Automated magnification calibration in transmission electron microscopy using Fourier analysis of replica images

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laak, Jeroen A.W.M. van der; Dijkman, Henry B.P.M.; Pahlplatz, Martin M.M.

2006-01-01

The magnification factor in transmission electron microscopy is not very precise, hampering for instance quantitative analysis of specimens. Calibration of the magnification is usually performed interactively using replica specimens, containing line or grating patterns with known spacing. In the present study, a procedure is described for automated magnification calibration using digital images of a line replica. This procedure is based on analysis of the power spectrum of Fourier transformed replica images, and is compared to interactive measurement in the same images. Images were used with magnification ranging from 1,000x to 200,000x. The automated procedure deviated on average 0.10% from interactive measurements. Especially for catalase replicas, the coefficient of variation of automated measurement was considerably smaller (average 0.28%) compared to that of interactive measurement (average 3.5%). In conclusion, calibration of the magnification in digital images from transmission electron microscopy may be performed automatically, using the procedure presented here, with high precision and accuracy

Performance of Copan WASP for Routine Urine Microbiology

Science.gov (United States)

Quiblier, Chantal; Jetter, Marion; Rominski, Mark; Mouttet, Forouhar; Böttger, Erik C.; Keller, Peter M.

2015-01-01

This study compared a manual workup of urine clinical samples with fully automated WASPLab processing. As a first step, two different inocula (1 and 10 μl) and different streaking patterns were compared using WASP and InoqulA BT instrumentation. Significantly more single colonies were produced with the10-μl inoculum than with the 1-μl inoculum, and automated streaking yielded significantly more single colonies than manual streaking on whole plates (P < 0.001). In a second step, 379 clinical urine samples were evaluated using WASP and the manual workup. Average numbers of detected morphologies, recovered species, and CFUs per milliliter of all 379 urine samples showed excellent agreement between WASPLab and the manual workup. The percentage of urine samples clinically categorized as positive or negative did not differ between the automated and manual workflow, but within the positive samples, automated processing by WASPLab resulted in the detection of more potential pathogens. In summary, the present study demonstrates that (i) the streaking pattern, i.e., primarily the number of zigzags/length of streaking lines, is critical for optimizing the number of single colonies yielded from primary cultures of urine samples; (ii) automated streaking by the WASP instrument is superior to manual streaking regarding the number of single colonies yielded (for 32.2% of the samples); and (iii) automated streaking leads to higher numbers of detected morphologies (for 47.5% of the samples), species (for 17.4% of the samples), and pathogens (for 3.4% of the samples). The results of this study point to an improved quality of microbiological analyses and laboratory reports when using automated sample processing by WASP and WASPLab. PMID:26677255

Extended Field Laser Confocal Microscopy (EFLCM): Combining automated Gigapixel image capture with in silico virtual microscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Flaberg, Emilie; Sabelström, Per; Strandh, Christer; Szekely, Laszlo

2008-01-01

Confocal laser scanning microscopy has revolutionized cell biology. However, the technique has major limitations in speed and sensitivity due to the fact that a single laser beam scans the sample, allowing only a few microseconds signal collection for each pixel. This limitation has been overcome by the introduction of parallel beam illumination techniques in combination with cold CCD camera based image capture. Using the combination of microlens enhanced Nipkow spinning disc confocal illumination together with fully automated image capture and large scale in silico image processing we have developed a system allowing the acquisition, presentation and analysis of maximum resolution confocal panorama images of several Gigapixel size. We call the method Extended Field Laser Confocal Microscopy (EFLCM). We show using the EFLCM technique that it is possible to create a continuous confocal multi-colour mosaic from thousands of individually captured images. EFLCM can digitize and analyze histological slides, sections of entire rodent organ and full size embryos. It can also record hundreds of thousands cultured cells at multiple wavelength in single event or time-lapse fashion on fixed slides, in live cell imaging chambers or microtiter plates. The observer independent image capture of EFLCM allows quantitative measurements of fluorescence intensities and morphological parameters on a large number of cells. EFLCM therefore bridges the gap between the mainly illustrative fluorescence microscopy and purely quantitative flow cytometry. EFLCM can also be used as high content analysis (HCA) instrument for automated screening processes

Detection and quantification of intracellular bacterial colonies by automated, high-throughput microscopy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ernstsen, Christina L; Login, Frédéric H; Jensen, Helene H

2017-01-01

To target bacterial pathogens that invade and proliferate inside host cells, it is necessary to design intervention strategies directed against bacterial attachment, cellular invasion and intracellular proliferation. We present an automated microscopy-based, fast, high-throughput method for analy...

Automated classification of cell morphology by coherence-controlled holographic microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Strbkova, Lenka; Zicha, Daniel; Vesely, Pavel; Chmelik, Radim

2017-08-01

In the last few years, classification of cells by machine learning has become frequently used in biology. However, most of the approaches are based on morphometric (MO) features, which are not quantitative in terms of cell mass. This may result in poor classification accuracy. Here, we study the potential contribution of coherence-controlled holographic microscopy enabling quantitative phase imaging for the classification of cell morphologies. We compare our approach with the commonly used method based on MO features. We tested both classification approaches in an experiment with nutritionally deprived cancer tissue cells, while employing several supervised machine learning algorithms. Most of the classifiers provided higher performance when quantitative phase features were employed. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the quantitative phase features played an important role in improving the performance of the classification. The methodology could be valuable help in refining the monitoring of live cells in an automated fashion. We believe that coherence-controlled holographic microscopy, as a tool for quantitative phase imaging, offers all preconditions for the accurate automated analysis of live cell behavior while enabling noninvasive label-free imaging with sufficient contrast and high-spatiotemporal phase sensitivity.

Correlation between dipstick urinalysis and urine sediment microscopy in detecting haematuria among children with sickle cell anaemia in steady state in Ilorin, Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Anigilaje, Emmanuel Ademola; Adedoyin, Olanrewaju Timothy

2013-01-01

Haematuria is one of the clinical manifestations of sickle cell nephropathy. Although dipstick urinalysis detects haemoglobin and by extension haematuria; it does not confirm haematuria. Urine sediment microscopy confirms haematuria and constitutes a non-invasive "renal biopsy". The need to correlate dipstick urinalysis and urine sediment microscopy findings becomes important because of the cheapness, quickness and simplicity of the former procedure. Dipstick urinalysis and urine sediment microscopy were carried (both on first contact and a month after) among consecutive steady state sickle cell anaemia children attending sickle cell clinic at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital between October 2004 and July 2005. A total of 75 sickle cell anemia children aged between 1-17 years met the inclusion criteria. Haematuria was found in 12 children (16.0%) and persistent haematuria in 10 children 13.3%. Age and gender did not have significant relationship with haematuria both at first contact (p values 0.087 and 0.654 respectively) and at follow-up (p values 0.075 and 0.630 respectively). Eumorphic haematuria was confirmed in all the children with persistent haematuria with Pearson correlation +0.623 and significant p value of 0.000. The study has revealed a direct significant correlation for haematuria detected on dipstick urinalysis and at urine sediment microscopy. It may therefore be inferred that dipstick urinalysis is an easy and readily available tool for the screening of haematuria among children with sickle cell anaemia and should therefore be done routinely at the sickle cell clinics.

Development of an automated asbestos counting software based on fluorescence microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Alexandrov, Maxym; Ichida, Etsuko; Nishimura, Tomoki; Aoki, Kousuke; Ishida, Takenori; Hirota, Ryuichi; Ikeda, Takeshi; Kawasaki, Tetsuo; Kuroda, Akio

2015-01-01

An emerging alternative to the commonly used analytical methods for asbestos analysis is fluorescence microscopy (FM), which relies on highly specific asbestos-binding probes to distinguish asbestos from interfering non-asbestos fibers. However, all types of microscopic asbestos analysis require laborious examination of large number of fields of view and are prone to subjective errors and large variability between asbestos counts by different analysts and laboratories. A possible solution to these problems is automated counting of asbestos fibers by image analysis software, which would lower the cost and increase the reliability of asbestos testing. This study seeks to develop a fiber recognition and counting software for FM-based asbestos analysis. We discuss the main features of the developed software and the results of its testing. Software testing showed good correlation between automated and manual counts for the samples with medium and high fiber concentrations. At low fiber concentrations, the automated counts were less accurate, leading us to implement correction mode for automated counts. While the full automation of asbestos analysis would require further improvements in accuracy of fiber identification, the developed software could already assist professional asbestos analysts and record detailed fiber dimensions for the use in epidemiological research.

The comparison of automated urine analyzers with manual microscopic examination for urinalysis automated urine analyzers and manual urinalysis

OpenAIRE

?nce, Fatma Demet; Ellida?, Hamit Ya?ar; Koseo?lu, Mehmet; ?im?ek, Ne?e; Yal??n, H?lya; Zengin, Mustafa Osman

2016-01-01

Objectives: Urinalysis is one of the most commonly performed tests in the clinical laboratory. However, manual microscopic sediment examination is labor-intensive, time-consuming, and lacks standardization in high-volume laboratories. In this study, the concordance of analyses between manual microscopic examination and two different automatic urine sediment analyzers has been evaluated. Design and methods: 209 urine samples were analyzed by the Iris iQ200 ELITE (Ä°ris Diagnostics, USA), Dirui...

Data for automated, high-throughput microscopy analysis of intracellular bacterial colonies using spot detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Ernstsen, Christina L; Login, Frédéric H; Jensen, Helene H; Nørregaard, Rikke; Møller-Jensen, Jakob; Nejsum, Lene N

2017-10-01

Quantification of intracellular bacterial colonies is useful in strategies directed against bacterial attachment, subsequent cellular invasion and intracellular proliferation. An automated, high-throughput microscopy-method was established to quantify the number and size of intracellular bacterial colonies in infected host cells (Detection and quantification of intracellular bacterial colonies by automated, high-throughput microscopy, Ernstsen et al., 2017 [1]). The infected cells were imaged with a 10× objective and number of intracellular bacterial colonies, their size distribution and the number of cell nuclei were automatically quantified using a spot detection-tool. The spot detection-output was exported to Excel, where data analysis was performed. In this article, micrographs and spot detection data are made available to facilitate implementation of the method.

Automated classification of cell morphology by coherence-controlled holographic microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Strbkova, Lenka; Zicha, Daniel; Vesely, Pavel; Chmelik, Radim

2017-08-01

In the last few years, classification of cells by machine learning has become frequently used in biology. However, most of the approaches are based on morphometric (MO) features, which are not quantitative in terms of cell mass. This may result in poor classification accuracy. Here, we study the potential contribution of coherence-controlled holographic microscopy enabling quantitative phase imaging for the classification of cell morphologies. We compare our approach with the commonly used method based on MO features. We tested both classification approaches in an experiment with nutritionally deprived cancer tissue cells, while employing several supervised machine learning algorithms. Most of the classifiers provided higher performance when quantitative phase features were employed. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the quantitative phase features played an important role in improving the performance of the classification. The methodology could be valuable help in refining the monitoring of live cells in an automated fashion. We believe that coherence-controlled holographic microscopy, as a tool for quantitative phase imaging, offers all preconditions for the accurate automated analysis of live cell behavior while enabling noninvasive label-free imaging with sufficient contrast and high-spatiotemporal phase sensitivity. (2017) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).

Semi-automated scoring of triple-probe FISH in human sperm using confocal microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Branch, Francesca; Nguyen, GiaLinh; Porter, Nicholas; Young, Heather A; Martenies, Sheena E; McCray, Nathan; Deloid, Glen; Popratiloff, Anastas; Perry, Melissa J

2017-09-01

Structural and numerical sperm chromosomal aberrations result from abnormal meiosis and are directly linked to infertility. Any live births that arise from aneuploid conceptuses can result in syndromes such as Kleinfelter, Turners, XYY and Edwards. Multi-probe fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) is commonly used to study sperm aneuploidy, however manual FISH scoring in sperm samples is labor-intensive and introduces errors. Automated scoring methods are continuously evolving. One challenging aspect for optimizing automated sperm FISH scoring has been the overlap in excitation and emission of the fluorescent probes used to enumerate the chromosomes of interest. Our objective was to demonstrate the feasibility of combining confocal microscopy and spectral imaging with high-throughput methods for accurately measuring sperm aneuploidy. Our approach used confocal microscopy to analyze numerical chromosomal abnormalities in human sperm using enhanced slide preparation and rigorous semi-automated scoring methods. FISH for chromosomes X, Y, and 18 was conducted to determine sex chromosome disomy in sperm nuclei. Application of online spectral linear unmixing was used for effective separation of four fluorochromes while decreasing data acquisition time. Semi-automated image processing, segmentation, classification, and scoring were performed on 10 slides using custom image processing and analysis software and results were compared with manual methods. No significant differences in disomy frequencies were seen between the semi automated and manual methods. Samples treated with pepsin were observed to have reduced background autofluorescence and more uniform distribution of cells. These results demonstrate that semi-automated methods using spectral imaging on a confocal platform are a feasible approach for analyzing numerical chromosomal aberrations in sperm, and are comparable to manual methods. © 2017 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry. © 2017

[The actual possibilities of robotic microscopy in analysis automation and laboratory telemedicine].

Science.gov (United States)

Medovyĭ, V S; Piatnitskiĭ, A M; Sokolinskiĭ, B Z; Balugian, R Sh

2012-10-01

The article discusses the possibilities of automation microscopy complexes manufactured by Cellavision and MEKOS to perform the medical analyses of blood films and other biomaterials. The joint work of the complex and physician in the regimen of automatic load stages, screening, sampling and sorting on types with simple morphology, visual sorting of sub-sample with complex morphology provides significant increase of method sensitivity, load decrease and enhancement of physician work conditions. The information technologies, the virtual slides and laboratory telemedicine included permit to develop the representative samples of rare types and pathologies to promote automation methods and medical research targets.

Comparison of manual & automated analysis methods for corneal endothelial cell density measurements by specular microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Jianyan; Maram, Jyotsna; Tepelus, Tudor C; Modak, Cristina; Marion, Ken; Sadda, SriniVas R; Chopra, Vikas; Lee, Olivia L

2017-08-07

To determine the reliability of corneal endothelial cell density (ECD) obtained by automated specular microscopy versus that of validated manual methods and factors that predict such reliability. Sharp central images from 94 control and 106 glaucomatous eyes were captured with Konan specular microscope NSP-9900. All images were analyzed by trained graders using Konan CellChek Software, employing the fully- and semi-automated methods as well as Center Method. Images with low cell count (input cells number <100) and/or guttata were compared with the Center and Flex-Center Methods. ECDs were compared and absolute error was used to assess variation. The effect on ECD of age, cell count, cell size, and cell size variation was evaluated. No significant difference was observed between the Center and Flex-Center Methods in corneas with guttata (p=0.48) or low ECD (p=0.11). No difference (p=0.32) was observed in ECD of normal controls <40 yrs old between the fully-automated method and manual Center Method. However, in older controls and glaucomatous eyes, ECD was overestimated by the fully-automated method (p=0.034) and semi-automated method (p=0.025) as compared to manual method. Our findings show that automated analysis significantly overestimates ECD in the eyes with high polymegathism and/or large cell size, compared to the manual method. Therefore, we discourage reliance upon the fully-automated method alone to perform specular microscopy analysis, particularly if an accurate ECD value is imperative. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U.

An approach to standardization of urine sediment analysis via suggestion of a common manual protocol.

Science.gov (United States)

Ko, Dae-Hyun; Ji, Misuk; Kim, Sollip; Cho, Eun-Jung; Lee, Woochang; Yun, Yeo-Min; Chun, Sail; Min, Won-Ki

2016-01-01

The results of urine sediment analysis have been reported semiquantitatively. However, as recent guidelines recommend quantitative reporting of urine sediment, and with the development of automated urine sediment analyzers, there is an increasing need for quantitative analysis of urine sediment. Here, we developed a protocol for urine sediment analysis and quantified the results. Based on questionnaires, various reports, guidelines, and experimental results, we developed a protocol for urine sediment analysis. The results of this new protocol were compared with those obtained with a standardized chamber and an automated sediment analyzer. Reference intervals were also estimated using new protocol. We developed a protocol with centrifugation at 400 g for 5 min, with the average concentration factor of 30. The correlation between quantitative results of urine sediment analysis, the standardized chamber, and the automated sediment analyzer were generally good. The conversion factor derived from the new protocol showed a better fit with the results of manual count than the default conversion factor in the automated sediment analyzer. We developed a protocol for manual urine sediment analysis to quantitatively report the results. This protocol may provide a mean for standardization of urine sediment analysis.

Data for automated, high-throughput microscopy analysis of intracellular bacterial colonies using spot detection

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ernstsen, Christina Lundgaard; Login, Frédéric H.; Jensen, Helene Halkjær

2017-01-01

Quantification of intracellular bacterial colonies is useful in strategies directed against bacterial attachment, subsequent cellular invasion and intracellular proliferation. An automated, high-throughput microscopy-method was established to quantify the number and size of intracellular bacteria...

Automated Microscopy: Macro Language Controlling a Confocal Microscope and its External Illumination: Adaptation for Photosynthetic Organisms

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Steinbach, Gabor; Kaňa, Radek

2016-01-01

Roč. 22, č. 2 (2016), s. 258-263 ISSN 1431-9276 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP501/12/0304; GA MŠk EE2.3.30.0059; GA MŠk ED2.1.00/03.0110; GA MŠk(CZ) LO1416 Institutional support: RVO:61388971 Keywords : automated microscopy * remote controlled microscopy * confocal microscopy Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 1.891, year: 2016

Automated analysis of high-content microscopy data with deep learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Kraus, Oren Z; Grys, Ben T; Ba, Jimmy; Chong, Yolanda; Frey, Brendan J; Boone, Charles; Andrews, Brenda J

2017-04-18

Existing computational pipelines for quantitative analysis of high-content microscopy data rely on traditional machine learning approaches that fail to accurately classify more than a single dataset without substantial tuning and training, requiring extensive analysis. Here, we demonstrate that the application of deep learning to biological image data can overcome the pitfalls associated with conventional machine learning classifiers. Using a deep convolutional neural network (DeepLoc) to analyze yeast cell images, we show improved performance over traditional approaches in the automated classification of protein subcellular localization. We also demonstrate the ability of DeepLoc to classify highly divergent image sets, including images of pheromone-arrested cells with abnormal cellular morphology, as well as images generated in different genetic backgrounds and in different laboratories. We offer an open-source implementation that enables updating DeepLoc on new microscopy datasets. This study highlights deep learning as an important tool for the expedited analysis of high-content microscopy data. © 2017 The Authors. Published under the terms of the CC BY 4.0 license.

Automated filtering of intrinsic movement artifacts during two-photon intravital microscopy.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Denis Soulet

Full Text Available In vivo imaging using two-photon microscopy is an essential tool to explore the dynamic of physiological events deep within biological tissues for short or extended periods of time. The new capabilities offered by this technology (e.g. high tissue penetrance, low toxicity have opened a whole new era of investigations in modern biomedical research. However, the potential of using this promising technique in tissues of living animals is greatly limited by the intrinsic irregular movements that are caused by cardiac and respiratory cycles and muscular and vascular tone. Here, we show real-time imaging of the brain, spinal cord, sciatic nerve and myenteric plexus of living mice using a new automated program, named Intravital_Microscopy_Toolbox, that removes frames corrupted with motion artifacts from time-lapse videos. Our approach involves generating a dissimilarity score against precalculated reference frames in a specific reference channel, thus allowing the gating of distorted, out-of-focus or translated frames. Since the algorithm detects the uneven peaks of image distortion caused by irregular animal movements, the macro allows a fast and efficient filtering of the image sequence. In addition, extra features have been implemented in the macro, such as XY registration, channel subtraction, extended field of view with maximum intensity projection, noise reduction with average intensity projections, and automated timestamp and scale bar overlay. Thus, the Intravital_Microscopy_Toolbox macro for ImageJ provides convenient tools for biologists who are performing in vivo two-photon imaging in tissues prone to motion artifacts.

Context based mixture model for cell phase identification in automated fluorescence microscopy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhou Xiaobo

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Automated identification of cell cycle phases of individual live cells in a large population captured via automated fluorescence microscopy technique is important for cancer drug discovery and cell cycle studies. Time-lapse fluorescence microscopy images provide an important method to study the cell cycle process under different conditions of perturbation. Existing methods are limited in dealing with such time-lapse data sets while manual analysis is not feasible. This paper presents statistical data analysis and statistical pattern recognition to perform this task. Results The data is generated from Hela H2B GFP cells imaged during a 2-day period with images acquired 15 minutes apart using an automated time-lapse fluorescence microscopy. The patterns are described with four kinds of features, including twelve general features, Haralick texture features, Zernike moment features, and wavelet features. To generate a new set of features with more discriminate power, the commonly used feature reduction techniques are used, which include Principle Component Analysis (PCA, Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA, Maximum Margin Criterion (MMC, Stepwise Discriminate Analysis based Feature Selection (SDAFS, and Genetic Algorithm based Feature Selection (GAFS. Then, we propose a Context Based Mixture Model (CBMM for dealing with the time-series cell sequence information and compare it to other traditional classifiers: Support Vector Machine (SVM, Neural Network (NN, and K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN. Being a standard practice in machine learning, we systematically compare the performance of a number of common feature reduction techniques and classifiers to select an optimal combination of a feature reduction technique and a classifier. A cellular database containing 100 manually labelled subsequence is built for evaluating the performance of the classifiers. The generalization error is estimated using the cross validation technique. The

Automated Quantitative Rare Earth Elements Mineralogy by Scanning Electron Microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Sindern, Sven; Meyer, F. Michael

2016-09-01

Increasing industrial demand of rare earth elements (REEs) stems from the central role they play for advanced technologies and the accelerating move away from carbon-based fuels. However, REE production is often hampered by the chemical, mineralogical as well as textural complexity of the ores with a need for better understanding of their salient properties. This is not only essential for in-depth genetic interpretations but also for a robust assessment of ore quality and economic viability. The design of energy and cost-efficient processing of REE ores depends heavily on information about REE element deportment that can be made available employing automated quantitative process mineralogy. Quantitative mineralogy assigns numeric values to compositional and textural properties of mineral matter. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) combined with a suitable software package for acquisition of backscatter electron and X-ray signals, phase assignment and image analysis is one of the most efficient tools for quantitative mineralogy. The four different SEM-based automated quantitative mineralogy systems, i.e. FEI QEMSCAN and MLA, Tescan TIMA and Zeiss Mineralogic Mining, which are commercially available, are briefly characterized. Using examples of quantitative REE mineralogy, this chapter illustrates capabilities and limitations of automated SEM-based systems. Chemical variability of REE minerals and analytical uncertainty can reduce performance of phase assignment. This is shown for the REE phases parisite and synchysite. In another example from a monazite REE deposit, the quantitative mineralogical parameters surface roughness and mineral association derived from image analysis are applied for automated discrimination of apatite formed in a breakdown reaction of monazite and apatite formed by metamorphism prior to monazite breakdown. SEM-based automated mineralogy fulfils all requirements for characterization of complex unconventional REE ores that will become

Automated biphasic morphological assessment of hepatitis B-related liver fibrosis using second harmonic generation microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Tong-Hong; Chen, Tse-Ching; Teng, Xiao; Liang, Kung-Hao; Yeh, Chau-Ting

2015-08-01

Liver fibrosis assessment by biopsy and conventional staining scores is based on histopathological criteria. Variations in sample preparation and the use of semi-quantitative histopathological methods commonly result in discrepancies between medical centers. Thus, minor changes in liver fibrosis might be overlooked in multi-center clinical trials, leading to statistically non-significant data. Here, we developed a computer-assisted, fully automated, staining-free method for hepatitis B-related liver fibrosis assessment. In total, 175 liver biopsies were divided into training (n = 105) and verification (n = 70) cohorts. Collagen was observed using second harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy without prior staining, and hepatocyte morphology was recorded using two-photon excitation fluorescence (TPEF) microscopy. The training cohort was utilized to establish a quantification algorithm. Eleven of 19 computer-recognizable SHG/TPEF microscopic morphological features were significantly correlated with the ISHAK fibrosis stages (P 0.82 for liver cirrhosis detection. Since no subjective gradings are needed, interobserver discrepancies could be avoided using this fully automated method.

Espina: A Tool for the Automated Segmentation and Counting of Synapses in Large Stacks of Electron Microscopy Images

Science.gov (United States)

Morales, Juan; Alonso-Nanclares, Lidia; Rodríguez, José-Rodrigo; DeFelipe, Javier; Rodríguez, Ángel; Merchán-Pérez, Ángel

2011-01-01

The synapses in the cerebral cortex can be classified into two main types, Gray's type I and type II, which correspond to asymmetric (mostly glutamatergic excitatory) and symmetric (inhibitory GABAergic) synapses, respectively. Hence, the quantification and identification of their different types and the proportions in which they are found, is extraordinarily important in terms of brain function. The ideal approach to calculate the number of synapses per unit volume is to analyze 3D samples reconstructed from serial sections. However, obtaining serial sections by transmission electron microscopy is an extremely time consuming and technically demanding task. Using focused ion beam/scanning electron microscope microscopy, we recently showed that virtually all synapses can be accurately identified as asymmetric or symmetric synapses when they are visualized, reconstructed, and quantified from large 3D tissue samples obtained in an automated manner. Nevertheless, the analysis, segmentation, and quantification of synapses is still a labor intensive procedure. Thus, novel solutions are currently necessary to deal with the large volume of data that is being generated by automated 3D electron microscopy. Accordingly, we have developed ESPINA, a software tool that performs the automated segmentation and counting of synapses in a reconstructed 3D volume of the cerebral cortex, and that greatly facilitates and accelerates these processes. PMID:21633491

ESPINA: a tool for the automated segmentation and counting of synapses in large stacks of electron microscopy images

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juan eMorales

2011-03-01

Full Text Available The synapses in the cerebral cortex can be classified into two main types, Gray’s type I and type II, which correspond to asymmetric (mostly glutamatergic excitatory and symmetric (inhibitory GABAergic synapses, respectively. Hence, the quantification and identification of their different types and the proportions in which they are found, is extraordinarily important in terms of brain function. The ideal approach to calculate the number of synapses per unit volume is to analyze three-dimensional samples reconstructed from serial sections. However, obtaining serial sections by transmission electron microscopy is an extremely time consuming and technically demanding task. Using FIB/SEM microscopy, we recently showed that virtually all synapses can be accurately identified as asymmetric or symmetric synapses when they are visualized, reconstructed and quantified from large three-dimensional tissue samples obtained in an automated manner. Nevertheless, the analysis, segmentation and quantification of synapses is still a labor intensive procedure. Thus, novel solutions are currently necessary to deal with the large volume of data that is being generated by automated 3D electron microscopy. Accordingly, we have developed ESPINA, a software tool that performs the automated segmentation and counting of synapses in a reconstructed 3D volume of the cerebral cortex, and that greatly facilitates and accelerates these processes.

LC-HR-MS/MS standard urine screening approach: Pros and cons of automated on-line extraction by turbulent flow chromatography versus dilute-and-shoot and comparison with established urine precipitation.

Science.gov (United States)

Helfer, Andreas G; Michely, Julian A; Weber, Armin A; Meyer, Markus R; Maurer, Hans H

2017-02-01

Comprehensive urine screening for drugs and metabolites by LC-HR-MS/MS using Orbitrap technology has been described with precipitation as simple workup. In order to fasten, automate, and/or simplify the workup, on-line extraction by turbulent flow chromatography and a dilute-and-shoot approach were developed and compared. After chromatographic separation within 10min, the Q-Exactive mass spectrometer was run in full scan mode with positive/negative switching and subsequent data dependent acquisition mode. The workup approaches were validated concerning selectivity, recovery, matrix effects, process efficiency, and limits of identification and detection for typical drug representatives and metabolites. The total workup time for on-line extraction was 6min, for the dilution approach 3min. For comparison, the established urine precipitation and evaporation lasted 10min. The validation results were acceptable. The limits for on-line extraction were comparable with those described for precipitation, but lower than for dilution. Thanks to the high sensitivity of the LC-HR-MS/MS system, all three workup approaches were sufficient for comprehensive urine screening and allowed fast, reliable, and reproducible detection of cardiovascular drugs, drugs of abuse, and other CNS acting drugs after common doses. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Screening for anabolic steroids in urine of forensic cases using fully automated solid phase extraction and LC-MS-MS.

Science.gov (United States)

Andersen, David W; Linnet, Kristian

2014-01-01

A screening method for 18 frequently measured exogenous anabolic steroids and the testosterone/epitestosterone (T/E) ratio in forensic cases has been developed and validated. The method involves a fully automated sample preparation including enzyme treatment, addition of internal standards and solid phase extraction followed by analysis by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) using electrospray ionization with adduct formation for two compounds. Urine samples from 580 forensic cases were analyzed to determine the T/E ratio and occurrence of exogenous anabolic steroids. Extraction recoveries ranged from 77 to 95%, matrix effects from 48 to 78%, overall process efficiencies from 40 to 54% and the lower limit of identification ranged from 2 to 40 ng/mL. In the 580 urine samples analyzed from routine forensic cases, 17 (2.9%) were found positive for one or more anabolic steroids. Only seven different steroids including testosterone were found in the material, suggesting that only a small number of common steroids are likely to occur in a forensic context. The steroids were often in high concentrations (>100 ng/mL), and a combination of steroids and/or other drugs of abuse were seen in the majority of cases. The method presented serves as a fast and automated screening procedure, proving the suitability of LC-MS-MS for analyzing anabolic steroids. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Development and validation of an automated, microscopy-based method for enumeration of groups of intestinal bacteria

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jansen, GJ; Wildeboer-Veloo, ACM; Tonk, RHJ; Franks, AH; Welling, G

An automated microscopy-based method using fluorescently labelled 16S rRNA-targeted oligonucleotide probes directed against the predominant groups of intestinal bacteria was developed and validated. The method makes use of the Leica 600HR. image analysis system, a Kodak MegaPlus camera model 1.4 and

Towards a method of rapid extraction of strontium-90 from urine: urine pretreatment and alkali metal removal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hawkins, C. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Dietz, M. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Kaminski, M. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Mertz, C. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Shkrob, I. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

2016-03-01

A technical program to support the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention is being developed to provide an analytical method for rapid extraction of Sr-90 from urine, with the intent of assessing the general population’s exposure during an emergency response to a radiological terrorist event. Results are presented on the progress in urine sample preparation and chemical separation steps that provide an accurate and quantitative detection of Sr-90 based upon an automated column separation sequence and a liquid scintillation assay. Batch extractions were used to evaluate the urine pretreatment and the column separation efficiency and loading capacity based upon commercial, extractant-loaded resins. An efficient pretreatment process for decolorizing and removing organics from urine without measurable loss of radiostrontium from the sample was demonstrated. In addition, the Diphonix® resin shows promise for the removal of high concentrations of common strontium interferents in urine as a first separation step for Sr-90 analysis.

Detection and quantification of intracellular bacterial colonies by automated, high-throughput microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Ernstsen, Christina L; Login, Frédéric H; Jensen, Helene H; Nørregaard, Rikke; Møller-Jensen, Jakob; Nejsum, Lene N

2017-08-01

To target bacterial pathogens that invade and proliferate inside host cells, it is necessary to design intervention strategies directed against bacterial attachment, cellular invasion and intracellular proliferation. We present an automated microscopy-based, fast, high-throughput method for analyzing size and number of intracellular bacterial colonies in infected tissue culture cells. Cells are seeded in 48-well plates and infected with a GFP-expressing bacterial pathogen. Following gentamicin treatment to remove extracellular pathogens, cells are fixed and cell nuclei stained. This is followed by automated microscopy and subsequent semi-automated spot detection to determine the number of intracellular bacterial colonies, their size distribution, and the average number per host cell. Multiple 48-well plates can be processed sequentially and the procedure can be completed in one working day. As a model we quantified intracellular bacterial colonies formed by uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) during infection of human kidney cells (HKC-8). Urinary tract infections caused by UPEC are among the most common bacterial infectious diseases in humans. UPEC can colonize tissues of the urinary tract and is responsible for acute, chronic, and recurrent infections. In the bladder, UPEC can form intracellular quiescent reservoirs, thought to be responsible for recurrent infections. In the kidney, UPEC can colonize renal epithelial cells and pass to the blood stream, either via epithelial cell disruption or transcellular passage, to cause sepsis. Intracellular colonies are known to be clonal, originating from single invading UPEC. In our experimental setup, we found UPEC CFT073 intracellular bacterial colonies to be heterogeneous in size and present in nearly one third of the HKC-8 cells. This high-throughput experimental format substantially reduces experimental time and enables fast screening of the intracellular bacterial load and cellular distribution of multiple

The coming paradigm shift: A transition from manual to automated microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Farahani, Navid; Monteith, Corey E

2016-01-01

The field of pathology has used light microscopy (LM) extensively since the mid-19(th) century for examination of histological tissue preparations. This technology has remained the foremost tool in use by pathologists even as other fields have undergone a great change in recent years through new technologies. However, as new microscopy techniques are perfected and made available, this reliance on the standard LM will likely begin to change. Advanced imaging involving both diffraction-limited and subdiffraction techniques are bringing nondestructive, high-resolution, molecular-level imaging to pathology. Some of these technologies can produce three-dimensional (3D) datasets from sampled tissues. In addition, block-face/tissue-sectioning techniques are already providing automated, large-scale 3D datasets of whole specimens. These datasets allow pathologists to see an entire sample with all of its spatial information intact, and furthermore allow image analysis such as detection, segmentation, and classification, which are impossible in standard LM. It is likely that these technologies herald a major paradigm shift in the field of pathology.

The coming paradigm shift: A transition from manual to automated microscopy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Navid Farahani

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The field of pathology has used light microscopy (LM extensively since the mid-19 th century for examination of histological tissue preparations. This technology has remained the foremost tool in use by pathologists even as other fields have undergone a great change in recent years through new technologies. However, as new microscopy techniques are perfected and made available, this reliance on the standard LM will likely begin to change. Advanced imaging involving both diffraction-limited and subdiffraction techniques are bringing nondestructive, high-resolution, molecular-level imaging to pathology. Some of these technologies can produce three-dimensional (3D datasets from sampled tissues. In addition, block-face/tissue-sectioning techniques are already providing automated, large-scale 3D datasets of whole specimens. These datasets allow pathologists to see an entire sample with all of its spatial information intact, and furthermore allow image analysis such as detection, segmentation, and classification, which are impossible in standard LM. It is likely that these technologies herald a major paradigm shift in the field of pathology.

A New Device to Automate the Monitoring of Critical Patients’ Urine Output

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abraham Otero

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Urine output (UO is usually measured manually each hour in acutely ill patients. This task consumes a substantial amount of time. Furthermore, in the literature there is evidence that more frequent (minute-by-minute UO measurement could impact clinical decision making and improve patient outcomes. However, it is not feasible to manually take minute-by-minute UO measurements. A device capable of automatically monitoring UO could save precious time of the healthcare staff and improve patient outcomes through a more precise and continuous monitoring of this parameter. This paper presents a device capable of automatically monitoring UO. It provides minute by minute measures and it can generate alarms that warn of deviations from therapeutic goals. It uses a capacitive sensor for the measurement of the UO collected within a rigid container. When the container is full, it automatically empties without requiring any internal or external power supply or any intervention by the nursing staff. In vitro tests have been conducted to verify the proper operation and accuracy in the measures of the device. These tests confirm the viability of the device to automate the monitoring of UO.

Automated Diatom Analysis Applied to Traditional Light Microscopy: A Proof-of-Concept Study

Science.gov (United States)

Little, Z. H. L.; Bishop, I.; Spaulding, S. A.; Nelson, H.; Mahoney, C.

2017-12-01

Diatom identification and enumeration by high resolution light microscopy is required for many areas of research and water quality assessment. Such analyses, however, are both expertise and labor-intensive. These challenges motivate the need for an automated process to efficiently and accurately identify and enumerate diatoms. Improvements in particle analysis software have increased the likelihood that diatom enumeration can be automated. VisualSpreadsheet software provides a possible solution for automated particle analysis of high-resolution light microscope diatom images. We applied the software, independent of its complementary FlowCam hardware, to automated analysis of light microscope images containing diatoms. Through numerous trials, we arrived at threshold settings to correctly segment 67% of the total possible diatom valves and fragments from broad fields of view. (183 light microscope images were examined containing 255 diatom particles. Of the 255 diatom particles present, 216 diatoms valves and fragments of valves were processed, with 170 properly analyzed and focused upon by the software). Manual analysis of the images yielded 255 particles in 400 seconds, whereas the software yielded a total of 216 particles in 68 seconds, thus highlighting that the software has an approximate five-fold efficiency advantage in particle analysis time. As in past efforts, incomplete or incorrect recognition was found for images with multiple valves in contact or valves with little contrast. The software has potential to be an effective tool in assisting taxonomists with diatom enumeration by completing a large portion of analyses. Benefits and limitations of the approach are presented to allow for development of future work in image analysis and automated enumeration of traditional light microscope images containing diatoms.

Step-by-step guide to building an inexpensive 3D printed motorized positioning stage for automated high-content screening microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Schneidereit, Dominik; Kraus, Larissa; Meier, Jochen C; Friedrich, Oliver; Gilbert, Daniel F

2017-06-15

High-content screening microscopy relies on automation infrastructure that is typically proprietary, non-customizable, costly and requires a high level of skill to use and maintain. The increasing availability of rapid prototyping technology makes it possible to quickly engineer alternatives to conventional automation infrastructure that are low-cost and user-friendly. Here, we describe a 3D printed inexpensive open source and scalable motorized positioning stage for automated high-content screening microscopy and provide detailed step-by-step instructions to re-building the device, including a comprehensive parts list, 3D design files in STEP (Standard for the Exchange of Product model data) and STL (Standard Tessellation Language) format, electronic circuits and wiring diagrams as well as software code. System assembly including 3D printing requires approx. 30h. The fully assembled device is light-weight (1.1kg), small (33×20×8cm) and extremely low-cost (approx. EUR 250). We describe positioning characteristics of the stage, including spatial resolution, accuracy and repeatability, compare imaging data generated with our device to data obtained using a commercially available microplate reader, demonstrate its suitability to high-content microscopy in 96-well high-throughput screening format and validate its applicability to automated functional Cl - - and Ca 2+ -imaging with recombinant HEK293 cells as a model system. A time-lapse video of the stage during operation and as part of a custom assembled screening robot can be found at https://vimeo.com/158813199. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Comparison of semi-automated center-dot and fully automated endothelial cell analyses from specular microscopy images.

Science.gov (United States)

Maruoka, Sachiko; Nakakura, Shunsuke; Matsuo, Naoko; Yoshitomi, Kayo; Katakami, Chikako; Tabuchi, Hitoshi; Chikama, Taiichiro; Kiuchi, Yoshiaki

2017-10-30

To evaluate two specular microscopy analysis methods across different endothelial cell densities (ECDs). Endothelial images of one eye from each of 45 patients were taken by using three different specular microscopes (three replicates each). To determine the consistency of the center-dot method, we compared SP-6000 and SP-2000P images. CME-530 and SP-6000 images were compared to assess the consistency of the fully automated method. The SP-6000 images from the two methods were compared. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) for the three measurements were calculated, and parametric multiple comparisons tests and Bland-Altman analysis were performed. The ECD mean value was 2425 ± 883 (range 516-3707) cells/mm 2 . ICC values were > 0.9 for all three microscopes for ECD, but the coefficients of variation (CVs) were 0.3-0.6. For ECD measurements, Bland-Altman analysis revealed that the mean difference was 42 cells/mm 2 between the SP-2000P and SP-6000 for the center-dot method; 57 cells/mm 2 between the SP-6000 measurements from both methods; and -5 cells/mm 2 between the SP-6000 and CME-530 for the fully automated method (95% limits of agreement: - 201 to 284 cell/mm 2 , - 410 to 522 cells/mm 2 , and - 327 to 318 cells/mm 2 , respectively). For CV measurements, the mean differences were - 3, - 12, and 13% (95% limits of agreement - 18 to 11, - 26 to 2, and - 5 to 32%, respectively). Despite using three replicate measurements, the precision of the center-dot method with the SP-2000P and SP-6000 software was only ± 10% for ECD data and was even worse for the fully automated method. Japan Clinical Trials Register ( http://www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/index/htm9 ) number UMIN 000015236.

Automated solid-phase extraction-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis of 6-acetylmorphine in human urine specimens: application for a high-throughput urine analysis laboratory.

Science.gov (United States)

Robandt, P V; Bui, H M; Scancella, J M; Klette, K L

2010-10-01

An automated solid-phase extraction-liquid chromatography- tandem mass spectrometry (SPE-LC-MS-MS) method using the Spark Holland Symbiosis Pharma SPE-LC coupled to a Waters Quattro Micro MS-MS was developed for the analysis of 6-acetylmorphine (6-AM) in human urine specimens. The method was linear (R² = 0.9983) to 100 ng/mL, with no carryover at 200 ng/mL. Limits of quantification and detection were found to be 2 ng/mL. Interrun precision calculated as percent coefficient of variation (%CV) and evaluated by analyzing five specimens at 10 ng/mL over nine batches (n = 45) was 3.6%. Intrarun precision evaluated from 0 to 100 ng/mL ranged from 1.0 to 4.4%CV. Other opioids (codeine, morphine, oxycodone, oxymorphone, hydromorphone, hydrocodone, and norcodeine) did not interfere in the detection, quantification, or chromatography of 6-AM or the deuterated internal standard. The quantified values for 41 authentic human urine specimens previously found to contain 6-AM by a validated gas chromatography (GC)-MS method were compared to those obtained by the SPE-LC-MS-MS method. The SPE-LC-MS-MS procedure eliminates the human factors of specimen handling, extraction, and derivatization, thereby reducing labor costs and rework resulting from human error or technique issues. The time required for extraction and analysis was reduced by approximately 50% when compared to a validated 6-AM procedure using manual SPE and GC-MS analysis.

Morphological evidence by scanning electron microscopy of excretion of metacyclic forms of Trypanosoma cruzi in vector's urine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rodrigo Zeledon

1988-09-01

Full Text Available Comparision by scanning electron microscopy (SEM of Trypanosoma cruzi flagellates attached to the cuticle of the rectal gland of infected Dipetalogaster maxima nymphs, showed marked differences before amd after feeding. Before feeding numerous metacyclic trypomastigotes were observed among the abundant epimastigotes that formed the carpet of flagellates. On the other hand, in insects that were allowed to urinate for 24 hours after a meal, the metacyclics were scarce,indicating that they had been detached by the urine flow. An asymetric type of cell division, probably originating both an epi-and a trypomastigote, was occasionally observed. The occurrence of swellings at different levels of the flagella of epimastigotes suggests that secondary sites of attachment may be common.Observando-se, em microscopia eletrônica de varedura, formas flageladas do Trypanosoma cruzi presas a cutícula da glândula retal de ninfas infectadas de Dipetalogaster maxima verificaram-se nítidas diferenças antes e depois da alimentação. Antes, viam-se numerosos tripomastigotas metacíclicos entre os abundantes epimastigotas que formavam o tapete de flagelados, ao passo que nos insetos que urinavam dentro das 24 horas após o repasto os metacíclicos eram raros, indicando que haviam sido desprendidos pelo fluxo urinário. Foi notado, as vezes, um tipo assimétrico de divisão celular, originando um epi e um tripomastigota. Nos flagelados dos epimastigotas a presença de dilatações a diferentes níveis sugere que lugares secundários de aderência podem ser comuns.

Significant increase in cultivation of Gardnerella vaginalis, Alloscardovia omnicolens, Actinotignum schaalii, and Actinomyces spp. in urine samples with total laboratory automation.

Science.gov (United States)

Klein, Sabrina; Nurjadi, Dennis; Horner, Susanne; Heeg, Klaus; Zimmermann, Stefan; Burckhardt, Irene

2018-04-13

While total laboratory automation (TLA) is well established in laboratory medicine, only a few microbiological laboratories are using TLA systems. Especially in terms of speed and accuracy, working with TLA is expected to be superior to conventional microbiology. We compared in total 35,564 microbiological urine cultures with and without incubation and processing with BD Kiestra TLA for a 6-month period each retrospectively. Sixteen thousand three hundred thirty-eight urine samples were analyzed in the pre-TLA period and 19,226 with TLA. Sixty-two percent (n = 10,101/16338) of the cultures processed without TLA and 68% (n = 13,102/19226) of the cultures processed with TLA showed growth. There were significantly more samples with two or more species per sample and with low numbers of colony forming units (CFU) after incubation with TLA. Regarding the type of bacteria, there were comparable amounts of Enterobacteriaceae in the samples, slightly less non-fermenting Gram-negative bacteria, but significantly more Gram-positive cocci, and Gram-positive rods. Especially Alloscardivia omnicolens, Gardnerella vaginalis, Actinomyces spp., and Actinotignum schaalii were significantly more abundant in the samples incubated and processed with TLA. The time to report was significantly lower in the TLA processed samples by 1.5 h. We provide the first report in Europe of a large number of urine samples processed with TLA. TLA showed enhanced growth of non-classical and rarely cultured bacteria from urine samples. Our findings suggest that previously underestimated bacteria may be relevant pathogens for urinary tract infections. Further studies are needed to confirm our findings.

Towards automated segmentation of cells and cell nuclei in nonlinear optical microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Medyukhina, Anna; Meyer, Tobias; Schmitt, Michael; Romeike, Bernd F M; Dietzek, Benjamin; Popp, Jürgen

2012-11-01

Nonlinear optical (NLO) imaging techniques based e.g. on coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) or two photon excited fluorescence (TPEF) show great potential for biomedical imaging. In order to facilitate the diagnostic process based on NLO imaging, there is need for an automated calculation of quantitative values such as cell density, nucleus-to-cytoplasm ratio, average nuclear size. Extraction of these parameters is helpful for the histological assessment in general and specifically e.g. for the determination of tumor grades. This requires an accurate image segmentation and detection of locations and boundaries of cells and nuclei. Here we present an image processing approach for the detection of nuclei and cells in co-registered TPEF and CARS images. The algorithm developed utilizes the gray-scale information for the detection of the nuclei locations and the gradient information for the delineation of the nuclear and cellular boundaries. The approach reported is capable for an automated segmentation of cells and nuclei in multimodal TPEF-CARS images of human brain tumor samples. The results are important for the development of NLO microscopy into a clinically relevant diagnostic tool. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

[A study of biomechanical method for urine test based on color difference estimation].

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Chunhong; Zhou, Yue; Zhao, Hongxia; Zhou, Fengkun

2008-02-01

The biochemical analysis of urine is an important inspection and diagnosis method in hospitals. The conventional method of urine analysis covers mainly colorimetric visual appraisement and automation detection, in which the colorimetric visual appraisement technique has been superseded basically, and the automation detection method is adopted in hospital; moreover, the price of urine biochemical analyzer on market is around twenty thousand RMB yuan (Y), which is hard to enter into ordinary families. It is known that computer vision system is not subject to the physiological and psychological influence of person, its appraisement standard is objective and steady. Therefore, according to the color theory, we have established a computer vision system, which can carry through collection, management, display, and appraisement of color difference between the color of standard threshold value and the color of urine test paper after reaction with urine liquid, and then the level of an illness can be judged accurately. In this paper, we introduce the Urine Test Biochemical Analysis method, which is new and can be popularized in families. Experimental result shows that this test method is easy-to-use and cost-effective. It can realize the monitoring of a whole course and can find extensive applications.

Automated detection of fluorescent cells in in-resin fluorescence sections for integrated light and electron microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Delpiano, J; Pizarro, L; Peddie, C J; Jones, M L; Griffin, L D; Collinson, L M

2018-04-26

Integrated array tomography combines fluorescence and electron imaging of ultrathin sections in one microscope, and enables accurate high-resolution correlation of fluorescent proteins to cell organelles and membranes. Large numbers of serial sections can be imaged sequentially to produce aligned volumes from both imaging modalities, thus producing enormous amounts of data that must be handled and processed using novel techniques. Here, we present a scheme for automated detection of fluorescent cells within thin resin sections, which could then be used to drive automated electron image acquisition from target regions via 'smart tracking'. The aim of this work is to aid in optimization of the data acquisition process through automation, freeing the operator to work on other tasks and speeding up the process, while reducing data rates by only acquiring images from regions of interest. This new method is shown to be robust against noise and able to deal with regions of low fluorescence. © 2018 The Authors. Journal of Microscopy published by JohnWiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Royal Microscopical Society.

A New Method for Automated Identification and Morphometry of Myelinated Fibers Through Light Microscopy Image Analysis

OpenAIRE

Novas, Romulo Bourget; Fazan, Valeria Paula Sassoli; Felipe, Joaquim Cezar

2015-01-01

Nerve morphometry is known to produce relevant information for the evaluation of several phenomena, such as nerve repair, regeneration, implant, transplant, aging, and different human neuropathies. Manual morphometry is laborious, tedious, time consuming, and subject to many sources of error. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a new method for the automated morphometry of myelinated fibers in cross-section light microscopy images. Images from the recurrent laryngeal nerve of adult rats and ...

Photodynamic diagnosis of bladder cancer in ex vivo urine cytology

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, C. Y.; Ng, B. K.; Razul, S. Gulam; Olivo, Malini C.; Lau, Weber K. O.; Tan, P. H.; Chin, William

2006-02-01

Bladder cancer is the fourth common malignant disease worldwide, accounting for 4% of all cancer cases. In Singapore, it is the ninth most common form of cancer. The high mortality rate can be reduced by early treatment following precancerous screening. Currently, the gold standard for screening bladder tumors is histological examination of biopsy specimen, which is both invasive and time-consuming. In this study ex vivo urine fluorescence cytology is investigated to offer a timely and biopsy-free means for detecting bladder cancers. Sediments in patients' urine samples were extracted and incubated with a novel photosensitizer, hypericin. Laser confocal microscopy was used to capture the fluorescence images at an excitation wavelength of 488 nm. Images were subsequently processed to single out the exfoliated bladder cells from the other cells based on the cellular size. Intensity histogram of each targeted cell was plotted and feature vectors, derived from the histogram moments, were used to represent each sample. A difference in the distribution of the feature vectors of normal and low-grade cancerous bladder cells was observed. Diagnostic algorithm for discriminating between normal and low-grade cancerous cells is elucidated in this paper. This study suggests that the fluorescence intensity profiles of hypericin in bladder cells can potentially provide an automated quantitative means of early bladder cancer diagnosis.

Urine phenobarbital drug screening: potential use for compliance assessment in neonates.

Science.gov (United States)

Guillet, Ronnie; Kwon, Jennifer M; Chen, Sixaio; McDermott, Michael P

2012-02-01

This study was done to determine if urine phenobarbital measurements provide a reliable indicator of presence of the drug in neonates. Urine was collected from neonates treated with phenobarbital for clinical indications within 4 to 6 hours of clinically indicated collection of serum phenobarbital levels. Urine samples were also collected from control neonates not treated with phenobarbital. One aliquot was assayed fresh, another frozen at -30°C and assayed 1 to 3 months later. Phenobarbital was assayed using the ONLINE TDM Roche/Hitachi automated clinical chemistry analyzer. Serum and urine concentrations were compared as were fresh and frozen urine measurements. Serum phenobarbital ranged from 5.6 to 52.7 μg/mL. Matched urine samples were 56.6 ± 12.5% of the serum level. Frozen samples were 98.3 ± 8.0% of the fresh samples. Urine phenobarbital concentrations, either fresh or frozen, can be used in neonates as a noninvasive estimate of drug levels.

Assay of oestriol in urine during pregnancy by a simple and economical radioimmunoassay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Evans, S.E.; Smith, S.C.H.; Morris, R.

1981-01-01

Automated fluorimetric methods are widely used for the routine measurement of oestrogens in urine during pregnancy. These methods are rapid and convenient but they may be adversely affected by the presence of organisms, preservatives, drugs and glucose in the urine as well as by other factors. The object of the present work was to provide a simple, rapid and precise radioimmunoassay for oestriol which could be carried out in a time comparable to the automated techniques. The method developed employs a rapid enzyme hydrolysis, and a simple partition without centrifugation for the separation of free and bound fractions, reducing considerably the time of analysis. (Auth.)

Bacterial Isolates from the Urine of Women in Ilorin and their ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Bacterial Isolates from the Urine of Women in Ilorin and their Antibiotic Susceptibility Patterns. ... Methods: Urine samples of women suspected to have UTI were sent for microscopy, culture and sensitivity tests. The results were analyzed and the differences between the results of pregnant and non-pregnant patients were ...

Automated Methods Of Corrosion Measurements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bech-Nielsen, Gregers; Andersen, Jens Enevold Thaulov; Reeve, John Ch

1997-01-01

The chapter describes the following automated measurements: Corrosion Measurements by Titration, Imaging Corrosion by Scanning Probe Microscopy, Critical Pitting Temperature and Application of the Electrochemical Hydrogen Permeation Cell.......The chapter describes the following automated measurements: Corrosion Measurements by Titration, Imaging Corrosion by Scanning Probe Microscopy, Critical Pitting Temperature and Application of the Electrochemical Hydrogen Permeation Cell....

High-Throughput Light Sheet Microscopy for the Automated Live Imaging of Larval Zebrafish

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, Ryan; Logan, Savannah; Dudley, Christopher; Parthasarathy, Raghuveer

The zebrafish is a model organism with a variety of useful properties; it is small and optically transparent, it reproduces quickly, it is a vertebrate, and there are a large variety of transgenic animals available. Because of these properties, the zebrafish is well suited to study using a variety of optical technologies including light sheet fluorescence microscopy (LSFM), which provides high-resolution three-dimensional imaging over large fields of view. Research progress, however, is often not limited by optical techniques but instead by the number of samples one can examine over the course of an experiment, which in the case of light sheet imaging has so far been severely limited. Here we present an integrated fluidic circuit and microscope which provides rapid, automated imaging of zebrafish using several imaging modes, including LSFM, Hyperspectral Imaging, and Differential Interference Contrast Microscopy. Using this system, we show that we can increase our imaging throughput by a factor of 10 compared to previous techniques. We also show preliminary results visualizing zebrafish immune response, which is sensitive to gut microbiota composition, and which shows a strong variability between individuals that highlights the utility of high throughput imaging. National Science Foundation, Award No. DBI-1427957.

Diagnosis efficiency of urine malaria test kit for the diagnosis of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic efficiencies of urine malaria test kit with microscopy as the gold standard in detecting Plasmodium falciparum HRP-2, a poly-histidine antigen in urine of febrile patients. The study was conducted in a primary and secondary health institution in Gombe Town, Gombe State, ...

Predicting Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Chlamydia trachomatis infection using risk scores, physical examination, microscopy, and leukocyte esterase urine dipsticks among asymptomatic women attending a family planning clinic in Kenya.

Science.gov (United States)

Tyndall, M W; Kidula, N; Sande, J; Ombette, J; Temmerman, M

1999-09-01

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) continue to exert a tremendous health burden on women in developing countries. Poor socioeconomic status, inadequate knowledge, lack of diagnostic facilities, and shortages of effective treatment all contribute to the high incidence of STIs. The use of clinical algorithms for the detection and management of STIs has gained widespread acceptance in settings where there are limited resources. Evaluation of these algorithms have been few, especially in women who are not recognized as members of high-risk groups. To develop a simple scoring system based on historical and demographic data, physical findings, microscopy, and leukocyte esterase (LE) urine dipsticks to predict cervical gonococcal and chlamydial infection among asymptomatic women. One thousand and forty-eight women attending an urban family planning clinic in Nairobi were randomly selected to participate. After the identification of factors that were associated with infection, we assigned one point each for: age 25 or younger, single status, two or more sex partners in the past year, cervical discharge, cervical swab leukocytes, and a positive LE urine dipstick. Identification of any one of these six factors gave a sensitivity of 85% and a specificity of 30% for the detection of cervical infections. A positive LE urine dipstick had a sensitivity of 63 % and a specificity of 47% when used alone and did not contribute to the identification of infection if a physical examination was performed. The application of existing clinical algorithms to this population performed poorly. The use of risk scores, physical examination, microscopy, and the urine LE dipstick, used alone or in combination, as predictors of gonococcal or chlamydial cervical infection was of limited utility in low-risk, asymptomatic women. Accurate diagnostic testing is necessary to optimize treatment.

Automated setpoint adjustment for biological contact mode atomic force microscopy imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Casuso, Ignacio; Scheuring, Simon

2010-01-01

Contact mode atomic force microscopy (AFM) is the most frequently used AFM imaging mode in biology. It is about 5-10 times faster than oscillating mode imaging (in conventional AFM setups), and provides topographs of biological samples with sub-molecular resolution and at a high signal-to-noise ratio. Unfortunately, contact mode imaging is sensitive to the applied force and intrinsic force drift: inappropriate force applied by the AFM tip damages the soft biological samples. We present a methodology that automatically searches for and maintains high resolution imaging forces. We found that the vertical and lateral vibrations of the probe during scanning are valuable signals for the characterization of the actual applied force by the tip. This allows automated adjustment and correction of the setpoint force during an experiment. A system that permanently performs this methodology steered the AFM towards high resolution imaging forces and imaged purple membrane at molecular resolution and live cells at high signal-to-noise ratio for hours without an operator.

Automated rapid particle investigation using scanning electron microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Wilkins, Jerod Laurence

The chemical composition of fly ash particles has been known to vary significantly depending on a number of factors. Current bulk methods of investigation including X-Ray Fluorescence and X-Ray Diffraction are thought to be inadequate in determining the performance of fly ash in concrete. It is the goal of this research to develop a method of Automated Rapid Particle Investigation that will not look at fly ash as a bulk material but as individual particles. By examining each particle individually scientists and engineers will have the ability to study the variation in chemical composition by comparing the chemistry present in each particle. The method of investigation developed by this research provides a practical technique that will allow the automated chemical analysis of hundreds, or even thousands, of fly ash particles in a matter of minutes upon completion of sample preparation and automated scanning electron microscope (ASEM) scanning. This research does not examine the significance of the chemical compounds discovered; rather, only the investigation methodology is discussed. Further research will be done to examine the importance of the chemistry discovered with this automated rapid particle investigation technique.

Automated profiling of individual cell-cell interactions from high-throughput time-lapse imaging microscopy in nanowell grids (TIMING).

Science.gov (United States)

Merouane, Amine; Rey-Villamizar, Nicolas; Lu, Yanbin; Liadi, Ivan; Romain, Gabrielle; Lu, Jennifer; Singh, Harjeet; Cooper, Laurence J N; Varadarajan, Navin; Roysam, Badrinath

2015-10-01

There is a need for effective automated methods for profiling dynamic cell-cell interactions with single-cell resolution from high-throughput time-lapse imaging data, especially, the interactions between immune effector cells and tumor cells in adoptive immunotherapy. Fluorescently labeled human T cells, natural killer cells (NK), and various target cells (NALM6, K562, EL4) were co-incubated on polydimethylsiloxane arrays of sub-nanoliter wells (nanowells), and imaged using multi-channel time-lapse microscopy. The proposed cell segmentation and tracking algorithms account for cell variability and exploit the nanowell confinement property to increase the yield of correctly analyzed nanowells from 45% (existing algorithms) to 98% for wells containing one effector and a single target, enabling automated quantification of cell locations, morphologies, movements, interactions, and deaths without the need for manual proofreading. Automated analysis of recordings from 12 different experiments demonstrated automated nanowell delineation accuracy >99%, automated cell segmentation accuracy >95%, and automated cell tracking accuracy of 90%, with default parameters, despite variations in illumination, staining, imaging noise, cell morphology, and cell clustering. An example analysis revealed that NK cells efficiently discriminate between live and dead targets by altering the duration of conjugation. The data also demonstrated that cytotoxic cells display higher motility than non-killers, both before and during contact. broysam@central.uh.edu or nvaradar@central.uh.edu Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Automated analysis of heterogeneous carbon nanostructures by high-resolution electron microscopy and on-line image processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Toth, P.; Farrer, J.K.; Palotas, A.B.; Lighty, J.S.; Eddings, E.G.

2013-01-01

High-resolution electron microscopy is an efficient tool for characterizing heterogeneous nanostructures; however, currently the analysis is a laborious and time-consuming manual process. In order to be able to accurately and robustly quantify heterostructures, one must obtain a statistically high number of micrographs showing images of the appropriate sub-structures. The second step of analysis is usually the application of digital image processing techniques in order to extract meaningful structural descriptors from the acquired images. In this paper it will be shown that by applying on-line image processing and basic machine vision algorithms, it is possible to fully automate the image acquisition step; therefore, the number of acquired images in a given time can be increased drastically without the need for additional human labor. The proposed automation technique works by computing fields of structural descriptors in situ and thus outputs sets of the desired structural descriptors in real-time. The merits of the method are demonstrated by using combustion-generated black carbon samples. - Highlights: ► The HRTEM analysis of heterogeneous nanostructures is a tedious manual process. ► Automatic HRTEM image acquisition and analysis can improve data quantity and quality. ► We propose a method based on on-line image analysis for the automation of HRTEM image acquisition. ► The proposed method is demonstrated using HRTEM images of soot particles

Automated Methods of Corrosion Measurements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Jens Enevold Thaulov

1997-01-01

. Mechanical control, recording, and data processing must therefore be automated to a high level of precision and reliability. These general techniques and the apparatus involved have been described extensively. The automated methods of such high-resolution microscopy coordinated with computerized...

An automated approach for single-cell tracking in epifluorescence microscopy applied to E. coli growth analysis on microfluidics biochips

Science.gov (United States)

Fetita, Catalin; Kirov, Boris; Jaramillo, Alfonso; Lefevre, Christophe

2012-03-01

With the accumulation of knowledge for the intimate molecular mechanisms governing the processes inside the living cells in the later years, the ability to characterize the performance of elementary genetic circuits and parts at the single-cell level is becoming of crucial importance. Biological science is arriving to the point where it can develop hypothesis for the action of each molecule participating in the biochemical reactions and need proper techniques to test those hypothesis. Microfluidics is emerging as the technology that combined with high-magnification microscopy will allow for the long-term single-cell level observation of bacterial physiology. In this study we design, build and characterize the gene dynamics of genetic circuits as one of the basic parts governing programmed cell behavior. We use E. coli as model organism and grow it in microfluidics chips, which we observe with epifluorescence microscopy. One of the most invaluable segments of this technology is the consequent image processing, since it allows for the automated analysis of vast amount of single-cell observation and the fast and easy derivation of conclusions based on that data. Specifically, we are interested in promoter activity as function of time. We expect it to be oscillatory and for that we use GFP (green fluorescent protein) as a reporter in our genetic circuits. In this paper, an automated framework for single-cell tracking in phase-contrast microscopy is developed, combining 2D segmentation of cell time frames and graph-based reconstruction of their spatiotemporal evolution with fast tracking of the associated fluorescence signal. The results obtained on the investigated biological database are presented and discussed.

Is specific gravity a good estimate of urine osmolality?

Science.gov (United States)

Imran, Sethi; Eva, Goldwater; Christopher, Shutty; Flynn, Ethan; Henner, David

2010-01-01

Urine specific gravity (USG) is often used by clinicians to estimate urine osmolality. USG is measured either by refractometry or by reagent strip. We studied the correlation of USG obtained by either method with a concurrently obtained osmolality. Using our laboratory's records, we retrospectively gathered data on 504 urine specimens on patients on whom a simultaneously drawn USG and an osmolality were available. Out of these, 253 USG's were measured by automated refractometry and 251 USG's were measured by reagent strip. Urinalysis data on these subjects were used to determine the correlation between USG and osmolality, adjusting for other variables that may impact the relationship. The other variables considered were pH, protein, glucose, ketones, nitrates, bilirubin, urobilinogen, hemoglobin, and leukocyte esterase. The relationships were analyzed by linear regression. This study demonstrated that USG obtained by both reagent strip and refractometry had a correlation of approximately 0.75 with urine osmolality. The variables affecting the correlation included pH, ketones, bilirubin, urobilinogen, glucose, and protein for the reagent strip and ketones, bilirubin, and hemoglobin for the refractometry method. At a pH of 7 and with an USG of 1.010 predicted osmolality is approximately 300  mosm/kg/H(2)O for either method. For an increase in SG of 0.010, predicted osmolality increases by 182  mosm/kg/H(2) O for the reagent strip and 203  mosm/kg/H(2)O for refractometry. Pathological urines had significantly poorer correlation between USG and osmolality than "clean" urines. In pathological urines, direct measurement of urine osmolality should be used. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Routine tests and automated urinalysis in patients with suspected urinary tract infection at the ED

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Middelkoop, S. J. M.; van Pelt, L. J.; Kampinga, G. A.; ter Maaten, J. C.; Stegeman, C. A.

Background: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are frequently encountered. Diagnostics of UTI (urine dipstick, Gram stain, urine culture) lack proven accuracy and precision in the emergency department. Utility of automated urinalysis shows promise for UTI diagnosis but has not been validated. Methods:

Evaluation of Aution Max AX-4030 and 9UB Uriflet, 10PA Aution Sticks urine dipsticks in the automated urine test strip analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Rota, Cristina; Biondi, Marco; Trenti, Tommaso

2011-09-26

Aution Max AX-4030, a test strip analyzer recently introduced to the market, represents an upgrade of the Aution Max AX-4280 widely employed for urinalysis. This new instrument model can allocate two different test strips at the same time. In the present study the two instruments have been compared together with the usage of Uriflet 9UB and the recently produced Aution Sticks 10PA urine strips, the latter presenting an additional test area for the measurement of urinary creatinine. Imprecision and correlation between instruments and strips have been evaluated for chemical-physical parameters. Accuracy was evaluated for protein, glucose and creatinine by comparing the semi-quantitative results to those obtained by quantitative methods. The well-known interference effect of high ascorbic acid levels on urine glucose test strip determination was evaluated, ascorbic acid influence was also evaluated on protein and creatinine determination. The two instruments have demonstrated comparable performances: precision and correlation between instruments and strips, evaluated for chemical-physical parameters, were always good. Furthermore, accuracy was always very good: results of protein and glucose semi-quantitative measurements resulted to be highly correlated with those obtained by quantitative methods. Moreover, the semi-quantitative measurements of creatinine, employing Aution Sticks 10PA urine strips, were highly comparable with quantitative results. 10PA urine strips are eligible for urine creatinine determination with the possibility of correcting urinalysis results for urinary creatinine concentration, whenever necessary and calculating the protein creatinine ratio. Further studies should be carried out to evaluate effectiveness and appropriateness of the usage of creatinine semi-quantitative analysis.

Enhanced versus automated urinalysis for screening of urinary tract infections in children in the emergency department.

Science.gov (United States)

Shah, Ami P; Cobb, Benjamin T; Lower, Darla R; Shaikh, Nader; Rasmussen, Jayne; Hoberman, Alejandro; Wald, Ellen R; Rosendorff, Adam; Hickey, Robert W

2014-03-01

Urinary tract infections (UTI) are the most common serious bacterial infection in febrile infants. Urinalysis (UA) is a screening test for preliminary diagnosis of UTI. UA can be performed manually or using automated techniques. We sought to compare manual versus automated UA for urine specimens obtained via catheterization in the pediatric emergency department. In this prospective study, we processed catheterized urine samples from infants with suspected UTI by both the manual method (enhanced UA) and the automated method. We defined a positive enhanced UA as ≥ 10 white blood cells per cubic millimeter and presence of any bacteria per 10 oil immersion fields on a Gram-stained smear. We defined a positive automated UA as ≥ 2 white blood cells per high-powered field and presence of any bacteria using the IRIS iQ200 ELITE. We defined a positive urine culture as growth of ≥ 50,000 colony-forming units per milliliter of a single uropathogen. We analyzed data using SPSS software. A total of 703 specimens were analyzed. Prevalence of UTI was 7%. For pyuria, the sensitivity and positive predictive value (PPV) of the enhanced UA in predicting positive urine culture were 83.6% and 52.5%, respectively; corresponding values for the automated UA were 79.5% and 37.5%, respectively. For bacteriuria, the sensitivity and PPV of a Gram-stained smear (enhanced UA) were 83.6% and 59.4%, respectively; corresponding values for the automated UA were 73.4%, and 26.2%, respectively. Using criteria of both pyuria and bacteriuria for the enhanced UA resulted in a sensitivity of 77.5% and a PPV of 84.4%; corresponding values for the automated UA were 63.2% and 51.6%, respectively. Combining automated pyuria (≥ 2 white blood cells/high-powered microscopic field) with a Gram-stained smear resulted in a sensitivity of 75.5% and a PPV of 84%. Automated UA is comparable with manual UA for detection of pyuria in young children with suspected UTI. Bacteriuria detected by automated UA is

Power of automated algorithms for combining time-line follow-back and urine drug screening test results in stimulant-abuse clinical trials.

Science.gov (United States)

Oden, Neal L; VanVeldhuisen, Paul C; Wakim, Paul G; Trivedi, Madhukar H; Somoza, Eugene; Lewis, Daniel

2011-09-01

In clinical trials of treatment for stimulant abuse, researchers commonly record both Time-Line Follow-Back (TLFB) self-reports and urine drug screen (UDS) results. To compare the power of self-report, qualitative (use vs. no use) UDS assessment, and various algorithms to generate self-report-UDS composite measures to detect treatment differences via t-test in simulated clinical trial data. We performed Monte Carlo simulations patterned in part on real data to model self-report reliability, UDS errors, dropout, informatively missing UDS reports, incomplete adherence to a urine donation schedule, temporal correlation of drug use, number of days in the study period, number of patients per arm, and distribution of drug-use probabilities. Investigated algorithms include maximum likelihood and Bayesian estimates, self-report alone, UDS alone, and several simple modifications of self-report (referred to here as ELCON algorithms) which eliminate perceived contradictions between it and UDS. Among the algorithms investigated, simple ELCON algorithms gave rise to the most powerful t-tests to detect mean group differences in stimulant drug use. Further investigation is needed to determine if simple, naïve procedures such as the ELCON algorithms are optimal for comparing clinical study treatment arms. But researchers who currently require an automated algorithm in scenarios similar to those simulated for combining TLFB and UDS to test group differences in stimulant use should consider one of the ELCON algorithms. This analysis continues a line of inquiry which could determine how best to measure outpatient stimulant use in clinical trials (NIDA. NIDA Monograph-57: Self-Report Methods of Estimating Drug Abuse: Meeting Current Challenges to Validity. NTIS PB 88248083. Bethesda, MD: National Institutes of Health, 1985; NIDA. NIDA Research Monograph 73: Urine Testing for Drugs of Abuse. NTIS PB 89151971. Bethesda, MD: National Institutes of Health, 1987; NIDA. NIDA Research

Unrestrictive identification of post-translational modifications in the urine proteome without enrichment

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Background Research on the human urine proteome may lay the foundation for the discovery of relevant disease biomarkers. Post-translational modifications (PTMs) have important effects on the functions of protein biomarkers. Identifying PTMs without enrichment adds no extra steps to conventional identification procedures for urine proteomics. The only difference is that this method requires software that can conduct unrestrictive identifications of PTMs. In this study, routine urine proteomics techniques were used to identify urine proteins. Unspecified PTMs were searched by MODa and PEAKS 6 automated software, followed by a manual search to screen out in vivo PTMs by removing all in vitro PTMs and amino acid substitutions. Results There were 75 peptides with 6 in vivo PTMs that were found by both MODa and PEAKS 6. Of these, 34 peptides in 18 proteins have novel in vivo PTMs compared with the annotation information of these proteins on the Universal Protein Resource website. These new in vivo PTMs had undergone methylation, dehydration, oxidation, hydroxylation, phosphorylation, or dihydroxylation. Conclusions In this study, we identified PTMs of urine proteins without the need for enrichment. Our investigation may provide a useful reference for biomarker discovery in the future. PMID:23317149

Urine Cytology

Science.gov (United States)

Urine cytology Overview Urine cytology is a test to look for abnormal cells in your urine. It's used with other tests and procedures to diagnose ... bladder cancer. Your doctor might recommend a urine cytology test if you have blood in your urine ( ...

Novel automated biomarker discovery work flow for urinary peptidomics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Balog, Crina I.; Hensbergen, Paul J.; Derks, Rico

2009-01-01

samples from Schistosoma haematobium-infected individuals to evaluate clinical applicability. RESULTS: The automated RP-SCX sample cleanup and fractionation system exhibits a high qualitative and quantitative reproducibility, with both BSA standards and urine samples. Because of the relatively high...

New developments in electron microscopy for serial image acquisition of neuronal profiles.

Science.gov (United States)

Kubota, Yoshiyuki

2015-02-01

Recent developments in electron microscopy largely automate the continuous acquisition of serial electron micrographs (EMGs), previously achieved by laborious manual serial ultrathin sectioning using an ultramicrotome and ultrastructural image capture process with transmission electron microscopy. The new systems cut thin sections and capture serial EMGs automatically, allowing for acquisition of large data sets in a reasonably short time. The new methods are focused ion beam/scanning electron microscopy, ultramicrotome/serial block-face scanning electron microscopy, automated tape-collection ultramicrotome/scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscope camera array. In this review, their positive and negative aspects are discussed. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Japanese Society of Microscopy. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Automated surveillance system for hospital-acquired urinary tract infections in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Condell, Orla; Gubbels, Sophie; Nielsen, J

2016-01-01

BACKGROUND: The Danish Hospital-Acquired Infections Database (HAIBA) is an automated surveillance system using hospital administrative, microbiological, and antibiotic medication data. AIM: To define and evaluate the case definition for hospital-acquired urinary tract infection (HA-UTI) and to de......BACKGROUND: The Danish Hospital-Acquired Infections Database (HAIBA) is an automated surveillance system using hospital administrative, microbiological, and antibiotic medication data. AIM: To define and evaluate the case definition for hospital-acquired urinary tract infection (HA-UTI......) and to describe surveillance data from 2010 to 2014. METHODS: The HA-UTI algorithm defined a laboratory-diagnosed UTI as a urine culture positive for no more than two micro-organisms with at least one at ≥10(4)cfu/mL, and a probable UTI as a negative urine culture and a relevant diagnosis code or antibiotic...... treatment. UTI was considered hospital-acquired if a urine sample was collected ≥48h after admission and UTI was calculated per 10,000 risk-days. For validation, prevalence was calculated for each day and compared to point prevalence survey (PPS) data. FINDINGS: HAIBA...

Confocal microscopy findings in deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty performed after Descemet's stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pang A

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Audrey Pang,1,2 Karim Mohamed-Noriega,1 Anita S Chan,1,3–5 Jodbhir S Mehta1,3 1Singapore National Eye Centre, 2Department of Ophthalmology, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, 3Singapore Eye Research Institute, 4Department of Histopathology, Pathology, Singapore General Hospital, 5Department of Ophthalmology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore Background: This study describes the in vivo confocal microscopy findings in two patients who had deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK following Descemet's stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK. Methods: The study reviewed the cases of two patients who first underwent DSAEK followed by DALK when their vision failed to improve due to residual stromal scarring. In the first case, a DSAEK was performed for a patient with pseudophakic bullous keratopathy. After surgery, the patient's vision failed to improve satisfactorily due to residual anterior stromal opacity and irregularity. Subsequently, the patient underwent a DALK. The same two consecutive operations were performed for a second patient with keratoconus whose previous penetrating keratoplasty had failed and had secondary graft ectasia. In vivo confocal microscopy was performed 2 months after the DALK surgery in both cases. Results: At 3 months after DALK, the best-corrected visual acuity was 6/30 in case 1 and 6/24 in case 2. In vivo confocal microscopy in both cases revealed the presence of quiescent keratocytes in the stroma layers of the DSAEK and DALK grafts, which was similar in the central and peripheral cornea. There was no activated keratocytes or haze noted in the interface between the grafts. Conclusion: Our short-term results show that performing a DALK after a DSAEK is an effective way of restoring cornea clarity in patients with residual anterior stromal opacity. In vivo confocal microscopy showed that there were no activated keratocytes seen in the interface of the grafts, which suggests

Automated Identification and Localization of Hematopoietic Stem Cells in 3D Intravital Microscopy Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Reema A. Khorshed

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Measuring three-dimensional (3D localization of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs within the bone marrow microenvironment using intravital microscopy is a rapidly expanding research theme. This approach holds the key to understanding the detail of HSC-niche interactions, which are critical for appropriate stem cell function. Due to the complex tissue architecture of the bone marrow and to the progressive introduction of scattering and signal loss at increasing imaging depths, there is no ready-made software to handle efficient segmentation and unbiased analysis of the data. To address this, we developed an automated image analysis tool that simplifies and standardizes the biological interpretation of 3D HSC microenvironment images. The algorithm identifies HSCs and measures their localization relative to surrounding osteoblast cells and bone collagen. We demonstrate here the effectiveness, consistency, and accuracy of the proposed approach compared to current manual analysis and its wider applicability to analyze other 3D bone marrow components.

Bilirubin - urine

Science.gov (United States)

Conjugated bilirubin - urine; Direct bilirubin - urine ... Bilirubin is not normally found in the urine. ... Increased levels of bilirubin in the urine may be due to: Biliary tract disease Cirrhosis Gallstones in the biliary tract Hepatitis Liver disease ...

Point-of-care mobile digital microscopy and deep learning for the detection of soil-transmitted helminths and Schistosoma haematobium.

Science.gov (United States)

Holmström, Oscar; Linder, Nina; Ngasala, Billy; Mårtensson, Andreas; Linder, Ewert; Lundin, Mikael; Moilanen, Hannu; Suutala, Antti; Diwan, Vinod; Lundin, Johan

2017-06-01

Microscopy remains the gold standard in the diagnosis of neglected tropical diseases. As resource limited, rural areas often lack laboratory equipment and trained personnel, new diagnostic techniques are needed. Low-cost, point-of-care imaging devices show potential in the diagnosis of these diseases. Novel, digital image analysis algorithms can be utilized to automate sample analysis. Evaluation of the imaging performance of a miniature digital microscopy scanner for the diagnosis of soil-transmitted helminths and Schistosoma haematobium, and training of a deep learning-based image analysis algorithm for automated detection of soil-transmitted helminths in the captured images. A total of 13 iodine-stained stool samples containing Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura and hookworm eggs and 4 urine samples containing Schistosoma haematobium were digitized using a reference whole slide-scanner and the mobile microscopy scanner. Parasites in the images were identified by visual examination and by analysis with a deep learning-based image analysis algorithm in the stool samples. Results were compared between the digital and visual analysis of the images showing helminth eggs. Parasite identification by visual analysis of digital slides captured with the mobile microscope was feasible for all analyzed parasites. Although the spatial resolution of the reference slide-scanner is higher, the resolution of the mobile microscope is sufficient for reliable identification and classification of all parasites studied. Digital image analysis of stool sample images captured with the mobile microscope showed high sensitivity for detection of all helminths studied (range of sensitivity = 83.3-100%) in the test set (n = 217) of manually labeled helminth eggs. In this proof-of-concept study, the imaging performance of a mobile, digital microscope was sufficient for visual detection of soil-transmitted helminths and Schistosoma haematobium. Furthermore, we show that deep

Human Urine-Derived Renal Progenitors for Personalized Modeling of Genetic Kidney Disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Lazzeri, Elena; Ronconi, Elisa; Angelotti, Maria Lucia; Peired, Anna; Mazzinghi, Benedetta; Becherucci, Francesca; Conti, Sara; Sansavini, Giulia; Sisti, Alessandro; Ravaglia, Fiammetta; Lombardi, Duccio; Provenzano, Aldesia; Manonelles, Anna; Cruzado, Josep M; Giglio, Sabrina; Roperto, Rosa Maria; Materassi, Marco; Lasagni, Laura; Romagnani, Paola

2015-08-01

The critical role of genetic and epigenetic factors in the pathogenesis of kidney disorders is gradually becoming clear, and the need for disease models that recapitulate human kidney disorders in a personalized manner is paramount. In this study, we describe a method to select and amplify renal progenitor cultures from the urine of patients with kidney disorders. Urine-derived human renal progenitors exhibited phenotype and functional properties identical to those purified from kidney tissue, including the capacity to differentiate into tubular cells and podocytes, as demonstrated by confocal microscopy, Western blot analysis of podocyte-specific proteins, and scanning electron microscopy. Lineage tracing studies performed with conditional transgenic mice, in which podocytes are irreversibly tagged upon tamoxifen treatment (NPHS2.iCreER;mT/mG), that were subjected to doxorubicin nephropathy demonstrated that renal progenitors are the only urinary cell population that can be amplified in long-term culture. To validate the use of these cells for personalized modeling of kidney disorders, renal progenitors were obtained from (1) the urine of children with nephrotic syndrome and carrying potentially pathogenic mutations in genes encoding for podocyte proteins and (2) the urine of children without genetic alterations, as validated by next-generation sequencing. Renal progenitors obtained from patients carrying pathogenic mutations generated podocytes that exhibited an abnormal cytoskeleton structure and functional abnormalities compared with those obtained from patients with proteinuria but without genetic mutations. The results of this study demonstrate that urine-derived patient-specific renal progenitor cultures may be an innovative research tool for modeling of genetic kidney disorders. Copyright © 2015 by the American Society of Nephrology.

Myoglobin urine test

Science.gov (United States)

Urine myoglobin; Heart attack - myoglobin urine test; Myositis - myoglobin urine test; Rhabdomyolysis - myoglobin urine test ... The test involves only normal urination, which should cause no discomfort.

Ketones urine test

Science.gov (United States)

Ketone bodies - urine; Urine ketones; Ketoacidosis - urine ketones test; Diabetic ketoacidosis - urine ketones test ... Urine ketones are usually measured as a "spot test." This is available in a test kit that ...

CORRELATION OF SPOT URINE ALBUMIN AND 12-HOUR URINE PROTEIN WITH 24-HOUR URINE PROTEIN IN PRE-ECLAMPSIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Vinayachandran

2017-11-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND Pre-eclampsia is defined as the development of new-onset hypertension in the second half of pregnancy often accompanied by new-onset proteinuria with other signs and symptoms. Proteinuria is defined by the excretion of 300 mg or more of protein in a 24-hour urine collection. To avoid time consumed in collection of 24-hour urine specimens, efforts have been made to develop faster methods to determine concentration of urine protein. Preliminary studies have suggested that 12-hour urine protein collection maybe adequate for evaluation of pre-eclampsia with advantage of early diagnosis and treatment of pre-eclampsia as well as potential for early hospital discharge and increased compliance with specimen collection. The aim of the study is to evaluate and correlate spot urine albumin and 12-hour urine protein with 24-hour urine protein in pre-eclampsia. MATERIALS AND METHODS A diagnostic evaluation study- a 24-hour urine protein, 12-hour urine protein and spot urine albumin results are analysed. Correlation of 12-hour urine protein and spot urine albumin with 24-hour urine protein is analysed using SPSS software. The strength of correlation was measured by Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r. Student’s t-test and Chi-square tests were used to compare patients with and without 24-hour urine protein ≥300 mg. Probability value of 165 mg with 24-hour urine protein ≥300 mg suggest that this test has role in the evaluation of women with suspected pre-eclampsia and could be substituted for 24-hour urine protein as a simple, faster and cheaper method.

Denoising time-resolved microscopy image sequences with singular value thresholding

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Furnival, Tom, E-mail: tjof2@cam.ac.uk; Leary, Rowan K., E-mail: rkl26@cam.ac.uk; Midgley, Paul A., E-mail: pam33@cam.ac.uk

2017-07-15

Time-resolved imaging in microscopy is important for the direct observation of a range of dynamic processes in both the physical and life sciences. However, the image sequences are often corrupted by noise, either as a result of high frame rates or a need to limit the radiation dose received by the sample. Here we exploit both spatial and temporal correlations using low-rank matrix recovery methods to denoise microscopy image sequences. We also make use of an unbiased risk estimator to address the issue of how much thresholding to apply in a robust and automated manner. The performance of the technique is demonstrated using simulated image sequences, as well as experimental scanning transmission electron microscopy data, where surface adatom motion and nanoparticle structural dynamics are recovered at rates of up to 32 frames per second. - Highlights: • Correlations in space and time are harnessed to denoise microscopy image sequences. • A robust estimator provides automated selection of the denoising parameter. • Motion tracking and automated noise estimation provides a versatile algorithm. • Application to time-resolved STEM enables study of atomic and nanoparticle dynamics.

Molecular Detection of Bladder Cancer by Fluorescence Microsatellite Analysis and an Automated Genetic Analyzing System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarel Halachmi

2007-01-01

Full Text Available To investigate the ability of an automated fluorescent analyzing system to detect microsatellite alterations, in patients with bladder cancer. We investigated 11 with pathology proven bladder Transitional Cell Carcinoma (TCC for microsatellite alterations in blood, urine, and tumor biopsies. DNA was prepared by standard methods from blood, urine and resected tumor specimens, and was used for microsatellite analysis. After the primers were fluorescent labeled, amplification of the DNA was performed with PCR. The PCR products were placed into the automated genetic analyser (ABI Prism 310, Perkin Elmer, USA and were subjected to fluorescent scanning with argon ion laser beams. The fluorescent signal intensity measured by the genetic analyzer measured the product size in terms of base pairs. We found loss of heterozygocity (LOH or microsatellite alterations (a loss or gain of nucleotides, which alter the original normal locus size in all the patients by using fluorescent microsatellite analysis and an automated analyzing system. In each case the genetic changes found in urine samples were identical to those found in the resected tumor sample. The studies demonstrated the ability to detect bladder tumor non-invasively by fluorescent microsatellite analysis of urine samples. Our study supports the worldwide trend for the search of non-invasive methods to detect bladder cancer. We have overcome major obstacles that prevented the clinical use of an experimental system. With our new tested system microsatellite analysis can be done cheaper, faster, easier and with higher scientific accuracy.

Urine cup for collection of urine from cows.

Science.gov (United States)

Fellner, V; Weiss, M F; Belo, A T; Belyea, R L; Martz, F A; Orma, A H

1988-08-01

A urine cup for continuous and complete collection of urine from cows was constructed from Plastisol, cotton webb strapping, Velcro Brand touch fasteners [corrected], snap-fasteners, denim patches, weather stripping, and vacuum hose. The urine cup was made from Plastisol using a heated lead mold. It was large enough to enclose a 9 cm x 6 cm area around the vulva of a cow and was attached by strapping and Velcro Brand touch fasteners [corrected] to patches glued to the rump. Urine cups were used repeatedly and provided for long-term collection of urine from cows, eliminating the need for indwelling catheters. Applications include long-term nutrient balance, radioisotope, and metabolism studies.

Automated sub-5 nm image registration in integrated correlative fluorescence and electron microscopy using cathodoluminescence pointers

Science.gov (United States)

Haring, Martijn T.; Liv, Nalan; Zonnevylle, A. Christiaan; Narvaez, Angela C.; Voortman, Lenard M.; Kruit, Pieter; Hoogenboom, Jacob P.

2017-03-01

In the biological sciences, data from fluorescence and electron microscopy is correlated to allow fluorescence biomolecule identification within the cellular ultrastructure and/or ultrastructural analysis following live-cell imaging. High-accuracy (sub-100 nm) image overlay requires the addition of fiducial markers, which makes overlay accuracy dependent on the number of fiducials present in the region of interest. Here, we report an automated method for light-electron image overlay at high accuracy, i.e. below 5 nm. Our method relies on direct visualization of the electron beam position in the fluorescence detection channel using cathodoluminescence pointers. We show that image overlay using cathodoluminescence pointers corrects for image distortions, is independent of user interpretation, and does not require fiducials, allowing image correlation with molecular precision anywhere on a sample.

Urine culture

Science.gov (United States)

Culture and sensitivity - urine ... when urinating. You also may have a urine culture after you have been treated for an infection. ... when bacteria or yeast are found in the culture. This likely means that you have a urinary ...

Automated Method for the Rapid and Precise Estimation of Adherent Cell Culture Characteristics from Phase Contrast Microscopy Images

Science.gov (United States)

Jaccard, Nicolas; Griffin, Lewis D; Keser, Ana; Macown, Rhys J; Super, Alexandre; Veraitch, Farlan S; Szita, Nicolas

2014-01-01

The quantitative determination of key adherent cell culture characteristics such as confluency, morphology, and cell density is necessary for the evaluation of experimental outcomes and to provide a suitable basis for the establishment of robust cell culture protocols. Automated processing of images acquired using phase contrast microscopy (PCM), an imaging modality widely used for the visual inspection of adherent cell cultures, could enable the non-invasive determination of these characteristics. We present an image-processing approach that accurately detects cellular objects in PCM images through a combination of local contrast thresholding and post hoc correction of halo artifacts. The method was thoroughly validated using a variety of cell lines, microscope models and imaging conditions, demonstrating consistently high segmentation performance in all cases and very short processing times (image). Based on the high segmentation performance, it was possible to precisely determine culture confluency, cell density, and the morphology of cellular objects, demonstrating the wide applicability of our algorithm for typical microscopy image processing pipelines. Furthermore, PCM image segmentation was used to facilitate the interpretation and analysis of fluorescence microscopy data, enabling the determination of temporal and spatial expression patterns of a fluorescent reporter. We created a software toolbox (PHANTAST) that bundles all the algorithms and provides an easy to use graphical user interface. Source-code for MATLAB and ImageJ is freely available under a permissive open-source license. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2014;111: 504–517. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. PMID:24037521

Beta-keto amphetamines: studies on the metabolism of the designer drug mephedrone and toxicological detection of mephedrone, butylone, and methylone in urine using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, Markus R; Wilhelm, Jens; Peters, Frank T; Maurer, Hans H

2010-06-01

In recent years, a new class of designer drugs has appeared on the drugs of abuse market in many countries, namely, the so-called beta-keto (bk) designer drugs such as mephedrone (bk-4-methylmethamphetamine), butylone (bk-MBDB), and methylone (bk-MDMA). The aim of the present study was to identify the metabolites of mephedrone in rat and human urine using GC-MS techniques and to include mephedrone, butylone, and methylone within the authors' systematic toxicological analysis (STA) procedure. Six phase I metabolites of mephedrone were detected in rat urine and seven in human urine suggesting the following metabolic steps: N-demethylation to the primary amine, reduction of the keto moiety to the respective alcohol, and oxidation of the tolyl moiety to the corresponding alcohols and carboxylic acid. The STA procedure allowed the detection of mephedrone, butylone, methylone, and their metabolites in urine of rats treated with doses corresponding to those reported for abuse of amphetamines. Besides macro-based data evaluation, an automated evaluation using the automated mass spectral deconvolution and identification system was performed. Mephedrone and butylone could be detected also in human urine samples submitted for drug testing. Assuming similar kinetics in humans, the described STA procedure should be suitable for proof of an intake of the bk-designer drugs in human urine.

Diagnostic Accuracy of Urine Protein/Creatinine Ratio Is Influenced by Urine Concentration

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Chih-Yu; Chen, Fu-An; Chen, Chun-Fan; Liu, Wen-Sheng; Shih, Chia-Jen; Ou, Shuo-Ming; Yang, Wu-Chang; Lin, Chih-Ching; Yang, An-Hang

2015-01-01

Background The usage of urine protein/creatinine ratio to estimate daily urine protein excretion is prevalent, but relatively little attention has been paid to the influence of urine concentration and its impact on test accuracy. We took advantage of 24-hour urine collection to examine both urine protein/creatinine ratio (UPCR) and daily urine protein excretion, with the latter as the reference standard. Specific gravity from a concomitant urinalysis of the same urine sample was used to indicate the urine concentration. Methods During 2010 to 2014, there were 540 adequately collected 24h urine samples with protein concentration, creatinine concentration, total volume, and a concomitant urinalysis of the same sample. Variables associated with an accurate UPCR estimation were determined by multivariate linear regression analysis. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were generated to determine the discriminant cut-off values of urine creatinine concentration for predicting an accurate UPCR estimation in either dilute or concentrated urine samples. Results Our findings indicated that for dilute urine, as indicated by a low urine specific gravity, UPCR is more likely to overestimate the actual daily urine protein excretion. On the contrary, UPCR of concentrated urine is more likely to result in an underestimation. By ROC curve analysis, the best cut-off value of urine creatinine concentration for predicting overestimation by UPCR of dilute urine (specific gravity ≦ 1.005) was ≦ 38.8 mg/dL, whereas the best cut-off values of urine creatinine for predicting underestimation by UPCR of thick urine were ≧ 63.6 mg/dL (specific gravity ≧ 1.015), ≧ 62.1 mg/dL (specific gravity ≧ 1.020), ≧ 61.5 mg/dL (specific gravity ≧ 1.025), respectively. We also compared distribution patterns of urine creatinine concentration of 24h urine cohort with a concurrent spot urine cohort and found that the underestimation might be more profound in single voided samples

Diagnostic Accuracy of Urine Protein/Creatinine Ratio Is Influenced by Urine Concentration.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Chih-Yu; Chen, Fu-An; Chen, Chun-Fan; Liu, Wen-Sheng; Shih, Chia-Jen; Ou, Shuo-Ming; Yang, Wu-Chang; Lin, Chih-Ching; Yang, An-Hang

2015-01-01

The usage of urine protein/creatinine ratio to estimate daily urine protein excretion is prevalent, but relatively little attention has been paid to the influence of urine concentration and its impact on test accuracy. We took advantage of 24-hour urine collection to examine both urine protein/creatinine ratio (UPCR) and daily urine protein excretion, with the latter as the reference standard. Specific gravity from a concomitant urinalysis of the same urine sample was used to indicate the urine concentration. During 2010 to 2014, there were 540 adequately collected 24h urine samples with protein concentration, creatinine concentration, total volume, and a concomitant urinalysis of the same sample. Variables associated with an accurate UPCR estimation were determined by multivariate linear regression analysis. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were generated to determine the discriminant cut-off values of urine creatinine concentration for predicting an accurate UPCR estimation in either dilute or concentrated urine samples. Our findings indicated that for dilute urine, as indicated by a low urine specific gravity, UPCR is more likely to overestimate the actual daily urine protein excretion. On the contrary, UPCR of concentrated urine is more likely to result in an underestimation. By ROC curve analysis, the best cut-off value of urine creatinine concentration for predicting overestimation by UPCR of dilute urine (specific gravity ≦ 1.005) was ≦ 38.8 mg/dL, whereas the best cut-off values of urine creatinine for predicting underestimation by UPCR of thick urine were ≧ 63.6 mg/dL (specific gravity ≧ 1.015), ≧ 62.1 mg/dL (specific gravity ≧ 1.020), ≧ 61.5 mg/dL (specific gravity ≧ 1.025), respectively. We also compared distribution patterns of urine creatinine concentration of 24h urine cohort with a concurrent spot urine cohort and found that the underestimation might be more profound in single voided samples. The UPCR in samples with low

Automated seeding-based nuclei segmentation in nonlinear optical microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Medyukhina, Anna; Meyer, Tobias; Heuke, Sandro; Vogler, Nadine; Dietzek, Benjamin; Popp, Jürgen

2013-10-01

Nonlinear optical (NLO) microscopy based, e.g., on coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) or two-photon-excited fluorescence (TPEF) is a fast label-free imaging technique, with a great potential for biomedical applications. However, NLO microscopy as a diagnostic tool is still in its infancy; there is a lack of robust and durable nuclei segmentation methods capable of accurate image processing in cases of variable image contrast, nuclear density, and type of investigated tissue. Nonetheless, such algorithms specifically adapted to NLO microscopy present one prerequisite for the technology to be routinely used, e.g., in pathology or intraoperatively for surgical guidance. In this paper, we compare the applicability of different seeding and boundary detection methods to NLO microscopic images in order to develop an optimal seeding-based approach capable of accurate segmentation of both TPEF and CARS images. Among different methods, the Laplacian of Gaussian filter showed the best accuracy for the seeding of the image, while a modified seeded watershed segmentation was the most accurate in the task of boundary detection. The resulting combination of these methods followed by the verification of the detected nuclei performs high average sensitivity and specificity when applied to various types of NLO microscopy images.

Automated and sensitive determination of four anabolic androgenic steroids in urine by online turbulent flow solid-phase extraction coupled with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry: a novel approach for clinical monitoring and doping control.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Feng; Shao, Jing; Liu, Qian; Shi, Jian-Bo; Jiang, Gui-Bin

2014-07-01

A novel method for automated and sensitive analysis of testosterone, androstenedione, methyltestosterone and methenolone in urine samples by online turbulent flow solid-phase extraction coupled with high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was developed. The optimization and validation of the method were discussed in detail. The Turboflow C18-P SPE column showed the best extraction efficiency for all the analytes. Nanogram per liter (ng/L) level of AAS could be determined directly and the limits of quantification (LOQs) were 0.01 ng/mL, which were much lower than normally concerned concentrations for these typical anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) (0.1 ng/mL). The linearity range was from the LOQ to 100 ng/mL for each compound, with the coefficients of determination (r(2)) ranging from 0.9990 to 0.9999. The intraday and interday relative standard deviations (RSDs) ranged from 1.1% to 14.5% (n=5). The proposed method was successfully applied to the analysis of urine samples collected from 24 male athletes and 15 patients of prostate cancer. The proposed method provides an alternative practical way to rapidly determine AAS in urine samples, especially for clinical monitoring and doping control. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Low Dimensional Representation of Fisher Vectors for Microscopy Image Classification.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Yang; Li, Qing; Huang, Heng; Feng, Dagan; Chen, Mei; Cai, Weidong

2017-08-01

Microscopy image classification is important in various biomedical applications, such as cancer subtype identification, and protein localization for high content screening. To achieve automated and effective microscopy image classification, the representative and discriminative capability of image feature descriptors is essential. To this end, in this paper, we propose a new feature representation algorithm to facilitate automated microscopy image classification. In particular, we incorporate Fisher vector (FV) encoding with multiple types of local features that are handcrafted or learned, and we design a separation-guided dimension reduction method to reduce the descriptor dimension while increasing its discriminative capability. Our method is evaluated on four publicly available microscopy image data sets of different imaging types and applications, including the UCSB breast cancer data set, MICCAI 2015 CBTC challenge data set, and IICBU malignant lymphoma, and RNAi data sets. Our experimental results demonstrate the advantage of the proposed low-dimensional FV representation, showing consistent performance improvement over the existing state of the art and the commonly used dimension reduction techniques.

Validation of an automated solid-phase extraction method for the analysis of 23 opioids, cocaine, and metabolites in urine with ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramírez Fernández, María del Mar; Van Durme, Filip; Wille, Sarah M R; di Fazio, Vincent; Kummer, Natalie; Samyn, Nele

2014-06-01

The aim of this work was to automate a sample preparation procedure extracting morphine, hydromorphone, oxymorphone, norcodeine, codeine, dihydrocodeine, oxycodone, 6-monoacetyl-morphine, hydrocodone, ethylmorphine, benzoylecgonine, cocaine, cocaethylene, tramadol, meperidine, pentazocine, fentanyl, norfentanyl, buprenorphine, norbuprenorphine, propoxyphene, methadone and 2-ethylidene-1,5-dimethyl-3,3-diphenylpyrrolidine from urine samples. Samples were extracted by solid-phase extraction (SPE) with cation exchange cartridges using a TECAN Freedom Evo 100 base robotic system, including a hydrolysis step previous extraction when required. Block modules were carefully selected in order to use the same consumable material as in manual procedures to reduce cost and/or manual sample transfers. Moreover, the present configuration included pressure monitoring pipetting increasing pipetting accuracy and detecting sampling errors. The compounds were then separated in a chromatographic run of 9 min using a BEH Phenyl analytical column on a ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry system. Optimization of the SPE was performed with different wash conditions and elution solvents. Intra- and inter-day relative standard deviations (RSDs) were within ±15% and bias was within ±15% for most of the compounds. Recovery was >69% (RSD automated SPE system was observed. The extracted samples were stable for 72 h in the autosampler (4°C). This method was applied to authentic samples (from forensic and toxicology cases) and to proficiency testing schemes containing cocaine, heroin, buprenorphine and methadone, offering fast and reliable results. Automation resulted in improved precision and accuracy, and a minimum operator intervention, leading to safer sample handling and less time-consuming procedures.

Automated multiscale morphometry of muscle disease from second harmonic generation microscopy using tensor-based image processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Garbe, Christoph S; Buttgereit, Andreas; Schürmann, Sebastian; Friedrich, Oliver

2012-01-01

Practically, all chronic diseases are characterized by tissue remodeling that alters organ and cellular function through changes to normal organ architecture. Some morphometric alterations become irreversible and account for disease progression even on cellular levels. Early diagnostics to categorize tissue alterations, as well as monitoring progression or remission of disturbed cytoarchitecture upon treatment in the same individual, are a new emerging field. They strongly challenge spatial resolution and require advanced imaging techniques and strategies for detecting morphological changes. We use a combined second harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy and automated image processing approach to quantify morphology in an animal model of inherited Duchenne muscular dystrophy (mdx mouse) with age. Multiphoton XYZ image stacks from tissue slices reveal vast morphological deviation in muscles from old mdx mice at different scales of cytoskeleton architecture: cell calibers are irregular, myofibrils within cells are twisted, and sarcomere lattice disruptions (detected as "verniers") are larger in number compared to samples from healthy mice. In young mdx mice, such alterations are only minor. The boundary-tensor approach, adapted and optimized for SHG data, is a suitable approach to allow quick quantitative morphometry in whole tissue slices. The overall detection performance of the automated algorithm compares very well with manual "by eye" detection, the latter being time consuming and prone to subjective errors. Our algorithm outperfoms manual detection by time with similar reliability. This approach will be an important prerequisite for the implementation of a clinical image databases to diagnose and monitor specific morphological alterations in chronic (muscle) diseases. © 2011 IEEE

The urine marker test

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Elbe, Anne-Marie; Jensen, Stine Nylandsted; Elsborg, Peter

2016-01-01

BACKGROUND: Urine sample collection for doping control tests is a key component of the World Anti-Doping Agency's fight against doping in sport. However, a substantial number of athletes experience difficulty when having to urinate under supervision. Furthermore, it cannot always be ensured...... that athletes are actually delivering their own urine. A method that can be used to alleviate the negative impact of a supervised urination procedure and which can also identify urine as coming from a specific athlete is the urine marker test. Monodisperse low molecular weight polyethylene glycols (PEGs......) are given orally prior to urination. Urine samples can be traced to the donor by analysis of the PEGs previously given. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to investigate the use of the urine marker during urine doping control testing. METHODS: Two studies investigated athletes' acceptance...

AUTOMATED CELL SEGMENTATION WITH 3D FLUORESCENCE MICROSCOPY IMAGES.

Science.gov (United States)

Kong, Jun; Wang, Fusheng; Teodoro, George; Liang, Yanhui; Zhu, Yangyang; Tucker-Burden, Carol; Brat, Daniel J

2015-04-01

A large number of cell-oriented cancer investigations require an effective and reliable cell segmentation method on three dimensional (3D) fluorescence microscopic images for quantitative analysis of cell biological properties. In this paper, we present a fully automated cell segmentation method that can detect cells from 3D fluorescence microscopic images. Enlightened by fluorescence imaging techniques, we regulated the image gradient field by gradient vector flow (GVF) with interpolated and smoothed data volume, and grouped voxels based on gradient modes identified by tracking GVF field. Adaptive thresholding was then applied to voxels associated with the same gradient mode where voxel intensities were enhanced by a multiscale cell filter. We applied the method to a large volume of 3D fluorescence imaging data of human brain tumor cells with (1) small cell false detection and missing rates for individual cells; and (2) trivial over and under segmentation incidences for clustered cells. Additionally, the concordance of cell morphometry structure between automated and manual segmentation was encouraging. These results suggest a promising 3D cell segmentation method applicable to cancer studies.

Towards an automated analysis of video-microscopy images of fungal morphogenesis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diéguez-Uribeondo, Javier

2005-06-01

Full Text Available Fungal morphogenesis is an exciting field of cell biology and several mathematical models have been developed to describe it. These models require experimental evidences to be corroborated and, therefore, there is a continuous search for new microscopy and image analysis techniques. In this work, we have used a Canny-edge-detector based technique to automate the generation of hyphal profiles and calculation of morphogenetic parameters such as diameter, elongation rates and hyphoid fitness. The results show that the data obtained with this technique are similar to published data generated with manualbased tracing techniques and that have been carried out on the same species or genus. Thus, we show that application of edge detector-based technique to hyphal growth represents an efficient and accurate method to study hyphal morphogenesis. This represents the first step towards an automated analysis of videomicroscopy images of fungal morphogenesis.La morfogénesis de los hongos es un área de estudio de gran relevancia en la biología celular y en la que se han desarrollado varios modelos matemáticos. Los modelos matemáticos de procesos biológicos precisan de pruebas experimentales que apoyen y corroboren las predicciones teóricas y, por este motivo, existe una búsqueda continua de nuevas técnicas de microscopía y análisis de imágenes para su aplicación en el estudio del crecimiento celular. En este trabajo hemos utilizado una técnica basada en un detector de contornos llamado “Canny-edge-detectorâ€� con el objetivo de automatizar la generación de perfiles de hifas y el cálculo de parámetros morfogenéticos, tales como: el diámetro, la velocidad de elongación y el ajuste con el perfil hifoide, es decir, el perfil teórico de las hifas de los hongos. Los resultados obtenidos son similares a los datos publicados a partir de técnicas manuales de trazado de contornos, generados en la misma especie y género. De esta manera

Urine - abnormal color

Science.gov (United States)

... medlineplus.gov/ency/article/003139.htm Urine - abnormal color To use the sharing features on this page, please enable JavaScript. The usual color of urine is straw-yellow. Abnormally colored urine ...

[Components of urinary crystallites in urine of uric acid stone formers and its relationship with formation of stones].

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Zhi-jie; Tan, Jin; Ouyang, Jian-ming

2010-09-01

The components, zeta potential, morphology of nanocrystallites in urines of 10 uric acid stone formers as well as their relationship with the formation of uric acid stones were comparatively studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, nanoparticle size analyzer, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The urine pH of uric acid stone formers was relatively low within the range of 4.8 to 5.7. The main constituent of urinary crystallites was uric acid. Their particle size distribution was highly uneven, ranging from several nanometers to several tens of micrometers, and obvious aggregation was observed. The zeta potential of urinary crystallites in ten lithogenic patients was -6.02 mV, which was higher than that in ten normal subjects (-10.1 mV). After drug therapies (potassium citrate was taken), the urine pH value of the uric acid stone formers increased to 6.5 or so, and at this pH value most of the uric acid had changed to urate. Since the solubility of urate increased greatly than uric acid, the risk of the formation of uric acid stone reduced. The results in this paper showed that there was a close relationship among stone components, urinary crystallites composition and urine pH.

Microbiological test results using three urine pretreatment regimes with 316L stainless steel

Science.gov (United States)

Huff, Timothy L.

1993-01-01

Three urine pretreatments, (1) Oxone (Dupont) and sulfuric acid, (2) sodium hypochlorite and sulfuric acid, (3) and ozone, were studied for their ability to reduce microbial levels in urine and minimize surface attachment to 316L stainless steel coupons. Urine samples inoculated with Bacillus insolitus and a filamentous mold, organisms previously recovered from the vapor compression distillation subsystem of NASA Space Station Freedom water recovery test were tested in glass corrosion cells containing base or weld metal coupons. Microbial levels, changes in pH, color, turbidity, and odor of the fluid were monitored over the course of the 21-day test. Specimen surfaces were examined by scanning electron microscopy at completion of the test for microbial attachment. Ozonated urine samples were less turbid and had lower microbial levels than controls or samples receiving other pretreatments. Base metal coupons receiving pretreatment were relatively free of attached bacteria. However, well-developed biofilms were found in the heat-affected regions of welded coupons receiving Oxone and hypochlorite pretreatments. Few bacteria were observed in the same regions of the ozone pretreatment sample.

Novel tandem column method for the rapid isolation of radiostrontium from human urine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hawkins, Cory A.; Shkrob, Ilya A.; Mertz, Carol J.; Dietz, Mark L.; Kaminski, Michael D.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Method for separation and preconcentration of radiostrontium from human urine. ► Recoveries >98%, concentration factor of ca. 50, processing time of nearly 1 h. ► Retention model developed to assist optimization of separations on Diphonix ® column. ► Semi-automated sample preparation device developed. - Abstract: A method has been developed for the isolation of strontium from human urine for subsequent determination in sample volumes as low as 5–20 mL. This method involves the acidification of the sample using methanesulfonic acid and its decolorization using charcoal, treatment of the filtrate with Diphonix ® resin, and subsequent concentration of strontium on Sr resin. Data from retention model simulations provided the initial conditions which were then optimized by actual column separations. Diphonix ® resin was shown to be effective at removing alkali metal ions from the urine matrix under conditions that retain higher valence ions. The suggested processing method provides 99% recovery of Sr 2+ , a concentration factor of 50, and an expected per sample processing time of less than 1 h.

Black Urine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rahim Vakili

2016-06-01

Full Text Available A 2-year-old boy was born at term of healthy, non-consanguineous Iranian parents. His mother attended in the clinic with the history of sometimes discoloration of diapers after passing urine. She noticed that first at the age of one month with intensified in recent months. His Physical examination and growth parameters were normal. His mother denied taking any medication (sorbitol, nitrofurantoin, metronidazole, methocarbamol, sena and methyldopa (5. Qualitative urine examination showed dark black discoloration. By this history, alkaptonuria was the most clinical suspicious. A 24-hour-urine sample was collected and sent for quantitative measurements. The urine sample was highly positive for homogentisic acid and negative for porphyrin metabolites.

Semi-automated solid phase extraction method for the mass spectrometric quantification of 12 specific metabolites of organophosphorus pesticides, synthetic pyrethroids, and select herbicides in human urine.

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Mark D; Wade, Erin L; Restrepo, Paula R; Roman-Esteva, William; Bravo, Roberto; Kuklenyik, Peter; Calafat, Antonia M

2013-06-15

Organophosphate and pyrethroid insecticides and phenoxyacetic acid herbicides represent important classes of pesticides applied in commercial and residential settings. Interest in assessing the extent of human exposure to these pesticides exists because of their widespread use and their potential adverse health effects. An analytical method for measuring 12 biomarkers of several of these pesticides in urine has been developed. The target analytes were extracted from one milliliter of urine by a semi-automated solid phase extraction technique, separated from each other and from other urinary biomolecules by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography, and detected using tandem mass spectrometry with isotope dilution quantitation. This method can be used to measure all the target analytes in one injection with similar repeatability and detection limits of previous methods which required more than one injection. Each step of the procedure was optimized to produce a robust, reproducible, accurate, precise and efficient method. The required selectivity and sensitivity for trace-level analysis (e.g., limits of detection below 0.5ng/mL) was achieved using a narrow diameter analytical column, higher than unit mass resolution for certain analytes, and stable isotope labeled internal standards. The method was applied to the analysis of 55 samples collected from adult anonymous donors with no known exposure to the target pesticides. This efficient and cost-effective method is adequate to handle the large number of samples required for national biomonitoring surveys. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Use of a Chagas Urine Nanoparticle Test (Chunap) to Correlate with Parasitemia Levels in T. cruzi/HIV Co-infected Patients

Science.gov (United States)

Castro-Sesquen, Yagahira E.; Gilman, Robert H.; Mejia, Carolina; Clark, Daniel E.; Choi, Jeong; Reimer-McAtee, Melissa J.; Castro, Rosario; Valencia-Ayala, Edward; Flores, Jorge; Bowman, Natalie; Castillo-Neyra, Ricardo; Torrico, Faustino; Liotta, Lance; Bern, Caryn; Luchini, Alessandra

2016-01-01

Background Early diagnosis of reactivated Chagas disease in HIV patients could be lifesaving. In Latin America, the diagnosis is made by microscopical detection of the T. cruzi parasite in the blood; a diagnostic test that lacks sensitivity. This study evaluates if levels of T. cruzi antigens in urine, determined by Chunap (Chagas urine nanoparticle test), are correlated with parasitemia levels in T. cruzi/HIV co-infected patients. Methodology/Principal Findings T. cruzi antigens in urine of HIV patients (N = 55: 31 T. cruzi infected and 24 T. cruzi serology negative) were concentrated using hydrogel particles and quantified by Western Blot and a calibration curve. Reactivation of Chagas disease was defined by the observation of parasites in blood by microscopy. Parasitemia levels in patients with serology positive for Chagas disease were classified as follows: High parasitemia or reactivation of Chagas disease (detectable parasitemia by microscopy), moderate parasitemia (undetectable by microscopy but detectable by qPCR), and negative parasitemia (undetectable by microscopy and qPCR). The percentage of positive results detected by Chunap was: 100% (7/7) in cases of reactivation, 91.7% (11/12) in cases of moderate parasitemia, and 41.7% (5/12) in cases of negative parasitemia. Chunap specificity was found to be 91.7%. Linear regression analysis demonstrated a direct relationship between parasitemia levels and urine T. cruzi antigen concentrations (p 105 pg was chosen to determine patients with reactivation of Chagas disease (7/7). Antigenuria levels were 36.08 times (95% CI: 7.28 to 64.88) higher in patients with CD4+ lymphocyte counts below 200/mL (p = 0.016). No significant differences were found in HIV loads and CD8+ lymphocyte counts. Conclusion Chunap shows potential for early detection of Chagas reactivation. With appropriate adaptation, this diagnostic test can be used to monitor Chagas disease status in T. cruzi/HIV co-infected patients. PMID:26919324

Automated Microscopy: Macro Language Controlling a Confocal Microscope and its External Illumination: Adaptation for Photosynthetic Organisms.

Science.gov (United States)

Steinbach, Gábor; Kaňa, Radek

2016-04-01

Photosynthesis research employs several biophysical methods, including the detection of fluorescence. Even though fluorescence is a key method to detect photosynthetic efficiency, it has not been applied/adapted to single-cell confocal microscopy measurements to examine photosynthetic microorganisms. Experiments with photosynthetic cells may require automation to perform a large number of measurements with different parameters, especially concerning light conditions. However, commercial microscopes support custom protocols (through Time Controller offered by Olympus or Experiment Designer offered by Zeiss) that are often unable to provide special set-ups and connection to external devices (e.g., for irradiation). Our new system combining an Arduino microcontroller with the Cell⊕Finder software was developed for controlling Olympus FV1000 and FV1200 confocal microscopes and the attached hardware modules. Our software/hardware solution offers (1) a text file-based macro language to control the imaging functions of the microscope; (2) programmable control of several external hardware devices (light sources, thermal controllers, actuators) during imaging via the Arduino microcontroller; (3) the Cell⊕Finder software with ergonomic user environment, a fast selection method for the biologically important cells and precise positioning feature that reduces unwanted bleaching of the cells by the scanning laser. Cell⊕Finder can be downloaded from http://www.alga.cz/cellfinder. The system was applied to study changes in fluorescence intensity in Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 cells under long-term illumination. Thus, we were able to describe the kinetics of phycobilisome decoupling. Microscopy data showed that phycobilisome decoupling appears slowly after long-term (>1 h) exposure to high light.

Use of a midstream clean catch mobile application did not lower urine contamination rates in an ED.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacob, Mary S; Kulie, Paige; Benedict, Cameron; Ordoobadi, Alexander J; Sikka, Neal; Steinmetz, Erika; McCarthy, Melissa L

2018-01-01

Urine microscopy is a common test performed in emergency departments (EDs). Urine specimens can easily become contaminated by different factors, including the collection method. The midstream clean-catch (MSCC) collection technique is commonly used to reduce urine contamination. The urine culture contamination rate from specimens collected in our ED is 30%. We developed an instructional application (app) to show ED patients how to provide a MSCC urine sample. We hypothesized that ED patients who viewed our instructional app would have significantly lower urine contamination rates compared to patients who did not. We prospectively enrolled 257 subjects with a urinalysis and/or urine culture test ordered in the ED and asked them to watch our MSCC instructional app. After prospective enrollment was complete, we retrospectively matched each enrolled subject to an ED patient who did not watch the instructional app. Controls were matched to cases based on gender, type of urine specimen provided, ED visit date and shift. Urinalysis and urine culture contamination results were compared between the matched pairs using McNemar's test. The overall urine culture contamination rate of the 514 subjects was 38%. The majority of the matched pairs had a urinalysis (63%) or urinalysis plus urine culture (35%) test done. There were no significant differences in our urine contamination rates between the matched pairs overall or when stratified by gender, by prior knowledge of the clean catch process or by type of urine specimen. We did not see a lower contamination rate for patients who viewed our instructional app compared to patients who did not. It is possible that MSCC is not effective for decreasing urine specimen contamination. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Examination about utility of a Streptococcus pneumoniae capsular antigen swiftness search kit urine in a pneumonia patient].

Science.gov (United States)

Hashikita, Giichi; Yamaguti, Toshiyuki; Tachi, Yoshimi; Kishi, Etsuko; Kawamura, Toru; Takahashi, Shun; Arai, Yukie; Koyama, Sachie; Huruhata, Toshihumi; Itabashi, Akira; Oka, Yoko; Yamazaki, Tsutomu; Maesaki, Sigefumi

2005-01-01

We investigated the usefullness of Binax NOW urine antigen test, an immunochromatographic assay that binds any soluble Streptococcus pneumoniae antigen (C polysaccharide) for the diagnosis of penumoniae form September 2003 to March 2005. We used 372 samples form the patinets with pneumoniae diagnosed for blood or sputum cultuter or gram-stained sputum smear. Out of 24 culture positive specimens, Binax NOW urine antigen test, showed positive in 18 (75%) specimens. The sensitivity of sputum and blood culture was 71.7% and 83.3%, respectively. Binax NOW urine antigen test was seemed false positives in 55 samples, false negatives in 6 samples. The specificity of Binax NOW urine antigen test was evaluated 84.1%. Overall agreement among tests was 83.6%. When compared to culture, false negative urine antigen may be the result of colonizing S. pneumoniae in sputum or pneumonia caused by an agent other than S. pneumoniae. CRP values for cases were both urine antigen and culture were positive ranged from 40 mg/dl to 10 mg/dl while urine antigen and culture negative cases were predominantly less than 10 mg/dl. Positive blood and pleural fluid culture cases were consistently associated with strongly positive urine antigen tests. Non-agreement between urine antigen, culture, and microscopy may be the result of specimen quality, labile nature of S. pneumoniae and antimicrobial therapy.

Effect of blood contamination on results of dipstick evaluation and urine protein-to-urine creatinine ratio for urine samples from dogs and cats.

Science.gov (United States)

Vientós-Plotts, Aida I; Behrend, Ellen N; Welles, Elizabeth G; Chew, Dennis J; Gaillard, Philippe R; Busler, Jessica N; Lee, Hollie P

2018-05-01

OBJECTIVE To evaluate effects of blood contamination on dipstick results, specific gravity (SG), and urine protein-to-urine creatinine ratio (UPCR) for urine samples from dogs and cats. SAMPLE Urine samples collected from 279 dogs and 120 cats. PROCEDURES Urine pools were made for each species (dogs [n = 60] and cats [30]). Blood was added to an aliquot of a pool, and serial dilutions were prepared with the remaining urine. Color and dipstick variables were recorded, and SG and UPCR were measured. For cats, 1 set of pools was used; for dogs, 2 sets were used. Comparisons were made between undiluted urine and spiked urine samples for individual colors. Repeated-measures ANOVA on ranks was used to compare dipstick scores and UPCR results; χ 2 tests were used to compare proteinuria categorizations (nonproteinuric, borderline, or proteinuric). RESULTS Any blood in the urine resulted in significantly increased dipstick scores for blood. In both species, scores for bilirubin and ketones, pH, and SG were affected by visible blood contamination. No significant difference for the dipstick protein reagent results was evident until a sample was visibly hematuric. The UPCR was significantly increased in dark yellow samples of both species. Proteinuria categorizations differed significantly between undiluted urine and urine of all colors, except light yellow. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Any degree of blood contamination affected results of dipstick analysis. Effects depended on urine color and the variable measured. Microscopic blood contamination may affect the UPCR; thus, blood contamination may be a differential diagnosis for proteinuria in yellow urine samples.

Computers in field ion microscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suvorov, A.L.; Razinkova, T.L.; Sokolov, A.G.

1980-01-01

A review is presented of computer applications in field ion microscopy (FIM). The following topics are discussed in detail: (1) modeling field ion images in perfect crystals, (2) a general scheme of modeling, (3) modeling of the process of field evaporation, (4) crystal structure defects, (5) alloys, and (6) automation of FIM experiments and computer-assisted processing of real images. 146 references are given

Urine culture - catheterized specimen

Science.gov (United States)

Culture - urine - catheterized specimen; Urine culture - catheterization; Catheterized urine specimen culture ... urinary tract infections may be found in the culture. This is called a contaminant. You may not ...

The Urine Marker Test: An Alternative Approach to Supervised Urine Collection for Doping Control.

Science.gov (United States)

Elbe, Anne-Marie; Jensen, Stine Nylansted; Elsborg, Peter; Wetzke, Monika; Woldemariam, Getachew A; Huppertz, Bernd; Keller, Ruprecht; Butch, Anthony W

2016-01-01

Urine sample collection for doping control tests is a key component of the World Anti-Doping Agency's fight against doping in sport. However, a substantial number of athletes experience difficulty when having to urinate under supervision. Furthermore, it cannot always be ensured that athletes are actually delivering their own urine. A method that can be used to alleviate the negative impact of a supervised urination procedure and which can also identify urine as coming from a specific athlete is the urine marker test. Monodisperse low molecular weight polyethylene glycols (PEGs) are given orally prior to urination. Urine samples can be traced to the donor by analysis of the PEGs previously given. The objective of this study was to investigate the use of the urine marker during urine doping control testing. Two studies investigated athletes' acceptance of this new method via two questionnaires (n = 253). Furthermore, a third study (n = 91) investigated whether ingestion of the marker can identify the urine as coming from a specific person and whether the marker interferes with the detection of prohibited substances. The results indicate that this new method finds wide acceptance both from athletes who have only heard about the procedure and those who have actually tested the new method. Furthermore, the marker, which can identify urine as coming from a specific person, does not interfere with the detection of prohibited substances.

Diagnostic performance of Schistosoma real-time PCR in urine samples from Kenyan children infected with Schistosoma haematobium

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vinkeles Melchers, Natalie V. S.; van Dam, Govert J.; Shaproski, David

2014-01-01

treatment. METHODOLOGY: Previously collected urine samples (N = 390) from 114 preselected proven parasitological and/or clinical S. haematobium positive Kenyan schoolchildren were analyzed by a Schistosoma internal transcribed spacer-based real-time PCR after 14 years of storage. Pre-treatment day......, respectively. Based on the 'gold standard', PCR showed high sensitivity (>92%) as compared to >31% sensitivity for microscopy, both pre- and post-treatment. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Detection and quantification of Schistosoma DNA in urine by real-time PCR was shown to be a powerful and specific diagnostic...

The Cutoff Level for Urine Protein in Urine Immunofixation Electrophoresis.

Science.gov (United States)

Ellidag, Hamit Yasar; Curek, Gulten; Eren, Esin; Aydin, Ozgur; Yilmaz, Necat

2015-01-01

Immunofixation electrophoresis (IFE) maintains its importance in diagnosing monoclonal gammopathies. In particular, urine IFE detects free light chains (FLC) in urine samples even at low concentrations and offers higher sensitivity compared to serum electrophoresis and serum IFE. The aim of the present study was to determine the place and significance of quantitative urinary protein measurement before IFE in interpreting the results of subsequent IFE and to determine the most appropriate protein concentrations for the appearance of bands. The records of a total of 600 patients, who underwent screening for Bence Jones proteinuria using IFE on 24-hour urine, were retrospectively reviewed. Urine IFE was performed using Helena SAS-I and SAS-I devices. The total protein concentration in the urine was quantitatively determined by the Pyrogallol red method, and the urine albumin level was determined using the immunoturbidimetric method. These analyses were measured on an Olympus/Beckmann AU5800. The evaluation of IFE results revealed that 311 patients had normal results, 108 patients had monoclonal bands, five patients had biclonal bands, 28 had polyclonal bands, and 148 patients had various degrees of proteinuria. ROC curves were created in order to determine the most appropriate urinary protein and albumin levels to observe bands in IFE. Accordingly, urine baseline protein level (mg/dL) showed the highest AUC value (cutoff value: 19.4 mg/dL, sensitivity: 92%, specificity: 98.2%, AUC: 0.972). The present study showed that quantitative protein measurement before IFE eliminated the disadvantages associated with the IFE method and its interpretation.

Urine Odor

Science.gov (United States)

... doctor. Brunzel NA. Physical examination of urine. In: Fundamentals of Urine and Body Fluid Analysis. 3rd ed. St. Louis, Mo.: Saunders Elsevier; 2013:97. McPherson RA, et al., eds. Henry's Clinical Diagnosis and Management by Laboratory Methods. 23rd ed. St. Louis, Mo.: ...

Automated imaging system for single molecules

Science.gov (United States)

Schwartz, David Charles; Runnheim, Rodney; Forrest, Daniel

2012-09-18

There is provided a high throughput automated single molecule image collection and processing system that requires minimal initial user input. The unique features embodied in the present disclosure allow automated collection and initial processing of optical images of single molecules and their assemblies. Correct focus may be automatically maintained while images are collected. Uneven illumination in fluorescence microscopy is accounted for, and an overall robust imaging operation is provided yielding individual images prepared for further processing in external systems. Embodiments described herein are useful in studies of any macromolecules such as DNA, RNA, peptides and proteins. The automated image collection and processing system and method of same may be implemented and deployed over a computer network, and may be ergonomically optimized to facilitate user interaction.

A New Automated Method and Sample Data Flow for Analysis of Volatile Nitrosamines in Human Urine*

Science.gov (United States)

Hodgson, James A.; Seyler, Tiffany H.; McGahee, Ernest; Arnstein, Stephen; Wang, Lanqing

2016-01-01

Volatile nitrosamines (VNAs) are a group of compounds classified as probable (group 2A) and possible (group 2B) carcinogens in humans. Along with certain foods and contaminated drinking water, VNAs are detected at high levels in tobacco products and in both mainstream and sidestream smoke. Our laboratory monitors six urinary VNAs—N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), N-nitrosomethylethylamine (NMEA), N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA), N-nitrosopiperidine (NPIP), N-nitrosopyrrolidine (NPYR), and N-nitrosomorpholine (NMOR)—using isotope dilution GC-MS/MS (QQQ) for large population studies such as the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). In this paper, we report for the first time a new automated sample preparation method to more efficiently quantitate these VNAs. Automation is done using Hamilton STAR™ and Caliper Staccato™ workstations. This new automated method reduces sample preparation time from 4 hours to 2.5 hours while maintaining precision (inter-run CV < 10%) and accuracy (85% - 111%). More importantly this method increases sample throughput while maintaining a low limit of detection (<10 pg/mL) for all analytes. A streamlined sample data flow was created in parallel to the automated method, in which samples can be tracked from receiving to final LIMs output with minimal human intervention, further minimizing human error in the sample preparation process. This new automated method and the sample data flow are currently applied in bio-monitoring of VNAs in the US non-institutionalized population NHANES 2013-2014 cycle. PMID:26949569

Tracer techniques for urine volume determination and urine collection and sampling back-up system

Science.gov (United States)

Ramirez, R. V.

1971-01-01

The feasibility, functionality, and overall accuracy of the use of lithium were investigated as a chemical tracer in urine for providing a means of indirect determination of total urine volume by the atomic absorption spectrophotometry method. Experiments were conducted to investigate the parameters of instrumentation, tracer concentration, mixing times, and methods for incorporating the tracer material in the urine collection bag, and to refine and optimize the urine tracer technique to comply with the Skylab scheme and operational parameters of + or - 2% of volume error and + or - 1% accuracy of amount of tracer added to each container. In addition, a back-up method for urine collection and sampling system was developed and evaluated. This back-up method incorporates the tracer technique for volume determination in event of failure of the primary urine collection and preservation system. One chemical preservative was selected and evaluated as a contingency chemical preservative for the storage of urine in event of failure of the urine cooling system.

[Clinical usefulness of urine-formed elements' information obtained from bacteria detection by flow cytometry method that uses nucleic acid staining].

Science.gov (United States)

Nakagawa, Hiroko; Yuno, Tomoji; Itho, Kiichi

2009-03-01

Recently, specific detection method for Bacteria, by flow cytometry method using nucleic acid staining, was developed as a function of automated urine formed elements analyzer for routine urine testing. Here, we performed a basic study on this bacteria analysis method. In addition, we also have a comparison among urine sediment analysis, urine Gram staining and urine quantitative cultivation, the conventional methods performed up to now. As a result, the bacteria analysis with flow cytometry method that uses nucleic acid staining was excellent in reproducibility, and higher sensitivity compared with microscopic urinary sediment analysis. Based on the ROC curve analysis, which settled urine culture method as standard, cut-off level of 120/microL was defined and its sensitivity = 85.7%, specificity = 88.2%. In the analysis of scattergram, accompanied with urine culture method, among 90% of rod positive samples, 80% of dots were appeared in the area of 30 degrees from axis X. In addition, one case even indicated that analysis of bacteria by flow cytometry and scattergram of time series analysis might be helpful to trace the progress of causative bacteria therefore the information supposed to be clinically significant. Reporting bacteria information with nucleic acid staining flow cytometry method is expected to contribute to a rapid diagnostics and treatment of urinary tract infections. Besides, the contribution to screening examination of microbiology and clinical chemistry, will deliver a more efficient solution to urine analysis.

Prevalence of discordant microscopic changes with automated CBC analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fabiano de Jesus Santos

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Introduction:The most common cause of diagnostic error is related to errors in laboratory tests as well as errors of results interpretation. In order to reduce them, the laboratory currently has modern equipment which provides accurate and reliable results. The development of automation has revolutionized the laboratory procedures in Brazil and worldwide.Objective:To determine the prevalence of microscopic changes present in blood slides concordant and discordant with results obtained using fully automated procedures.Materials and method:From January to July 2013, 1,000 hematological parameters slides were analyzed. Automated analysis was performed on last generation equipment, which methodology is based on electrical impedance, and is able to quantify all the figurative elements of the blood in a universe of 22 parameters. The microscopy was performed by two experts in microscopy simultaneously.Results:The data showed that only 42.70% were concordant, comparing with 57.30% discordant. The main findings among discordant were: Changes in red blood cells 43.70% (n = 250, white blood cells 38.46% (n = 220, and number of platelet 17.80% (n = 102.Discussion:The data show that some results are not consistent with clinical or physiological state of an individual, and cannot be explained because they have not been investigated, which may compromise the final diagnosis.Conclusion:It was observed that it is of fundamental importance that the microscopy qualitative analysis must be performed in parallel with automated analysis in order to obtain reliable results, causing a positive impact on the prevention, diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic follow-up.

A framework for creating realistic synthetic fluorescence microscopy image sequences

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Mabaso, M

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Fluorescence microscopy imaging is an important tool in modern biological research, allowing insights into the processes of biological systems. Automated image analysis algorithms help in extracting information from these images. Validation...

Crystallization of calcium oxalate in minimally diluted urine

Science.gov (United States)

Bretherton, T.; Rodgers, A.

1998-09-01

Crystallization of calcium oxalate was studied in minimally diluted (92%) urine using a mixed suspension mixed product crystallizer in series with a Malvern particle sizer. The crystallization was initiated by constant flow of aqueous sodium oxalate and urine into the reaction vessel via two independent feed lines. Because the Malvern cell was in series with the reaction vessel, noninvasive measurement of particle sizes could be effected. In addition, aliquots of the mixed suspension were withdrawn and transferred to a Coulter counter for crystal counting and sizing. Steady-state particle size distributions were used to determine nucleation and growth kinetics while scanning electron microscopy was used to examine deposited crystals. Two sets of experiments were performed. In the first, the effect of the concentration of the exogenous sodium oxalate was investigated while in the second, the effect of temperature was studied. Calcium oxalate nucleation and growth rates were found to be dependent on supersaturation levels inside the crystallizer. However, while growth rate increased with increasing temperature, nucleation rates decreased. The favored phases were the trihydrate at 18°C, the dihydrate at 38° and the monohydrate at 58°C. The results of both experiments are in agreement with those obtained in other studies that have been conducted in synthetic and in maximally diluted urine and which have employed invasive crystal counting and sizing techniques. As such, the present study lends confidence to the models of urinary calcium oxalate crystallization processes which currently prevail in the literature.

Urine Tests (For Parents)

Science.gov (United States)

... the urine sample. In certain situations, a sterile bag can be placed around a baby’s diaper area to collect a urine sample. If you have any questions about urine tests, talk with your doctor. Reviewed by: Yamini Durani, MD ...

Automated imaging of cellular spheroids with selective plane illumination microscopy on a chip (Conference Presentation)

Science.gov (United States)

Paiè, Petra; Bassi, Andrea; Bragheri, Francesca; Osellame, Roberto

2017-02-01

Selective plane illumination microscopy (SPIM) is an optical sectioning technique that allows imaging of biological samples at high spatio-temporal resolution. Standard SPIM devices require dedicated set-ups, complex sample preparation and accurate system alignment, thus limiting the automation of the technique, its accessibility and throughput. We present a millimeter-scaled optofluidic device that incorporates selective plane illumination and fully automatic sample delivery and scanning. To this end an integrated cylindrical lens and a three-dimensional fluidic network were fabricated by femtosecond laser micromachining into a single glass chip. This device can upgrade any standard fluorescence microscope to a SPIM system. We used SPIM on a CHIP to automatically scan biological samples under a conventional microscope, without the need of any motorized stage: tissue spheroids expressing fluorescent proteins were flowed in the microchannel at constant speed and their sections were acquired while passing through the light sheet. We demonstrate high-throughput imaging of the entire sample volume (with a rate of 30 samples/min), segmentation and quantification in thick (100-300 μm diameter) cellular spheroids. This optofluidic device gives access to SPIM analyses to non-expert end-users, opening the way to automatic and fast screening of a high number of samples at subcellular resolution.

Magnetic graphene oxide as adsorbent for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolites in human urine.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Linli; Xu, Hui

2014-09-01

Detection of monohydroxy polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons metabolites in urine is an advisable and valid method to assess human environmental exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. In this work, novel Fe3O4/graphene oxide composites were prepared and their application in the magnetic solid-phase extraction of monohydroxy polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in urine was investigated by coupling with liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. In the hybrid material, superparamagnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles provide fast separation to simplify the analytical process and graphene oxide provides a large functional surface for the adsorption. The prepared magnetic nanocomposites were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and vibrating sample magnetometry. The experimental conditions were optimized systematically. Under the optimal conditions, the recoveries of these compounds were in the range of 98.3-125.2%, the relative standard deviations ranged between 6.8 and 15.5%, and the limits of detection were in the range of 0.01-0.15 ng/mL. The simple, quick, and affordable method was successfully used in the analysis of human urinary monohydroxy polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in two different cities. The results indicated that the monohydroxy polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons level in human urine can provide useful information for environmental exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

A machine vision system for automated non-invasive assessment of cell viability via dark field microscopy, wavelet feature selection and classification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Friehs Karl

2008-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Cell viability is one of the basic properties indicating the physiological state of the cell, thus, it has long been one of the major considerations in biotechnological applications. Conventional methods for extracting information about cell viability usually need reagents to be applied on the targeted cells. These reagent-based techniques are reliable and versatile, however, some of them might be invasive and even toxic to the target cells. In support of automated noninvasive assessment of cell viability, a machine vision system has been developed. Results This system is based on supervised learning technique. It learns from images of certain kinds of cell populations and trains some classifiers. These trained classifiers are then employed to evaluate the images of given cell populations obtained via dark field microscopy. Wavelet decomposition is performed on the cell images. Energy and entropy are computed for each wavelet subimage as features. A feature selection algorithm is implemented to achieve better performance. Correlation between the results from the machine vision system and commonly accepted gold standards becomes stronger if wavelet features are utilized. The best performance is achieved with a selected subset of wavelet features. Conclusion The machine vision system based on dark field microscopy in conjugation with supervised machine learning and wavelet feature selection automates the cell viability assessment, and yields comparable results to commonly accepted methods. Wavelet features are found to be suitable to describe the discriminative properties of the live and dead cells in viability classification. According to the analysis, live cells exhibit morphologically more details and are intracellularly more organized than dead ones, which display more homogeneous and diffuse gray values throughout the cells. Feature selection increases the system's performance. The reason lies in the fact that feature

Urine drug screen

Science.gov (United States)

Drug screen - urine ... detect the presence of illegal and some prescription drugs in your urine. Their presence may indicate that you recently used these drugs. Some drugs may remain in your system for ...

Automated radiometric detection of bacteria

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Waters, J.R.

1974-01-01

A new radiometric method called BACTEC, used for the detection of bacteria in cultures or in supposedly sterile samples, was discussed from the standpoint of methodology, both automated and semi-automated. Some of the results obtained so far were reported and some future applications and development possibilities were described. In this new method, the test sample is incubated in a sealed vial with a liquid culture medium containing a 14 C-labeled substrate. If bacteria are present, they break down the substrate, producing 14 CO 2 which is periodically extracted from the vial as a gas and is tested for radioactivity. If this gaseous radioactivity exceeds a threshold level, it is evidence of bacterial presence and growth in the test vial. The first application was for the detection of bacteria in the blood cultures of hospital patients. Data were presented showing typical results. Also discussed were future applications, such as rapid screening for bacteria in urine industrial sterility testing and the disposal of used 14 C substrates. (Mukohata, S.)

Prognostic value of a quantitative analysis of lipoarabinomannan in urine from patients with HIV-associated tuberculosis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrew D Kerkhoff

Full Text Available Detection of the mycobacterial cell wall antigen lipoarabinomannan (LAM in urine can be used to diagnose HIV-associated tuberculosis (TB using a qualitative (positive/negative read-out. However, it is not known whether the quantity of LAM present in urine provides additional prognostic information.Consecutively recruited adult outpatients initiating antiretroviral therapy (ART in South Africa were investigated for TB regardless of clinical symptoms using sputum smear microscopy and liquid culture (reference standard. Urine samples were tested using the Clearview TB-ELISA for LAM and the Xpert MTB/RIF assay. The ELISA optical densities (OD were used as a quantitative assessment of urine LAM. Among 514 patients with complete sputum and urine LAM OD results, culture-confirmed TB was diagnosed in 84 patients. Twenty-three (27.3% were LAM-positive with a median LAM OD of 0.68 (IQR 0.16-2.43; range, 0.10-3.29 and 61 (72.6% were LAM negative (LAM OD <0.1 above background. Higher LAM ODs were associated with a range of prognostic indices, including lower CD4 cell counts, lower haemoglobin levels, higher blood neutrophil counts and higher mycobacterial load as assessed using both sputum and urine samples. The median LAM OD among patients who died was more than 6.8-fold higher than that of patients who remained alive at 3 months (P<0.001. The small number of deaths, however, precluded adequate assessment of mortality risk stratified according to urine LAM OD.In patients with HIV-associated TB, concentrations of LAM in urine were strongly associated with a range of poor prognostic characteristics known to be associated with mortality risk. Urine LAM assays with a semi-quantitative (negative vs. low-positive vs. high-positive read-out may have improved clinical utility over assays with a simple binary result.

Automated extraction of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and N-demethyl-LSD from blood, serum, plasma, and urine samples using the Zymark RapidTrace with LC/MS/MS confirmation.

Science.gov (United States)

de Kanel, J; Vickery, W E; Waldner, B; Monahan, R M; Diamond, F X

1998-05-01

A forensic procedure for the quantitative confirmation of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and the qualitative confirmation of its metabolite, N-demethyl-LSD, in blood, serum, plasma, and urine samples is presented. The Zymark RapidTrace was used to perform fully automated solid-phase extractions of all specimen types. After extract evaporation, confirmations were performed using liquid chromatography (LC) followed by positive electrospray ionization (ESI+) mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (MS/MS) without derivatization. Quantitation of LSD was accomplished using LSD-d3 as an internal standard. The limit of quantitation (LOQ) for LSD was 0.05 ng/mL. The limit of detection (LOD) for both LSD and N-demethyl-LSD was 0.025 ng/mL. The recovery of LSD was greater than 95% at levels of 0.1 ng/mL and 2.0 ng/mL. For LSD at 1.0 ng/mL, the within-run and between-run (different day) relative standard deviation (RSD) was 2.2% and 4.4%, respectively.

Simple and robust image-based autofocusing for digital microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Yazdanfar, Siavash; Kenny, Kevin B; Tasimi, Krenar; Corwin, Alex D; Dixon, Elizabeth L; Filkins, Robert J

2008-06-09

A simple image-based autofocusing scheme for digital microscopy is demonstrated that uses as few as two intermediate images to bring the sample into focus. The algorithm is adapted to a commercial inverted microscope and used to automate brightfield and fluorescence imaging of histopathology tissue sections.

Size-exclusion chromatography-based enrichment of extracellular vesicles from urine samples

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Inés Lozano-Ramos

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Renal biopsy is the gold-standard procedure to diagnose most of renal pathologies. However, this invasive method is of limited repeatability and often describes an irreversible renal damage. Urine is an easily accessible fluid and urinary extracellular vesicles (EVs may be ideal to describe new biomarkers associated with renal pathologies. Several methods to enrich EVs have been described. Most of them contain a mixture of proteins, lipoproteins and cell debris that may be masking relevant biomarkers. Here, we evaluated size-exclusion chromatography (SEC as a suitable method to isolate urinary EVs. Following a conventional centrifugation to eliminate cell debris and apoptotic bodies, urine samples were concentrated using ultrafiltration and loaded on a SEC column. Collected fractions were analysed by protein content and flow cytometry to determine the presence of tetraspanin markers (CD63 and CD9. The highest tetraspanin content was routinely detected in fractions well before the bulk of proteins eluted. These tetraspanin-peak fractions were analysed by cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM and nanoparticle tracking analysis revealing the presence of EVs.When analysed by sodium dodecyl sulphate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, tetraspanin-peak fractions from urine concentrated samples contained multiple bands but the main urine proteins (such as Tamm–Horsfall protein were absent. Furthermore, a preliminary proteomic study of these fractions revealed the presence of EV-related proteins, suggesting their enrichment in concentrated samples. In addition, RNA profiling also showed the presence of vesicular small RNA species.To summarize, our results demonstrated that concentrated urine followed by SEC is a suitable option to isolate EVs with low presence of soluble contaminants. This methodology could permit more accurate analyses of EV-related biomarkers when further characterized by -omics technologies compared with other approaches.

Screening for Anabolic Steroids in Urine of Forensic Cases Using Fully Automated Solid Phase Extraction and LC–MS-MS

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, David Wederkinck; Linnet, Kristian

2014-01-01

and solid phase extraction followed by analysis by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) using electrospray ionization with adduct formation for two compounds. Urine samples from 580 forensic cases were analyzed to determine the T/E ratio and occurrence of exogenous anabolic steroids....... Extraction recoveries ranged from 77 to 95%, matrix effects from 48 to 78%, overall process efficiencies from 40 to 54% and the lower limit of identification ranged from 2 to 40 ng/mL. In the 580 urine samples analyzed from routine forensic cases, 17 (2.9%) were found positive for one or more anabolic...

A New Method for Automated Identification and Morphometry of Myelinated Fibers Through Light Microscopy Image Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Novas, Romulo Bourget; Fazan, Valeria Paula Sassoli; Felipe, Joaquim Cezar

2016-02-01

Nerve morphometry is known to produce relevant information for the evaluation of several phenomena, such as nerve repair, regeneration, implant, transplant, aging, and different human neuropathies. Manual morphometry is laborious, tedious, time consuming, and subject to many sources of error. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a new method for the automated morphometry of myelinated fibers in cross-section light microscopy images. Images from the recurrent laryngeal nerve of adult rats and the vestibulocochlear nerve of adult guinea pigs were used herein. The proposed pipeline for fiber segmentation is based on the techniques of competitive clustering and concavity analysis. The evaluation of the proposed method for segmentation of images was done by comparing the automatic segmentation with the manual segmentation. To further evaluate the proposed method considering morphometric features extracted from the segmented images, the distributions of these features were tested for statistical significant difference. The method achieved a high overall sensitivity and very low false-positive rates per image. We detect no statistical difference between the distribution of the features extracted from the manual and the pipeline segmentations. The method presented a good overall performance, showing widespread potential in experimental and clinical settings allowing large-scale image analysis and, thus, leading to more reliable results.

Feline urine metabolomic signature: characterization of low-molecular-weight substances in urine from domestic cats.

Science.gov (United States)

Rivera-Vélez, Sol-Maiam; Villarino, Nicolas F

2018-02-01

Objectives This aim of this study was to characterize the composition and content of the feline urine metabolome. Methods Eight healthy domestic cats were acclimated at least 10 days before starting the study. Urine samples (~2 ml) were collected by ultrasound-guided cystocentesis. Samples were centrifuged at 1000 × g for 8 mins, and the supernatant was analyzed by gas chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometery. The urine metabolome was characterized using an untargeted metabolomics approach. Results Three hundred and eighteen metabolites were detected in the urine of the eight cats. These molecules are key components of at least 100 metabolic pathways. Feline urine appears to be dominated by carbohydrates, carbohydrate conjugates, organic acid and derivatives, and amino acids and analogs. The five most abundant molecules were phenaceturic acid, hippuric acid, pseudouridine phosphate and 3-(4-hydroxyphenyl) propionic acid. Conclusions and relevance This study is the first to characterize the feline urine metabolome. The results of this study revealed the presence of multiple low-molecular-weight substances that were not known to be present in feline urine. As expected, the origin of the metabolites detected in urine was diverse, including endogenous compounds and molecules biosynthesized by microbes. Also, the diet seemed to have had a relevant role on the urine metabolome. Further exploration of the urine metabolic phenotype will open a window for discovering unknown, or poorly understood, metabolic pathways. In turn, this will advance our understanding of feline biology and lead to new insights in feline physiology, nutrition and medicine.

The Accuracy of the Sysmex UF-1000i in Urine Bacterial Detection Compared With the Standard Urine Analysis and Culture.

Science.gov (United States)

Erdman, Patrick; Anderson, Brian; Zacko, J Christopher; Taylor, Kirk; Donaldson, Keri

2017-11-01

- Urinary tract infections are characterized by the presence of microbial pathogens within the urinary tract. They represent one of the most common infections in hospitalized and clinic patients. - To model the parameters of the Sysmex UF-1000i to the gold standard, urine culture, and to compare the detection of dipstick leukocyte esterase and nitrates to urine cultures and UF-1000i results. - Data were compared from urine samples collected in sterile containers for bacterial culture and microscopic analysis. One sample was used to inoculate a 5% sheep blood agar and MacConkey agar plate using a 0.001-mL calibrated loop. The second sample was analyzed by urinalysis-associated microscopy. The media plates were investigated for growth after 18 to 24 hours of aerobic incubation at 37°C. The second sample was analyzed for bacteria and leukocytes with the Sysmex UF-1000i according to the manufacturer's guidelines. Three definitions for culture results, sensitivity, and specificity at different cutoff values were calculated for the UF-1000i. - The negative predictive value for any positive culture in the adult population included in the study was 95.5%, and the negative predictive value for positive cultures containing growth of 100 000 or more colony-forming units was 99.3% using the Sysmex UF-1000i. - Sysmex UF-1000i showed 98% sensitivity and 93.7% specificity with a 95.5% negative predictive value. Thus, a negative screen with the UF-1000i using defined thresholds for white blood cell counts and bacteria was likely to be a true negative, decreasing the need for presumptive antibiotics.

Urine drug screening in the medical setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Hammett-Stabler, Catherine A; Pesce, Amadeo J; Cannon, Donald J

2002-01-01

The term drug screen is a misnomer since it implies screening for all drugs, which is not possible. Current practice is to limit the testing to the examination of serum for several drugs such as ethanol, acetaminophen, salicylate, and of urine for several specific drugs or classes of drugs. In the emergency setting the screen should be performed in less than one hour. Controversies continue to exist regarding the value of urine drug testing in the medical setting. The reasons for these include the drugs involved, the sample, the methods utilized to perform the tests, and the level of understanding of the physician using the data, all of which are closely related to the other. Current automated methods provide rapid results demanded in emergency situations, but are often designed for, or adapted from, workplace testing and are not necessarily optimized for clinical applications. Furthermore, the use of these methods without consideration of the frequency in which the drugs are found in a given area is not cost-effective. The laboratory must understand the limitations of the assays used and provide this information to the physician. Additionally, the laboratory and the physicians using the data must cooperate to determine which drugs are appropriate and necessary to measure for their institution and clinical setting. In doing so it should be remembered that for many drugs, the sample, urine, contains the end product(s) of drug metabolism, not the parent drug. Furthermore, it is necessary to understand the pharmacokinetic parameters of the drug of interest when interpreting data. Finally, while testing for some drugs may not appear cost-effective, the prevention or reduction of morbidity and mortality may offset any laboratory costs. While the literature is replete with studies concerning new methods and a few regarding physician understanding, there are none that we could find that thoroughly, objectively, and fully addressed the issues of utility and cost-effectiveness.

Kvaliteten af resistensbestemmelser på urin i almen praksis er generelt god

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Søgaard, Per; Knudsen, Anette Flindt; Højbjerg, Tove

2012-01-01

In Denmark, many microbiological tests (microscopy, culture and susceptibility examinations) are done in general practice for the diagnosis of urinary tract infections (UTI). In 2006, the costs of susceptibility examinations were 28 million DKK. Some regional health authorities have established...... a program for quality assessment. National quality requirements for susceptibility examinations have already been established. The clinical microbiological departments send simulated urines with bacteria of common UTI strains. The specimens are examined in general practice with routine methods. The results...

Real-time high dynamic range laser scanning microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Vinegoni, C.; Leon Swisher, C.; Fumene Feruglio, P.; Giedt, R. J.; Rousso, D. L.; Stapleton, S.; Weissleder, R.

2016-04-01

In conventional confocal/multiphoton fluorescence microscopy, images are typically acquired under ideal settings and after extensive optimization of parameters for a given structure or feature, often resulting in information loss from other image attributes. To overcome the problem of selective data display, we developed a new method that extends the imaging dynamic range in optical microscopy and improves the signal-to-noise ratio. Here we demonstrate how real-time and sequential high dynamic range microscopy facilitates automated three-dimensional neural segmentation. We address reconstruction and segmentation performance on samples with different size, anatomy and complexity. Finally, in vivo real-time high dynamic range imaging is also demonstrated, making the technique particularly relevant for longitudinal imaging in the presence of physiological motion and/or for quantification of in vivo fast tracer kinetics during functional imaging.

Comparison of Inoculation with the InoqulA and WASP Automated Systems with Manual Inoculation

Science.gov (United States)

Croxatto, Antony; Dijkstra, Klaas; Prod'hom, Guy

2015-01-01

The quality of sample inoculation is critical for achieving an optimal yield of discrete colonies in both monomicrobial and polymicrobial samples to perform identification and antibiotic susceptibility testing. Consequently, we compared the performance between the InoqulA (BD Kiestra), the WASP (Copan), and manual inoculation methods. Defined mono- and polymicrobial samples of 4 bacterial species and cloudy urine specimens were inoculated on chromogenic agar by the InoqulA, the WASP, and manual methods. Images taken with ImagA (BD Kiestra) were analyzed with the VisionLab version 3.43 image analysis software to assess the quality of growth and to prevent subjective interpretation of the data. A 3- to 10-fold higher yield of discrete colonies was observed following automated inoculation with both the InoqulA and WASP systems than that with manual inoculation. The difference in performance between automated and manual inoculation was mainly observed at concentrations of >106 bacteria/ml. Inoculation with the InoqulA system allowed us to obtain significantly more discrete colonies than the WASP system at concentrations of >107 bacteria/ml. However, the level of difference observed was bacterial species dependent. Discrete colonies of bacteria present in 100- to 1,000-fold lower concentrations than the most concentrated populations in defined polymicrobial samples were not reproducibly recovered, even with the automated systems. The analysis of cloudy urine specimens showed that InoqulA inoculation provided a statistically significantly higher number of discrete colonies than that with WASP and manual inoculation. Consequently, the automated InoqulA inoculation greatly decreased the requirement for bacterial subculture and thus resulted in a significant reduction in the time to results, laboratory workload, and laboratory costs. PMID:25972424

Urine specific gravity test

Science.gov (United States)

... medlineplus.gov/ency/article/003587.htm Urine specific gravity test To use the sharing features on this page, please enable JavaScript. Urine specific gravity is a laboratory test that shows the concentration ...

Maple syrup urine disease

Science.gov (United States)

... this page: //medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000373.htm Maple syrup urine disease To use the sharing features on this page, please enable JavaScript. Maple syrup urine disease (MSUD) is a disorder in ...

Determination of aberration center of Ronchigram for automated aberration correctors in scanning transmission electron microscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sannomiya, Takumi, E-mail: sannomiya@mtl.titech.ac.jp [Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama, Tokyo (Japan); Sawada, Hidetaka; Nakamichi, Tomohiro; Hosokawa, Fumio [JEOL Limited, Akishima, Tokyo (Japan); Nakamura, Yoshio; Tanishiro, Yasumasa; Takayanagi, Kunio [Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama, Tokyo (Japan)

2013-12-15

A generic method to determine the aberration center is established, which can be utilized for aberration calculation and axis alignment for aberration corrected electron microscopes. In this method, decentering induced secondary aberrations from inherent primary aberrations are minimized to find the appropriate axis center. The fitness function to find the optimal decentering vector for the axis was defined as a sum of decentering induced secondary aberrations with properly distributed weight values according to the aberration order. Since the appropriate decentering vector is determined from the aberration values calculated at an arbitrary center axis, only one aberration measurement is in principle required to find the center, resulting in /very fast center search. This approach was tested for the Ronchigram based aberration calculation method for aberration corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy. Both in simulation and in experiments, the center search was confirmed to work well although the convergence to find the best axis becomes slower with larger primary aberrations. Such aberration center determination is expected to fully automatize the aberration correction procedures, which used to require pre-alignment of experienced users. This approach is also applicable to automated aperture positioning. - Highlights: • A generic method to determine the aberration center is established for (S)TEM. • Decentering induced secondary aberrations are utilized to find the center. • The method is tested on Ronchigrams both in simulation and experiment. • Proper weighting of the aberration gives a good convergence. • Larger primary aberration results in a slower convergence.

Pink urine syndrome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luis del Carpio-Orantes

2017-03-01

Full Text Available In the present images we allude to a syndrome of low incidence, characterized by pink urine, being related to factors such as obesity, and being triggered by abdominal surgeries, use of propofol, among others. Being favoured by the presence of abundant crystals of uric acid in the urine confers the typical pink coloration.

The Human Urine Metabolome

Science.gov (United States)

Bouatra, Souhaila; Aziat, Farid; Mandal, Rupasri; Guo, An Chi; Wilson, Michael R.; Knox, Craig; Bjorndahl, Trent C.; Krishnamurthy, Ramanarayan; Saleem, Fozia; Liu, Philip; Dame, Zerihun T.; Poelzer, Jenna; Huynh, Jessica; Yallou, Faizath S.; Psychogios, Nick; Dong, Edison; Bogumil, Ralf; Roehring, Cornelia; Wishart, David S.

2013-01-01

Urine has long been a “favored” biofluid among metabolomics researchers. It is sterile, easy-to-obtain in large volumes, largely free from interfering proteins or lipids and chemically complex. However, this chemical complexity has also made urine a particularly difficult substrate to fully understand. As a biological waste material, urine typically contains metabolic breakdown products from a wide range of foods, drinks, drugs, environmental contaminants, endogenous waste metabolites and bacterial by-products. Many of these compounds are poorly characterized and poorly understood. In an effort to improve our understanding of this biofluid we have undertaken a comprehensive, quantitative, metabolome-wide characterization of human urine. This involved both computer-aided literature mining and comprehensive, quantitative experimental assessment/validation. The experimental portion employed NMR spectroscopy, gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS), direct flow injection mass spectrometry (DFI/LC-MS/MS), inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) experiments performed on multiple human urine samples. This multi-platform metabolomic analysis allowed us to identify 445 and quantify 378 unique urine metabolites or metabolite species. The different analytical platforms were able to identify (quantify) a total of: 209 (209) by NMR, 179 (85) by GC-MS, 127 (127) by DFI/LC-MS/MS, 40 (40) by ICP-MS and 10 (10) by HPLC. Our use of multiple metabolomics platforms and technologies allowed us to identify several previously unknown urine metabolites and to substantially enhance the level of metabolome coverage. It also allowed us to critically assess the relative strengths and weaknesses of different platforms or technologies. The literature review led to the identification and annotation of another 2206 urinary compounds and was used to help guide the subsequent experimental studies. An online database containing

Automated image analysis for quantification of filamentous bacteria

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fredborg, Marlene; Rosenvinge, Flemming Schønning; Spillum, Erik

2015-01-01

in systems relying on colorimetry or turbidometry (such as Vitek-2, Phoenix, MicroScan WalkAway). The objective was to examine an automated image analysis algorithm for quantification of filamentous bacteria using the 3D digital microscopy imaging system, oCelloScope. Results Three E. coli strains displaying...

Impact of urine concentration adjustment method on associations between urine metals and estimated glomerular filtration rates (eGFR) in adolescents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weaver, Virginia M.; Vargas, Gonzalo García; Silbergeld, Ellen K.; Rothenberg, Stephen J.; Fadrowski, Jeffrey J.; Rubio-Andrade, Marisela; Parsons, Patrick J.; Steuerwald, Amy J.

2014-01-01

Positive associations between urine toxicant levels and measures of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) have been reported recently in a range of populations. The explanation for these associations, in a direction opposite that of traditional nephrotoxicity, is uncertain. Variation in associations by urine concentration adjustment approach has also been observed. Associations of urine cadmium, thallium and uranium in models of serum creatinine- and cystatin-C-based estimated GFR (eGFR) were examined using multiple linear regression in a cross-sectional study of adolescents residing near a lead smelter complex. Urine concentration adjustment approaches compared included urine creatinine, urine osmolality and no adjustment. Median age, blood lead and urine cadmium, thallium and uranium were 13.9 years, 4.0 μg/dL, 0.22, 0.27 and 0.04 g/g creatinine, respectively, in 512 adolescents. Urine cadmium and thallium were positively associated with serum creatinine-based eGFR only when urine creatinine was used to adjust for urine concentration (β coefficient=3.1 mL/min/1.73 m 2 ; 95% confidence interval=1.4, 4.8 per each doubling of urine cadmium). Weaker positive associations, also only with urine creatinine adjustment, were observed between these metals and serum cystatin-C-based eGFR and between urine uranium and serum creatinine-based eGFR. Additional research using non-creatinine-based methods of adjustment for urine concentration is necessary. - Highlights: • Positive associations between urine metals and creatinine-based eGFR are unexpected. • Optimal approach to urine concentration adjustment for urine biomarkers uncertain. • We compared urine concentration adjustment methods. • Positive associations observed only with urine creatinine adjustment. • Additional research using non-creatinine-based methods of adjustment needed

Impact of urine concentration adjustment method on associations between urine metals and estimated glomerular filtration rates (eGFR) in adolescents

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Weaver, Virginia M., E-mail: vweaver@jhsph.edu [Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD (United States); Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD (United States); Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD (United States); Vargas, Gonzalo García [Faculty of Medicine, University of Juárez of Durango State, Durango (Mexico); Secretaría de Salud del Estado de Coahuila, Coahuila, México (Mexico); Silbergeld, Ellen K. [Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD (United States); Rothenberg, Stephen J. [Instituto Nacional de Salud Publica, Centro de Investigacion en Salud Poblacional, Cuernavaca, Morelos (Mexico); Fadrowski, Jeffrey J. [Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD (United States); Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD (United States); Rubio-Andrade, Marisela [Faculty of Medicine, University of Juárez of Durango State, Durango (Mexico); Parsons, Patrick J. [Laboratory of Inorganic and Nuclear Chemistry, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, NY (United States); Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University at Albany, Albany, NY (United States); Steuerwald, Amy J. [Laboratory of Inorganic and Nuclear Chemistry, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, NY (United States); and others

2014-07-15

Positive associations between urine toxicant levels and measures of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) have been reported recently in a range of populations. The explanation for these associations, in a direction opposite that of traditional nephrotoxicity, is uncertain. Variation in associations by urine concentration adjustment approach has also been observed. Associations of urine cadmium, thallium and uranium in models of serum creatinine- and cystatin-C-based estimated GFR (eGFR) were examined using multiple linear regression in a cross-sectional study of adolescents residing near a lead smelter complex. Urine concentration adjustment approaches compared included urine creatinine, urine osmolality and no adjustment. Median age, blood lead and urine cadmium, thallium and uranium were 13.9 years, 4.0 μg/dL, 0.22, 0.27 and 0.04 g/g creatinine, respectively, in 512 adolescents. Urine cadmium and thallium were positively associated with serum creatinine-based eGFR only when urine creatinine was used to adjust for urine concentration (β coefficient=3.1 mL/min/1.73 m{sup 2}; 95% confidence interval=1.4, 4.8 per each doubling of urine cadmium). Weaker positive associations, also only with urine creatinine adjustment, were observed between these metals and serum cystatin-C-based eGFR and between urine uranium and serum creatinine-based eGFR. Additional research using non-creatinine-based methods of adjustment for urine concentration is necessary. - Highlights: • Positive associations between urine metals and creatinine-based eGFR are unexpected. • Optimal approach to urine concentration adjustment for urine biomarkers uncertain. • We compared urine concentration adjustment methods. • Positive associations observed only with urine creatinine adjustment. • Additional research using non-creatinine-based methods of adjustment needed.

Measurement of tritium concentration in urine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sekiyama, Shigenobu; Deshimaru, Takehide

1979-01-01

Concerning the safety management of the advanced thermal reactor ''Fugen'', the internal exposure management for tritium is important, because heavy water is used as the moderator in the reactor, and tritium is produced in the heavy water. Tritium is the radioactive nuclide with the maximum β-ray energy of 18 keV, and the radiation exposure is limited to the internal exposure in human bodies, as tritium is taken in through the skin and by breathing. The tritium concentration in urine of the operators of the Fugen plant was measured. As for tritium measurement, the analysis of raw urine, the analysis after passing through mixed ion exchange resin and the analysis after distillation are applied. The scintillator, the liquid scintillation counter, the ion exchange resin and the distillator are introduced. The preliminary survey was conducted on the urine sample, the scintillator the calibration, etc. The measuring condition, the measurement of efficiency, and the limitation of detection with various background are explained, with the many experimental data and the calculating formula. Concerning the measured tritium concentration in urine, the tritium concentrations in distilled urine, raw urine and the urine refined with ion exchange resin were compared, and the correlation formulae are presented. The actual tritium concentration value in urine was less than 50 pci/ml. The measuring methods of raw urine and the urine refined with ion exchange resin are adequate as they are quick and accurate. (Nakai, Y.)

Life cycle comparison of centralized wastewater treatment and urine source separation with struvite precipitation: Focus on urine nutrient management.

Science.gov (United States)

Ishii, Stephanie K L; Boyer, Treavor H

2015-08-01

Alternative approaches to wastewater management including urine source separation have the potential to simultaneously improve multiple aspects of wastewater treatment, including reduced use of potable water for waste conveyance and improved contaminant removal, especially nutrients. In order to pursue such radical changes, system-level evaluations of urine source separation in community contexts are required. The focus of this life cycle assessment (LCA) is managing nutrients from urine produced in a residential setting with urine source separation and struvite precipitation, as compared with a centralized wastewater treatment approach. The life cycle impacts evaluated in this study pertain to construction of the urine source separation system and operation of drinking water treatment, decentralized urine treatment, and centralized wastewater treatment. System boundaries include fertilizer offsets resulting from the production of urine based struvite fertilizer. As calculated by the Tool for the Reduction and Assessment of Chemical and Other Environmental Impacts (TRACI), urine source separation with MgO addition for subsequent struvite precipitation with high P recovery (Scenario B) has the smallest environmental cost relative to existing centralized wastewater treatment (Scenario A) and urine source separation with MgO and Na3PO4 addition for subsequent struvite precipitation with concurrent high P and N recovery (Scenario C). Preliminary economic evaluations show that the three urine management scenarios are relatively equal on a monetary basis (<13% difference). The impacts of each urine management scenario are most sensitive to the assumed urine composition, the selected urine storage time, and the assumed electricity required to treat influent urine and toilet water used to convey urine at the centralized wastewater treatment plant. The importance of full nutrient recovery from urine in combination with the substantial chemical inputs required for N recovery

Urine pH test

Science.gov (United States)

... urine test Male urinary tract References Bose A, Monk RD, Bushinsky DA. Kidney stones. In: Melmed S, Polonsky ... and its influence on urine pH. J Am Diet Assoc . 1995;95(7):791-797. PMID: 7797810 ...

Automated scanning electron microscopy and x-ray microanalysis for in situ quantification of gadolinium deposits in skin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thakral, Charu; Abraham, Jerrold L.

2007-01-01

Gadolinium (Gd) has been identified as a possible causative agent of an emerging cutaneous and systemic fibrosing disorder, nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF), which can cause serious disability and even death. To date, there are only two known associations with this disorder - renal insufficiency and Gd enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We developed an automated quantitative scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) method for Gd in tissue of NSF patients. Freshly cut paraffin block surfaces examined using the variable pressure mode under standardized conditions and random search of the tissue area allow in situ detection and semiquantitative morphometric (volumetric) analysis of insoluble higher atomic number features using backscattered electron imaging. We detected Gd ranging from 1 to 2270 cps/mm 2 in 57 cutaneous biopsies of NSF. Gd was associated with P, Ca, and usually Na in tissue deposits. Our method reproducibly determines the elemental composition, relative concentration, and spatial distribution of detected features within the tissue. However, we cannot detect features below our spatial resolution, nor concentrations below the detection limit of our SEM/EDS system. The findings confirm transmetallation and release of toxic Gd ions in NSF and allow dose-response analysis at the histologic level. (author)

Sequential injection approach for simultaneous determination of ultratrace plutonium and neptunium in urine with accelerator mass spectrometry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Qiao, Jixin; Hou, Xiaolin; Roos, Per

2013-01-01

An analytical method was developed for simultaneous determination of ultratrace level plutonium (Pu) and neptunium (Np) using iron hydroxide coprecipitation in combination with automated sequential injection extraction chromatography separation and accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) measurement...... show that preboiling and aging are important for obtaining high chemical yields for both Pu and Np, which is possibly related to the aggregation and adsorption behavior of organic substances contained in urine. Although the optimal condition for Np and Pu simultaneous determination requires 5-day aging...

Green Urine in Traditional Persian Medicine

Science.gov (United States)

Kolouri, Sepideh; Daneshfard, Babak; Jaladat, Amir-Mohammad; Tafazoli, Vahid

2016-01-01

The color of urine is an important factor in urine examination, which can help physicians differentiate various diseases. Today, it is known that certain dyes, drug intoxications, and diseases can induce green urine discoloration. In the view of traditional Persian medicine, which is based on humoral medicine, green urine discoloration is generally referred to the dominance of coldness in the body. In fact, it is considered to be a result of a special kind of humoral imbalance and fluid depletion or retention in the human body. Persian scholars believed that green urine could be an indicator of intoxication or a predictor of an imminent spasm or convulsion in pediatric patients. Further investigations could result in finding new diagnostic scales of urine color based on the teachings of traditional Persian medicine. PMID:27103627

Comparison between the urine dipstick and the pH-meter to assess urine pH in sheep and dogs.

Science.gov (United States)

Athanasiou, Labrini V; Katsoulos, Panagiotis D; Katsogiannou, Eleni G; Polizopoulou, Zoe S; Diamantaki, Myrto; Kamatsos, Constantinos; Christodoulopoulos, Georgios

2018-02-06

Urine pH is an integral part of a complete urinalysis, and is commonly measured in veterinary practice using semiquantitative reagent strips. The aim of this study was to compare the urine pH of dogs and sheep, using visual interpretation of dipstick reactions, and using a pH-meter as the reference method. Agreement between the 2 methods was also assessed. An additional objective was to compare the urine pH before and after centrifugation. A total of 50 voided urine samples from sheep and 52 from dogs were collected into sterile containers. For pH measurements, 2 methods were used, a pH-meter and urine dipstick reagent pads. Measurements were performed using urine samples before (whole urine) and after centrifugation (urine supernatant). For comparison of the 2 methods, Passing and Bablok regression analysis and Bland-Altman plots were used. The equation created to assess agreement between the 2 methods in dogs showed a constant bias at -0.14 and a positive proportional bias at 0.98. From a clinical standpoint, total bias was below and above the maximum acceptable bias in sheep and dogs, respectively. Clinically acceptable bias was also found using centrifuged urine samples in sheep, but the urine pH values before and after centrifugation were nearly identical in dogs. Urine dipstick reagent pads and pH-meters can be used interchangeably to determine urine pH in sheep without needing centrifugation. In contrast, pH-meters provide more accurate pH measurements than urine dipstick pads in canine urine, which is not improved by centrifugation. © 2018 American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology.

Nutrient and energy recovery from urine

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kuntke, P.

2013-01-01

Keywords: urine, urine treatment, nutrient recovery, microbial fuel cells, energy production from urine, membrane capacitive deionization.

In conventional wastewater treatment plants large amounts of energy are required for the removal and recovery of nutrients (i.e. nitrogen and

[Physical, chemical and morphological urine examination guidelines for the Analytical Phase from the Intersociety Urinalysis Group].

Science.gov (United States)

Manoni, Fabio; Gessoni, Gianluca; Fogazzi, Giovanni Battista; Alessio, Maria Grazia; Caleffi, Alberta; Gambaro, Giovanni; Epifani, Maria Grazia; Pieretti, Barbara; Perego, Angelo; Ottomano, Cosimo; Saccani, Graziella; Valverde, Sara; Secchiero, Sandra

2016-01-01

With these guidelines the Intersociety Urinalysis Group (GIAU) aims to stimulate the following aspects: Improvement and standardization of the analytical approach to physical, chemical and morphological urine examination (ECMU). Improvement of the chemical analysis of urine with particular regard to the reconsideration of the diagnostic significance of the parameters that are traditionally evaluated in dipstick analysis together with an increasing awareness of the limits of sensitivity and specificity of this analytical method. Increase the awareness of the importance of professional skills in the field of urinary morphology and the relationship with the clinicians. Implement a policy of evaluation of the analytical quality by using, in addition to traditional internal and external controls, a program for the evaluation of morphological competence. Stimulate the diagnostics industry to focus research efforts and development methodology and instrumental catering on the needs of clinical diagnosis. The hope is to revalue the enormous diagnostic potential of 'ECMU, implementing a urinalysis on personalized diagnostic needs for each patient. Emphasize the value added to ECMU by automated analyzers for the study of the morphology of the corpuscular fraction urine. The hope is to revalue the enormous potential diagnostic of 'ECMU, implementing a urinalysis on personalized diagnostic needs that each patient brings with it.

Exploring neural cell dynamics with digital holographic microscopy

KAUST Repository

Marquet, Pierre; Depeursinge, Christian D.; Magistretti, Pierre J.

2013-01-01

In this review, we summarize how the new concept of digital optics applied to the field of holographic microscopy has allowed the development of a reliable and flexible digital holographic quantitative phase microscopy (DH-QPM) technique at the nanoscale particularly suitable for cell imaging. Particular emphasis is placed on the original biological ormation provided by the quantitative phase signal. We present the most relevant DH-QPM applications in the field of cell biology, including automated cell counts, recognition, classification, three-dimensional tracking, discrimination between physiological and pathophysiological states, and the study of cell membrane fluctuations at the nanoscale. In the last part, original results show how DH-QPM can address two important issues in the field of neurobiology, namely, multiple-site optical recording of neuronal activity and noninvasive visualization of dendritic spine dynamics resulting from a full digital holographic microscopy tomographic approach. Copyright © 2013 by Annual Reviews.

Exploring neural cell dynamics with digital holographic microscopy

KAUST Repository

Marquet, Pierre

2013-07-11

In this review, we summarize how the new concept of digital optics applied to the field of holographic microscopy has allowed the development of a reliable and flexible digital holographic quantitative phase microscopy (DH-QPM) technique at the nanoscale particularly suitable for cell imaging. Particular emphasis is placed on the original biological ormation provided by the quantitative phase signal. We present the most relevant DH-QPM applications in the field of cell biology, including automated cell counts, recognition, classification, three-dimensional tracking, discrimination between physiological and pathophysiological states, and the study of cell membrane fluctuations at the nanoscale. In the last part, original results show how DH-QPM can address two important issues in the field of neurobiology, namely, multiple-site optical recording of neuronal activity and noninvasive visualization of dendritic spine dynamics resulting from a full digital holographic microscopy tomographic approach. Copyright © 2013 by Annual Reviews.

Detection of trace fluoride in serum and urine by online membrane-based distillation coupled with ion chromatography.

Science.gov (United States)

Lou, Chaoyan; Guo, Dandan; Wang, Nani; Wu, Shuchao; Zhang, Peimin; Zhu, Yan

2017-06-02

An online membrane-based distillation (MBD) coupled with ion chromatography (IC) method was proposed for automatic detection of trace fluoride (F - ) in serum and urine samples. The system consisted of a sample vessel, a lab-made membrane module and an ion chromatograph. Hydrophobic polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) hollow fiber membrane was used in MBD which was directly performed in serum and urine samples to eliminate the matrix interferences and enrich fluoride, while enabling automation. The determination of fluoride in biological samples was carried out by IC with suppressed conductometric detection. The proposed method feasibly determined trace fluoride in serum and urine matrices with the optimized parameters, such as acid concentration, distillation temperature, and distillation time, etc. Fluoride exhibited satisfactory linearity in the range of 0.01-5.0mg/L with a correlation coefficient of 0.9992. The limit of detection (LOD, S/N=3) and limit of quantification (LOQ, S/N=10) were 0.78μg/L and 2.61μg/L, respectively. The relative standard deviations of peak area and peak height were all less than 5.15%. The developed method was validated for the determination of fluoride in serum and urine with good spiked recoveries ranging between 97.1-101.9%. This method also can be proposed as a suitable alternative for the analysis of fluoride in other complex biological samples. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Modelling the acid/base 1H NMR chemical shift limits of metabolites in human urine.

Science.gov (United States)

Tredwell, Gregory D; Bundy, Jacob G; De Iorio, Maria; Ebbels, Timothy M D

2016-01-01

Despite the use of buffering agents the 1 H NMR spectra of biofluid samples in metabolic profiling investigations typically suffer from extensive peak frequency shifting between spectra. These chemical shift changes are mainly due to differences in pH and divalent metal ion concentrations between the samples. This frequency shifting results in a correspondence problem: it can be hard to register the same peak as belonging to the same molecule across multiple samples. The problem is especially acute for urine, which can have a wide range of ionic concentrations between different samples. To investigate the acid, base and metal ion dependent 1 H NMR chemical shift variations and limits of the main metabolites in a complex biological mixture. Urine samples from five different individuals were collected and pooled, and pre-treated with Chelex-100 ion exchange resin. Urine samples were either treated with either HCl or NaOH, or were supplemented with various concentrations of CaCl 2 , MgCl 2 , NaCl or KCl, and their 1 H NMR spectra were acquired. Nonlinear fitting was used to derive acid dissociation constants and acid and base chemical shift limits for peaks from 33 identified metabolites. Peak pH titration curves for a further 65 unidentified peaks were also obtained for future reference. Furthermore, the peak variations induced by the main metal ions present in urine, Na + , K + , Ca 2+ and Mg 2+ , were also measured. These data will be a valuable resource for 1 H NMR metabolite profiling experiments and for the development of automated metabolite alignment and identification algorithms for 1 H NMR spectra.

Spatial and temporal resolution in cryo-electron microscopy : a scope for nano-chemistry

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Frederik, P.M.; Sommerdijk, N.A.J.M.

2005-01-01

Cryo-electron microscopy has evolved in an established approach to study the structure of bio-colloids. Recent developments in instrumentation and automation, often demanded by life sciences, made cryo-EM a general tool in colloid chemistry. Recently improved instrumentation for vitrification has

Auditing smear microscopy results according to time to detection using the BACTEC™ MGIT™ TB system.

Science.gov (United States)

Elsaghier, A A F

2015-09-01

Smear microscopy is a rapid method for the identification of the most infectious patients with mycobacterial infection. Suboptimal smear microscopy may significantly compromise or delay patient isolation and contact tracing. A stringent method for auditing mycobacterial smear results is thus needed. This article proposes an auditing tool based on time to detection (TTD) of culture-positive samples using the automated BACTEC™ MGIT™ 960 TB system. In our study, sputum samples subjected to liquefaction and concentration before staining with a TTD of ≤ 13 days using the BACTEC system should be positive on smear microscopy.

Towards protein-crystal centering using second-harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kissick, David J.; Dettmar, Christopher M. [Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907 (United States); Becker, Michael [Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439 (United States); Mulichak, Anne M. [Hauptman–Woodward Medical Research Institute, Argonne, IL 60439 (United States); Cherezov, Vadim [The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037 (United States); Ginell, Stephan L. [Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439 (United States); Battaile, Kevin P.; Keefe, Lisa J. [Hauptman–Woodward Medical Research Institute, Argonne, IL 60439 (United States); Fischetti, Robert F. [Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439 (United States); Simpson, Garth J., E-mail: gsimpson@purdue.edu [Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907 (United States)

2013-05-01

The potential of second-harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy for automated crystal centering to guide synchrotron X-ray diffraction of protein crystals has been explored. The potential of second-harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy for automated crystal centering to guide synchrotron X-ray diffraction of protein crystals was explored. These studies included (i) comparison of microcrystal positions in cryoloops as determined by SHG imaging and by X-ray diffraction rastering and (ii) X-ray structure determinations of selected proteins to investigate the potential for laser-induced damage from SHG imaging. In studies using β{sub 2} adrenergic receptor membrane-protein crystals prepared in lipidic mesophase, the crystal locations identified by SHG images obtained in transmission mode were found to correlate well with the crystal locations identified by raster scanning using an X-ray minibeam. SHG imaging was found to provide about 2 µm spatial resolution and shorter image-acquisition times. The general insensitivity of SHG images to optical scatter enabled the reliable identification of microcrystals within opaque cryocooled lipidic mesophases that were not identified by conventional bright-field imaging. The potential impact of extended exposure of protein crystals to five times a typical imaging dose from an ultrafast laser source was also assessed. Measurements of myoglobin and thaumatin crystals resulted in no statistically significant differences between structures obtained from diffraction data acquired from exposed and unexposed regions of single crystals. Practical constraints for integrating SHG imaging into an active beamline for routine automated crystal centering are discussed.

Towards protein-crystal centering using second-harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kissick, David J.; Dettmar, Christopher M.; Becker, Michael; Mulichak, Anne M.; Cherezov, Vadim; Ginell, Stephan L.; Battaile, Kevin P.; Keefe, Lisa J.; Fischetti, Robert F.; Simpson, Garth J.

2013-01-01

The potential of second-harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy for automated crystal centering to guide synchrotron X-ray diffraction of protein crystals has been explored. The potential of second-harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy for automated crystal centering to guide synchrotron X-ray diffraction of protein crystals was explored. These studies included (i) comparison of microcrystal positions in cryoloops as determined by SHG imaging and by X-ray diffraction rastering and (ii) X-ray structure determinations of selected proteins to investigate the potential for laser-induced damage from SHG imaging. In studies using β 2 adrenergic receptor membrane-protein crystals prepared in lipidic mesophase, the crystal locations identified by SHG images obtained in transmission mode were found to correlate well with the crystal locations identified by raster scanning using an X-ray minibeam. SHG imaging was found to provide about 2 µm spatial resolution and shorter image-acquisition times. The general insensitivity of SHG images to optical scatter enabled the reliable identification of microcrystals within opaque cryocooled lipidic mesophases that were not identified by conventional bright-field imaging. The potential impact of extended exposure of protein crystals to five times a typical imaging dose from an ultrafast laser source was also assessed. Measurements of myoglobin and thaumatin crystals resulted in no statistically significant differences between structures obtained from diffraction data acquired from exposed and unexposed regions of single crystals. Practical constraints for integrating SHG imaging into an active beamline for routine automated crystal centering are discussed

Comparison of the Abbott RealTime High Risk HPV test and the Roche cobas 4800 HPV test using urine samples.

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Myong Cheol; Lee, Do-Hoon; Hwang, Sang-Hyun; Hwang, Na Rae; Lee, Bomyee; Shin, Hye Young; Jun, Jae Kwan; Yoo, Chong Woo; Lee, Dong Ock; Seo, Sang-Soo; Park, Sang-Yoon; Joo, Jungnam

2017-05-01

Human papillomavirus (HPV) testing based on cervical samples is important for use in cervical cancer screening. However, cervical sampling is invasive. Therefore, non-invasive methods for detecting HPV, such as urine samples, are needed. For HPV detection in urine samples, two real-time PCR (RQ-PCR) tests, Roche cobas 4800 test (Roche_HPV; Roche Molecular Diagnostics) and Abbott RealTime High Risk HPV test (Abbott_HPV; Abbott Laboratories) were compared to standard cervical samples. The performance of Roche_HPV and Abbott_HPV for HPV detection was evaluated at the National Cancer Center using 100 paired cervical and urine samples. The tests were also compared using urine samples stored at various temperatures and for a range of durations. The overall agreement between the Roche_HPV and Abbott_HPV tests using urine samples for any hrHPV type was substantial (86.0% with a kappa value of 0.7173), and that for HPV 16/18 was nearly perfect (99.0% with a kappa value of 0.9668). The relative sensitivities (based on cervical samples) for HPV 16/18 detection using Roche_HPV and Abbott_HPV with urine samples were 79.2% (95% CI; 57.9-92.9%) and 81.8% (95% CI; 59.7-94.8%), respectively. When the cut-off C T value for Abbott_HPV was extended to 40 for urine samples, the relative sensitivity of Abbott_HPV increased to 91.7% from 81.8% for HPV16/18 detection and to 87.0% from 68.5% for other hrHPV detection. The specificity was not affected by the change in the C T threshold. Roche_HPV and Abbott_HPV showed high concordance. However, HPV DNA detection using urine samples was inferior to HPV DNA detection using cervical samples. Interestingly, when the cut-off C T value was set to 40, Abbott_HPV using urine samples showed high sensitivity and specificity, comparable to those obtained using cervical samples. Fully automated DNA extraction and detection systems, such as Roche_HPV and Abbott_HPV, could reduce the variability in HPV detection and accelerate the standardization of HPV

Quantitative analysis of myocardial tissue with digital autofluorescence microscopy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Thomas; Holten-Rossing, Henrik; Svendsen, Ida M H

2016-01-01

to that of hematoxylin and eosin staining in conventional pathology. This study presents an automated fluorescence-based microscopy approach providing highly detailed morphological data from unstained microsections. This data may provide a basic histological starting point from which further digital analysis including...... staining may benefit. METHODS: This study explores the inherent tissue fluorescence, also known as autofluorescence, as a mean to quantitate cardiac tissue components in histological microsections. Data acquisition using a commercially available whole slide scanner and an image-based quantitation algorithm......BACKGROUND: The opportunity offered by whole slide scanners of automated histological analysis implies an ever increasing importance of digital pathology. To go beyond the importance of conventional pathology, however, digital pathology may need a basic histological starting point similar...

The determination of 210Po in urine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bale, W.F.; Helmkamp, R.W.; Hrynyszyn, V.; Contreras, M.A.

1975-01-01

To measure 210 Po present in normal human urine a technique was developed in which a 4.5 x 11cm silver foil was shaken at room temperature for 48-hr periods in each of two successive volumes of 1.7 l. of urine acidified to 0.5N with HCl. Alpha rays were counted with an ionization chamber, coupled to a vibrating reed electrometer, and capable of measuring α-ray pulses originating on both sides of the silver foil serving as a central electrode. The background α-count was less than 2/hr. Analyses of human urine spiked with 0.29 to 0.58pCi of 210 Po, together with studies of urine from dogs carrying significant body burdens of 210 Pb, indicated that the average recovery of added 210 Po from 1.7 l. volumes of spiked human urine was 72%. If it is assumed that the same percentage of 210 Po is extracted from non-spiked urine, then the average 210 Po concentration found in 13 analyses of 2 x 1.7 l. samples from 26 different pools of fresh human urine was 0.023pCi/l. Substantial additional 210 Po was generated on short aging of the urine through radioactive decay of excreted 210 Bi. (author)

Serial-omics characterization of equine urine.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Min Yuan

Full Text Available Horse urine is easily collected and contains molecules readily measurable using mass spectrometry that can be used as biomarkers representative of health, disease or drug tampering. This study aimed at analyzing microliter levels of horse urine to purify, identify and quantify proteins, polar metabolites and non-polar lipids. Urine from a healthy 12 year old quarter horse mare on a diet of grass hay and vitamin/mineral supplements with limited pasture access was collected for serial-omics characterization. The urine was treated with methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE and methanol to partition into three distinct layers for protein, non-polar lipid and polar metabolite content from a single liquid-liquid extraction and was repeated two times. Each layer was analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography-high resolution tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS to obtain protein sequence and relative protein levels as well as identify and quantify small polar metabolites and lipids. The results show 46 urine proteins, many related to normal kidney function, structural and circulatory proteins as well as 474 small polar metabolites but only 10 lipid molecules. Metabolites were mostly related to urea cycle and ammonia recycling as well as amino acid related pathways, plant diet specific molecules, etc. The few lipids represented triglycerides and phospholipids. These data show a complete mass spectrometry based-omics characterization of equine urine from a single 333 μL mid-stream urine aliquot. These omics data help serve as a baseline for healthy mare urine composition and the analyses can be used to monitor disease progression, health status, monitor drug use, etc.

Fast and accurate automated cell boundary determination for fluorescence microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Arce, Stephen Hugo; Wu, Pei-Hsun; Tseng, Yiider

2013-07-01

Detailed measurement of cell phenotype information from digital fluorescence images has the potential to greatly advance biomedicine in various disciplines such as patient diagnostics or drug screening. Yet, the complexity of cell conformations presents a major barrier preventing effective determination of cell boundaries, and introduces measurement error that propagates throughout subsequent assessment of cellular parameters and statistical analysis. State-of-the-art image segmentation techniques that require user-interaction, prolonged computation time and specialized training cannot adequately provide the support for high content platforms, which often sacrifice resolution to foster the speedy collection of massive amounts of cellular data. This work introduces a strategy that allows us to rapidly obtain accurate cell boundaries from digital fluorescent images in an automated format. Hence, this new method has broad applicability to promote biotechnology.

Estimation of D-Arabinose by Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry as Surrogate for Mycobacterial Lipoarabinomannan in Human Urine.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Prithwiraj De

Full Text Available Globally, tuberculosis is slowly declining each year and it is estimated that 37 million lives were saved between 2000 and 2013 through effective diagnosis and treatment. Currently, diagnosis relies on demonstration of the bacteria, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb, in clinical specimens by serial sputum microscopy, culture and molecular testing. Commercial immunoassay lateral flow kits developed to detect Mtb lipoglycan lipoarabinomannan (LAM in urine as a marker of active TB exhibit poor sensitivity, especially in immunocompetent individuals, perhaps due to low abundance of the analyte. Our present study was designed to develop methods to validate the presence of LAM in a quantitative fashion in human urine samples obtained from culture-confirmed TB patients. Herein we describe, a consolidated approach for isolating LAM from the urine and quantifying D-arabinose as a proxy for LAM, using Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry. 298 urine samples obtained from a repository were rigorously analyzed and shown to contain varying amounts of LAM-equivalent ranging between ~10-40 ng/mL. To further substantiate that D-arabinose detected in the samples originated from LAM, tuberculostearic acid, the unique 10-methyloctadecanoic acid present at the phosphatidylinositol end of LAM was also analyzed in a set of samples and found to be present confirming that the D-arabinose was indeed derived from LAM. Among the 144 samples from culture-negative TB suspects, 30 showed presence of D-arabinose suggesting another source of the analyte, such as disseminated TB or from non-tuberculosis mycobacterium. Our work validates that LAM is present in the urine samples of culture-positive patients in small but readily detectable amounts. The study further substantiates LAM in urine as a powerful biomarker for active tuberculosis.

Property changes of urinary nanocrystallites and urine of uric acid stone formers after taking potassium citrate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Guang-Na; Ouyang, Jian-Ming, E-mail: toyjm@jnu.edu.cn; Xue, Jun-Fa; Shang, Yun-Feng

2013-10-15

The property changes of urinary nanocrystallites in 20 cases of uric acid (UA) stone formers after 1 week of potassium citrate (K{sub 3}cit) intake were comparatively studied by X-ray diffraction analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, nanoparticle size analysis, and transmission electron microscopy. Before K{sub 3}cit intake, the urinary crystallites mainly contained UA and calcium oxalate. After K{sub 3}cit intake, the components changed to urate and UA; the qualities, species, and amounts of aggregated crystallites decreased; urine pH, citrate, and glycosaminoglycan excretions increased; and UA excretion, Zeta potential, and crystallite size decreased. The stability of crystallites followed the order: controls > patients after taking K{sub 3}cit > patients before taking K{sub 3}cit. Therefore, the components of urinary stones were closely related to the components of urinary crystallites. - Graphical abstract: The relationships among stone components, urinary crystallite components, and urine pH were established. The crystallites stability order was: controls > patients after taking K{sub 3}cit > patients before taking K{sub 3}cit. Highlights: • Urine crystallite property of uric acid stone former after K{sub 3}cit intake was studied. • The components of crystallites in urine are closely related to type of stones. • After K{sub 3}cit intake the qualities and species of crystallites decreased. • After K{sub 3}cit intake the amount of aggregated crystallites decreased. • The stability of urinary crystallites of UA patients increased after taking K{sub 3}cit.

Property changes of urinary nanocrystallites and urine of uric acid stone formers after taking potassium citrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Guang-Na; Ouyang, Jian-Ming; Xue, Jun-Fa; Shang, Yun-Feng

2013-01-01

The property changes of urinary nanocrystallites in 20 cases of uric acid (UA) stone formers after 1 week of potassium citrate (K 3 cit) intake were comparatively studied by X-ray diffraction analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, nanoparticle size analysis, and transmission electron microscopy. Before K 3 cit intake, the urinary crystallites mainly contained UA and calcium oxalate. After K 3 cit intake, the components changed to urate and UA; the qualities, species, and amounts of aggregated crystallites decreased; urine pH, citrate, and glycosaminoglycan excretions increased; and UA excretion, Zeta potential, and crystallite size decreased. The stability of crystallites followed the order: controls > patients after taking K 3 cit > patients before taking K 3 cit. Therefore, the components of urinary stones were closely related to the components of urinary crystallites. - Graphical abstract: The relationships among stone components, urinary crystallite components, and urine pH were established. The crystallites stability order was: controls > patients after taking K 3 cit > patients before taking K 3 cit. Highlights: • Urine crystallite property of uric acid stone former after K 3 cit intake was studied. • The components of crystallites in urine are closely related to type of stones. • After K 3 cit intake the qualities and species of crystallites decreased. • After K 3 cit intake the amount of aggregated crystallites decreased. • The stability of urinary crystallites of UA patients increased after taking K 3 cit

Detection of gonococcal antigens in urine by radioimmunoassay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thornley, M.J.; Wilson, D.V.; Hormaeche, R.D. de; Coombs, R.R.A.; Oates, J.K.

1979-01-01

A method of detecting gonococcal antigens by solid-phase radioimmunoassay with radioactively labelled antibody is described. A specificity test has been developed that enables this method to be used to detect gonococcal antigens in urine sediments. When sediments from samples of urine from male patients with gonorrhoea were tested, 31 (74%) of 42 gave positive results, clearly distinguishing them from sediments from urine samples from men with non-specific urethritis, none of which was positive. Ten of 14 urine sediments from urine samples from women with gonorrhoea gave positive results, as did 3 of 18 sediments from urine samples from women patients without gonorrhoea.These experiments demonstrate that gonococcal antigens can be detected in urine by radioimmunoassay; the method could be useful in diagnosis if, after refinement, its sensitivity and specificity were to be increased. (author)

Urine Preservative

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Scott M. (Inventor); Nillen, Jeannie (Inventor)

2001-01-01

Disclosed is CPG, a combination of a chlorhexidine salt (such as chlorhexidine digluconate, chlorhexidine diacetate, or chlorhexidine dichloride) and n-propyl gallate that can be used at ambient temperatures as a urine preservative.

Asymptomatic bacteriuria in pregnant women attending Boo-Ali Hospital Tehran Iran: Urine analysis vs. urine culture.

Science.gov (United States)

Etminan-Bakhsh, Mina; Tadi, Sima; Darabi, Roksana

2017-11-01

Asymptomatic bacteriuria is one of the common problems in pregnancy. Asymptomatic bacteriuria is associated with pyelonephritis, preterm labor and low birth weight infants. The physiological and anatomical changes in pregnancy facilitate urinary tract infection (UTI) during pregnancy. Several tests are available for diagnosis of asymptomatic bacteriuria. The urine culture is a gold standard diagnostic test for asymptomatic bacteriuria but it is expensive and time-consuming. Screening methods may be useful in detecting high-risk pregnant women for asymptomatic bacteriuria. The aim of the present study was to compare urine analysis as a rapid screening test to urine culture in diagnosis of asymptomatic bacteriuria. A total of 123 pregnant women attending the obstetrics clinic of Boo-Ali hospital in Tehran, Iran from March 2013 to September 2014 were included in the present diagnostic cross-sectional study. One hundred twenty three mid-stream urine samples were inoculated into cultures and were processed by dipstick (nitrite test and leucocyte esterase test) and microscopic pus cell count. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of nitrite test, leucocyte esterase test and microscopic pus cell count were compared with urine culture in diagnosis of asymptomatic bacteriuria by using SPSS version 19. Of 123 urine samples, significant asymptomatic bacteriuria (≥10 4 cfu/Ml) was detected in 8 (6.5%) subjects. The sensitivity and specificity of nitrite test were 37% and 100% respectively. The sensitivity of pus cell count alone and leucocyte esterase test alone were 100% but the specificity of them were 64% and 65% respectively. We found high negative predictive value by Pus cell count and the leucocyte esterase test (100%) and low positive predictive value by them (16% and 17% respectively). Urine culture is the most useful test for diagnosis of asymptomatic bacteriuria. None of our screening tests had a sensitivity and

Mobile phone based clinical microscopy for global health applications.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David N Breslauer

Full Text Available Light microscopy provides a simple, cost-effective, and vital method for the diagnosis and screening of hematologic and infectious diseases. In many regions of the world, however, the required equipment is either unavailable or insufficiently portable, and operators may not possess adequate training to make full use of the images obtained. Counterintuitively, these same regions are often well served by mobile phone networks, suggesting the possibility of leveraging portable, camera-enabled mobile phones for diagnostic imaging and telemedicine. Toward this end we have built a mobile phone-mounted light microscope and demonstrated its potential for clinical use by imaging P. falciparum-infected and sickle red blood cells in brightfield and M. tuberculosis-infected sputum samples in fluorescence with LED excitation. In all cases resolution exceeded that necessary to detect blood cell and microorganism morphology, and with the tuberculosis samples we took further advantage of the digitized images to demonstrate automated bacillus counting via image analysis software. We expect such a telemedicine system for global healthcare via mobile phone -- offering inexpensive brightfield and fluorescence microscopy integrated with automated image analysis -- to provide an important tool for disease diagnosis and screening, particularly in the developing world and rural areas where laboratory facilities are scarce but mobile phone infrastructure is extensive.

Urine Color

Science.gov (United States)

... drugs can darken urine, including the antimalarial drugs chloroquine and primaquine, the antibiotics metronidazole (Flagyl) and nitrofurantoin ( ... Mayo Clinic Footer Legal Conditions and Terms Any use of this site constitutes your agreement to the ...

Immunoelectrophoresis - urine

Science.gov (United States)

... from an infant, you may need extra collection bags. How the Test will Feel The test involves ... urine, it normally consists of mainly albumin. Normal value ranges may vary slightly among different laboratories. Talk ...

Automated transmission-mode scanning electron microscopy (tSEM for large volume analysis at nanoscale resolution.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Masaaki Kuwajima

Full Text Available Transmission-mode scanning electron microscopy (tSEM on a field emission SEM platform was developed for efficient and cost-effective imaging of circuit-scale volumes from brain at nanoscale resolution. Image area was maximized while optimizing the resolution and dynamic range necessary for discriminating key subcellular structures, such as small axonal, dendritic and glial processes, synapses, smooth endoplasmic reticulum, vesicles, microtubules, polyribosomes, and endosomes which are critical for neuronal function. Individual image fields from the tSEM system were up to 4,295 µm(2 (65.54 µm per side at 2 nm pixel size, contrasting with image fields from a modern transmission electron microscope (TEM system, which were only 66.59 µm(2 (8.160 µm per side at the same pixel size. The tSEM produced outstanding images and had reduced distortion and drift relative to TEM. Automated stage and scan control in tSEM easily provided unattended serial section imaging and montaging. Lens and scan properties on both TEM and SEM platforms revealed no significant nonlinear distortions within a central field of ∼100 µm(2 and produced near-perfect image registration across serial sections using the computational elastic alignment tool in Fiji/TrakEM2 software, and reliable geometric measurements from RECONSTRUCT™ or Fiji/TrakEM2 software. Axial resolution limits the analysis of small structures contained within a section (∼45 nm. Since this new tSEM is non-destructive, objects within a section can be explored at finer axial resolution in TEM tomography with current methods. Future development of tSEM tomography promises thinner axial resolution producing nearly isotropic voxels and should provide within-section analyses of structures without changing platforms. Brain was the test system given our interest in synaptic connectivity and plasticity; however, the new tSEM system is readily applicable to other biological systems.

BlobFinder, a tool for fluorescence microscopy image cytometry

OpenAIRE

Allalou, Amin; Wählby, Carolina

2009-01-01

Images can be acquired at high rates with modern fluorescence microscopy hardware, giving rise to a demand for high-speed analysis of image data. Digital image cytometry, i.e., automated measurements and extraction of quantitative data from images of cells, provides valuable information for many types of biomedical analysis. There exists a number of different image analysis software packages that can be programmed to perform a wide array of useful measurements. However, the multi-application ...

ultraLM and miniLM: Locator tools for smart tracking of fluorescent cells in correlative light and electron microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Brama, Elisabeth; Peddie, Christopher J; Wilkes, Gary; Gu, Yan; Collinson, Lucy M; Jones, Martin L

2016-12-13

In-resin fluorescence (IRF) protocols preserve fluorescent proteins in resin-embedded cells and tissues for correlative light and electron microscopy, aiding interpretation of macromolecular function within the complex cellular landscape. Dual-contrast IRF samples can be imaged in separate fluorescence and electron microscopes, or in dual-modality integrated microscopes for high resolution correlation of fluorophore to organelle. IRF samples also offer a unique opportunity to automate correlative imaging workflows. Here we present two new locator tools for finding and following fluorescent cells in IRF blocks, enabling future automation of correlative imaging. The ultraLM is a fluorescence microscope that integrates with an ultramicrotome, which enables 'smart collection' of ultrathin sections containing fluorescent cells or tissues for subsequent transmission electron microscopy or array tomography. The miniLM is a fluorescence microscope that integrates with serial block face scanning electron microscopes, which enables 'smart tracking' of fluorescent structures during automated serial electron image acquisition from large cell and tissue volumes.

Advantage of multiple spot urine collections for estimating daily sodium excretion: comparison with two 24-h urine collections as reference.

Science.gov (United States)

Uechi, Ken; Asakura, Keiko; Ri, Yui; Masayasu, Shizuko; Sasaki, Satoshi

2016-02-01

Several estimation methods for 24-h sodium excretion using spot urine sample have been reported, but accurate estimation at the individual level remains difficult. We aimed to clarify the most accurate method of estimating 24-h sodium excretion with different numbers of available spot urine samples. A total of 370 participants from throughout Japan collected multiple 24-h urine and spot urine samples independently. Participants were allocated randomly into a development and a validation dataset. Two estimation methods were established in the development dataset using the two 24-h sodium excretion samples as reference: the 'simple mean method' estimated by multiplying the sodium-creatinine ratio by predicted 24-h creatinine excretion, whereas the 'regression method' employed linear regression analysis. The accuracy of the two methods was examined by comparing the estimated means and concordance correlation coefficients (CCC) in the validation dataset. Mean sodium excretion by the simple mean method with three spot urine samples was closest to that by 24-h collection (difference: -1.62  mmol/day). CCC with the simple mean method increased with an increased number of spot urine samples at 0.20, 0.31, and 0.42 using one, two, and three samples, respectively. This method with three spot urine samples yielded higher CCC than the regression method (0.40). When only one spot urine sample was available for each study participant, CCC was higher with the regression method (0.36). The simple mean method with three spot urine samples yielded the most accurate estimates of sodium excretion. When only one spot urine sample was available, the regression method was preferable.

Sensitivity and Specificity of Cardiac Tissue Discrimination Using Fiber-Optics Confocal Microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Chao; Sachse, Frank B; Hitchcock, Robert W; Kaza, Aditya K

2016-01-01

Disturbances of the cardiac conduction system constitute a major risk after surgical repair of complex cases of congenital heart disease. Intraoperative identification of the conduction system may reduce the incidence of these disturbances. We previously developed an approach to identify cardiac tissue types using fiber-optics confocal microscopy and extracellular fluorophores. Here, we applied this approach to investigate sensitivity and specificity of human and automated classification in discriminating images of atrial working myocardium and specialized tissue of the conduction system. Two-dimensional image sequences from atrial working myocardium and nodal tissue of isolated perfused rodent hearts were acquired using a fiber-optics confocal microscope (Leica FCM1000). We compared two methods for local application of extracellular fluorophores: topical via pipette and with a dye carrier. Eight blinded examiners evaluated 162 randomly selected images of atrial working myocardium (n = 81) and nodal tissue (n = 81). In addition, we evaluated the images using automated classification. Blinded examiners achieved a sensitivity and specificity of 99.2 ± 0.3% and 98.0 ± 0.7%, respectively, with the dye carrier method of dye application. Sensitivity and specificity was similar for dye application via a pipette (99.2 ± 0.3% and 94.0 ± 2.4%, respectively). Sensitivity and specificity for automated methods of tissue discrimination were similarly high. Human and automated classification achieved high sensitivity and specificity in discriminating atrial working myocardium and nodal tissue. We suggest that our findings facilitate clinical translation of fiber-optics confocal microscopy as an intraoperative imaging modality to reduce the incidence of conduction disturbances during surgical correction of congenital heart disease.

Direct electrochemical oxidation of ammonia on graphite as a treatment option for stored source-separated urine.

Science.gov (United States)

Zöllig, Hanspeter; Fritzsche, Cristina; Morgenroth, Eberhard; Udert, Kai M

2015-02-01

Electrolysis can be a viable technology for ammonia removal from source-separated urine. Compared to biological nitrogen removal, electrolysis is more robust and is highly amenable to automation, which makes it especially attractive for on-site reactors. In electrolytic wastewater treatment, ammonia is usually removed by indirect oxidation through active chlorine which is produced in-situ at elevated anode potentials. However, the evolution of chlorine can lead to the formation of chlorate, perchlorate, chlorinated organic by-products and chloramines that are toxic. This study focuses on using direct ammonia oxidation on graphite at low anode potentials in order to overcome the formation of toxic by-products. With the aid of cyclic voltammetry, we demonstrated that graphite is active for direct ammonia oxidation without concomitant chlorine formation if the anode potential is between 1.1 and 1.6 V vs. SHE (standard hydrogen electrode). A comparison of potentiostatic bulk electrolysis experiments in synthetic stored urine with and without chloride confirmed that ammonia was removed exclusively by continuous direct oxidation. Direct oxidation required high pH values (pH > 9) because free ammonia was the actual reactant. In real stored urine (pH = 9.0), an ammonia removal rate of 2.9 ± 0.3 gN·m(-2)·d(-1) was achieved and the specific energy demand was 42 Wh·gN(-1) at an anode potential of 1.31 V vs. SHE. The measurements of chlorate and perchlorate as well as selected chlorinated organic by-products confirmed that no chlorinated by-products were formed in real urine. Electrode corrosion through graphite exfoliation was prevented and the surface was not poisoned by intermediate oxidation products. We conclude that direct ammonia oxidation on graphite electrodes is a treatment option for source-separated urine with three major advantages: The formation of chlorinated by-products is prevented, less energy is consumed than in indirect ammonia oxidation and

Importance of Urine Dipstick in Evaluation of Young Febrile Infants With Positive Urine Culture: A Spanish Pediatric Emergency Research Group Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Velasco, Roberto; Benito, Helvia; Mozun, Rebeca; Trujillo, Juan E; Merino, Pedro A; de la Torre, Mercedes; Gomez, Borja; Mintegi, Santiago

2016-12-01

Guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics define urinary tract infection (UTI) as the growth of greater than 50,000 ufc/mL of a single bacterium in a urine culture with a positive urine dipstick or with a urinalysis associated. Our objective was to evaluate the adequacy of this cutoff point for the diagnosis of UTI in young febrile infants. Subanalysis of a prospective multicenter study developed in RISeuP-SPERG Network between October 11 and September 13. To carry out the study, it was performed a comparison of analytical and microbiological characteristics of patients younger than 90 days with fever without focus, taking into account the results of urine dipstick and urine culture. Of a total of 3333 infants younger than 90 days with fever without focus which were included in the study, 538 were classified as UTI in accordance with American Academy of Pediatrics' guidelines. These patients were similar to those who had a positive urine dipstick and a urine culture yielding of 10,000 to 50,000 ufc/mL, and they were different from those who had a normal urine dipstick and a urine culture >50,000 ufc/mL, being focused on the isolated bacteria and blood biomarkers values. Forty-five invasive bacterial infections were diagnosed (5.9% of the 756 with a urine culture >10,000 ufc/mL). Half of the infants with a normal urine dipstick diagnosed with invasive bacterial infections were younger than 15 days. It might be inadequate to use a threshold of 50,000 cfu/mL to consider a urine culture as positive in young febrile infants given the fact that it would misdiagnose several UTIs.

Low cost automated whole smear microscopy screening system for detection of acid fast bacilli.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yan Nei Law

Full Text Available In countries with high tuberculosis (TB burden, there is urgent need for rapid, large-scale screening to detect smear-positive patients. We developed a computer-aided whole smear screening system that focuses in real-time, captures images and provides diagnostic grading, for both bright-field and fluorescence microscopy for detection of acid-fast-bacilli (AFB from respiratory specimens.To evaluate the performance of dual-mode screening system in AFB diagnostic algorithms on concentrated smears with auramine O (AO staining, as well as direct smears with AO and Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN staining, using mycobacterial culture results as gold standard.Adult patient sputum samples requesting for M. tuberculosis cultures were divided into three batches for staining: direct AO-stained, direct ZN-stained and concentrated smears AO-stained. All slides were graded by an experienced microscopist, in parallel with the automated whole smear screening system. Sensitivity and specificity of a TB diagnostic algorithm in using the screening system alone, and in combination with a microscopist, were evaluated.Of 488 direct AO-stained smears, 228 were culture positive. These yielded a sensitivity of 81.6% and specificity of 74.2%. Of 334 direct smears with ZN staining, 142 were culture positive, which gave a sensitivity of 70.4% and specificity of 76.6%. Of 505 concentrated smears with AO staining, 250 were culture positive, giving a sensitivity of 86.4% and specificity of 71.0%. To further improve performance, machine grading was confirmed by manual smear grading when the number of AFBs detected fell within an uncertainty range. These combined results gave significant improvement in specificity (AO-direct:85.4%; ZN-direct:85.4%; AO-concentrated:92.5% and slight improvement in sensitivity while requiring only limited manual workload.Our system achieved high sensitivity without substantially compromising specificity when compared to culture results. Significant improvement

Evaluation of autofocus measures for microscopy images of biopsy and cytology

Science.gov (United States)

Redondo, R.; Bueno, M. G.; Valdiviezo, J. C.; Nava, R.; Cristóbal, G.; García, M.; Déniz, O.; Escalante-Ramírez, B.

2011-08-01

An essential and indispensable component of automated microscopy is the automatic focusing system, which determines the in-focus position of a given field of view by searching for the maximal of an autofocus function over a range of z-axis positions. The autofocus function and its computation time are crucial to the accuracy and efficiency of the system. In this paper, we analyze and evaluate fifteen autofocus algorithms for biopsy and cytology microscopy images, ranging from the already well known methods to those proposed recently. Results have shown that there is a trade-off between computational cost and accuracy. Finally, the error committed by each of the algorithms is presented.

Application of bar codes to the automation of analytical sample data collection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jurgensen, H.A.

1986-01-01

The Health Protection Department at the Savannah River Plant collects 500 urine samples per day for tritium analyses. Prior to automation, all sample information was compiled manually. Bar code technology was chosen for automating this program because it provides a more accurate, efficient, and inexpensive method for data entry. The system has three major functions: sample labeling is accomplished at remote bar code label stations composed of an Intermec 8220 (Intermec Corp.) interfaced to an IBM-PC, data collection is done on a central VAX 11/730 (Digital Equipment Corp.). Bar code readers are used to log-in samples to be analyzed on liquid scintillation counters. The VAX 11/730 processes the data and generates reports, data storage is on the VAX 11/730 and backed up on the plant's central computer. A brief description of several other bar code applications at the Savannah River Plant is also presented

Comparison of two preparatory techniques for urine cytology.

Science.gov (United States)

Dhundee, J; Rigby, H S

1990-01-01

Two methods of preparation of urine for cytology were compared retrospectively. In method 1 cells in the urine were fixed after the preparation of the smear; in method 2 the cells were fixed before smear preparation. Urine cytology reports were correlated with subsequent histological analysis. The specificities of urine cytology using both methods were high (99%). The sensitivity using method 1 was 87%; using method 2 it was 65%. This difference was significant. The cell preparation technique therefore significantly changes the sensitivity of urine cytology. Cellular fixation after smear preparation is preferable to smear preparation after fixation. PMID:2266176

Red Blood Cell Count Automation Using Microscopic Hyperspectral Imaging Technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Qingli; Zhou, Mei; Liu, Hongying; Wang, Yiting; Guo, Fangmin

2015-12-01

Red blood cell counts have been proven to be one of the most frequently performed blood tests and are valuable for early diagnosis of some diseases. This paper describes an automated red blood cell counting method based on microscopic hyperspectral imaging technology. Unlike the light microscopy-based red blood count methods, a combined spatial and spectral algorithm is proposed to identify red blood cells by integrating active contour models and automated two-dimensional k-means with spectral angle mapper algorithm. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm has better performance than spatial based algorithm because the new algorithm can jointly use the spatial and spectral information of blood cells.

Protein in Urine: MedlinePlus Lab Test Information

Science.gov (United States)

... this page: https://medlineplus.gov/labtests/proteininurine.html Protein in Urine To use the sharing features on this page, please enable JavaScript. What is a Protein in Urine Test? A protein in urine test ...

A Microfluidic Platform for Correlative Live-Cell and Super-Resolution Microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Tam, Johnny; Cordier, Guillaume Alan; Bálint, Štefan; Sandoval Álvarez, Ángel; Borbely, Joseph Steven; Lakadamyali, Melike

2014-01-01

Recently, super-resolution microscopy methods such as stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM) have enabled visualization of subcellular structures below the optical resolution limit. Due to the poor temporal resolution, however, these methods have mostly been used to image fixed cells or dynamic processes that evolve on slow time-scales. In particular, fast dynamic processes and their relationship to the underlying ultrastructure or nanoscale protein organization cannot be discerned. To overcome this limitation, we have recently developed a correlative and sequential imaging method that combines live-cell and super-resolution microscopy. This approach adds dynamic background to ultrastructural images providing a new dimension to the interpretation of super-resolution data. However, currently, it suffers from the need to carry out tedious steps of sample preparation manually. To alleviate this problem, we implemented a simple and versatile microfluidic platform that streamlines the sample preparation steps in between live-cell and super-resolution imaging. The platform is based on a microfluidic chip with parallel, miniaturized imaging chambers and an automated fluid-injection device, which delivers a precise amount of a specified reagent to the selected imaging chamber at a specific time within the experiment. We demonstrate that this system can be used for live-cell imaging, automated fixation, and immunostaining of adherent mammalian cells in situ followed by STORM imaging. We further demonstrate an application by correlating mitochondrial dynamics, morphology, and nanoscale mitochondrial protein distribution in live and super-resolution images. PMID:25545548

Cortisol in urine and saliva

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hurwitz Eller, N; Netterstrøm, B; Hansen, Åse Marie

2001-01-01

The objective of the study was to analyse the relations between excretion of cortisol in urine and saliva and the intima media thickness (IMT) of the artery carotis communis.......The objective of the study was to analyse the relations between excretion of cortisol in urine and saliva and the intima media thickness (IMT) of the artery carotis communis....

Automated microaxial tomography of cell nuclei after specific labelling by fluorescence in situ hybridisation

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Kozubek, Michal; Skalníková, M.; Matula, Pe.; Bártová, Eva; Rauch, J.; Neuhaus, F.; Eipel, H.; Hasmann, M.

2002-01-01

Roč. 33, 7-8 (2002), s. 655-665 ISSN 0968-4328 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z5004920 Keywords : microaxial tomography * automated microscopy * high-resolution cytometry Subject RIV: BO - Biophysics Impact factor: 1.537, year: 2002

Determination of radium in urine; Dosage du radium dans l'urine

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fourniguet, H; Jeanmaire, L; Jammet, H [Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique, Saclay (France).Centre d' Etudes Nucleaires

1959-07-01

A procedure for the quantitative analysis of radium in urine is described. The radium is carried by a barium sulfate precipitate. The precipitate is mixed with zinc sulfide and the activity measured by scintillation counting. It is thus possible to detect an amount of radium less than 1 pico-curie in the sample. (author) [French] Cet article decrit une technique de dosage du radium dans l'urine. Le radium entraine par un precipite de sulfate de baryum est compte par scintillation apres melange du precipite avec du sulfure de zinc. Cette methode permet de deceler moins de 1 picocurie de radium dans l'echantillon. (auteur)

Chemical Method of Urine Volume Measurement

Science.gov (United States)

Petrack, P.

1967-01-01

A system has been developed and qualified as flight hardware for the measurement of micturition volumes voided by crewmen during Gemini missions. This Chemical Urine Volume Measurement System (CUVMS) is used for obtaining samples of each micturition for post-flight volume determination and laboratory analysis for chemical constituents of physiological interest. The system is versatile with respect to volumes measured, with a capacity beyond the largest micturition expected to be encountered, and with respect to mission duration of inherently indefinite length. The urine sample is used for the measurement of total micturition volume by a tracer dilution technique, in which a fixed, predetermined amount of tritiated water is introduced and mixed into the voided urine, and the resulting concentration of the tracer in the sample is determined with a liquid scintillation spectrometer. The tracer employed does not interfere with the analysis for the chemical constituents of the urine. The CUVMS hardware consists of a four-way selector valve in which an automatically operated tracer metering pump is incorporated, a collection/mixing bag, and tracer storage accumulators. The assembled system interfaces with a urine receiver at the selector valve inlet, sample bags which connect to the side of the selector valve, and a flexible hose which carries the excess urine to the overboard drain connection. Results of testing have demonstrated system volume measurement accuracy within the specification limits of +/-5%, and operating reliability suitable for system use aboard the GT-7 mission, in which it was first used.

Effects of diet composition on mutagenic activity in urine.

Science.gov (United States)

Ohara, Akihiro; Matsuhisa, Tsugio

2004-01-01

The effects of dietary habits on mutagenic activity in urine were investigated using the umu test based on the use of the genetically engineered bacteria Salmonella typhimurium TA 1535 pSK1002. Genotoxic effects in sample urine were detected by measuring the activation of the SOS response in the bacteria and recording the beta- galactosidase activity. Human subjects consisted of smokers and non-smokers. Urine from subjects who consumed fish showed the highest mutagenic activity, followed by the urine samples from subjects who ate pork or beef. Chicken induced a low level of mutagenic activity. When the subjects ate fried or roasted animal foods, the urine samples gave higher mutagenicity than the urine samples from the subject who consumed non-fried or non-roasted animal foods. When the subject ate vegetables along with a diet rich in animal foods, the activity in urine decreased. Herbs and spices gave the same tendency toward decline as vegetables. Non-smoker urine shower mutagenic activity than samples from smokers.

[Development of automatic urine monitoring system].

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Liang; Li, Yongqin; Chen, Bihua

2014-03-01

An automatic urine monitoring system is presented to replace manual operation. The system is composed of the flow sensor, MSP430f149 single chip microcomputer, human-computer interaction module, LCD module, clock module and memory module. The signal of urine volume is captured when the urine flows through the flow sensor and then displayed on the LCD after data processing. The experiment results suggest that the design of the monitor provides a high stability, accurate measurement and good real-time, and meets the demand of the clinical application.

Calcium - urine

Science.gov (United States)

... Female urinary tract Male urinary tract Calcium urine test References Bringhurst FR, Demay MB, Kronenberg HM. Hormones and disorders of mineral metabolism. In: Melmed S, Polonsky KS, Larsen PR, Kronenberg HM, eds. Williams Textbook of Endocrinology . 13th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; ...

Direct assay for urine cortisol with cortisol kit TFB

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Manaka, Yukiko; Watanabe, Michiko; Hosoya, Takaaki [Yamagata Univ. (Japan). Hospital

2002-05-01

We examined Cortisol Kit TFB for direct assay of urine cortisol. And the multiplication by dilution factor of urine cortisol values in this kit was examined. The coefficient of correlation of cortisol levels (46 urine samples) between Cortisol Kit TFB and Chemilumi ACS-Cortisol II, which is another kit for direct assay of urine cortisol, was r=0.858, y=1.86x+38.2 (p<0.001). There were differences between the both cortisol levels of each urine sample in spite of the good coefficient of correlation. The urine cortisol values obtained from the standard curve in addition of 50 {mu}l of zero standard were 50-80% of the values obtained from the standard curve in the package insert. These results suggest that the specificity of the antibodies of both direct assay kits for urine cortisol may be different each other, and the multiplication by 1.09, the dilution factor due to the addition of zero standard to only urine sample, is unnecessary although it is indispensable for urine samples to add zero standard. Cortisol Kit TFB was very convenient for its easy assay procedure and short incubation. (author)

Direct assay for urine cortisol with cortisol kit TFB

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manaka, Yukiko; Watanabe, Michiko; Hosoya, Takaaki

2002-01-01

We examined Cortisol Kit TFB for direct assay of urine cortisol. And the multiplication by dilution factor of urine cortisol values in this kit was examined. The coefficient of correlation of cortisol levels (46 urine samples) between Cortisol Kit TFB and Chemilumi ACS-Cortisol II, which is another kit for direct assay of urine cortisol, was r=0.858, y=1.86x+38.2 (p<0.001). There were differences between the both cortisol levels of each urine sample in spite of the good coefficient of correlation. The urine cortisol values obtained from the standard curve in addition of 50 μl of zero standard were 50-80% of the values obtained from the standard curve in the package insert. These results suggest that the specificity of the antibodies of both direct assay kits for urine cortisol may be different each other, and the multiplication by 1.09, the dilution factor due to the addition of zero standard to only urine sample, is unnecessary although it is indispensable for urine samples to add zero standard. Cortisol Kit TFB was very convenient for its easy assay procedure and short incubation. (author)

Urine: Waste product or biologically active tissue?

Science.gov (United States)

2018-03-01

Historically, urine has been viewed primarily as a waste product with little biological role in the overall health of an individual. Increasingly, data suggest that urine plays a role in human health beyond waste excretion. For example, urine might act as an irritant and contribute to symptoms through interaction with-and potential compromise of-the urothelium. To explore the concept that urine may be a vehicle for agents with potential or occult bioactivity and to discuss existing evidence and novel research questions that may yield insight into such a role, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease invited experts in the fields of comparative evolutionary physiology, basic science, nephrology, urology, pediatrics, metabolomics, and proteomics (among others) to a Urinology Think Tank meeting on February 9, 2015. This report reflects ideas that evolved from this meeting and current literature, including the concept of urine quality, the biological, chemical, and physical characteristics of urine, including the microbiota, cells, exosomes, pH, metabolites, proteins, and specific gravity (among others). Additionally, the manuscript presents speculative, and hopefully testable, ideas about the functional roles of urine constituents in health and disease. Moving forward, there are several questions that need further understanding and pursuit. There were suggestions to consider actively using various animal models and their biological specimens to elaborate on basic mechanistic information regarding human bladder dysfunction. Published 2018. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Bioassay techniques for 55Fe in urine samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cregan, S.P.; Leon, J.W.; Linauskas, S.H.

1993-11-01

Solvent extraction, ion chromatography and several rapid screening methods were developed and evaluated for 55 Fe bioassay applications. Isopropyl ether and TNOA column extractions had radiochemical recoveries exceeding 90%. These were very reproducible with a coefficient of variation less than 5%. Screening techniques investigated included direct counting of ashed urine solids, and Fe(OH) 3 . precipitated from urine. The sensitivities (2-50 Bq/d urine) of the screening methods were usually limited by the effective urine volume that could be counted in a liquid scintillation counter. The reference isopropyl ether and chromatography methods could easily achieve sensitivities well below the 1 Bq/d urine output target. (author). 49 refs., 3 tabs., 5 figs

Bioassay method for Uranium in urine by Delay Neutron counting; Metoda Bioassay Uranium dalam urin dengan pencacahan Netron Kasip

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Suratman,; Purwanto,; Sukarman-Aminjoyo, [Yogyakarta Nuclear Research Centre, National Atomic Energy Agency, Yogyakarta (Indonesia)

1996-04-15

A bioassay method for uranium in urine by neutron counting has been studied. The aim of this research is to obtain a bioassay method for uranium in urine which is used for the determination of internal dose of radiation workers. The bioassay was applied to the artificially uranium contaminated urine. The weight of the contaminant was varied. The uranium in the urine was irradiated in the Kartini reactor core, through pneumatic system. The delayed neutron was counted by BF3 neutron counter. Recovery of the bioassay was between 69.8-88.8 %, standard deviation was less than 10 % and the minimum detection was 0.387 {mu}g.

Urine nickel concentrations in nickel-exposed workers.

Science.gov (United States)

Bernacki, E J; Parsons, G E; Roy, B R; Mikac-Devic, M; Kennedy, C D; Sunderman, F W

1978-01-01

Electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry was employed for analyses of nickel concentrations in urine samples from nickel-exposed workers in 10 occupational groups and from non-exposed workers in two control groups. Mean concentrations of nickel in urine were greatest in workers who were exposed to inhalation of aerosols of soluble nickel salts (e.g., workers in nickel plating operations and in an electrolytic nickel refinery). Less marked increases in urine nickel concentrations were found in groups of metal sprayers, nickel battery workers, bench mechanics and are welders. No significant increases in mean concentrations of nickel were found in urine samples from workers who performed grinding, buffing and polishing of nickel-containing alloys or workers in a coal gasification plant who employed Raney nickel as a hydrogenation catalyst. Measurements of nickel concentrations in urine are more sensitive and practical than measurements of serum nickel concentrations for evaluation of nickel exposures in industrial workers.

Performance of Urinary Markers for Detection of Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma: Is Upper Tract Urine More Accurate than Urine from the Bladder?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simone Bier

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Objectives. To assess the performance of urine markers determined in urine samples from the bladder compared to samples collected from the upper urinary tract (UUT for diagnosis of UUT urothelial carcinoma (UC. Patients and Methods. The study comprised 758 urine samples either collected from the bladder (n=373 or UUT (n=385. All patients underwent urethrocystoscopy and UUT imaging or ureterorenoscopy. Cytology, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH, immunocytology (uCyt+, and nuclear matrix protein 22 (NMP22 were performed. Results. UUT UC was diagnosed in 59 patients (19.1% (UUT urine and 27 patients (7.2% (bladder-derived urine. For UUT-derived samples, sensitivities for cytology, FISH, NMP22, and uCyt+ were 74.6, 79.0, 100.0, and 100.0, while specificities were 66.6, 50.7, 5.9, and 66.7%, respectively. In bladder-derived samples, sensitivities were 59.3, 52.9, 62.5, and 50.0% whereas specificities were 82.9, 85.0, 31.3, and 69.8%. In UUT-derived samples, concomitant bladder cancer led to increased false-positive rates of cytology and FISH. Conclusions. Urine markers determined in urine collected from the UUT exhibit better sensitivity but lower specificity compared to markers determined in bladder-derived urine. Concomitant or recent diagnosis of UC of the bladder can further influence markers determined in UUT urine.

The Association Between Urine Output, Creatinine Elevation, and Death.

Science.gov (United States)

Engoren, Milo; Maile, Michael D; Heung, Michael; Jewell, Elizabeth S; Vahabzadeh, Christie; Haft, Jonathan W; Kheterpal, Sachin

2017-04-01

Acute kidney injury can be defined by a fall in urine output, and urine output criteria may be more sensitive in identifying acute kidney injury than traditional serum creatinine criteria. However, as pointed out in the Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcome guidelines, the association of urine output with subsequent creatinine elevations and death is poorly characterized. The purpose of this study was to determine what degrees of reduced urine output are associated with subsequent creatinine elevation and death. This was a retrospective cohort study of adult patients (age ≥18 years) cared for in a cardiovascular intensive care unit after undergoing cardiac operations in a tertiary care university medical center. All adult patients who underwent cardiac operations and were not receiving dialysis preoperatively were studied. The development of acute kidney injury was defined as an increase in creatinine of more than 0.3 mg/dL or by more than 50% above baseline by postoperative day 3. Acute kidney injury developed in 1,061 of 4,195 patients (25%). Urine output had moderate discrimination in predicting subsequent acute kidney injury (C statistic = .637 ± .054). Lower urine output and longer duration of low urine output were associated with greater odds of developing acute kidney injury and death. We found that there is similar accuracy in using urine output corrected for actual, ideal, or adjusted weight to discriminate future acute kidney injury by creatinine elevation and recommend using actual weight for its simplicity. We also found that low urine output is associated with subsequent acute kidney injury and that the association is greater for lower urine output and for low urine output of longer durations. Low urine output (creatinine elevation, is independently associated with mortality. Copyright © 2017 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Doping control in Japan. An automated extraction procedure for the doping test.

Science.gov (United States)

Nakajima, T.; Matsumoto, T.

1976-01-01

Horse racing in Japan consists of two systems, the National (10 racecourses) and the Regional public racing (32 racecourses) having about 2,500 racing meetings in total per year. Urine or saliva samples for dope testing are collected by the officials from thw winner, second and third, and transported to the laboratory in a frozen state. In 1975, 76, 117 samples were analyzed by this laboratory. The laboratory provides the following four methods of analysis, which are variously combined by request. (1) Method for detection of drugs extracted by chloroform from alkalinized sample. (2) Methods for detection of camphor and its derivatives. (3) Method for detection of barbiturates. (4) Method for detection of ethanol. These methods consist of screening, mainly by thin layer chromatography and confirmatory tests using ultra violet spectrophotometry, gas chromatography and mass spectrometry combined with gas chromatography. In the screening test of doping drugs, alkalinized samples are extracted with chloroform. In order to automate the extraction procedure, the authors contrived a new automatic extractor. They also devised a means of pH adjustment of horse urine by using buffer solution and an efficient mechanism of evaporation of organic solvent. Analytical data obtained by the automatic extractor are presented in this paper. In 1972, we started research work to automate the extraction procedure in method (1) above, and the Automatic Extractor has been in use in routine work since last July. One hundred and twnety samples per hour are extracted automatically by three automatic extractors. The analytical data using this apparatus is presented below. PMID:1000163

Light Microscopy Module: International Space Station Premier Automated Microscope

Science.gov (United States)

Sicker, Ronald J.; Foster, William M.; Motil, Brian J.; Meyer, William V.; Chiaramonte, Francis P.; Abbott-Hearn, Amber; Atherton, Arthur; Beltram, Alexander; Bodzioney, Christopher; Brinkman, John;

Imaging-in-flow: digital holographic microscopy as a novel tool to detect and classify nanoplanktonic organisms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zetsche, E.-M.; El Mallahi, A.; Dubois, F.; Yourassowsky, C.; Kromkamp, J.C.; Meysman, F.J.R.

2014-01-01

Traditional taxonomic identification of planktonic organisms is based on light microscopy, which is both time-consuming and tedious. In response, novel ways of automated (machine) identification, such as flow cytometry, have been investigated over the last two decades. To improve the taxonomic

Getting a Urine Test (For Kids)

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... A) Staying Safe Videos for Educators Search English Español Getting a Urine Test (Video) KidsHealth / For Kids / Getting a Urine Test (Video) Print en español Obtención de un análisis de orina (video) It ...

Getting a Urine Test (For Kids)

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... First Aid & Safety Doctors & Hospitals Videos Recipes for Kids Kids site Sitio para niños How the Body Works ... Español Getting a Urine Test (Video) KidsHealth / For Kids / Getting a Urine Test (Video) Print en español ...

Automated Processing and Evaluation of Anti-Nuclear Antibody Indirect Immunofluorescence Testing.

Science.gov (United States)

Ricchiuti, Vincent; Adams, Joseph; Hardy, Donna J; Katayev, Alexander; Fleming, James K

2018-01-01

Indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) is considered by the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and the international consensus on ANA patterns (ICAP) the gold standard for the screening of anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA). As conventional IIF is labor intensive, time-consuming, subjective, and poorly standardized, there have been ongoing efforts to improve the standardization of reagents and to develop automated platforms for assay incubation, microscopy, and evaluation. In this study, the workflow and performance characteristics of a fully automated ANA IIF system (Sprinter XL, EUROPattern Suite, IFA 40: HEp-20-10 cells) were compared to a manual approach using visual microscopy with a filter device for single-well titration and to technologist reading. The Sprinter/EUROPattern system enabled the processing of large daily workload cohorts in less than 8 h and the reduction of labor hands-on time by more than 4 h. Regarding the discrimination of positive from negative samples, the overall agreement of the EUROPattern software with technologist reading was higher (95.6%) than when compared to the current method (89.4%). Moreover, the software was consistent with technologist reading in 80.6-97.5% of patterns and 71.0-93.8% of titers. In conclusion, the Sprinter/EUROPattern system provides substantial labor savings and good concordance with technologist ANA IIF microscopy, thus increasing standardization, laboratory efficiency, and removing subjectivity.

Automated Processing and Evaluation of Anti-Nuclear Antibody Indirect Immunofluorescence Testing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vincent Ricchiuti

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Indirect immunofluorescence (IIF is considered by the American College of Rheumatology (ACR and the international consensus on ANA patterns (ICAP the gold standard for the screening of anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA. As conventional IIF is labor intensive, time-consuming, subjective, and poorly standardized, there have been ongoing efforts to improve the standardization of reagents and to develop automated platforms for assay incubation, microscopy, and evaluation. In this study, the workflow and performance characteristics of a fully automated ANA IIF system (Sprinter XL, EUROPattern Suite, IFA 40: HEp-20-10 cells were compared to a manual approach using visual microscopy with a filter device for single-well titration and to technologist reading. The Sprinter/EUROPattern system enabled the processing of large daily workload cohorts in less than 8 h and the reduction of labor hands-on time by more than 4 h. Regarding the discrimination of positive from negative samples, the overall agreement of the EUROPattern software with technologist reading was higher (95.6% than when compared to the current method (89.4%. Moreover, the software was consistent with technologist reading in 80.6–97.5% of patterns and 71.0–93.8% of titers. In conclusion, the Sprinter/EUROPattern system provides substantial labor savings and good concordance with technologist ANA IIF microscopy, thus increasing standardization, laboratory efficiency, and removing subjectivity.

Determination of anabolic steroids in human urine by automated in-tube solid-phase microextraction coupled with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Saito, Keita; Yagi, Katsuharu; Ishizaki, Atsushi; Kataoka, Hiroyuki

2010-09-05

A simple, rapid and sensitive method was developed for determining the presence of seven anabolic steroids (boldenone, nandrolone, testosterone, methyltestosterone, epiandrosterone, androsterone, and atnozolol) in human urine. Glucuronide-conjugates of these compounds were hydrolyzed with beta-glucuronidase. The anabolic steroids were analyzed by on-line in-tube solid-phase microextraction (SPME) coupled with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). The steroids were separated within 14 min by high performance liquid chromatography using a Chromolith RP-18e column and 5 mM ammonium formate/methanol (35/65, v/v) as a mobile phase at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. Electrospray ionization conditions in the positive ion mode were optimized for the MS detection of these compounds. The optimum in-tube SPME conditions were 20 draw/eject cycles with a sample size of 40 microL using a Supel-Q PLOT capillary column for the extraction. The extracted compounds could be desorbed readily from the capillary column by flow of the mobile phase, and no carryover was observed. Using the in-tube SPME LC-MS with SIM mode detection, good linearity of the calibration curve (r>0.995) was obtained in the concentration range of 0.5-20 ng/mL, except for stanozolol. The detection limits (S/N=3) of anabolic steroids were in the range 9-182 pg/mL and the proposed method showed 20-33-fold higher sensitivity than the direct injection method. The within-day and between-day precisions were below 4.0% and 7.3% (n=5), respectively. This method was applied successfully to the analysis of urine samples without the interference peaks. The recovery rates of anabolic steroids spiked into urine samples were above 85%. This method is useful to analyze the urinary levels of these compounds in anti-doping tests. 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Transformation From a Conventional Clinical Microbiology Laboratory to Full Automation.

Science.gov (United States)

Moreno-Camacho, José L; Calva-Espinosa, Diana Y; Leal-Leyva, Yoseli Y; Elizalde-Olivas, Dolores C; Campos-Romero, Abraham; Alcántar-Fernández, Jonathan

2017-12-22

To validate the performance, reproducibility, and reliability of BD automated instruments in order to establish a fully automated clinical microbiology laboratory. We used control strains and clinical samples to assess the accuracy, reproducibility, and reliability of the BD Kiestra WCA, the BD Phoenix, and BD Bruker MALDI-Biotyper instruments and compared them to previously established conventional methods. The following processes were evaluated: sample inoculation and spreading, colony counts, sorting of cultures, antibiotic susceptibility test, and microbial identification. The BD Kiestra recovered single colonies in less time than conventional methods (e.g. E. coli, 7h vs 10h, respectively) and agreement between both methodologies was excellent for colony counts (κ=0.824) and sorting cultures (κ=0.821). Antibiotic susceptibility tests performed with BD Phoenix and disk diffusion demonstrated 96.3% agreement with both methods. Finally, we compared microbial identification in BD Phoenix and Bruker MALDI-Biotyper and observed perfect agreement (κ=1) and identification at a species level for control strains. Together these instruments allow us to process clinical urine samples in 36h (effective time). The BD automated technologies have improved performance compared with conventional methods, and are suitable for its implementation in very busy microbiology laboratories. © American Society for Clinical Pathology 2017. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

Stability of Synthetic Cathinones in Urine.

Science.gov (United States)

Glicksberg, Lindsay; Kerrigan, Sarah

2018-03-01

In this report, we evaluate the concentration, pH, temperature and analyte-dependent effects on cathinone stability in preserved human urine. A total of 22 synthetic cathinones were evaluated at 100 ng/mL and 1,000 ng/mL in pH 4 and pH 8 urine over 6 months. Specimens were stored at -20°C, 4°C, 20°C and 32°C. The stability of synthetic cathinones was highly dependent on urine pH and storage temperature. Cathinones were considerably more stable in acidic urine (pH 4) at low temperature. In alkaline urine (pH 8) at 32°C, significant losses (>20%) were observed within hours for the majority of drugs. In contrast, all drugs were stable in frozen and refrigerated urine at pH 4 for the duration of the study. These results highlight the importance of sample storage and the potential for pre-analytical changes in concentration during routine shipping and handling of specimens. Significant structural influence was also observed. Cathinones bearing a tertiary amine (pyrrolidine group) were significantly more stable than their secondary amine counterparts. The methylenedioxy group also exerted a significant stabilizing effect on both the tertiary and secondary amines. In the absence of the methylenedioxy group, no significant differences in stability were observed between the unsubstituted and ring substituted secondary amines. Half-lives at ambient temperature in pH 8 urine ranged from 9 h (3-fluoromethcathinone) to 4.3 months (methylenedioxypyrovalerone and 3,4-methylenedioxy-α-pyrrolidinobutiophenone), demonstrating the importance of analyte dependence, and the dual stabilizing effect of both the pyrollidine and methylenedioxy groups. Biological evidence may be subjected to a variety of environmental conditions prior to, and during transport to the forensic laboratory. These findings demonstrate the inherent instability of certain cathinone species in biological evidence under some conditions. Moreover, this study highlights the need for quantitative drug findings in

Iodine and creatinine testing in urine dried on filter paper

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zava, Theodore T., E-mail: ttzava@zrtlab.com [ZRT Laboratory, 8605 SW Creekside Place, Beaverton, OR 97008 (United States); Kapur, Sonia, E-mail: soniak@zrtlab.com [ZRT Laboratory, 8605 SW Creekside Place, Beaverton, OR 97008 (United States); Zava, David T., E-mail: dzava@zrtlab.com [ZRT Laboratory, 8605 SW Creekside Place, Beaverton, OR 97008 (United States)

2013-02-18

Highlights: ► Dried urine iodine and creatinine extract quantitatively correlates well with liquid urine. ► Filter paper strips can be easily shipped and stored. ► Urine iodine and creatinine are stable at ambient temperature when dried on filter paper. ► Dried urine iodine and creatinine are run using a 96-well format. -- Abstract: Iodine deficiency is a world-wide health problem. A simple, convenient, and inexpensive method to monitor urine iodine levels would have enormous benefit in determining an individual's recent iodine intake or in identifying populations at risk for iodine deficiency or excess. Current methods used to monitor iodine levels require collection of a large volume of urine and its transport to a testing laboratory, both of which are inconvenient and impractical in parts of the world lacking refrigerated storage and transportation. To circumvent these limitations we developed and validated methods to collect and measure iodine and creatinine in urine dried on filter paper strips. We tested liquid urine and liquid-extracted dried urine for iodine and creatinine in a 96-well format using Sandell–Kolthoff and Jaffe reactions, respectively. Our modified dried urine iodine and creatinine assays correlated well with established liquid urine methods (iodine: R{sup 2} = 0.9483; creatinine: R{sup 2} = 0.9782). Results demonstrate that the dried urine iodine and creatinine assays are ideal for testing the iodine status of individuals and for wide scale application in iodine screening programs.

Iodine and creatinine testing in urine dried on filter paper

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zava, Theodore T.; Kapur, Sonia; Zava, David T.

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Dried urine iodine and creatinine extract quantitatively correlates well with liquid urine. ► Filter paper strips can be easily shipped and stored. ► Urine iodine and creatinine are stable at ambient temperature when dried on filter paper. ► Dried urine iodine and creatinine are run using a 96-well format. -- Abstract: Iodine deficiency is a world-wide health problem. A simple, convenient, and inexpensive method to monitor urine iodine levels would have enormous benefit in determining an individual's recent iodine intake or in identifying populations at risk for iodine deficiency or excess. Current methods used to monitor iodine levels require collection of a large volume of urine and its transport to a testing laboratory, both of which are inconvenient and impractical in parts of the world lacking refrigerated storage and transportation. To circumvent these limitations we developed and validated methods to collect and measure iodine and creatinine in urine dried on filter paper strips. We tested liquid urine and liquid-extracted dried urine for iodine and creatinine in a 96-well format using Sandell–Kolthoff and Jaffe reactions, respectively. Our modified dried urine iodine and creatinine assays correlated well with established liquid urine methods (iodine: R 2 = 0.9483; creatinine: R 2 = 0.9782). Results demonstrate that the dried urine iodine and creatinine assays are ideal for testing the iodine status of individuals and for wide scale application in iodine screening programs

Stability of cannabinoids in urine in three storage temperatures.

Science.gov (United States)

Golding Fraga, S; Díaz-Flores Estévez, J; Díaz Romero, C

1998-01-01

Stability of cannabinoid compounds in urine samples were evaluated using several storage temperatures. Appreciable losses (> 22.4 percent) were observed in some urine samples, after being stored at room temperature for 10 days. Lower losses (8.1 percent) were observed when the urine samples were refrigerated for 4 weeks. The behavior of urine samples depended on the analyzed urine. This could be due to the different stability of the cannabinoids present in each urine sample. Important losses of 8.0 +/- 10.6, 15.8 +/- 4.2, and 19.6 +/- 6.7 percent were found when the urine samples were frozen during 40 days, 1 year, and 3 years, respectively. Average losses (> > 5 percent) can be observed after one day which could mainly be due to the decrease of the solubility of 11-nor-U9-tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carboxylic acid (THC-COOH) or adsorption process of cannabinoid molecules to the plastic storage containers.

PR-PR: cross-platform laboratory automation system.

Science.gov (United States)

Linshiz, Gregory; Stawski, Nina; Goyal, Garima; Bi, Changhao; Poust, Sean; Sharma, Monica; Mutalik, Vivek; Keasling, Jay D; Hillson, Nathan J

2014-08-15

To enable protocol standardization, sharing, and efficient implementation across laboratory automation platforms, we have further developed the PR-PR open-source high-level biology-friendly robot programming language as a cross-platform laboratory automation system. Beyond liquid-handling robotics, PR-PR now supports microfluidic and microscopy platforms, as well as protocol translation into human languages, such as English. While the same set of basic PR-PR commands and features are available for each supported platform, the underlying optimization and translation modules vary from platform to platform. Here, we describe these further developments to PR-PR, and demonstrate the experimental implementation and validation of PR-PR protocols for combinatorial modified Golden Gate DNA assembly across liquid-handling robotic, microfluidic, and manual platforms. To further test PR-PR cross-platform performance, we then implement and assess PR-PR protocols for Kunkel DNA mutagenesis and hierarchical Gibson DNA assembly for microfluidic and manual platforms.

Getting a Urine Test (For Kids)

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... site Sitio para adolescentes Body Mind Sexual Health Food & Fitness Diseases & Conditions Infections Drugs & Alcohol School & Jobs Sports Expert Answers (Q&A) Staying Safe Videos for Educators Search English Español Getting a Urine Test (Video) KidsHealth / For Kids / Getting a Urine Test ( ...

Urine Sodium in 3 Consecutive Days Urine collected from ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Epidemiological and experimental studies have shown that salt sensitivity, which is a heritable trait, is a hallmark to hypertension in blacks. Previous studies on twenty-four hour urinary sodium were either incomplete or yielded contradictory results possibly from incomplete urine collection. This study attempted complete ...

Urine Bag as a Modern Day Matula

OpenAIRE

Viswanathan, Stalin

2013-01-01

Since time immemorial uroscopic analysis has been a staple of diagnostic medicine. It received prominence during the middle ages with the introduction of the matula. Urinary discoloration is generally due to changes in urochrome concentration associated with the presence of other endogenous or exogenous pigments. Observation of urine colors has received less attention due to the advances made in urinalysis. A gamut of urine colors can be seen in urine bags of hospitalized patients that may gi...

Urine alkalization facilitates uric acid excretion

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

Background Increase in the incidence of hyperuricemia associated with gout as well as hypertension, renal diseases and cardiovascular diseases has been a public health concern. We examined the possibility of facilitated excretion of uric acid by change in urine pH by managing food materials. Methods Within the framework of the Japanese government's health promotion program, we made recipes which consist of protein-rich and less vegetable-fruit food materials for H+-load (acid diet) and others composed of less protein but vegetable-fruit rich food materials (alkali diet). Healthy female students were enrolled in this consecutive 5-day study for each test. From whole-day collected urine, total volume, pH, organic acid, creatinine, uric acid and all cations (Na+,K+,Ca2+,Mg2+,NH4+) and anions (Cl-,SO42-,PO4-) necessary for the estimation of acid-base balance were measured. Results Urine pH reached a steady state 3 days after switching from ordinary daily diets to specified regimens. The amount of acid generated ([SO42-] +organic acid-gut alkai) were linearly related with those of the excretion of acid (titratable acidity+ [NH4+] - [HCO3-]), indicating that H+ in urine is generated by the metabolic degradation of food materials. Uric acid and excreted urine pH retained a linear relationship, where uric acid excretion increased from 302 mg/day at pH 5.9 to 413 mg/day at pH 6.5, despite the fact that the alkali diet contained a smaller purine load than the acid diet. Conclusion We conclude that alkalization of urine by eating nutritionally well-designed food is effective for removing uric acid from the body. PMID:20955624

Changes in urine composition after trauma facilitate bacterial growth

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aubron Cecile

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Critically ill patients including trauma patients are at high risk of urinary tract infection (UTI. The composition of urine in trauma patients may be modified due to inflammation, systemic stress, rhabdomyolysis, life support treatment and/or urinary catheter insertion. Methods Prospective, single-centre, observational study conducted in patients with severe trauma and without a history of UTIs or recent antibiotic treatment. The 24-hour urine samples were collected on the first and the fifth days and the growth of Escherichia coli in urine from patients and healthy volunteers was compared. Biochemical and hormonal modifications in urine that could potentially influence bacterial growth were explored. Results Growth of E. coli in urine from trauma patients was significantly higher on days 1 and 5 than in urine of healthy volunteers. Several significant modifications of urine composition could explain these findings. On days 1 and 5, trauma patients had an increase in glycosuria, in urine iron concentration, and in the concentrations of several amino acids compared to healthy volunteers. On day 1, the urinary osmotic pressure was significantly lower than for healthy volunteers. Conclusion We showed that urine of trauma patients facilitated growth of E. coli when compared to urine from healthy volunteers. This effect was present in the first 24 hours and until at least the fifth day after trauma. This phenomenon may be involved in the pathophysiology of UTIs in trauma patients. Further studies are required to define the exact causes of such modifications.

Quantitative automated microscopy (QuAM elucidates growth factor specific signalling in pain sensitization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Levine Jon D

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Dorsal root ganglia (DRG-neurons are commonly characterized immunocytochemically. Cells are mostly grouped by the experimenter's eye as "marker-positive" and "marker-negative" according to their immunofluorescence intensity. Classification criteria remain largely undefined. Overcoming this shortfall, we established a quantitative automated microscopy (QuAM for a defined and multiparametric analysis of adherent heterogeneous primary neurons on a single cell base. The growth factors NGF, GDNF and EGF activate the MAP-kinase Erk1/2 via receptor tyrosine kinase signalling. NGF and GDNF are established factors in regeneration and sensitization of nociceptive neurons. If also the tissue regenerating growth factor, EGF, influences nociceptors is so far unknown. We asked, if EGF can act on nociceptors, and if QuAM can elucidate differences between NGF, GDNF and EGF induced Erk1/2 activation kinetics. Finally, we evaluated, if the investigation of one signalling component allows prediction of the behavioral response to a reagent not tested on nociceptors such as EGF. Results We established a software-based neuron identification, described quantitatively DRG-neuron heterogeneity and correlated measured sample sizes and corresponding assay sensitivity. Analysing more than 70,000 individual neurons we defined neuronal subgroups based on differential Erk1/2 activation status in sensory neurons. Baseline activity levels varied strongly already in untreated neurons. NGF and GDNF subgroup responsiveness correlated with their subgroup specificity on IB4(+- and IB4(--neurons, respectively. We confirmed expression of EGF-receptors in all sensory neurons. EGF treatment induced STAT3 translocation into the nucleus. Nevertheless, we could not detect any EGF induced Erk1/2 phosphorylation. Accordingly, intradermal injection of EGF resulted in a fundamentally different outcome than NGF/GDNF. EGF did not induce mechanical hyperalgesia, but blocked

Development of a fully automated sequential injection solid-phase extraction procedure coupled to liquid chromatography to determine free 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone and 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone-5-sulphonic acid in human urine.

Science.gov (United States)

León, Zacarías; Chisvert, Alberto; Balaguer, Angel; Salvador, Amparo

2010-04-07

2-Hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone and 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone-5-sulphonic acid, commonly known as benzophenone-3 (BZ3) and benzophenone-4 (BZ4), respectively, are substances widely used as UV filters in cosmetic products in order to absorb UV radiation and protect human skin from direct exposure to the deleterious wavelengths of sunlight. As with other UV filters, there is evidence of their percutaneous absorption. This work describes an analytical method developed to determine trace levels of free BZ3 and BZ4 in human urine. The methodology is based on a solid-phase extraction (SPE) procedure for clean-up and pre-concentration, followed by the monitoring of the UV filters by liquid chromatography-ultraviolet spectrophotometry detection (LC-UV). In order to improve not only the sensitivity and selectivity, but also the precision of the method, the principle of sequential injection analysis was used to automate the SPE process and to transfer the eluates from the SPE to the LC system. The application of a six-channel valve as an interface for the switching arrangements successfully allowed the on-line connection of SPE sample processing with LC analysis. The SPE process for BZ3 and BZ4 was performed using octadecyl (C18) and diethylaminopropyl (DEA) modified silica microcolumns, respectively, in which the analytes were retained and eluted selectively. Due to the matrix effects, the determination was based on standard addition quantification and was fully validated. The relative standard deviations of the results were 13% and 6% for BZ3 and BZ4, respectively, whereas the limits of detection were 60 and 30 ng mL(-1), respectively. The method was satisfactorily applied to determine BZ3 and BZ4 in urine from volunteers that had applied a sunscreen cosmetic containing both UV filters. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Development of a fully automated sequential injection solid-phase extraction procedure coupled to liquid chromatography to determine free 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone and 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone-5-sulphonic acid in human urine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leon, Zacarias; Chisvert, Alberto; Balaguer, Angel; Salvador, Amparo

2010-01-01

2-Hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone and 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone-5-sulphonic acid, commonly known as benzophenone-3 (BZ3) and benzophenone-4 (BZ4), respectively, are substances widely used as UV filters in cosmetic products in order to absorb UV radiation and protect human skin from direct exposure to the deleterious wavelengths of sunlight. As with other UV filters, there is evidence of their percutaneous absorption. This work describes an analytical method developed to determine trace levels of free BZ3 and BZ4 in human urine. The methodology is based on a solid-phase extraction (SPE) procedure for clean-up and pre-concentration, followed by the monitoring of the UV filters by liquid chromatography-ultraviolet spectrophotometry detection (LC-UV). In order to improve not only the sensitivity and selectivity, but also the precision of the method, the principle of sequential injection analysis was used to automate the SPE process and to transfer the eluates from the SPE to the LC system. The application of a six-channel valve as an interface for the switching arrangements successfully allowed the on-line connection of SPE sample processing with LC analysis. The SPE process for BZ3 and BZ4 was performed using octadecyl (C18) and diethylaminopropyl (DEA) modified silica microcolumns, respectively, in which the analytes were retained and eluted selectively. Due to the matrix effects, the determination was based on standard addition quantification and was fully validated. The relative standard deviations of the results were 13% and 6% for BZ3 and BZ4, respectively, whereas the limits of detection were 60 and 30 ng mL -1 , respectively. The method was satisfactorily applied to determine BZ3 and BZ4 in urine from volunteers that had applied a sunscreen cosmetic containing both UV filters.

An update on purple urine bag syndrome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hadano Y

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Yoshiro Hadano,1 Taro Shimizu,2 Shimon Takada,3 Toshiya Inoue,4 Sumire Sorano51Department of General Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Rakuwakai Otowa Hospital, Yamashina-ku, Kyoto, Japan; 2Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA; 3Department of General Internal Medicine, Osaka City General Hospital, Miyakojima-ku, Osaka, Japan; 4Department of Emergency Medicine, Urasoe General Hospital, Urasoe-city, Okinawa, Japan; 5Kobe University School of Medicine, Kusunokicho, Chuoku, Kobe, JapanAbstract: Purple urine bag syndrome is characterized by the urinary drainage bag turning purple in patients on prolonged urinary catheterization, especially those in the bedridden state. It is associated with bacterial urinary tract infections caused by indigo-producing and indirubin-producing bacteria, usually affects women, and is associated with alkaline urine, constipation, and a high bacterial load in the urine. Almost all patients with purple urine bag syndrome are catheterized due to significant disability, and the urinary pH is 7.0 or more. In general, intensive treatment with antibiotics is not recommended. Purple urine bag syndrome per se almost always appears to be asymptomatic and harmless. However, caution is needed, because some cases have been reported to show progression to severe disease states, so further research into the morbidity and mortality of this infection is warranted.Keywords: purple urine, urinary catheterization, geriatrics, urinary tract infection

Preventing Precipitation in the ISS Urine Processor

Science.gov (United States)

Muirhead, Dean; Carter, Layne; Williamson, Jill; Chambers, Antja

2017-01-01

The ISS Urine Processor Assembly (UPA) was initially designed to achieve 85% recovery of water from pretreated urine on ISS. Pretreated urine is comprised of crew urine treated with flush water, an oxidant (chromium trioxide), and an inorganic acid (sulfuric acid) to control microbial growth and inhibit precipitation. Unfortunately, initial operation of the UPA on ISS resulted in the precipitation of calcium sulfate at 85% recovery. This occurred because the calcium concentration in the crew urine was elevated in microgravity due to bone loss. The higher calcium concentration precipitated with sulfate from the pretreatment acid, resulting in a failure of the UPA due to the accumulation of solids in the Distillation Assembly. Since this failure, the UPA has been limited to a reduced recovery of water from urine to prevent calcium sulfate from reaching the solubility limit. NASA personnel have worked to identify a solution that would allow the UPA to return to a nominal recovery rate of 85%. This effort has culminated with the development of a pretreatment based on phosphoric acid instead of sulfuric acid. By eliminating the sulfate associated with the pretreatment, the brine can be concentrated to a much higher concentration before calcium sulfate reach the solubility limit. This paper summarizes the development of this pretreatment and the testing performed to verify its implementation on ISS.

Mutagens in urine of carbon electrode workers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pasquini, R; Monarca, S; Sforzolini, G S; Conti, R; Fagioli, F

1982-01-01

Following previous work carried out in an Italian factory producing carbon electrodes and evaluating the occupational mutagenic-carcinogenic hazards, the authors studied the presence of mutagen metabolites in the urine of workers in the same factory who were exposed to petroleum coke and pitch and in the urine of a control group of unexposed workers. The urine samples were concentrated by absorption on XAD-2 columns and were tested using the Salmonella/microsome assay (strain TA98, TA100, TA1535, TA1538) with and without the addition of beta-glucuronidase and metabolizing system. The collection of urine samples was carried out twice, with an interval of 2 months; 'before working time', 'after working time', and also during Sunday. The results showed that urine samples collected 'before' occupational exposure (upon waking) or on Sunday revealed no mutagenic activity in either worker groups and that the urine samples collected after or during occupational exposure revealed high mutagenic activity in the exposed workers, with a statistically significant difference between the mean of the revertants/plate values for exposed and unexposed workers. On the basis of the previous and the present research, the authors suggest that application of the Salmonella/microsome test to work environments could offer useful and suitable tool for evaluating the health hazards due to mutagenic/carcinogenic substances from occupational exposure.

The migration of drugs-of-abuse from Europe to Denmark – Analysis of pooled anonymous urine from urinals at Roskilde Festival 2016

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hoegberg, Lotte Christine Groth; Christiansen, Cecilie; Soe, Jesper

or through police seizures [2]. We carried out a cross-sectional study of collected pooled anonymous urine, sampled from urinals at the biggest music festival during the year, Roskilde Festival, with the aim to detect classic recreational drugs and NPS. The aim of this study was to identify recreational...... drugs currently used and predict the emergence of NPS by comparing study data with seizure data from the previous year published by EMCDDA [1]. Methods: In total 44 urine samples were collected from three urinals at Roskilde Festival 2016. Two urinals were placed at music stages with late-night concerts...... drugs were identified in pooled urine samples. While the widespread use of these drugs at the festival was confirmed, the prevalence of NPS was not as comprehensive as expected based on the EMCDDA report [1] and the Danish report on illegal drugs [2]. The limited use of NPS and the substantial dilution...

An exploratory study on seawater-catalysed urine phosphorus recovery (SUPR).

Science.gov (United States)

Dai, Ji; Tang, Wen-Tao; Zheng, Yi-Se; Mackey, Hamish R; Chui, Ho Kwong; van Loosdrecht, Mark C M; Chen, Guang-Hao

2014-12-01

Phosphorus (P) is a crucial and non-renewable resource, while it is excessively discharged via sewage, significant amounts originating from human urine. Recovery of P from source-separated urine presents an opportunity not only to recover this precious resource but also to improve downstream sewage treatment works. This paper proposes a simple and economic method to recover urine derived P by using seawater as a low-cost precipitant to form struvite, as Hong Kong has practised seawater toilet flushing as an alternative water resource since 1958. Chemical reactions, process conditions and precipitate composition for P precipitation in urine have been investigated to develop this new urine P recovery approach. This study concluded that ureolysis extent in a urine-seawater mixture determines the reaction pH that in turn influences the P recovery efficiency significantly; 98% of urine P can precipitate with seawater within 10 min when 40-75% of the urea in urine is ureolysed; the urine to seawater ratio alters the composition of the precipitates. The P content in the precipitates was found to be more than 9% when the urine fraction was 40% or higher. Magnesium ammonium phosphate (MAP) was confirmed to be the predominant component of the precipitates. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Semi-automated algorithm for localization of dermal/epidermal junction in reflectance confocal microscopy images of human skin

Science.gov (United States)

Kurugol, Sila; Dy, Jennifer G.; Rajadhyaksha, Milind; Gossage, Kirk W.; Weissmann, Jesse; Brooks, Dana H.

2011-03-01

The examination of the dermis/epidermis junction (DEJ) is clinically important for skin cancer diagnosis. Reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) is an emerging tool for detection of skin cancers in vivo. However, visual localization of the DEJ in RCM images, with high accuracy and repeatability, is challenging, especially in fair skin, due to low contrast, heterogeneous structure and high inter- and intra-subject variability. We recently proposed a semi-automated algorithm to localize the DEJ in z-stacks of RCM images of fair skin, based on feature segmentation and classification. Here we extend the algorithm to dark skin. The extended algorithm first decides the skin type and then applies the appropriate DEJ localization method. In dark skin, strong backscatter from the pigment melanin causes the basal cells above the DEJ to appear with high contrast. To locate those high contrast regions, the algorithm operates on small tiles (regions) and finds the peaks of the smoothed average intensity depth profile of each tile. However, for some tiles, due to heterogeneity, multiple peaks in the depth profile exist and the strongest peak might not be the basal layer peak. To select the correct peak, basal cells are represented with a vector of texture features. The peak with most similar features to this feature vector is selected. The results show that the algorithm detected the skin types correctly for all 17 stacks tested (8 fair, 9 dark). The DEJ detection algorithm achieved an average distance from the ground truth DEJ surface of around 4.7μm for dark skin and around 7-14μm for fair skin.

Fluctuations of nickel concentrations in urine of electroplating workers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bernacki, E.J.; Zygowicz, E.; Sunderman, F.W. Jr.

1980-01-01

Nickel analyses were performed by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry upon urine specimens obtained from electroplating workers at the beginning, middle and end of the work-shift. The means (+- S.D.) for nickel concentrations in urine specimens from seven electroplating workers on three regular workdays were: 34 +- 32 μg/L (pre-shift); 64 +- μg/L (mid-shift) and 46 +- μg/L (end-shift), compared to 2.7 +- 1.6 μg/L (pre-shift) in 19 controls (hospital workers). Nickel concentrations in urine specimens from six electroplating workers on the first workday after a two-week vacation averaged: 5 +- 3 μg/L (pre-shift); 9 +- 6 μg/L (mid-shift), and 12 +- 6 μg/L (end-shift). Nickel concentrations in personal air samples (seven hours) collected from the breathing zones of five electroplating workers on three regular workdays averaged 9.3 +- 4.4 μg/m 3 . Nickel concentrations in the air samples were correlated with nickel concentrations in end-shift urine specimens (corr. coef. = 0.70; P < 0.05), but were not correlated with nickel concentrations in pre-shift or mid-shift urine specimens. In view of the fluctuations of urine nickel concentrations that occur during the work-shift, the authors recommend that nickel analyses of eight hour urine specimens be used routinely to monitor occupational exposures to nickel. In situations where timed urine collections are impractical, analyses of end-shift urine specimens are the best alternative

Molecular neutron activation analysis of selenium metabolites in urine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blotcky, A.J.; Hansen, G.T.; Ebrahim, A.; Rack, E.P.

1988-01-01

Because of the biological importance of selenium in living biological systems, various analytical procedures have been developed for analysis of microquantities of elemental selenium, in urine, serum, and tissue. For urine selenium, these include atomic absorption spectrometry, solution absorption spectrometry, solution fluorescence spectrometry, volumetry, and neutron activation analysis. Of equal or greater importance is the determination of selenium metabolites present in urine for the purpose of describing the biological pathways for the metabolism of selenium in living organisms. While it is known from previous studies that trimethylselenonium ion (TMSe) is a major metabolite in urine, probably the result of reduction and methylation reaction, there are no definitive results in the literature indicating the nature or quantity of other selenium metabolic products in urine. Early techniques to measure TMSe levels in urine involved the use of the radiotracer 75 Se. Because of the long biological half-life of selenium and issues of radiation exposure, its use in humans has been limited. In this paper, the authors report the experimental procedure for the determination of total selenoamino acid concentration in urine and present total selenium values, and, where applicable, TMSe, SeO 2- 3 , and total selenoamino acid concentrations in the urine of normal and diseased subjects

Detection of dopamine in non-treated urine samples using glassy carbon electrodes modified with PAMAM dendrimer-Pt composites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garcia, M.G.; Armendariz, G.M.E.; Godinez, Luis A.; Torres, J.; Sepulveda-Guzman, S.; Bustos, E.

2011-01-01

Composites of hydroxyl-terminated PAMAM dendrimers, generation 4.0 (64 peripheral OH groups) containing Pt nanoparticles were synthesized at different reaction times using a microwave reactor. The synthetic procedure resulted in dendrimer encapsulated nanoparticles of Pt (DENs-Pt) of 1.53 ± 0.17 nm diameter that was calculated from transmission electron microscopy, and the Pt nanoparticles had single crystal plane in (1 1 1) orientation determinate by selective area diffraction. Each composite was electrochemically immobilized on a pre-functionalized glassy carbon (GC) electrode that was incorporated as a flow injection amperometric (FIA) detector, for the selective detection and quantification of dopamine (DA) in untreated urine samples. Comparison of the analytical performance of the novel electrochemical detector revealed that the DENs-Pt modified GC electrode with the composite synthesized for 30 min in the microwave reactor, showed the best response for the detection of DA in samples of non-treated urine, being the detection and quantification limits smaller (19 and 9 ppb, respectively) than those corresponding to the naked a GC electrode (846 and 423 ppb, respectively) using the FIA detector. In addition, it was found that this electroanalytical approach suffers minimal matrix effects that arise in the analysis of DA in untreated samples of urine.

Detection of dopamine in non-treated urine samples using glassy carbon electrodes modified with PAMAM dendrimer-Pt composites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garcia, M.G. [Laboratory of Bioelectrochemistry, Centro de Investigacion y Desarrollo Tecnologico en Electroquimica, S. C., Parque Tecnologico, Queretaro, Sanfandila, Pedro Escobedo 76703, Queretaro (Mexico); Department of Chemistry, Universidad de Guanajuato, Cerro de la Venada S/N Col. Pueblito de Rocha, 36040 Guanajuato, Gto (Mexico); Armendariz, G.M.E.; Godinez, Luis A.; Torres, J. [Laboratory of Bioelectrochemistry, Centro de Investigacion y Desarrollo Tecnologico en Electroquimica, S. C., Parque Tecnologico, Queretaro, Sanfandila, Pedro Escobedo 76703, Queretaro (Mexico); Sepulveda-Guzman, S. [Centro de Innovacion, Investigacion y Desarrollo en Ingenieria y Tecnologia, Facultad de Ingenieria Mecanica y Electrica, Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Av. Universidad, San Nicolas de los Garza, Nuevo Leon, 66451 Nuevo Leon (Mexico); Bustos, E., E-mail: ebustos@cideteq.mx [Laboratory of Bioelectrochemistry, Centro de Investigacion y Desarrollo Tecnologico en Electroquimica, S. C., Parque Tecnologico, Queretaro, Sanfandila, Pedro Escobedo 76703, Queretaro (Mexico)

2011-09-01

Composites of hydroxyl-terminated PAMAM dendrimers, generation 4.0 (64 peripheral OH groups) containing Pt nanoparticles were synthesized at different reaction times using a microwave reactor. The synthetic procedure resulted in dendrimer encapsulated nanoparticles of Pt (DENs-Pt) of 1.53 {+-} 0.17 nm diameter that was calculated from transmission electron microscopy, and the Pt nanoparticles had single crystal plane in (1 1 1) orientation determinate by selective area diffraction. Each composite was electrochemically immobilized on a pre-functionalized glassy carbon (GC) electrode that was incorporated as a flow injection amperometric (FIA) detector, for the selective detection and quantification of dopamine (DA) in untreated urine samples. Comparison of the analytical performance of the novel electrochemical detector revealed that the DENs-Pt modified GC electrode with the composite synthesized for 30 min in the microwave reactor, showed the best response for the detection of DA in samples of non-treated urine, being the detection and quantification limits smaller (19 and 9 ppb, respectively) than those corresponding to the naked a GC electrode (846 and 423 ppb, respectively) using the FIA detector. In addition, it was found that this electroanalytical approach suffers minimal matrix effects that arise in the analysis of DA in untreated samples of urine.

Urine alkalization facilitates uric acid excretion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seyama Issei

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Increase in the incidence of hyperuricemia associated with gout as well as hypertension, renal diseases and cardiovascular diseases has been a public health concern. We examined the possibility of facilitated excretion of uric acid by change in urine pH by managing food materials. Methods Within the framework of the Japanese government's health promotion program, we made recipes which consist of protein-rich and less vegetable-fruit food materials for H+-load (acid diet and others composed of less protein but vegetable-fruit rich food materials (alkali diet. Healthy female students were enrolled in this consecutive 5-day study for each test. From whole-day collected urine, total volume, pH, organic acid, creatinine, uric acid and all cations (Na+,K+,Ca2+,Mg2+,NH4+ and anions (Cl-,SO42-,PO4- necessary for the estimation of acid-base balance were measured. Results Urine pH reached a steady state 3 days after switching from ordinary daily diets to specified regimens. The amount of acid generated ([SO42-] +organic acid-gut alkai were linearly related with those of the excretion of acid (titratable acidity+ [NH4+] - [HCO3-], indicating that H+ in urine is generated by the metabolic degradation of food materials. Uric acid and excreted urine pH retained a linear relationship, where uric acid excretion increased from 302 mg/day at pH 5.9 to 413 mg/day at pH 6.5, despite the fact that the alkali diet contained a smaller purine load than the acid diet. Conclusion We conclude that alkalization of urine by eating nutritionally well-designed food is effective for removing uric acid from the body.

Active learning of neuron morphology for accurate automated tracing of neurites

Science.gov (United States)

Gala, Rohan; Chapeton, Julio; Jitesh, Jayant; Bhavsar, Chintan; Stepanyants, Armen

2014-01-01

Automating the process of neurite tracing from light microscopy stacks of images is essential for large-scale or high-throughput quantitative studies of neural circuits. While the general layout of labeled neurites can be captured by many automated tracing algorithms, it is often not possible to differentiate reliably between the processes belonging to different cells. The reason is that some neurites in the stack may appear broken due to imperfect labeling, while others may appear fused due to the limited resolution of optical microscopy. Trained neuroanatomists routinely resolve such topological ambiguities during manual tracing tasks by combining information about distances between branches, branch orientations, intensities, calibers, tortuosities, colors, as well as the presence of spines or boutons. Likewise, to evaluate different topological scenarios automatically, we developed a machine learning approach that combines many of the above mentioned features. A specifically designed confidence measure was used to actively train the algorithm during user-assisted tracing procedure. Active learning significantly reduces the training time and makes it possible to obtain less than 1% generalization error rates by providing few training examples. To evaluate the overall performance of the algorithm a number of image stacks were reconstructed automatically, as well as manually by several trained users, making it possible to compare the automated traces to the baseline inter-user variability. Several geometrical and topological features of the traces were selected for the comparisons. These features include the total trace length, the total numbers of branch and terminal points, the affinity of corresponding traces, and the distances between corresponding branch and terminal points. Our results show that when the density of labeled neurites is sufficiently low, automated traces are not significantly different from manual reconstructions obtained by trained users. PMID

Active learning of neuron morphology for accurate automated tracing of neurites

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rohan eGala

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Automating the process of neurite tracing from light microscopy stacks of images is essential for large-scale or high-throughput quantitative studies of neural circuits. While the general layout of labeled neurites can be captured by many automated tracing algorithms, it is often not possible to differentiate reliably between the processes belonging to different cells. The reason is that some neurites in the stack may appear broken due to imperfect labeling, while others may appear fused due to the limited resolution of optical microscopy. Trained neuroanatomists routinely resolve such topological ambiguities during manual tracing tasks by combining information about distances between branches, branch orientations, intensities, calibers, tortuosities, colors, as well as the presence of spines or boutons. Likewise, to evaluate different topological scenarios automatically, we developed a machine learning approach that combines many of the above mentioned features. A specifically designed confidence measure was used to actively train the algorithm during user-assisted tracing procedure. Active learning significantly reduces the training time and makes it possible to obtain less than 1% generalization error rates by providing few training examples. To evaluate the overall performance of the algorithm a number of image stacks were reconstructed automatically, as well as manually by several trained users, making it possible to compare the automated traces to the baseline inter-user variability. Several geometrical and topological features of the traces were selected for the comparisons. These features include the total trace length, the total numbers of branch and terminal points, the affinity of corresponding traces, and the distances between corresponding branch and terminal points. Our results show that when the density of labeled neurites is sufficiently low, automated traces are not significantly different from manual reconstructions obtained by

Manual versus automated streaking system in clinical microbiology laboratory: Performance evaluation of Previ Isola for blood culture and body fluid samples.

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Qute; Kim, Hyun Jin; Kim, Jong Wan; Kwon, Gye Cheol; Koo, Sun Hoe

2018-01-04

The process of plate streaking has been automated to improve routine workflow of clinical microbiology laboratories. Although there were many evaluation reports about the inoculation of various body fluid samples, few evaluations have been reported for blood. In this study, we evaluated the performance of automated inoculating system, Previ Isola for various routine clinical samples including blood. Blood culture, body fluid, and urine samples were collected. All samples were inoculated on both sheep blood agar plate (BAP) and MacConkey agar plate (MCK) using Previ Isola and manual method. We compared two methods in aspect of quality and quantity of cultures, and sample processing time. To ensure objective colony counting, an enumeration reading reference was made through a preliminary experiment. A total of 377 nonduplicate samples (102 blood culture, 203 urine, 72 body fluid) were collected and inoculated. The concordance rate of quality was 100%, 97.0%, and 98.6% in blood, urine, and other body fluids, respectively. In quantitative aspect, it was 98.0%, 97.0%, and 95.8%, respectively. The Previ Isola took a little longer to inoculate the specimen than manual method, but the hands-on time decreased dramatically. The shortened hands-on time using Previ Isola was about 6 minutes per 10 samples. We demonstrated that the Previ Isola showed high concordance with the manual method in the inoculation of various body fluids, especially in blood culture sample. The use of Previ Isola in clinical microbiology laboratories is expected to save considerable time and human resources. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Toponomics method for the automated quantification of membrane protein translocation.

Science.gov (United States)

Domanova, Olga; Borbe, Stefan; Mühlfeld, Stefanie; Becker, Martin; Kubitz, Ralf; Häussinger, Dieter; Berlage, Thomas

2011-09-19

Intra-cellular and inter-cellular protein translocation can be observed by microscopic imaging of tissue sections prepared immunohistochemically. A manual densitometric analysis is time-consuming, subjective and error-prone. An automated quantification is faster, more reproducible, and should yield results comparable to manual evaluation. The automated method presented here was developed on rat liver tissue sections to study the translocation of bile salt transport proteins in hepatocytes. For validation, the cholestatic liver state was compared to the normal biological state. An automated quantification method was developed to analyze the translocation of membrane proteins and evaluated in comparison to an established manual method. Firstly, regions of interest (membrane fragments) are identified in confocal microscopy images. Further, densitometric intensity profiles are extracted orthogonally to membrane fragments, following the direction from the plasma membrane to cytoplasm. Finally, several different quantitative descriptors were derived from the densitometric profiles and were compared regarding their statistical significance with respect to the transport protein distribution. Stable performance, robustness and reproducibility were tested using several independent experimental datasets. A fully automated workflow for the information extraction and statistical evaluation has been developed and produces robust results. New descriptors for the intensity distribution profiles were found to be more discriminative, i.e. more significant, than those used in previous research publications for the translocation quantification. The slow manual calculation can be substituted by the fast and unbiased automated method.

Determination of natural thorium in urines; Dosage du thorium dans les urines

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jeanmaire, L; Jammet, H [Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique, Saclay (France).Centre d' Etudes Nucleaires

1959-07-01

A procedure for the quantitative analysis of thorium in urine is described. After precipitation with ammonium hydroxide, dissolution of the precipitate, extraction at pH 4-4.2 with cupferron in chloroformic solution and mineralization, a colorimetric determination of thorium with thorin is performed. It is thus possible to detect about 2 {gamma} of thorium in the sample. (author) [French] Cet article decrit une technique de dosage du thorium dans l'urine. Apres precipitation par l'ammoniaque, remise en solution, extraction a pH 4-4,2 par le cupferron en solution chloroformique et mineralisation, le thorium est dose par colorimetrie avec le thorin. Cette methode permet de deceler environ 2 {gamma} de thorium dans l'echantillon. (auteur)

High-throughput full-automatic synchrotron-based tomographic microscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mader, Kevin; Marone, Federica; Hintermueller, Christoph; Mikuljan, Gordan; Isenegger, Andreas; Stampanoni, Marco

2011-01-01

At the TOMCAT (TOmographic Microscopy and Coherent rAdiology experimenTs) beamline of the Swiss Light Source with an energy range of 8-45 keV and voxel size from 0.37 (micro)m to 7.4 (micro)m, full tomographic datasets are typically acquired in 5 to 10 min. To exploit the speed of the system and enable high-throughput studies to be performed in a fully automatic manner, a package of automation tools has been developed. The samples are automatically exchanged, aligned, moved to the correct region of interest, and scanned. This task is accomplished through the coordination of Python scripts, a robot-based sample-exchange system, sample positioning motors and a CCD camera. The tools are suited for any samples that can be mounted on a standard SEM stub, and require no specific environmental conditions. Up to 60 samples can be analyzed at a time without user intervention. The throughput of the system is dependent on resolution, energy and sample size, but rates of four samples per hour have been achieved with 0.74 (micro)m voxel size at 17.5 keV. The maximum intervention-free scanning time is theoretically unlimited, and in practice experiments have been running unattended as long as 53 h (the average beam time allocation at TOMCAT is 48 h per user). The system is the first fully automated high-throughput tomography station: mounting samples, finding regions of interest, scanning and reconstructing can be performed without user intervention. The system also includes many features which accelerate and simplify the process of tomographic microscopy.

Monitoring human papillomavirus prevalence in urine samples: a review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Enerly E

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Espen Enerly, Cecilia Olofsson, Mari NygårdDepartment of Research, Cancer Registry of Norway, Oslo, NorwayAbstract: Human papillomavirus (HPV is the main cause of cervical cancer, and many countries now offer vaccination against HPV to girls by way of government-funded national immunization programs. Monitoring HPV prevalence in adolescents could offer a near-term biological measure of vaccine impact, and urine sampling may be an attractive large-scale method that could be used for this purpose. Our objective was to provide an overview of the literature on HPV DNA detection in urine samples, with an emphasis on adolescents. We searched the PubMed database using the terms “HPV” and “urine” and identified 21 female and 14 male study populations in which HPV prevalence in urine samples was reported, four of which included only asymptomatic female adolescents. We provide herein an overview of the recruitment setting, age, urine sampling procedure, lesion type, HPV assay, and HPV prevalence in urine samples and other urogenital samples for the studies included in this review. In female study populations, concordance for any HPV type and type-specific concordance in paired urine and cervical samples are provided in addition to sensitivity and specificity. We concluded that few studies on HPV prevalence in urine samples have been performed in asymptomatic female adolescent populations but that urine samples may be a useful alternative to cervical samples to monitor changes in HPV prevalence in females in the post-HPV vaccination era. However, care should be taken when extrapolating HPV findings from urine samples to the cervix. In males, urine samples do not seem to be optimal for monitoring HPV prevalence due to a low human genomic DNA content and HPV DNA detection rate compared to other urogenital sites. In each situation the costs and benefits of HPV DNA detection in urine compared to alternative monitoring options should be carefully

Bioassay techniques for {sup 55}Fe in urine samples

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cregan, S P; Leon, J W; Linauskas, S H

1993-11-01

Solvent extraction, ion chromatography and several rapid screening methods were developed and evaluated for {sup 55}Fe bioassay applications. Isopropyl ether and TNOA column extractions had radiochemical recoveries exceeding 90%. These were very reproducible with a coefficient of variation less than 5%. Screening techniques investigated included direct counting of ashed urine solids, and Fe(OH){sub 3}. precipitated from urine. The sensitivities (2-50 Bq/d urine) of the screening methods were usually limited by the effective urine volume that could be counted in a liquid scintillation counter. The reference isopropyl ether and chromatography methods could easily achieve sensitivities well below the 1 Bq/d urine output target. (author). 49 refs., 3 tabs., 5 figs.

Uric acid - urine

Science.gov (United States)

... this page: //medlineplus.gov/ency/article/003616.htm Uric acid urine test To use the sharing features on ... are no risks with this test. Images Uric acid test Uric acid crystals References Burns CM, Wortmann RL. Clinical ...

Creatinine urine test

Science.gov (United States)

Urine creatinine test ... Creatinine is a chemical waste product of creatine. Creatine is a chemical the body makes to supply ... done to see how well your kidneys work. Creatinine is removed by the body entirely by the ...

BigNeuron: Large-scale 3D Neuron Reconstruction from Optical Microscopy Images

OpenAIRE

Peng, Hanchuan; Hawrylycz, Michael; Roskams, Jane; Hill, Sean; Spruston, Nelson; Meijering, Erik; Ascoli, Giorgio A.

2015-01-01

textabstractUnderstanding the structure of single neurons is critical for understanding how they function within neural circuits. BigNeuron is a new community effort that combines modern bioimaging informatics, recent leaps in labeling and microscopy, and the widely recognized need for openness and standardization to provide a community resource for automated reconstruction of dendritic and axonal morphology of single neurons. Understanding the structure of single neurons is critical for unde...

Nonhazardous Urine Pretreatment Method for Future Exploration Systems, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — A novel urine pretreatment that will prevent biological growth or chemical instabilities in urine without using hazardous chemicals is proposed. Untreated urine...

Comparison of sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, zinc, copper and iron concentrations of elements in 24-h urine and spot urine in hypertensive patients with healthy renal function.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Tianjing; Chang, Xiaoyu; Liu, Wanlu; Li, Xiaoxia; Wang, Faxuan; Huang, Liping; Liao, Sha; Liu, Xiuying; Zhang, Yuhong; Zhao, Yi

2017-12-01

Sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, zinc, copper and iron are associated with the sequela of hypertension. The most reliable method for testing those elements is by collecting 24-h urine samples. However, this is cumbersome and collection of spot urine is more convenient in some circumstance. The aim of this study was to compare the concentrations of different elements in 24-h urine and spot urine. Data was collected from a sub-study of China Salt Substitute and Stroke Study. 240 participants were recruited randomly from 12 villages in two counties in Ningxia, China. Both spot and 24-h urine specimens were collected from each patient. Routine urine test was conducted, and concentration of elements was measured using microwave digestion and Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometry. Partial correlation analysis and Spearman correlation analysis were used to investigate the concentration of different elements and the relationship between 24- h urine and spot urine. A partial correlation in sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium and iron was found between paired 24-h urine and spot urine samples except copper and zinc: 0.430, 0.426, 0.550, 0.221 and 0.191 respectively. Spot urine can replace 24-h urine for estimating some of the elements in hypertensive patients with normal renal function. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Automated GC-MS analysis of free amino acids in biological fluids.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaspar, Hannelore; Dettmer, Katja; Gronwald, Wolfram; Oefner, Peter J

2008-07-15

A gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method was developed for the quantitative analysis of free amino acids as their propyl chloroformate derivatives in biological fluids. Derivatization with propyl chloroformate is carried out directly in the biological samples without prior protein precipitation or solid-phase extraction of the amino acids, thereby allowing automation of the entire procedure, including addition of reagents, extraction and injection into the GC-MS. The total analysis time was 30 min and 30 amino acids could be reliably quantified using 19 stable isotope-labeled amino acids as internal standards. Limits of detection (LOD) and lower limits of quantification (LLOQ) were in the range of 0.03-12 microM and 0.3-30 microM, respectively. The method was validated using a certified amino acid standard and reference plasma, and its applicability to different biological fluids was shown. Intra-day precision for the analysis of human urine, blood plasma, and cell culture medium was 2.0-8.8%, 0.9-8.3%, and 2.0-14.3%, respectively, while the inter-day precision for human urine was 1.5-14.1%.

Altering user' acceptance of automation through prior automation exposure.

Science.gov (United States)

Bekier, Marek; Molesworth, Brett R C

2017-06-01

Air navigation service providers worldwide see increased use of automation as one solution to overcome the capacity constraints imbedded in the present air traffic management (ATM) system. However, increased use of automation within any system is dependent on user acceptance. The present research sought to determine if the point at which an individual is no longer willing to accept or cooperate with automation can be manipulated. Forty participants underwent training on a computer-based air traffic control programme, followed by two ATM exercises (order counterbalanced), one with and one without the aid of automation. Results revealed after exposure to a task with automation assistance, user acceptance of high(er) levels of automation ('tipping point') decreased; suggesting it is indeed possible to alter automation acceptance. Practitioner Summary: This paper investigates whether the point at which a user of automation rejects automation (i.e. 'tipping point') is constant or can be manipulated. The results revealed after exposure to a task with automation assistance, user acceptance of high(er) levels of automation decreased; suggesting it is possible to alter automation acceptance.

Analysis of Urine as Indicators of Specific Body Conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Dey, Souradeep; Saha, Triya; Narendrakumar, Uttamchand

2017-11-01

Urinalysis can be defined as a procedure for examining various factors of urine, which include physical properties, particulate matter, cells, casts, crystals, organisms and solutes. Urinalysis is recommended to be a part of the initial examination of all patients as its cheap, feasible and gives productive results. This paper focuses on the analysis of urine collected at specific body conditions. Here we illustrate the urine profile of different persons having various body conditions, which include, having urinary tract infection, undergoing strenuous exercise, having back pain regularly, having very low urine output and a person who is on 24 hours of diet. Examination of urine collected from different persons having specific body conditions usually helps us in the diagnosis of various diseases, which it indicates.

Do Mixed-Flora Preoperative Urine Cultures Matter?

Science.gov (United States)

Polin, Michael R; Kawasaki, Amie; Amundsen, Cindy L; Weidner, Alison C; Siddiqui, Nazema Y

2017-06-01

To determine whether mixed-flora preoperative urine cultures, as compared with no-growth preoperative urine cultures, are associated with a higher prevalence of postoperative urinary tract infections (UTIs). This was a retrospective cohort study. Women who underwent urogynecologic surgery were included if their preoperative clean-catch urine culture result was mixed flora or no growth. Women were excluded if they received postoperative antibiotics for reasons other than treatment of a UTI. Women were divided into two cohorts based on preoperative urine culture results-mixed flora or no growth; the prevalence of postoperative UTI was compared between cohorts. Baseline characteristics were compared using χ 2 or Student t tests. A logistic regression analysis then was performed. We included 282 women who were predominantly postmenopausal, white, and overweight. There were many concomitant procedures; 46% underwent a midurethral sling procedure and 68% underwent pelvic organ prolapse surgery. Preoperative urine cultures resulted as mixed flora in 192 (68%) and no growth in 90 (32%) patients. Overall, 14% were treated for a UTI postoperatively. There was no difference in the proportion of patients treated for a postoperative UTI between the two cohorts (25 mixed flora vs 13 no growth, P = 0.77). These results remained when controlling for potentially confounding variables in a logistic regression model (adjusted odds ratio 0.92, 95% confidence interval 0.43-1.96). In women with mixed-flora compared with no-growth preoperative urine cultures, there were no differences in the prevalence of postoperative UTI. The clinical practice of interpreting mixed-flora cultures as negative is appropriate.

Quantitation of products from riboflavin in rat urine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chastain, J.L.; McCormick, D.B.

1986-01-01

When [2- 14 C] riboflavin is injected i.p. into rats, the excreted vitamin in urine and feces has been shown to be the intact vitamin with trace amounts of lumichrome and lumiflavin. Recent findings with 14 C-riboflavin fed to rats indicated higher levels of riboflavin catabolites in urine, e.g., 7- and 8-carboxylumichromes. The authors have determined catabolites in urine from male rats fed 0, 2, and 6 μg riboflavin/g diet/day for six weeks. Two rats from each group were placed weekly in metabolic cages, and urine was collected for 24 hours. On the fourth week, a third animal from each group received an i.p. injection of 14 C-riboflavin and the urine was collected for 48 hours. Urine samples were extracted with phenol for flavin components and with chloroform for derivatives of lumichrome and lumiflavin. Riboflavin was the predominant flavin excreted by all diet groups with trace amounts of coenzymes and 7- and 8-hydroxymethylriboflavin. Riboflavin accounted for 85% of all the radioactivity recovered from the deficient and sufficient rats and 90% in rats fed excess. Lumichrome-type compounds including carboxylumichromes accounted for only a few % of recovered radioactivity. Thus, these components are primarily a product of intestinal microfloral degradation rather than significant tissue catabolites of riboflavin

Effects of the change in cutoff values for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 status by immunohistochemistry and fluorescence in situ hybridization: a study comparing conventional brightfield microscopy, image analysis-assisted microscopy, and interobserver variation.

Science.gov (United States)

Atkinson, Roscoe; Mollerup, Jens; Laenkholm, Anne-Vibeke; Verardo, Mark; Hawes, Debra; Commins, Deborah; Engvad, Birte; Correa, Adrian; Ehlers, Charlotte Cort; Nielsen, Kirsten Vang

2011-08-01

New guidelines for HER2 testing have been introduced. To evaluate the difference in HER2 assessment after introduction of new cutoff levels for both immunohistochemistry (IHC) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and to compare interobserver agreement and time to score between image analysis and conventional microscopy. Samples from 150 patients with breast cancer were scored by 7 pathologists using conventional microscopy, with a cutoff of both 10% and 30% IHC-stained cells, and using automated microscopy with image analysis. The IHC results were compared individually and to HER2 status as determined by FISH, using both the approved cutoff of 2.0 and the recently introduced cutoff of 2.2. High concordance was found in IHC scoring among the 7 pathologists. The 30% cutoff led to slightly fewer positive IHC observations. Introduction of a FISH equivocal zone affected 4% of the FISH scores. If cutoff for FISH is kept at 2.0, no difference in patient selection is found between the 10% and the 30% IHC cutoff. Among the 150 breast cancer samples, the new 30% IHC and 2.2 FISH cutoff levels resulted in one case without a firm diagnosis because both IHC and FISH were equivocal. Automated microscopy and image analysis-assisted IHC led to significantly better interobserver agreement among the 7 pathologists, with an increase in mean scoring time of only about 30 seconds per slide. The change in cutoff levels led to a higher concordance between IHC and FISH, but fewer samples were classified as HER2 positive.

Albumin adsorption onto surfaces of urine collection and analysis containers.

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, Mary K; Caudill, Samuel P; Koch, David D; Ritchie, James; Hortin, Glen; Eckfeldt, John H; Sandberg, Sverre; Williams, Desmond; Myers, Gary; Miller, W Greg

2014-04-20

Adsorption of albumin onto urine collection and analysis containers may cause falsely low concentrations. We added (125)I-labeled human serum albumin to urine and to phosphate buffered solutions, incubated them with 22 plastic container materials and measured adsorption by liquid scintillation counting. Adsorption of urine albumin (UA) at 5-6 mg/l was containers, and to instrument sample cups and showed <1% change in concentration at 5 mg/l and <0.5% change at 20 mg/l or higher concentrations. Adsorption of albumin from phosphate buffered solutions (2-28%) was larger than that from urine. Albumin adsorption differed among urine samples and plastic materials, but the total influence of adsorption was <1% for all materials and urine samples tested. Adsorption of albumin from phosphate buffered solutions was larger than that from urine and could be a limitation for preparations used as calibrators. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of the BD Vacutainer Plus Urine C&S Preservative Tubes compared with nonpreservative urine samples stored at 4°C and room temperature.

Science.gov (United States)

Eisinger, Stephen W; Schwartz, Matthew; Dam, Lisa; Riedel, Stefan

2013-09-01

The stability of urine specimens submitted for culture remains a challenge for many laboratories because of delays in specimen transport. We evaluated the usefulness of BD Vacutainer Plus Urine C&S Preservative Tube in ensuring specimen stability. Clinical urine specimens collected in sterile collection cups (n = 110) were plated onto sheep blood and MacConkey agar following standard laboratory procedures guidelines. Thereafter, specimens were divided into 3 storage conditions: nonpreservative, refrigerated; nonpreservative, room temperature (RT); BD Vacutainer Plus Urine C&S Preservative Tube, RT. For each sample type, additional cultures were set up at 2, 4, 24, and 48 hours. Initially, 18 specimens had no growth, 32 showed mixed skin flora, and 60 yielded at least 1 uropathogen. Increased colony counts of uropathogens were observed for nonpreserved urine samples stored at RT; these changes were statistically significant. Minor differences between refrigerated urine samples and BD Vacutainer Plus Urine C&S Preservative Tube samples were seen but were not statistically significant. The use of preservative-containing collection tubes is desirable to ensure specimen stability when prompt processing or refrigeration is not feasible.

SPE-NMR metabolite sub-profiling of urine

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jacobs, D.M.; Spiesser, L.; Garnier, M.; Roo, de N.; Dorsten, van F.; Hollebrands, B.; Velzen, van E.; Draijer, R.; Duynhoven, van J.P.M.

2012-01-01

NMR-based metabolite profiling of urine is a fast and reproducible method for detection of numerous metabolites with diverse chemical properties. However, signal overlap in the (1)H NMR profiles of human urine may hamper quantification and identification of metabolites. Therefore, a new method has

A portable microscopy system for fluorescence, polarized, and brightfield imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Gordon, Paul; Wattinger, Rolla; Lewis, Cody; Venancio, Vinicius Paula; Mertens-Talcott, Susanne U.; Coté, Gerard

2018-02-01

The use of mobile phones to conduct diagnostic microscopy at the point-of-care presents intriguing possibilities for the advancement of high-quality medical care in remote settings. However, it is challenging to create a single device that can adapt to the ever-varying camera technologies in phones or that can image with the customization that multiple modalities require for applications such as malaria diagnosis. A portable multi-modal microscope system is presented that utilizes a Raspberry Pi to collect and transmit data wirelessly to a myriad of electronic devices for image analysis. The microscopy system is capable of providing to the user correlated brightfield, polarized, and fluorescent images of samples fixed on traditional microscopy slides. The multimodal diagnostic capabilities of the microscope were assessed by measuring parasitemia of Plasmodium falciparum-infected thin blood smears. The device is capable of detecting fluorescently-labeled DNA using FITC excitation (490 nm) and emission (525 nm), the birefringent P. falciparum byproduct hemozoin, and detecting brightfield absorption with a resolution of 0.78 micrometers (element 9-3 of a 1951 Air Force Target). This microscopy system is a novel portable imaging tool that may be a viable candidate for field implementation if challenges of system durability, cost considerations, and full automation can be overcome.

Automated in vivo platform for the discovery of functional food treatments of hypercholesterolemia.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert M Littleton

Full Text Available The zebrafish is becoming an increasingly popular model system for both automated drug discovery and investigating hypercholesterolemia. Here we combine these aspects and for the first time develop an automated high-content confocal assay for treatments of hypercholesterolemia. We also create two algorithms for automated analysis of cardiodynamic data acquired by high-speed confocal microscopy. The first algorithm computes cardiac parameters solely from the frequency-domain representation of cardiodynamic data while the second uses both frequency- and time-domain data. The combined approach resulted in smaller differences relative to manual measurements. The methods are implemented to test the ability of a methanolic extract of the hawthorn plant (Crataegus laevigata to treat hypercholesterolemia and its peripheral cardiovascular effects. Results demonstrate the utility of these methods and suggest the extract has both antihypercholesterolemic and postitively inotropic properties.

Urine creatinine in treatment-naïve HIV subjects in eastern Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Anyabolu, Ernest Ndukaife

2016-01-01

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is a global healthcare problem. Some diseases and physiological states may be altered in HIV-infected individuals. Our objective was to evaluate urine creatinine and factors that influence urine creatinine in treatment-naïve HIV subjects in Nigeria. This was a cross-sectional study involving treatment-naïve HIV subjects in a tertiary hospital in Nigeria. Creatinine in spot and 24-hour urine samples and other relevant investigations were performed. Low urine creatinine or dilute urine was defined as 24-hour urine creatinine (24HUCr) creatinine as 24HUCr 300-3000mg and high urine creatinine or concentrated urine as 24HUCr>3000mg.Theassociation of low urine creatinine and high urine creatinine with potential risk factors was determined. The mean spot urine creatinine (SUCr) of the treatment-naïve HIV subjects was 137.21± 98.47(mg/dl), minimum value 13.3mg/dl, maximum value 533.3mg/dl and range of values 520.0mg/dl. The mean 24HUCr was 1507±781mg, minimum value 206mg, maximum value 4849mg and range of values 4643mg. Twenty four-hour urine creatinine3000mg in 24(6.4%) subjects. There was significant association between 24HUCr and serum low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL),serum high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL). There was high correlation between 24HUCr>3000mg and 24-hour urine osmolality (24HUOsm) (r=0.95), body mass index (BMI) (r=0.74), CD4 cells count (r=-0.71), serum HDL (r=-0.73). The prevalence of dilute urine and concentrated urine was low. Twenty-four hour urine osmolality. BMI, CD4 cells count and HDL were strong correlates of high urine creatinine. Lipid abnormalities were common in treatment-naïve HIV subjects with high urine creatinine. There is need for clinicians to routinely conduct urine creatinine and further search for abnormalities of serum lipids, weight changes, depressed immunity and anemia in HIV subjects with dilute or concentrated urine in the early stages of the infection.

Use of diluted urine for cultivation of Chlorella vulgaris.

Science.gov (United States)

Jaatinen, Sanna; Lakaniemi, Aino-Maija; Rintala, Jukka

2016-01-01

Our aim was to study the biomass growth of microalga Chlorella vulgaris using diluted human urine as a sole nutrient source. Batch cultivations (21 days) were conducted in five different urine dilutions (1:25-1:300), in 1:100-diluted urine as such and with added trace elements, and as a reference, in artificial growth medium. The highest biomass density was obtained in 1:100-diluted urine with and without additional trace elements (0.73 and 0.60 g L(-1), respectively). Similar biomass growth trends and densities were obtained with 1:25- and 1:300-diluted urine (0.52 vs. 0.48 gVSS L(-1)) indicating that urine at dilution 1:25 can be used to cultivate microalgal based biomass. Interestingly, even 1:300-diluted urine contained sufficiently nutrients and trace elements to support biomass growth. Biomass production was similar despite pH-variation from < 5 to 9 in different incubations indicating robustness of the biomass growth. Ammonium formation did not inhibit overall biomass growth. At the beginning of cultivation, the majority of the biomass consisted of living algal cells, while towards the end, their share decreased and the estimated share of bacteria and cell debris increased.

Complacency and Automation Bias in the Use of Imperfect Automation.

Science.gov (United States)

Wickens, Christopher D; Clegg, Benjamin A; Vieane, Alex Z; Sebok, Angelia L

2015-08-01

We examine the effects of two different kinds of decision-aiding automation errors on human-automation interaction (HAI), occurring at the first failure following repeated exposure to correctly functioning automation. The two errors are incorrect advice, triggering the automation bias, and missing advice, reflecting complacency. Contrasts between analogous automation errors in alerting systems, rather than decision aiding, have revealed that alerting false alarms are more problematic to HAI than alerting misses are. Prior research in decision aiding, although contrasting the two aiding errors (incorrect vs. missing), has confounded error expectancy. Participants performed an environmental process control simulation with and without decision aiding. For those with the aid, automation dependence was created through several trials of perfect aiding performance, and an unexpected automation error was then imposed in which automation was either gone (one group) or wrong (a second group). A control group received no automation support. The correct aid supported faster and more accurate diagnosis and lower workload. The aid failure degraded all three variables, but "automation wrong" had a much greater effect on accuracy, reflecting the automation bias, than did "automation gone," reflecting the impact of complacency. Some complacency was manifested for automation gone, by a longer latency and more modest reduction in accuracy. Automation wrong, creating the automation bias, appears to be a more problematic form of automation error than automation gone, reflecting complacency. Decision-aiding automation should indicate its lower degree of confidence in uncertain environments to avoid the automation bias. © 2015, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

Radioimmunoassay of bleomycin in plasma and urine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Teale, J.D.; Clough, J.M.; Marks, V.

1977-01-01

Antibodies to bleomycin were raised by immunization of sheep and rabbits with bleomycin-albumin conjugates. The combination of a high-titre, high-avidity sheep antiserum and iodinated bleomycin produced a radioimmunoassay sensitive to 8 ng of bleomycin per ml of plasma or urine. Untreated specimens (100 μl) of plasma or urine could be added directly to the assay tubes. The anti-serum was specific for bleomycin and showed no cross-reaction with other anti-cancer agents used in combination chemotherapy. Over a concentration range of 20 to 100 ng/ml. recovery of bleomycin from plasma was 110% and from urine, 93%. Repeated assay of plasma samples showed a decrease in bleomycin levels unless the samples were kept at 4 0 C or below. Assay of bleomycin levels in plasma and urine from patients under treatment with bleomycin showed similarities with results reported using a microbiological assay. The radioimmunoassay offers a more reliable, rapid and sensitive method for the measurement of bleomycin. (author)

Evaluation of mobile digital light-emitting diode fluorescence microscopy in Hanoi, Viet Nam.

Science.gov (United States)

Chaisson, L H; Reber, C; Phan, H; Switz, N; Nilsson, L M; Myers, F; Nhung, N V; Luu, L; Pham, T; Vu, C; Nguyen, H; Nguyen, A; Dinh, T; Nahid, P; Fletcher, D A; Cattamanchi, A

2015-09-01

Hanoi Lung Hospital, Hanoi, Viet Nam. To compare the accuracy of CellScopeTB, a manually operated mobile digital fluorescence microscope, with conventional microscopy techniques. Patients referred for sputum smear microscopy to the Hanoi Lung Hospital from May to September 2013 were included. Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) smear microscopy, conventional light-emitting diode (LED) fluorescence microscopy (FM), CellScopeTB-based LED FM and Xpert(®) MTB/RIF were performed on sputum samples. The sensitivity and specificity of microscopy techniques were determined in reference to Xpert results, and differences were compared using McNemar's paired test of proportions. Of 326 patients enrolled, 93 (28.5%) were Xpert-positive for TB. The sensitivity of ZN microscopy, conventional LED FM, and CellScopeTB-based LED FM was respectively 37.6% (95%CI 27.8-48.3), 41.9% (95%CI 31.8-52.6), and 35.5% (95%CI 25.8-46.1). The sensitivity of CellScopeTB was similar to that of conventional LED FM (difference -6.5%, 95%CI -18.2 to 5.3, P = 0.33) and ZN microscopy (difference -2.2%, 95%CI -9.2 to 4.9, P = 0.73). The specificity was >99% for all three techniques. CellScopeTB performed similarly to conventional microscopy techniques in the hands of experienced TB microscopists. However, the sensitivity of all sputum microscopy techniques was low. Options enabled by digital microscopy, such as automated imaging with real-time computerized analysis, should be explored to increase sensitivity.

The migration of drugs-of-abuse from Europe to Denmark – Analysis of pooled anonymous urine from urinals at Roskilde Festival 2016

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hoegberg, Lotte Christine Groth; Christiansen, Cecilie; Soe, Jesper

of NPS, traditional treatment guidelines are challenged. Thus, information of the emergence of new arrivals is of great value. Our knowledge on the actual range of drugs used and NPS available in Denmark is limited as identification is possible only when consumers become patients in the healthcare system...... or through police seizures [2]. We carried out a cross-sectional study of collected pooled anonymous urine, sampled from urinals at the biggest music festival during the year, Roskilde Festival, with the aim to detect classic recreational drugs and NPS. The aim of this study was to identify recreational...... drugs currently used and predict the emergence of NPS by comparing study data with seizure data from the previous year published by EMCDDA [1]. Methods: In total 44 urine samples were collected from three urinals at Roskilde Festival 2016. Two urinals were placed at music stages with late-night concerts...

Atomic Force Microscopy Based Nanorobotics Modelling, Simulation, Setup Building and Experiments

CERN Document Server

Xie, Hui; Régnier, Stéphane; Sitti, Metin

2012-01-01

The atomic force microscope (AFM) has been successfully used to perform nanorobotic manipulation operations on nanoscale entities such as particles, nanotubes, nanowires, nanocrystals, and DNA since 1990s. There have been many progress on modeling, imaging, teleoperated or automated control, human-machine interfacing, instrumentation, and applications of AFM based nanorobotic manipulation systems in literature. This book aims to include all of such state-of-the-art progress in an organized, structured, and detailed manner as a reference book and also potentially a textbook in nanorobotics and any other nanoscale dynamics, systems and controls related research and education. Clearly written and well-organized, this text introduces designs and prototypes of the nanorobotic systems in detail with innovative principles of three-dimensional manipulation force microscopy and parallel imaging/manipulation force microscopy.

Amphetamine Positive Urine Toxicology Screen Secondary to Atomoxetine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joshua L. Fenderson

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to report the first case of atomoxetine leading to false-positive urine drug screen. An otherwise healthy 27-year-old female with a history of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD treated with atomoxetine had an acute onset tonic-clonic seizure. On arrival to the hospital, a urine toxicological drug screen with immunochemical cloned enzyme donor immunoassay (CEDIA was performed. Results were positive for amphetamines; however, the presence of these substances could not be confirmed with urine gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS. She denied any illicit drug use, herbal medications, or supplements, and her other prescription medications have not been previously known to cause a false-positive result for amphetamines. While stimulant treatments for ADHD could certainly result in a positive result on urine screen for amphetamines, there have been no reports of false-positive results for amphetamines secondary to patients using atomoxetine. We implicate atomoxetine, and/or its metabolites, as a compound or compounds which may interfere with urine drug immunoassays leading to false-positive results for amphetamines CEDIA assays.

Calcium in Urine Test

Science.gov (United States)

... K. Brunner & Suddarth's Handbook of Laboratory and Diagnostic Tests. 2 nd Ed, Kindle. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; c2014. Calcium, Serum; Calcium and Phosphates, Urine; ...

Use of Urine Testing in Outpatients Treated for Urinary Tract Infection

Science.gov (United States)

Yiee, Jenny H.; Smith, Alexandria; Hanley, Janet; Saigal, Christopher S.

2013-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To characterize urine test use in ambulatory, antibiotic-treated pediatric urinary tract infection (UTI). METHODS: We studied children UTI and a temporally associated antibiotic prescription from 2002 through 2007 by using a large claims database, Innovus i3. We evaluated urine-testing trends and performed multivariable logistic regression to assess for factors associated with urine culture use. RESULTS: Of 40 603 treated UTI episodes in 28 678 children, urinalysis was performed in 76%, and urine culture in 57%; 32% of children UTI episode. Urine culture use decreased during the study period from 60% to 54% (P UTI and urologic anomalies were not. CONCLUSIONS: Providers often do not obtain urine tests when prescribing antibiotics for outpatient pediatric UTI. Variation in urine culture use was observed based on age, gender, and physician specialty. Additional research is necessary to determine the implications of empirical antibiotic prescription for pediatric UTI without confirmatory urine testing. PMID:23918886

[Automation and organization of technological process of urinalysis].

Science.gov (United States)

Kolenkin, S M; Kishkun, A A; Kol'chenko, O L

2000-12-01

Results of introduction into practice of a working model of industrial technology of laboratory studies and KONE Specific Supra and Miditron M devices are shown as exemplified by clinical analysis of the urine. This technology helps standardize all stages and operations, improves the efficiency of quality control of laboratory studies, rationally organizes the work at all stages of the process, creates a system for permanent improvement of the efficiency of investigations at the preanalytical, analytical, and postanalytical stages of technological process of laboratory studies. As a result of introduction of this technology into laboratory practice, violations of quality criteria of clinical urinalysis decreased from 15 to 8% at the preanalytical stage and from 6 to 3% at the analytical stage. Automation of the analysis decreased the need in reagents 3-fold and improved the productivity at the analytical stage 4-fold.

Clinical and biochemical profiles of maple syrup urine disease in malaysian children.

Science.gov (United States)

Yunus, Z Md; Kamaludin, Dp Abg; Mamat, M; Choy, Y S; Ngu, Lh

2012-01-01

Maple Syrup Urine Disease (MSUD) is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by defects in the branched-chain α-ketoacid dehydrogenase complex resulting in accumulation of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) and corresponding branched-chain ketoacids (BCKAs) in tissues and plasma, which are neurotoxic. Early diagnosis and subsequent nutritional modification management can reduce the morbidity and mortality. Prior to 1990s, the diagnosis of MSUD and other inborn errors of metabolism (IEM) in Malaysia were merely based on clinical suspicion and qualitative one-dimensional thin layer chromatography technique. We have successfully established specific laboratory diagnostic techniques to diagnose MSUD and other IEM. We described here our experience in performing high-risk screening for IEM in Malaysia from 1999 to 2006. We analysed the clinical and biochemical profiles of 25 patients with MSUD. A total of 12,728 plasma and urine samples from patients suspected of having IEM were received from physicians all over Malaysia. Plasma amino acids quantitation using fully automated amino acid analyzer and identification of urinary organic acids using Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GCMS). Patients' clinical information were obtained from the request forms and case records Results: Twenty-five patients were diagnosed MSUD. Nineteen patients (76%) were affected by classical MSUD, whereas six patients had non-classical MSUD. Delayed diagnosis was common among our case series, and 80% of patients had survived with treatment with mild-to-moderate learning difficulties. Our findings suggested that MSUD is not uncommon in Malaysia especially among the Malay and early laboratory diagnosis is crucial.

[The segmentation of urinary cells--a first step in the automated processing in urine cytology (author's transl)].

Science.gov (United States)

Liedtke, C E; Aeikens, B

1980-01-01

By segmentation of cell images we understand the automated decomposition of microscopic cell scenes into nucleus, plasma and background. A segmentation is achieved by using information from the microscope image and prior knowledge about the content of the scene. Different algorithms have been investigated and applied to samples of urothelial cells. A particular algorithm based on a histogram approach which can be easily implemented in hardware is discussed in more detail.

Ethanol Induced Urine Acidification is Related with Early Acetaldehyde Concentration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Soon Kil Kwon

2014-06-01

Conclusion: In conclusion, urine acidification after ethanol ingestion is related with serum acetaldehyde concentration. Early elevation of acetaldhyde could induce urine acidification, but the urine pH was elevated after a few hours, that might make prolonged acidemia.

Fertilizer value of urine in pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima L. cultivation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S.K. PRADHAN

2008-12-01

Full Text Available The fertilizer value of human urine was compared with mineral fertilizer in pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima cultivation at a dose of 113 kg N ha-1 with no-fertilization used as control. The growth of the vine was better in urine fertilized pumpkins than in mineral fertilized and non-fertilized pumpkins. Total fruit biomass was higher in mineral fertilized plants compared to urine fertilized and non-fertilized pumpkins. Urine fertilized pumpkins may have suffered from lower potassium or higher chloride, thus they produced fewer flowers and fruits. However, total fruit biomass and the number of fruits were slightly higher in urine fertilized plants than in their non-fertilized counterparts, i.e. 17.2 t ha-1 more pumpkin could be produced with urine fertilizer. The microbial hygiene quality as well as the contents of soluble sugars, protein and taste quality were similar in all treatments, but lower nitrate and higher chloride contents were recorded in urine fertilized pumpkins than other treatments. In conclusion, our study shows that the production rate of urine fertilized pumpkins was somewhat lower than mineral fertilized pumpkins but it was higher than non-fertilized pumpkins. The hygienic quality was equally good with all treatments.;

A simple method for estimation of phosphorous in urine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chaudhary, Seema; Gondane, Sonali; Sawant, Pramilla D.; Rao, D.D.

2016-01-01

Following internal contamination of 32 P, it is preferentially eliminated from the body in urine. It is estimated by in-situ precipitation of ammonium molybdo-phosphate (AMP) in urine followed by gross beta counting. The amount of AMP formed in-situ depends on the amount of stable phosphorous (P) present in the urine and hence, it was essential to generate information regarding urinary excretion of stable P. If amount of P excreted is significant then the amount of AMP formed would correspondingly increase leading to absorption of some of the β particles. The present study was taken up for the estimation of daily urinary excretion of P using the phospho-molybdate spectrophotometry method. Few urine samples received from radiation workers were analyzed and based on the observed range of stable P in urine; volume of sample required for 32 P estimation was finalized

Protein-Based Urine Test Predicts Kidney Transplant Outcomes

Science.gov (United States)

... News Releases News Release Thursday, August 22, 2013 Protein-based urine test predicts kidney transplant outcomes NIH- ... supporting development of noninvasive tests. Levels of a protein in the urine of kidney transplant recipients can ...

Urine sampling techniques in symptomatic primary-care patients

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holm, Anne; Aabenhus, Rune

2016-01-01

in infection rate between mid-stream-clean-catch, mid-stream-urine and random samples. Conclusions: At present, no evidence suggests that sampling technique affects the accuracy of the microbiological diagnosis in non-pregnant women with symptoms of urinary tract infection in primary care. However......Background: Choice of urine sampling technique in urinary tract infection may impact diagnostic accuracy and thus lead to possible over- or undertreatment. Currently no evidencebased consensus exists regarding correct sampling technique of urine from women with symptoms of urinary tract infection...... a randomized or paired design to compare the result of urine culture obtained with two or more collection techniques in adult, female, non-pregnant patients with symptoms of urinary tract infection. We evaluated quality of the studies and compared accuracy based on dichotomized outcomes. Results: We included...

Bead Injection Extraction Chromatography using High-capacity Lab-on-Valve as a Front End to Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry for Rapid Urine Radiobioassay

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Qiao, Jixin; Hou, Xiaolin; Roos, Per

2013-01-01

A novel bead injection (BI) extraction chromatographic microflow system exploiting high-capacity lab-on-valve (LOV) platform coupled with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometric detection is developed for rapid and automated determination of plutonium in human urine. A microconduit (1 m......L) incorporated within the LOV processing unit is loaded on-line with a metered amount of disposable extraction chromatographic resin (up to 330 mg of TEVA) through programmable beads transport. Selective capture and purification of plutonium onto the resin beads is then performed by pressure driven flow after...

Urine-Based Nested PCR for the Diagnosis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis: A Comparative Study Between HIV-Positive and HIV-Negative Patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Jamshidi Makiani, Mahin; Davoodian, Parivash; Baghershiroodi, Mahnaz; Nejatizadeh, Abdol Azim; Fakkhar, Farideh; Zangeneh, Mehrangiz; Jahangiri, Nadia

2016-08-01

While tuberculosis (TB) can be diagnosed by microscopy and culture, the sensitivity of Ziehl-Neelsen staining is variable and culture results require 4 - 8 weeks to be determined. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and its modifications, including nested PCR, might be promising methods for the rapid diagnosis of TB. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of nested PCR on urine samples of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive and -negative patients with different manifestations of clinical TB. In a prospective study, three early-morning urine samples from 100 patients with pulmonary TB (PTB) or extrapulmonary TB (EPTB) were evaluated using a molecular target with insertion element IS6110, specific to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis genome, and nested PCR was performed. The results were analyzed with SPSS version 22. A total of 100 patients, including 74 (74%) with PTB and 26 (26%) with EPTB, were enrolled. Positive smears were seen in 38 patients (38%). Lymph nodes were the most commonly involved organ in 14 of the 26 (53.8%) EPTB patients (13.5%). Seven (23.1%) of the EPTB patients were HIV-positive. Urine PCR was positive in only 28 patients (28%). Seven HIV-positive patients with PTB showed positive urine PCR results. Moreover, PCR results were positive in only one of the seven HIV-positive subjects with EPTB. Positive PCR results were found in 20 of the 73 HIV-negative patients (27.4%) and in 8 of the 27 HIV-positive patients (29.6%). Therefore, there was no significant difference between the HIV-negative and HIV-positive patients for urine PCR (sensitivity 29.6%, specificity 72.6%; positive and negative predictive values 28% and 72%, respectively; P = 0.138). Nested PCR showed the same sensitivity in HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients. It can be applied as a rapid technique for the diagnosis of TB.

Odors from evaporation of acidified pig urine

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Willers, H.C.; Hobbs, P.J.; Ogink, N.W.M.

2004-01-01

In the Dutch Hercules project feces and urine from pigs are collected separately underneath the slatted floor in a pig house and treated in two processes. Feces are composted and urine is concentrated by water evaporation in a packed bed. Exhaust air from the pig house is used for the evaporation in

Comparatively Studied Color Correction Methods for Color Calibration of Automated Microscopy Complex of Biomedical Specimens

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. A. Kravtsova

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The paper considers a task of generating the requirements and creating a calibration target for automated microscopy systems (AMS of biomedical specimens to provide the invariance of algorithms and software to the hardware configuration. The required number of color fields of the calibration target and their color coordinates are mostly determined by the color correction method, for which coefficients of the equations are estimated during the calibration process. The paper analyses existing color calibration techniques for digital imaging systems using an optical microscope and shows that there is a lack of published results of comparative studies to demonstrate a particular useful color correction method for microscopic images. A comparative study of ten image color correction methods in RGB space using polynomials and combinations of color coordinate of different orders was carried out. The method of conditioned least squares to estimate the coefficients in the color correction equations using captured images of 217 color fields of the calibration target Kodak Q60-E3 was applied. The regularization parameter in this method was chosen experimentally. It was demonstrated that the best color correction quality characteristics are provided by the method that uses a combination of color coordinates of the 3rd order. The study of the influence of the number and the set of color fields included in calibration target on color correction quality for microscopic images was performed. Six train sets containing 30, 35, 40, 50, 60 and 80 color fields, and test set of 47 color fields not included in any of the train sets were formed. It was found out that the train set of 60 color fields minimizes the color correction error values for both operating modes of digital camera: using "default" color settings and with automatic white balance. At the same time it was established that the use of color fields from the widely used now Kodak Q60-E3 target does not

Stability studies of amphetamine and ephedrine derivatives in urine.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiménez, C; de la Torre, R; Ventura, M; Segura, J; Ventura, R

2006-10-20

Knowledge of the stability of drugs in biological specimens is a critical consideration for the interpretation of analytical results. Identification of proper storage conditions has been a matter of concern for most toxicology laboratories (both clinical and forensic), and the stability of drugs of abuse has been extensively studied. This concern should be extended to other areas of analytical chemistry like antidoping control. In this work, the stability of ephedrine derivatives (ephedrine, norephedrine, methylephedrine, pseudoephedrine, and norpseudoephedrine), and amphetamine derivatives (amphetamine, methamphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA), and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)) in urine has been studied. Spiked urine samples were prepared for stability testing. Urine samples were quantified by GC/NPD or GC/MS. The homogeneity of each batch of sample was verified before starting the stability study. The stability of analytes was evaluated in sterilized and non-sterilized urine samples at different storage conditions. For long-term stability testing, analyte concentration in urine stored at 4 degrees C and -20 degrees C was determined at different time intervals for 24 months for sterile urine samples, and for 6 months for non-sterile samples. For short-term stability testing, analyte concentration was evaluated in liquid urine stored at 37 degrees C for 7 days. The effect of repeated freezing (at -20 degrees C) and thawing (at room temperature) was also studied in sterile urine for up to three cycles. No significant loss of the analytes under study was observed at any of the investigated conditions. These results show the feasibility of preparing reference materials containing ephedrine and amphetamine derivatives to be used for quality control purposes.

Urine protein electrophoresis test

Science.gov (United States)

Urine protein electrophoresis; UPEP; Multiple myeloma - UPEP; Waldenström macroglobulinemia - UPEP; Amyloidosis - UPEP ... special paper and apply an electric current. The proteins move and form visible bands. These reveal the ...

Correlation of random urine protein creatinine (P-C ratio with 24-hour urine protein and P-C ratio, based on physical activity: a pilot study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seyed-Ali Sadjadi

2010-07-01

Full Text Available Seyed-Ali Sadjadi1,2, Navin Jaipaul1,21Jerry L Pettis Memorial VA Medical Center, 2Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Loma Linda, CA, USAAbstract: Quantification of proteinuria is usually predicated upon 24-hour urine collection. Multiple factors influence urine collection and the rate of protein and creatinine excretion. Urine collection is often incomplete, and therefore creatinine and protein excretion rates are underestimated. A random urine protein-creatinine (P-C ratio has been shown over the years to be a reliable alternative to the 24-hour collection for detection and follow up of proteinuria. However, urine protein excretion may be influenced by physical activity. We studied 48 patients with proteinuria and varying levels of physical activity to determine the correlation between the measures of urine protein excretion. The correlation coefficient (r between 24-hour urine total protein and random urine P-C ratio was 0.75 (P < 0.01 in the overall study population, but varied according to the level of proteinuria and physical activity in a stratified analysis: r = 0.99 (P < 0.001 and r = 0.95 (P < 0.01 in bedridden patients; r = 0.44 (P = not significant [NS] and r = 0.54 (P = NS in semiactive patients; and r = 0.44 (P = NS and r = 0.58 (P < 0.05 in active patients with nephrotic- (>3500 mg/day and non-nephrotic (<3500 mg/day range proteinuria, respectively. The correlation appeared to be stronger between random urine and 24-hour urine P-C ratio for the overall study population (r = 0.84; P < 0.001, and when stratified according to the level of proteinuria and physical activity: r = 0.99 (P < 0.001 and r = 0.92 (P < 0.01 in bedridden patients; r = 0.61 (P = NS and r = 0.54 (P = NS in semiactive patients; and r = 0.64 (P < 0.02 and r = 0.52 (P < 0.05 in active patients with nephrotic and non-nephrotic range proteinuria, respectively. We conclude that the random urine P-C ratio is a reliable and practical way of estimating and

Alpha spectrum analysis of 241Am in the urine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qiu Yongmei; Yang Yong

2006-10-01

With 241 Am as indicator, americium in the urine was concentrated by the method of codeposition, then it was purified by the method of anion exchange, at last, the americium was electroplated. 241 Am in the urine was analysed by six channel low level alpha measuring instrument and Alpha Spectrometer. The results show that the recovering ratio is beyond 60% under the condition that the indicator added to the urine is at the level of mBq. So, 241 Am in the urine can be quantitatively analysed by this method, uncertainty of the result is under 40%, detection limit of the instrument is under 10 -4 Bq. (authors)

Analyte variations in consecutive 24-hour urine collections in children.

Science.gov (United States)

Ellison, Jonathan S; Hollingsworth, John M; Langman, Craig B; Asplin, John R; Schwaderer, Andrew L; Yan, Phyllis; Bierlein, Maggie; Barraza, Mark A; Defoor, William R; Figueroa, T Ernesto; Jackson, Elizabeth C; Jayanthi, Venkata R; Johnson, Emilie K; Joseph, David B; Shnorhavorian, Margarett

2017-12-01

The metabolic evaluation of children with nephrolithiasis begins with a 24-h urine collection. For adults, the diagnostic yield increases with consecutive collections; however, little is known regarding the variability of multiple 24-h studies in the pediatric population. We sought to evaluate the variability of consecutive 24-h urine collection in children through a multi-institutional study hypothesizing that compared with a single collection, consecutive 24-h urine collections would reveal a greater degree of clinically useful information in the evaluation of children at risk for nephrolithiasis. Including data from six institutions, we identified children less than 18 years of age considered at risk for recurrent nephrolithiasis, undergoing metabolic evaluation. We evaluated a subset of patients performing two collections with urine creatinine varying by 10% or less during a 7-day period. Discordance between repeat collections based on normative urine chemistry values was evaluated. A total of 733 children met inclusion criteria, and in over a third both urine calcium and urine volume differed by 30% or more between samples. Urine oxalate demonstrated greater variation between collections in children collections prior to targeted intervention to modify stone risk are advised to increase diagnostic yield in children at risk for nephrolithiasis. Copyright © 2017 Journal of Pediatric Urology Company. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Improving the driver-automation interaction: an approach using automation uncertainty.

Science.gov (United States)

Beller, Johannes; Heesen, Matthias; Vollrath, Mark

2013-12-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether communicating automation uncertainty improves the driver-automation interaction. A false system understanding of infallibility may provoke automation misuse and can lead to severe consequences in case of automation failure. The presentation of automation uncertainty may prevent this false system understanding and, as was shown by previous studies, may have numerous benefits. Few studies, however, have clearly shown the potential of communicating uncertainty information in driving. The current study fills this gap. We conducted a driving simulator experiment, varying the presented uncertainty information between participants (no uncertainty information vs. uncertainty information) and the automation reliability (high vs.low) within participants. Participants interacted with a highly automated driving system while engaging in secondary tasks and were required to cooperate with the automation to drive safely. Quantile regressions and multilevel modeling showed that the presentation of uncertainty information increases the time to collision in the case of automation failure. Furthermore, the data indicated improved situation awareness and better knowledge of fallibility for the experimental group. Consequently, the automation with the uncertainty symbol received higher trust ratings and increased acceptance. The presentation of automation uncertaintythrough a symbol improves overall driver-automation cooperation. Most automated systems in driving could benefit from displaying reliability information. This display might improve the acceptance of fallible systems and further enhances driver-automation cooperation.

Determination of Lead in Urine by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry1

Science.gov (United States)

Selander, Stig; Cramé, Kim

1968-01-01

A method for the determination of lead in urine by means of atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS) is described. A combination of wet ashing and extraction with ammonium pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate into isobutylmethylketone was used. The sensitivity was about 0·02 μg./ml. for 1% absorption, and the detection limit was about 0·02 μg./ml. with an instrumental setting convenient for routine analyses of urines. Using the scale expansion technique, the detection limit was below 0·01 μg./ml., but it was found easier to determine urinary lead concentrations below 0·05 μg./ml. by concentrating the lead in the organic solvent by increasing the volume of urine or decreasing that of the solvent. The method was applied to fresh urines, stored urines, and to urines, obtained during treatment with chelating agents, of patients with lead poisoning. Urines with added inorganic lead were not used. The results agreed well with those obtained with a colorimetric dithizone extraction method (r = 0·989). The AAS method is somewhat more simple and allows the determination of smaller lead concentrations. PMID:5647975

Correlation of random urine protein creatinine (P-C) ratio with 24-hour urine protein and P-C ratio, based on physical activity: a pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Sadjadi, Seyed-Ali; Jaipaul, Navin

2010-09-07

Quantification of proteinuria is usually predicated upon 24-hour urine collection. Multiple factors influence urine collection and the rate of protein and creatinine excretion. Urine collection is often incomplete, and therefore creatinine and protein excretion rates are underestimated. A random urine protein-creatinine (P-C) ratio has been shown over the years to be a reliable alternative to the 24-hour collection for detection and follow up of proteinuria. However, urine protein excretion may be influenced by physical activity. We studied 48 patients with proteinuria and varying levels of physical activity to determine the correlation between the measures of urine protein excretion. The correlation coefficient (r) between 24-hour urine total protein and random urine P-C ratio was 0.75 (P r = 0.99 (P r = 0.95 (P bedridden patients; r = 0.44 (P = not significant [NS]) and r = 0.54 (P = NS) in semiactive patients; and r = 0.44 (P = NS) and r = 0.58 (P 3500 mg/day) and non-nephrotic (r = 0.84; P r = 0.99 (P r = 0.92 (P bedridden patients; r = 0.61 (P = NS) and r = 0.54 (P = NS) in semiactive patients; and r = 0.64 (P r = 0.52 (P < 0.05) in active patients with nephrotic and non-nephrotic range proteinuria, respectively. We conclude that the random urine P-C ratio is a reliable and practical way of estimating and following proteinuria, but its precision and accuracy may be affected by the level of patient physical activity.

Electrolytic pretreatment of urine

Science.gov (United States)

1977-01-01

Electrolysis has been under evaluation for several years as a process to pretreat urine for ultimate recovery of potable water in manned spacecraft applications. The conclusions that were drawn from this investigation are the following: (1) A platinum alloy containing 10 percent rhodium has been shown to be an effective, corrosion-resistant anode material for the electrolytic pretreatment of urine. Black platinum has been found to be suitable as a cathode material. (2) The mechanism of the reactions occurring during the electrolysis of urine is two-stage: (a) a total Kjeldahl nitrogen and total organic carbon (TOC) removal in the first stage is the result of electrochemical oxidation of urea to CO2, H2O, and ammonia followed by chloride interaction to produce N2 from ammonia, (b) after the urea has been essentially removed and the chloride ions have no more ammonia to interact with, the chloride ions start to oxidize to higher valence states, thus producing perchlorates. (3) Formation of perchlorates can be suppressed by high/low current operation, elevated temperature, and pH adjustment. (4) UV-radiation showed promise in assisting electrolytic TOC removal in beaker tests, but was not substantiated in limited single cell testing. This may have been due to non-optimum configurations of the single cell test rig and the light source.

Comparison among single-phase test, automated screening method and GC/MS for the traceability of ketamine in urine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alice Visione

2016-12-01

CONCLUSION Following the law indications, ketamine is not searched: this limit does not make the authorities able to apply the penalties expected for road laws violations. The automation is essential to guarantee the reliability of toxicological screening tests, especially to medico-legal significance. This results highlight the absolutely necessity of the execution of the confirmation test, successively to screening analysis.

Halogenated Anesthetics Determination in Urine by SPME/GC/MS and Urine Levels Relationship Evaluation with Surgical Theatres Contamination

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Serena Indelicato

2014-01-01

Full Text Available In this work, a new sensitive analytical method has been developed and evaluated for the determination of the most commonly used gaseous anesthetics, desflurane, sevoflurane, and this latter’s hepatic metabolite hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP in the urine. In addition, an evaluation of anesthetics exposition on the urine levels of a small population of surgical operators has been performed and results are briefly discussed.

Tritium analysis of urine samples from the general Korean public.

Science.gov (United States)

Yoon, Seokwon; Ha, Wi-Ho; Lee, Seung-Sook

2013-11-01

The tritium concentrations of urine samples and the effective dose of the general Korean public were evaluated. To achieve accurate HTO analysis of urine samples, we established the optimal conditions for measuring the HTO content of urine samples. Urine samples from 50 Koreans who do not work at a nuclear facility were analyzed on the basis of the results. The average urine analysis result was 2.8 ±1 .4 Bq/L, and the range was 1.8-5.6 Bq/L. The measured values were lower than those reported for other countries. These results show that environmental factors and lifestyle differences are the main factors affecting the tritium level of the general public. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Purple Urine Bag Syndrome

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Arun Kumar Agnihotri

sudden onset, progressive left sided weakness involving both upper and ... computed tomography of the brain showed right ... included a complete blood count, renal functions which were ... Urine culture had a significant growth of Klebsiella.

Prospective validation of a near real-time EHR-integrated automated SOFA score calculator.

Science.gov (United States)

Aakre, Christopher; Franco, Pablo Moreno; Ferreyra, Micaela; Kitson, Jaben; Li, Man; Herasevich, Vitaly

2017-07-01

We created an algorithm for automated Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score calculation within the Electronic Health Record (EHR) to facilitate detection of sepsis based on the Third International Consensus Definitions for Sepsis and Septic Shock (SEPSIS-3) clinical definition. We evaluated the accuracy of near real-time and daily automated SOFA score calculation compared with manual score calculation. Automated SOFA scoring computer programs were developed using available EHR data sources and integrated into a critical care focused patient care dashboard at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. We prospectively compared the accuracy of automated versus manual calculation for a sample of patients admitted to the medical intensive care unit at Mayo Clinic Hospitals in Rochester, Minnesota and Jacksonville, Florida. Agreement was calculated with Cohen's kappa statistic. Reason for discrepancy was tabulated during manual review. Random spot check comparisons were performed 134 times on 27 unique patients, and daily SOFA score comparisons were performed for 215 patients over a total of 1206 patient days. Agreement between automatically scored and manually scored SOFA components for both random spot checks (696 pairs, κ=0.89) and daily calculation (5972 pairs, κ=0.89) was high. The most common discrepancies were in the respiratory component (inaccurate fraction of inspired oxygen retrieval; 200/1206) and creatinine (normal creatinine in patients with no urine output on dialysis; 128/1094). 147 patients were at risk of developing sepsis after intensive care unit admission, 10 later developed sepsis confirmed by chart review. All were identified before onset of sepsis with the ΔSOFA≥2 point criterion and 46 patients were false-positives. Near real-time automated SOFA scoring was found to have strong agreement with manual score calculation and may be useful for the detection of sepsis utilizing the new SEPSIS-3 definition. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All

Development of rapid urine analysis method for uranium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kuwabara, J.; Noguchi, H. [Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan)

2000-05-01

ICP-MS has begun to spread in the field of individual monitoring for internal exposure as a very effective machine for uranium analysis. Although the ICP-MS has very high sensitivity, it requires longer time than conventional analysis, such as fluorescence analysis, because it is necessary to remove matrix from a urine sample sufficiently. To shorten time required for the urine bioassay by ICP-MS, a rapid uranium analysis method using the ICP-MS connected with a flow injection system was developed. Since this method does not involve chemical separation steps, the time required is equivalent to the conventional analysis. A measurement test was carried out using 10 urine solutions prepared from a urine sample. Required volume of urine solution is 5 ml. Main chemical treatment is only the digestion with 5 ml of nitric acid using a microwave oven to decompose organic matter and to dissolve suspended or precipitated matter. The microwave oven can digest 10 samples at once within an hour. Volume of digested sample solution was adjusted to 10 ml. The prepared sample solutions were directly introduced to the ICP-MS without any chemical separation procedure. The ICP-MS was connected with a flow injection system and an auto sampler. The flow injection system can minimize the matrix effects caused from salt dissolved in high matrix solution, such as non chemical separated urine sample, because it can introduce micro volume of sample solution into the ICP-MS. The ICP-MS detected uranium within 2 min/sample using the auto sampler. The 10 solutions prepared from a urine sample showed an average of 7.5 ng/l of uranium concentration in urine with 10 % standard deviation. A detection limit is about 1 ng/l. The total time required was less than 4 hours for 10 sample analysis. In the series of measurement, any memory effect was not observed. The present analysis method using the ICP-MS equipped with the flow injection system demonstrated that the shortening of time required on high

Development of rapid urine analysis method for uranium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuwabara, J.; Noguchi, H.

2000-01-01

ICP-MS has begun to spread in the field of individual monitoring for internal exposure as a very effective machine for uranium analysis. Although the ICP-MS has very high sensitivity, it requires longer time than conventional analysis, such as fluorescence analysis, because it is necessary to remove matrix from a urine sample sufficiently. To shorten time required for the urine bioassay by ICP-MS, a rapid uranium analysis method using the ICP-MS connected with a flow injection system was developed. Since this method does not involve chemical separation steps, the time required is equivalent to the conventional analysis. A measurement test was carried out using 10 urine solutions prepared from a urine sample. Required volume of urine solution is 5 ml. Main chemical treatment is only the digestion with 5 ml of nitric acid using a microwave oven to decompose organic matter and to dissolve suspended or precipitated matter. The microwave oven can digest 10 samples at once within an hour. Volume of digested sample solution was adjusted to 10 ml. The prepared sample solutions were directly introduced to the ICP-MS without any chemical separation procedure. The ICP-MS was connected with a flow injection system and an auto sampler. The flow injection system can minimize the matrix effects caused from salt dissolved in high matrix solution, such as non chemical separated urine sample, because it can introduce micro volume of sample solution into the ICP-MS. The ICP-MS detected uranium within 2 min/sample using the auto sampler. The 10 solutions prepared from a urine sample showed an average of 7.5 ng/l of uranium concentration in urine with 10 % standard deviation. A detection limit is about 1 ng/l. The total time required was less than 4 hours for 10 sample analysis. In the series of measurement, any memory effect was not observed. The present analysis method using the ICP-MS equipped with the flow injection system demonstrated that the shortening of time required on high

Controls of nitrous oxide emission after simulated cattle urine deposition

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Baral, Khagendra Raj; Thomsen, Anton Gårde; Olesen, Jørgen E

2014-01-01

Urine deposited during grazing is a significant source of atmospheric nitrous oxide (N2O). The potential for N2O emissions from urine patches is high, and a better understanding of controls is needed. This study investigated soil nitrogen (N) dynamics and N2O emissions from cattle urine...

Estimating population salt intake in India using spot urine samples.

Science.gov (United States)

Petersen, Kristina S; Johnson, Claire; Mohan, Sailesh; Rogers, Kris; Shivashankar, Roopa; Thout, Sudhir Raj; Gupta, Priti; He, Feng J; MacGregor, Graham A; Webster, Jacqui; Santos, Joseph Alvin; Krishnan, Anand; Maulik, Pallab K; Reddy, K Srinath; Gupta, Ruby; Prabhakaran, Dorairaj; Neal, Bruce

2017-11-01

To compare estimates of mean population salt intake in North and South India derived from spot urine samples versus 24-h urine collections. In a cross-sectional survey, participants were sampled from slum, urban and rural communities in North and in South India. Participants provided 24-h urine collections, and random morning spot urine samples. Salt intake was estimated from the spot urine samples using a series of established estimating equations. Salt intake data from the 24-h urine collections and spot urine equations were weighted to provide estimates of salt intake for Delhi and Haryana, and Andhra Pradesh. A total of 957 individuals provided a complete 24-h urine collection and a spot urine sample. Weighted mean salt intake based on the 24-h urine collection, was 8.59 (95% confidence interval 7.73-9.45) and 9.46 g/day (8.95-9.96) in Delhi and Haryana, and Andhra Pradesh, respectively. Corresponding estimates based on the Tanaka equation [9.04 (8.63-9.45) and 9.79 g/day (9.62-9.96) for Delhi and Haryana, and Andhra Pradesh, respectively], the Mage equation [8.80 (7.67-9.94) and 10.19 g/day (95% CI 9.59-10.79)], the INTERSALT equation [7.99 (7.61-8.37) and 8.64 g/day (8.04-9.23)] and the INTERSALT equation with potassium [8.13 (7.74-8.52) and 8.81 g/day (8.16-9.46)] were all within 1 g/day of the estimate based upon 24-h collections. For the Toft equation, estimates were 1-2 g/day higher [9.94 (9.24-10.64) and 10.69 g/day (9.44-11.93)] and for the Kawasaki equation they were 3-4 g/day higher [12.14 (11.30-12.97) and 13.64 g/day (13.15-14.12)]. In urban and rural areas in North and South India, most spot urine-based equations provided reasonable estimates of mean population salt intake. Equations that did not provide good estimates may have failed because specimen collection was not aligned with the original method.

Use of urine in snow to indicate condition of wolves

Science.gov (United States)

Mech, L.D.; Seal, U.S.; DelGiudice, G.D.

1987-01-01

Urine deposited in snow by wild gray wolves (Canis lupus) and by fed and fasted captive wolves was analyzed for urea nitrogen, calcium, sodium, potassium, and creatinine. Ratios of the elements with creatinine were considerably higher for fed than for fasted animals, and ratios for fed wolves compared favorably with ratios from wolf urine in snow along trails leading from kills. Thus, wolf urine in the snow can indicate whether wolves have fed recently, and a series of such urine collections from any given pack can indicate relative nutritional state.

Estimate of dietary phosphorus intake using 24-h urine collection

Science.gov (United States)

Morimoto, Yuuka; Sakuma, Masae; Ohta, Hiroyuki; Suzuki, Akitsu; Matsushita, Asami; Umeda, Minako; Ishikawa, Makoto; Taketani, Yutaka; Takeda, Eiji; Arai, Hidekazu

2014-01-01

Increases in serum phosphorus levels and dietary phosphorus intake induces vascular calcification, arterial sclerosis and cardiovascular diseases. Limiting phosphorus intake is advisable, however, no assessment methods are capable of estimating dietary phosphorus intake. We hypothesized that urinary phosphorus excretion can be translated into estimation of dietary phosphorus intake, and we evaluated whether a 24-h urine collection method could estimate dietary phosphorus intake. Thirty two healthy subjects were recruited for this study. Subjects collected urine samples over 24 h and weighed dietary records. We calculated dietary protein intake and phosphorus intake from dietary records and urine collection, and investigated associations between the two methods in estimating protein and phosphorus intake. Significant positive correlations were observed between dietary records and UC for protein and phosphorus intake. The average intakes determined from dietary records were significantly higher than from urine collection for both protein and phosphorus. There was a significant positive correlation between both the phosphorus and protein difference in dietary records and urine collection. The phosphorus-protein ratio in urine collection was significantly higher than in dietary records. Our data indicated that the 24-h urine collection method can estimate the amount of dietary phosphorus intake, and the results were superior to estimation by weighed dietary record. PMID:25120281

Estimating mean change in population salt intake using spot urine samples.

Science.gov (United States)

Petersen, Kristina S; Wu, Jason H Y; Webster, Jacqui; Grimes, Carley; Woodward, Mark; Nowson, Caryl A; Neal, Bruce

2017-10-01

Spot urine samples are easier to collect than 24-h urine samples and have been used with estimating equations to derive the mean daily salt intake of a population. Whether equations using data from spot urine samples can also be used to estimate change in mean daily population salt intake over time is unknown. We compared estimates of change in mean daily population salt intake based upon 24-h urine collections with estimates derived using equations based on spot urine samples. Paired and unpaired 24-h urine samples and spot urine samples were collected from individuals in two Australian populations, in 2011 and 2014. Estimates of change in daily mean population salt intake between 2011 and 2014 were obtained directly from the 24-h urine samples and by applying established estimating equations (Kawasaki, Tanaka, Mage, Toft, INTERSALT) to the data from spot urine samples. Differences between 2011 and 2014 were calculated using mixed models. A total of 1000 participants provided a 24-h urine sample and a spot urine sample in 2011, and 1012 did so in 2014 (paired samples n = 870; unpaired samples n = 1142). The participants were community-dwelling individuals living in the State of Victoria or the town of Lithgow in the State of New South Wales, Australia, with a mean age of 55 years in 2011. The mean (95% confidence interval) difference in population salt intake between 2011 and 2014 determined from the 24-h urine samples was -0.48g/day (-0.74 to -0.21; P spot urine samples was -0.24 g/day (-0.42 to -0.06; P = 0.01) using the Tanaka equation, -0.42 g/day (-0.70 to -0.13; p = 0.004) using the Kawasaki equation, -0.51 g/day (-1.00 to -0.01; P = 0.046) using the Mage equation, -0.26 g/day (-0.42 to -0.10; P = 0.001) using the Toft equation, -0.20 g/day (-0.32 to -0.09; P = 0.001) using the INTERSALT equation and -0.27 g/day (-0.39 to -0.15; P  0.058). Separate analysis of the unpaired and paired data showed that detection of

Automated aberration correction of arbitrary laser modes in high numerical aperture systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Hering, Julian; Waller, Erik H; Von Freymann, Georg

2016-12-12

Controlling the point-spread-function in three-dimensional laser lithography is crucial for fabricating structures with highest definition and resolution. In contrast to microscopy, aberrations have to be physically corrected prior to writing, to create well defined doughnut modes, bottlebeams or multi foci modes. We report on a modified Gerchberg-Saxton algorithm for spatial-light-modulator based automated aberration compensation to optimize arbitrary laser-modes in a high numerical aperture system. Using circularly polarized light for the measurement and first-guess initial conditions for amplitude and phase of the pupil function our scalar approach outperforms recent algorithms with vectorial corrections. Besides laser lithography also applications like optical tweezers and microscopy might benefit from the method presented.

Pyrrole and 2,5-heptanedione in the urine of rats and 2,5-heptanedione in the urine of man: analytical determination of excretion upon exposure to n-heptane; Pyrrole und 2,5-Heptandion im Urin der Ratte und 2,5-Heptandion im Urin des Menschen: Analytische Bestimmung der Ausscheidung nach Exposition gegn n-Heptan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stoermer, A.G.C.

1997-09-01

A method for quantifying levels of the neurotoxic metabolite 2,5-heptanedione in rats and man after experimental exposure to n-heptane was developed. It consisted in determining the quantity of 2,5-heptanedione excreted in urine and the relevant excretion kinetics. Moreover, the excretion of pyrrole in the urine of rats was measured. In the urine of non-exposed rats and man, a basic excretion of 2,5-heptanedione was measured, with the rates of excretion being 0.11 and 4.5 nmol per hour, respectively. This basic excretion of 2,5-heptanedione is assumed to have an endogenous cause. The quantitive investigation of the dose dependence of the excretion of 2,5-heptanedione and pyrrole in the urine of rats and of 2,5-heptanedione in the urine of man is a prerequisite for assessing the risk posed by n-heptane with a view to peripheral neuropathies. (orig./MG) [Deutsch] Ziel dieser Arbeit war die Entwicklung einer Methode zur Quantifizierung der Belastung von Ratte und Mensch mit dem neurotoxischen Metaboliten 2,5-Heptandion nach experimentellen Expositionen gegen n-Heptan. Dazu sollte jeweils die ausgeschiedene Menge und die zugehoerige Ausscheidungskinetik von 2,5-Heptandion im Urin bestimmt werden. Darueber hinaus sollte die Ausscheidung von Pyrrolen im Urin von Ratten gemessen werden. Im Urin von nicht exponierten Ratten und Menschen wurde eine Grundausscheidung von 2,5-Heptandion gefunden, wobei die Ausscheidungsraten jeweils 0,11 bzw. 4,5 nmol/h betrugen. Fuer die Grundausscheidung von 2,5-Heptandion wird ein endogener Ursprung angenommen. Die quantitativen Untersuchungen zur Dosisabhaengigkeit der Ausscheidung im Urin von 2,5-Heptandion und Pyrrolen bei der Ratte und von 2,5-Heptandion beim Menschen sind eine Grundvoraussetzung fuer eine Abschaetzung des Risikos von n-Heptan fuer periphere Neuropathien. (orig./MG)

Microsphere imaging with confocal microscopy and two photon microscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chun, Hyung Su; An, Kyung Won; Lee, Jai Hyung

2002-01-01

We have acquired images of polystyrene and fused-silica microsphere by using conventional optical microscopy, confocal microscopy and two-photon microscopy, and performed comparative analysis of these images. Different from conventional optical microscopy, confocal and two-photon microscopy had good optical sectioning capability. In addition, confocal microscopy and two-photon microscopy had better lateral resolution than conventional optical microscopy. These results are attributed to confocality and nonlinearity of confocal microscopy and two photon microscopy, respectively.

Intra-individual variability in the urine concentrations of inhaled salmeterol in male subjects with reference to doping analysis – impact of urine specific gravity correction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hostrup, Morten; Kalsen, Anders; Hemmersbach, Peter

2012-01-01

and a-hydroxysalmeterol during visits one and two were 12.6 and 21.8%, respectively. The intra-individual variability of salmeterol and a-hydroxysalmeterol in the urine concentrations were significantly higher when uncorrected for USG with 43.0 and 43.7% versus 20.4% (p...Since 2010, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has introduced urinary thresholds for some beta2-agonists. In doping analysis urine samples of beta2-agonists are not corrected for the Urine Specific Gravity (USG) by the WADA laboratories. Several studies have observed high differences in the urine...

Determination of uranium isotopes in urine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lellis, I.R.; Silva, D.V.F.M. Rey; Taddei, M.H.T.

2017-01-01

Variable concentrations of uranium occur naturally in waters, plant products and soils. Small amounts of this element are routinely incorporated by man. Occupationally exposed individuals (IOEs) are subject to the incorporation of higher amounts of uranium into their work routines. The effects on human health resulting from the incorporation of uranium in environmental doses are not very well established and are currently recognized as of little relevance. The incorporation resulting from occupational activities, where higher doses can be found, represents a health risk resulting from chemical damages to the kidneys. Considering that uranium is eliminated from the human body through urine and feces, and that the concentration in the urine can be obtained by means of radiochemical analyzes, this can be considered an efficient indirect method to verify the incorporation of this element. In the work the isotopes of 234 U, 235 U and 238 U were analyzed in urine samples of IOEs and the rate of uranium present in them was verified

Mass spectrometric based approaches in urine metabolomics and biomarker discovery.

Science.gov (United States)

Khamis, Mona M; Adamko, Darryl J; El-Aneed, Anas

2017-03-01

Urine metabolomics has recently emerged as a prominent field for the discovery of non-invasive biomarkers that can detect subtle metabolic discrepancies in response to a specific disease or therapeutic intervention. Urine, compared to other biofluids, is characterized by its ease of collection, richness in metabolites and its ability to reflect imbalances of all biochemical pathways within the body. Following urine collection for metabolomic analysis, samples must be immediately frozen to quench any biogenic and/or non-biogenic chemical reactions. According to the aim of the experiment; sample preparation can vary from simple procedures such as filtration to more specific extraction protocols such as liquid-liquid extraction. Due to the lack of comprehensive studies on urine metabolome stability, higher storage temperatures (i.e. 4°C) and repetitive freeze-thaw cycles should be avoided. To date, among all analytical techniques, mass spectrometry (MS) provides the best sensitivity, selectivity and identification capabilities to analyze the majority of the metabolite composition in the urine. Combined with the qualitative and quantitative capabilities of MS, and due to the continuous improvements in its related technologies (i.e. ultra high-performance liquid chromatography [UPLC] and hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography [HILIC]), liquid chromatography (LC)-MS is unequivocally the most utilized and the most informative analytical tool employed in urine metabolomics. Furthermore, differential isotope tagging techniques has provided a solution to ion suppression from urine matrix thus allowing for quantitative analysis. In addition to LC-MS, other MS-based technologies have been utilized in urine metabolomics. These include direct injection (infusion)-MS, capillary electrophoresis-MS and gas chromatography-MS. In this article, the current progresses of different MS-based techniques in exploring the urine metabolome as well as the recent findings in providing

21 CFR 876.1800 - Urine flow or volume measuring system.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... volume measuring system. (a) Identification. A urine flow or volume measuring system is a device that measures directly or indirectly the volume or flow of urine from a patient, either during the course of... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Urine flow or volume measuring system. 876.1800...

Survival of enteric bacteria in source-separated human urine used ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

MAKAYA

Urine in Pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima) Cultivation. Agric. Food Sci. 18:57-68. Pronk W, Koné D (2010). Options for urine treatment in developing countries. Desalination 251:360-368. Schönning C, Leeming R, Stenström TA (2002). Faecal contamination of source-separated human urine based on the content of faecal sterols ...

Antibiotic Screening of Urine Culture for Internal Quality Audit at Amrita Hospital, Kochi.

Science.gov (United States)

Suresh, Aswathy; Gopinathan, Anusha; Dinesh, Kavitha R; Kumar, Anil

2017-07-01

Urine antimicrobial activity is a seldom analysed laboratory test which greatly impacts the quantification of urine specimens. Presence of antimicrobial activity in the urine reduces the bacterial load in these specimens. Hence, the chances of erroneously reporting insignificant bacteriuria can be reduced on analysis of the antimicrobial activity in urine. The aim of the study was to measure the antimicrobial activity of urine samples obtained from patients in a tertiary care hospital. A total of 100 urine specimens were collected from the study group. Tests like wet mount, Gram staining and culture were performed. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was done on the bacteria isolated from each specimen. The urine specimens were reported as significant bacteriuria (>105 Colony Forming Unit (CFU)/ml) and insignificant bacteriuria (<105 CFU/ml - clean catch midstream urine; <102 CFU/ml - catheterized urine sample) according to the CFU/ml. Staphylococcus aureus ATCC ® 25923 ™ and Escherichia coli ATCC ® 25922 ™ were used to identify the presence of antimicrobial activity in the urine sample by Urine Anti-Bacterial substance Assay (UABA). McNemar test was used for statistical analysis using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.0. On analysis of the antimicrobial activity of urine sample with the prior antibiotic history of the patients, 17 were true positives and 43 were true negatives. Twenty six of samples with UABA positivity were culture negative and 28 samples with UABA positivity were culture positive. Sensitivity and specificity of the test was 85% and 53.8% respectively. Accuracy of the test was 60%. The p-value of UABA was <0.001. Enterobacteriaceae was the most common bacterial family isolated from the urine specimens. A total of 85% patients responded to treatment. Presence of antimicrobial activity in urine has a great impact on the interpretation of urine culture reports. Identification of urine antimicrobial activity helps

Fully automated muscle quality assessment by Gabor filtering of second harmonic generation images

Science.gov (United States)

Paesen, Rik; Smolders, Sophie; Vega, José Manolo de Hoyos; Eijnde, Bert O.; Hansen, Dominique; Ameloot, Marcel

2016-02-01

Although structural changes on the sarcomere level of skeletal muscle are known to occur due to various pathologies, rigorous studies of the reduced sarcomere quality remain scarce. This can possibly be explained by the lack of an objective tool for analyzing and comparing sarcomere images across biological conditions. Recent developments in second harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy and increasing insight into the interpretation of sarcomere SHG intensity profiles have made SHG microscopy a valuable tool to study microstructural properties of sarcomeres. Typically, sarcomere integrity is analyzed by fitting a set of manually selected, one-dimensional SHG intensity profiles with a supramolecular SHG model. To circumvent this tedious manual selection step, we developed a fully automated image analysis procedure to map the sarcomere disorder for the entire image at once. The algorithm relies on a single-frequency wavelet-based Gabor approach and includes a newly developed normalization procedure allowing for unambiguous data interpretation. The method was validated by showing the correlation between the sarcomere disorder, quantified by the M-band size obtained from manually selected profiles, and the normalized Gabor value ranging from 0 to 1 for decreasing disorder. Finally, to elucidate the applicability of our newly developed protocol, Gabor analysis was used to study the effect of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis on the sarcomere regularity. We believe that the technique developed in this work holds great promise for high-throughput, unbiased, and automated image analysis to study sarcomere integrity by SHG microscopy.

CHROMagar Orientation Medium Reduces Urine Culture Workload

Science.gov (United States)

Manickam, Kanchana; Karlowsky, James A.; Adam, Heather; Lagacé-Wiens, Philippe R. S.; Rendina, Assunta; Pang, Paulette; Murray, Brenda-Lee

2013-01-01

Microbiology laboratories continually strive to streamline and improve their urine culture algorithms because of the high volumes of urine specimens they receive and the modest numbers of those specimens that are ultimately considered clinically significant. In the current study, we quantitatively measured the impact of the introduction of CHROMagar Orientation (CO) medium into routine use in two hospital laboratories and compared it to conventional culture on blood and MacConkey agars. Based on data extracted from our Laboratory Information System from 2006 to 2011, the use of CO medium resulted in a 28% reduction in workload for additional procedures such as Gram stains, subcultures, identification panels, agglutination tests, and biochemical tests. The average number of workload units (one workload unit equals 1 min of hands-on labor) per urine specimen was significantly reduced (P < 0.0001; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.5326 to 1.047) from 2.67 in 2006 (preimplementation of CO medium) to 1.88 in 2011 (postimplementation of CO medium). We conclude that the use of CO medium streamlined the urine culture process and increased bench throughput by reducing both workload and turnaround time in our laboratories. PMID:23363839

Urine sample collection protocols for bioassay samples

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

MacLellan, J.A.; McFadden, K.M.

1992-11-01

In vitro radiobioassay analyses are used to measure the amount of radioactive material excreted by personnel exposed to the potential intake of radioactive material. The analytical results are then used with various metabolic models to estimate the amount of radioactive material in the subject`s body and the original intake of radioactive material. Proper application of these metabolic models requires knowledge of the excretion period. It is normal practice to design the bioassay program based on a 24-hour excretion sample. The Hanford bioassay program simulates a total 24-hour urine excretion sample with urine collection periods lasting from one-half hour before retiring to one-half hour after rising on two consecutive days. Urine passed during the specified periods is collected in three 1-L bottles. Because the daily excretion volume given in Publication 23 of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP 1975, p. 354) for Reference Man is 1.4 L, it was proposed to use only two 1-L bottles as a cost-saving measure. This raised the broader question of what should be the design capacity of a 24-hour urine sample kit.

Urine sample collection protocols for bioassay samples

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

MacLellan, J.A.; McFadden, K.M.

1992-11-01

In vitro radiobioassay analyses are used to measure the amount of radioactive material excreted by personnel exposed to the potential intake of radioactive material. The analytical results are then used with various metabolic models to estimate the amount of radioactive material in the subject's body and the original intake of radioactive material. Proper application of these metabolic models requires knowledge of the excretion period. It is normal practice to design the bioassay program based on a 24-hour excretion sample. The Hanford bioassay program simulates a total 24-hour urine excretion sample with urine collection periods lasting from one-half hour before retiring to one-half hour after rising on two consecutive days. Urine passed during the specified periods is collected in three 1-L bottles. Because the daily excretion volume given in Publication 23 of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP 1975, p. 354) for Reference Man is 1.4 L, it was proposed to use only two 1-L bottles as a cost-saving measure. This raised the broader question of what should be the design capacity of a 24-hour urine sample kit.

Sample handling for mass spectrometric proteomic investigations of human urine.

Science.gov (United States)

Petri, Anette Lykke; Høgdall, Claus; Christensen, Ib Jarle; Simonsen, Anja Hviid; T'jampens, Davy; Hellmann, Marja-Leena; Kjaer, Susanne Krüger; Fung, Eric T; Høgdall, Estrid

2008-09-01

Because of its non-invasive sample collection method, human urine is an attractive biological material both for discovering biomarkers and for use in future screening trials for different diseases. Before urine can be used for these applications, standardized protocols for sample handling that optimize protein stability are required. In this explorative study, we examine the influence of different urine collection methods, storage temperatures, storage times, and repetitive freeze-thaw procedures on the protein profiles obtained by surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF-MS). Prospectively collected urine samples from 11 women were collected as either morning or midday specimens. The effects of storage temperature, time to freezing, and freeze-thaw cycles were assessed by calculating the number, intensity, and reproducibility of peaks visualized by SELDI-TOF-MS. On the CM10 array, 122 peaks were detected and 28 peaks were found to be significantly different between urine types, storage temperature and time to freezing. On the IMAC-Cu array, 65 peaks were detected and 1 peak was found to be significantly different according to time to freezing. No significant differences were demonstrated for freeze-thaw cycles. Optimal handling and storage conditions are necessary in clinical urine proteomic investigations. Collection of urine with a single and consistently performed protocol is needed to reduce analytical bias. Collecting only one urine type, which is stored for a limited period at 4°C until freezing at -80°C prior to analysis will provide the most stable profiles. Copyright © 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

European guidelines for workplace drug testing in urine.

Science.gov (United States)

Taskinen, Sanna; Beck, Olof; Bosch, Tessa; Brcak, Michaela; Carmichael, Duncan; Fucci, Nadia; George, Claire; Piper, Mark; Salomone, Alberto; Schielen, Wim; Steinmeyer, Stefan; Weinmann, Wolfgang

2017-06-01

These European Guidelines for Workplace Drug Testing in Urine have been prepared and updated by the European Workplace Drug Testing Society (EWDTS). The first version of these urine guidelines was published in 2002. Since then, the guidelines have been followed by many laboratories in different European countries and their role has been essential particularly in countries lacking legislation for workplace drug testing. In 2014, the EWDTS started a guidelines updating project and published a new version of the urine guidelines in 2015. Here we represent this updated version of the urine guidelines. The European Guidelines are designed to establish best practice procedures whilst allowing individual countries to operate within the requirements of national customs and legislation. The EWDTS recommends that all European laboratories that undertake legally defensible workplace drug testing should use these guidelines as a template for accreditation. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Automated aberration correction of arbitrary laser modes in high numerical aperture systems

OpenAIRE

Hering, Julian; Waller, Erik H.; Freymann, Georg von

2016-01-01

Controlling the point-spread-function in three-dimensional laser lithography is crucial for fabricating structures with highest definition and resolution. In contrast to microscopy, aberrations have to be physically corrected prior to writing, to create well defined doughnut modes, bottlebeams or multi foci modes. We report on a modified Gerchberg-Saxton algorithm for spatial-light-modulator based automated aberration compensation to optimize arbitrary laser-modes in a high numerical aperture...

Development of an optical microscopy system for automated bubble cloud analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Wesley, Daniel J; Brittle, Stuart A; Toolan, Daniel T W

2016-08-01

Recently, the number of uses of bubbles has begun to increase dramatically, with medicine, biofuel production, and wastewater treatment just some of the industries taking advantage of bubble properties, such as high mass transfer. As a result, more and more focus is being placed on the understanding and control of bubble formation processes and there are currently numerous techniques utilized to facilitate this understanding. Acoustic bubble sizing (ABS) and laser scattering techniques are able to provide information regarding bubble size and size distribution with minimal data processing, a major advantage over current optical-based direct imaging approaches. This paper demonstrates how direct bubble-imaging methods can be improved upon to yield high levels of automation and thus data comparable to ABS and laser scattering. We also discuss the added benefits of the direct imaging approaches and how it is possible to obtain considerable additional information above and beyond that which ABS and laser scattering can supply. This work could easily be exploited by both industrial-scale operations and small-scale laboratory studies, as this straightforward and cost-effective approach is highly transferrable and intuitive to use.

Automated image analysis of atomic force microscopy images of rotavirus particles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Venkataraman, S.; Allison, D.P.; Qi, H.; Morrell-Falvey, J.L.; Kallewaard, N.L.; Crowe, J.E.; Doktycz, M.J.

2006-01-01

A variety of biological samples can be imaged by the atomic force microscope (AFM) under environments that range from vacuum to ambient to liquid. Generally imaging is pursued to evaluate structural features of the sample or perhaps identify some structural changes in the sample that are induced by the investigator. In many cases, AFM images of sample features and induced structural changes are interpreted in general qualitative terms such as markedly smaller or larger, rougher, highly irregular, or smooth. Various manual tools can be used to analyze images and extract more quantitative data, but this is usually a cumbersome process. To facilitate quantitative AFM imaging, automated image analysis routines are being developed. Viral particles imaged in water were used as a test case to develop an algorithm that automatically extracts average dimensional information from a large set of individual particles. The extracted information allows statistical analyses of the dimensional characteristics of the particles and facilitates interpretation related to the binding of the particles to the surface. This algorithm is being extended for analysis of other biological samples and physical objects that are imaged by AFM

Automated image analysis of atomic force microscopy images of rotavirus particles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Venkataraman, S. [Life Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831 (United States); Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996 (United States); Allison, D.P. [Life Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831 (United States); Department of Biochemistry, Cellular, and Molecular Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996 (United States); Molecular Imaging Inc. Tempe, AZ, 85282 (United States); Qi, H. [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996 (United States); Morrell-Falvey, J.L. [Life Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831 (United States); Kallewaard, N.L. [Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232-2905 (United States); Crowe, J.E. [Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232-2905 (United States); Doktycz, M.J. [Life Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831 (United States)]. E-mail: doktyczmj@ornl.gov

2006-06-15

A variety of biological samples can be imaged by the atomic force microscope (AFM) under environments that range from vacuum to ambient to liquid. Generally imaging is pursued to evaluate structural features of the sample or perhaps identify some structural changes in the sample that are induced by the investigator. In many cases, AFM images of sample features and induced structural changes are interpreted in general qualitative terms such as markedly smaller or larger, rougher, highly irregular, or smooth. Various manual tools can be used to analyze images and extract more quantitative data, but this is usually a cumbersome process. To facilitate quantitative AFM imaging, automated image analysis routines are being developed. Viral particles imaged in water were used as a test case to develop an algorithm that automatically extracts average dimensional information from a large set of individual particles. The extracted information allows statistical analyses of the dimensional characteristics of the particles and facilitates interpretation related to the binding of the particles to the surface. This algorithm is being extended for analysis of other biological samples and physical objects that are imaged by AFM.

Analysis of Urine Flow in Three Different Ureter Models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kyung-Wuk Kim

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The ureter provides a way for urine to flow from the kidney to the bladder. Peristalsis in the ureter partially forces the urine flow, along with hydrostatic pressure. Ureteral diseases and a double J stent, which is commonly inserted in a ureteral stenosis or occlusion, disturb normal peristalsis. Ineffective or no peristalsis could make the contour of the ureter a tube, a funnel, or a combination of the two. In this study, we investigated urine flow in the abnormal situation. We made three different, curved tubular, funnel-shaped, and undulated ureter models that were based on human anatomy. A numerical analysis of the urine flow rate and pattern in the ureter was performed for a combination of the three different ureters, with and without a ureteral stenosis and with four different types of double J stents. The three ureters showed a difference in urine flow rate and pattern. Luminal flow rate was affected by ureter shape. The side holes of a double J stent played a different role in detour, which depended on ureter geometry.

MICROBIOTA URINE BEFORE AND AFTER LITHOTRIPSY FOR RENAL STONES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Y. L. Naboka

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL in spite of the low invasiveness and high efficiency is accompanied by an infectious- inflammatory complications and renal parenchymal injury . Dynamics of microbial spectrum urine and the impact of postoperative antibiotic therapy currently remains unexplored. The study included 30 patients subjected to ESWL. Bacteriological study was midstream morning urine before ESWL, 1, 3 days after ESWL, and midstream urine in the first urination after ESWL. All patients were divided into 2 groups. Group I consisted of patients (46.7% with antibiotic therapy . Group II patients (53.3 % antibiotic therapy was performed. In most cases (97.8 % were bacteriuria , while in 75% of cases highlighted in the various options bacterial associations representation aerobic- anaerobic mixed infection, among which was dominated by non-clostridial anaerobic bacteria in all samples. Revealed that after ESWL microbial spectrum urine does not change in any case within 3 days , except for Enterobacteriaceae, but the frequency of occurrence and level of bacteriuria vary for different periods after surgery and fees or absence of antibiotic therapy.

Calcium Stone Growth in Urine from Cystic Fibrosis Patients and Healthy Controls

Science.gov (United States)

McSorley, Anita; Jones, Andrew M.; Webb, A. Kevin; Rao, P. Nagaraj; Kavanagh, John P.

2007-04-01

Cystic fibrosis patients have an increased risk of renal stone disease. There is some evidence that this may be related to a different excretory pattern of stone risk factors, but an alternative hypothesis, that the urine of cystic fibrosis patients is deficient in urinary inhibitors of crystallization and stone formation has not been tested. Here we have grown calcium stones, in vitro, in the presence of urine from healthy controls and compared this with growth in the presence of urine from cystic fibrosis patients. A stone farm was used to grow twelve calcium stones simultaneously, firstly in artificial urine for about 200 hours and then in 90% whole human urine for another 500 hours. Six of the stones received urine from healthy controls and six received urine from adult cystic fibrosis patients. There were no significant differences in stone mass at any of the key time points or in the overall growth pattern (p>0.05) between stones destined for, or treated with, urine from CF patients and the controls. Human urine greatly inhibited stone growth in vitro but there was no difference in the growth rate in urine from healthy controls and CF patients. This refutes the hypothesis that a tendency for a higher prevalence of urinary stones in CF patients is related to a deficiency in inhibitory activity.

The value of urine specific gravity in detecting diabetes insipidus in a patient with uncontrolled diabetes mellitus: urine specific gravity in differential diagnosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Akarsu, Ersin; Buyukhatipoglu, Hakan; Aktaran, Sebnem; Geyik, Ramazan

2006-11-01

When a patient with diabetes mellitus presents with worsening polyuria and polydipsia, what is a sensible, cost-effective approach? We report the unique coincidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus and diabetes insipidus. A 46-year-old woman with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes complained of polyuria with a daily output of 5 L. Although urinalysis demonstrated significant glucosuria, diabetes insipidus was suspected owing to a low urine specific gravity (1.008). The low specific gravity persisted during a water deprivation test. Ultimately, diabetes insipidus was confirmed when urine specific gravity and urine osmolality normalized following desmopressin administration. This case emphasizes the importance of accurately interpreting the urine specific gravity in patients with polyuria and diabetes mellitus to detect diabetes insipidus.

Reliable laboratory urinalysis results using a new standardised urine collection device

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Roelofs-Thijssen, M.A.; Schreuder, M.F.; Hogeveen, M.; Herwaarden, A.E. van

2013-01-01

OBJECTIVES: While urine sampling is necessary in the diagnosis of urinary tract infection and electrolyte disturbances, the collection of urine in neonates and non-toilet-trained children is often difficult. A universal urine collection method providing representative urinalyses results is needed.

Urine biomarkers in the early stages of diseases: current status and perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Jing, Jian; Gao, Youhe

2018-02-01

As a noninvasive and easily available biological fluid, the urine is becoming an important source for disease biomarker study. Change is essential for the usefulness of a biomarker. Without homeostasis mechanisms, urine can accommodate more changes, especially in the early stages of diseases. In this review, we summarize current status and discuss perspectives on the discovery of urine biomarkers in the early stages of diseases. We emphasize the advantages of urine biomarkers compared to plasma biomarkers for the diagnosis of diseases at early stages, propose a urine biomarker research roadmap, and highlight a novel membrane storage technique that enables large-scale urine sample collection and storage efficiently and economically. It is anticipated that urine biomarker studies will greatly promote early diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and prognosis of a variety of diseases, and provide strong support for translational and precision medicine.

Determination of mineral radioactive strontium-{sup 90} in urines; Recherche du strontium mineral radioactif {sup 90}Sr dans les urines

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jeanmaire, L; Jammet, H; Bertrand, S [Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique, Saclay (France).Centre d' Etudes Nucleaires

1959-07-01

An analytical procedure for radioactive strontium in urine is described. As a first step, a precipitation of calcium oxalate performed on the urine, allows to detect the presence of various fission products and particularly of strontium which is carried by the precipitate. Strontium can then be selectively separated on ion exchange resins. By studying the growth curve of {beta} activity, it is possible to determine the activities which may be attributed to {sup 89}Sr and {sup 90}Sr respectively. (author) [French] Cet article decrit une technique de dosage du strontium radioactif dans les urines. Dans un premier stade, une precipitation d'oxalate de calcium effectuee sur l'urine permet de deceler la presence de differents produits de fission et en particulier du strontium qui est entraine sur ce precipite. Il est possible ensuite de separer selectivement le strontium au moyen de resines echangeuses d'ions. L'examen de le courbe de croissance de l'activite {beta} permet de determiner les activites dues respectivement a {sup 89}Sr et {sup 90}Sr. (auteur)

Urine Trefoil Factors as Prognostic Biomarkers in Chronic Kidney Disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Yamanari, Toshio; Sugiyama, Hitoshi; Tanaka, Keiko; Morinaga, Hiroshi; Kitagawa, Masashi; Onishi, Akifumi; Ogawa-Akiyama, Ayu; Kano, Yuzuki; Mise, Koki; Ohmoto, Yasukazu; Shikata, Kenichi; Wada, Jun

2018-01-01

Trefoil factor family (TFF) peptides are increased in serum and urine in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, whether the levels of TFF predict the progression of CKD remains to be elucidated. We determined the TFF levels using peptide-specific ELISA in spot urine samples and performed a prospective cohort study. The association between the levels of urine TFFs and other urine biomarkers as well as the renal prognosis was analyzed in 216 CKD patients (mean age: 53.7 years, 47.7% female, 56.9% with chronic glomerulonephritis, and mean eGFR: 58.5 ml/min/1.73 m 2 ). The urine TFF1 and TFF3 levels significantly increased with the progression of CKD stages, but not the urine TFF2 levels. The TFF1 and TFF3 peptide levels predicted the progression of CKD ≥ stage 3b by ROC analysis (AUC 0.750 and 0.879, resp.); however, TFF3 alone predicted CKD progression in a multivariate logistic regression analysis (odds ratio 3.854, 95% confidence interval 1.316-11.55). The Kaplan-Meier survival curves demonstrated that patients with a higher TFF1 and TFF3 alone, or in combination with macroalbuminuria, had a significantly worse renal prognosis. The data suggested that urine TFF peptides are associated with renal progression and the outcomes in patients with CKD.

SEGMENTATION OF MITOCHONDRIA IN ELECTRON MICROSCOPY IMAGES USING ALGEBRAIC CURVES.

Science.gov (United States)

Seyedhosseini, Mojtaba; Ellisman, Mark H; Tasdizen, Tolga

2013-01-01

High-resolution microscopy techniques have been used to generate large volumes of data with enough details for understanding the complex structure of the nervous system. However, automatic techniques are required to segment cells and intracellular structures in these multi-terabyte datasets and make anatomical analysis possible on a large scale. We propose a fully automated method that exploits both shape information and regional statistics to segment irregularly shaped intracellular structures such as mitochondria in electron microscopy (EM) images. The main idea is to use algebraic curves to extract shape features together with texture features from image patches. Then, these powerful features are used to learn a random forest classifier, which can predict mitochondria locations precisely. Finally, the algebraic curves together with regional information are used to segment the mitochondria at the predicted locations. We demonstrate that our method outperforms the state-of-the-art algorithms in segmentation of mitochondria in EM images.

Urine stability and steroid profile: towards a screening index of urine sample degradation for anti-doping purpose.

Science.gov (United States)

Mazzarino, Monica; Abate, Maria Gabriella; Alocci, Roberto; Rossi, Francesca; Stinchelli, Raffaella; Molaioni, Francesco; de la Torre, Xavier; Botrè, Francesco

2011-01-10

The presence of microorganisms in urine samples, under favourable conditions of storage and transportation, may alter the concentration of steroid hormones, thus altering the correct evaluation of the urinary steroid profile in doping control analysis. According to the rules of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA technical document TD2004 EAAS), a testosterone deconjugation higher than 5% and the presence of 5α-androstane-3,17-dione and 5β-androstane-3,17-dione in the deconjugated fraction, are reliable indicators of urine degradation. The determination of these markers would require an additional quantitative analysis since the steroids screening analysis, in anti-doping laboratories, is performed in the total (free+conjugated) fraction. The aim of this work is therefore to establish reliable threshold values for some representative compounds (namely 5α-androstane-3,17-dione and 5β-androstane-3,17-dione) in the total fraction in order to predict directly at the screening stage the potential microbial degradation of the urine samples. Preliminary evidence on the most suitable degradation indexes has been obtained by measuring the urinary concentration of testosterone, epitestosterone, 5α-androstane-3,17-dione and 5β-androstane-3,17-dione by gas chromatography-mass spectrometric every day for 15 days in the deconjugated, glucuronide and total fraction of 10 pools of urines from 60 healthy subjects, stored under different pH and temperature conditions, and isolating the samples with one or more markers of degradation according to the WADA technical document TD2004EAAS. The threshold values for 5α-androstane-3,17-dione and 5β-androstane-3,17-dione were therefore obtained correlating the testosterone deconjugation rate with the urinary concentrations of 5α-androstane-3,17-dione and 5β-androstane-3,17-dione in the total fraction. The threshold values suggested as indexes of urine degradation in the total fraction were: 10 ng mL(-1) for 5α-androstane-3,17-dione

Low cost automation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1987-03-01

This book indicates method of building of automation plan, design of automation facilities, automation and CHIP process like basics of cutting, NC processing machine and CHIP handling, automation unit, such as drilling unit, tapping unit, boring unit, milling unit and slide unit, application of oil pressure on characteristics and basic oil pressure circuit, application of pneumatic, automation kinds and application of process, assembly, transportation, automatic machine and factory automation.

Development of Personalized Urination Recognition Technology Using Smart Bands

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sung-Jong Eun

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Purpose This study collected and analyzed activity data sensed through smart bands worn by patients in order to resolve the clinical issues posed by using voiding charts. By developing a smart band-based algorithm for recognizing urination activity in patients, this study aimed to explore the feasibility of urination monitoring systems. Methods This study aimed to develop an algorithm that recognizes urination based on a patient’s posture and changes in posture. Motion data was obtained from a smart band on the arm. An algorithm that recognizes the 3 stages of urination (forward movement, urination, backward movement was developed based on data collected from a 3-axis accelerometer and from tilt angle data. Real-time data were acquired from the smart band, and for data corresponding to a certain duration, the absolute value of the signals was calculated and then compared with the set threshold value to determine the occurrence of vibration signals. In feature extraction, the most essential information describing each pattern was identified after analyzing the characteristics of the data. The results of the feature extraction process were sorted using a classifier to detect urination. Results An experiment was carried out to assess the performance of the recognition technology proposed in this study. The final accuracy of the algorithm was calculated based on clinical guidelines for urologists. The experiment showed a high average accuracy of 90.4%, proving the robustness of the proposed algorithm. Conclusions The proposed urination recognition technology draws on acceleration data and tilt angle data collected via a smart band; these data were then analyzed using a classifier after comparative analyses with standardized feature patterns.

EUROPattern Suite technology for computer-aided immunofluorescence microscopy in autoantibody diagnostics.

Science.gov (United States)

Krause, C; Ens, K; Fechner, K; Voigt, J; Fraune, J; Rohwäder, E; Hahn, M; Danckwardt, M; Feirer, C; Barth, E; Martinetz, T; Stöcker, W

2015-04-01

Antinuclear autoantibodies (ANA) are highly informative biomarkers in autoimmune diagnostics. The increasing demand for effective test systems, however, has led to the development of a confusingly large variety of different platforms. One of them, the indirect immunofluorescence (IIF), is regarded as the common gold standard for ANA screening, as described in a position statement by the American College of Rheumatology in 2009. Technological solutions have been developed aimed at standardization and automation of IIF to overcome methodological limitations and subjective bias in IIF interpretation. In this review, we present the EUROPattern Suite, a system for computer-aided immunofluorescence microscopy (CAIFM) including automated acquisition of digital images and evaluation of IIF results. The system was originally designed for ANA diagnostics on human epithelial cells, but its applications have been extended with the latest system update version 1.5 to the analysis of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) and anti-dsDNA antibodies. © The Author(s) 2015 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.

Determination of iodine in human milk and urine | Ayodele | Ife ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Physiological concentrations of iodine were determined in milk and urine. Recovery studies are reported along with results for the analysis of milk and urine samples. Iodine contents ranged from 10 - 110 (mean 52.88 ± 22.60mg/l) and 10 - 90 (mean 27.64 ±16.70) g/l in milk and urine respectively. A significant difference is ...

Substitution of human for horse urine disproves an accusation of doping*.

Science.gov (United States)

Díaz, Silvina; Kienast, Mariana E; Villegas-Castagnasso, Egle E; Pena, Natalia L; Manganare, Marcos M; Posik, Diego; Peral-García, Pilar; Giovambattista, Guillermo

2008-09-01

In order to detect switching and/or manipulation of samples, the owner of a stallion asked our lab to perform a DNA test on a positive doping urine sample. The objective was to compare the urine DNA profile versus blood and hair DNA profiles from the same stallion. At first, 10 microsatellite markers were investigated to determine the horse identity. No results were obtained when horse specific markers were typed in the urine sample. In order to confirm the species origin of this sample we analyzed the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. This analysis from blood and hair samples produced reproducible and clear PCR-RFLP patterns and DNA sequence match with those expected for horse, while the urine sample results were coincident with human. These results allowed us to exclude the urine sample from the questioned stallion and determine its human species origin, confirming the manipulation of urine sample.

A comparison of creatinine concentration with 40K radioactivity in spot urine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoo, Jaeryong; Park, Minjeong; Park, Seyoung; Ha, Wiho; Lee, Seungsook; Kim, Kwangpyo; Yoo, Jaeryong; Park, Minjeong

2013-01-01

24 hour urine collection is technically difficult to carry out and inconvenience for subjects. Also the result of 24 hour urine may vary from collection date. The spot urine assessment has large uncertainty that some spot urine concentrated or some spot urine diluted. Hence, it needs to apply normalization method for minimizing result of measurement the spot urine. In radiation emergency, specific gravity method was proposed which method use portable density meter for measuring density of urine and then normalization. The creatinine test recommend by ICRP (1968) and IAEA (1999) is the most common method for urine normalization. However, the creatinine result was various which depends upon sex, age, race and health conditions. Thus it needs to supplementary method for urine normalization. Natural potassium has isotopes those are K-39, K-40, and K-41, in the percentages of 93.08, 0.0118 and 6.91, respectively. Especially, the K-40 emits relatively high energy (1.46 MeV gamma ray) with a half life of 1.248 Χ 10 9 γ. The potassium is an essential element in human which works as homeostatic regulation. Thus human which works as homeostatic regulation. Thus human which works as homeostatic regulation. Thus human body contains specific amount of the potassium and then excreted regularly. And then K-40 is measurable in urine sample using HPGs detector. The purpose of this study is to estimate the variability of spot urine normalization method for assessing the internal exposure dose of hospital workers who work related with radiopharmaceutical produce. The use of creatinine as normalization of spot urine samples for internal dosimetry is possible to reduce level of uncertainty. However, creatinine range is wide which means the creatinine is not exactly correct reference value for normalization. Or some malfunction in creatinine analysis, it need to another supplementary method for normalization for adequately assessing the activity in spot urine samples. In this study

Measurement of organically bound tritium in urine and feces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trivedi, A.; Duong, T.; Leon, J.W.; Linauskas, S.H.

1993-11-01

A bioassay method was developed for directly measuring organically bound tritium (OBT) in urine and feces. Samples first undergo low-temperature distillation and vacuum separation to isolate tritiated water (HTO) and exchangeable tritium. This is followed by converting the non-exchangeable tritium (i.e., OBT) into HTO through oxygen combustion. The method was investigated to: optimise the sample preparation procedures; establish OBT recovery (64% ± 7% for urine and 71% ± 8% for feces); and, determine the detection limit for OBT in urine (0.3 Bq · g -1 ) and feces (5 Bq · g -1 ). The method was evaluated for error sources that are associated with the exchange between HTO and OBT. It is concluded that this bioassay method can reliably measure OBT in urine and feces within the range of ± 10%

ultraLM and miniLM: Locator tools for smart tracking of fluorescent cells in correlative light and electron microscopy [version 1; referees: 2 approved, 1 approved with reservations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elisabeth Brama

2016-12-01

Full Text Available In-resin fluorescence (IRF protocols preserve fluorescent proteins in resin-embedded cells and tissues for correlative light and electron microscopy, aiding interpretation of macromolecular function within the complex cellular landscape. Dual-contrast IRF samples can be imaged in separate fluorescence and electron microscopes, or in dual-modality integrated microscopes for high resolution correlation of fluorophore to organelle. IRF samples also offer a unique opportunity to automate correlative imaging workflows. Here we present two new locator tools for finding and following fluorescent cells in IRF blocks, enabling future automation of correlative imaging. The ultraLM is a fluorescence microscope that integrates with an ultramicrotome, which enables ‘smart collection’ of ultrathin sections containing fluorescent cells or tissues for subsequent transmission electron microscopy or array tomography. The miniLM is a fluorescence microscope that integrates with serial block face scanning electron microscopes, which enables ‘smart tracking’ of fluorescent structures during automated serial electron image acquisition from large cell and tissue volumes.

Carbon coated magnetic nanoparticles as a novel magnetic solid phase extraction adsorbent for simultaneous extraction of methamphetamine and ephedrine from urine samples.

Science.gov (United States)

Taghvimi, Arezou; Hamishehkar, Hamed

2017-01-15

This paper develops a highly selective, specific and efficient method for simultaneous determination of ephedrine and methamphetamine by a new carbon coated magnetic nanoparticles (C/MNPs) as a magnetic solid phase extraction (MSPE) adsorbent in biological urine medium. The characterization of synthesized magnetic nano adsorbent was completely carried out by various characterization techniques like Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, powder x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). Nine important parameters influencing extraction efficiency including amount of adsorbent, amounts of sample volume, pH, type and amount of extraction organic solvent, time of extraction and desorption, agitation rate and ionic strength of extraction medium, were studied and optimized. Under optimized extraction conditions, a good linearity was observed in the concentration range of 100-2000ng/mL for ephedrine and 100-2500ng/mL for methamphetamine. Analysis of positive urine samples was carried out by proposed method with the recovery of 98.71 and 97.87% for ephedrine and methamphetamine, respectively. The results indicated that carbon coated magnetic nanoparticles could be applied in clinical and forensic laboratories for simultaneous determination of abused drugs in urine media. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Epithelial Cells in Urine: MedlinePlus Lab Test Information

Science.gov (United States)

... page: https://medlineplus.gov/labtests/epithelialcellsinurine.html Epithelial Cells in Urine To use the sharing features on ... page, please enable JavaScript. What is an Epithelial Cells in Urine Test? Epithelial cells are a type ...

Automated force controller for amplitude modulation atomic force microscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miyagi, Atsushi, E-mail: atsushi.miyagi@inserm.fr, E-mail: simon.scheuring@inserm.fr; Scheuring, Simon, E-mail: atsushi.miyagi@inserm.fr, E-mail: simon.scheuring@inserm.fr [U1006 INSERM, Université Aix-Marseille, Parc Scientifique et Technologique de Luminy, 163 Avenue de Luminy, 13009 Marseille (France)

2016-05-15

Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) is widely used in physics, chemistry, and biology to analyze the topography of a sample at nanometer resolution. Controlling precisely the force applied by the AFM tip to the sample is a prerequisite for faithful and reproducible imaging. In amplitude modulation (oscillating) mode AFM, the applied force depends on the free and the setpoint amplitudes of the cantilever oscillation. Therefore, for keeping the applied force constant, not only the setpoint amplitude but also the free amplitude must be kept constant. While the AFM user defines the setpoint amplitude, the free amplitude is typically subject to uncontrollable drift, and hence, unfortunately, the real applied force is permanently drifting during an experiment. This is particularly harmful in biological sciences where increased force destroys the soft biological matter. Here, we have developed a strategy and an electronic circuit that analyzes permanently the free amplitude of oscillation and readjusts the excitation to maintain the free amplitude constant. As a consequence, the real applied force is permanently and automatically controlled with picoNewton precision. With this circuit associated to a high-speed AFM, we illustrate the power of the development through imaging over long-duration and at various forces. The development is applicable for all AFMs and will widen the applicability of AFM to a larger range of samples and to a larger range of (non-specialist) users. Furthermore, from controlled force imaging experiments, the interaction strength between biomolecules can be analyzed.

Urine Creatinine Concentrations in Drug Monitoring Participants and Hospitalized Patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Love, Sara A; Seegmiller, Jesse C; Kloss, Julie; Apple, Fred S

2016-10-01

Urine drug testing is commonly performed in both clinical and forensic arenas for screening, monitoring and compliance purposes. We sought to determine if urine creatinine concentrations in monitoring program participants were significantly different from hospital in-patients and out-patients undergoing urine drug testing. We retrospectively reviewed urine creatinine submitted in June through December 2015 for all specimens undergoing urine drug testing. The 20,479 creatinine results were categorized as hospitalized patients (H) and monitoring/compliance groups for pain management (P), legal (L) or recovery (R). Median creatinine concentrations (interquartile range, mg/dL) were significantly different (P creatinine concentrations were significantly lower in the R vs. L group (Pcreatinine concentration and may indicate participants' attempts to tamper with their drug test results through dilution means. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Quantitative analysis of myocardial tissue with digital autofluorescence microscopy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas Jensen

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Background: The opportunity offered by whole slide scanners of automated histological analysis implies an ever increasing importance of digital pathology. To go beyond the importance of conventional pathology, however, digital pathology may need a basic histological starting point similar to that of hematoxylin and eosin staining in conventional pathology. This study presents an automated fluorescence-based microscopy approach providing highly detailed morphological data from unstained microsections. This data may provide a basic histological starting point from which further digital analysis including staining may benefit. Methods: This study explores the inherent tissue fluorescence, also known as autofluorescence, as a mean to quantitate cardiac tissue components in histological microsections. Data acquisition using a commercially available whole slide scanner and an image-based quantitation algorithm are presented. Results: It is shown that the autofluorescence intensity of unstained microsections at two different wavelengths is a suitable starting point for automated digital analysis of myocytes, fibrous tissue, lipofuscin, and the extracellular compartment. The output of the method is absolute quantitation along with accurate outlines of above-mentioned components. The digital quantitations are verified by comparison to point grid quantitations performed on the microsections after Van Gieson staining. Conclusion: The presented method is amply described as a prestain multicomponent quantitation and outlining tool for histological sections of cardiac tissue. The main perspective is the opportunity for combination with digital analysis of stained microsections, for which the method may provide an accurate digital framework.

Bioassay method for Uranium in urine by Delay Neutron counting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suratman; Purwanto; Sukarman-Aminjoyo

1996-01-01

A bioassay method for uranium in urine by neutron counting has been studied. The aim of this research is to obtain a bioassay method for uranium in urine which is used for the determination of internal dose of radiation workers. The bioassay was applied to the artificially uranium contaminated urine. The weight of the contaminant was varied. The uranium in the urine was irradiated in the Kartini reactor core, through pneumatic system. The delayed neutron was counted by BF3 neutron counter. Recovery of the bioassay was between 69.8-88.8 %, standard deviation was less than 10 % and the minimum detection was 0.387 μg

Robust Nucleus/Cell Detection and Segmentation in Digital Pathology and Microscopy Images: A Comprehensive Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Xing, Fuyong; Yang, Lin

2016-01-01

Digital pathology and microscopy image analysis is widely used for comprehensive studies of cell morphology or tissue structure. Manual assessment is labor intensive and prone to interobserver variations. Computer-aided methods, which can significantly improve the objectivity and reproducibility, have attracted a great deal of interest in recent literature. Among the pipeline of building a computer-aided diagnosis system, nucleus or cell detection and segmentation play a very important role to describe the molecular morphological information. In the past few decades, many efforts have been devoted to automated nucleus/cell detection and segmentation. In this review, we provide a comprehensive summary of the recent state-of-the-art nucleus/cell segmentation approaches on different types of microscopy images including bright-field, phase-contrast, differential interference contrast, fluorescence, and electron microscopies. In addition, we discuss the challenges for the current methods and the potential future work of nucleus/cell detection and segmentation.

Approaches to automatic parameter fitting in a microscopy image segmentation pipeline: An exploratory parameter space analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Held, Christian; Nattkemper, Tim; Palmisano, Ralf; Wittenberg, Thomas

2013-01-01

Research and diagnosis in medicine and biology often require the assessment of a large amount of microscopy image data. Although on the one hand, digital pathology and new bioimaging technologies find their way into clinical practice and pharmaceutical research, some general methodological issues in automated image analysis are still open. In this study, we address the problem of fitting the parameters in a microscopy image segmentation pipeline. We propose to fit the parameters of the pipeline's modules with optimization algorithms, such as, genetic algorithms or coordinate descents, and show how visual exploration of the parameter space can help to identify sub-optimal parameter settings that need to be avoided. This is of significant help in the design of our automatic parameter fitting framework, which enables us to tune the pipeline for large sets of micrographs. The underlying parameter spaces pose a challenge for manual as well as automated parameter optimization, as the parameter spaces can show several local performance maxima. Hence, optimization strategies that are not able to jump out of local performance maxima, like the hill climbing algorithm, often result in a local maximum.

Approaches to automatic parameter fitting in a microscopy image segmentation pipeline: An exploratory parameter space analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christian Held

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Research and diagnosis in medicine and biology often require the assessment of a large amount of microscopy image data. Although on the one hand, digital pathology and new bioimaging technologies find their way into clinical practice and pharmaceutical research, some general methodological issues in automated image analysis are still open. Methods: In this study, we address the problem of fitting the parameters in a microscopy image segmentation pipeline. We propose to fit the parameters of the pipeline′s modules with optimization algorithms, such as, genetic algorithms or coordinate descents, and show how visual exploration of the parameter space can help to identify sub-optimal parameter settings that need to be avoided. Results: This is of significant help in the design of our automatic parameter fitting framework, which enables us to tune the pipeline for large sets of micrographs. Conclusion: The underlying parameter spaces pose a challenge for manual as well as automated parameter optimization, as the parameter spaces can show several local performance maxima. Hence, optimization strategies that are not able to jump out of local performance maxima, like the hill climbing algorithm, often result in a local maximum.

Citric acid urine test

Science.gov (United States)

Urine - citric acid test; Renal tubular acidosis - citric acid test; Kidney stones - citric acid test; Urolithiasis - citric acid test ... No special preparation is necessary for this test. But the results ... test is usually done while you are on a normal diet. Ask your ...

On-Demand Urine Analyzer

Science.gov (United States)

Farquharson, Stuart; Inscore, Frank; Shende, Chetan

2010-01-01

A lab-on-a-chip was developed that is capable of extracting biochemical indicators from urine samples and generating their surface-enhanced Raman spectra (SERS) so that the indicators can be quantified and identified. The development was motivated by the need to monitor and assess the effects of extended weightlessness, which include space motion sickness and loss of bone and muscle mass. The results may lead to developments of effective exercise programs and drug regimes that would maintain astronaut health. The analyzer containing the lab-on-a- chip includes materials to extract 3- methylhistidine (a muscle-loss indicator) and Risedronate (a bone-loss indicator) from the urine sample and detect them at the required concentrations using a Raman analyzer. The lab-on- a-chip has both an extractive material and a SERS-active material. The analyzer could be used to monitor the onset of diseases, such as osteoporosis.

For reliable urine cultures in the detection of complicated urinary tract infection, do we use urine specimens obtained with urethral catheter or a nephrostomy tube?

Science.gov (United States)

Dede, Gülay; Deveci, Özcan; Dede, Onur; Utanğac, Mazhar; Dağgulli, Mansur; Penbegül, Necmettin; Hatipoğlu, Namık Kemal

2016-12-01

The aim of this study was to compare the results of urine cultures obtained either from urethral, and percutaneous nephrostomy (PCN) catheters. This study included 328 consecutive patients that underwent PCN at our institution with complicated urinary tract infections (UTIs) between July 2010 and April 2015. Results of urine cultures obtained from the urethral and nephrostomy catheters were compared. This study included 152 male and 176 female patients. Mean age of the patients was 46.2±24.3 years. The main indications were obstructive uropathy due to urolithiasis complicated with pyonephrosis 145 (44%), malignant disease (n=87; 26%), pregnancy (n=26; 8%), and anatomical abnormality (n=23; 7%). One hundred and twenty three patients had diabetes mellitus. The most common causative organisms were Escherichia coli , Klebsiella pneumoniae , and Pseudomonas aeruginosa . Blood cultures showed the same results for the PCN and bladder urine cultures. The bladder urine culture was positive in 304 patients, while the PCN urine culture in 314 patients. PCN is an important treatment for the management of pyonephrosis. Cultures from the PCN yield valuable information that is not available from urethral urine cultures, and is a guiding tool for antibiotic therapy selection.

Toward reliable and repeatable automated STEM-EDS metrology with high throughput

Science.gov (United States)

Zhong, Zhenxin; Donald, Jason; Dutrow, Gavin; Roller, Justin; Ugurlu, Ozan; Verheijen, Martin; Bidiuk, Oleksii

2018-03-01

New materials and designs in complex 3D architectures in logic and memory devices have raised complexity in S/TEM metrology. In this paper, we report about a newly developed, automated, scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) based, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (STEM-EDS) metrology method that addresses these challenges. Different methodologies toward repeatable and efficient, automated STEM-EDS metrology with high throughput are presented: we introduce the best known auto-EDS acquisition and quantification methods for robust and reliable metrology and present how electron exposure dose impacts the EDS metrology reproducibility, either due to poor signalto-noise ratio (SNR) at low dose or due to sample modifications at high dose conditions. Finally, we discuss the limitations of the STEM-EDS metrology technique and propose strategies to optimize the process both in terms of throughput and metrology reliability.

Biophysical effects of water and synthetic urine on skin.

Science.gov (United States)

Mayrovitz, H N; Sims, N

2001-01-01

Pressure ulcers often occur at sites subjected to pressure and wetness. Although skin wetness is a risk factor for pressure ulcers,the mechanisms and effects of wetness versus urine constituents on skin breakdown is unclear. The hypothesis that wetness reduces skin hardness and, thereby, increases vulnerability of underlying blood vessels to pressure-induced flow reductions was tested in this study. Pads saturated with water and with a water solution mixed with the main chemical constituents of urine (synthetic urine; s-urine) were applied to forearm skin of 10 healthy subjects for 5.5 hours. Skin hardness, blood flow change caused by 60 mm Hg of pressure, erythema, and temperature were compared among dry, water, and s-urine test sites. 10 healthy women. Research Center, Nova Southeastern University, Health Professions Division, Fort Lauderdale, FL. S-urine and water caused significant reductions in initial hardness and caused greater initial perfusion decreases during pressure load when compared with dry sites. Skin temperature and erythema were lower at wet sites when compared with dry sites. The findings of this study are consistent with the concept that sustained skin wetness increases vulnerability to pressure-induced blood flow reduction. The effect appears to be mainly dependent on wetness, but urine constituents may exacerbate the effect. In addition, wetness-related skin cooling may play a role. In the healthy subjects studied, the blood flow decrease was not sustained due to perfusion recovery under pressure. Skin wetness would likely have more sustained effects in patients with compromised recovery mechanisms. Measures to diminish skin exposure to wetness in these patients, whatever the wetness source, are an important consideration in a multifaceted strategy to reduce the risk of pressure ulcers.

[Estimation of mercury in the urine of cigarette smokers].

Science.gov (United States)

Kulikowska-Karpińska, Elżbieta; Zdanowicz, Magdalena; Gałażyn-Sidorczuk, Małgorzata

Cigarette smoking is one of the most common habits of the modern world. According to a NATPOL PLU study, every third adult Pole is dependent on nicotine. Tobacco smoke contains about 5,000 components, of which over 1,000 are very toxic chemical substances (3,4-benzopyrene, heavy metals, free radicals, hydrogen cyanide, nitrogen oxides and N-nitrosamines). Exposure to tobacco smoke is an example of a complex, with a significant number of interactions. To assess the concentration of copper in the urine of smokers. Based on the results, an attempt was made to determine whether smoking can affect the level of copper in the body. The study involved 170 healthy volunteers, 99 smokers and 71 non-smokers (control group). The age of patients in both groups were in the range of 20-60 years. The mean age for men and women was 41 years. The average length of cigarette smoking was 18 years for women and 21 years for men, and the number of cigarettes smoked 1-40 ⁄ 24. The urine concentrations of Cu were determined by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) and serum creatinine kinetic method using a set of BIOLAB. Cu concentration in urine was expressed in mg / g creatinine. Smokers were found to have reduced levels of copper in the urine, depending on sex, age and brand of cigarettes. In male smokers, copper concentration in the urine was dependent on age and time of smoking, whereas among women this relationship was not observed. Cigarette smoking significantly influences the level of copper in the urine. Both female and male smokers showed reduced levels of copper in the urine, which may indicate its increased accumulation in the body. Excessive accumulation of copper is very dangerous since it may exhibit toxic effects towards many organs and systems.

Optimizing Urine Processing Protocols for Protein and Metabolite Detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Siddiqui, Nazema Y; DuBois, Laura G; St John-Williams, Lisa; Will, Thompson J; Grenier, Carole; Burke, Emily; Fraser, Matthew O; Amundsen, Cindy L; Murphy, Susan K

In urine, factors such as timing of voids, and duration at room temperature (RT) may affect the quality of recovered protein and metabolite data. Additives may aid with detection, but can add more complexity in sample collection or analysis. We aimed to identify the optimal urine processing protocol for clinically-obtained urine samples that allows for the highest protein and metabolite yields with minimal degradation. Healthy women provided multiple urine samples during the same day. Women collected their first morning (1 st AM) void and another "random void". Random voids were aliquotted with: 1) no additive; 2) boric acid (BA); 3) protease inhibitor (PI); or 4) both BA + PI. Of these aliquots, some were immediately stored at 4°C, and some were left at RT for 4 hours. Proteins and individual metabolites were quantified, normalized to creatinine concentrations, and compared across processing conditions. Sample pools corresponding to each processing condition were analyzed using mass spectrometry to assess protein degradation. Ten Caucasian women between 35-65 years of age provided paired 1 st morning and random voided urine samples. Normalized protein concentrations were slightly higher in 1 st AM compared to random "spot" voids. The addition of BA did not significantly change proteins, while PI significantly improved normalized protein concentrations, regardless of whether samples were immediately cooled or left at RT for 4 hours. In pooled samples, there were minimal differences in protein degradation under the various conditions we tested. In metabolite analyses, there were significant differences in individual amino acids based on the timing of the void. For comparative translational research using urine, information about void timing should be collected and standardized. For urine samples processed in the same day, BA does not appear to be necessary while the addition of PI enhances protein yields, regardless of 4°C or RT storage temperature.

Autonomy and Automation

Science.gov (United States)

Shively, Jay

2017-01-01

A significant level of debate and confusion has surrounded the meaning of the terms autonomy and automation. Automation is a multi-dimensional concept, and we propose that Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) automation should be described with reference to the specific system and task that has been automated, the context in which the automation functions, and other relevant dimensions. In this paper, we present definitions of automation, pilot in the loop, pilot on the loop and pilot out of the loop. We further propose that in future, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) RPAS Panel avoids the use of the terms autonomy and autonomous when referring to automated systems on board RPA. Work Group 7 proposes to develop, in consultation with other workgroups, a taxonomy of Levels of Automation for RPAS.

Comparison of urine analysis using manual and sedimentation methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Kurup, R; Leich, M

2012-06-01

Microscopic examination of urine sediment is an essential part in the evaluation of renal and urinary tract diseases. Traditionally, urine sediments are assessed by microscopic examination of centrifuged urine. However the current method used by the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation Medical Laboratory involves uncentrifuged urine. To encourage high level of care, the results provided to the physician must be accurate and reliable for proper diagnosis. The aim of this study is to determine whether the centrifuge method is more clinically significant than the uncentrifuged method. In this study, a comparison between the results obtained from centrifuged and uncentrifuged methods were performed. A total of 167 urine samples were randomly collected and analysed during the period April-May 2010 at the Medical Laboratory, Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation. The urine samples were first analysed microscopically by the uncentrifuged, and then by the centrifuged method. The results obtained from both methods were recorded in a log book. These results were then entered into a database created in Microsoft Excel, and analysed for differences and similarities using this application. Analysis was further done in SPSS software to compare the results using Pearson ' correlation. When compared using Pearson's correlation coefficient analysis, both methods showed a good correlation between urinary sediments with the exception of white bloods cells. The centrifuged method had a slightly higher identification rate for all of the parameters. There is substantial agreement between the centrifuged and uncentrifuged methods. However the uncentrifuged method provides for a rapid turnaround time.

Urine sample preparation for proteomic analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Olszowy, Pawel; Buszewski, Boguslaw

2014-10-01

Sample preparation for both environmental and more importantly biological matrices is a bottleneck of all kinds of analytical processes. In the case of proteomic analysis this element is even more important due to the amount of cross-reactions that should be taken into consideration. The incorporation of new post-translational modifications, protein hydrolysis, or even its degradation is possible as side effects of proteins sample processing. If protocols are evaluated appropriately, then identification of such proteins does not bring difficulties. However, if structural changes are provided without sufficient attention then protein sequence coverage will be reduced or even identification of such proteins could be impossible. This review summarizes obstacles and achievements in protein sample preparation of urine for proteome analysis using different tools for mass spectrometry analysis. The main aim is to present comprehensively the idea of urine application as a valuable matrix. This article is dedicated to sample preparation and application of urine mainly in novel cancer biomarkers discovery. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Detection and quantification of rituximab in the human urine.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobs, Roland; Langer-Jacobus, Thais; Duong, Michelle; Stahl, Klaus; Haller, Hermann; Schmidt, Reinhold E; Schiffer, Mario

2017-12-01

B cell depletion by rituximab treatment might be inefficient in patients suffering from nephrotic syndrome. Due to the impaired glomerular filtration barrier a significant portion of the therapeutic antibody might be lost into the urinary space. In order to determine the amount of rituximab in the urine of such patients, CD20+ Daudi cells were stained with the patients' urine followed by a fluorochrome-labeled secondary antibody. Mean fluorescence intensity of that way labeled Daudi cells was determined by flow cytometry. Control samples with defined rituximab concentrations were used to create standard curves. The analyses revealed that all nephelometric IgG+ urine samples tested also manifested rituximab at concentrations between 100 and 46,707μg/L. The flow cytometry-based approach is an easy and reliable method to assess rituximab in patients' urine samples for monitoring individual rituximab treatment courses in all patients co-presenting impaired renal filtration. Presence of such antibodies in the urine could be considered as criteria to modify the formulation or modality of rituximab delivery in order to prevent the loss of the therapeutic antibodies and thereby ensuring efficacy of the therapy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ultrasonic-based membrane aided sample preparation of urine proteomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Jesus, Jemmyson Romário; Santos, Hugo M; López-Fernández, H; Lodeiro, Carlos; Arruda, Marco Aurélio Zezzi; Capelo, J L

2018-02-01

A new ultrafast ultrasonic-based method for shotgun proteomics as well as label-free protein quantification in urine samples is developed. The method first separates the urine proteins using nitrocellulose-based membranes and then proteins are in-membrane digested using trypsin. The enzymatic digestion process is accelerated from overnight to four minutes using a sonoreactor ultrasonic device. Overall, the sample treatment pipeline comprising protein separation, digestion and identification is done in just 3h. The process is assessed using urine of healthy volunteers. The method shows that male can be differentiated from female using the protein content of urine in a fast, easy and straightforward way. 232 and 226 proteins are identified in urine of male and female, respectively. From this, 162 are common to both genders, whilst 70 are unique to male and 64 to female. From the 162 common proteins, 13 are present at levels statistically different (p minimalism concept as outlined by Halls, as each stage of this analysis is evaluated to minimize the time, cost, sample requirement, reagent consumption, energy requirements and production of waste products. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Urine Osmolality in Treatment-naïve HIV-positive Subjects in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2017-03-01

Mar 1, 2017 ... a significant association between urine osmolality and body mass index (BMI), creatinine clearance, as well as serum .... approved by the Ethics Research Committee of the hospital. With the help of a questionnaire, .... SD=standard deviation, SUOsm=spot urine osmolality,. 24UOsm=24-h urine osmolality, ...

Taking the Piss : Urine in Early Modern Europe

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verwaal, Ruben

2017-01-01

As long as there have been humans, urine has been regularly discharged. You may not consider your urine very interesting. In fact, you may be very eager to leave your messy and leaky excretion behind in the bathroom. But have we always looked at this fluid with a feeling of disgust? What did people

Occurrence of riboflavinyl glucoside in rat urine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohkawa, Hiroshi; Ohishi, Nobuko; Yagi, Kunio

1983-01-01

To investigate the metabolism of riboflavin, [2- 14 C]-riboflavin was administered orally to a rat. The urine pooled for 24 h after administration was fractionated by paper and silica gel thin layer chromatographies using various solvent systems. Among the radioactive metabolites, riboflavinyl glucoside was found along with 7-carboxy lumichrome and 8-carboxy lumichrome. The radioactivity of riboflavinyl glucoside comprised about 6 % of the total radioactivity excreted in the urine during 24 h. (author)

The effects of gliadin on urine metabolome in mice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Roager, Henrik Munch; Zhang, Li; Frandsen, Henrik Lauritz

Gliadin, a proline-rich protein of gluten, is thought to modulate the gut microbiota and affect the intestinal permeability and immune system. However, little is known about the long-term effects of gliadin on the host and microbial metabolism. To study this, we compared the urine metabolome of two...... groups of mice, which were on a high fat diet with and without gliadin, respectively, for 23 weeks. Using liquid chromatography mass-spectrometry (MS) followed by multivariate analyses we were able to show a clear separation of the two groups of mice based on their urine metabolome. Discriminating...... in the gliadin mice. Also, Maillard reaction products and β-oxidized tocopherols were observed in higher levels in the urine of gliadin mice, suggesting increased oxidative stress in the gliadin mice. Indisputably, gliadin affected the urine metabolome. However, the mechanisms behind the observed metabolite...

Comparison of Urine and Oral Fluid for Workplace Drug Testing.

Science.gov (United States)

Casolin, Armand

2016-09-01

To determine the relative detection rates of urine versus oral fluid testing in a safety sensitive industry and the correlation with diagnosed substance use disorders and possible impairment at work. The trial involved 1,500 paired urine and oral fluid tests performed in accordance with Australian Standard/New Zealand Standard (AS/NZS) 4308:2008 and AS 4760:2006. Workers who returned a positive test were screened for substance use disorders, as defined by DSM-5, and for possible impairment at work following that particular episode of substance use. Substances were detected in 3.7% (n = 56) of urine samples and 0.5% (n = 8) of oral fluid samples (p < 0.0001). One worker (0.07%) had a substance detected on oral fluid alone versus 49 workers (3.3%) who had substances detected on urine alone. Twelve workers returned a positive result, defined as being consistent with the use of an illicit drug or a controlled substance without a clinical indication and prescription. Nine workers tested positive on urine alone, one on oral fluid alone and two on both (p = 0.0114). Of note, 6/11 workers who tested positive on urine had possible impairment at work and 2/11 had a substance use disorder versus 2/3 and 0/3, respectively, who tested positive on oral fluid. Urine drug testing performed in accordance with AS/NZS 4308:2008 is more likely to detect overall substance use and illicit drug use than oral fluid testing conducted in accordance with AS 4760:2006. Urine testing performed in accordance with AS/NZS 4308:2008 may also be more likely to detect workers with possible impairment at work and substance use disorders than oral fluid testing performed in accordance with AS 4760:2006. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press.

Robotic Automation of In Vivo Two-Photon Targeted Whole-Cell Patch-Clamp Electrophysiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Annecchino, Luca A; Morris, Alexander R; Copeland, Caroline S; Agabi, Oshiorenoya E; Chadderton, Paul; Schultz, Simon R

2017-08-30

Whole-cell patch-clamp electrophysiological recording is a powerful technique for studying cellular function. While in vivo patch-clamp recording has recently benefited from automation, it is normally performed "blind," meaning that throughput for sampling some genetically or morphologically defined cell types is unacceptably low. One solution to this problem is to use two-photon microscopy to target fluorescently labeled neurons. Combining this with robotic automation is difficult, however, as micropipette penetration induces tissue deformation, moving target cells from their initial location. Here we describe a platform for automated two-photon targeted patch-clamp recording, which solves this problem by making use of a closed loop visual servo algorithm. Our system keeps the target cell in focus while iteratively adjusting the pipette approach trajectory to compensate for tissue motion. We demonstrate platform validation with patch-clamp recordings from a variety of cells in the mouse neocortex and cerebellum. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Consequence of Delayed Fixation on Subsequent Preservation of Urine Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hussain G. Ahmed,

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Objectives: Degenerative changes caused by delays in urine preservation contribute to false-negative and false-positive interpretation of urothelial disease in cytology. The aim of this study is to assess whether the delay of fixation of urine samples makes any significant difference to urine cytology and morphology, and the limit of acceptability of delay for routine use in the hospital laboratory.Methods: Three cell collection fluids were evaluated by analyzing the preservation and degeneration of cells in urine samples. In this study, 50 voided urine specimens were taken at random from females complaining of vaginal discharge. Each specimen was divided into three sterile containers. The first was immediately centrifugated and the deposit was smeared onto a cleaned micro slide and immediately fixed into 95�0ethyl alcohol for 15 minutes. The remaining two were prepared in the same manner, however, the second after two hours of collection and the third after four hours of collection. The degree of degeneration and thus the preservation were assessed by a table of chosen criteria, then ranked and analyzed using Friedman's nonparametric test, atp=0.05.Results: The results showed a significant difference between the preservation and the delay in urine fixation, p<0.0001.Conclusion: Any delay in fixation of urine specimen for cytology affects the preservation of cells, which may result in miss diagnosis. It is recommended that urine samples for cytology should be fixed immediately after collection.

Pathogens and pharmaceuticals in source-separated urine in eThekwini, South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Bischel, Heather N; Özel Duygan, Birge D; Strande, Linda; McArdell, Christa S; Udert, Kai M; Kohn, Tamar

2015-11-15

In eThekwini, South Africa, the production of agricultural fertilizers from human urine collected from urine-diverting dry toilets is being evaluated at a municipality scale as a way to help finance a decentralized, dry sanitation system. The present study aimed to assess a range of human and environmental health hazards in source-separated urine, which was presumed to be contaminated with feces, by evaluating the presence of human pathogens, pharmaceuticals, and an antibiotic resistance gene. Composite urine samples from households enrolled in a urine collection trial were obtained from urine storage tanks installed in three regions of eThekwini. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays targeted 9 viral and 10 bacterial human pathogens transmitted by the fecal-oral route. The most frequently detected viral pathogens were JC polyomavirus, rotavirus, and human adenovirus in 100%, 34% and 31% of samples, respectively. Aeromonas spp. and Shigella spp. were frequently detected gram negative bacteria, in 94% and 61% of samples, respectively. The gram positive bacterium, Clostridium perfringens, which is known to survive for extended times in urine, was found in 72% of samples. A screening of 41 trace organic compounds in the urine facilitated selection of 12 priority pharmaceuticals for further evaluation. The antibiotics sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim, which are frequently prescribed as prophylaxis for HIV-positive patients, were detected in 95% and 85% of samples, reaching maximum concentrations of 6800 μg/L and 1280 μg/L, respectively. The antiretroviral drug emtricitabine was also detected in 40% of urine samples. A sulfonamide antibiotic resistance gene (sul1) was detected in 100% of urine samples. By coupling analysis of pathogens and pharmaceuticals in geographically dispersed samples in eThekwini, this study reveals a range of human and environmental health hazards in urine intended for fertilizer production. Collection of urine offers the benefit of

Urine pretreatment for waste water processing systems. [for space station

Science.gov (United States)

Winkler, H. E.; Verostko, C. E.; Dehner, G. F.

1983-01-01

Recovery of high quality water from urine is an essential part of life support on a Space Station to avoid costly launch and resupply penalties. Water can be effectively recovered from urine by distillation following pretreatment by a chemical agent to inhibit microorganism contamination and fix volatile ammonia constituents. This paper presents the results of laboratory investigations of several pretreatment chemicals which were tested at several concentration levels in combination with sulfuric acid in urine. The optimum pretreatment formulation was then evaluated with urine in the Hamilton Standard Thermoelectric Integrated Membrane Evaporation Subsystem (TIMES). Over 2600 hours of test time was accumulated. Results of these laboratory and system tests are presented in this paper.

Nonhazardous Urine Pretreatment Method for Future Exploration Systems, Phase II

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — A nonhazardous urine pretreatment system prototype is proposed that will stabilize urine against biological growth or chemical instabilities without using hazardous...

Metabolomic biomarkers in serum and urine in women with preeclampsia.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marie Austdal

Full Text Available To explore the potential of magnetic resonance (MR metabolomics for study of preeclampsia, for improved phenotyping and elucidating potential clues to etiology and pathogenesis.Urine and serum samples from pregnant women with preeclampsia (n = 10, normal pregnancies (n = 10 and non-pregnant women (n = 10 matched by age and gestational age were analyzed with MR spectroscopy and subjected to multivariate analysis. Metabolites were then quantified and compared between groups.Urine and serum samples revealed clear differences between women with preeclampsia and both control groups (normal pregnant and non-pregnant women. Nine urine metabolites were significantly different between preeclampsia and the normal pregnant group. Urine samples from women with early onset preeclampsia clustered together in the multivariate analysis. The preeclampsia serum spectra showed higher levels of low and very-low density lipoproteins and lower levels of high-density lipoproteins when compared to both non-pregnant and normal pregnant women.The MR determined metabolic profiles in urine and serum from women with preeclampsia are clearly different from normal pregnant women. The observed differences represent a potential to examine mechanisms underlying different preeclampsia phenotypes in urine and serum samples in larger studies. In addition, similarities between preeclampsia and cardiovascular disease in metabolomics are demonstrated.

PPARα-dependent increase of mouse urine output by gemfibrozil and fenofibrate.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Danjun; Luo, Min; Dai, Manyun; Bu, Shizhong; Wang, Weihua; Zhang, Burong; Gonzalez, Frank J; Liu, Aiming

2017-02-01

While gemfibrozil and fenofibrate are prescribed for anti-dyslipidemia treatment, a rational basis for the use of these drugs for treatment of dyslipidemia with concurrent metabolic syndrome has not been established. In this study, wild-type and Pparα-null mice were fed gemfibrozil- or fenofibrate-containing diets for 14 days. Urine output (24 h) was monitored, and urine, serum, and liver and kidney tissues were subjected to toxicity assessment. A 2-month challenge followed by a 2-week wash-out was performed for gemfibrozil to determine urine output and the potential toxicity. A therapeutically equivalent dose of gemfibrozil was more effective than fenofibrate in increasing urine output. This regulatory effect was not observed in Pparα-null mice. In contrast, hepatomegaly induced by fenofibrate was more pronounced than that of gemfibrozil. No significant toxicity was observed in liver or kidney in the 2-month treatment with gemfibrozil. These data demonstrated PPARα mediates the increased urine output by fibrates. Considering the relative action on hepatomegaly and the regulatory effect on urine output, gemfibrozil may be the preferable drug to increase urine output. These results revealed a new pharmacodynamic effect of clinically prescribed PPARα agonists and suggested the potential value of gemfibrozil in modification of blood pressure.

[Comparative measurement of urine specific gravity: reagent strips, refractometry and hydrometry].

Science.gov (United States)

Costa, Christian Elías; Bettendorff, Carolina; Bupo, Sol; Ayuso, Sandra; Vallejo, Graciela

2010-06-01

The urine specific gravity is commonly used in clinical practice to measure the renal concentration/dilution ability. Measurement can be performed by three methods: hydrometry, refractometry and reagent strips. To assess the accuracy of different methods to measure urine specific gravity. We analyzed 156 consecutive urine samples of pediatric patients during April and May 2007. Urine specific gravity was measured by hydrometry (UD), refractometry (RE) and reagent strips (TR), simultaneously. Urine osmolarity was considered as the gold standard and was measured by freezing point depression. Correlation between different methods was calculated by simple linear regression. A positive and acceptable correlation was found with osmolarity for the RE as for the UD (r= 0.81 and r= 0.86, respectively). The reagent strips presented low correlation (r= 0.46). Also, we found good correlation between measurements obtained by UD and RE (r= 0.89). Measurements obtained by TR, however, had bad correlation when compared to UD (r= 0.46). Higher values of specific gravity were observed when measured with RE with respect to UD. Reagent strips are not reliable for measuring urine specific gravity and should not be used as an usual test. However, hydrometry and refractometry are acceptable alternatives for measuring urine specific gravity, as long as the same method is used for follow-up.

Urine osmolality in treatment-naïve HIV-positive subjects in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Urine osmolality is not commonly evaluated in routine clinical practice and in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) subjects. The factors that influence urine osmolality have not been completely identified. The aim of this study was to evaluate urine osmolality in treatment‑naïve HIV subjects and to identify the factors that may ...

Study of nominal daily output of urine from workers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lima, Marina F.; Carneiro, Janete C.G. Gaburo; Todo, Alberto S.

2007-01-01

A retrospective study of the 24-hour urine volumes from workers selected for the internal individual monitoring compares the average volume collected by sample and the average volume per individual with the nominal daily output of urine from 'Reference Man'. This work considers 134 registers of urine samples from 18 male workers, with semester routine sampling, between the years of 2000 and 2005. For this group, the average volume per collection was (971±371)mL and (962±376)mL per individual. In a cohort group of 9 male workers, which supplied at least 10 samples in this period, it was observed that the average volume per collection decreased to (955±308)mL and the average volume per individual increased to (1027±400)mL. For the female group, composed by 11 individuals, the 29 urine samples supplied between 1999 and 2005 were considered. The average volume per sampling and for worker was, respectively, (1122±337)mL and (1105±337)mL. Another cohort group of only 4 female workers with at least one annual collection during five years, of the seven years considered, the values decreased to (1112±336)mL per collection and the average volume per individual was maintained. The major variability of the volume among all the individuals was 927%, and for the same individual was 562%. This difference can be indicative of the individual differences of retention and excretion, alimentary diet interferences and for lack of awareness by the individual to collect urine during a period of 24-hour. The radionuclides clearance does not occur in constant rates and for the purpose of assessing intakes, in our routine analysis, the total volume of urine from worker is corrected for 1,4 L. Based in the results obtained over the years, and to minimize the errors of the nominal daily excretion rate in urine, actions about the aware of the individual in carrying out an accurately sampling and/or the implementation of the measurements of creatinine levels in urine are suggested

Development of a relatively cheap and simple automated separation system for a routine separation procedure based on extraction chromatography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petro Zoriy; Reinhold Flucht; Mechthild Burow; Peter Ostapczuk; Reinhard Lennartz; Myroslav Zoriy

2010-01-01

A robust analytical method has been developed in our laboratory for the separation of radionuclides by means of extraction chromatography using an automated separation system. The proposed method is both cheap and simple and provides the advantageous, rapid and accurate separation of the element of interest. The automated separation system enables a shorter separation time by maintaining a constant flow rate of solution and by avoiding clogging or bubbling in the chromatographic column. The present separation method was tested with two types of samples (water and urine) using UTEVA-, TRU- and Sr-specific resins for the separation of U, Th, Am, Pu and Sr. The total separation time for one radionuclide ranged from 60 to 100 min with the separation yield ranging from 68 to 98% depending on the elements separated. We used ICP-QMS, multi-low-level counter and alpha spectroscopy to measure the corresponding elements. (author)

Urinalysis: The Automated Versus Manual Techniques; Is It Time To Change?.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmed, Asmaa Ismail; Baz, Heba; Lotfy, Sarah

2016-01-01

Urinalysis is the third major test in clinical laboratory. Manual technique imprecision urges the need for a rapid reliable automated test. We evaluated the H800-FUSIOO automatic urine sediment analyzer and compared it to the manual urinalysis technique to determine if it may be a competitive substitute in laboratories of central hospitals. 1000 urine samples were examined by the two methods in parallel. Agreement, precision, carryover, drift, sensitivity, specificity, and practicability criteria were tested. Agreement ranged from excellent to good for all urine semi-quantitative components (K > 0.4, p = 0.000), except for granular casts (K = 0.317, p = 0.000). Specific gravity results correlated well between the two methods (r = 0.884, p = 0.000). RBCS and WBCs showed moderate correlation (r = 0.42, p = 0.000) and (r = 0.44, p = 0.000), respectively. The auto-analyzer's within-run precision was > 75% for all semi-quantitative components except for proteins (50% precision). This finding in addition to the granular casts poor agreement indicate the necessity of operator interference at the critical cutoff values. As regards quantitative contents, RBCs showed a mean of 69.8 +/- 3.95, C.V. = 5.7, WBCs showed a mean of 38.9 +/- 1.9, C.V. = 4.9). Specific gravity, pH, microalbumin, and creatinine also showed good precision results with C.Vs of 0.000, 2.6, 9.1, and 0.00 respectively. In the between run precision, positive control showed good precision (C.V. = 2.9), while negative control's C.V. was strikingly high (C.V. = 127). Carryover and drift studies were satisfactory. Manual examination of inter-observer results showed major discrepancies (urinalysis decreases observer-associated variation and offers prompt competitive results when standardized for screening away from the borderline cutoffs.

Residual urine output and postoperative mortality in maintenance hemodialysis patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Yu-Feng; Wu, Vin-Cent; Ko, Wen-Je; Chen, Yih-Sharng; Chen, Yung-Ming; Li, Wen-Yi; Chou, Nai-Kuan; Chao, Anne; Huang, Tao-Min; Chang, Fan-Chi; Chen, Shih-I; Shiao, Chih-Chung; Wang, Wei-Jie; Tsai, Hung-Bin; Tsai, Pi-Ru; Hu, Fu-Chang; Wu, Kwan-Dun

2009-09-01

The relationship between residual urine output and postoperative survival in maintenance hemodialysis patients is unknown. To explore the relationship between amount of urine before surgery and postoperative mortality and differences between postoperative nonanuria and anuria in maintenance hemodialysis patients. A total of 109 maintenance hemodialysis patients underwent major operations. Anuria was defined as urine output <30 mL in the 8 hours before the first session of postoperative dialysis. Propensity scores for postoperative anuria were developed. Postoperative residual urine output was 159.2 mL/8 h (SD, 115.1) in 33 patients; 76 patients were anuric. Preoperative residual urine output and adequate perioperative blood transfusion were positively related to postoperative urine output. Propensity-adjusted 30-day mortality was associated with postoperative anuria (odds ratio [OR], 4.56; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.16-17.96; P = .03), prior stroke (OR, 4.46; 95% CI, 1.43-13.89; P = .01) and higher disease severity (OR, 1.10; 95% CI, 1.00-1.21; P = .049) at the first postoperative dialysis. OR of 30-day mortality was 5.38 for nonanuria to anuria vs nonanuria to nonanuria (P = .03) and 5.13 for preoperative anuria vs nonanuria to nonanuria (P = .01). By Kaplan-Meier analysis, 30-day mortality differed significantly among patients for nonanuria to nonanuria, anuria, and nonanuria to anuria (log rank, P = .045). Patients with preoperative nonanuria and postoperative anuria had higher mortality than did patients with no anuria before and after surgery and patients with anuria before surgery. Postoperative residual urine output is an important surrogate marker for disease severity.

Mining the human urine proteome for monitoring renal transplant injury

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sigdel, Tara K.; Gao, Yuqian; He, Jintang; Wang, Anyou; Nicora, Carrie D.; Fillmore, Thomas L.; Shi, Tujin; Webb-Robertson, Bobbie-Jo; Smith, Richard D.; Qian, Wei-Jun; Salvatierra, Oscar; Camp, David G.; Sarwal, Minnie M.

2016-06-01

The human urinary proteome reflects systemic and inherent renal injury perturbations and can be analyzed to harness specific biomarkers for different kidney transplant injury states. 396 unique urine samples were collected contemporaneously with an allograft biopsy from 396 unique kidney transplant recipients. Centralized, blinded histology on the graft was used to classify matched urine samples into categories of acute rejection (AR), chronic allograft nephropathy (CAN), BK virus nephritis (BKVN), and stable graft (STA). Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS) based proteomics using iTRAQ based discovery (n=108) and global label-free LC-MS analyses of individual samples (n=137) for quantitative proteome assessment were used in the discovery step. Selected reaction monitoring (SRM) was applied to identify and validate minimal urine protein/peptide biomarkers to accurately segregate organ injury causation and pathology on unique urine samples (n=151). A total of 958 proteins were initially quantified by iTRAQ, 87% of which were also identified among 1574 urine proteins detected in LC-MS validation. 103 urine proteins were significantly (p<0.05) perturbed in injury and enriched for humoral immunity, complement activation, and lymphocyte trafficking. A set of 131 peptides corresponding to 78 proteins were assessed by SRM for their significance in an independent sample cohort. A minimal set of 35 peptides mapping to 33 proteins, were modeled to segregate different injury groups (AUC =93% for AR, 99% for CAN, 83% for BKVN). Urinary proteome discovery and targeted validation identified urine protein fingerprints for non-invasive differentiation of kidney transplant injuries, thus opening the door for personalized immune risk assessment and therapy.

Automation in an addiction treatment research clinic: computerised contingency management, ecological momentary assessment and a protocol workflow system.

Science.gov (United States)

Vahabzadeh, Massoud; Lin, Jia-Ling; Mezghanni, Mustapha; Epstein, David H; Preston, Kenzie L

2009-01-01

A challenge in treatment research is the necessity of adhering to protocol and regulatory strictures while maintaining flexibility to meet patients' treatment needs and to accommodate variations among protocols. Another challenge is the acquisition of large amounts of data in an occasionally hectic environment, along with the provision of seamless methods for exporting, mining and querying the data. We have automated several major functions of our outpatient treatment research clinic for studies in drug abuse and dependence. Here we describe three such specialised applications: the Automated Contingency Management (ACM) system for the delivery of behavioural interventions, the transactional electronic diary (TED) system for the management of behavioural assessments and the Protocol Workflow System (PWS) for computerised workflow automation and guidance of each participant's daily clinic activities. These modules are integrated into our larger information system to enable data sharing in real time among authorised staff. ACM and the TED have each permitted us to conduct research that was not previously possible. In addition, the time to data analysis at the end of each study is substantially shorter. With the implementation of the PWS, we have been able to manage a research clinic with an 80 patient capacity, having an annual average of 18,000 patient visits and 7300 urine collections with a research staff of five. Finally, automated data management has considerably enhanced our ability to monitor and summarise participant safety data for research oversight. When developed in consultation with end users, automation in treatment research clinics can enable more efficient operations, better communication among staff and expansions in research methods.

An evaluation of an organically bound tritium measurement method in artificial and natural urine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trivedi, A.; Duong, T.

1993-03-01

The accurate measurement of tritium in urine in the form of tritiated water (HTO) as well as in organic forms (organically bound tritium (OBT)) is an essential step in assessing tritium exposures correctly. Exchange between HTO and OBT, arising intrinsically in the separation of HTO from urine samples, is a source of error in determining the concentration of OBT using the low-temperature distillation (LTD) bioassay method. The accuracy and precision of OBT measurements using the LTD method was investigated using spiked natural and artificial urine samples. The relative bias for most of the measurements was less than 25%. The choice of testing matrix, artificial urine versus human urine, made little difference: the precisions for each urine type were similar. The appropriateness of the use of artificial urine for testing purposes was judged using a ratio of performance indices. Based on this evaluation, the artificial urine is a suitable test matrix for intercomparisons of OBT in urine measurements. It is further concluded that the LTD method is reliable for measuring OBT in urine samples. (author). 7 refs., 6 tabs

An evaluation of an organically bound tritium measurement method in artificial and natural urine

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Trivedi, A; Duong, T

1993-03-01

The accurate measurement of tritium in urine in the form of tritiated water (HTO) as well as in organic forms (organically bound tritium (OBT)) is an essential step in assessing tritium exposures correctly. Exchange between HTO and OBT, arising intrinsically in the separation of HTO from urine samples, is a source of error in determining the concentration of OBT using the low-temperature distillation (LTD) bioassay method. The accuracy and precision of OBT measurements using the LTD method was investigated using spiked natural and artificial urine samples. The relative bias for most of the measurements was less than 25%. The choice of testing matrix, artificial urine versus human urine, made little difference: the precisions for each urine type were similar. The appropriateness of the use of artificial urine for testing purposes was judged using a ratio of performance indices. Based on this evaluation, the artificial urine is a suitable test matrix for intercomparisons of OBT in urine measurements. It is further concluded that the LTD method is reliable for measuring OBT in urine samples. (author). 7 refs., 6 tabs.

Immunoreactive LH in long-term frozen human urine samples.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Gurmeet Kaur Surindar; Jimenez, Mark; Newman, Ron; Handelsman, David J

2014-04-01

Urine provides a convenient non-invasive alternative to blood sampling for measurement of certain hormones. Urinary luteinizing hormone (LH) measurements have been used for endocrinology research and anti-doping testing. However, the commercially available LH immunoassays are developed and validated for human blood samples but not urine so that LH assays intended for use with urine samples need thorough validation. Therefore, the present study evaluated the measurement of urinary LH immunoreactivity using previously validated immunofluorometric (IF) and immunochemiluminometric (ICL) LH assays after prolonged frozen storage. LH was measured in serial urine samples following administration of a single injection of one of two doses of recombinant human chorionic hormone (rhCG) with assays run at the end of study (2008) and again after four years of frozen (-20 °C) storage where samples were stored without adding preservatives. The ICL assay showed quantitatively reproducible LH measurements after prolonged -20 °C storage. However, the IF immunoassay gave consistently lower LH levels relative to ICL (2008) with a further proportionate reduction after four years of sample storage (2012). Yet, both the assays displayed similar patterns of the time-course of urine LH measurement both before and after four years of frozen storage. In conclusion, we found that both immunoassays are suitable for urinary LH measurements with ICL assay being more robust for quantitative urinary LH measurement such as for anti-doping purposes, whereas the IF could be applicable for research studies where urine LH levels are compared within-study but not in absolute terms. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Importance of sample preparation for molecular diagnosis of lyme borreliosis from urine.

Science.gov (United States)

Bergmann, A R; Schmidt, B L; Derler, A-M; Aberer, E

2002-12-01

Urine PCR has been used for the diagnosis of Borrelia burgdorferi infection in recent years but has been abandoned because of its low sensitivity and the irreproducibility of the results. Our study aimed to analyze technical details related to sample preparation and detection methods. Crucial for a successful urine PCR were (i) avoidance of the first morning urine sample; (ii) centrifugation at 36,000 x g; and (iii) the extraction method, with only DNAzol of the seven different extraction methods used yielding positive results with patient urine specimens. Furthermore, storage of frozen urine samples at -80 degrees C reduced the sensitivity of a positive urine PCR result obtained with samples from 72 untreated erythema migrans (EM) patients from 85% in the first 3 months to samples was proven by hybridization with a GEN-ETI-K-DEIA kit and for a 10 further positive amplicons by sequencing. By using all of these steps to optimize the urine PCR technique, B. burgdorferi infection could be diagnosed by using urine samples from EM patients with a sensitivity (85%) substantially better than that of serological methods (50%). This improved method could be of future importance as an additional laboratory technique for the diagnosis of unclear, unrecognized borrelia infections and diseases possibly related to Lyme borreliosis.

Oral Fluid vs. Urine Analysis to Monitor Synthetic Cannabinoids and Classic Drugs Recent Exposure.

Science.gov (United States)

Blandino, Vincent; Wetzel, Jillian; Kim, Jiyoung; Haxhi, Petrit; Curtis, Richard; Concheiro, Marta

2017-01-01

Urine is a common biological sample to monitor recent drug exposure, and oral fluid is an alternative matrix of increasing interest in clinical and forensic toxicology. Limited data are available about oral fluid vs. urine drug disposition, especially for synthetic cannabinoids. To compare urine and oral fluid as biological matrices to monitor recent drug exposure among HIV-infected homeless individuals. Seventy matched urine and oral fluid samples were collected from 13 participants. Cannabis, amphetamines, benzodiazepines, cocaine and opiates were analyzed in urine by the enzyme-multipliedimmunoassay- technique and in oral fluid by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LCMSMS). Eleven synthetic cannabinoids were analyzed in urine and in oral fluid by LC-MSMS. Five oral fluid samples were positive for AB-FUBINACA. In urine, 4 samples tested positive for synthetic cannabinoids PB-22, 5-Fluoro-PB-22, AB-FUBINACA, and metabolites UR-144 5-pentanoic acid and UR-144 4-hydroxypentyl. In only one case, oral fluid and urine results matched, both specimens being AB-FUBINACA positive. For cannabis, 40 samples tested positive in urine and 30 in oral fluid (85.7% match). For cocaine, 37 urine and 52 oral fluid samples were positive (75.7% match). Twenty-four urine samples were positive for opiates, and 25 in oral fluid (81.4% match). For benzodiazepines, 23 samples were positive in urine and 25 in oral fluid (85.7% match). These results offer new information about drugs disposition between urine and oral fluid. Oral fluid is a good alternative matrix to urine for monitoring cannabis, cocaine, opiates and benzodiazepines recent use; however, synthetic cannabinoids showed mixed results. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

From darkening urine to early diagnosis of alkaptonuria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peker Erdal

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Alkaptonuria is a rare disorder of metabolism characterized by deficiency of homogentisic acid oxidase. Characteristic features include darkening of urine, ochronosis, and arthropathy. Darkening of urine is the only sign of the disorder in the pediatric age group, and it occurs at very early stage of the disorder, as reported by the parents. A 4-year-old boy presented to our clinic with the complaint of dark urine and bluish black staining of clothes. This darkening pointed to a positive physical history of bluish discoloration of sclerae which occurred off and on. We initiated treatment with ascorbic acid and a protein diet with restriction of phenylalanine and tyrosine (1.6 g/kg/d. This case report is significant because of the early diagnosis made.

Correlative Stochastic Optical Reconstruction Microscopy and Electron Microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Doory; Deerinck, Thomas J.; Sigal, Yaron M.; Babcock, Hazen P.; Ellisman, Mark H.; Zhuang, Xiaowei

2015-01-01

Correlative fluorescence light microscopy and electron microscopy allows the imaging of spatial distributions of specific biomolecules in the context of cellular ultrastructure. Recent development of super-resolution fluorescence microscopy allows the location of molecules to be determined with nanometer-scale spatial resolution. However, correlative super-resolution fluorescence microscopy and electron microscopy (EM) still remains challenging because the optimal specimen preparation and imaging conditions for super-resolution fluorescence microscopy and EM are often not compatible. Here, we have developed several experiment protocols for correlative stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM) and EM methods, both for un-embedded samples by applying EM-specific sample preparations after STORM imaging and for embedded and sectioned samples by optimizing the fluorescence under EM fixation, staining and embedding conditions. We demonstrated these methods using a variety of cellular targets. PMID:25874453

Home Automation

OpenAIRE

Ahmed, Zeeshan

2010-01-01

In this paper I briefly discuss the importance of home automation system. Going in to the details I briefly present a real time designed and implemented software and hardware oriented house automation research project, capable of automating house's electricity and providing a security system to detect the presence of unexpected behavior.

Neutron activation analysis for bulk and trace elements in urine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cornelis, R.; Speecke, A.; Hoste, J.

1975-01-01

Problems in sampling urine for trace element analysis by neutron activation are systematically examined. Collection, storage, sample preparation and contamination hazards during irradiation are studied in detail. Three different sizes of urine samples are prepared for analysis, depending on the concentration and nuclear properties of the elements, and suitable multielement doped urine standards are used. As, Br, Ca, Cl, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Hg, I, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Rb, Se and Zn are determined. The extreme care given to sample collection, use of ''ultra-clean'' vials, and work in a dust-free room allows consistent values to be obtained over long periods of time. A literature review of the amounts of forty elements present in urine per day is also given

Robust Nucleus/Cell Detection and Segmentation in Digital Pathology and Microscopy Images: A Comprehensive Review

Science.gov (United States)

Xing, Fuyong; Yang, Lin

2016-01-01

Digital pathology and microscopy image analysis is widely used for comprehensive studies of cell morphology or tissue structure. Manual assessment is labor intensive and prone to inter-observer variations. Computer-aided methods, which can significantly improve the objectivity and reproducibility, have attracted a great deal of interest in recent literatures. Among the pipeline of building a computer-aided diagnosis system, nucleus or cell detection and segmentation play a very important role to describe the molecular morphological information. In the past few decades, many efforts have been devoted to automated nucleus/cell detection and segmentation. In this review, we provide a comprehensive summary of the recent state-of-the-art nucleus/cell segmentation approaches on different types of microscopy images including bright-field, phase-contrast, differential interference contrast (DIC), fluorescence, and electron microscopies. In addition, we discuss the challenges for the current methods and the potential future work of nucleus/cell detection and segmentation. PMID:26742143

Significance of serum and urine β2-MG abnormality for diabetes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu Fengling; Zhang Qiliang; Feng Zhixu; Hou Xiangzhen

1995-01-01

Levels of serum and urine β 2 -MG are determined in 114 patients with diabetes. It is found that levels of serum and urine β 2 -MG in diabetes are significantly higher than that of normal contrasts (P 2 -MG are increased with diabetes progress, especially urine β 2 -MG. There is no difference in levels of serum and urine β 2 -MG between non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) and insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM, P>0.05). Urine β 2 -MG levels of diabetes are relatively increased with the increase of serum β 2 -MG levels. Both are obviously positive correlation. While diabetes progressing, both are gradually increased. It can be shown that the longer diabetes process, the more renal function was damaged. Therefore, determination of β 2 -MG is very important for early diagnosing, preventing and treating diabetic nephropathy

Use of urine testing in outpatients treated for urinary tract infection.

Science.gov (United States)

Copp, Hillary L; Yiee, Jenny H; Smith, Alexandria; Hanley, Janet; Saigal, Christopher S

2013-09-01

To characterize urine test use in ambulatory, antibiotic-treated pediatric urinary tract infection (UTI). We studied children pediatrics: OR 2.6, 95% CI 2.5-2.8; emergency medicine, OR 1.2, 95% CI 1.1-1.3; urology: OR 0.5, 95% CI 0.4-0.6, compared with family/internal medicine). Recent antibiotic exposure (OR 1.1, 95% CI 1.1-1.2) and empirical broad-spectrum prescription (OR 1.2, 95% CI 1.1-1.2) were associated with urine culture use, whereas previous UTI and urologic anomalies were not. Providers often do not obtain urine tests when prescribing antibiotics for outpatient pediatric UTI. Variation in urine culture use was observed based on age, gender, and physician specialty. Additional research is necessary to determine the implications of empirical antibiotic prescription for pediatric UTI without confirmatory urine testing.

Catecholamines, Plasma and Urine Test

Science.gov (United States)

... and Iron-binding Capacity (TIBC, UIBC) Trichomonas Testing Triglycerides Troponin Tryptase Tumor Markers Uric Acid Urinalysis Urine ... blood pressure, and epinephrine increases heart rate and metabolism . After completing their actions, catecholamines are metabolized to ...

Polyglycolic acid (Dexon) sutures in Escherichia coli infected urine

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hovendal, C P; Schwartz, W

1979-01-01

The tensile strength, knot strength and stretch of polyglycolic acid (Dexon) was studied after emersion in physiological saline, sterile urine and infected urine. Tests were made each day under controlled conditions over a 10 day period. The results are compared with those of other earlier studie...

A comparison of creatinine concentration with {sup 40}K radioactivity in spot urine

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yoo, Jaeryong; Park, Minjeong; Park, Seyoung; Ha, Wiho; Lee, Seungsook [Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Kwangpyo; Yoo, Jaeryong; Park, Minjeong [Kyung Hee Univ., Yongin (Korea, Republic of)

2013-05-15

24 hour urine collection is technically difficult to carry out and inconvenience for subjects. Also the result of 24 hour urine may vary from collection date. The spot urine assessment has large uncertainty that some spot urine concentrated or some spot urine diluted. Hence, it needs to apply normalization method for minimizing result of measurement the spot urine. In radiation emergency, specific gravity method was proposed which method use portable density meter for measuring density of urine and then normalization. The creatinine test recommend by ICRP (1968) and IAEA (1999) is the most common method for urine normalization. However, the creatinine result was various which depends upon sex, age, race and health conditions. Thus it needs to supplementary method for urine normalization. Natural potassium has isotopes those are K-39, K-40, and K-41, in the percentages of 93.08, 0.0118 and 6.91, respectively. Especially, the K-40 emits relatively high energy (1.46 MeV gamma ray) with a half life of 1.248 Χ 10{sup 9}γ. The potassium is an essential element in human which works as homeostatic regulation. Thus human which works as homeostatic regulation. Thus human which works as homeostatic regulation. Thus human body contains specific amount of the potassium and then excreted regularly. And then K-40 is measurable in urine sample using HPGs detector. The purpose of this study is to estimate the variability of spot urine normalization method for assessing the internal exposure dose of hospital workers who work related with radiopharmaceutical produce. The use of creatinine as normalization of spot urine samples for internal dosimetry is possible to reduce level of uncertainty. However, creatinine range is wide which means the creatinine is not exactly correct reference value for normalization. Or some malfunction in creatinine analysis, it need to another supplementary method for normalization for adequately assessing the activity in spot urine samples. In this

Radioimmunoassay of antidiuretic hormone in human urine. Applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zebidi, Abdelkrim.

1977-10-01

This work is devoted mainly to the development of a radioimmunological system of antidiuretic hormone (ADH) determination in the urine and its physiological and pathological applications. The radioimmunological method thus replaces the biological measurement of antidiuretic hormone in the urine. This new technique was not possible until specific arginine vasopressin antibodies were obtained and a labelled hormone was prepared according to the criteria set for a radioimmunoassay. The labelled hormone is lysine vasopressin (greater stability). Although 125 I-LVP has lost most of its biological activity the molecule keeps all its immunological properties, behaving in the same way as non-iodinated synthetic LVP towards anti-LVP antibodies. Once specific antivasopressin antibodies and immunologically competent labelled hormone were available, conditions were defined for the radioimmunological ADH test in the urine. This technique, relatively easy to use, allows twenty samples to be measured simultaneously. With this sensitive, specific and reproducible method, it is thus possible to estimate the urinary ADH excretion rates from a 20 ml volume of urine after previous extraction on amberlite CG 50. This extraction method is aimed at both concentrating the hormone and eliminating non-specific interferences. The hormone extraction yield is about 92%+-8 [fr

Optimization of automation: I. Estimation method of cognitive automation rates reflecting the effects of automation on human operators in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Seung Min; Kim, Jong Hyun; Seong, Poong Hyun

2014-01-01

Highlights: • We propose an estimation method of the automation rate by taking the advantages of automation as the estimation measures. • We conduct the experiments to examine the validity of the suggested method. • The higher the cognitive automation rate is, the greater the decreased rate of the working time will be. • The usefulness of the suggested estimation method is proved by statistical analyses. - Abstract: Since automation was introduced in various industrial fields, the concept of the automation rate has been used to indicate the inclusion proportion of automation among all work processes or facilities. Expressions of the inclusion proportion of automation are predictable, as is the ability to express the degree of the enhancement of human performance. However, many researchers have found that a high automation rate does not guarantee high performance. Therefore, to reflect the effects of automation on human performance, this paper proposes a new estimation method of the automation rate that considers the effects of automation on human operators in nuclear power plants (NPPs). Automation in NPPs can be divided into two types: system automation and cognitive automation. Some general descriptions and characteristics of each type of automation are provided, and the advantages of automation are investigated. The advantages of each type of automation are used as measures of the estimation method of the automation rate. One advantage was found to be a reduction in the number of tasks, and another was a reduction in human cognitive task loads. The system and the cognitive automation rate were proposed as quantitative measures by taking advantage of the aforementioned benefits. To quantify the required human cognitive task loads and thus suggest the cognitive automation rate, Conant’s information-theory-based model was applied. The validity of the suggested method, especially as regards the cognitive automation rate, was proven by conducting

Lactic acid fermentation of human urine to improve its fertilizing value and reduce odour emissions.

Science.gov (United States)

Andreev, N; Ronteltap, M; Boincean, B; Wernli, M; Zubcov, E; Bagrin, N; Borodin, N; Lens, P N L

2017-08-01

During storage of urine, urea is biologically decomposed to ammonia, which can be lost through volatilization and in turn causes significant unpleasant smell. In response, lactic acid fermentation of urine is a cost-effective technique to decrease nitrogen volatilization and reduce odour emissions. Fresh urine (pH = 5.2-5.3 and NH 4 + -N = 1.2-1.3 g L -1 ) was lacto-fermented for 36 days in closed glass jars with a lactic acid bacterial inoculum from sauerkraut juice and compared to untreated, stored urine. In the lacto-fermented urine, the pH was reduced to 3.8-4.7 and the ammonium content by 22-30%, while the pH of the untreated urine rose to 6.1 and its ammonium content increased by 32% due to urea hydrolysis. The concentration of lactic acid bacteria in lacto-fermented urine was 7.3 CFU ml -1 , suggesting that urine is a suitable growth medium for lactic acid bacteria. The odour of the stored urine was subjectively perceived by four people to be twice as strong as that of lacto-fermented samples. Lacto-fermented urine induced increased radish germination compared to stored urine (74-86% versus 2-31%). Adding a lactic acid bacterial inoculum to one week old urine in the storage tanks in a urine-diverting dry toilet reduced the pH from 8.9 to 7.7 after one month, while the ammonium content increased by 35%, probably due to the high initial pH of the urine. Given that the hydrolyzed stale urine has a high buffering capacity, the lactic acid bacterial inoculum should be added to the urine storage tank of a UDDT before urine starts to accumulate there to increase the efficiency of the lactic acid fermentation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Utilization of Urine Processing for the Advancement of Life Support Technologies

Science.gov (United States)

Grossi-Soyster, Elysse; Hogan, John; Flynn, Michael

2014-01-01

The success of long-duration missions will depend on resource recovery and the self-sustainability of life support technologies. Current technologies used on the International Space Station (ISS) utilize chemical and mechanical processes, such as filtration, to recover potable water from urine produced by crewmembers. Such technologies have significantly reduced the need for water resupply through closed-loop resource recovery and recycling. Harvesting the important components of urine requires selectivity, whether through the use of membranes or other physical barriers, or by chemical or biological processes. Given the chemical composition of urine, the downstream benefits of urine processing for resource recovery will be critical for many aspects of life support, such as food production and the synthesis of biofuels. This paper discusses the beneficial components of urine and their potential applications, and the challenges associated with using urine for nutrient recycling for space application.

Measurement of menadione in urine by HPLC.

Science.gov (United States)

Al Rajabi, Ala; Peterson, James; Choi, Sang-Woon; Suttie, John; Barakat, Susan; Booth, Sarah L

2010-09-15

Menadione is a metabolite of vitamin K that is excreted in urine. A high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method using a C(30) column, post-column zinc reduction and fluorescence detection was developed to measure urinary menadione. The mobile phase was composed of 95% methanol with 0.55% aqueous solution and 5% DI H(2)O. Menaquinone-2 (MK-2) was used as an internal standard. The standard calibration curve was linear with a correlation coefficient (R(2)) of 0.999 for both menadione and MK-2. The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) was 0.3pmole menadione/mL urine. Sample preparation involved hydrolysis of menadiol conjugates and oxidizing the released menadiol to menadione. Using this method, urinary menadione was shown to increase in response to 3 years of phylloquinone supplementation. This HPLC method is a sensitive and reproducible way to detect menadione in urine. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Psychopathology and urine toxicology in methadone patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gamal Sadek

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Several studies reported high rates of psychiatric commorbidity among methadone patients. We examined the relationships of measures of psychopathology to outcomes of screening urine tests for cocaine, opiates, and benzodiazepines in a sample of 56 methadone patients. They also completed the Symptom Check List-90-Revised (SCL-90-R. The highest scales in the SCL-90-R profile of our patients were those indicating somatic discomfort, anger, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation, and also obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms (scores above the 39th percentile. The only significant correlations between urine tests and SCL-90-R psychopathology were those involving benzodiazepines: patients with urine tests positive for benzodiazepines had lower social self-confidence (r=0.48, were more obsessive-compulsive (r=0.44, reported a higher level of anger (r=0.41, of phobic tendencies (r=40, of anxiety (r=0.39, and of paranoid tendencies (r=0.38, and also reported more frequent psychotic symptoms (r=0.43.

Radioimmunological detection of vasopressin in urine extracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buengner, R.

1983-01-01

After initial measures had been taken to ensure that ion exchange chromatography would yield a sufficiently high recovery of labelled and non-labelled hormone as well as to eliminate all intervening factors it was possible to use the described extraction procedure in connection with the RIA introduced by Freisenhausen et al. At the clinical level, the technique was employed to assess the post-operative release of AVP (argenine vasopressin) in 24-hour urine samples obtained from patients subjected to hypophysectomy. In a total of 10 patients, where hypophysectomy had been performed for different clinical reasons, the AVP values were seen to be significantly decreased for the first three hours after surgical intervention. They recovered slightly during the following three hours to remain at an average level of 2 pg / 400 μl urine. The extraction procedure described can be used to determine levels of AVP approaching the limit of detection - either due to large volumes of urine or very low concentrations of AVP. (orig./MG) [de

Positive urine cultures: A major cause of inappropriate antimicrobial use in hospitals?

Science.gov (United States)

Silver, Samuel A; Baillie, Laura; Simor, Andrew E

2009-01-01

Urine specimens are among the most common samples submitted for culture to microbiology laboratories. The objectives of the present study were to describe the indications for obtaining urine cultures in a cohort of hospitalized patients, and to determine the appropriateness of antimicrobial therapy in response to urine culture results. The study was performed at a teaching hospital with an adjoining long-term care facility from June 1 to July 31, 2006. The medical records of nonpregnant adult patients with and without bacteriuria were reviewed. A symptomatic urinary tract infection was defined as the presence of bacteriuria in a patient with fever or urinary symptoms; asymptomatic bacteriuria was defined as bacteriuria without urinary symptoms and no infection evident at another site. Medical records of 335 eligible patients (64% male; mean age 68 years) were reviewed, including all 137 with bacteriuria, and 198 with negative urine cultures. In total, 51% of the urine specimens were obtained from an indwelling urinary catheter, and 28% were voided urine samples. Confusion (57%) and fever (36%) were the most common indications noted for obtaining the urine cultures. Only 34 patients (25% of those with positive urine cultures) met the criteria for a symptomatic urinary tract infection; 67 (49%) had asymptomatic bacteriuria and 36 (26%) had infection at a nonurinary site. Of those with asymptomatic bacteriuria, 64% received antimicrobial therapy for a total of 347 days. Confused patients with asymptomatic bacteriuria were more likely to be treated than were bacteriuric patients without altered mental status (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.2 to 4.1; P=0.03). Urine cultures are frequently obtained from hospitalizedpatients,evenintheabsenceofurinarysymptoms.Asymptomatic bacteriuria is often treated in these patients, and accounts for a substantial burden of inappropriate antimicrobial use in hospitals. Effective strategies to improve urine culture ordering and antimicrobial

Study about excretion of 210 Po in urine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fonseca Azeredo, A.M.G. da.

1988-01-01

The urine of mines's workers are analysed to detect the presence of 210 Po. The results was compared with the workers and with a control population. Cigarettes samples was analysed two and confirmed the 210 presence. The control population individuals were divided in smokers and non smokers and them urine was investigated the influence of the smoke in the 210 Po excretion. (L.M.J.)

Antibiotics susceptibility patterns of urine bacterial isolates in Zaria ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Purpose: The prevalence of E. coli, Ps. aeruginosa and Staph aureus isolates from urine of selected residents in Zaria was investigated. This was an attempt to elucidate the antibiotic susceptibility profiles of these bacteria commonly implicated in urinary tact infection. Methods: Urine samples collected from students of ...

Lateral spread affects nitrogen leaching from urine patches.

Science.gov (United States)

Cichota, Rogerio; Vogeler, Iris; Snow, Val; Shepherd, Mark; McAuliffe, Russell; Welten, Brendon

2018-09-01

Nitrate leaching from urine deposited by grazing animals is a critical constraint for sustainable dairy farming in New Zealand. While considerable progress has been made to understand the fate of nitrogen (N) under urine patches, little consideration has been given to the spread of urinary N beyond the wetted area. In this study, we modelled the lateral spread of nitrogen from the wetted area of a urine patch to the soil outside the patch using a combination of two process-based models (HYDRUS and APSIM). The simulations provided insights on the extent and temporal pattern for the redistribution of N in the soil following a urine deposition and enabled investigating the effect of lateral spread of urinary N on plant growth and N leaching. The APSIM simulation, using an implementation of a dispersion-diffusion function, was tested against experimental data from a field experiment conducted in spring on a well-drained soil. Depending on the geometry considered for the dispersion-diffusion function (plate or cylindrical) the area-averaged N leaching decreased by 8 and 37% compared with simulations without lateral N spread; this was due to additional N uptake from pasture on the edge area. A sensitivity analysis showed that area-averaged pasture growth was not greatly affected by the value of the dispersion factor used in the model, whereas N leaching was very sensitive. Thus, the need to account for the edge effect may depend on the objective of the simulations. The modelling results also showed that considering lateral spread of urinary N was sufficient to describe the experimental data, but plant root uptake across urine patch zones may still be relevant in other conditions. Although further work is needed for improving accuracy, the simulated and experimental results demonstrate that accounting for the edge effect is important for determining N leaching from urine-affected areas. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Analysis of trace uranium in human urine by using the fission track method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Huailu; Yang Huazhang; Zhao Dongzhi; Wang Kaixue

1988-01-01

In order to know the contents of uranium in human urine, urine samples from 10 healthy persons with different ages and sexes in Lanzhou area were analysed with the fisson track method. The results, in contrast with the contents of uranium in Yellow River water (in Lanzhou section), tap-water and rainwater, indicated that the content of uranium in human urine was lower than that in tap-water. From the ratio of uranium in human urine to that in tap-water, the maximum excreted rate of uranium from urine is evaluated to be 42.2%

[Foam in urine: from Hippocrates to the Medical School of Salerno].

Science.gov (United States)

Iorio, Luigi; Lamagna, Mario

2014-01-01

The formation of persistent little bubbles in urine, similar to those of beer, was noticed since ancient times by the first scholars of uroscopy. The diagnostic interest, rare and uncertain in Hippocrates, has increased over time. The Hippocratic school limited itself to observe the sign without interpreting the pathophysiology and they did not compare it with other clinical signs. Hippocratic texts only expressed an opinion on the severity and prognosis of the pathology which had produced it. Galen does not differ much from the Hippocratic school, however he tries to interpret the cause of the formation of bubbles in urine. Certainly, because of being unfamiliar to the laws of fluids and to the surperficial tension of liquids, he believes that the air contained in the bubbles of the foam in the urine comes from inside the organism. However, he realizes that the foam in urine is formed only when the urine is denser (more viscous).The Byzantine uroscopy, with Theophilus Protospatharius and Stephen of Athens considers the presence of foam quite important. In fact, they state that the bubbles appear in the urine when there is a severe failure of the organism. It is a sign of the attempt of the body to eliminate the bad humours produced in the different zones where digestion takes place. Several authors from the School of Salerno express different opinions on the production of foam in urine. Cofone affirms it derives from the putrefied blood in dense urine and he also uses this sign for diagnostic and prognostic results. Mattheus Archiepiscopus confirms Galens belief that the foam derives from wind bubbles produced in the stomach. The "De Urinis" of Maestro Mauro is strongly influenced by the writings of Constantine the African, who reports the experience of Isaac. The "humani corporis regiones" and the "regiones urine" are described and therefore Mauro tries to localize in which region of the body the bad humours were produced. In particular, the chapter on "De

Doping control container for urine stabilization: a pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsivou, Maria; Giannadaki, Evangelia; Hooghe, Fiona; Roels, Kris; Van Gansbeke, Wim; Garribba, Flaminia; Lyris, Emmanouil; Deventer, Koen; Mazzarino, Monica; Donati, Francesco; Georgakopoulos, Dimitrios G; Van Eenoo, Peter; Georgakopoulos, Costas G; de la Torre, Xavier; Botrè, Francesco

2017-05-01

Urine collection containers used in the doping control collection procedure do not provide a protective environment for urine, against degradation by microorganisms and proteolytic enzymes. An in-house chemical stabilization mixture was developed to tackle urine degradation problems encountered in human sport samples, in cases of microbial contamination or proteolytic activity. The mixture consists of antimicrobial substances and protease inhibitors for the simultaneous inactivation of a wide range of proteolytic enzymes. It has already been tested in lab-scale, as part of World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) funded research project, in terms of efficiency against microbial and proteolytic activity. The present work, funded also by WADA, is a follow-up study on the improvement of chemical stabilization mixture composition, application mode and limitation of interferences, using pilot urine collection containers, spray-coated in their internal surface with the chemical stabilization mixture. Urine in plastic stabilized collection containers have been gone through various incubation cycles to test for stabilization efficiency and analytical matrix interferences by three WADA accredited Laboratories (Athens, Ghent, and Rome). The spray-coated chemical stabilization mixture was tested against microorganism elimination and steroid glucuronide degradation, as well as enzymatic breakdown of proteins, such as intact hCG, recombinant erythropoietin and small peptides (GHRPs, ipamorelin), induced by proteolytic enzymes. Potential analytical interferences, observed in the presence of spray-coated chemical stabilization mixture, were recorded using routine screening procedures. The results of the current study support the application of the spray-coated plastic urine container, in the doping control collection procedure. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Urine Culture Testing in Community Nursing Homes: Gateway to Antibiotic Overprescribing.

Science.gov (United States)

Sloane, Philip D; Kistler, Christine E; Reed, David; Weber, David J; Ward, Kimberly; Zimmerman, Sheryl

2017-05-01

OBJECTIVE To describe current practice around urine testing and identify factors leading to overtreatment of asymptomatic bacteriuria in community nursing homes (NHs) DESIGN Observational study of a stratified random sample of NH patients who had urine cultures ordered in NHs within a 1-month study period SETTING 31 NHs in North Carolina PARTICIPANTS 254 NH residents who had a urine culture ordered within the 1-month study period METHODS We conducted an NH record audit of clinical and laboratory information during the 2 days before and 7 days after a urine culture was ordered. We compared these results with the urine antibiogram from the 31 NHs. RESULTS Empirical treatment was started in 30% of cases. When cultures were reported, previously untreated cases received antibiotics 89% of the time for colony counts of ≥100,000 CFU/mL and in 35% of cases with colony counts of 10,000-99,000 CFU/mL. Due to the high rate of prescribing when culture results returned, 74% of these patients ultimately received a full course of antibiotics. Treated and untreated patients did not significantly differ in temperature, frequency of urinary signs and symptoms, or presence of Loeb criteria for antibiotic initiation. Factors most commonly associated with urine culture ordering were acute mental status changes (32%); change in the urine color, odor, or sediment (17%); and dysuria (15%). CONCLUSIONS Urine cultures play a significant role in antibiotic overprescribing. Antibiotic stewardship efforts in NHs should include reduction in culture ordering for factors not associated with infection-related morbidity as well as more scrutiny of patient condition when results become available. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2017;38:524-531.

[Microbiota of urine and vagina of healthy postmenopausal women (a pilot study)].

Science.gov (United States)

Naboka, Yu L; Rymashevsky, A N; Kogan, M I; Gudima, I A; Borovleva, O A; Jalagonia, K T; Zarutskiy, S A

2016-02-01

Studying microbiota of different urogenital tract habitats in healthy postmenopausal women is of practical importance in deciding on the appropriateness of correction of dysbiotic disorders. The aim of this study was to examine the vaginal and urine microbiota of healthy postmenopausal women. The study included 20 healthy postmenopausal women (mean age 59,0+/-2,1 years). Duration of menopause in all subjects was more than 8 years. Bacteriological testing of urine and vaginal specimen was carried out on the extended media (15) for cultivating facultative anaerobic bacteria (FAB) and nonclostridial anaerobic bacteria (NAB) and included PCR of midstream morning urine. Among FAB in the urine and vagina dominated coagulase-negative staphylococci and NAB. Bacterial patterns of studied habitats turned out to be similar in many respects. In the urine Megasphaera spp., Veillonella spp., Prevotella spp., Mobiluncus spp., Fusobacterium spp. were found, whereas in the vagina these microorganisms were not present. Cluster analysis revealed no significant differences in the concentration of the same microorganisms isolated from the urine and vagina. When comparing the frequency of microorganism detection in urine by bacteriological method and by PCR, bacterial patterns were identical in 56% of cases.

2D-electrophoresis and the urine proteome map: where do we stand?

Science.gov (United States)

Candiano, Giovanni; Santucci, Laura; Petretto, Andrea; Bruschi, Maurizio; Dimuccio, Veronica; Urbani, Andrea; Bagnasco, Serena; Ghiggeri, Gian Marco

2010-03-10

The discovery of urinary biomarkers is a main topic in clinical medicine. The development of proteomics has rapidly changed the knowledge on urine protein composition and probably will modify it again. Two-dimensional electrophoresis (2D-PAGE) coupled with mass spectrometry has represented for years the technique of choice for the analysis of urine proteins and it is time to draw some conclusions. This review will focus on major methodological aspects related to urine sample collection, storage and analysis by 2D-PAGE and attempt to define an advanced normal urine protein map. Overall, 1118 spots were reproducibly found in normal urine samples but only 275 were characterized as isoforms of 82 proteins. One-hundred height spots belonging to 30 proteins were also detected in plasma and corresponded to typical plasma components. The identity of most of the proteins found in normal urine by 2D-PAGE remains to be determined, the majority being low-molecular weight proteins (urine composition. Technology advancements in concentrating procedure will improve sensitivity and give the possibility to purify proteins for mass spectrometry. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

False-Positive TDxFLx urine Amphetamine/Metamphetamine II assay from Ofloxacin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nomier, Mahmoud A.; Al-Huseini, Hani K.

2004-01-01

Immunoassays are widely used in testing urine for illicit drugs. Ofloaxcin and a number of other quinolones were found to induce false-positive opiates (OP) urine immunoassays. This can result in misleading conclusions in the concept of drug abuse The aim of present study was to evaluate the effects of ofloxacin in theraputic doses on the induction of false-positive urine immunoassays for common drugs of abuse in healthy male volunteers. The study was conducted on 6 healthy male volunteers, aging between 35-45 years. Two doses of 400 mg ofloxacin each, were given orally to each volunteer at 12 hours interval and urine samples were collected before ofloaxcin administration and 5-7.5 hours after the second dose. Urine samples were subjected for OP, amphetamine/methamphetamine II (AM/MA II), cocaine and cannabinoids assays on TDxFLx analyzer. Ofloxacin produced significant increase (P cutoff) for AM/MA II assays, were found in all volunteers after ofloaxcin administration. The study recomends strongly the confirmation of positive urine immunoassay results for drugs of abuseby a more specific methodology e.g. gas chromatography/ mass spectroscopy (GC/MS). (author)

A Standardized and Reproducible Urine Preparation Protocol for Cancer Biomarkers Discovery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julia Beretov

2014-01-01

Full Text Available A suitable and standardized protein purification technique is essential to maintain consistency and to allow data comparison between proteomic studies for urine biomarker discovery. Ultimately, efforts should be made to standardize urine preparation protocols. The aim of this study was to develop an optimal analytical protocol to achieve maximal protein yield and to ensure that this method was applicable to examine urine protein patterns that distinguish disease and disease-free states. In this pilot study, we compared seven different urine sample preparation methods to remove salts, and to precipitate and isolate urinary proteins. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE profiles showed that the sequential preparation of urinary proteins by combining acetone and trichloroacetic acid (TCA alongside high speed centrifugation (HSC provided the best separation, and retained the most urinary proteins. Therefore, this approach is the preferred method for all further urine protein analysis.

Urine Proteomics in the Era of Mass Spectrometry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ashley Beasley-Green

2016-11-01

Full Text Available With the technological advances of mass spectrometry (MS-based platforms, clinical proteomics is one of the most rapidly growing areas in biomedical research. Urine proteomics has become a popular subdiscipline of clinical proteomics because it is an ideal source for the discovery of noninvasive disease biomarkers. The urine proteome offers a comprehensive view of the local and systemic physiology since the proteome is primarily composed of proteins/peptides from the kidneys and plasma. The emergence of MS-based proteomic platforms as prominent bioanalytical tools in clinical applications has enhanced the identification of protein-based urinary biomarkers. This review highlights the characteristics of urine that make it an attractive biofluid for biomarker discovery and the impact of MS-based technologies on the clinical assessment of urinary protein biomarkers.

Synthesis of molecular imprinting polymers for extraction of gallic acid from urine.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhawani, Showkat Ahmad; Sen, Tham Soon; Ibrahim, Mohammad Nasir Mohammad

2018-02-21

The molecularly imprinted polymers for gallic acid were synthesized by precipitation polymerization. During the process of synthesis a non-covalent approach was used for the interaction of template and monomer. In the polymerization process, gallic acid was used as a template, acrylic acid as a functional monomer, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as a cross-linker and 2,2'-azobisisobutyronitrile as an initiator and acetonitrile as a solvent. The synthesized imprinted and non-imprinted polymer particles were characterized by using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The rebinding efficiency of synthesized polymer particles was evaluated by batch binding assay. The highly selective imprinted polymer for gallic acid was MIPI1 with a composition (molar ratio) of 1:4:20, template: monomer: cross-linker, respectively. The MIPI1 showed highest binding efficiency (79.50%) as compared to other imprinted and non-imprinted polymers. The highly selective imprinted polymers have successfully extracted about 80% of gallic acid from spiked urine sample.

24-hour urine protein

Science.gov (United States)

... your provider may be able to order a test that is done on just one urine sample (protein-to-creatinine ratio). Normal Results The normal ... Some labs use different measurements or test different samples. Talk to your provider about the meaning of your specific test ... Abnormal results may be due to: A group ...

Regulated bioanalysis of conformers - A case study with ASP2151 in dog plasma and urine.

Science.gov (United States)

Ohtsu, Yoshiaki; Otsuka, Shohei; Nakamura, Takeshi; Noguchi, Kiyoshi

2015-08-01

We developed and validated bioanalytical methods for a potent helicase-primase inhibitor ASP2151 that has two conformers. These conformers elute as unseparated broad peaks under ordinary high-performance liquid chromatographic conditions, indicating discernable differences in hydrophobicity. We observed that column temperature and mobile phase pH have no effect on these peaks and that conformers form a single symmetrical peak when tetrahydrofuran is added to the mobile phase. In addition, we needed to develop semi-automated methods where inter-conversion of the conformers is unlikely to cause sample-to-sample extraction variability. Briefly, following the addition of deuterium-labeled ASP2151 as an internal standard (IS), dog plasma samples or acetonitrile-added urine samples were filtrated. The filtrates were then injected into a column-switching liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) system and trapped onto an extraction column. Extracts were back-flushed onto an analytical C18 column (4.6×50mm, 3μm) with a mobile phase consisting of methanol, tetrahydrofuran, and 20mmol/L ammonium acetate (45:5:50, v/v/v). The eluent was monitored in the negative atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mode. The calibration curve was linear over a range of 5-1000ng/mL for plasma and 0.5-100μg/mL for urine. Validation data met the acceptance criteria in accordance with regulatory guidance and demonstrated that these methods were selective, accurate, and reproducible. In addition, the present methods were successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study in dogs. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Process automation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moser, D.R.

1986-01-01

Process automation technology has been pursued in the chemical processing industries and to a very limited extent in nuclear fuel reprocessing. Its effective use has been restricted in the past by the lack of diverse and reliable process instrumentation and the unavailability of sophisticated software designed for process control. The Integrated Equipment Test (IET) facility was developed by the Consolidated Fuel Reprocessing Program (CFRP) in part to demonstrate new concepts for control of advanced nuclear fuel reprocessing plants. A demonstration of fuel reprocessing equipment automation using advanced instrumentation and a modern, microprocessor-based control system is nearing completion in the facility. This facility provides for the synergistic testing of all chemical process features of a prototypical fuel reprocessing plant that can be attained with unirradiated uranium-bearing feed materials. The unique equipment and mission of the IET facility make it an ideal test bed for automation studies. This effort will provide for the demonstration of the plant automation concept and for the development of techniques for similar applications in a full-scale plant. A set of preliminary recommendations for implementing process automation has been compiled. Some of these concepts are not generally recognized or accepted. The automation work now under way in the IET facility should be useful to others in helping avoid costly mistakes because of the underutilization or misapplication of process automation. 6 figs

Urine Test Strips to Exclude Cerebral Spinal Fluid Blood

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marshall, Robin A

2011-02-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Determining the presence or absence of red blood cells (RBC or their breakdown products in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF is essential for the evaluation of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH in headache patients. Current methodology for finding blood in the CSF is either spectrophotometric detection of pigment, which is time consuming and labor intensive, or visual assesment of samples for color change (xanthochromia, which is inaccurate. Bayer Multistix® urine test strips are designed to test urine for RBC by detecting the presence of hemoglobin. The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the perfomance of urine reagent test strips for ruling out the presence of RBC in CSF.Methods: We compared color changes on Multistix® urine test strips to the standard of spectrophotometric absorbtion at 415nm and initial RBC counts in 138 visually clear CSF samples.Results: We performed Pearson Chi-Square and likelihood ratios on the results and found a correlation between a negative result on the urine test strip and less than 5 RBC per high power field and a spectrophotometric absorbance of less than 0.02% at 415nm in a CSF sample.Conclusion: These results warrant further investigation in the form of a prospective clinical validation as it may alter the emergency department evaluation for SAH. [West J Emerg Med. 2011;12(1:63-66.

Optimization of HPV DNA detection in urine by improving collection, storage, and extraction.

Science.gov (United States)

Vorsters, A; Van den Bergh, J; Micalessi, I; Biesmans, S; Bogers, J; Hens, A; De Coster, I; Ieven, M; Van Damme, P

2014-11-01

The benefits of using urine for the detection of human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA have been evaluated in disease surveillance, epidemiological studies, and screening for cervical cancers in specific subgroups. HPV DNA testing in urine is being considered for important purposes, notably the monitoring of HPV vaccination in adolescent girls and young women who do not wish to have a vaginal examination. The need to optimize and standardize sampling, storage, and processing has been reported.In this paper, we examined the impact of a DNA-conservation buffer, the extraction method, and urine sampling on the detection of HPV DNA and human DNA in urine provided by 44 women with a cytologically normal but HPV DNA-positive cervical sample. Ten women provided first-void and midstream urine samples. DNA analysis was performed using real-time PCR to allow quantification of HPV and human DNA.The results showed that an optimized method for HPV DNA detection in urine should (a) prevent DNA degradation during extraction and storage, (b) recover cell-free HPV DNA in addition to cell-associated DNA, (c) process a sufficient volume of urine, and (d) use a first-void sample.In addition, we found that detectable human DNA in urine may not be a good internal control for sample validity. HPV prevalence data that are based on urine samples collected, stored, and/or processed under suboptimal conditions may underestimate infection rates.

Mechanisms of urine concentration and dilution (1961); Les mecanismes de concentration et de dilution de l'urine (1961)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Morel, F; Guinnebault, M [Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique, Saclay (France). Centre d' Etudes Nucleaires

1961-07-01

This paper is devoted to the analysis of a problem in the field of renal physiology which has shown many new developments during the course of the last few years. The following are treated successively: a) the data obtained from measurements of free water clearance and their interpretation; b) the data provided by nephron morphology and the comparative anatomy of the kidney ; c) the data relative to the existence of an intrarenal osmotic gradient; d) the principle of concentration multiplication by a counter current technique; e) the present day theory of counter current concentration of urine, and f) the physiological check on dilution and concentration mechanisms in urine. Lastly, the advantages of the modern theory and the unknown factors which remain are discussed. (authors) [French] Cette revue de question est consacree l'analyse d'un probleme de physiologie renale qui, au cours des dernieres annees, a subi un developpement et un renouveau remarquables. Sont successivement exposes: a) les donnees fournies par les mesures de clearance de l'eau libre et leur interpretation; b) les donnees fournies par la morphologie des nephrons et l'anatomie comparee du rein; c) les donnees concernant l'existence d'un gradient osmotique intrarenal; d) le principe de multiplication de concentration par contrecourant; e) la theorie actuelle de concentration de l'urine par contre-courant, et f) le controle physiologique des mecanismes de dilution et de concentration de l'urine. Les avantages de la theorie moderne et les obscurites qui subsistent sont enfin discutes. (auteurs)

Fluorescence microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanderson, Michael J; Smith, Ian; Parker, Ian; Bootman, Martin D

2014-10-01

Fluorescence microscopy is a major tool with which to monitor cell physiology. Although the concepts of fluorescence and its optical separation using filters remain similar, microscope design varies with the aim of increasing image contrast and spatial resolution. The basics of wide-field microscopy are outlined to emphasize the selection, advantages, and correct use of laser scanning confocal microscopy, two-photon microscopy, scanning disk confocal microscopy, total internal reflection, and super-resolution microscopy. In addition, the principles of how these microscopes form images are reviewed to appreciate their capabilities, limitations, and constraints for operation. © 2014 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.

Urine Galactomannan-to-Creatinine Ratio for Detection of Invasive Aspergillosis in Patients with Hematological Malignancies

OpenAIRE

Reischies, Frederike M. J.; Raggam, Reinhard B.; Prattes, Juergen; Krause, Robert; Eigl, Susanne; List, Agnes; Quehenberger, Franz; Strenger, Volker; Wölfler, Albert; Hoenigl, Martin

2016-01-01

Galactomannan (GM) testing of urine specimens may provide important advantages, compared to serum testing, such as easy noninvasive sample collection. We evaluated a total of 632 serial urine samples from 71 patients with underlying hematological malignancies and found that the urine GM/creatinine ratio, i.e., (urine GM level × 100)/urine creatinine level, which takes urine dilution into account, reliably detected invasive aspergillosis and may be a promising diagnostic tool for patients with...

A simple viability analysis for unicellular cyanobacteria using a new autofluorescence assay, automated microscopy, and ImageJ

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Schulze Katja

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Currently established methods to identify viable and non-viable cells of cyanobacteria are either time-consuming (eg. plating or preparation-intensive (eg. fluorescent staining. In this paper we present a new and fast viability assay for unicellular cyanobacteria, which uses red chlorophyll fluorescence and an unspecific green autofluorescence for the differentiation of viable and non-viable cells without the need of sample preparation. Results The viability assay for unicellular cyanobacteria using red and green autofluorescence was established and validated for the model organism Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. Both autofluorescence signals could be observed simultaneously allowing a direct classification of viable and non-viable cells. The results were confirmed by plating/colony count, absorption spectra and chlorophyll measurements. The use of an automated fluorescence microscope and a novel ImageJ based image analysis plugin allow a semi-automated analysis. Conclusions The new method simplifies the process of viability analysis and allows a quick and accurate analysis. Furthermore results indicate that a combination of the new assay with absorption spectra or chlorophyll concentration measurements allows the estimation of the vitality of cells.

Urine and serum fetuin-A levels in patients with urolithiasis.

Science.gov (United States)

Arora, Rajat; Abrol, Nitin; Antonisamy, B; Vanitha, S; Chandrasingh, J; Kumar, Santosh; Kekre, Nitin; Devasia, Antony

2017-01-01

Fetuin-A is a glycoprotein secreted by liver and has been shown to inhibit extraosseous mineralization. Urolithiasis may be a manifestation in the urinary tract due to fetuin deficiency in urine. The objective of this study was to compare the 24-h urine and serum fetuin-A levels of patients with and without urolithiasis. Serum and 24-h urine fetuin-A levels were measured in 41 patients with bilateral, multiple, or recurrent urinary tract calculi (Group A) and 41 matched controls with no calculi (Group B). Fetuin levels were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. Serum and urine fetuin-A levels in the two groups were compared. The median (range) 24-h urine fetuin-A value in Group A was 11.9 (1.12-221) mg/day and in Group B was 37.7 (1.28-125) mg/day. This difference was statistically significant (Mann-Whitney test, P = 0.0169). The median (range) serum fetuin-A in Group A was 0.67 (0.05-2.68) g/L and in Group B was 0.99 (0.01-5.5) g/L. The difference between serum values in the two arms was not statistically significant (Mann-Whitney test, P = 0.1817). However, the serum creatinine-adjusted mean log serum fetuin and urine fetuin were significantly different in the two arms ( P = 0.003). The mean ± standard deviation (range) serum creatinine in Group A was 0.98 ± 0.25 (0.56-1.58) mg% and in Group B was 0.83 ± 0.16 (0.58-1.18) mg% (two sample t -test, P = 0.0031). Patients with urolithiasis have lower urine fetuin-A and creatinine-adjusted serum fetuin-A levels.

Urine chemokines indicate pathogenic association of obesity with BPH/LUTS.

Science.gov (United States)

Tyagi, Pradeep; Motley, Saundra S; Kashyap, Mahendra; Pore, Subrata; Gingrich, Jeffrey; Wang, Zhou; Yoshimura, Naoki; Fowke, Jay H

2015-07-01

High prevalence of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) consistent with benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) is associated with obesity and prostatic inflammation. Here, we investigated whether chemokines associated with obesity and prostatic inflammation can be measured in normally voided urine of BPH/LUTS patients to demonstrate the mechanistic association between obesity and BPH/LUTS. Frozen urine specimens of BPH/LUTS patients enrolled in the Nashville Men's Health Study were sent for blinded analysis to University of Pittsburgh. Thirty patients were blocked by their AUA-SI (>7 or ≤7) and prostatic enlargement (60 cc). Clinical parameters including age, prostate size, and medications were derived from chart review. CXC chemokines (CXCL-1, CXCL-8, and CXCL-10), CC chemokines (CCL2 and CCL3), and sIL-1ra were measured in thawed urine using Luminex™ xMAP(®) technology and ELISA for NGF. Urinary CCL2 levels were several fold higher compared with the other six proteins, of which CCL3 was detectable in less than one-fourth of patients. Urine levels of sIL-1ra and CXCL-8 were significantly associated with increasing BMI and waist circumference in BPH patients. CXCL-8 showed a marginal association with overall AUA-SI scores, as well as obstructive (p = 0.08) symptom subscores. Prostate volume was inversely and marginally associated with urinary CXCL-10 (p = 0.09). Urine levels of CXCL-8, CXCL-10, and sIL-1ra were associated with varying degrees with LUTS severity, prostate size, and obesity, respectively. These findings in urine are consistent with past studies of chemokine levels from expressed prostatic secretions and demonstrate the potential of noninvasively measured chemokine in urine to objectively classify BPH/LUTS patients.

Sequential analysis of selected actinides in urine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kramer, G.H.

1980-07-01

The monitoring of personnel by urinalysis for suspected contamination by actinides necessitated the development and implementation of an analytical scheme that will separate and identify alpha emitting radionuclides of these elements. The present work deals with Pu, Am, and Th. These elements are separated from an ashed urine sample by means of coprecipitation and ion exchange techniques. The final analysis is carried out by electroplating the actinides and counting in a α-spectrometer. Mean recoveries of these elements from urine are: Pu 64%, Am 74% and Th 69%. (auth)

Technologies for the treatment of source-separated urine in the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Technologies for the treatment of source-separated urine in the eThekwini ... This practice can lead to environmental pollution, since urine contains high amounts of ... produces only distilled water and a small amount of sludge as by-products.

The Recovery of Water and Nitrogen from Urine in BLSS

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Beizhen; Liu, Hong; Deng, Shengda

The recycle and reuse of the wastewater is one of the main factors for realizing a higher closure degree of bioregenerative life support system (BLSS), and the treatment and recovery of the crew’s urine are the most difficult and critical issues. Urine contains a lot of water and high concentrations of urea and salts. Water can be used for the irrigation of the plants in BLSS, and the nitrogen is also the necessary nutrient for plant growth. Therefore, if the nitrogen could be recycled simultaneously while desalting the urine, the substance circulation and the closure of BLSS could be improved significantly. In this study, two-step method was conducted to treat the urine and recycle the water and nitrogen. The urea was hydrolyzed firstly, and then the water vapor and ammonia gas were cooled and collected by using reduced pressure distillation in alkaline condition. High temperature acidification and urease processing methods were studied during the urea hydrolysis step. The treatment conditions of both methods were optimized and the degrees of hydrolysis were compared. This investigation may provide a reference for the establishment of the urine recycle in BLSS.

Impact of pH on Urine Chemistry Assayed on Roche Analyzers.

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, R; Alkouri, R; Tostivint, I; Djiavoudine, S; Mestari, F; Dever, S; Atlan, G; Devilliers, C; Imbert-Bismut, F; Bonnefont-Rousselot, D; Monneret, D

2017-10-01

The pH may impact the concentration of certain urinary parameters, making urine pre-treatment questionable. 1) Determining the impact of pH in vitro on the urinary concentration of chemistry parameters assayed on Roche Modular analyzers. 2) Evaluating whether concentrations depended on pH in non-pretreated urines from patients. 1) The optimal urinary pH values for each measurement were: 6.3 ± 0.8 (amylase), 6.5 (uric acid). Urinary creatinine, sodium and urea concentrations were not pH-dependent. 2) In urines from patients, the pH was negatively associated with the concentration of some urinary parameters. However, concentrations of all the parameters were strongly and positively correlated with urinary creatinine, and relationships with pH were no longer evidenced after creatinine-normalization. The need for urine pH adjustment does not seem necessary when considering renal function. However, from an analytical and accreditation standpoint, the relationship between urine pH and several parameters justifies its measurement.