Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted disease caused by the host-adapted human pathogen, Neisseria gonorrhoeae. The morbidity is increasing and poses a major public health concern, especially in resource-scarce regions. Therefore, a rapid, visual, sensitive, specific, cost-saving, and simple assay for N. gonorrhoeae detection is critical for prompt treatment and the prevention of further transmission. Here, for the first time, we report a novel assay called the multiple cross displacement amplification combined with gold nanoparticle-based lateral flow biosensor (MCDA-LFB), which we constructed for the rapid and visual identification of N. gonorrhoeae in clinical samples. We successfully devised a set of MCDA primers based on the N. gonorrhoeae-specific gene, orf1. Optimal assay conditions were determined at 67°C, including genomic DNA preparation (∼15 min), MCDA amplification (30 min), and LFB reading (∼2 min), which can be completed within 50 min. The limit of detection (LoD) of the assay was 20 copies/test (in a 25-μl reaction mixture). Assay specificity was 100%, with no cross-reactions with other pathogens. Thus, our N. gonorrhoeae-MCDA-LFB is a rapid, specific, visual, cost-saving, and easy-to-use assay for N. gonorrhoeae diagnostics, and may have great potential for point-of-care (POC) testing in clinical settings, especially in resource-limited regions.

BackgroundPostpartum depression (PPD) negatively affects the health of new mothers and can impair infant development. Both labor pain and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are potential risk factors for PPD. However, the effects of epidural labor analgesia in parturients with GDM on PPD and maternal and infant outcomes have not been characterized.MethodsParturients with GDM in our hospital were assigned to the epidural group (n = 133) and no epidural (control) group (n = 130) according to their choice to receive epidural labor analgesia. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was used to evaluate maternal mental status at 24 h and 42 days postpartum. Data for relative variables in the perinatal period were collected, and the potential associations of epidural analgesia with PPD and maternal and infant outcomes were analyzed by univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression analyses.ResultsEpidural analgesia was a protective factor for PPD at 24 h postpartum (odds ratio [OR], 0.301, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.104–0.867, p < 0.05), and the EPDS score at 24 h post-delivery showed significant correlation with that at 42 days post-delivery (Pearson correlation coefficient = 0.527, p < 0.001). The rate of neonatal admission to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for hypoglycemia was higher in the epidural group (6.92%) than in the control group (1.50%; p < 0.05). Epidural analgesia and drug-based diabetes control were independent predictors of the rate of neonate transfer to the NICU for hypoglycemia.ConclusionEpidural analgesia was a protective factor for PPD at 24 h postpartum, but associated with an increased risk of neonatal transfer to the NICU for hypoglycemia. Thus, monitoring of neonatal blood glucose levels after administration of epidural analgesia in parturients with GDM may be beneficial.Clinical Trial Registrationthe study was registered in the China Clinical Registration Center (URL: http://www.chictr.org.cn/listbycreater.aspx, Registration No. ChiCTR-OOC-17013164)

No abstract

No abstract