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Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 65 in total
Direct detection of Strongyloides infection via molecular and antigen detection methods
Balachandra D, Ahmad H, Arifin N, Noordin R
Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis, 2021 Jan;40(1):27-37.
PMID: 32729057 DOI: 10.1007/s10096-020-03949-x
Laboratory diagnosis of Strongyloides infections can be grouped into direct and indirect detection methods, and a combination of the two methods is often needed to reach an accurate and timely diagnosis. This review focuses on non-conventional direct detection via molecular and antigen detection assays. Conventional PCR is the most commonly used molecular diagnostic for Strongyloides. Real-time PCR is accurate and highly sensitive for quantitative and qualitative analysis. Meanwhile, PCR-RFLP can efficiently distinguish human and dog isolates of S. stercoralis, S. fuelleborni (from monkey), and S. ratti (from rodent). Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) amplifies DNA isothermally with high specificity, efficiency, and rapidity, and has potential for point-of-care (POC) translation. As for antigen detection assay, coproantigen detection ELISAs for strongyloidiasis traditionally relied on raising rabbit polyclonal antibodies against the parasite antigens for use as capture or detection reagents. Subsequently, hybridoma technology using animals has enabled the discovery of monoclonal antibodies specific to Strongyloides antigens and was utilised to develop antigen detection assays. In recent times, phage display technology has facilitated the discovery of scFv antibody against Strongyloides protein that can accelerate the development of such assays. Improvements in both direct detection methods are being made. Strongyloides molecular diagnostics is moving from the detection of a single infection to the simultaneous detection of soil-transmitted helminths. Meanwhile, antigen detection assays can also be multiplexed and aptamers can be used as antigen binders. In the near future, these two direct detection methods may be more widely used as diagnostic tools for strongyloidiasis.
Matched MeSH terms: Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques
Fulltext Development of a reverse transcription recombinase polymerase amplification assay for rapid and direct visual detection of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)
Lau YL, Ismail IB, Mustapa NIB, Lai MY, Tuan Soh TS, Haji Hassan A, et al.
PLoS One, 2021;16(1):e0245164.
PMID: 33406112 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0245164
Rapid diagnosis is an important intervention in managing the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak. Real time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) remains the primary means for diagnosing the new virus strain but it is time consuming and costly. Recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) is an isothermal amplification assay that does not require a PCR machine. It is an affordable, rapid, and simple assay. In this study, we developed and optimized a sensitive reverse transcription (RT)-RPA assay for the rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2 using SYBR Green I and/or lateral flow (LF) strip. The analytical sensitivity and specificity of the RT-RPA assay were tested by using 10-fold serial diluted synthetic RNA and genomic RNA of similar viruses, respectively. Clinical sensitivity and specificity of the RT-RPA assay were carried out using 78 positive and 35 negative nasopharyngeal samples. The detection limit of both RPA and RT-qPCR assays was 7.659 and 5 copies/μL RNA, respectively with no cross reactivity with other viruses. The clinical sensitivity and specificity of RT-RPA were 98% and 100%, respectively. Our study showed that RT-RPA represents a viable alternative to RT-qPCR for the detection of SARS-CoV-2, especially in areas with limited infrastructure.
Matched MeSH terms: Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques/methods
Fulltext A reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification for broad coverage detection of Asian and African Zika virus lineages
Teoh BT, Chin KL, Samsudin NI, Loong SK, Sam SS, Tan KK, et al.
BMC Infect Dis, 2020 Dec 11;20(1):947.
PMID: 33308203 DOI: 10.1186/s12879-020-05585-4
BACKGROUND: Early detection of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection during the viremia and viruria facilitates proper patient management and mosquito control measurement to prevent disease spread. Therefore, a cost-effective nucleic acid detection method for the diagnosis of ZIKV infection, especially in resource-deficient settings, is highly required.
METHODS: In the present study, a single-tube reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) assay was developed for the detection of both the Asian and African-lineage ZIKV. The detection limit, strain coverage and cross-reactivity of the ZIKV RT-LAMP assay was evaluated. The sensitivity and specificity of the RT-LAMP were also evaluated using a total of 24 simulated clinical samples. The ZIKV quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assay was used as the reference assay.
RESULTS: The detection limit of the RT-LAMP assay was 3.73 ZIKV RNA copies (probit analysis, P ≤ 0.05). The RT-LAMP assay detected the ZIKV genomes of both the Asian and African lineages without cross-reacting with other arthropod-borne viruses. The sensitivity and specificity of the RT-LAMP assay were 90% (95% CI = 59.6-98.2) and 100% (95% CI = 78.5-100.0), respectively. The RT-LAMP assay detected ZIKV genome in 9 of 24 (37.5%) of the simulated clinical samples compared to 10 of 24 (41.7%) by qRT-PCR assay with a high level of concordance (κ = 0.913, P
Matched MeSH terms: Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques/methods*
Fulltext A Sensitive Reverse Transcription Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Assay for Direct Visual Detection of SARS-CoV-2
Lau YL, Ismail IB, Izati Binti Mustapa N, Lai MY, Tuan Soh TS, Hassan AH, et al.
Am J Trop Med Hyg, 2020 Dec;103(6):2350-2352.
PMID: 33098286 DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.20-1079
A simple and rapid reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) assay was developed for the detection of SARS-CoV-2. The RT-LAMP assay was highly specific for SARS-CoV-2 and was able to detect one copy of transcribed SARS-CoV-2 RNA within 24 minutes. Assay validation performed using 50 positive and 32 negative clinical samples showed 100% sensitivity and specificity. The RT-LAMP would be valuable for clinical diagnosis and epidemiological surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 infection in resource-limited areas as it does not require the use of sophisticated and costly equipment.
Matched MeSH terms: Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques/methods; Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques/standards*
Identification of a Mycobacterium tuberculosis-specific gene marker for diagnosis of tuberculosis using semi-nested melt-MAMA qPCR (lprM-MAMA)
Chin KL, Sarmiento ME, Mustapha ZA, Jani J, Jamal NB, Stanis CS, et al.
Tuberculosis (Edinb), 2020 Dec;125:102003.
PMID: 33099253 DOI: 10.1016/j.tube.2020.102003
Tuberculosis (TB) is the deadliest of infectious diseases. TB diagnosis, based on sputum microscopy, culture, and nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) to identify its main causative agent, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), remains challenging. The current available NAATs, endorsed by World Health Organization (WHO), can differentiate MTB from some MTB complex (MTBC) members. Using bioinformatics, we identified a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in lprM (Rv1970) gene that differentiate MTB from other MTBC members. A forward mismatch amplification mutation assay (MAMA) primer was designed for the targeted mutation and was used in a semi-nested melt-MAMA qPCR (lprM-MAMA). Using the optimized protocol, lprM-MAMA was positive with all MTB reference and clinical strains, and negative with other MTBC members, non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) and other non-mycobacterial (NM) reference strains. The limit of detection (LOD) of lprM-MAMA was 76.29 fg. Xpert® MTB/RIF (Xpert)-positive sputum samples were also positive by lprM-MAMA, except for samples classified as having "very low" bacterial load by Xpert. Xpert-negative sputum samples were also negative by lprM-MAMA. In conclusion, lprM-MAMA demonstrated to be a useful tool for specific MTB diagnosis. Further evaluation with higher number of reference strains, including NTM and NM; and sputum samples are required to determine its potential for clinical application.
Rapid in-situ detection kit (RisK): Development of loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for the rapid identification of selected invasive alien fish in Malaysian freshwaters
Vythalingam LM, Hossain MAM, Bhassu S
Mol Cell Probes, 2020 Nov 28;55:101683.
PMID: 33259896 DOI: 10.1016/j.mcp.2020.101683
Invasive alien fish species have become a silent treat towards the ecosystem especially the native fish population in Malaysia. There has been a need to develop rapid identification methods that can aid management teams in identifying fish species that are not native to our ecosystem. Current visual identification methods are highly tedious and require time, delaying action towards curbing the invasion. The LAMP assay successfully identified six popular invasive fish species in Malaysia. None of the LAMP assays showed false positives and the Limit of Detection of the LAMP primers were highly sensitive and could detect DNA samples up to 1 × 10-15 ng/μl. The LAMP primers designed were highly specific to the target species and did not amplify non target species. DNA sequencing was done to ensure the accuracy of LAMP assay results. This study demonstrates that LAMP is a suitable tool in species identification efforts of invasive fish species in Malaysia.
Fulltext Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) test for diagnosis of uncomplicated malaria in endemic areas: a meta-analysis of diagnostic test accuracy
Selvarajah D, Naing C, Htet NH, Mak JW
Malar J, 2020 Jun 19;19(1):211.
BACKGROUND: The global malaria decline has stalled and only a few countries are pushing towards pre-elimination. The aim of the malaria elimination phase is interruption of local transmission of a specified malaria parasite in a defined geographical area. New and improved screening tools and strategies are required for detection and management of very low-density parasitaemia in the field. The objective of this study was to synthesize evidence on the diagnostic accuracy of loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) test for the detection of malaria parasites among people living in endemic areas.
METHODS: This study adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis for Diagnostic Test Accuracy (PRISMA-DTA) guideline. Relevant studies in the health-related electronic databases were searched. According to the criteria set for this study, eligible studies were identified. The quality of included studies was evaluated with the use of a quality assessment checklist. A summary performance estimates such as pooled sensitivity and specificity were stratified by type of LAMP. Bivariate model for data analyses was applied. Summary receiver operating characteristics plots were created to display the results of individual studies in a receiver operating characteristics space. Meta-regression analysis was performed to investigate the sources of heterogeneity among individual studies.
RESULTS: Twenty-seven studies across 17 endemic countries were identified. The vast majority of studies were with unclear risk of bias in the selection of index test. Overall, the pooled test performances were high for Pan LAMP (sensitivity: 0.95, 95% CI 0.91 to 0.97; specificity: 0.98, 95% CI 0.95 to 0.99), Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) LAMP (sensitivity: 0.96, 95% CI 0.94 to 0.98; specificity: 0.99, 95% CI 0.96 to 1.00) or for Plasmodium vivax (Pv) LAMP from 6 studies (sensitivity: 0.98, 95% CI 0.92 to 0.99; specificity: 0.99, 95% CI 0.72 to 1.00). The area under the curve for Pan LAMP (0.99, 95% CI 0.98-1.00), Pf LAMP (0.99, 95% CI 0.97-0.99) and Pv LAMP was (1.00, 95% CI 0.98-1.00) indicated that the diagnostic performance of these tests were within the excellent accuracy range. Meta-regression analysis showed that sample size had the greatest impact on test performance, among other factors.
CONCLUSIONS: The current findings suggest that LAMP-based assays are appropriate for detecting low-level malaria parasite infections in the field and would become valuable tools for malaria control and elimination programmes. Future well-designed larger sample studies on LAMP assessment in passive and active malaria surveillances that use PCR as the reference standard and provide sufficient data to construct 2 × 2 diagnostic table are needed.
Evaluation of WarmStart Colorimetric Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Assay for Diagnosis of Malaria
Lai MY, Ooi CH, Jaimin JJ, Lau YL
Am J Trop Med Hyg, 2020 06;102(6):1370-1372.
The incidence of zoonotic malaria, Plasmodium knowlesi, infection is increasing and now is the major cause of malaria in Malaysia. Here, we describe a WarmStart colorimetric loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for the detection of Plasmodium spp. The detection limit for this assay was 10 copies/µL for P knowlesi and Plasmodium ovale and 1 copy/µL for Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, and Plasmodium malariae. To test clinical sensitivity and specificity, 100 microscopy-positive and 20 malaria-negative samples were used. The WarmStart colorimetric LAMP was 98% sensitive and 100% specific. Amplification products were visible for direct observation, thereby eliminating the need for post-amplification processing steps. Therefore, WarmStart colorimetric LAMP is suitable for use in resource-limited settings.
Fulltext Diagnostic accuracy of genetic markers and nucleic acid techniques for the detection of Leptospira in clinical samples: A meta-analysis
Lam JY, Low GK, Chee HY
PLoS Negl Trop Dis, 2020 02;14(2):e0008074.
PMID: 32049960 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008074
BACKGROUND: Leptospirosis is often difficult to diagnose because of its nonspecific symptoms. The drawbacks of direct isolation and serological tests have led to the increased development of nucleic acid-based assays, which are more rapid and accurate. A meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of genetic markers for the detection of Leptospira in clinical samples.
METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPLE FINDINGS: A literature search was performed in Scopus, PubMed, MEDLINE and non-indexed citations (via Ovid) by using suitable keyword combinations. Studies evaluating the performance of nucleic acid assays targeting leptospire genes in human or animal clinical samples against a reference test were included. Of the 1645 articles identified, 42 eligible studies involving 7414 samples were included in the analysis. The diagnostic performance of nucleic acid assays targeting the rrs, lipL32, secY and flaB genes was pooled and analyzed. Among the genetic markers analyzed, the secY gene showed the highest diagnostic accuracy measures, with a pooled sensitivity of 0.56 (95% CI: 0.50-0.63), a specificity of 0.98 (95% CI: 0.97-0.98), a diagnostic odds ratio of 46.16 (95% CI: 6.20-343.49), and an area under the curve of summary receiver operating characteristics curves of 0.94. Nevertheless, a high degree of heterogeneity was observed in this meta-analysis. Therefore, the present findings here should be interpreted with caution.
CONCLUSION: The diagnostic accuracies of the studies examined for each genetic marker showed a significant heterogeneity. The secY gene exhibited higher diagnostic accuracy measures compared with other genetic markers, such as lipL32, flaB, and rrs, but the difference was not significant. Thus, these genetic markers had no significant difference in diagnostic accuracy for leptospirosis. Further research into these genetic markers is warranted.
Current and Future Perspectives on Isothermal Nucleic Acid Amplification Technologies for Diagnosing Infections
Obande GA, Banga Singh KK
Infect Drug Resist, 2020;13:455-483.
PMID: 32104017 DOI: 10.2147/IDR.S217571
Nucleic acid amplification technology (NAAT) has assumed a critical position in disease diagnosis in recent times and contributed significantly to healthcare. Application of these methods has resulted in a more sensitive, accurate and rapid diagnosis of infectious diseases than older traditional methods like culture-based identification. NAAT such as the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is widely applied but seldom available to resource-limited settings. Isothermal amplification (IA) methods provide a rapid, sensitive, specific, simpler and less expensive procedure for detecting nucleic acid from samples. However, not all of these IA techniques find regular applications in infectious diseases diagnosis. Disease diagnosis and treatment could be improved, and the rapidly increasing problem of antimicrobial resistance reduced, with improvement, adaptation, and application of isothermal amplification methods in clinical settings, especially in developing countries. This review centres on some isothermal techniques that have found documented applications in infectious diseases diagnosis, highlighting their principles, development, strengths, setbacks and imminent potentials for use at points of care.
Fulltext Real-time reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification for rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2
Lau YL, Ismail I, Mustapa NI, Lai MY, Tuan Soh TS, Hassan A, et al.
PeerJ, 2020;8:e9278.
PMID: 32547882 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.9278
Background: Highly sensitive real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) methods have been developed for the detection of SARS-CoV-2. However, they are costly. Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay has emerged as a novel alternative isothermal amplification method for the detection of nucleic acid.
Methods: A rapid, sensitive and specific real-time reverse transcription LAMP (RT-LAMP) assay was developed for SARS-CoV-2 detection.
Results: This assay detected one copy/reaction of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in 30 min. Both the clinical sensitivity and specificity of this assay were 100%. The RT-LAMP showed comparable performance with RT-qPCR. Combining simplicity and cost-effectiveness, this assay is therefore recommended for use in resource resource-limited settings.
Fulltext Advances in the Diagnosis of Foot-and-Mouth Disease
Wong CL, Yong CY, Ong HK, Ho KL, Tan WS
Front Vet Sci, 2020;7:477.
PMID: 32974392 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2020.00477
Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a devastating livestock disease caused by foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV). Outbreaks of this disease in a country always result in conspicuous economic losses to livestock industry and subsequently lead to serious socioeconomic damages due to the immediate imposition of trade embargo. Rapid and accurate diagnoses are imperative to control this infectious virus. In the current review, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)-based methods used in FMD diagnosis are extensively reviewed, particularly the sandwich, liquid-phase blocking, and solid-phase competition ELISA. The differentiation of infected animals from vaccinated animals using ELISA-based methods is also highlighted, in which the role of 3ABC polyprotein as a marker is reviewed intensively. Recently, more studies are focusing on the molecular diagnostic methods, which detect the viral nucleic acids based on reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and RT-loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP). These methods are generally more sensitive because of their ability to amplify a minute amount of the viral nucleic acids. In this digital era, the RT-PCR and RT-LAMP are progressing toward the mobile versions, aiming for on-site FMDV diagnosis. Apart from RT-PCR and RT-LAMP, another diagnostic assay specifically designed for on-site diagnosis is the lateral flow immunochromatographic test strips. These test strips have some distinct advantages over other diagnostic methods, whereby the assay often does not require the aid of an external device, which greatly lowers the cost per test. In addition, the on-site diagnostic test can be easily performed by untrained personnel including farmers, and the results can be obtained in a few minutes. Lastly, the use of FMDV diagnostic assays for progressive control of the disease is also discussed critically.
Probe-specific loop-mediated isothermal amplification magnetogenosensor assay for rapid and specific detection of pathogenic Leptospira
Nurul Najian AB, Foo PC, Ismail N, Kim-Fatt L, Yean CY
Mol Cell Probes, 2019 04;44:63-68.
PMID: 30876924 DOI: 10.1016/j.mcp.2019.03.001
This study highlighted the performance of the developed integrated loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) coupled with a colorimetric DNA-based magnetogenosensor. The biosensor operates through a DNA hybridization system in which a specific designed probe captures the target LAMP amplicons. We demonstrated the magnetogenosensor assay by detecting pathogenic Leptospira, which causes leptospirosis. The color change of the assay from brown to blue indicated a positive result, whereas a negative result was indicated by the assay maintaining its brown color. The DNA biosensor was able to detect DNA at a concentration as low as 200 fg/μl, which is equivalent to 80 genomes/reaction. The specificity of the biosensor assay was 100% when it was evaluated with 172 bacterial strains. An integrated LAMP and probe-specific magnetogenosensor was successfully developed, promising simple and rapid visual detection in clinical diagnostics and service as a point-of-care device.
DNA Switch: Toehold-Mediated DNA Isothermal Amplification for Dengue Serotyping
Chan SK, Kuzuya A, Choong YS, Lim TS
SLAS Discov, 2019 01;24(1):68-76.
PMID: 30063871 DOI: 10.1177/2472555218791743
The inherent ability of nucleic acids to recognize a complementary pair has gained wide popularity in DNA sensor applications. DNA molecules can be produced in bulk and easily incorporated with various nanomaterials for sensing applications. More complex designs and sophisticated DNA sensors have been reported over the years to allow DNA detection in a faster, cheaper, and more convenient manner. Here, we report a DNA sensor designed to function like a switch to turn "on" silver nanocluster (AgNC) generation in the presence of a specific DNA target. By defining the probe region sequence, we are able to tune the color of the AgNC generated in direct relation to the different targets. As a proof of concept, we used dengue RNA-dependent RNA polymerase conserved sequences from all four serotypes as targets. This method was able to distinguish each dengue serotype by generating the serotype-respective AgNCs. The DNA switch was also able to identify and amplify the correct target in a mixture of targets with good specificity. This strategy has a detection limit of between 1.5 and 2.0 µM depending on the sequence of AgNC. The DNA switch approach provides an attractive alternative for single-target or multiplex DNA detection.
Fulltext Identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis-specific DNA marker using MAMA-PCR
Chin Kai Ling, Jaeyres Jani, Zainal Arifin Mustapha
Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences, 2019;15(106):36-36.
Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB), commonly caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), is one of the ten leading causes of death worldwide. The gold standard, microbiological culture for detection and differentiation of mycobac-teria are time-consuming and laborious. The use of fast, easy and sensitive nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) for diagnosis of TB remains challenging because there is a high degree of homology within Mtb complex (MTBC) members and absence of target genes in the genome of some strains. This study aimed to identify new candidate genetic marker and to design specific primers to detect Mtb using in silico methods. Methods: Using Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) program, Mtb H37Rv chromosome reference genome sequence was mapped with other MTBC members and a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) at Rv1970 was found to be specific only for Mtb strains. Mismatch amplification mutation assay (MAMA) combine with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used as an alternative method to detect the point mutation. MAMA primers targeting the SNP were designed using Primer-BLAST and the PCR assay was optimized via Taguchi method. Results: The assay amplified a 112 bp gene fragment and was able to detect all Mtb strains, but not the other MTBC members and non-tuberculous Mycobacte-ria. The detection limit of the assay was 60 pg/μl. Conclusion: Bioinformatics has provided predictive identification of many new target markers. The designed primers were found to be highly specific at single-gene target resolution for detection of Mtb.
Fulltext Development of loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) for the detection of speB gene in invasive Streptococcus pyogenes clinical isolates
Azi Simon Onyema, Leslie Than Thian Lung, Suresh Kumar, Rukman Awang Hamat
Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences, 2019;15(106):1-1.
Introduction: Group A streptococcus (GAS) is responsible for high morbidity and mortality globally. Hence, the need to develop sensitive, reliable and cost- effective method of detection is crucial. In this study, we developed a visual detection method for the common virulence gene, streptococcal pyrogenic exotoxin B (speB) involved in invasive GAS diseases using loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) with fluorescent detection dye (calcein). Meth-ods: The LAMP reaction was optimized at 63°C for 35 minutes using five sets of primer designed with LAMP primer V5 software. When the dye was added prior to amplification, samples with speB DNA developed a characteristic green color after the reaction, but no color reactions were observed in samples with DNAs of non-GAS isolates. De-tection of speB by LAMP assay was done among 43 clinical isolates of blood, pus, wound, tissue and throat samples and ATCCs for controls. Our findings were further reconfirmed by subjecting the LAMP products to 0.5% gel electro-phoresis. Results: The detection limit of this LAMP assay for speB was 10-7 ng/μl of genomic DNA per reaction, which was 10,000-fold more sensitive than conventional PCR 10-3 ng/μl. All 100 % samples were positive for speB gene by LAMP, and 93% by conventional PCR method. Conclusion: LAMP assay could offer remarkably high sensitivity, specificity, repeatability, reliability, affordability, and visibility; it is appropriate for rapid detection of speB in Group A streptococci (GAS) as a point of care testing.
Fulltext Development of Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification-Based Lateral Flow Device Method for the Detection of Malaria
Mallepaddi PC, Lai MY, Podha S, Ooi CH, Liew JW, Polavarapu R, et al.
Am J Trop Med Hyg, 2018 09;99(3):704-708.
The present study aims to develop a method for rapid diagnosis of malaria using loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) combined with a lateral flow device (LFD). By adding the biotin-labeled and fluorescein amidite-labeled loop primers to the LAMP reaction solution, the end product can be visualized on a LFD. The entire procedure takes approximately 42 minutes to complete, LAMP assay exhibited high sensitivity, as the detection limit was 0.01 pg/μL for all five Plasmodium species. It was demonstrated that all Plasmodium knowlesi (N = 90) and Plasmodium vivax (N = 56) were positively amplified by LAMP-LFD assay, whereas healthy donor samples (N = 8) were negative. However, not all mixed infections were positive, and other infected nonmalaria samples were negative. Loop-mediated isothermal amplification-LFD represents a robust approach with potential suitability for use in resource-constrained laboratories. We believe that LAMP-LFD has a potential to be developed as point-of-care diagnostic tool in future.
An ambient temperature stable and ready-to-use loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay for detection of toxigenic Vibrio cholerae in outbreak settings
Engku Nur Syafirah EAR, Nurul Najian AB, Foo PC, Mohd Ali MR, Mohamed M, Yean CY
Acta Trop, 2018 Jun;182:223-231.
PMID: 29545156 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2018.03.004
Cholera, caused by Vibrio cholerae is a foodborne disease that frequently reported in food and water related outbreak. Rapid diagnosis of cholera infection is important to avoid potential spread of disease. Among available diagnostic platforms, loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is regarded as a potential diagnostic tool due to its rapidity, high sensitivity and specificity and independent of sophisticated thermalcycler. However, the current LAMP often requires multiple pipetting steps, hence is susceptible to cross contamination. Besides, the strict requirement of cold-chain during transportation and storage make its application in low resource settings to be inconvenient. To overcome these problems, the present study is aimed to develop an ambient-temperature-stable and ready-to-use LAMP assay for the detection of toxigenic Vibrio cholerae in low resource settings. A set of specific LAMP primers were designed and tested against 155 V. cholerae and non-V. cholerae strains. Analytical specifity showed that the developed LAMP assay detected 100% of pathogenic V. cholerae and did not amplified other tested bacterial strains. Upon testing against stool samples spiked with toxigenic V. cholerae outbreak isolates, the LAMP assay detected all of the spiked samples (n = 76/76, 100%), in contrast to the conventional PCR which amplified 77.6% (n = 59/76) of the tested specimens. In term of sensitivity, the LAMP assay was 100-fold more sensitive as compared to the conventional PCR method, with LOD of 10 fg per μL and 10 CFU per mL. Following lyophilisation with addition of lyoprotectants, the dry-reagent LAMP mix has an estimated shelf-life of 90.75 days at room temperature.
Fulltext Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP): a versatile technique for detection of micro-organisms
Wong YP, Othman S, Lau YL, Radu S, Chee HY
J Appl Microbiol, 2018 Mar;124(3):626-643.
PMID: 29165905 DOI: 10.1111/jam.13647
Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) amplifies DNA with high specificity, efficiency and rapidity under isothermal conditions by using a DNA polymerase with high displacement strand activity and a set of specifically designed primers to amplify targeted DNA strands. Following its first discovery by Notomi et al. ( Nucleic Acids Res 28: E63), LAMP was further developed over the years which involved the combination of this technique with other molecular approaches, such as reverse transcription and multiplex amplification for the detection of infectious diseases caused by micro-organisms in humans, livestock and plants. In this review, available types of LAMP techniques will be discussed together with their applications in detection of various micro-organisms. Up to date, there are varieties of LAMP detection methods available including colorimetric and fluorescent detection, real-time monitoring using turbidity metre and detection using lateral flow device which will also be highlighted in this review. Apart from that, commercialization of LAMP technique had also been reported such as lyophilized form of LAMP reagents kit and LAMP primer sets for detection of pathogenic micro-organisms. On top of that, advantages and limitations of this molecular detection method are also described together with its future potential as a diagnostic method for infectious disease.
Fulltext Recombinase Polymerase Amplification Combined with a Lateral Flow Strip for the Detection of Plasmodium knowlesi
Lai MY, Ooi CH, Lau YL
The aim of this study was to develop a recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) combined with a lateral flow (LF) strip method for specific diagnosis of Plasmodium knowlesi. With incubation at 37°C, the 18S rRNA gene of P. knowlesi was successfully amplified within 12 minutes. By adding a specifically designed probe to the reaction solution, the amplified RPA product can be visualized on a LF strip. The RPA assay exhibited high sensitivity with limits of detection down to 10 parasites/μL of P. knowlesi. Nonetheless, it was demonstrated that all P. knowlesi (N = 41) and other Plasmodium sp. (N = 25) were positive while negative samples (N = 8) were negative. Therefore, a combination of RPA and LF strip detection is a highly promising approach with the potential to be suitable for use in resource-limited settings.
nucleic acid amplification techniques
nucleic acid amplification techniques/methods
molecular diagnostic techniques/methods


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MP supports extension of the Leigh Flood Storage Area
Friday, 16 April, 2021
The warnings had been coming in all day from agencies and local government, but that final update phone call I received at 2am on the morning of December 26th 2013 did nothing to prepare me for the events of the days and weeks that followed.
The village of Yalding was at the confluence of a once-in-a-generation flood which devasted homes, houseboats and businesses all the way along the Medway to Allington Lock in Maidstone. But as families became heartbreakingly homeless that Christmas, those of us who were there to try and help also witnessed an enormously powerful display of community spirit and resilience.
It is largely thanks to that spirit, and to the determination and selflessness of community leaders, that substantial improvements have since been made to flood management in the Low Weald. Property level resilience, in particular, has meant that many individual homes in Yalding and environs were much better protected when the waters rose again in 2019 and 2020.
There are still dozens of properties, however, which cannot benefit from property level schemes due to their location and for these homes flood protection can only be achieved using larger infrastructure projects involving the surrounding land, drainage and river discharge management.
That is why I recently wrote to formally support the proposed expansion of the Leigh Flood Storage Area. The plans will markedly increase capacity at the site near Tonbridge; providing greater protection from flooding to hundreds of homes and businesses and unlocking investment in the west of Kent. I very much hope that when the plans go before a DEFRA Inquiry later this month they will be approved.
Crucially, I also want to ensure that the Leigh FSA is used more often to protect communities downstream from Tonbridge, in places such as Yalding, Laddingford, Nettlestead, Hunton and Collier Street. Currently, the facility is only deployed when Tonbridge is at risk of flooding, meaning it is seldom used to specifically reduce water levels for communities further East. I have therefore urged the Inquiry to insert a condition, if they approve the planned expansion, which requires the FSA to be used more often to protect the River Medway villages in Maidstone Borough.
I have also raised this matter directly with the Floods Minister, Rebecca Pow, for her consideration and will be keeping the pressure on ahead of the Inquiry meeting at the end of this month.
The Environment Bill and Storm Overflow sewage pollution
Tuesday, 26 October, 2021
Storm Overflow sewage pollution is a serious issue that deserves serious action and I continue to be appalled by the ongoing dumping of raw sewage into the seas around Kent by Southern Water.
Helen Grant Member of Parliament for Maidstone and The Weald
About Helen Grant
Promoted by A Kennedy on behalf of H Grant, both at Suite 3, Paddock Wood Business Centre, Commercial Rd, Paddock Wood TN12 6EN
Copyright 2022 Helen Grant Member of Parliament for Maidstone and The Weald. All rights reserved.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Once upon a there was a very talented author. His name was Martin McDonagh. Everybody loved his work and he wrote some wonderfully funny plays and some wonderfully clever scripts for films. However, Mr McDonagh had a terrible secret!
Do you remember Shakespeare's infinite monkeys at infinite typewriters? Well, Martin had stolen the most talented of Shakespeare's monkeys. He kept it chained to the typewriter and in reality, it was this monkey, who ghost wrote all of his stuff. It was really the most clever monkey, that had the brightest and funniest ideas, and all that Martin McDonagh had to do was to make sure that he edited them carefully.
Well, one day Mr Shakespeare realised that one of his monkeys was missing. He wasn't sure which one, because he did have an awful lot of them, but he counted them up and, sure enough, he had infinity minus one! Impossible? Impossible but true! He could not let this happen so he determined to spend eternity looking for his monkey, and sure enough, after 300 years, he found that the missing monkey was living in the office of Martin McDonagh's house.
Shakespeare decided that he would expose Mr McDonagh's secret by putting a spell on him, which would impair his editing abilities. This would allow, just one time, the monkey's writing to be issued straight to the world exactly as it was written, with no oversight at all. Shakespeare turned out to be a very clever magician, the spell worked perfectly and Hey Presto! in 2018 "A Very, Very, Very, Dark Matter" was issued upon the world!
As it happens, this show is not all bad. Granted, you will leave the theatre thinking, "What have I just witnessed?", but the show is full to the brim with ideas. Some of these are funny and clever, some of them less so. It is a touch of genius using the voice of Tom Waits as narrator, his resonant, off beat tone suits the storyline perfectly.
Phil Daniels is wonderful as a foul mouthed Charles Dickens, but it is shocking to hear his young children using the same words, an interesting juxtaposition, I suppose. Jim Broadbent plays Hans Christian Anderson as an amiable buffoon with deep psychological scars and sadistic overtones. This would be an impossible task for a less talented actor.
Johnetta Eula'Mae Ackles makes her debut here in a starring role as Marjory. This is the most troubling part in the play and she carries it off very well, you would never know that it is her first major role. Martin McDonagh is always able to attract the highest quality actors and the depth of talent throughout the cast is the strength of the show.
This play has so much going on that it is impossible to make sense of it all. At points, it seems like a random jumble of weird toys thrown together by a wayward child. It has many different ideas running around, some of which will make you uncomfortable, but one thing you can say about Martin McDonagh is that he never plays it safe. This is probably not going to be the most coherent show you will see this year, but I can guarantee that you will not be bored.
Alan Bennett has consistently been one of England's best playwrights over the course of the past fifty years. His last couple of plays have been well written and funny, but were a little too cosy to be among my personal favourites of his work. Having said that, everything he writes is at least very good and nicely droll.
Allelujah! is set in the geriatric ward of a hospital that is at risk of closure, and for most of the first act we are lulled into a gentle musical comedy about the hardships and indignities of growing old. However, towards the end of the act, things take an unexpected and darker direction and we realise that, during the first third of the play, the scene was being set for a biting political satire. Alan Bennett is cross, and this irritation has led to some of his best writing in years.
This is a play about how poorly we treat the aged in our society and it examines the reasons why this is the case, while entertaining us with smart one liners and whimsical song and dance routines. Nicholas Hynter directs the play, he is a long time collaborator with Bennett and he complements him well. The cast is big and there are many good performances. I particularly liked Sacha Dhawan as Valentine, diffident at first, but bristling with restrained anger by the end. Samuel Barnett is good too, he has an unlikable character to play, yet he manages to have us understand his motivation.
The play has so many scene changes that it might have been written for television. The ingenious set design prevents us feeling that the stage is in a constant state of flux. Arlene Phillips is the choreographer and she has a fine line to tread between keeping the routines tight and having us remember that these people are too old and unwell to be released from hospital – she does a fine job.
The real star of the show is the writing. I love Alan Bennett's balance, he always presents both sides of an argument. Even when he is presenting a personal point of view, I admire his fairness in giving the other side a voice. He does this particularly well here, he writes some characters with quite unsavoury personality traits in this play, yet they are unapologetic and we understand that they feel justified in their actions, even if we cannot condone them ourselves.
I hope that I haven't made the play seem too dark and political, because it is a truly funny and entertaining show, made all the better by the fact that it makes you think about the way the old and infirm are treated in our society. I think this is possibly my favourite Alan Bennett play yet.


Sylomer® pads from Getzner in the optical industry.
Sylomer® pads from Getzner are used on modern CNC machines in the optical industry. Thanks to these polishing pads, millions of discerning spectacle-wearers around the world benefit from customised varifocal lenses.


text:
El Cantó de Bonneval és un cantó francès del departament d'Eure i Loir, situat al districte de Châteaudun. Té 20 municipis i el cap és Bonneval.

Municipis
 Alluyes
 Bonneval
 Bouville
 Bullainville
 Dancy
 Flacey
 Le Gault-Saint-Denis
 Meslay-le-Vidame
 Montboissier
 Montharville
 Moriers
 Neuvy-en-Dunois
 Pré-Saint-Évroult
 Pré-Saint-Martin
 Saint-Maur-sur-le-Loir
 Sancheville
 Saumeray
 Trizay-lès-Bonneval
 Villiers-Saint-Orien
 Vitray-en-Beauce

Història

Demografia

Cantons de l'Eure i Loir

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


The research question for this study is, "Who provided the primary source of material for the Fourth Gospel (FG)?" This primary source is also referred to as the author or authority of the FG. In light of this and Jn 21:24, our research question could also be stated this way, "Who was the Beloved Disciple?" We limit the possibilities to three candidates, the Apostle John, the Elder John, and Lazarus of Bethany. The method we follow to investigate this question is, first, to analyze the internal and external evidence that is relevant to FG authorship, and then to endorse a theory that best explains both lines of evidence. The first chapter investigates the external evidence, and we consider the second-century writings of the Sethian and Valentinian Gnostics and the proto- Orthodox. The second chapter analyzes the passages in the FG wherein the BD appears and evaluates the arguments, which scholars have derived from the internal evidence, that support or oppose each candidate. The third chapter considers the theories that claim that the Apostle John, the Elder John, or Lazarus of Bethany was the BD, and uses the research from chapters one and two to evaluate these theories. The theory that identifies Lazarus with the BD and the Elder John with the Evangelist is judged as the one which best accounts for the internal and external evidence. The Elder John was Lazarus' disciple, and he selected, arranged, and edited Lazarus' written memoirs (and possibly other sources) to create the FG. Because of the Elder's role in composing the FG, the name 'John' was attached to it. The Elder John was soon conflated with the BD, and, near the end of the second century, the proto-Orthodox were influenced by the Valentinian Gnostics to conflate this Elder John with the Apostle John.


With its natural face material and durable construction, the Bluworld Horizon Falls Fountain brings the right mix of quality and artistry to your space. An indoor wall fountain is a great way to both impress visitors or clients of your business while helping them feel at ease. It also makes a statement in one's home as the center decoration for a room. In either place, the alluring visuals and reassuring sounds of this large slate wall water fountain are sure to impress. And since it arrives in one piece and doesn't require plumbing, it's easy to install and use.
Bluworld prides themselves on custom indoor water features that are made the way you want or need them to be. Each fountain has 4-foot wide face of NSI Indian Rajah Slate. The naturally weathered look and rich texture of this stone looks even more incredible with water streaming down the front. From there, you can choose between several different frames to accent the face, including black, copper patina, copper vein or stainless steel. Whichever one you choose, people will be captivated by the sight of water seemingly flowing down from the top frame and slipping past the polished river rock in the basin.
These already astounding effects become even more so under the glittering warmth of the LED lights. Use the included remote to turn them on or off and watch them work their wonders on the wet slate. The Bluworld Horizon Falls Indoor Wall Fountain runs on an electric adjustable pump that keeps water flowing as long as it's plugged in. It is made when you order and can be engraved with a logo for your business - and such a majestic fountain is certainly what you'll want people to think of! Serenity Health and Home Decor has a price match guarantee and free shipping so you'll get the best deal on artistic tranquility.
Dimensions: 51" wide x 7" deep x 32.5" high; weighs 48 lbs.
Now four frame options: copper patina, copper vein, black powder coat or stainless steel.
The copper patina features a clear powder coat finish over the copper for protection and lasting beauty.
Easy 1-2-3 installation; arrives in one piece so attach the bracket to the wall and hang it up and fill it up!
Optional engraved logo can be added to advertise your business.
Includes an adjustable-flow electric water pump.
LED lighting system with remote.
NOTE: Being a hand crafted fountain, the texture and color of the slate and copper can vary somewhat from fountain to fountain. However, your fountain will still be beautiful.
Get your custom logo or image on your fountain. Simply provide us with a camera-ready, high quality digital image in an .EPS or jpeg file format. Please note that adding a custom logo to your wall fountain adds 1-2 weeks to the production time listed above. See examples of logo fountains.
I recently purchased a large wall fountain and was extremely happy with the entire process. When placing the order I inadvertently sent a logo with a misspelled word. Amber was great at making sure the corrected logo was on the order for the fountain. It seemed as though the shipment took a while, but mostly because I was excited to see the product. When it did arrive I was extremely pleased with the look of the fountain. It fit perfectly on the wall space,it was simple to install, it was light weight and it was beautiful. Thank you Serenity Health for a product that was exactly as described. My staff and patients love it!
I simply love this fountain as it is just the thing that I wanted for my home. I searched for something on your website and got this fountain exceeding all my expectations. I was very happy the day I received it, it was just like a dream come true for me.
The overall appearance of the fountain is so adorable that its simply impossible to ignore its charm. It has a very soothing sound and with its great looks it makes my bedroom the best place to relax in.
We inquired with several companies about this product. Some of the other companies took weeks to respond and some not at all. With Serenity, we got a fair price and great service. The agent answered all of our questions. The wall fountain was just what we wanted. We were very surprised on how quickly the order was processed. We got the fountain in just a few days, when items normally take weeks to get to us.


Hello! Thanks a lot!!! We are very glad that our order came !!! Thanks for gifts!!! Thank you very much for bringing joy to people !!!!!!! WE LOVE COKODIVE !!!!!!!
This keyboard is so cute! It also works perfectly from a decent distance. I've been using it for about two months and have had no problems at all!


After a successful first edition last October, the Boston Art Book Fair (BABF) is back in full force, with numerous events spanning the course of this weekend. The BABF promises to attract visitors of all ages and artistic backgrounds with fine art, radical design, independent artists and galleries, academic publications and antiquarian collectors. The schedule for the event features a ticketed preview party at 6–10 p.m. on Oct. 12, as well as discussion panels, book signings and workshops at 12–8 p.m. on Saturday and 12–5 p.m. on Sunday with free admission to the public.
The BABF was born as the result of a collaboration between the Boston Center for the Arts (BCA), and Bodega, the speakeasy-inspired streetwear shop in downtown Boston. Because of the way this event was conceived, the BABF exists at the intersection of different cultural circles and artistic media. For its 2018 edition, the BABF has also attracted diverse sponsors including Carhartt, Highsnobiety and the Boston Art Review. The BABF is thus meant to provide a different experience than what one would normally get when visiting a standard museum or exhibition space.
In what is set to be its most ambitious edition yet, the BABF has more than doubled last year's number of exhibitors present at the fair. The venue for the fair has changed in order to accommodate this growth, shifting from the BCA's South End campus to the iconic Cyclorama building at the center of the BCA campus.
Randi Hopkins, co-founder of the BABF and the director of visual arts at the BCA, said that the event's success last year proved its potential in the Boston arts scene.
Hopkins also said that an unexpected growth in the number of exhibitors led to the change of venue.
Hopkins added that print has been regaining its popularity as a cultural and artistic medium.
Hopkins also said that the BABF can serve as a space for self-expression and advocacy by bringing people together, citing the vital role print has played in politics and activism in history.
Hopkins explained that she has worked with Mak, the other co-founder, to keep the BABF as accessible to many people as possible.
"After many years of working with experimental and emerging art in Boston, I wanted to share the excitement of original work with a broader range of people — you don't need a degree in art history or [an] extensive museum — or gallery-going experience to get excited about the great design work and important themes and topics that you find in zines and album art and independent presses and low-tech prints, all these wonderful forms of visual culture are so dynamic and art book fairs are a great point of entry into them," Hopkins said.
Harvard's Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts (CCVA) is one of the organizations participating in the event, according to Daisy Nam, CCVA's assistant director. Nam told the Daily in an email that CCVA is committed to the fair and that the organization hopes to connect with the wider Boston community.
Both Hopkins and Nam shared the events they look forward to at the BABF.
"We have a full line-up of programs taking place throughout the day on Saturday and Sunday, including a panel discussion [titled] 'Street Culture and Print' with editorial director of HIGHSNOBIETY, Jian DeLeon, a premiere screening of Art21's new 'Johannesburg' episode followed by discussion, hands-on zine-making and book-binding workshops, and live broadcast with roundtable style discussion by Demo Radio… and more," Hopkins said.
Nam, on the other hand, said she prefers the medium of print.
"We're fans of Hassla, Capricious and so many other publishers. As for panels Publication Studio Hudson, who will be talking on [Sunday], is great. They've really opened up the way that artists, galleries, art spaces can print and distribute books in a sustainable way," she said.


text:
Q: Select * from filled table returns unexpected result in InfluxDB I have a setup with an InfluxDB instance that regularly gets values inserted into. When I run the following query in the InfluxDB Administration Interface, it returns 30000:
select count(values) from my_table

When I run this query, though, it says, that there are no results:
select * from my_table

I can remember, though, that this query used to work, when there were less values in there. Is this a known and normal behavior or am I missing something?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


For the second year in a row, from September 11 to October 8, Modell's Sporting Goods stores and Tackle Kids Cancer teamed up for the "Give 5, Get 5" campaign. When Modell's shoppers donated $5 to TKC at the register, they received $5 off a future purchase. The program raised $77,000 for the Children's Cancer Institute at Hackensack Meridian Health for pediatric cancer research.
During the November 19 New York Giants vs. Kansas City Chiefs game at MetLife Stadium, Modell's store managers, Jim Roloph and Victor DiPaolo presented the $77,000 check to Hackensack Meridian Health co-CEO Bob Garrett, Hackensack University Medical Center Foundation president, Jon M. Fitzgerald, and MVP Hayden and his family.


text:
Eutyphlus prominens är en skalbaggsart som beskrevs av Thomas Casey 1894. Eutyphlus prominens ingår i släktet Eutyphlus och familjen kortvingar. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Kortvingar
prominens


text:
May 1, 2015 By Steven Halls
This page is the continuation of references in support of Section 7B
American Joint Committee on Cancer. AJCC Cancer Staging Handbook, 7th Edition. Springer, NY: New York; 2010:299–323. (Retrieved 26th Feb 2015): http://www.springer.com/gp/book/9780387884400
Cerfolio RJ, Bryant AS, Ojha B, Eloubeidi M. (2005). Improving the inaccuracies of clinical staging of patients with NSCLC: a prospective trial. Ann Thorac Surg 80(4), 1207-13. (Retrieved 26th Feb 2015): http://www.annalsthoracicsurgery.org/article/S0003-4975(05)00620-X/fulltext
Cohen MH, Matthews MJ. (1978). Small cell bronchogenic carcinoma: a distinct clinicopathologic entity. Semin Oncol 5:234-43. (Retrieved 26th Feb 2015): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/211637
De Leyn P, Lardinois D, Van Schil Pet al. (2007). European trends in preoperative and intraoperative nodal staging: ESTS guidelines. Thorac Oncol. 2(4),357. (Retrieved 26th Feb 2015): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=17409811
De Leyn P, Dooms C, Kuzdzal J et al. (2014). Revised ESTS Guidelines for preoperative mediastinal lymph node staging for non small cell lung cancer. Eur J Cardiovasc Surg 1-12. (Retrieved 19th Feb 2015): http://www.ests.org/_userfiles/pages/files/Revised%20ESTS%20Guidelines.pdf
Detterbeck F, Puchalski J, Rubinowitz A, Cheng D. (2010). Classification of the thoroughness of mediastinal staging of lung cancer. Chest 137(2),436-42. (Retrieved 26th Feb 2015): http://journal.publications.chestnet.org/article.aspx?articleid=1086281
Freixinet Gilart J, García PG, de Castro FR, et al. (2000). Extended cervical mediastinoscopy in the staging of bronchogenic carcinoma. Ann Thorac Surg 70(5):1641-3. (Retrieved 26th Feb 2015): http://www.annalsthoracicsurgery.org/article/S0003-4975(00)01825-7/fulltext
Goldstraw P, Crowley J, Chansky K, et al. (2007). The IASLC Lung Cancer Staging Project: Proposals for the revision of the TNM stage groups in the forthcoming (seventh) edition of the TNM classification of malignant tumours. J Thorac Oncol 2,706. (Retrieved 19th Feb 2015): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17762336
Groome PA, Bolejack V, Crowley J, et al. (2007). The IASLC Lung Cancer Staging Project: validation of the Proposals for Revision of the T, N, and M descriptors and consequent stage groupings in the forthcoming (seventh) edition of the TNM classification of malignant tumours. J Thorac Oncol 2, 694-705. (Retrieved 26th Feb 2015): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17762335
Kalemkerian GP, Gadgeel SM. (2013). Modern Staging of Small Cell Cell Lung Cancer JNCCN 11, 99-104. (Retrieved 26th Feb 2015): http://www.jnccn.org/content/11/1/99.full.pdf+html
Mirsadraee S, Oswal D, Alizadeh Y, Caulo A, van Beek EJ. (2012). The 7th lung cancer TNM classification and staging system: Review of the changes and implications. World Journal of Radiology 4(4),128-134. (Retrieved 26th Feb 2015): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3351680/
Mountain CF. (1997). Revisions in the International System for Staging Lung Cancer. Chest 111, 1710–1717. (Retrieved 26th Feb 2015): http://journal.publications.chestnet.org/data/Journals/CHEST/20383/1710.pdf
Postmus P, Brambilla E, Chansky K, et al. (2007). The IASLC Lung Cancer Staging Project: proposals for revision of the M descriptors in the forthcoming (seventh) edition of the TNM classification of lung cancer. J Thorac Oncol. 2, 686-693. (Retrieved 26th Feb 2015): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17762334
Rami-Porta R, Ball D, Crowley J, et al. (2007). The IASLC Lung Cancer Staging Project: proposals for revision of the T descriptors in the forthcoming (seventh) edition of the TNM classification of lung cancer. J Thorac Oncol 2,593-602. (Retrieved 26th Feb 2015): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17607114
Rami-Porta R, Crowley JJ, Goldstraw P. (2009). The revised TNM staging system for lung cancer. Ann Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 154–9. (Retrieved 22nd Jan 2015): http://www.atcs.jp/pdf/2009_15_1/4.pdf
Rusch VW, Crowley J, Giroux DJ, et al. (2007). The IASLC Lung Cancer Staging Project: proposals for the revision of the N descriptors in the forthcoming seventh edition of the TNM classification for lung cancer. J Thorac Oncol 2, 603-612. (Retrieved 26th Feb 2015): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17607115
Rusch VW, Asamura H, Watanabe H, et al. (2009). The IASLC Lung Cancer Staging Project: a proposal for a new international lymph node map in the forthcoming 7th edition of the TNM Classification for Lung Cancer. J Thorac Oncol. 4, 568–577. (Retrieved 22nd Jan 2015): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19357537
Shepherd F, Crowley J, Van Houtte P, et al. (2007). The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer lung cancer staging project: proposals regarding the clinical staging of small cell lung cancer in the forthcoming (seventh) edition of the tumor, node, metastasis classification for lung cancer. J Thorac Oncol 2, 1067-1077. (Retrieved 26th Feb 2015): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18090577
Siegel RL, Miller KD, Jemal A. (2015). Cancer statistics, 2015. CA Cancer J Clin. 65(1), 5. (Retrieved 19th Feb 2015): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=25559415
Silvestri GA, Gould MK, Margolis ML et al. (2007). American College of Chest Physicians. Noninvasive staging of non-small cell lung cancer: ACCP evidenced-based clinical practice guidelines (2nd edition). Chest 132(3 Suppl),178S. (Retrieved 26th Feb 2015): http://journal.publications.chestnet.org/article.aspx?articleid=1211613
Silvestri GA, Gonzalez AV, Jantz MA, et al. (2013). Methods for staging non-small cell lung cancer: Diagnosis and management of lung cancer, 3rd ed: American College of Chest Physicians evidence-based clinical practice guidelines. Chest 143(5 Suppl), e211S. (Retrieved 29th Jan 2015): http://journal.publications.chestnet.org/article.aspx?articleid=1685830
Travis WD, Giroux DJ, Chansky K, et al. (2008). The IASLC Lung Cancer Staging Project: proposals for the inclusion of carcinoid tumors in the forthcoming (seventh) edition of the TMN Classification for Lung Cancer. J Thorac Oncol 3, 1213-1223. (Retrieved 26th Feb 2015): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18978555
Vallieres E, Shepherd FA, Crowley J, et al. (2009). The IASLC Lung Cancer Staging Project: proposals regarding the relevance of TNM in the pathologic staging of small cell lung cancer in the forthcoming (seventh) edition of the TNM classification for lung cancer. J Thorac Oncol 4, 1049-59. (Retrieved 26th Feb 2015): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19652623
Wain JC. (1993), Video-assisted thoracoscopy and the staging of lung cancer. Ann Thorac Surg 56(3), 776. (Retrieved 26th Feb 2015): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=8379793
Zielinski M, Rami-Porta R. (2007). Proposals for changes in the Mountain and Dresler mediastinal and pulmonary lymph node map. J Thorac Oncol 2, 3-6. (Retrieved 26th Feb 2015): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17410002


Organic Agriculture: Will the "Meek" Inherit the Earth?
Organic Agriculture: Will the 'Meek' Inherit the Earth?
The practice of organic agriculture combines traditional methods with today's knowledge of health and environmental sustainability. In Morocco it is generally observed that the more remote the farming communities – and most often the more disadvantaged – the less they apply pesticides and other chemicals to grow their crops. That is simply because their economic status, unlike that of communities closer to the cities and with more available access to information in regard to agricultural trends, results in their not having the means to transition to cash crops that do require the application of chemicals.
Thus for example in Morocco's High Atlas mountains, whose inhabitants produce 35 percent of the nation's walnut crop, it is the communities furthest up the valleys – the most marginalized and most difficult to access – that can secure organic certification. This is in contrast to the villages in lower-lying areas which grow not only walnuts but also apple, pear and other trees requiring the application of pesticides that prevent them from acquiring organic certification for years to come.
Market trends in nations around the world that have demand for organic product can be a direct boon for the poorest of farming communities and developing nations. By adopting methods to ensure their agricultural product does not become contaminated, farming families – who represent the highest proportion of the world's poor – can dramatically increase the price of their raw and value-added products.
Will it be the case that public, civil, business and international agencies assist these communities in the certification process, in the provision of the training that is necessary and in the purchase of their certified products? If so, then the meek (or the least wealthy) shall inherit the earth; that is, attain greater income and environmental sustainability from the rewards of organic agriculture.
A successful organic agricultural enterprise and the new profit it generates can have a twofold effect, increasing household income and enabling communal reinvestment in human development projects in education, health and the formation of further new businesses. In this way an organic initiative can actually be an engine not only for a green economy but also for broader social change.
What will further buttress the agricultural economy of the rural poor is the creation of additional value-added activities – for example, pressing walnuts into oil, introducing greater water efficiency, tree and plant nurseries, building cooperatives and establishing direct links with international buyers.
In undergoing this transformational process in Morocco with the High Atlas Foundation's social enterprise, HA3 (High Atlas Agriculture and Artisanal), one can readily understand the enormity of the challenge. In order to achieve success, the necessary outside partners must gain the trust of rural people – something which is not given away, but earned over months and years. Within communities there can be discord and thus the process of building cooperatives must also be one of building confidence.
From the other direction, even as the organic movement champions traditional agricultural approaches, there are still methodological changes, particularly at harvest time, that need to be adopted by the farmers, who have undertaken the same procedures for generations. Concomitant to this is the requirement for training to be both ongoing and experiential; the delivery of such workshops requires constant proximity to the people, something which agencies too often do not have the capacities or interests to do.
Even with the great dedication of communities and partners, there still remains a strong element of what can only be characterized as good fortune. Project viability and persistence are probably the major determinants to raising the necessary financing, for example. Nevertheless, individual donors are in uncharted waters as they make the necessary investment in a start-up that begins as an untested value chain. In sum, the financing aspect must be far more systematized and available, and less seemingly up to chance, in order for organic agricultural production to take-off in marginalized rural communities.
With all the hurdles to the achievement of these goals, those people long dedicated to the practice of community organic agriculture and local human development have good ideas of what must be done. The reward of helping to realize relative prosperity and the fulfillment of human potential, while at the same time nourishing and replenishing the soil, provide an undying energy. Through this, the meek shall experience greater social justice.
Dr. Yossef Ben-Meir is the president of the High Atlas Foundation, a U.S. and Moroccan non-government organization dedicated to sustainable development in Morocco.


The first step toward recovery is admitting you have a problem. Well, guess what? I'll admit no such thing! I have no interest in recovering from my addiction to WordPress plugins and anticipate that it will only continue to get worse. It has been about a year since I was first introduced to WordPress. Since then I have immersed myself in creating sites and blogs that take advantage of all that WordPress has to offer – most notably, the functionality that its plugins provide.
So, without further ado, here are the WordPress plugins I simply cannot live without. Okay, that might be a bit of an exaggeration…but my life with WordPress as I know it would cease to exist without these plugins and the ingenious developers that create them.
All-In-One SEO Pack – the name pretty much says it all. One of the most important functions of this plugin is that it provides you with the ability to create titles, descriptions and keywords for individual pages and posts manually. It also has a handy feature which allows you to add a NOINDEX tag to category, archive and tag archive pages which helps to alliviate any potential duplicate content concerns.
Robots Meta – this plugin way more awesome than its simple name would imply. Of course, it allows you to alter the robots tags on individual pages and posts by providing index, follow; noindex, follow; index, nofollow and noindex, nofollow options. That's just the beginning.
This plugin also provides you with the ability to prevent the indexing of your RSS feeds, search results pages, admin, login and registration pages, author archives and more. Is that it? No…that's not it. It also provides you with the flexibility to add a nofollow function to a variety of links, including the outbound links on the site's front page, links to comment sections, login & registration pages, etc. You can also add NOODP and NOYDIR tags to posts and pages.
It is important to note that I also recommend Platinum SEO Pack, but since changing my blog's theme recently it no longer works properly – causing a fatal error on the individual pages/posts throughout my site (the only exception being my home page). This is the first time I have ever had such an issue with that plugin. I'm a bit of a code plebe, so I have no idea how to resolve the issue. I elected to simply go back to my original solution, which was to use All-In-One SEO Pack in conjunction with Robots Meta. Together they provide basically the same features as the Platinum SEO Pack plugin.
Google XML Sitemaps – while creating a sitemap isn't necessarily a make or break task with regard to SEO, it is certainly considered a standard best practice. This plugin not only creates a sitemap for you, it also does so automatically each time you publish a page or post. Sweet, huh? Yes…sweet indeed!Another great feature of this plugin is that it notifies the search engines when your blog has been updated. Did I mention you also have the flexibility to determine what posts, categories, etc. are included in the sitemap? Yeah…you can. Nice!
Okay…now, on to the stuff that is a little less "behind the scenes". Here are my favorite plugins that impact the a user's experience in some way.
CommentLuv – why should people take the time to comment on your blog? If you're hoping they'll do so just out of the goodness of their hearts, you're in for some disappointment. People these days are busy. You're lucky if they take the time to read one of your blog posts, let alone take the time to comment. Why not give them some incentive to comment by using the CommentLuv plugin?This plugin automatically creates a link to their latest blog post based on the URL the provide when commenting. It's a small thing that can go a long way to encourage people to comment. And you really have nothing to lose by using it.
NoFollow Free – this subject is a source some of controversy for some bloggers, as illustrated by the comments I received on the post Why NOFOLLOW My Comments? in which I announced my use of NoFollow Free back in September. The plugin allows you to remove the automatically generated NOFOLLOW attribute from your post's comment links.Many advise against this because of the potential for spam. I, on the other hand, wholeheartedly disagree. First of all, the plugin provides a lot of options for controlling which comments have the NOFOLLOW removed and which don't (like the number of comments one must leave, whether registration is required, etc.).
You can also identify specific words, like…say "viagra" and "cialis", that if included in the comment section will automatically revert the comment author link back to the default NOFOLLOW. As is my contention with CommentLuv, there is nothing to lose by using it – provided you properly configure the settings for the plugin.
WordPress Thread Comment – this provides your users with the option of replying to a specific comment made, rather than simply having their comment added to the bottom of the existing comments. This is particularly useful for you, as the blog owner, in being able to reply to specific comments left on your posts. Even if you're the only one who ever uses the reply feature, this plugin is well worth installing.
WP-SphinnIt – this plugin is really only useful for bloggers in the search marketing industry, but most of my readership belongs to the search marketing community or are small business owners. Thus, this is among my favorite plugins. It allows your readers to easily submit or Sphinn a post on your blog, as well as providing you with the flexibility to decide where the button appears – top left, top right, bottom left or bottom right.
As with the original Sphinn button, it also displays the number of Sphinns the post has already received. Why not just input the code provided by Sphinn manually? I used to do that. Then I realized that every time I changed my theme, I had to input the code again. Why do that if you don't have to? Exactly.
The following plugins fall into a "miscellaneous" category, I suppose. Some have a bit of a positive impact on users, but their functionality really applies to your ability to more easily and more effectively manage your WordPress site/blog.
Customize Your Community – this is yet another offering from Sugarrae as a result of her collaboration with Joost de Valk. It prevents those registered as subscribers from being able to see the default WordPress pages which show the number of posts, pages, comments, etc. It is great for maintaining design & brand consistency, as well as limiting the amount of information seen by your subscribers on the registration, login, logout, lost password and registered user profile pages. A must for any blog owner who wants to encourage readers to register, but doesn't want to allow them to see the default WordPress Dashboard.
Ultimate Google Analytics – this plugin does more than just inputting your personal analytics code into your blog. It provides a number of options regarding what should be tracked and what should not, including: external links, mailto links and links to downloads on your own site. Very useful.
WordPress Automatic Upgrade – sometimes all you need to know is covered in the name. Anyone who has manually upgraded WordPress in the past can appreciate the ease of use and reliability of this plugin. Anyone who has never upgraded WordPress to a new version shouldn't even bother attempting to do so manually. This plugin completely automates the process of upgrading and backing up your blog. I can't fathom why anyone using WordPress as their CMS wouldn't use this plugin.
Widget Locationizer – this is my newest find. I must admit that using the word "find" is a bit misleading. My friend Kevin at at ToMuse sent me an e-mail recently inviting me to check out his latest offering. So, what's so great about this plugin? The real question is what isn't so great about it. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has been annoyed that the same sidebar widgets appear on virtually every page and/or post throughout my blog. Well, not anymore!
With Widget Locationizer your options are virtually endless. We can finally decide for ourselves what widgets appear on what pages. This happens pretty often with product or service reviews. If it is a worthwhile product or service, we may want to place an affiliate link in the sidebar. In the past doing so meant having to add that affiliate link to the sidebar of every page or post. This plugin changes all of that. Widget Locationizer gives you the flexibility to assign specific widgets to individual posts and pages based on tags, categories or even single page/post ID. FINALLY!
Well, there you have it…the core list of plugins I use on a regular basis. Did I miss anything? Do you have some favorites you'd like to share? Leave a comment! Don't forget that I don't just recommend the NoFollow Free and Social Profiles plugins mentioned above – I also use them.
This really is a great list. There are plugins on here I didn't know about.
I'm going to try some of these out, and I expect to get a lot of mileage out of them. Thanks for putting this list together!
Just an update…I have since started using Joost's "Sociable" plugin – http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/sociable/ – rather than the aforementioned "AddThis Social Bookmarking Widget".
.-= Alysson´s last blog ..Choosing The Website Audit That Is Best For YOUR Needs =-.
I've been moaning about the lack of something like that widget locationizer for months if not years. I'm even willing to overlook the fact that I don't think "locationizer" is even a word.
I, too, have been in search of a plugin that provides that functionality for months. I'm thrilled that someone finally took the time to develop one. Very thankful to Kevin at ToMuse!
Thanks for the accolades Alysson! Perhaps I should have called it Widget Location Assignments but that doesn't sound quite as fun huh? ;) At least it's descriptive though and hopefully it makes sense as to what it does. For those of you that prefer not to install non-WordPress.org plugins, it should be included in the official WP repository soon.
Until then, please feel free to drop by ToMuse and email me (via our contact form) any feature requests or questions you may have regarding the plugin.
You're welcome, Kevin. Your new plugin fills a hole a lot of WP users have been dealing with for some time now.
JustinSMVs last blog post..Are You A Twitter ReTweet Thief ?
Good point, Justin! I should have clarified that point. Like you, I bet anyone who has already upgraded to WP 2.7 is already aware of that built in feature. Kudos to WordPress for building that feature into their latest release!
Speaking of WP 2.7…I have tried twice to upgrade SEOAly with disastrous results and had to immediately downgrade back to the previous version. Every page and post – with the exception of the home page – returns a 404 error after the upgrade.
I am unable to choose any permalink setting except the default, which breaks all existing links from outside sources and results in hideous URLs. It doesn't appear to be a plugin issue, as I have deactivated all of the plugins and still suffered the same fate. Has anyone else had any issues upgrading to 2.7?
Excellent post! I'm relatively new to serious blogging, and running into reviews of WordPress modifications are awesome!
I haven't taken the time to review any WordPress Plugins yet, but I intend too someday. I use about 56+ of them. It's completely necessary because if you change your theme, you're screwed.
Here are my thoughts on Firefox plugins for HTML development. I think these are helpful even for WordPress development. Still a website, ya know?
Great list, and that Robots Meta plugin from Joost is a godsend!
You're absolutely right – WPAU will not be necessary for those who have upgraded to 2.7 already. I'm thrilled that WordPress has built an auto upgrade feature into their latest release.
This is a great list, I currently have about half installed on my site. Will be considering the rest now for sure. I'm a big fan of SEO, Sitemap and especially the AutoUpgrade.
Best of luck trying out your newly found plugins, Jack. Please come back and let us know of your experience with the ones you decide to try for yourself!
** havent used yet but interested in checking out tweetback by Yoast.
Thanks, John! There are some on that list I hadn't heard of before…others that I've tried (and use on other sites), but that aren't part of my core list.
1. Google (XML) sitemaps generator- Help google, yahoo, msn and ask.com index your site.
2. All in one SEO – Make your site search engine friendly.
3. Sociable – Add social bookmark links for each post.
4. cformsII – Comprehensive form creator.
6. WordPress database backup – Automate backups of your database.
7. WP- Spam free – An additional and very effective layer of spam protection for your site.
8. Sitemap generator – Create a sitemap page for your users.
10. WP-Post Ratings – Add a ratings system for each post.
11. WP-Post Views – Display how many times each post is viewed.
12. Feedburner Feedsmith- Track users that subscribe to your RSS feeds.
13. Vipers video quicktags – Embed videos from youtube, vimeo, veoh etc in your site.
14. Shutter Reloaded – Lightweight (10k) image viewer with heavyweight functionality.
Great list !! i'll try out some of these !!
The social profiles one I have not heard of before. I'm going to check that one out now.


Thanks, I'll try that one when I get home. From memory though, xv doesn't compile from source under Xorg; it needs XFree86. Isn't it also non-free software?
From memory though, xv doesn't compile from source under Xorg; it needs XFree86.n Isn't it also non-free software?
xv works under Xorg. I don't know about compiling it under Xorg, but why bother when a Slackware package works fine? I used xv for years but I haven't installed it under VL 5.8 because other programs do what xv does and do it better.
xv is not free software. It does not cost anything for personal use, but there are licensing restrictions that didn't matter to me as a home user. I am not a "free software" ideologue.
Fair enough, I thought you had to pay for XV for "personal use" as well? I'm not doctrinaire about software having to be free either, as long as it's not ridiculously expensive like Windows Vista.
25 USD. Not at all dreadfully expensive. Of course I prefer to use 'free software' myself, and usually I work something out that I can. But Xv is in fact a really nice program, and you can have the source after all.
I thought you had to pay for XV for "personal use" as well? I'm not doctrinaire about software having to be free either, as long as it's not ridiculously expensive like Windows Vista.
"xv is shareware for personal use only.
"You may use xv for your own amusement, and if you find it nifty, useful, generally cool, or of some value to you, your registration fee would be greatly appreciated. $25 is the standard registration fee, though of course, larger amounts are quite welcome."
That's a pretty low-key beg, and it seems to be up to you to judge whether xv is useful enough or nifty enough to you to be worth $25. Registration is required if you use xv in the course of your work.
Fair enough, I'll look into it soon. Thanks for the info.
No, I only have 5.8 at the moment though I'm considering getting 5.9 or 6.0 in the near future. Thanks for lettling me know anyway.


I remember watching an episode of The Simpsons where Homer discovered he had a long lost brother. His father apparently had an affair with a female carnival employee and had a love child. The carnival moved away and the girl he got pregnant moved away with the circus as well.
Well, fast forward several decades and it turns out that Homer's half brother became a successful Detroit car executive. He rose through the ranks and he led one of America's huge car companies.
Homer got in touch with his long lost brother. It turns out that his brother has always dreamt of coming up with the all-American car. This has always been his obsession. While he has been quite successful with the models his company has been producing over the years, the ever elusive project of coming up with a car that captured the everyman experience and spirit of the all-American male eluded him.
Well, he looked at his brother, Homer, and saw the all-American male. He looked at Homer Simpson as the embodiment of average, everyday American guys. So using Homer's preferences, he had a car designed that is supposed to speak to all the needs that middle American males would want in a piece of automotive engineering.
Well, it is no surprise that the project was a flop. It turns out that Homer's personal preferences in cars were statistical outliers and there was absolutely no market for the car designed based around his needs.
It goes without saying that Homer's brother was kicked out of the company because his project failed. It burned through a lot of cash, and it was a major embarrassing disaster for everyone involved.
I bring up this story because the whole idea of an all-American car has been burning in the psyches of many car reviewers, car experts, and automotive engineers throughout the decades. It seems that as soon as the American automotive industry grew past its infancy, design teams, both within and outside the United States, have been contemplating about coming up with some sort of all-American design.
Well, I raise the Homer Simpson episode as a cautionary tale. The idea that there's some sort of one-size-fits-all cookie-cutter approach to design elements that speak to some sort of broad ranging set of cultural values is, at best, an illusion and, at worst, an expensive delusion.
The best the American automotive industry can come up with is to come up with semi-customized or semi-personalized car lines. In other words, you would still get a vehicle that has been thoroughly tested in terms of consumer demand, but you can customize it.
It's still a product of focus groups and surveys, but there are enough bells and whistles that you can swap out to match your personal preferences. In other words, car companies would do best to keep doing what they're currently doing. This is really the best they can do because if you were going to go into some sort of hyper customization, it simply is just going to cost too much.
Also, while custom molds and custom manufacturing equipment that are assembled and designed on the fly are fast becoming reality, we're still not there yet. I suspect that there would be a tremendous amount of technological disruptions needed for a truly automated, low cost, fully personalized car industry to materialize.
I'm not ruling out the possibility, but the technology simply is not there yet. There has to be a tremendous amount of artificial intelligence, instant fabrication and low labor costs, which means automation, for this to all fall into place. Otherwise, the best you could do is to either adopt the model I described above, or go the super expensive rout like Ferraris and Lamborghinis.


We had Scott's Painting paint the exterior of our house and we couldn't be more pleased. I received recommendations for Scott and one other highly Yelp-rated local painter from contractors who did great work for us on two different projects last year. I received estimates from both - they were very fair and within a $100 dollars of each other so I was torn as to who to work with.
We really wanted the job completed before El Nino kicked in to full gear as it was long overdue and some trim was down to the wood in spots. Getting the job done before winter rains could cause any damage was a top priority- in spite of his busy schedule Scott was the most flexible and fit us in right before Thanksgiving which sealed our decision.
Scott was on point with follow up/communication from the time we scheduled an estimate until the job was done. He showed up on time, as promised and his work was great. After the first day of painting we realized that the color we chose for the gutters and eaves was completely wrong and changed our mind about not going with a second color for the window trim in the back of the house.
Scott was very patient and accommodating, he came out on the second day to repaint the trim color we hated, trimmed the windows and finished the rest of the job. Scott was very fair on the additional costs for making the changes we wanted and took it in stride when he had to repaint what he had already completed - he wanted us to be happy with the end product...period.
Besides the quality work Scott is a very chill, personable guy and easy to work with. I would definitely recommend Scott's Painting and will use him again when we're ready to tackle our large interior paint job.
Scott's Painting is superb! We hired Scott & his crew to paint our new-to-us home after encountering a very poor (though considered average and came recommended) painter for our old home. Scott had a lot to work against given my angst from just having to fix up the issues from the last home's paint job while pregnant after we paid thousands for that guy to do his "professional" job. Scott was patient, listened and realized that to me quality in trade and skill matters as much as getting the job done and it was nice to hear this is how he also operates. He then had to live up to this as the proof is in the finished product.
Well, the finished product was amazing!!! He patched any areas where old holes were (and there were a ton where previous people did not maintain well), and he and his crew took the time to ensure lines were straight and areas touched appropriately. I'm fairly particular and it took a month or so to find the two areas that were not perfect. One is a 1/2" space that was missed by many painters over the years between the length of the door jam and the shower (the gold & cream wallpaper from the 1960s shows through) and the other is the kitchen light which is now painted to the ceiling an no longer opens for bulb replacement. Compared to the person before where I was scraping paint off the back and front of toilets and cabinet surfaces, repainting lines along doorways with the correct color paint, painting between cabinets, floors, doors and/or mirrors that were missed, and going over in semi-gloss where the guy touched up semi- with flat, Scott's painting was amazing! He not only did the job right, he was very timely on the job, he left with everything tidy, cleaned up and even had the leftover paint neatly placed in a convenient location. Working with him was a joy. After the final inspection, I did not have any issues. And to even this day, two months later and after many other improvement projects, have not come across any other issues from the painting besides the two listed above. The previous painter had four pages of issues and that's just at the final inspection. It was also neat seeing how Scott would teach his crew about the finer points of painting if he saw an area that was veering from quality. Yes, I am fairly particular and have fairly high standards, so a huge "THANK YOU!!!" to Scott for meeting and exceeding those standards and to the Yelpers out there, yes, we plan on using Scott again in the future to help with painting the external part of the home when the time comes, of course referring others to him until then. :-) Please be aware, Yelpers, that Scott is extremely busy and though it's hard for him to keep up with the calls (yes, I experienced this too), texting seems to work well and his work is top notch. When he is working with you he makes you his priority. Do plan ahead if you want to use him as it makes things easier.
Thanks, Scott & crew, for a job well done, an experience that was pleasant, and all of top notch quality!!!
Scott returned phone calls, showed up on time for both the estimate and paint job.
I had a small paint job, and the top 9 recommended painters on yelp, didn't really want my business because the job was so small. Scott, recognizing that I really needed the work done, took the time to make sure that I was a 100% satisfied customer.
I can not speak highly enough of Scott's Painting. Very professional, brought all the necessary equipment and supplies to get the job done. And they did it super fast without sacrificing quality work.
I would call Scott again in a heartbeat.
Thank you, Scott and Jose for our new living room!!!
Scott's the man. Best quote we got and the the job was a 10+! He was very good communicating unlike most contractors these days, was there when he said, and had good advice on colors. Hire him. You'll be happy!
Scott Smiley provided exactly what we needed! He responded within a couple of hours to our request for an estimate, came out to discuss the job the next day and quickly followed up with the best bid. He was very clear about what he would take on (he prefers not to paint kitchen cabinets), he had to match colors to a previous job, and he set very precise expectations on the schedule. Scott handled challenges, like making an extremely large crack in a textured load bearing shear wall disappear completely, all without issue. And he keeps the job site clean and he's fast! He completed the job on schedule and on budget and he is so easy to work with! If you worry about finding the right contractor; if you're looking for someone who can do the best job at the best price, look no further--call Scott Smiley!
Scott came out the same day to give us a quote on painting our small condo. His quote was very reasonable and he was able to do the job within a couple of days. His work turned out great! Everything we talked about was done. He does quality work. Super nice to deal with. We would definitely hire him again.
Scott did a clean, nice paint meticulously throughout the exterior of our home.
He showed up on time every day and cleaned up the area completely when the job had finished.
He later called us and came back to do a small fix on the chimney wood cracks, which showed he cared about the quality of his work!
I highly recommend this company as they are very easy to work with!
We hired Scott Smiley to paint the exterior of our 3,700 square foot home. He provided the best service we have ever received from a painter. We have hired many good painters over the past 40 years but I can say without equivocation that Scott was the best by a mile. Him and his crew were exceptionally neat, on time, on budget and very helpful from our first meeting. We will definitely use him for all of our painting jobs in the future and we have recommended him to all of our friends.
We hired Scott to paint the exterior of our home. He did a great job making sure that it was properly patched up and that no area was left untouched. We are planning on painting the interior of our home next year and my husband was so pleased with Scott's work that he suggested for us to hire Scott to paint the inside of our home. I will be giving a call to Scott next year for sure.
Scott just finished painting the exterior of our house and we are really happy with it! His bid came in lower than the other two painters I contacted for the job and he came recommended by two neighbors. He and his employee were professional and got the job done quickly. Really nice guys too!
Scott and Jose just completed painting the exterior of our house. We were impressed by their work ethic. We last painted the exterior about 25 years ago and the paint was peeling in places. Scott power washed the walls, chimney, and eaves. He allowed 2 days for everything to dry then returned to scrape the old paint, caulk, and wash the new gutters. They did a great job of protecting my windows and plants, spray painting the house, then brushing the areas where the old paint showed through. Our house looks new. We have recommended Scott's Painting to friends and neighbors and would definitely call them back for other painting jobs.
Scott and his team did an amazing job on our house. He arrived on time both days and communication was great. He also made lots of fuss of our dog and she liked him which I always take as a good sign.
Scott's painting just finished painting the exterior of our home. Every step of the process was executed in a professional manner. Scott, the company owner, is hands-on and involved in the entire process. Scott's bid was reasonable, he did what he said he was going to do and he and his team were extremely organized and professional in their work and the job results. The house looks great! I called Scott based on the other Yelp remarks and he delivered the 5 star results that several other satisfied customers gave him. Scott and his team will be called again when we need more painting done. He did an outstanding job.
We contacted Scott about painting a pretty large retail space that hadn't seen a lick of paint in several years. He came out the next day to take a look and gave us a super competitive quote. After reading all of his fab reviews we went ahead and Scott got the job done in just a few hours. Scott and his crew were on time, organized, finished in the time promised and did a a great job.
I hired Scott to remove the "popcorn", texture and paint the ceilings in 2 bedrooms.
Scott and his crew of three arrived right on time and completed the work within 5 hours (another contractor said the work would need to be completed in phases which would take 3 days.) Scott and his crew were amazing, they covered all my furniture and did an excellent job cleaning up. My ceiling look fantastic and I am a very satisfied customer. I'd highly recommend Scott to anyone looking for a license painter.


Use this template to create a professional retainer invoice. Simply fill the invoice out with your information, download it in whichever format works best for you (.doc, .xls, or .pdf), and send it off.
Who needs to use a retainer invoice?
Some individuals and small businesses whose services are engaged on a retainer basis will need to send an invoice, while others will not. This depends on the arrangement you have with the company engaging your services, and you will need to confirm with them whether or not a retainer invoice must be submitted in order to be paid.
What do I need to include in my retainer invoice?
The specifics of what you include in your invoice depend on the type of work you are doing. However, all invoices require certain pieces of information in order for you to be paid promptly. Those pieces of information are: the name, address, and phone number of the company or person you are invoicing; your name, address, and phone number (or that of your small business); the current date; the date by which you expect to be paid; the method of payment you prefer; a brief description of the work you performed; and the rate of your monthly retainer (the amount due).
When should I submit my retainer invoice?
When you submit your invoice will depend on the agreement you have with your client. However, most retainer agreements are on a monthly basis, in which case you will submit your retainer invoice at the beginning of each month.
What happens after I submit my retainer invoice?
After you submit your invoice, you should receive your payment by the date you specified. If you do not receive your payment by this time, check in with the client or company to confirm that your invoice was received and when you can expect to receive payment.


We have a pdf bio you can download. For more details about individual band members please see the links under the main band bio on our about page. For other general information please see our FAQs page. If that doesn't help, feel free to get in touch directly.
To find out what's been going on in the media please see our exposure page. Feel free to let us know if you see something in the media about Denzeity that we may not have seen ourselves.
We also run a Denzeity band blog. This is updated regularly as significant events occur and has become the default detailed history of the band. It is also the band members' chance to communicate directly about what's going on behind the scenes.
Images you can download and use can be found on our images page.
For our stage setup info please see our Tech Rider page. Feel free to contact us if you need any more info.
You can see a list of past gigs we've done on our gigs page.
For guidence on putting on a live music event please see our How To Put On A Band Night Page!