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At least 559 records · Page 31Linked to original sources
PubMed2004

Use of the BD PHOENIX Automated Microbiology System for direct identification and susceptibility testing of gram-negative rods from positive blood cultures in a three-phase trial.

The present study describes the use of the automated BACTEC 9240 blood culture system, the Serum Separator Tube (SST), and the BD PHOENIX Automated Microbiology System in combination for the direct identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) of gram-negative rods (GNRs) from positive blood cultures (BCs) without subculture. The study was conducted in three phases: (i) the recovery yield of Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 was determined with the SST between 0 and 8 h after spiked BC bottles turned positive; (ii) the identifications and susceptibility testing results obtained with the PHOENIX system for nine American Type Culture Collection strains of GNRs processed by the SST procedure and for colonies from agar medium were compared; and (iii) the procedure with the BACTEC system, SSTs, and the PHOENIX system was applied to positive cultures of blood from 309 patients during a 3-month period. The SST procedure with E. coli yielded sufficient numbers of cells to perform direct inoculation at any time between 0 and 8 h after a BC bottle turned positive. By using the identities obtained from pure cultures with the PHOENIX system and other biochemical identification systems as reference methods, the agreement between the reference methods and the PHOENIX system tested directly by using cultures of blood from patients was 92.9%. The 7.1% discrepant results were due to 6.5% incorrect identifications with the PHOENIX system with BC samples and 0.6% incorrect identifications with the PHOENIX system with samples from agar cultures. By AST the overall categorical accuracy was 99.0%, with 0.1% very major errors, 0.1% major errors, and 0.8% minor errors. In conclusion, use of the combination of the BACTEC system, SSTs, and the PHOENIX system has the potential to allow the agar isolation step to be skipped and the procedures for rapid direct identification and susceptibility testing of GNRs from positive BCs to be improved both in hospital-based and in central non-hospital-based laboratories.

Aerobiosis↗
PubMed2005

Computational approach involving use of the internal transcribed spacer 1 region for identification of Mycobacterium species.

The rapid and reliable identification of clinically significant Mycobacterium species is a challenge for diagnostic laboratories. This study evaluates a unique sequence-dependent identification algorithm called MycoAlign for the differential identification of Mycobacterium species. The MycoAlign system uses pan-Mycobacterium-specific primer amplification in combination with a customized database and algorithm. The results of testing were compared with conventional phenotypic assays and GenBank sequence comparisons using the 16S rRNA target. Discrepant results were retested and evaluated using a third independent database. The custom database was generated using the hypervariable sequences of the internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS-1) region of the rRNA gene complex from characterized Mycobacterium species. An automated sequence-validation process was used to control quality and specificity of evaluated sequence. A total of 181 Mycobacterium strains (22 reference strains and 159 phenotypically identified clinical isolates) and seven nonmycobacterial clinical isolates were evaluated in a comparative study to validate the accuracy of the MycoAlign algorithm. MycoAlign correctly identified all referenced strains and matched species in 94% of the phenotypically identified Mycobacterium clinical isolates. The ITS-1 sequence target showed a higher degree of specificity in terms of Mycobacterium identification than the 16S rRNA sequence by use of GenBank BLAST. This study showed the MycoAlign algorithm to be a reliable and rapid approach for the identification of Mycobacterium species and confirmed the superiority of the ITS-1 region sequence over the 16S rRNA gene sequence as a target for sequence-based species identification.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1979

Comparison of the API 20E and Oxi/Ferm systems in identification of nonfermentative and oxidase-positive fermentative bacteria.

The API 20E and Oxi/Ferm systems were tested in parallel to identify nonfermentative bacteria and oxidase-positive fermentative bacteria. Test strains consisted of consecutive clinical isolates, with stock cultures used to supplement those species infrequently recovered. The two microsystems, as well as tubes of triple sugar iron, motility, cetrimide, and oxidative glucose media, were inoculated by each worker for each organism. Identification of each isolate was by the protocol of the manufacturers, with supplemental tests and flagella stains performed when necessary. Concurrent identification was undertaken with a conventional system against which the results of the two systems were compared for accuracy. There was a 95.3% accuracy in identification by the Oxi-Ferm system and 88.9% by the API system. Almost one-fourth of all identification attempts with the API required computer assistance, and most of these were for oxidase positive bacteria. Because of this, and because the API system showed greater accuracy in identification of the oxidase-negative bacteria, it seems best suited for identification of these organisms (P. maltophilia, A. anitratus, and A. lwoffi). The Oxi/Ferm system is technically less cumbersome than the API and is well suited for both groups of organisms.

Acinetobacter↗
PubMed2003

CUBIC: identification of regulatory binding sites through data clustering.

Transcription factor binding sites are short fragments in the upstream regions of genes, to which transcription factors bind to regulate the transcription of genes into mRNA. Computational identification of transcription factor binding sites remains an unsolved challenging problem though a great amount of effort has been put into the study of this problem. We have recently developed a novel technique for identification of binding sites from a set of upstream regions of genes, that could possibly be transcriptionally co-regulated and hence might share similar transcription factor binding sites. By utilizing two key features of such binding sites (i.e. their high sequence similarities and their relatively high frequencies compared to other sequence fragments), we have formulated this problem as a cluster identification problem. That is to identify and extract data clusters from a noisy background. While the classical data clustering problem (partitioning a data set into clusters sharing common or similar features) has been extensively studied, there is no general algorithm for solving the problem of identifying data clusters from a noisy background. In this paper, we present a novel algorithm for solving such a problem. We have proved that a cluster identification problem, under our definition, can be rigorously and efficiently solved through searching for substrings with special properties in a linear sequence. We have also developed a method for assessing the statistical significance of each identified cluster, which can be used to rule out accidental data clusters. We have implemented the cluster identification algorithm and the statistical significance analysis method as a computer software CUBIC. Extensive testing on CUBIC has been carried out. We present here a few applications of CUBIC on challenging cases of binding site identification.

Algorithms↗
PubMed2006

Fundamental frequency as a perceptual cue for vowel identification in speakers with Parkinson's disease.

This study investigates the importance of fundamental frequency (F0) as a perceptual cue for identification of vowel targets produced by speakers with Parkinson's disease (PD). It has been suggested in the literature that F0 is a redundant cue for vowel identification in highly intelligible speech. For speakers with dysarthria who are having difficulty with segmental and suprasegmental aspects of production which result in ambiguous or conflicting cues in the acoustic signal, F0 may have increased perceptual importance for accurate identification of vowel targets. In the present study, F0 contours for single-word targets produced in sentence level material by 20 speakers with PD and 20 control speakers were synthetically modified in several different ways (i.e., flattened and enhanced). Listener identification of vowel targets across the F0 conditions was recorded. The accuracy of vowel identification for the control group was not affected by the flattening of the F0 contour. For the speakers with PD, however, modification of the F0 contour (flattening or enhancing) affected the accuracy with which listeners identified certain vowels. Differences in vowel identification were found primarily for the front vowels /I, epsilon, ae/ along a high-low continuum.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

An interlaboratory comparison of ITS2-PCR for the identification of yeasts, using the ABI Prism 310 and CEQ8000 capillary electrophoresis systems.

BACKGROUND: Currently, most laboratories identify yeasts routinely on the basis of morphology and biochemical reactivity. This approach has quite often limited discriminatory power and may require long incubation periods. Due to the increase of fungal infections and due to specific antifungal resistence patterns for different species, accurate and rapid identification has become more important. Several molecular techniques have been described for fast and reliable identification of yeast isolates, but interlaboratory exchangeability of identification schemes of molecular techniques has hardly been studied. Here, we compared amplified ITS2 fragment length determination by an ABI Prism 310 (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, Ca.) capillary electrophoresis system with that obtained by a CEQ8000 (Beckman Coulter, Fullerton, Ca.) capillary electrophoresis system. RESULTS: Although ITS2 size estimations on both systems differed and separate libraries had to be constructed for each system, both approaches had the same discriminatory power with regard to the 44 reference strains, identical identifications were obtained for 39/ 40 clinical isolates in both laboratories and strains from 51 samples were correctly identified using CEQ8000, when compared to phenotypic identification. CONCLUSION: Identification of yeasts with ITS2-PCR followed by fragment analysis can be carried out on different capillary electrophoresis systems with comparable discriminatory power.

DNA, Fungal↗
PubMed2005

Combining metal oxide affinity chromatography (MOAC) and selective mass spectrometry for robust identification of in vivo protein phosphorylation sites.

BACKGROUND: Protein phosphorylation is accepted as a major regulatory pathway in plants. More than 1000 protein kinases are predicted in the Arabidopsis proteome, however, only a few studies look systematically for in vivo protein phosphorylation sites. Owing to the low stoichiometry and low abundance of phosphorylated proteins, phosphorylation site identification using mass spectrometry imposes difficulties. Moreover, the often observed poor quality of mass spectra derived from phosphopeptides results frequently in uncertain database hits. Thus, several lines of evidence have to be combined for a precise phosphorylation site identification strategy. RESULTS: Here, a strategy is presented that combines enrichment of phosphoproteins using a technique termed metaloxide affinity chromatography (MOAC) and selective ion trap mass spectrometry. The complete approach involves (i) enrichment of proteins with low phosphorylation stoichiometry out of complex mixtures using MOAC, (ii) gel separation and detection of phosphorylation using specific fluorescence staining (confirmation of enrichment), (iii) identification of phosphoprotein candidates out of the SDS-PAGE using liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry, and (iv) identification of phosphorylation sites of these enriched proteins using automatic detection of H3PO4 neutral loss peaks and data-dependent MS3-fragmentation of the corresponding MS2-fragment. The utility of this approach is demonstrated by the identification of phosphorylation sites in Arabidopsis thaliana seed proteins. Regulatory importance of the identified sites is indicated by conservation of the detected sites in gene families such as ribosomal proteins and sterol dehydrogenases. To demonstrate further the wide applicability of MOAC, phosphoproteins were enriched from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii cell cultures. CONCLUSION: A novel phosphoprotein enrichment procedure MOAC was applied to seed proteins of A. thaliana and to proteins extracted from C. reinhardtii. Thus, the method can easily be adapted to suit the sample of interest since it is inexpensive and the components needed are widely available. Reproducibility of the approach was tested by monitoring phosphorylation sites on specific proteins from seeds and C. reinhardtii in duplicate experiments. The whole process is proposed as a strategy adaptable to other plant tissues providing high confidence in the identification of phosphoproteins and their corresponding phosphorylation sites.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2002

A database for the provisional identification of species using only genotypes: web-based genome profiling.

BACKGROUND: For a long time one could not imagine being able to identify species on the basis of genotype only as there were no technological means to do so. But conventional phenotype-based identification requires much effort and a high level of skill, making it almost impossible to analyze a huge number of organisms, as, for example, in microbe-related biological disciplines. Comparative analysis of 16S rRNA has been changing the situation, however. We report here an approach that will allow rapid and accurate phylogenetic comparison of any unknown strain to all known type strains, enabling tentative assignments of strains to species. The approach is based on two main technologies: genome profiling and Internet-based databases. RESULTS: A complete procedure for provisional identification of species using only their genomes is presented, using random polymerase chain reaction, temperature-gradient gel electrophoresis, image processing to generate 'species-identification dots' (spiddos) and data processing. A database website for this purpose was also constructed and operated successfully. The protocol was standardized to make the system reproducible and reliable. The overall methodology thus established has remarkable aspects in that it enables non-experts to obtain an initial species identification without a lot of effort and is self-developing; that is, species can be determined more definitively as the database is used more and accumulates more genome profiles. CONCLUSIONS: We have devised a methodology that enables provisional identification of species on the basis of their genotypes only. It is most useful for microbe-related disciplines as they face the most serious difficulties in species identification.

Databases, Genetic↗
PubMed2004

Separation and identification of photosynthetic antenna membrane proteins by high- performance liquid chromatography electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.

Functional proteomics of membrane proteins is an important tool for the understanding of protein networks in biological membranes. Nevertheless, structural studies on this part of the proteome are limited. The present review attempts to cover the vast array of methods that have appeared in the last few years for separation and identification of photosynthetic proteins of thylakoid membranes present in chloroplasts, a good model for setting up analytical methods suitable for membrane proteins. The two major methods for the separation of thylakoid membrane proteins are gel electrophoresis and liquid chromatography. Isoelectric focusing in a first dimension followed by denaturing sodium dodecylsulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) in a second dimension is an effective way to resolve large numbers of soluble and peripheral membrane proteins. However, it is not applicable for isolation of native protein complexes or for the separation of highly hydrophobic membrane proteins. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), on the other hand, is highly suitable for any type of membrane protein separation due to its compatibility with detergents that are necessary to keep the hydrophobic proteins in solution. With regard to the identification of the separated proteins, several methods are available, including immunological and mass spectrometric methods. Besides immunological identification, peptide mass fingerprinting, peptide fragment fingerprinting or intact molecular mass determination by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) or matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) have been shown to be very sensitive and effective. In particular, identification of proteins by their intact molecular mass is advantageous for the investigation of numerous biological problems, because it is rapid and reflects the full sequence of the protein and all its posttranslational modifications. However, intact molecular mass determinations of gel-separated membrane proteins are hampered due to the difficulties in extracting the hydrophobic proteins from the gel, whereas HPLC on-line interfaced with ESI-MS enables the rapid and accurate determination of intact molecular masses and consequently an unequivocal protein identification. This strategy can be viewed as a multidimensional separation technique distinguishing between hydrophobicity in the first dimension and between different mass-to-charge ratios in the second dimension, allowing the separation and identification even of isomeric forms.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid↗
PubMed2000

Closed-circuit television: how effective an identification aid?

Two experiments simulated identification of suspects from CCTV recordings: Expt 1 simulated identification from whole body shots while Expt 2 showed close-up pictures of targets' faces. The results are consistent with those of Bruce el al. (1999) and Kemp, Towell, and Pike (1997) in showing surprisingly high rates of error in person identification from CCTV material. In Expt 1, participants (N = 80) searched for a suspicious incident in a 25-minute surveillance film which was shown either in colour or monochrome. They then attempted to describe and identify the persons involved. Accuracy of identification was just 15% from memory with a 60% false alarm rate. When judgments were made with access to a still frame image of the target, accuracy rose to 30%, with a 65% false alarm rate. Colour did not improve identification, but did prompt more description of the targets' clothing. In Expt 2, participants (N = 80) observed video-clips which included close-up pictures, of four targets before identifying each in target present or absent arrays. Identification errors were lower on this occasion, averaging 21% when judgements were made from memory and 13% with continuous reference to the recording. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Microtechnique for identification of lactic acid bacteria.

Certain gut species are pathogens, but a number of other resident bacteria may be of some benefit to host health. Examples include enterococci, lactobacilli, propionibacteria, and bifidobacteria, which are present in the colon in significant numbers. Identification and classification are not identical. A group can be identified only after it has been classified, based on a pattern of properties shown by all the members of the group that other groups do not possess. The properties used in identification are often different from those used in classification. Biochemical, nutritional, and physiological characterization tests (usually carried out in bottles and tubes of solid and liquid media and on plates) have been developed and modified since the earliest days of bacteriology. Generally, the characteristics chosen for an identification plan should be easily determinable, whereas those used for classification (such as DNA homology) may be quite difficult to determine. Genera and species identification might not be based on only a few tests, but rather on the pattern given by a whole battery of tests. The members of the family Lactobacillaceae represent one example of this. Some probiotic strains can be selected for their benefical properties as active antimicrobial agents against pathogenic microorganisms, hydrophobic ability, presence of substances with a capacity for adherence to epithelium, and so on. After isolation, identification is an important step before selecting probiotic strains. These identifications can be facilitated through microtechniques. To alleviate the need to inoculate large numbers of tubes with media (conventional test), some rapid multitest systems have been devised and are commercially available (such as the API or Biolog systems). Although they are expensive for large studies and not always sufficiently versatile, these kits do offer the advantages of convenience, miniaturization, rapidity, and, above all, strict standardization. Other methods such as ribotyping or randomly amplified polymorphic DNA do not take into account the phenotypic characteristics (biotyping). In this chapter, we describe a simple, rapid, and economical microplates technique to identify lactic acid bacteria and enterobacteria based on general metabolic characteristics, adapted for routine study of a large number of strains.

Bacteriological Techniques↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Infrared analysis of urinary stones: a trial of automated identification.

A Search algorithm included in the Opus software of Bruker (Germany) was evaluated for analysis of urinary stones. Three reference libraries containing respectively 85 (single components), 1,059 (binary mixtures) and 4,565 (ternary mixture) digitized spectra were created and used to identify unknown spectra (n=320), applying the automatic procedure. Identification of the major component was correct in 83% of cases but the percentage of identification significantly decreased for the second and the third components. In cases of identification of the two first components, quantitative assessment was correct within tolerance limits +/- 15%. The computer results are judged unsatisfactory with regard to pathology because computer-aided identification is not sufficiently sensitive and specific to differentiate species with similar spectral pattern, even for the identification of main component, and also to detect minor components. It can be of assistance to guide spectral analysis, but it cannot replace human identification.

Algorithms↗
PubMedDate not supplied

PCR-based identification of Burkholderia pseudomallei.

DNA amplification techniques are being used increasingly in clinical laboratories to confirm the identity of medically important bacteria. A PCR-based identification method has been in use in our centre for 10 years for Burkholderia pseudomallei and was used to confirm the identity of bacteria isolated from cases of melioidosis in Ceará since 2003. This particular method has been used as a reference standard for less discriminatory methods. In this study we evaluated three PCR-based methods of B. pseudomallei identification and used DNA sequencing to resolve discrepancies between PCR-based results and phenotypic identification methods. The established semi-nested PCR protocol for B. pseudomallei 16-23s spacer region produced a consistent negative result for one of our 100 test isolates (BCC #99), but correctly identified all 71 other B. pseudomallei isolates tested. Anomalous sequence variation was detected at the inner, reverse primer binding site for this method. PCR methods were developed for detection of two other B. pseudomallei bacterial metabolic genes. The conventional lpxO PCR protocol had a sensitivity of 0.89 and a specificity of 1.00, while a real-time lpxO protocol performed even better with sensitivity and specificity of 1.00, and 1.00. This method identified all B. pseudomallei isolates including the PCR-negative discrepant isolate. The phaC PCR protocol detected the gene in all B. pseudomallei and all but three B. cepacia isolates, making this method unsuitable for PCR-based identification of B. pseudomallei. This experience with PCR-based B. pseudomallei identification methods indicates that single PCR targets should be used with caution for identification of these bacteria, and need to be interpreted alongside phenotypic and alternative molecular methods such as gene sequencing.

Bacterial Typing Techniques↗
PubMed2005

Comparison of methods for the identification of coagulase-negative staphylococci.

Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) species identification is still difficult for most clinical laboratories. The scheme proposed by Kloos and Schleifer and modified by Bannerman is the reference method used for the identification of staphylococcal species and subspecies; however, this method is relatively laborious for routine use since it requires the utilization of a large number of biochemical tests. The objective of the present study was to compare four methods, i.e., the reference method, the API Staph system (bioMérieux) and two methods modified from the reference method in our laboratory (simplified method and disk method), in the identification of 100 CNS strains. Compared to the reference method, the simplified method and disk method correctly identified 100 and 99% of the CNS species, respectively, while this rate was 84% for the API Staph system. Inaccurate identification by the API Staph method was observed for Staphylococcus epidermidis (2.2%), S. hominis (25%), S. haemolyticus (37.5%), and S. warneri (47.1%). The simplified method using the simple identification scheme proposed in the present study was found to be efficient for all strains tested, with 100% sensitivity and specificity and proved to be available alternative for the identification of staphylococci, offering, higher reliability and lower cost than the currently available commercial systems. This method would be very useful in clinical microbiology laboratory, especially in places with limited resources.

Bacterial Typing Techniques↗
PubMed2003

Microbial identification in the management of periodontal diseases. A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Our understanding of the complexity of the oral microbiota continues to improve as new technologies, such as the analysis of 16S rRNA bacterial genes, are utilized. Despite the difficult of cataloguing all microorganisms and determining their pathogenic potential, some species, mostly members of the resident oral microbiota, have been identified as likely periodontal pathogens. However, for microbial diagnosis to be of value, it needs to affect disease diagnosis and/or treatment planning as well as result in superior treatment outcomes and/or provide an economic benefit to the patient. RATIONALE: The purposes of this systematic review were to determine if microbial identification influences periodontal patient management and whether treatment outcomes are better compared to patients whose treatment plans are developed without this information. FOCUSED QUESTION: In patients with periodontal diseases, does microbial identification influence patient management compared to treatment prescribed without this information? SEARCH PROTOCOL: The MEDLINE database was searched for clinical studies in English from 1991 through 2002 by 2 investigators. Hand searches were performed on the Journal of Clinical Periodontology, Journal of Periodontology, Journal of Periodontal Research, Oral Microbiology and Immunology, and Periodontology 2000. In addition, directors of diagnostic laboratories were contacted about unpublished data. SELECTION CRITERIA INCLUSION CRITERIA: Articles in which bacterial identification influenced patient treatment were preferred as were those reporting longitudinal data demonstrating a direct relationship between the presence or absence of certain bacteria and subsequent alterations in clinical variables. Because of the limited number of studies, all articles, including case reports, were considered. EXCLUSION CRITERIA: Review articles without original data were excluded, although references were examined for possible inclusion. Articles reporting data showing associations between certain microorganisms and disease or health that did not affect treatment were excluded. Clinical trials testing antibacterial agents for their ability to enhance mechanical debridement were not included since bacterial identification had little effect on drug selection or experimental group assignment. Articles dealing with implants rather than natural teeth were omitted. DATA ANALYSIS AND COLLECTION: The heterogeneity of the published data precludes any meaningful pooling of data or meta-analysis. The pertinent literature, including relevant variables of plaque, gingivitis, and bleeding on probing scores; probing depth; clinical attachment level; number of lost teeth; and microbial changes; and patient-centered outcomes including decrease in morbidity, reduced need for surgery, and duration and cost of treatment are summarized. MAIN RESULTS: 1. There was a lack of articles with a high evidence rating; most pertinent articles were either case reports or case series without controls. 2. Because reports were heterogeneous regarding study design, patient selection, and data collection, meta-analysis was not feasible and results are summarized in tabular format. 3. This report is based on a total of 24 studies, representing a total patient population of approximately 835. 4. Thirteen studies reported on microbiological identification as an aid in treatment planning. 5. Eleven studies reported a differential clinical response depending on the detection or lack of detection of specific organisms. REVIEWERS' CONCLUSIONS: 1. The published material suggests that microbiological monitoring may be useful in management of selected patients who do not respond to standard therapy. 2. Some practitioners consider microbial identification a valuable adjunct to managing patients with certain forms of periodontitis, although there is a lack of strong evidence to this effect. 3. Additional research is needed to address this issue.

Bacteria↗
PubMed2004

Target identification strategies in chemical genetics.

Chemical inhibitors have had a profound impact on many diverse fields of biology. The goal of chemical genetics is to use small molecules to perturb biological systems in a manner conceptually similar to traditional genetics. Key to the advancement of the chemical genetic paradigm is the further development of tools and approaches for the identification of the protein targets of active compounds identified in chemical genetic screens. This review will address historic examples in which forward chemical genetics yielded new insight into a biological problem through successful identification of the target of an active molecule. The approaches covered have been grouped into two broad classes: target identification by affinity-based methods and target identification by deduction. Strengths and shortcomings of each approach as it pertains to their application to modern chemical genetics will be discussed. Finally, a series of new genomic and proteomic-based techniques for target identification will be described. Although a truly general approach to target identification has yet to be developed, these examples illustrate that there are many effective strategies for successfully elucidating the biological targets of active small molecules.

DNA, Complementary↗
PubMed1987

Conventional and rapid methods for yeast identification.

Identification of yeasts depends on data obtained from morphological features and physiological characteristics. This article reviews the commonly used conventional methods for the identification of yeast to set the stage for a critical review of rapid systems for yeast identification. Comparative analyses of percentage agreement of API 20C, Uni-Yeast Tek, Minitek, Mycotube, Micro-Drop, Auxodisk, Iatron, Autobac 1, AMS, Abbott MS-2, and Abbott Quantum 11 against the conventional method and, in some cases, against each other are tabulated. Gas liquid chromatography method, enzyme method, MUG, and the Fung's mini-system are also mentioned as possible rapid methods for yeast identification. The purpose of this review is to update the rapidly expanding information concerning diagnostic kits and systems for yeast identification and analyze some of the advantages, disadvantages and potential uses of rapid systems of yeast identification.

Mycology↗
PubMed1990

Microcomputer-assisted telephone identification of plants in response to poison control calls.

Plant identification in response to poison control inquiries poses problems for medical staff and botanists alike. Lack of a specimen for verification combined with a limited description by an untrained lay person hinders confident identification of the plant. In view of these problems a computer identification system has been developed for use in answering poison control calls. A database has been compiled for 103 common houseplants described in lay terms, with respect to 56 features each possessing a number of possible states. The database is used with the MS-DOS polyclave program ONLIN6. Identifications are made by entering data for available features, so as to eliminate taxa until a single taxon remains. This system has been used in 112 mock calls in which the resulting identification could be checked. These trials resulted in correct identifications 65% of the time. Errors were attributed primarily to problems related to translation of character states into lay terminology. Revision of the database is planned that will eliminate these problems. Use of the system by hospital personnel is recommended only after graphics screens have been added to the database, and where staff have been specially trained in botanical terminology and in use of the ONLIN6 program.

Botany↗