Bmc Microbiol
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Observational Study
Combined oropharyngeal/nasal swab is equivalent to nasopharyngeal sampling for SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic PCR.
Early 2020, a COVID-19 epidemic became a public health emergency of international concern. To address this pandemic broad testing with an easy, comfortable and reliable testing method is of utmost concern. Nasopharyngeal (NP) swab sampling is the reference method though hampered by international supply shortages. A new oropharyngeal/nasal (OP/N) sampling method was investigated using the more readily available throat swab. ⋯ This study demonstrates equivalence of NP and OP/N sampling for detection of SARS-CoV-2 by means of rRT-PCR. Sensitivity of both NP and OP/N sampling is very high in hospitalized patients.
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Clinical Trial
Lifestyle modifications result in alterations in the gut microbiota in obese children.
The association between the gut microbiota and pediatric obesity was analyzed in a cross-sectional study. A prospective study of obese children was conducted to assess the gut microbial alterations after a weight change. We collected fecal samples from obese children before and after a 2-month weight reduction program that consisted of individual counseling for nutritional education and physical activity, and we performed 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing using an Illumina MiSeq platform. ⋯ This study demonstrated that lifestyle modifications can impact the composition, richness, and predicted functional profiles of the gut microbiota in obese children after weight changes.