purposes and for testing anti-TMPRSS4 drugs. In addition, we have evaluated TMPRSS4 protein expression in several cancer tissue microarrays (TMAs). Full length and truncated TMPRSS4 recombinant proteins maintained the catalytic activity in two different expression systems (baculovirus and E. coli). Sensitivity of the rabbit polyclonal antisera against TMPRSS4 (ING-pAb) outperformed the antibody most commonly used in clinical settings. Analysis by immunohistochemistry in the different TMAs identified a subset of adenocarcinomas, squamous carcinomas, large cell carcinomas and carcinoids of the lung, which may define aggressive tumors. In conclusion, our biological tools will help the characterization of TMPRSS4 activity and protein expression, as well as the evaluation of anti-TMRSS4 drugs. Future studies should determine the clinical value of assessing TMPRSS4 levels in different types of lung cancer.

The causative agent of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) is an enveloped ssRNA (+) virus belonging to the Arteriviridae family. Gp5 and M proteins form disulfide-linked heterodimers that constitute the major components of PRRSV envelope. Gp2, Gp3, Gp4 and E are the minor structural proteins, being the first three incorporated as multimeric complexes in the virus surface. The disease has become one of the most important causes of economic losses in the swine industry. Despite efforts to design an effective vaccine, the available ones allow only partial protection. In the last years, VLPs have become good vaccine alternatives because of safety issues and their potential to activate both branches of the immunological response. The characteristics of recombinant baculoviruses as heterologous expression system have been exploited for the production of VLPs of a wide variety of viruses. In this work, two multiple baculovirus expression vectors (BEVs) with PRRS virus envelope proteins were engineered in order to generate PRRS VLPs: on the one hand, Gp5 and M cDNAs were cloned to generate the pBAC-Gp5M vector; on the other hand, Gp2, Gp3, Gp4 and E cDNAs have been cloned to generate the pBAC-Gp234E vector. The corresponding recombinant baculoviruses BAC-Gp5M and BAC-Gp234E were employed to produce two types of VLPs: basic Gp5M VLPs, by the simultaneous expression of Gp5 and M proteins; and complete VLPs, by the co-expression of the six PRRS proteins after co-infection. The characterization of VLPs by Western blot confirmed the presence of the recombinant proteins using the available specific antibodies (Abs). The analysis by Electron microscopy showed that the two types of VLPs were indistinguishable between them, being similar in shape and size to the native PRRS virus. This system represents a potential alternative for vaccine development and a useful tool to study the implication of specific PRRS proteins in the response against the virus., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A duplex rapid assay for detection of serum antibodies to canine parvovirus (CPV) was developed. Canine immunoglobulin (Ig)M or IgG were captured in immunotubes with anti-canine IgM or IgG and detected with parvovirus VP2 recombinant protein followed by an anti-VP2 monoclonal antibody. The assay was tested using a collection of sera from dogs that were vaccinated against CPV on arrival at an animal shelter in Madrid, Spain. Results were compared with those of 2 commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) considered as reference techniques. A high correlation was found between the duplex rapid assay and the ELISAs, presenting an accuracy of 98% and 100% for IgG and IgM, respectively. According to the IgG and IgM levels at days 0-3 postvaccination, the samples were divided into 2 groups. One group of dogs showed high IgG and low IgM values at the first sampling post-vaccination and during the following 14 days, indicating that they had previously been in contact with the virus, either by vaccination or infection before arrival at the animal shelter. A second group of dogs appeared to be unvaccinated or uninfected before arrival at the animal shelter because they had negative IgM and IgG values soon after vaccination. These animals responded to vaccination, as demonstrated by seroconversion of both isotypes of immunoglobulins. The developed assay appears to be useful in determining the unknown immune status of dogs to CPV, especially in kennels and shelters where the rate of infection by CPV is relatively high., (© 2016 The Author(s).)

Background: Collagen Triple Helix Repeat Containing-1 (CTHRC1) and Nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 3 (NFE2L3) may be useful biomarker candidates for the diagnosis of colorectal cancer (CRC) since they have shown an increase messenger RNA transcripts (mRNA) expression level in adenomas and colorectal tumours when compared to normal tissues., Methods: To evaluate CTHRC1 and NFE2L3 as cancer biomarkers, it was generated and characterised several novel specific polyclonal antibodies (PAb), monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) and soluble Fab fragments (sFabs) against recombinant CTHRC1 and NFE2L3 proteins, which were obtained from different sources, including a human antibody library and immunised animals. The antibodies and Fab fragments were tested for recognition of native CTHRC1 and NFE2L3 proteins by immunoblotting analysis and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in colorectal cell lines derived from tumour and cancer tissues., Results: Both, antibodies and a Fab fragment showed high specificity since they recognised only their corresponding recombinant antigens, but not a panel of different unrelated- and related proteins.In Western blot analysis of CTHRC1, a monoclonal antibody designated CH21D7 was able to detect a band of the apparent molecular weight of a full-length CTHRC1 in the human colon adenocarcinoma cell line HT29. This result was confirmed by a double antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DAS-ELISA) with the monoclonal antibodies CH21D7 and CH24G2, detecting CTHRC1 in HT29 and in the colon adenocarcinoma cell line SW620.Similar experiments were performed with PAb, MAbs, and sFab against NFE2L3. The immunoblot analysis showed that the monoclonal antibody 41HF8 recognised NFE2L3 in HT29, and leukocytes. These results were verified by DAS-ELISA assay using the pairs PAb/sFab E5 and MAb 41HF8/sFab E5.Furthermore, an immunoassay for simultaneous detection of the two cancer biomarkers was developed using a Dissociation-Enhanced Lanthanide Fluorescent Immunoassay technology (DELFIA)., Conclusions: In conclusion, the antibodies obtained in this study are specific for CTHRC1 and NFE2L3 since they do not cross-react with unrelated- and related proteins and are useful for specific measurement of native CTHRC1 and NFE2L3 proteins. The antibodies and immunoassays may be useful for the analysis of CTHRC1 and NFE2L3 in clinical samples and for screening of therapeutic compounds in CRC.