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Sample records for serum samples including

  1. Proteome profiling analysis of human ovarian cancer serum samples

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cognetti, F.; Citro, G.

    2009-01-01

    Mass Spectrometry represents a powerful tool in cancer research to discovery of potential bio markers through peak identification from serum profiling. By using high resolution MALDITOF and bioinformatic analysis almost 400 serum sample homogeneously distributed between biopsy confirmed ovarian cancer and high risk serum samples were analyzed. Each serum sample run in duplicate and whole serum sample preparation procedure has been performed by Hamilton Star Robot in order to reduce bias and the replicates with a low Pearson coefficient are removed. After automated reverse phase magnetic beads separation the samples were tested in MALDI-TOF

  2. Metabolite characterization in serum samples from normal healthy ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Metabolite characterization in serum samples from normal healthy human subjects by 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy. D Misra, U Bajpai. Abstract. One and two dimensional NMR spectroscopy has been employed to characterize the various metabolites of serum control healthy samples. Two dimensional heteronuclear ...

  3. METABOLITE CHARACTERIZATION IN SERUM SAMPLES FROM ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

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    fasting 10 mL of blood sample from each individual was taken and was allowed to clot in plastic tube for 2 h at room temperature. The serum was collected by centrifugation. The samples were stored under liquid nitrogen for NMR analysis. Before NMR analysis, 600 µL of the samples were taken in a 5 mm high quality NMR ...

  4. Serum Dried Samples to Detect Dengue Antibodies: A Field Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Angelica Maldonado-Rodríguez

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. Dried blood and serum samples are useful resources for detecting antiviral antibodies. The conditions for elution of the sample need to be optimized for each disease. Dengue is a widespread disease in Mexico which requires continuous surveillance. In this study, we standardized and validated a protocol for the specific detection of dengue antibodies from dried serum spots (DSSs. Methods. Paired serum and DSS samples from 66 suspected cases of dengue were collected in a clinic in Veracruz, Mexico. Samples were sent to our laboratory, where the conditions for optimal elution of DSSs were established. The presence of anti-dengue antibodies was determined in the paired samples. Results. DSS elution conditions were standardized as follows: 1 h at 4°C in 200 µl of DNase-, RNase-, and protease-free PBS (1x. The optimal volume of DSS eluate to be used in the IgG assay was 40 µl. Sensitivity of 94%, specificity of 93.3%, and kappa concordance of 0.87 were obtained when comparing the antidengue reactivity between DSSs and serum samples. Conclusion. DSS samples are useful for detecting anti-dengue IgG antibodies in the field.

  5. Comparison of miRNA quantitation by Nanostring in serum and plasma samples.

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    Catherine Foye

    Full Text Available Circulating microRNAs that are associated with specific diseases have garnered much attention for use in diagnostic assays. However, detection of disease-associated miRNA can be affected by several factors such as release of contaminating cellular miRNA during sample collection, variations due to amplification of transcript for detection, or controls used for normalization for accurate quantitation. We analyzed circulating miRNA in serum and plasma samples obtained concurrently from 28 patients, using a Nanostring quantitative assay platform. Total RNA concentration ranged from 32-125 μg/ml from serum and 30-220 μg/ml from plasma. Of 798 miRNAs, 371 miRNAs were not detected in either serum or plasma samples. 427 were detected in either serum or plasma but not both, whereas 151 miRNA were detected in both serum and plasma samples. The diversity of miRNA detected was greater in plasma than in serum samples. In serum samples, the number of detected miRNA ranged from 3 to 82 with a median of 17, whereas in plasma samples, the number of miRNA detected ranged from 25 to 221 with a median of 91. Several miRNA such as miR451a, miR 16-5p, miR-223-3p, and mir25-3p were highly abundant and differentially expressed between serum and plasma. The detection of endogenous and exogenous control miRNAs varied in serum and plasma, with higher levels observed in plasma. Gene expression stability identified candidate invariant microRNA that were highly stable across all samples, and could be used for normalization. In conclusion, there are significant differences in both the number of miRNA detected and the amount of miRNA detected between serum and plasma. Normalization using miRNA with constant expression is essential to minimize the impact of technical variations. Given the challenges involved, ideal candidates for blood based biomarkers would be those that are indifferent to type of body fluid, are detectable and can be reliably quantitated.

  6. Reproducibility of Serum Potassium Values in Serum From Blood Samples Stored for Increasing Times Prior to Centrifugation and Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harper, Aaron; Lu, Chuanyong; Sun, Yi; Garcia, Rafael; Rets, Anton; Alexis, Herol; Saad, Heba; Eid, Ikram; Harris, Loretta; Marshall, Barbara; Tafani, Edlira; Pincus, Matthew R

    2016-05-01

    The goal of this work was to determine if immediate versus postponed centrifugation of samples affects the levels of serum potassium. Twenty participants donated normal venous blood that was collected in four serum separator tubes per donor, each of which was analyzed at 0, 1, 2, or 4 hr on the Siemens Advia 1800 autoanalyzer. Coefficients of variation (CVs) for potassium levels ranged from 0% to 7.6% with a mean of 3 ± 2%. ANOVA testing of the means for all 20 samples showed a P-value of 0.72 (>0.05) indicating that there was no statistically significant difference between the means of the samples at the four time points. Sixteen samples were found to have CVs that were ≤5%. Two samples showed increases of potassium from the reference range to levels higher than the upper reference limit, one of which had a 4-hr value that was within the reference or normal range (3.5-5 mEq/l). Overall, most samples were found to have reproducible levels of serum potassium. Serum potassium levels from stored whole blood collected in serum separator tubes are, for the most part, stable at room temperature for at least 4 hr prior to analysis. However, some samples can exhibit significant fluctuations of values. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  7. Pre-analytical sample quality: metabolite ratios as an intrinsic marker for prolonged room temperature exposure of serum samples.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gabriele Anton

    Full Text Available Advances in the "omics" field bring about the need for a high number of good quality samples. Many omics studies take advantage of biobanked samples to meet this need. Most of the laboratory errors occur in the pre-analytical phase. Therefore evidence-based standard operating procedures for the pre-analytical phase as well as markers to distinguish between 'good' and 'bad' quality samples taking into account the desired downstream analysis are urgently needed. We studied concentration changes of metabolites in serum samples due to pre-storage handling conditions as well as due to repeated freeze-thaw cycles. We collected fasting serum samples and subjected aliquots to up to four freeze-thaw cycles and to pre-storage handling delays of 12, 24 and 36 hours at room temperature (RT and on wet and dry ice. For each treated aliquot, we quantified 127 metabolites through a targeted metabolomics approach. We found a clear signature of degradation in samples kept at RT. Storage on wet ice led to less pronounced concentration changes. 24 metabolites showed significant concentration changes at RT. In 22 of these, changes were already visible after only 12 hours of storage delay. Especially pronounced were increases in lysophosphatidylcholines and decreases in phosphatidylcholines. We showed that the ratio between the concentrations of these molecule classes could serve as a measure to distinguish between 'good' and 'bad' quality samples in our study. In contrast, we found quite stable metabolite concentrations during up to four freeze-thaw cycles. We concluded that pre-analytical RT handling of serum samples should be strictly avoided and serum samples should always be handled on wet ice or in cooling devices after centrifugation. Moreover, serum samples should be frozen at or below -80°C as soon as possible after centrifugation.

  8. Evaluation of Sample Handling Effects on Serum Vitamin E and Cholesterol Concentrations in Alpacas

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    Andrea S. Lear

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Clinical cases of vitamin E deficiencies have been diagnosed in camelids and may indicate that these species are more sensitive to inadequate vitamin E in hay-based diets compared to other ruminant and equine species. In bovine, cholesterol has been reported to affect vitamin E concentrations. In order to evaluate vitamin E deficiencies in camelids, the effects of collection and storage of the blood samples prior to processing were necessary. Reports vary as to factors affecting vitamin E and cholesterol in blood samples, and diagnostic laboratories vary in instructions regarding sample handling. Blood was collected from healthy alpacas and processed under conditions including exposure to fluorescent light, serum and red blood cell contact, tube stopper contact, temperature, and hemolysis. Serum vitamin E and cholesterol concentrations were then measured. Statistical analyses found that the vitamin E concentrations decreased with prolonged contact with the tube stopper and with increasing hemolysis. Vitamin E concentration variations were seen with other factors but were not significant. Time prior to serum separation and individual animal variation was found to alter cholesterol concentrations within the sample, yet this finding was clinically unremarkable. No correlation was seen between vitamin E and cholesterol concentration, possibly due to lack of variation of cholesterol.

  9. Quality assesment for the analysis of PCDDs/PCDFs in individual human serum samples

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Perez, F [IIQAB-CSIC, Barcelona (Spain). Dept. of Ecotechnologies, Lab. of Dioxins; Abad, E; Llerena, J J; Caixach, J; Rivera, J

    2004-09-15

    The aim of this work was to optimise a relevant methodology for the ultratrace analysis of PCDDs/PCDFs in individual human serum samples. In order to carry out the study, different strategies including the elaboration of quality control samples, parallel sample analysis, control blanks and a number of quality assurance measures were implemented as analytical current practices. Some of the main drawbacks in the analysis of PCDDs/PCDFs in these kind of samples come from two conflicting aspects: the small sample size and the low levels expected to be found. Taking this into account, an unavoidable compromise between the sample amount and the minimum analytical requirements, mainly the detection limit (LOD), is mandatory. To reach this goal C{sub 18} solid phase extraction was used to remove the analytes from the matrix. Clean up was performed by solid-liquid adsorption chromatography using a variety of adsorbents. Instrumental analysis was achieved by high-resolution gas chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRGC/HRMS). Finally, the optimised methodology was applied to evaluate the potential impact in general population living in the surroundings of an obsolete municipal waste incinerator plant (MWI). Thus, more than 400 individuals serum samples potentially exposed to the emission of the incinerator and people not exposed were considered in this study.

  10. Comparative evaluation of blood and serum samples in rapid immunochromatographic tests for visceral leishmaniasis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Dinesh; Khanal, Basudha; Tiwary, Puja; Mudavath, Shyam Lal; Tiwary, Narendra K; Singh, Rupa; Koirala, Kanika; Boelaert, Marleen; Rijal, Suman; Sundar, Shyam

    2013-12-01

    Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) based on the detection of specific antibodies in serum are commonly used for the diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis (VL). Several commercial kits are available, and some of them allow the use of whole-blood samples instead of serum. An RDT is much more user-friendly for blood samples than for serum samples. In this study, we examined the sensitivities and specificities of six different commercially available immunochromatographic tests for their accuracy in detecting Leishmania infection in whole blood and serum of parasitologically confirmed VL cases. This study was performed in areas of India and Nepal where VL is endemic. A total of 177 confirmed VL cases, 208 healthy controls from areas of endemicity (EHCs), 26 malaria patients (MP), and 37 tuberculosis (TB) patients were enrolled. The reproducibilities of the blood and serum results and between-reader and between-laboratory results were tested. In India, the sensitivities of all the RDTs ranged between 94.7 and 100.0%, with no significant differences between whole blood and serum. The specificities ranged between 92.4 and 100.0%, except for the specificity of the Onsite Leishmania Ab RevB kit, which was lower (33.6 to 42.0%). No differences in specificities were observed for blood and serum. In Nepal, the sensitivities of all the test kits, for whole-blood as well as serum samples, ranged between 96.3 and 100.0%, and the specificities ranged between 90.1 and 96.1%, again with the exception of that of the Onsite Leishmania Ab RevB test, which was markedly lower (48.7 to 49.3%). The diagnostic accuracies of all the tests, except for one brand, were excellent for the whole-blood and serum samples. We conclude that whole blood is an adequate alternative for serum in RDTs for VL, with sensitivities and specificities comparable to those obtained in serum samples, provided that the test kit is of overall good quality.

  11. Serial Sampling of Serum Protein Biomarkers for Monitoring Human Traumatic Brain Injury Dynamics: A Systematic Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thelin, Eric Peter; Zeiler, Frederick Adam; Ercole, Ari; Mondello, Stefania; Büki, András; Bellander, Bo-Michael; Helmy, Adel; Menon, David K; Nelson, David W

    2017-01-01

    The proteins S100B, neuron-specific enolase (NSE), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), ubiquitin carboxy-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCH-L1), and neurofilament light (NF-L) have been serially sampled in serum of patients suffering from traumatic brain injury (TBI) in order to assess injury severity and tissue fate. We review the current literature of serum level dynamics of these proteins following TBI and used the term "effective half-life" ( t 1/2 ) in order to describe the "fall" rate in serum. Through searches on EMBASE, Medline, and Scopus, we looked for articles where these proteins had been serially sampled in serum in human TBI. We excluded animal studies, studies with only one presented sample and studies without neuroradiological examinations. Following screening (10,389 papers), n  = 122 papers were included. The proteins S100B ( n  = 66) and NSE ( n  = 27) were the two most frequent biomarkers that were serially sampled. For S100B in severe TBI, a majority of studies indicate a t 1/2 of about 24 h, even if very early sampling in these patients reveals rapid decreases (1-2 h) though possibly of non-cerebral origin. In contrast, the t 1/2 for NSE is comparably longer, ranging from 48 to 72 h in severe TBI cases. The protein GFAP ( n  = 18) appears to have t 1/2 of about 24-48 h in severe TBI. The protein UCH-L1 ( n  = 9) presents a t 1/2 around 7 h in mild TBI and about 10 h in severe. Frequent sampling of these proteins revealed different trajectories with persisting high serum levels, or secondary peaks, in patients with unfavorable outcome or in patients developing secondary detrimental events. Finally, NF-L ( n  = 2) only increased in the few studies available, suggesting a serum availability of >10 days. To date, automated assays are available for S100B and NSE making them faster and more practical to use. Serial sampling of brain-specific proteins in serum reveals different temporal trajectories that should be

  12. Serial Sampling of Serum Protein Biomarkers for Monitoring Human Traumatic Brain Injury Dynamics: A Systematic Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eric Peter Thelin

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available BackgroundThe proteins S100B, neuron-specific enolase (NSE, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP, ubiquitin carboxy-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCH-L1, and neurofilament light (NF-L have been serially sampled in serum of patients suffering from traumatic brain injury (TBI in order to assess injury severity and tissue fate. We review the current literature of serum level dynamics of these proteins following TBI and used the term “effective half-life” (t1/2 in order to describe the “fall” rate in serum.Materials and methodsThrough searches on EMBASE, Medline, and Scopus, we looked for articles where these proteins had been serially sampled in serum in human TBI. We excluded animal studies, studies with only one presented sample and studies without neuroradiological examinations.ResultsFollowing screening (10,389 papers, n = 122 papers were included. The proteins S100B (n = 66 and NSE (n = 27 were the two most frequent biomarkers that were serially sampled. For S100B in severe TBI, a majority of studies indicate a t1/2 of about 24 h, even if very early sampling in these patients reveals rapid decreases (1–2 h though possibly of non-cerebral origin. In contrast, the t1/2 for NSE is comparably longer, ranging from 48 to 72 h in severe TBI cases. The protein GFAP (n = 18 appears to have t1/2 of about 24–48 h in severe TBI. The protein UCH-L1 (n = 9 presents a t1/2 around 7 h in mild TBI and about 10 h in severe. Frequent sampling of these proteins revealed different trajectories with persisting high serum levels, or secondary peaks, in patients with unfavorable outcome or in patients developing secondary detrimental events. Finally, NF-L (n = 2 only increased in the few studies available, suggesting a serum availability of >10 days. To date, automated assays are available for S100B and NSE making them faster and more practical to use.ConclusionSerial sampling of brain-specific proteins in serum reveals

  13. Analysis of human serum by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry: improved sample preparation and data analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Govorukhina, N I; Reijmers, T H; Nyangoma, S O; van der Zee, A G J; Jansen, R C; Bischoff, R

    2006-07-07

    Discovery of biomarkers is a fast developing field in proteomics research. Liquid chromatography coupled on line to mass spectrometry (LC-MS) has become a powerful method for the sensitive detection, quantification and identification of proteins and peptides in biological fluids like serum. However, the presence of highly abundant proteins often masks those of lower abundance and thus generally prevents their detection and identification in proteomics studies. To perform future comparative analyses of samples from a serum bank of cervical cancer patients in a longitudinal and cross-sectional manner, methodology based on the depletion of high-abundance proteins followed by tryptic digestion and LC-MS has been developed. Two sample preparation methods were tested in terms of their efficiency to deplete high-abundance serum proteins and how they affect the repeatability of the LC-MS data sets. The first method comprised depletion of human serum albumin (HSA) on a dye ligand chromatographic and immunoglobulin G (IgG) on an immobilized Protein A support followed by tryptic digestion, fractionation by cation-exchange chromatography, trapping on a C18 column and reversed-phase LC-MS. The second method included depletion of the six most abundant serum proteins based on multiple immunoaffinity chromatography followed by tryptic digestion, trapping on a C18 column and reversed-phase LC-MS. Repeatability of the overall procedures was evaluated in terms of retention time and peak area for a selected number of endogenous peptides showing that the second method, besides being less time consuming, gave more repeatable results (retention time: <0.1% RSD; peak area: <30% RSD). Application of an LC-MS component detection algorithm followed by principal component analysis (PCA) enabled discrimination of serum samples that were spiked with horse heart cytochrome C from non-spiked serum and the detection of a concentration trend, which correlated to the amount of spiked horse heart

  14. Clinical evaluation of a Mucorales-specific real-time PCR assay in tissue and serum samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Springer, Jan; Lackner, Michaela; Ensinger, Christian; Risslegger, Brigitte; Morton, Charles Oliver; Nachbaur, David; Lass-Flörl, Cornelia; Einsele, Hermann; Heinz, Werner J; Loeffler, Juergen

    2016-12-01

    Molecular diagnostic assays can accelerate the diagnosis of fungal infections and subsequently improve patient outcomes. In particular, the detection of infections due to Mucorales is still challenging for laboratories and physicians. The aim of this study was to evaluate a probe-based Mucorales-specific real-time PCR assay (Muc18S) using tissue and serum samples from patients suffering from invasive mucormycosis (IMM). This assay can detect a broad range of clinically relevant Mucorales species and can be used to complement existing diagnostic tests or to screen high-risk patients. An advantage of the Muc18S assay is that it exclusively detects Mucorales species allowing the diagnosis of Mucorales DNA without sequencing within a few hours. In paraffin-embedded tissue samples this PCR-based method allowed rapid identification of Mucorales in comparison with standard methods and showed 91 % sensitivity in the IMM tissue samples. We also evaluated serum samples, an easily accessible material, from patients at risk from IMM. Mucorales DNA was detected in all patients with probable/proven IMM (100 %) and in 29 % of the possible cases. Detection of IMM in serum could enable an earlier diagnosis (up to 21 days) than current methods including tissue samples, which were gained mainly post-mortem. A screening strategy for high-risk patients, which would enable targeted treatment to improve patient outcomes, is therefore possible.

  15. Radioenzymatic assay for trimethoprim in very small serum samples.

    OpenAIRE

    Yogev, R; Melick, C; Tan-Pong, L

    1985-01-01

    A modification of the methotrexate radioassay kit (supplied by New England Enzyme Center) enabled determination of trimethoprim levels in 5-microliter serum samples. An excellent correlation between this assay and high-pressure liquid chromatography assay was found. These preliminary results suggest that with this method rapid determination of trimethoprim levels in very small samples (5 to 10 microliters) can be achieved.

  16. Radioenzymatic assay for trimethoprim in very small serum samples

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yogev, R.; Melick, C.; Tan-Pong, L.

    1985-01-01

    A modification of the methotrexate radioassay kit (supplied by New England Enzyme Center) enabled determination of trimethoprim levels in 5-microliter serum samples. An excellent correlation between this assay and high-pressure liquid chromatography assay was found. These preliminary results suggest that with this method rapid determination of trimethoprim levels in very small samples (5 to 10 microliters) can be achieved

  17. Predictors of Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Concentrations among a Sample of Egyptian Schoolchildren

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mones M. Abu Shady

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective. To assess the level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D status among a sample of Egyptian schoolchildren and to evaluate predictors of deficiency and insufficiency. Subjects and Methods. A cross-sectional study comprising 200 prepubescent schoolchildren aged from 9 to 11 years was performed. A questionnaire including frequency of midday sun exposure, milk intake, physical activity, and level of maternal education was taken. Body mass index (BMI was calculated; serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OHD], serum calcium, phosphorus, and parathyroid hormone were measured. Results. Vitamin D deficiency [serum 25(OHD < 20 ng/mL] was detected in 11.5% of subjects while its insufficiency (serum 25(OHD is between 20 and 29.9 ng/mL was detected in 15%. Results revealed that obesity, low physical activity, low sun exposure, and low maternal education level are significant predictors of insufficiency, though female gender, low maternal education level, and low milk intake are significant predictors of deficiency. Lower serum phosphorus and higher serum parathyroid hormone were significantly associated with both deficiency and insufficiency (p<0.05. Conclusion. Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency are common among schoolchildren in Egypt. Food fortification, vitamin D supplementation, and increasing maternal awareness about the importance of physical activity and exposure of their children to ultraviolet light may help to overcome this problem.

  18. [The National Serum Bank].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Magos-López, C; Sánchez-Villarreal, F; Gutiérrez, G; Tapia-Conyer, R

    1992-01-01

    A National Serum Bank was established to store sera obtained during the National Seroepidemiological Survey performed in Mexico in 1987. More than 70,000 serum samples were obtained from subjects of either sex 1-99 years of age in each of the 32 states of the country. The current collection of sera includes 28,704 male samples and 40,629 female samples. This paper describes the procedures for handling serum samples, including reception registry, storage and distribution to several laboratories for detection of measles, rubella, poliomyelitis, AIDS, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, brucella, salmonella, amoeba, toxoplasma, American trypanosomiasis and cysticercus. Determinations of total cholesterol were also made in order to describe its distribution and to identify the prevalence of hypercholesterolemia.

  19. Soluble CD44 concentration in the serum and peritoneal fluid samples of patients with different stages of endometriosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mashayekhi, Farhad; Aryaee, Hadis; Mirzajani, Ebrahim; Yasin, Ashraf Ale; Fathi, Abdolsatar

    2015-09-01

    Endometriosis is a gynecological disease defined by the histological presence of endometrial glands and stroma outside the uterine cavity, most commonly implanted over visceral and peritoneal surface within the female pelvis. CD44 is a membrane protein expressed by human endometrial cells, and it has been shown to promote the adhesion of endometrial cells. The aim of this study was to determine the levels of soluble CD44 (sCD44) in the serum and peritoneal fluid (PF) samples of patients with different stages of endometriosis. 39 PF and serum samples from normal healthy and 130 samples from different stages of patients with endometriosis (33 cases of stage I, 38 stage II, 30 stage III and 29 stage IV) were included in this study. Total protein concentration (TPC) and the level of s-cMet in the serum were determined by Bio-Rad protein assay based on the Bradford dye procedure and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. No significant change in the TPC was seen in the serum of patients with endometriosis when compared to normal controls. Results obtained demonstrated that all serum and peritoneal fluid samples, presented sCD44 expression, whereas, starting from stages I to IV endometriosis, a significant increase of sCD44 expression was observed as compared to control group. The results of this study show that a high expression of sCD44 is correlated with advanced stages of endometriosis. It is also concluded that the detection of serum and/or peritoneal fluid sCD44 may be useful in classifying endometriosis.

  20. Comparing identified and statistically significant lipids and polar metabolites in 15-year old serum and dried blood spot samples for longitudinal studies: Comparing lipids and metabolites in serum and DBS samples

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kyle, Jennifer E. [Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Casey, Cameron P. [Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Stratton, Kelly G. [National Security Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Zink, Erika M. [Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Kim, Young-Mo [Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Zheng, Xueyun [Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Monroe, Matthew E. [Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Weitz, Karl K. [Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Bloodsworth, Kent J. [Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Orton, Daniel J. [Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Ibrahim, Yehia M. [Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Moore, Ronald J. [Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Lee, Christine G. [Department of Medicine, Bone and Mineral Unit, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland OR USA; Research Service, Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Portland OR USA; Pedersen, Catherine [Department of Medicine, Bone and Mineral Unit, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland OR USA; Orwoll, Eric [Department of Medicine, Bone and Mineral Unit, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland OR USA; Smith, Richard D. [Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Burnum-Johnson, Kristin E. [Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Baker, Erin S. [Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA

    2017-02-05

    The use of dried blood spots (DBS) has many advantages over traditional plasma and serum samples such as smaller blood volume required, storage at room temperature, and ability for sampling in remote locations. However, understanding the robustness of different analytes in DBS samples is essential, especially in older samples collected for longitudinal studies. Here we analyzed DBS samples collected in 2000-2001 and stored at room temperature and compared them to matched serum samples stored at -80°C to determine if they could be effectively used as specific time points in a longitudinal study following metabolic disease. Four hundred small molecules were identified in both the serum and DBS samples using gas chromatograph-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), liquid chromatography-MS (LC-MS) and LC-ion mobility spectrometry-MS (LC-IMS-MS). The identified polar metabolites overlapped well between the sample types, though only one statistically significant polar metabolite in a case-control study was conserved, indicating degradation occurs in the DBS samples affecting quantitation. Differences in the lipid identifications indicated that some oxidation occurs in the DBS samples. However, thirty-six statistically significant lipids correlated in both sample types indicating that lipid quantitation was more stable across the sample types.

  1. Effects of blood sample handling procedures on measurable inflammatory markers in plasma, serum and dried blood spot samples

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skogstrand, K.; Thorsen, P.; Vogel, I.

    2008-01-01

    of whole blood samples at low temperatures and rapid isolation of plasma and serum. Effects of different handling procedures for all markers studied are given. DBSS proved to be a robust and convenient way to handle samples for immunoassay analysis of inflammatory markers in whole blood Udgivelsesdato......The interests in monitoring inflammation by immunoassay determination of blood inflammatory markers call for information on the stability of these markers in relation to the handling of blood samples. The increasing use of stored biobank samples for such ventures that may have been collected...... and stored for other purposes, justifies the study hereof. Blood samples were stored for 0, 4, 24, and 48 h at 4 degrees C, room temperature (RT), and at 35 degrees C, respectively, before they were separated into serum or plasma and frozen. Dried blood spot samples (DBSS) were stored for 0, 1, 2, 3, 7...

  2. Food allergy: a clinician's criteria for including sera in a serum bank.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ballmer-Weber, B K; Fernández-Rivas, M

    2008-10-01

    Safety assessment for genetically-engineered crop plants includes assessment for allergic responses. To facilitate this assessment, serum banks should contain well-characterised sera from patients with confirmed food allergies. A serum is defined as well-characterised if it is taken from a patient who has a convincing history of allergic responses to a known allergen or an allergen-containing food, a positive skin prick test (or elevated IgE response), and a positive response in a clinical food challenge.

  3. An attempt to validate serum and plasma as sample matrices for analyses of polychlorobiphenylols

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Weiss, J.; Bergman, Aa. [Stockholm Univ. (Sweden). Dept. of Environmental Chemistry; Bignert, A. [Museum of Natural History (Sweden)

    2004-09-15

    Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) form hydroxylated metabolites (OH-PCBs), as reported both from wildlife and from experimental animal studies already in the early 1970s'. However, the interest increased in OH-PCBs from the mid 1990s' depending on the discovery that some OHPCB congeners are strongly retained in the blood of birds, fish and mammals, including humans. The interest is linked to the fact that OH-PCBs is strongly, but reversibly, bound to the blood protein transthyretin (TTR). It is reasonable to believe that the strong TTR binding may have toxicological impact, probably related to endocrine type effects. Importantly, OH-PCBs are present in blood at far higher concentrations than in any other compartment in the body, which is dependent on the physico-chemical characteristics of the phenols. Analyses of OH-PCBs have thus been concentrated to whole blood, plasma or serum. Still there is no comparison between the three sample types even though it is clear that whole blood is not optimal due to the large proportion of haemoglobin in the sample that make the clean up more difficult than if plasma or serum is selected for analysis. In the present study we have addressed two questions: First we have looked at any potential differences in the analytical results of OH-PCBs when using serum and plasma for extraction and clean up; Second, the serum and plasma applied in the validation has been unfrozen, frozen (at -20 C) for two months and frozen for twenty months, respectively.

  4. Spectrophotometric assay of creatinine in human serum sample

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Avinash Krishnegowda

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available A new spectrophotometric method for the analysis of creatinine concentration in human serum samples is developed. The method explores the oxidation of p-methylamino phenol sulfate (Metol in the presence of copper sulfate and creatinine which yields an intense violet colored species with maximum absorbance at 530 nm. The calibration graph of creatinine by fixed time assay ranged from 4.4 to 620 μM. Recovery of creatinine in human serum samples varied from 101% to 106%. Limit of detection and limit of quantification were 0.145 μM and 0.487 μM respectively. Sandell’s sensitivity was 0.112 μg cm−2 and molar absorptivity was 0.101 × 104 L mol−1 cm−1. Within day precision was 2.5–4.8% and day-to-day precision range was 3.2–7.8%. The robustness and ruggedness of the method expressed in RSD values ranged from 0.78% to 2.12% and 1.32% to 3.46% respectively, suggesting that the developed method was rugged. This method provides good sensitivity and is comparable to standard Jaffe’s method with comparatively less interference from foreign substances.

  5. Comparative Analysis of Clinical Samples Showing Weak Serum Reaction on AutoVue System Causing ABO Blood Typing Discrepancies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jo, Su Yeon; Lee, Ju Mi; Kim, Hye Lim; Sin, Kyeong Hwa; Lee, Hyeon Ji; Chang, Chulhun Ludgerus; Kim, Hyung Hoi

    2017-03-01

    ABO blood typing in pre-transfusion testing is a major component of the high workload in blood banks that therefore requires automation. We often experienced discrepant results from an automated system, especially weak serum reactions. We evaluated the discrepant results by the reference manual method to confirm ABO blood typing. In total, 13,113 blood samples were tested with the AutoVue system; all samples were run in parallel with the reference manual method according to the laboratory protocol. The AutoVue system confirmed ABO blood typing of 12,816 samples (97.7%), and these results were concordant with those of the manual method. The remaining 297 samples (2.3%) showed discrepant results in the AutoVue system and were confirmed by the manual method. The discrepant results involved weak serum reactions (serum reactions, samples from patients who had received stem cell transplants, ABO subgroups, and specific system error messages. Among the 98 samples showing ≤1+ reaction grade in the AutoVue system, 70 samples (71.4%) showed a normal serum reaction (≥2+ reaction grade) with the manual method, and 28 samples (28.6%) showed weak serum reaction in both methods. ABO blood tying of 97.7% samples could be confirmed by the AutoVue system and a small proportion (2.3%) needed to be re-evaluated by the manual method. Samples with a 2+ reaction grade in serum typing do not need to be evaluated manually, while those with ≤1+ reaction grade do.

  6. Pneumatic tube-transported blood samples in lithium heparinate gel separator tubes may be more susceptible to haemolysis than blood samples in serum tubes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Böckel-Frohnhöfer, Nicole; Hübner, Ulrich; Hummel, Björn; Geisel, Jürgen

    2014-10-01

    Pneumatic tube systems are widely used in hospitals. Advantages are high speed and rapid availability of the samples. However, the transportation by pneumatic tube promotes haemolysis. Haemolysis interferes with many spectrophotometric assays and is a common problem in clinical laboratories. The haemolysis index (HI) as a semi-quantitative representation of the level of haemolysis was compared in unpaired tube-transported and hand-delivered routine lithium heparinate plasma samples (n = 1368 and n = 837, respectively). Additionally, the HI distribution was measured in lithium heparinate plasma samples with a HI above the threshold value of 20 and in paired serum samples after transportation by pneumatic tube system. HI values above 20 can interfere with the selected assays: Creatine kinase (CK), creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activities. These parameters were determined to demonstrate how haemolysis affects the results. 17.5% of the tube-transported plasma samples and 2.6% of the hand-delivered plasma samples had a HI above 20. The median HI in pneumatic tube-transported lithium heparinate plasma was 85 and 33 in the paired serum samples. The median HI difference between paired plasma and serum was 46. Blood samples in lithium heparinate tubes may be substantially more susceptible to haemolysis by pneumatic tube transportation than serum tube samples. Although our results cannot be universally applied to laboratories with different pneumatic tube systems, it is recommended that each laboratory evaluate carefully the degree of haemolysis after the transportation by the own pneumatic tube system and in terms of the sample type.

  7. Correlation between glucose concentrations in serum, plasma, and whole blood measured by a point-of-care glucometer and serum glucose concentration measured by an automated biochemical analyzer for canine and feline blood samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tauk, Barbara S; Drobatz, Kenneth J; Wallace, Koranda A; Hess, Rebecka S

    2015-06-15

    To investigate the correlation between glucose concentrations in serum, plasma, and whole blood measured by a point-of-care glucometer (POCG) and serum glucose concentration measured by a biochemical analyzer. Prospective clinical study. 96 blood samples from 80 dogs and 90 blood samples from 65 cats. Serum, plasma, and whole blood were obtained from each blood sample. The glucose concentrations in serum, plasma, and whole blood measured by a POCG were compared with the serum glucose concentration measured by a biochemical analyzer by use of the Lin concordance correlation coefficient (ρc) and Bland-Altman plots. For both canine and feline samples, glucose concentrations in serum and plasma measured by the POCG were more strongly correlated with the serum glucose concentration measured by the biochemical analyzer (ρc, 0.98 for both canine serum and plasma; ρc, 0.99 for both feline serum and plasma) than was that in whole blood (ρc, 0.62 for canine samples; ρc, 0.90 for feline samples). The mean difference between the glucose concentrations determined by the biochemical analyzer and the POCG in serum, plasma, and whole blood was 0.4, 0.3, and 31 mg/dL, respectively, for canine samples and 7, 6, and 32 mg/dL, respectively, for feline samples. Results indicated that use of a POCG to measure glucose concentrations in serum or plasma may increase the accuracy and reliability of diagnostic and treatment decisions associated with glucose homeostasis disorders in dogs and cats.

  8. Standardization and application of indirect ELISA for diagnosis of Mycoplasma bovis in bovine blood serum samples

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samira Moraes Cunha de Mesquita

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT. Mesquita S.M.C., Mansur F.J., Nascimento E.R., Barreto M.L. & Kimura L.M.S. [Standardization and application of indirect ELISA for diagnosis of Mycoplasma bovis in bovine blood serum samples.] Padroniza- ção e aplicação de ELISA indireto para diagnóstico de Mycoplasma bovis em amostras de soro sanguíneo bovino. Revista Brasileira de Medicina Veterinária, 37(2:101-107, 2015. Universidade Federal Fluminense, Faculdade de Veteriná- ria, Rua Vital Brazil Filho, 64, Vital Brazil, Niterói, RJ 24230-340, Brasil. E-mail: samira.veterinaria@gmail.com International researchers presented results indicating frequent involvement of Mycoplasma spp. as a causative agent of mastitis in cattle, associating its presence with significant economic losses to farmers. Mycoplasma bovis is the species most reported and relevant, because it causes more severe disease. The level of antibodies against M. bovis remains high for several months and can be detected by ELISA. The aim of this work was to develop an indirect ELISA with whole cell antigen of M. bovis (strain Donetta PG 45 with subsequent application in bovine blood serum samples for detection of antibodies against M. bovis. The immunization of cows A and B by inoculating an immunogen against M. bovis to obtain hyperimmune blood serum was the first stage of this work, then the stage of standardization of ELISA was proceeded. The concentration of 2 mg of antigen/mL for coating the microtiter plates was decided by statistical analyses. The optical density value 0,2 was determined as the limit of reactivity discrimination of samples (the cut-off point. The hyperimmune blood serum sample of the cow A (collected 30 days after immunization was chosen as the positive control and, the fetal calf serum was chosen as negative control of the assay. In addition, the ideal optimal dilutions found for blood serum samples was 1:400 and for conjugate was 1:10.000 and the substrate used was the ortho

  9. Retrospective analysis of dengue specific IgM reactive serum samples

    OpenAIRE

    Nemai Bhattacharya; Bhaswati Bandyopadhyay; Indranil Bhattacharjee; Hiranmoy Mukherjee; Srabani Talukdar; Ruby Mondal; Netai Pramanick; Goutam Chandra; Amiya K. Hati

    2013-01-01

    Objective: To conduct a retrospective analysis of dengue cases in Kolkata, on the basis of presence of anti-dengue IgM in their sera and presence or absence of anti-dengue IgG and dengue specific Non structural 1 (NS1) antigen in each of the serum sample. Methods: Sample was tested quantitatively employing ELISA technique, using Biorad test kits, with a view to get a more comprehensive picture of dengue in an urban endemic area and also to evaluate individual cases. Results: Th...

  10. Determination of carbamazepine in serum and saliva samples by high performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dordević, Snezana; Kilibarda, Vesna; Stojanović, Tomislav

    2009-05-01

    Carbamazepine is antiepileptic drug widely used for the treatment of epilepsy. Due to low therapeutic index of carbamazepine there is a need for routine measuring its concentrations in biological fluids. The aim of the study was to describe a method for concomitant determination of carbamazepine in the serum and saliva. Separation of the drug from matrix is achieved by reversed-phase chromatography on a C18 column, with a mobile phase of methanol-water-acetic acid (65:34:1) at a flow-rate of 1.0 ml/min. Detection was effected by ultra-violet absorption at 285 nm. The total run time was 5 min. Samples were prepared by alkaline extraction (pH 10) using chlorophorm. Calibration curves were in the range 0.1-5 microg/mL for serum and saliva samples. Mean recoveries of spiked serum and saliva were 97.59 and 92.30%, respectively. Limits of detection (LOD) of carbamazepine in serum and saliva were 0.166 and 0.178 microg/mL, respectively. Limits of quantification (LOQ) in the serum and saliva were 0.237 and 0.226 microg/mL, respectively. The method precision was carried out with coefficient of variation of 2.10% and 4.03% for the serum and saliva, respectively. The obtained data showed that there was a strong correlation between saliva and serum concentrations (r = 0.9481, p < 0.001). The method described here is rapid, precise, accurate and simple, and can be used for quantitative determination of carbamazepine in human serum and saliva after therapy applying. Saliva samples could be used as an alternative matrix for therapeutic drug monitoring of this antiepileptic drug.

  11. Resolution of a serum sample mix-up through the use of short tandem repeat DNA typing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen, Robert W; Pritchard, Jane K

    2004-12-01

    A sample mix-up occurred in a tissue procurement laboratory in which aliquots of serum from two tissue donors were accidentally mislabeled. The clues to the apparent mixup involved discrepant Hepatitis C test results. In an attempt to resolve the apparent mix up, DNA typing was performed using serum samples as a possible source of genomic DNA. Two hundred microliter aliquots of two reference sera and aliquots prepared from them were subjected to DNA extraction. PCR amplification of 9 STR loci was performed on the extracts and amplicons were analyzed by capillary electrophoresis. About 1 microg/ml of DNA was recovered from all serum samples and was of sufficient quality to direct the amplification of most, if not all STR loci allowing the mislabeled specimens to be traced to the proper tissue donor. Serum is a useful source of genomic DNA for STR analysis in situations in which such samples are the only source of DNA for testing. Interestingly, one of the tissue donors on life support and repeatedly receiving blood products, exhibited a mixed DNA profile indicative of the presence of DNA from multiple individuals in the bloodstream.

  12. Usefulness of in-house real time PCR for HBV DNA quantification in serum and oral fluid samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Portilho, Moyra Machado; Mendonça, Ana Carolina da Fonseca; Bezerra, Cristianne Sousa; do Espirito-Santo, Márcia Paschoal; de Paula, Vanessa Salete; Nabuco, Leticia Cancella; Villela-Nogueira, Cristiane Alves; Lewis-Ximenez, Lia Laura; Lampe, Elisabeth; Villar, Livia Melo

    2018-06-01

    For quantification of hepatitis B virus DNA (HBV DNA), commercial assays are used with serum or plasma samples, but oral fluid samples could be an alternative for HBV diagnosis due to ease of collection. This study aims to develop in-house real time PCR using synthetic curve for HBV DNA quantification for serum and oral fluid samples. Samples were collected from 103 individuals (55 HBsAg reactive and HBV DNA reactive by commercial assay and 48 without HBV markers) and submitted to two in-house real time PCR assays for HBV pre-S/S region with different standard curves: qPCR plasmidial and qPCR synthetic. A total of 27 serum samples were HBV DNA positive by qPCR plasmidial and 40 with qPCR synthetic (72% and 85% of concordance, respectively). Quantitative PCR synthetic presented efficiency of 99% and sensitivity of 2log10 copies/mL. Among oral fluid samples, five and ten were detected using qPCR plasmidial and synthetic, respectively. This study demonstrated that qPCR synthetic using serum samples could be used as alternative for HBV DNA quantification due to its sensitivity. In addition, it was possible to quantify HBV DNA in oral fluid samples suggesting the potential of this specimen for molecular diagnosis of HBV. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Serum thromboxane B2 (TXB2 Determination is Influenced by Sample Incubation Temperature in Healthy Beagle Dogs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aleš Jerin

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available The measurement of serum thromboxane B2 (TXB2 production by platelets is a specific test for assessment of platelet cyclooxygenase (COX-1 activity following administration of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of sample incubation at 37 °C for one hour on serum TXB2 concentration in comparison with incubation at room temperature. A total of 54 blood samples for serum TXB2 measurements were collected from six healthy beagle dogs into two separate serum tubes. While one group of tubes was incubated in a 37 °C water bath, the second group of tubes was left to coagulate at room temperature, both for one hour. Serum TXB2 concentrations were measured by ELISA. The mean concentration (± SD of serum TXB2 in the group of samples that were incubated at 37 °C was significantly (P 2 concentration in healthy beagle dogs and demonstrate that validated methods for assessment of COX-1 activity by measurement of serum TXB2 should be used in order to make results more reliable and comparable between different studies. The results of this study might be of great help in planning NSAID studies in dogs by providing the information that TXB2 generation by platelets is influenced profoundly by incubation temperature.

  14. Determination of carbamazepine in serum and saliva samples by high performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Đorđević Snežana

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Background/Aim. Carbamazepine is antiepileptic drug widely used for the treatment of epilepsy. Due to low therapeutic index of carbamazepine there is a need for routine measuring its concentrations in biological fluids. The aim of the study was to describe a method for concomitant determination of carbamazepine in the serum and saliva. Methods. Separation of the drug from matrix is achieved by reversedphase chromatography on a C18 column, with a mobile phase of methanol-water-acetic acid (65:34:1 at a flow-rate of 1.0 ml/min. Detection was effected by ultra-violet absorption at 285 nm. The total run time was 5 min. Samples were prepared by alkaline extraction (pH 10 using chlorophorm. Results. Calibration curves were in the range 0.1-5 μg/mL for serum and saliva samples. Mean recoveries of spiked serum and saliva were 97.59 and 92.30%, respectively. Limits of detection (LOD of carbamazepine in serum and saliva were 0.166 and 0.178 μg/mL, respectively. Limits of quantification (LOQ in the serum and saliva were 0.237 and 0.226 μg/mL, respectively. The method precision was carried out with coefficient of variation of 2.10% and 4.03% for the serum and saliva, respectively. The obtained data showed that there was a strong correlation between saliva and serum concentrations (r = 0.9481, p < 0.001. Conclusion. The method described here is rapid, precise, accurate and simple, and can be used for quantitative determination of carbamazepine in human serum and saliva after therapy applying. Saliva samples could be used as an alternative matrix for therapeutic drug monitoring of this antiepileptic drug.

  15. A 125I-radioimmunoassay for measuring androstenedione in serum and in blood-spot samples from neonates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thomson, S.; Wallace, A.M.; Cook, B.

    1989-01-01

    We developed a radioimmunoassay with a gamma-emitting radioligand to measure androstenedione in human serum and in dried blood-spot samples from newborns. Antisera were raised in rabbits against androstenedione linked to bovine serum albumin at positions 3, 6, or 11 on the steroid nucleus. Radioligands were prepared by linking [ 125 I]iodohistamine at positions 3, 6, or 11. Linkages were through either carboxymethyloxime or hemisuccinate bridges. All label and antibody combinations were examined, and the most sensitive and specific combination (antiserum raised against androstenedione-3-carboxymethyloxime-bovine serum albumin with an androstenedione-carboxymethyloxime-[ 125 I]iodohistamine label) was selected for full evaluation. We report the performance of these selected reagents in an immunoassay for androstenedione in both serum and dried blood-spot samples from neonates. We measured concentrations of androstenedione in serum under normal and pathological conditions such as congenital adrenal hyperplasia and polycystic ovarian disease. Diurnal variation in normal men was observed. Androstenedione was measured in blood spots from neonates born at term or prematurely, with respiratory distress syndrome, or with congenital adrenal hyperplasia

  16. Identification of Reliable Reference Genes for Quantification of MicroRNAs in Serum Samples of Sulfur Mustard-Exposed Veterans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gharbi, Sedigheh; Shamsara, Mehdi; Khateri, Shahriar; Soroush, Mohammad Reza; Ghorbanmehr, Nassim; Tavallaei, Mahmood; Nourani, Mohammad Reza; Mowla, Seyed Javad

    2015-01-01

    In spite of accumulating information about pathological aspects of sulfur mustard (SM), the precise mechanism responsible for its effects is not well understood. Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) are promising biomarkers for disease diagnosis and prognosis. Accurate normalization using appropriate reference genes, is a critical step in miRNA expression studies. In this study, we aimed to identify appropriate reference gene for microRNA quantification in serum samples of SM victims. In this case and control experimental study, using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), we evaluated the suitability of a panel of small RNAs including SNORD38B, SNORD49A, U6, 5S rRNA, miR-423-3p, miR-191, miR-16 and miR-103 in sera of 28 SM-exposed veterans of Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988) and 15 matched control volunteers. Different statistical algorithms including geNorm, Normfinder, best-keeper and comparative delta-quantification cycle (Cq) method were employed to find the least variable reference gene. miR-423-3p was identified as the most stably expressed reference gene, and miR- 103 and miR-16 ranked after that. We demonstrate that non-miRNA reference genes have the least stabil- ity in serum samples and that some house-keeping miRNAs may be used as more reliable reference genes for miRNAs in serum. In addition, using the geometric mean of two reference genes could increase the reliability of the normalizers.

  17. Performance of polymerase chain reaction for the diagnosis of cystic echinococcosis using serum, urine, and cyst fluid samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chaya, Dr; Parija, Subhash Chandra

    2014-01-01

    Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a chronic zoonosis which presents with variable clinical manifestations. Currently the diagnosis of this disease is based on radiological findings and serological tests which lack specificity. Although antigen detection from the cyst fluid is the most specific, it is seldom done due to the complications involved. Detecting the presence of Echinococcus granulosus specific deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) could provide a definitive diagnosis of CE. An in-house PCR assay was devised to detect E. granulosus specific DNA in serum, urine and hydatid cyst fluid. The ability of the PCR to detect E. granulosus in the above mentioned samples were observed in comparison with other antigen and antibody detection tests. Serum samples from surgically confirmed patients of CE with ruptured cysts contained the corresponding DNA while the in the majority of cases who had an intact cyst had no DNA of E. granulosus in their serum. DNA of E. granulosus was not found to be excreted in urine. PCR performed equal to antigen detection ELISA while testing hydatid cyst fluid samples. Serum and urine might not serve as useful samples for the molecular diagnosis of cystic echinococcosis. However, PCR can be useful on serum samples to detect ruptured hydatid cysts and on hydatid cyst fluid to confirm the parasitic diagnosis.

  18. microRNA Biomarker Discovery and High-Throughput DNA Sequencing Are Possible Using Long-term Archived Serum Samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rounge, Trine B; Lauritzen, Marianne; Langseth, Hilde; Enerly, Espen; Lyle, Robert; Gislefoss, Randi E

    2015-09-01

    The impacts of long-term storage and varying preanalytical factors on the quality and quantity of DNA and miRNA from archived serum have not been fully assessed. Preanalytical and analytical variations and degradation may introduce bias in representation of DNA and miRNA and may result in loss or corruption of quantitative data. We have evaluated DNA and miRNA quantity, quality, and variability in samples stored up to 40 years using one of the oldest prospective serum collections in the world, the Janus Serumbank, a biorepository dedicated to cancer research. miRNAs are present and stable in archived serum samples frozen at -25°C for at least 40 years. Long-time storage did not reduce miRNA yields; however, varying preanalytical conditions had a significant effect and should be taken into consideration during project design. Of note, 500 μL serum yielded sufficient miRNA for qPCR and small RNA sequencing and on average 650 unique miRNAs were detected in samples from presumably healthy donors. Of note, 500 μL serum yielded sufficient DNA for whole-genome sequencing and subsequent SNP calling, giving a uniform representation of the genomes. DNA and miRNA are stable during long-term storage, making large prospectively collected serum repositories an invaluable source for miRNA and DNA biomarker discovery. Large-scale biomarker studies with long follow-up time are possible utilizing biorepositories with archived serum and state-of-the-art technology. ©2015 American Association for Cancer Research.

  19. High throughput and accurate serum proteome profiling by integrated sample preparation technology and single-run data independent mass spectrometry analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Lin; Zheng, Jiaxin; Yu, Quan; Chen, Wendong; Xing, Jinchun; Chen, Chenxi; Tian, Ruijun

    2018-03-01

    Mass spectrometry (MS)-based serum proteome analysis is extremely challenging due to its high complexity and dynamic range of protein abundances. Developing high throughput and accurate serum proteomic profiling approach capable of analyzing large cohorts is urgently needed for biomarker discovery. Herein, we report a streamlined workflow for fast and accurate proteomic profiling from 1μL of blood serum. The workflow combined an integrated technique for highly sensitive and reproducible sample preparation and a new data-independent acquisition (DIA)-based MS method. Comparing with standard data dependent acquisition (DDA) approach, the optimized DIA method doubled the number of detected peptides and proteins with better reproducibility. Without protein immunodepletion and prefractionation, the single-run DIA analysis enables quantitative profiling of over 300 proteins with 50min gradient time. The quantified proteins span more than five orders of magnitude of abundance range and contain over 50 FDA-approved disease markers. The workflow allowed us to analyze 20 serum samples per day, with about 358 protein groups per sample being identified. A proof-of-concept study on renal cell carcinoma (RCC) serum samples confirmed the feasibility of the workflow for large scale serum proteomic profiling and disease-related biomarker discovery. Blood serum or plasma is the predominant specimen for clinical proteomic studies while the analysis is extremely challenging for its high complexity. Many efforts had been made in the past for serum proteomics for maximizing protein identifications, whereas few have been concerned with throughput and reproducibility. Here, we establish a rapid, robust and high reproducible DIA-based workflow for streamlined serum proteomic profiling from 1μL serum. The workflow doesn't need protein depletion and pre-fractionation, while still being able to detect disease-relevant proteins accurately. The workflow is promising in clinical application

  20. Chemometrics enhanced HPLC-DAD performance for rapid quantification of carbamazepine and phenobarbital in human serum samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vosough, Maryam; Ghafghazi, Shiva; Sabetkasaei, Masoumeh

    2014-02-01

    This paper describes development and validation of a simple and efficient bioanalytical procedure for simultaneous determination of phenobarbital and carbamazepine in human serum samples using high performance liquid chromatography with photodiode-array detection (HPLC-DAD) regarding a fast elution methodology in less than 5 min. Briefly, this method consisted of a simple deproteinization step of serum samples followed by HPLC analysis on a Bonus-RP column using an isocratic mode of elution with acetonitrile/K2HPO4 (pH=7.5) buffer solution (45:55). Due to the presence of serum endogenous components as non-calibrated components in the sample, second-order calibration based on multivariate curve resolution-alternating least squares (MCR-ALS), has been applied on a set of absorbance matrices collected as a function of retention time and wavelengths. Acceptable resolution and quantification results were achieved in the presence of matrix interferences and the second-order advantage was fully exploited. The average recoveries for carbamazepine and phenobarbital were 89.7% and 86.1% and relative standard deviation values were lower than 9%. Additionally, computed elliptical joint confidence region (EJCR) confirmed the accuracy of the proposed method and indicated the absence of both constant and proportional errors in the predicted concentrations. The developed method enabled the determination of the analytes in different serum samples in the presence of overlapped profiles, while keeping experimental time and extraction steps at minimum. Finally, the serum concentration levels of carbamazepine in three time intervals were reported for morphine-dependents who had received carbamazepine for treating their neuropathic pain. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Milk and serum standard reference materials for monitoring organic contaminants in human samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schantz, Michele M; Eppe, Gauthier; Focant, Jean-François; Hamilton, Coreen; Heckert, N Alan; Heltsley, Rebecca M; Hoover, Dale; Keller, Jennifer M; Leigh, Stefan D; Patterson, Donald G; Pintar, Adam L; Sharpless, Katherine E; Sjödin, Andreas; Turner, Wayman E; Vander Pol, Stacy S; Wise, Stephen A

    2013-02-01

    Four new Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) have been developed to assist in the quality assurance of chemical contaminant measurements required for human biomonitoring studies, SRM 1953 Organic Contaminants in Non-Fortified Human Milk, SRM 1954 Organic Contaminants in Fortified Human Milk, SRM 1957 Organic Contaminants in Non-Fortified Human Serum, and SRM 1958 Organic Contaminants in Fortified Human Serum. These materials were developed as part of a collaboration between the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with both agencies contributing data used in the certification of mass fraction values for a wide range of organic contaminants including polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners, chlorinated pesticides, polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) congeners, and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin (PCDD) and dibenzofuran (PCDF) congeners. The certified mass fractions of the organic contaminants in unfortified samples, SRM 1953 and SRM 1957, ranged from 12 ng/kg to 2200 ng/kg with the exception of 4,4'-DDE in SRM 1953 at 7400 ng/kg with expanded uncertainties generally <14 %. This agreement suggests that there were no significant biases existing among the multiple methods used for analysis.

  2. Serum Chrome levels sampled with steel needle vs. plastic IV cannula

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Penny, Jeannette Østergaard; Overgaard, Søren

    2010-01-01

    . This study aimed to test that theory. Method: We compared serum chromium values for two sampling methods, steel needle and IV plastic cannula, as well as sampling sequence in 16 healthy volunteers. Results: We found statistically significant chromium contamination from the steel needle with mean differences......  Modern Metal-on-metal (MoM) joint articulations releases metal ions to the body. Research tries to establish how much this elevates metal ion levels and whether it causes adverse effects. The steel needle that samples the blood may introduce additional chromium to the sample thereby causing bias...... between the two methods of 0.073 ng/mL, for the first sample, and 0.033 ng/mL for the second. No difference was found between the first and second plastic sample. The first steel needle sample contained an average of 0.047 ng/mL more than the second. This difference was only borderline significant...

  3. A sup 125 I-radioimmunoassay for measuring androstenedione in serum and in blood-spot samples from neonates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Thomson, S.; Wallace, A.M.; Cook, B. (Stobhill Hospital, Glasgow (England))

    1989-08-01

    We developed a radioimmunoassay with a gamma-emitting radioligand to measure androstenedione in human serum and in dried blood-spot samples from newborns. Antisera were raised in rabbits against androstenedione linked to bovine serum albumin at positions 3, 6, or 11 on the steroid nucleus. Radioligands were prepared by linking ({sup 125}I)iodohistamine at positions 3, 6, or 11. Linkages were through either carboxymethyloxime or hemisuccinate bridges. All label and antibody combinations were examined, and the most sensitive and specific combination (antiserum raised against androstenedione-3-carboxymethyloxime-bovine serum albumin with an androstenedione-carboxymethyloxime-({sup 125}I)iodohistamine label) was selected for full evaluation. We report the performance of these selected reagents in an immunoassay for androstenedione in both serum and dried blood-spot samples from neonates. We measured concentrations of androstenedione in serum under normal and pathological conditions such as congenital adrenal hyperplasia and polycystic ovarian disease. Diurnal variation in normal men was observed. Androstenedione was measured in blood spots from neonates born at term or prematurely, with respiratory distress syndrome, or with congenital adrenal hyperplasia.

  4. Comparison of parasite loads in serum and blood samples from patients in acute and chronic phases of Chagas disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hernández, Carolina; Teherán, Aníbal; Flórez, Carolina; Ramírez, Juan David

    2018-04-17

    Molecular methods have been developed for the detection and quantification of Trypanosoma cruzi DNA in blood samples from patients with Chagas disease. However, aspects of sample processing necessary for quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR), such as the addition of guanidine hydrochloride to whole blood samples, may limit timely access to molecular diagnosis. We analysed 169 samples from serum and guanidine-EDTA blood (GEB) obtained from patients in acute and chronic phases of Chagas disease. We applied qPCR targeted to the satellite DNA region. Finally, we compared the parasite loads and cycle of threshold values of the qPCR. The results confirmed the usefulness of serum samples for the detection and quantification of parasite DNA in patients with Chagas disease, especially in the acute phase. However, the parasite loads detected in serum samples from patients in the chronic phase were lower than those detected in GEB samples. The epidemiological implications of the findings are herein discussed.

  5. Direct determination of lead in human urine and serum samples by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry and permanent modifiers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Andrada, Daniel; Pinto, Frederico G.; Magalhaes, Cristina Goncalves; Nunes, Berta R.; Silva, Jose Bento Borba da; Franco, Milton B.

    2006-01-01

    The object of the present study was the development of alternative methods for the direct determination of lead in undigested samples of human urine and serum by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS). Thus, some substances have been investigated to act as chemical modifiers. Volumes of 20 μL of diluted samples, 1 + 1, v/v for urine and 1 + 4, v/v for serum, with HNO 3 1% v/v and 0.02% v/v of cetyl trimethyl ammonium chloride (CTAC) were prepared directly in the autosampler cups and placed into the graphite furnace. For modifiers in solutions 10 μL were used. Pyrolysis and atomization temperature curves were used in all optimizations in the matrixes diluted as exposed. For urine with permanent iridium (500 μg), the best pyrolysis and atomization temperatures were 900 and 1600 deg C, respectively, with a characteristic mass of 12 pg (recommended of 10 pg), with symmetrical absorption pulses and corrected background. Spiked urine samples presented recoveries between 86 and 112% for Ir permanent. The analysis results of certified urine samples are in agreement with certified values (95% of confidence) for two levels of the metal. For serum, good results were obtained with the mixture of Zr+Rh or Ir+Rh as permanent modifiers, with characteristic masses of 9.8 and 8.1 pg, respectively. Recoveries from spiked serum samples varied between 98.6 and 100.1% (Ir+Rh) and between 93.9 and 105.2% (Zr+Rh). In both recovery studies, the relative standard deviation (n=3) was lower than 7%. Calibration for both samples were made with aqueous calibration curves and presented r 2 higher than 0.99. The limits of detection were 0.7 μg L -1 for serum samples, with Zr+Rh permanent, and 1.0 μg L -1 for urine with iridium permanent. (author)

  6. Direct determination of lead in human urine and serum samples by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry and permanent modifiers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrada Daniel

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available The object of the present study was the development of alternative methods for the direct determination of lead in undigested samples of human urine and serum by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ET AAS. Thus, some substances have been investigated to act as chemical modifiers. Volumes of 20 µL of diluted samples, 1 + 1, v/v for urine and 1 + 4, v/v for serum, with HNO3 1% v/v and 0.02% v/v of cetil trimethyl ammonium chloride (CTAC were prepared directly in the autosampler cups and placed into the graphite furnace. For modifiers in solutions 10 µL were used. Pyrolysis and atomization temperature curves were used in all optimizations in the matrixes diluted as exposed. For urine with permanent iridium (500 µg, the best pyrolysis and atomization temperatures were 900 and 1600 ºC, respectively, with a characteristic mass of 12 pg (recommended of 10 pg, with symmetrical absorption pulses and corrected background. Spiked urine samples presented recoveries between 86 and 112% for Ir permanent. The analysis results of certified urine samples are in agreement with certified values (95% of confidence for two levels of the metal. For serum, good results were obtained with the mixture of Zr+Rh or Ir+Rh as permanent modifiers, with characteristic masses of 9.8 and 8.1 pg, respectively. Recoveries from spiked serum samples varied between 98.6 and 100.1% (Ir+Rh and between 93.9 and 105.2% (Zr+Rh. In both recovery studies, the relative standard deviation (n=3 was lower than 7%. Calibration for both samples were made with aqueous calibration curves and presented r² higher than 0.99. The limits of detection were 0.7 µg L-1 for serum samples, with Zr+Rh permanent, and 1.0 µg L-1 for urine with iridium permanent.

  7. Analysis of performance of a PCR-based assay to detect DNA of Aspergillus fumigatus in whole blood and serum: a comparative study with clinical samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernal-Martínez, Leticia; Gago, Sara; Buitrago, María J; Gomez-Lopez, Alicia; Rodríguez-Tudela, Juan L; Cuenca-Estrella, Manuel

    2011-10-01

    The performance of a real-time PCR-based assay was retrospectively analyzed (according to European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer/Mycosis Study Group criteria) in the samples of patients with invasive aspergillosis. A total of 711 serial samples (356 whole-blood and 355 serum samples) from 38 adult patients were analyzed. The Aspergillus fumigatus PCR assay results were positive for 89 of 356 (25%) whole-blood samples and 90 of 355 (25.35%) serum samples. Positive PCR results were seen in 29 of 31 (93.5%) patients for which serum was analyzed and in 31 of 33 (93.9%) cases with whole-blood specimens. Both blood and serum samples were available in 26 cases, and significant differences were not observed in this subgroup of cases. The average number of threshold cycles (C(T)) for positive blood samples was 37.6, and the average C(T) for serum was 37.4. The DNA concentration ranged between 2 and 50 fg per μl of sample, with average DNA concentrations of 10.2 and 11.7 fg in positive blood and serum samples, respectively (P > 0.01). The performance of this PCR-based quantitative assay was similar for both serum and blood samples. We recommend serum samples as the most convenient hematological sample to use for Aspergillus DNA quantification when serial determinations are done.

  8. A comparative study of some physico-chemical properties of human serum albumin samples from different sources--I : Some physico-chemical properties of isoionic human serum albumin solutions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dröge, J.H.M.; Janssen, L.H.M.; Wilting, J.

    1982-01-01

    Human serum albumin samples from different sources were investigated. The fatty acid content of the albumin before and after deionization on a mixed bed ion-exchange column varied from sample to sample. When an albumin sample from one source was deionized under standard conditions the amount of

  9. Quantitative profiling of serum samples using TMT protein labelling, fractionation and LC-MS/MS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sinclair, John; Timms, John F

    2011-08-01

    Blood-borne biomarkers are urgently required for the early detection, accurate diagnosis and prognosis of disease. Additionally, improved methods of profiling serum and plasma proteins for biomarker discovery efforts are needed. Herein, we report a quantitative method based on amino-group labelling of serum proteins (rather than peptides) with isobaric tandem mass tags (TMT) and incorporating immune-based depletion, gel-based and strong anion exchange separation of proteins prior to differential endoproteinase treatment and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. We report a generally higher level of quantitative coverage of the serum proteome compared to other peptide-based isobaric tagging approaches and show the potential of the method by applying it to a set of unique samples that pre-date the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Stability of BDNF in Human Samples Stored Up to 6 Months and Correlations of Serum and EDTA-Plasma Concentrations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Polyakova, Maryna; Schlögl, Haiko; Sacher, Julia; Schmidt-Kassow, Maren; Kaiser, Jochen; Stumvoll, Michael; Kratzsch, Jürgen; Schroeter, Matthias L

    2017-06-03

    Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), an important neural growth factor, has gained growing interest in neuroscience, but many influencing physiological and analytical aspects still remain unclear. In this study we assessed the impact of storage time at room temperature, repeated freeze/thaw cycles, and storage at -80 °C up to 6 months on serum and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA)-plasma BDNF. Furthermore, we assessed correlations of serum and plasma BDNF concentrations in two independent sets of samples. Coefficients of variations (CVs) for serum BDNF concentrations were significantly lower than CVs of plasma concentrations ( n = 245, p = 0.006). Mean serum and plasma concentrations at all analyzed time points remained within the acceptable change limit of the inter-assay precision as declared by the manufacturer. Serum and plasma BDNF concentrations correlated positively in both sets of samples and at all analyzed time points of the stability assessment ( r = 0.455 to r s = 0.596; p plasma up to 6 months. Due to a higher reliability, we suggest favoring serum over EDTA-plasma for future experiments assessing peripheral BDNF concentrations.

  11. Clinical, radiological and molecular diagnosis correlation in serum samples from patients with osteoarticular tuberculosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guadalupe García-Elorriaga

    2014-07-01

    Conclusions: Nested PCR in serum samples is a rapid, highly sensitive and specific modality for OTB detection. PCR should be performed in addition to clinical evaluation, imaging studies, acid-fast bacilli staining, culture and histopathology diagnosis, if possible.

  12. A Schistosoma haematobium-specific real-time PCR for diagnosis of urogenital schistosomiasis in serum samples of international travelers and migrants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cnops, Lieselotte; Soentjens, Patrick; Clerinx, Jan; Van Esbroeck, Marjan

    2013-01-01

    Diagnosis of urogenital schistosomiasis by microscopy and serological tests may be elusive in travelers due to low egg load and the absence of seroconversion upon arrival. There is need for a more sensitive diagnostic test. Therefore, we developed a real-time PCR targeting the Schistosoma haematobium-specific Dra1 sequence. The PCR was evaluated on urine (n = 111), stool (n = 84) and serum samples (n = 135), and one biopsy from travelers and migrants with confirmed or suspected schistosomiasis. PCR revealed a positive result in 7/7 urine samples, 11/11 stool samples and 1/1 biopsy containing S. haematobium eggs as demonstrated by microscopy and in 22/23 serum samples from patients with a parasitological confirmed S. haematobium infection. S. haematobium DNA was additionally detected by PCR in 7 urine, 3 stool and 5 serum samples of patients suspected of having schistosomiasis without egg excretion in urine and feces. None of these suspected patients demonstrated other parasitic infections except one with Blastocystis hominis and Entamoeba cyst in a fecal sample. The PCR was negative in all stool samples containing S. mansoni eggs (n = 21) and in all serum samples of patients with a microscopically confirmed S. mansoni (n = 22), Ascaris lumbricoides (n = 1), Ancylostomidae (n = 1), Strongyloides stercoralis (n = 1) or Trichuris trichuria infection (n = 1). The PCR demonstrated a high specificity, reproducibility and analytical sensitivity (0.5 eggs per gram of feces). The real-time PCR targeting the Dra1 sequence for S. haematobium-specific detection in urine, feces, and particularly serum, is a promising tool to confirm the diagnosis, also during the acute phase of urogenital schistosomiasis.

  13. A Novel Genetic Group of Bovine Hepacivirus in Archival Serum Samples from Brazilian Cattle

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cláudio W. Canal

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Hepatitis C virus (HCV (genus Hepacivirus; family Flaviviridae is a major human pathogen causing persistent infection and hepatic injury. Recently, emerging HCV-like viruses were described infecting wild animals, such as bats and rodents, and domestic animals, including dogs, horses, and cattle. Using degenerate primers for detecting bovine pestiviruses in a 1996 survey three bovine serum samples showed a low identity with the genus Pestivirus of the Flaviviridae family. A virus could not be isolated in cell culture. The description of bovine hepaciviruses (BovHepV in 2015 allowed us to retrospectively identify the sequences as BovHepV, with a 88.9% nucleotide identity. In a reconstructed phylogenetic tree, the Brazilian BovHepV samples grouped within the bovine HCV-like cluster in a separated terminal node that was more closely related to the putative bovine Hepacivirus common ancestor than to bovine hepaciviruses detected in Europe and Africa.

  14. Serum cadmium levels in a sample of blood donors in the Western Amazon, Brazil, 2010-2011

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andre Ricardo Maia da Costa de Faro

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the distribution of serum cadmium (Cd levels in blood donors in Rio Branco, Acre State, Brazil. Blood samples were obtained from 922 volunteer blood donors from 18 to 65 years of age at the Hemoacre blood center in 2010-2011. Mean serum Cd was 0.37µg/L (95%CI: 0.33-0.41. Increased serum Cd was associated with lower schooling; individuals with less than five years of schooling showed a mean Cd of 0.61µg/L (95%CI: 0.34-0.89, compared to 0.34µg/L (95%CI: 0.28-0.40 among those with more than nine years of schooling. Mean serum Cd was three times higher among smokers. Smoking showed a positive association with Cd level, with an OR of 12.36 (95%CI: 7.70-19.84. Meanwhile, serum Cd was lower among individuals that regularly drank tea, as compared to non-tea drinkers. Serum Cd levels were mostly below the reference value (88.3% of participants. Mean serum Cd in the current study indicates that in general the population studied here is not exposed to worrisome Cd levels.

  15. Evaluation of maternal serum alpha-foetoprotein assay using dry blood spot samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    González, C; Guerrero, J M; Elorza, F L; Molinero, P; Goberna, R

    1988-02-01

    The quantification of alpha-foetoprotein in dry blood spots from pregnant women was evaluated, using a conventional radioimmunoassay (RIA) with a monospecific antibody. The stability of alpha-foetoprotein in dry blood spots on filter paper was evaluated with respect to mailing, distances travelled, and the existence of high summer temperatures in our region. The results obtained show that the blood alpha-foetoprotein is stable on dry filter spots sent by mail and is stable for up to four weeks at 4, 25 and 37 degrees C. The analytical method used has a minimal detectable concentration of 10 +/- 1.9 international kilo-units/l. Both inter- and intra-assay variabilities are smaller than 10% and this method can provide results comparable with those of conventional serum assays. Results from dry blood spots and serum samples (the latter analysed by both RIA and two-site enzyme immunoassay) exhibited a good correlation (r = 0.98 and r = 0.97, p less than 0.001). The design of the assay and the nature of the samples make this method suitable for a screening programmes for the antenatal detection of open neural tube defects.

  16. METABOLITE CHARACTERIZATION IN SERUM SAMPLES FROM ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

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    Metabonomics offers a distinct advantage over other tests as it can be ... Metabolic profiling in heart disease has also been successfully ... resonances of the small metabolites showing fingerprints of serum metabolomic profile (Figure. 3).

  17. Ultratrace analysis of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and their hydroxylated metabolites (OH-PCBs) in human serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Takasuga, T.; Senthilkumar, K.; Watanabe, K.; Takemori, H. [Shimadzu Techno Research, Inc., Kyoto (Japan); Shoda, T. [Ehime Univ. Medical Research Center, Matsuyama (Japan); Kuroda, Y. [Tokyo Metropolitan Inst. for Neuroscience, Tokyo (Japan)

    2004-09-15

    In the present study, we established pretreatment and high sensitivity analytical method of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and their hydroxylated metabolites (OH-PCBs) in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of humans for the first time. Analyzing serum and CSF samples from humans found unique because PCBs behavior and metabolism could be discerned. Furthermore, so far studies reported concentrations of OH-PCBs in wildlife samples obtained by HRGC-LRMS or GC-ECD data. In this study, we established cleanup and analytical methods by high resolution gas chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (HRGC-HRMS) using 1 mL of sample. Mainly, total PCBs and OH-PCBs in the CSF were extracted by specialized developed method. Using this method, PCBs and OH-PCBs could be determined swiftly. Based on this method, major OH-PCB congeners were detected from human, serum, CSF, control serum and Rhesus monkey plasma. Present methodology developed based on the isotope dilution technique using OH-PCBs standard and thus we suggest the present methodology could apply for ultra trace analysis of OHPCBs as well as total PCBs in human samples.

  18. Multiple stage MS in analysis of plasma, serum, urine and in vitro samples relevant to clinical and forensic toxicology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyer, Golo M; Maurer, Hans H; Meyer, Markus R

    2016-01-01

    This paper reviews MS approaches applied to metabolism studies, structure elucidation and qualitative or quantitative screening of drugs (of abuse) and/or their metabolites. Applications in clinical and forensic toxicology were included using blood plasma or serum, urine, in vitro samples, liquids, solids or plant material. Techniques covered are liquid chromatography coupled to low-resolution and high-resolution multiple stage mass analyzers. Only PubMed listed studies published in English between January 2008 and January 2015 were considered. Approaches are discussed focusing on sample preparation and mass spectral settings. Comments on advantages and limitations of these techniques complete the review.

  19. The relationships between sixteen perfluorinated compound concentrations in blood serum and food, and other parameters, in the general population of South Korea with proportionate stratified sampling method.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Hee-Young; Kim, Seung-Kyu; Kang, Dong-Mug; Hwang, Yong-Sik; Oh, Jeong-Eun

    2014-02-01

    Serum samples were collected from volunteers of various ages and both genders using a proportionate stratified sampling method, to assess the exposure of the general population in Busan, South Korea to perfluorinated compounds (PFCs). 16 PFCs were investigated in serum samples from 306 adults (124 males and 182 females) and one day composite diet samples (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) from 20 of the serum donors, to investigate the relationship between food and serum PFC concentrations. Perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid were the dominant PFCs in the serum samples, with mean concentrations of 8.4 and 13 ng/mL, respectively. Perfluorotridecanoic acid was the dominant PFC in the composite food samples, ranging from studies. We confirmed from the relationships between questionnaire results and the PFC concentrations in the serum samples, that food is one of the important contribution factors of human exposure to PFCs. However, there were no correlations between the PFC concentrations in the one day composite diet samples and the serum samples, because a one day composite diet sample is not necessarily representative of a person's long-term diet and because of the small number of samples taken. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Quantitation of 14C-oxaliplatin concentrations in human serum samples by using accelerator mass spectrometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kobayashi, Takeshi; Toyoguchi, Teiko; Kato, Kazuhiro; Tokanai, Fuyuki; Shiraishi, Tadashi

    2013-01-01

    The understanding of human pharmacokinetics is important for development of new drugs. Microdosing studies have been proposed as means of obtaining human pharmacokinetics information at early stages of drug development. Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) has high detection sensitivity and is expected to play an important role in microdose trials. In this study, we used the AMS microdosing facility at Yamagata University to measure the concentration of 14 C in 14 C-oxaliplatin-spiked serum samples. The calibration curve of 14 C concentration in serum was linear, and the correlation coefficient was 0.9994. The precision, accuracy, and stability values obtained (freeze and thaw cycles, and short- and long-term stability) satisfied the criteria. The mean background 14 C concentrations in samples of 6 healthy Japanese volunteers were 1.635dpm/mL in blood and 0.56dpm/mL in plasma. These results suggest the suitability of AMS-based quantitation for analyzing samples from microdosing studies. (author)

  1. Reliability of Serum Metabolites over a Two-Year Period: A Targeted Metabolomic Approach in Fasting and Non-Fasting Samples from EPIC

    Science.gov (United States)

    Achaintre, David; Sacerdote, Carlotta; Vineis, Paolo; Key, Timothy J.; Onland Moret, N. Charlotte; Scalbert, Augustin; Rinaldi, Sabina; Ferrari, Pietro

    2015-01-01

    Objective Although metabolic profiles have been associated with chronic disease risk, lack of temporal stability of metabolite levels could limit their use in epidemiological investigations. The present study aims to evaluate the reliability over a two-year period of 158 metabolites and compare reliability over time in fasting and non-fasting serum samples. Methods Metabolites were measured with the AbsolueIDQp180 kit (Biocrates, Innsbruck, Austria) by mass spectrometry and included acylcarnitines, amino acids, biogenic amines, hexoses, phosphatidylcholines and sphingomyelins. Measurements were performed on repeat serum samples collected two years apart in 27 fasting men from Turin, Italy, and 39 non-fasting women from Utrecht, The Netherlands, all participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study. Reproducibility was assessed by estimating intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) in multivariable mixed models. Results In fasting samples, a median ICC of 0.70 was observed. ICC values were fasting samples, the median ICC was 0.54. ICC values were fasting as compared to fasting samples, with a statistically significant difference for 19–36% of acylcarnitines, phosphatidylcholines and sphingomyelins. Conclusion A single measurement per individual may be sufficient for the study of 73% and 52% of the metabolites showing ICCs >0.50 in fasting and non-fasting samples, respectively. ICCs were higher in fasting samples that are preferable to non-fasting. PMID:26274920

  2. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in human serum and urine samples from a residentially exposed community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Worley, Rachel Rogers; Moore, Susan McAfee; Tierney, Bruce C; Ye, Xiaoyun; Calafat, Antonia M; Campbell, Sean; Woudneh, Million B; Fisher, Jeffrey

    2017-09-01

    Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are considered chemicals of emerging concern, in part due to their environmental and biological persistence and the potential for widespread human exposure. In 2007, a PFAS manufacturer near Decatur, Alabama notified the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) it had discharged PFAS into a wastewater treatment plant, resulting in environmental contamination and potential exposures to the local community. To characterize PFAS exposure over time, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) collected blood and urine samples from local residents. Eight PFAS were measured in serum in 2010 (n=153). Eleven PFAS were measured in serum, and five PFAS were measured in urine (n=45) from some of the same residents in 2016. Serum concentrations were compared to nationally representative data and change in serum concentration over time was evaluated. Biological half-lives were estimated for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), and perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS) using a one-compartment pharmacokinetic model. In 2010 and 2016, geometric mean PFOA and PFOS serum concentrations were elevated in participants compared to the general U.S. In 2016, the geometric mean PFHxS serum concentration was elevated compared to the general U.S. Geometric mean serum concentrations of PFOA, PFOS, and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) were significantly (p≤0.0001) lower (49%, 53%, and 58%, respectively) in 2016 compared to 2010. Half-lives for PFOA, PFOS, and PFHxS were estimated to be 3.9, 3.3, and 15.5years, respectively. Concentrations of PFOA in serum and urine were highly correlated (r=0.75) in males. Serum concentrations of some PFAS are decreasing in this residentially exposed community, but remain elevated compared to the U.S. general population. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  3. Serum cytokine levels in Kleine-Levin syndrome

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kornum, Birgitte Rahbek; Rico, Thomas; Lin, Ling

    2015-01-01

    in USA, France, and Taiwan in a clinical setting. Processing of the samples was performed at the Stanford Center for Sleep Sciences and Medicine. RESULTS: We did not observe any changes in serum cytokine levels during KLS episodes compared to between episodes. In a small cohort of asymptomatic KLS...... patients and age- and gender matched healthy controls (n = 8/group) whose blood samples were all collected and processed at the same day; asymptomatic KLS patients had significantly higher levels of serum sVCAM1 cytokine compared to healthy controls. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that KLS episodes...... unknown. The objective of this study was to determine serum cytokine levels in patients with KLS during and between episodes. PATIENTS/METHODS: Fifty-two typical KLS patients were included in the study of whom 17 patients donated blood samples both during and between episodes. Blood samples were collected...

  4. Determination of some psychotropic drugs in serum and saliva samples by HPLC-DAD and HPLC MS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petruczynik, A; Wróblewski, K; Szultka-Młyńska, M; Buszewski, B; Karakuła-Juchnowicz, H; Gajewski, J; Morylowska-Topolska, J; Waksmundzka-Hajnos, M

    2016-08-05

    A simple, rapid and sensitive HPLC-DAD method has been developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of seven psychotropic drugs (risperidone, citalopram, clozapine,quetiapine, levomepromazine, perazine and aripiprazole) in human serum or saliva samples. The chromatographic analyses were performed on a XSELECT CSH Phenyl-Hexyl column with a mobile phase containing methanol, acetate buffer at pH 3.5 and 0.025mL(-1) diethylamine. The influence of concentration of methanol in injection samples and injection volume on peak symmetry and system efficiency was examined.The full separation of all investigated drugs, good peaks' symmetry and simultaneously high systems efficiency were obtained in applied chromatographic system. The method is suitable for the analysis of investigated drugs in human plasma or saliva for psychiatric patients for control of pharmacotherapy, particularly in combination therapy. HPLC-MS was applied for verification of the presence of drugs and their metabolites in serum and saliva samples from patients. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Evaluation of nested polymerase chain reaction for the early detection of Leptospira spp. DNA in serum samples from patients with leptospirosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blanco, Roberta Morozetti; Romero, Eliete Caló

    2014-04-01

    The aim of this study was to analyse the nested polymerase chain reaction (nested PCR) in human serum samples of patients with clinical manifestations of leptospirosis. The cases of leptospirosis were defined by the microagglutination test (MAT). The samples were collected in 2010. Of 1042 serum samples collected from 521 patients, 28 (5.4%) were considered positive cases of leptospirosis, and 493 (94.6%) were negative. Twenty-three confirmed cases had no MAT-detectable antibodies in the acute sample (mean of 5.6 days after onset). Nested PCR was positive in 22/23 (95.7%) patients during the acute phase of the disease, with negative results by MAT. Nested PCR was negative in all convalescent serum samples with positive results by MAT. All negative cases of leptospirosis were negative by nested PCR. The nested PCR is an alternative diagnostic tool for early detection of leptospires in sera during the first 7 days of the disease. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Iron and ADHD: Time to Move beyond Serum Ferritin Levels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donfrancesco, Renato; Parisi, Pasquale; Vanacore, Nicola; Martines, Francesca; Sargentini, Vittorio; Cortese, Samuele

    2013-01-01

    Objective: (a) To compare serum ferritin levels in a sample of stimulant-naive children with ADHD and matched controls and (b) to assess the association of serum ferritin to ADHD symptoms severity, ADHD subtypes, and IQ. Method: The ADHD and the control groups included 101 and 93 children, respectively. Serum ferritin levels were determined with…

  7. Restricted access carbon nanotubes for direct extraction of cadmium from human serum samples followed by atomic absorption spectrometry analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barbosa, Adriano F; Barbosa, Valéria M P; Bettini, Jefferson; Luccas, Pedro O; Figueiredo, Eduardo C

    2015-01-01

    In this paper, we propose a new sorbent that is able to extract metal ions directly from untreated biological fluids, simultaneously excluding all proteins from these samples. The sorbent was obtained through the modification of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with an external bovine serum albumin (BSA) layer, resulting in restricted access carbon nanotubes (RACNTs). The BSA layer was fixed through the interconnection between the amine groups of the BSA using glutaraldehyde as cross-linker. When a protein sample is percolated through a cartridge containing RACNTs and the sample pH is higher than the isoelectric point of the proteins, both proteins from the sample and the BSA layer are negatively ionized. Thus, an electrostatic repulsion prevents the interaction between the proteins from the sample on the RACNTs surface. At the same time, metal ions are adsorbed in the CNTs (core) after their passage through the chains of proteins. The Cd(2+) ion was selected for a proof-of-principle case to test the suitability of the RACNTs due to its toxicological relevance. RACNTs were able to extract Cd(2+) and exclude almost 100% of the proteins from the human serum samples in an online solid-phase extraction system coupled with thermospray flame furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. The limits of detection and quantification were 0.24 and 0.80 μg L(-1), respectively. The sampling frequency was 8.6h(-1), and the intra- and inter-day precisions at the 0.80, 15.0, and 30.0 μg L(-1) Cd(2+) levels were all lower than 10.1% (RSD). The recoveries obtained for human blood serum samples fortified with Cd(2+) ranged from 85.0% to 112.0%. The method was successfully applied to analyze Cd(2+) directly from six human blood serum samples without any pretreatment, and the observed concentrations ranged from

  8. Comparison of Bovine coronavirus-specific and Bovine respiratory syncytial virus-specific antibodies in serum versus milk samples detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ohlson, Anna; Blanco-Penedo, Isabel; Fall, Nils

    2014-01-01

    Bovine coronavirus (BCV; Betacoronavirus 1) and Bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) are significant causes of enteric and respiratory disease in beef and dairy cattle throughout the world. Indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays are widely used to detect serum antibodies for herd monitoring and prevalence studies. In dairy herds, milk is more readily collected than serum. Hence, in order to investigate the test agreement between serum and milk, both serum and milk samples from 105 cows in 27 dairy herds were analyzed in parallel for presence of immunoglobulin G antibodies to BCV and BRSV. The Bland-Altman analyses of data demonstrated good agreement between serum and milk antibody titers for both viruses. The results indicate milk samples are sufficient for surveillance of antibodies to BCV and BRSV.

  9. Serum iron test

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fe+2; Ferric ion; Fe++; Ferrous ion; Iron - serum; Anemia - serum iron; Hemochromatosis - serum iron ... A blood sample is needed. Iron levels are highest in the morning. Your health care provider will likely have you do this test in the morning.

  10. Correlation of Cadmium and Magnesium in the Blood and Serum Samples of Smokers and Non-Smokers Chronic Leukemia Patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, Noman; Afridi, Hasan Imran; Kazi, Tasneem Gul; Arain, Muhammad Balal; Bilal, Muhammad; Akhtar, Asma; Khan, Mustafa

    2017-03-01

    It was studied that cancer-causing processes are related with the disproportions of essential and toxic elements in body tissues and fluid. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the levels of magnesium (Mg) and cadmium (Cd) in serum and blood samples of smokers and nonsmokers who have chronic myeloid (CML) and lymphocytic (CLL) leukemia, age ranged 31-50 years. For comparative study, age-matched smokers and nonsmoker males were chosen as controls/referents. The levels of elements in patient were analyzed before any treatment by atomic absorption spectrophotometer, after microwave assisted acid digestion. The validation of the method was done by using certified reference materials of serum and blood samples. The resulted data indicated that the adult male smokers and nonsmokers have two- to fourfold higher levels of Cd in the blood and sera samples as compared to the referents (p blood and serum samples of both types of leukemia patients as related to referent values. The resulted data indicates significant negative correlation among Mg and Cd in leukemia patients and smoker referents. Further studies are needed to clarify the role of these elements in pathogenesis of chronic leukemia.

  11. Liquid chromatographic determination of pioglitazone in pharmaceuticals, serum and urine samples

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abro, K.; Memon, N.; Bhanger, M.I.; Mahesar, S.A.; Parveen, S.

    2011-01-01

    A rapid and reliable analytical method based on high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with UV detection (221 nm) has been developed for the determination of the anti-hyper glycemic agent Pioglitazone in pharmaceutical formulations and biological fluids (serum and urine) after clean-up with solid-phase extraction. Chromatographic separation was achieved with a Chromolith Performance RP-18e (10 4.6mm) column using mobile phase composition of acetonitrile: mixed phosphate buffer (pH 2.5; 10mM) (30:70, v/v) with a flow rate of 2.0mL/min. The total run time was 2 min. under optimized conditions. The calibration curve was found to be linear in the range of 1-10 mu g mL/sup -1/ with regression coefficient of 0.9996, and the lower limit of detection 72 ng/20 mu L injection. The method has been validated for the system suitability, linearity, precision and accuracy, limits of detection, specificity, stability and robustness. The %recovery of Pioglitazone in pharmaceutical formulations was found to be 104.7%. The assay has been applied successfully to the pharmaceutical Tablet samples and biological fluids (serum and urine) of healthy volunteers. (author)

  12. Slurry sampling in serum blood for mercury determination by CV-AFS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aranda, Pedro R.; Gil, Raul A.; Moyano, Susana; De Vito, Irma; Martinez, Luis D.

    2009-01-01

    The heavy metal mercury (Hg) is a neurotoxin known to have a serious health impact even at relatively low concentrations. A slurry method was developed for the sensitive and precise determination of mercury in human serum blood samples by cold vapor generation coupled to atomic fluorescence spectrometry (CV-AFS). All variables related to the slurry formation were studied. The optimal hydrochloric concentration and tin(II) chloride concentration for CV generation were evaluated. Calibration within the range 0.1-10 μg L -1 Hg was performed with the standard addition method, and compared with an external calibration. Additionally, the reliability of the results obtained was evaluated by analyzing mercury in the same samples, but submitted to microwave-assisted digestion method. The limit of detection was calculated as 25 ng L -1 and the relative standard deviation was 3.9% at levels around of 0.4 μg L -1 Hg

  13. Variation of calcium, copper and iron levels in serum, bile and stone samples of patients having different types of gallstone: A comparative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, Mustafa; Kazi, Tasneem Gul; Afridi, Hassan Imran; Sirajuddin; Bilal, Muhammad; Akhtar, Asma; Khan, Sabir; Kadar, Salma

    2017-08-01

    Epidemiological data among the human population has shown a significantly increased incidence of gallstone (GS) disease worldwide. It was studied that some essential (calcium) and transition elements (iron and copper) in bile play an important role in the development of GS. The estimation of calcium, copper and iron were carried out in the serum, gall bladder bile and different types of GS (cholesterol, mixed and pigmented) of 172 patients, age ranged 20-55years. For comparative purpose age matched referents not suffering from GS diseases were also selected. Biliary concentrations of calcium (Ca), iron (Fe) and copper (Cu) were correlated with their concentrations in serum and different types of GS samples. The ratio of Ca, Fe and Cu in bile with serum was also calculated. Understudy metals were determined by flame atomic absorption spectroscopy after acid decomposition of matrices of selected samples. The Ca concentrations in serum samples were significantly higher in patients with pigmented GS as compared to controls (p0.001). The contents of Cu and Fe in serum and bile of all patients (except female cholesterol GS patient have low serum iron concentration) were found to be higher than control, but difference was significant in those patients who have pigmented GS. The concentration of Ca, Fe and Cu in different types GS were found in the order, Pigmented>mixed>cholesterol. The bile/serum ratio for Ca, Cu and Fe was found to be significantly higher in pigmented GS patients. Gall bladder bile was slightly alkaline in patients as compared to referents. The density of bile was found to be higher in patients as compared to the referents. Various functional groups present in different types of GS samples were confirmed by Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy. The higher density and pH of bile, elevated concentrations of transition elements in all types of biological samples (serum, bile and GS), could be an important factor for the formation of different types of

  14. Detection of Wuchereria bancrofti DNA in paired serum and urine samples using polymerase chain reaction-based systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Camila Ximenes

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The Global Program for the Elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis (GPELF aims to eliminate this disease by the year 2020. However, the development of more specific and sensitive tests is important for the success of the GPELF. The present study aimed to standardise polymerase chain reaction (PCR-based systems for the diagnosis of filariasis in serum and urine. Twenty paired biological urine and serum samples from individuals already known to be positive for Wuchereria bancrofti were collected during the day. Conventional PCR and semi-nested PCR assays were optimised. The detection limit of the technique for purified W. bancrofti DNA extracted from adult worms was 10 fg for the internal systems (WbF/Wb2 and 0.1 fg by using semi-nested PCR. The specificity of the primers was confirmed experimentally by amplification of 1 ng of purified genomic DNA from other species of parasites. Evaluation of the paired urine and serum samples by the semi-nested PCR technique indicated only two of the 20 tested individuals were positive, whereas the simple internal PCR system (WbF/Wb2, which has highly promising performance, revealed that all the patients were positive using both samples. This study successfully demonstrated the possibility of using the PCR technique on urine for the diagnosis of W. bancrofti infection.

  15. Serum chromium levels sampled with steel needle versus plastic IV cannula. Does method matter?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Penny, Jeannette Ø; Overgaard, Søren

    2010-01-01

    PURPOSE: Modern metal-on-metal (MoM) joint articulations releases metal ions to the body. Research tries to establish how much this elevates metal ion levels and whether it causes adverse effects. The steel needle that samples the blood may introduce additional chromium to the sample thereby...... causing bias. This study aimed to test that theory. METHODS: We compared serum chromium values for two sampling methods, steel needle and IV plastic cannula, as well as sampling sequence in 16 healthy volunteers. RESULTS: We found statistically significant chromium contamination from the steel needle...... with mean differences between the two methods of 0.073 ng/mL, for the first sample, and 0.033 ng/mL for the second. No difference was found between the first and second plastic sample. The first steel needle sample contained an average of 0.047 ng/mL more than the second. This difference was only borderline...

  16. Serum insulin like growth factor-1 is associated with working memory, executive function and selective attention in a sample of healthy, fit older adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bellar, D; Glickman, E L; Juvancic-Heltzel, J; Gunstad, J

    2011-03-31

    The present study examined the association between serum insulin like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) concentrations and cognitive function in a sample of healthy, fit older adults (age: 70.8±9.3 years, body mass index (BMI): 27.3±5.7). Participants reported to the laboratory and basic anthropometric data were collected, followed by a fasted blood draw to quantify serum IGF-1. Participants then underwent cognitive testing that included the Mini-Mental Status Exam (MMSE), Trail Making Test A and B, Ruff's 2 and 7 test of selective attention and Letter Number Sequencing. Results showed the participants were generally cognitively intact (MMSE 27.6±1.8). Significant partial correlations (controlled for age, gender and years of education) emerged between serum IGF-1 concentrations and the total (r=0.381, P=0.030) and longest trial (r=0.455, P=0.011) on Letter Number Sequencing. Similar partial correlations yielded significant relationships between serum IGF-1 and Ruff's Automatic Detection Errors (r=-0.495, P=0.006), Controlled Speed Errors (r=-0.598, P=0.002) and errors made on the Trial Making Test part B (r=-0.466, P=0.010). These findings suggest that fasting levels of serum IGF-1 are related to higher levels of cognitive performance in healthy older adults, including working memory, selective attention and executive function. Further work is needed to more clearly determine possible mechanisms. Copyright © 2011 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Effects of coagulation temperature on measurements of complement function in serum samples from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Baatrup, G; Sturfelt, G; Junker, A

    1992-01-01

    Blood samples from 15 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and 15 healthy blood donors were allowed to coagulate for one hour at room temperature, followed by one hour at 4 or 37 degrees C. The complement activity of the serum samples was assessed by three different functional assays...

  18. Monoclonal antibody-based dipstick assay: a reliable field applicable technique for diagnosis of Schistosoma mansoni infection using human serum and urine samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Demerdash, Zeinab; Mohamed, Salwa; Hendawy, Mohamed; Rabia, Ibrahim; Attia, Mohy; Shaker, Zeinab; Diab, Tarek M

    2013-02-01

    A field applicable diagnostic technique, the dipstick assay, was evaluated for its sensitivity and specificity in diagnosing human Schistosoma mansoni infection. A monoclonal antibody (mAb) against S. mansoni adult worm tegumental antigen (AWTA) was employed in dipstick and sandwich ELISA for detection of circulating schistosome antigen (CSA) in both serum and urine samples. Based on clinical and parasitological examinations, 60 S. mansoni-infected patients, 30 patients infected with parasites other than schistosomiasis, and 30 uninfected healthy individuals were selected. The sensitivity and specificity of dipstick assay in urine samples were 86.7% and 90.0%, respectively, compared to 90.0% sensitivity and 91.7% specificity of sandwich ELISA. In serum samples, the sensitivity and specificity were 88.3% and 91.7% for dipstick assay vs. 91.7% and 95.0% for sandwich ELISA, respectively. The diagnostic efficacy of dipstick assay in urine and serum samples was 88.3% and 90.0%, while it was 90.8% and 93.3% for sandwich ELISA, respectively. The diagnostic indices of dipstick assay and ELISA either in serum or in urine were statistically comparable (P>0.05). In conclusion, the dipstick assay offers an alternative simple, rapid, non-invasive technique in detecting CSA or complement to stool examinations especially in field studies.

  19. The study in the relationship between serum calcium and serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) by employing the various kits of PTH assay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Torizumi, Kazutami; Aibata, Hirofumi; Taniguchi, Yoshiyuki; Kiji, Shigeyuki; Ueyoshi, Akitaka; Shimizu, Eiji; Okamoto, Yukiharu; Tuda, Tadaaki; Ota, Kiichiro

    1987-01-01

    In order to evaluate the influences of serum PTH assay in the various concentrations of serum calcium, we divided into three groups which serum calcium had below 8.0 mg/dl, 8.2 mg/dl to 9.8 mg/dl and above 10.0 mg/dl at random samples and assayed PTH in serum sample, using various kits of PTH assay obtained from commercial sources. Our results suggested that the measurement of serum PTH influenced by the concentration of serum calcium and therefore, should be taken an attention of serum calcium in each sample. (author)

  20. SELDI-TOF MS of quadruplicate urine and serum samples to evaluate changes related to storage conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Traum, Avram Z; Wells, Meghan P; Aivado, Manuel; Libermann, Towia A; Ramoni, Marco F; Schachter, Asher D

    2006-03-01

    Proteomic profiling with SELDI-TOF MS has facilitated the discovery of disease-specific protein profiles. However, multicenter studies are often hindered by the logistics required for prompt deep-freezing of samples in liquid nitrogen or dry ice within the clinic setting prior to shipping. We report high concordance between MS profiles within sets of quadruplicate split urine and serum samples deep-frozen at 0, 2, 6, and 24 h after sample collection. Gage R&R results confirm that deep-freezing times are not a statistically significant source of SELDI-TOF MS variability for either blood or urine.

  1. Glyco-centric lectin magnetic bead array (LeMBA − proteomics dataset of human serum samples from healthy, Barrett׳s esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma individuals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alok K. Shah

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available This data article describes serum glycoprotein biomarker discovery and qualification datasets generated using lectin magnetic bead array (LeMBA – mass spectrometry techniques, “Serum glycoprotein biomarker discovery and qualification pipeline reveals novel diagnostic biomarker candidates for esophageal adenocarcinoma” [1]. Serum samples collected from healthy, metaplastic Barrett׳s esophagus (BE and esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC individuals were profiled for glycoprotein subsets via differential lectin binding. The biomarker discovery proteomics dataset consisting of 20 individual lectin pull-downs for 29 serum samples with a spiked-in internal standard chicken ovalbumin protein has been deposited in the PRIDE partner repository of the ProteomeXchange Consortium with the data set identifier PRIDE: http://www.ebi.ac.uk/pride/archive/projects/PXD002442. Annotated MS/MS spectra for the peptide identifications can be viewed using MS-Viewer (〈http://prospector2.ucsf.edu/prospector/cgi-bin/msform.cgi?form=msviewer〉 using search key “jn7qafftux”. The qualification dataset contained 6-lectin pulldown-coupled multiple reaction monitoring-mass spectrometry (MRM-MS data for 41 protein candidates, from 60 serum samples. This dataset is available as a supplemental files with the original publication [1].

  2. Study of Zn/Cu ratio and oligoelements in serum samples for cancer diagnosis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lue-Meru, M. P.; Jimenez, E.; Hernandez, E.; Rojas, A.; Greaves, E.

    2000-01-01

    The aim of this work was to study methods for cancer diagnosis based on trace element determination in serum blood samples. TXRF technique was selected for the analysis, due to its simultaneous and multi-elemental character, the very small amount of sample required and the high sensitivity. For the study, blood samples were collected from normal individuals (Blood donors and students), classified by age and sex in order to obtain reference normal values for the elements Zn, Cu, Fe, Mn, Se, and additionally, Ca and K. Samples from cancer patients before treatment and under treatment were collected at the oncological Service (BADAN-Lara), and were also classified by age and sex. The TXRF procedure used was developed in a previous work and involves the direct analysis and the use of Compton peak as Internal Standard. All the samples were analyzed by the routine clinical test (blood chemistry). Elemental concentrations and clinical data were processed with the statistical package Minitab-Windows, in order to establish the respective correlation. Concerning to elemental concentrations, significant differences were found in Zn/Cu ratio between normal individuals group and the cancer patients group. (author)

  3. Ochratoxin A in serum of swine from different Brazilian states.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krüger, César D; Cavaglieri, Lilia R; Direito, Glória M; Keller, Kelly M; Dalcero, Ana M; da Rocha Rosa, Carlos A

    2010-09-01

    The aims of the current study were to monitor the presence of ochratoxin A (OTA) in the serum of slaughtered swine and to investigate its distribution in 4 major geographical regions of Brazil. A total of 400 samples of serum were collected from 4 major states of Brazil (100 samples each). Ochratoxin A concentrations were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. In Santa Catarina State, 60% of the samples had OTA concentrations ranging from 4.01 to 75.4 mg/l. In Mato Grosso State, 75% of the samples had OTA concentrations ranging from 0.17 to 46.79 mg/l. Bahia State samples had OTA concentrations ranging from 2.72 to 4.13 mg/l in 36% of the samples, whereas 68% of the samples from Rio de Janeiro State had OTA concentrations ranging from 0.16 to 115 mg/l. Only Santa Catarina State and Rio de Janeiro State had serum samples that exceeded 75 mg/l OTA in 20% and 2% of the samples, respectively. A direct relationship between the higher concentrations of OTA in serum from the States of Santa Catarina and Rio de Janeiro and the highest concentrations of OTA in food intended for animal consumption in the same 2 Brazilian states was found in the present study. Ochratoxin A distribution in foodstuffs is very heterogeneous, and an alternative method by which to monitor the presence of OTA in feed includes analyzing swine serum samples, which reflect the toxin content of the ingested feed. This strategy could prevent the occurrence of ochratoxicosis in animal production, reduce economic losses, and minimize hazards to human health.

  4. Comparative evaluation of serum, FTA filter-dried blood and oral fluid as sample material for PRRSV diagnostics by RT-qPCR in a small-scale experimental study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steinrigl, Adolf; Revilla-Fernández, Sandra; Wodak, Eveline; Schmoll, Friedrich; Sattler, Tatjana

    2014-01-01

    Recently, research into alternative sample materials, such as oral fluid or filter-dried blood has been intensified, in order to facilitate cost-effective and animal-friendly sampling of individuals or groups of pigs for diagnostic purposes. The objective of this study was to compare the sensitivity of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV)-RNA detection by reverse transcription quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) in serum, FTA filter-dried blood and oral fluid sampled from individual pigs. Ten PRRSV negative pigs were injected with an EU-type PRRSV live vaccine. Blood and oral fluid samples were taken from each pig before, and 4, 7, 14 and 21 days after vaccination. All samples were then analyzed by PRRSV RT-qPCR. In serum, eight often pigs tested RT-qPCR positive at different time points post infection. Absolute quantification showed low serum PRRSV-RNA loads in most samples. In comparison to serum, sensitivity of PRRSV-RNA detection was strongly reduced in matched FTA filter-dried blood and in oral fluid from the same pigs. These results indicate that with low PRRSV-RNA loads the diagnostic sensitivity of PRRSV-RNA detection by RT-qPCR achieved with serum is currently unmatched by either FTA filter-dried blood or oral fluid.

  5. Validation of 2 commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for adiponectin determination in canine serum samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tvarijonaviciute, Asta; Martínez-Subiela, Silvia; Ceron, José J

    2010-10-01

    The aim of this study was to validate 2 commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) for adiponectin in dogs, 1 canine-specific and 1 originally designed for measurements in humans. Intra-assay and interassay precision was evaluated by multiple measurements in canine serum samples, and assay accuracy was indirectly determined by linearity under dilution. Interference caused by hemolysis and lipemia was also studied. Both assays were subsequently used for measuring adiponectin concentrations in clinically healthy dogs and those with different grades of obesity. The intra-assay and inter-assay precision was less than 7.5% and 13.5% in serum samples with low and high adiponectin concentrations, respectively. Lipemia and hemolysis did not affect the results of any of the assays. Both assays were able to differentiate lean dogs from those that were overweight or obese on the basis of the measured adiponectin concentrations. From these results it can be concluded that canine adiponectin concentrations can be measured reliably by means of the 2 ELISAs evaluated in this study.

  6. Anti-Taenia solium metacestode IgG antibodies in serum samples from inhabitants of a central-western region of Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oliveira Heliana B. de

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available A total of 354 serum samples from inhabitants who frequent the Clinical Laboratory in Catalão, Goiás, in the central-western region of Brazil, were collected from June to August, 2002. The samples were evaluated by indirect immunofluorescence antibody tests and an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay in order to detect anti-Taenia solium metacestode IgG antibodies. Reactive and inconclusive samples were tested by Western blotting (WB. Considering WB as a confirmation, the frequency of antibodies in the serum samples of the above population was 11.3% (CI 5.09 - 17.51. The immunodominant bands most frequently recognized in WB were 64-68 kDa (97.5% and 47-52 kDa (80%. The percentage of seropositivity to cysticercosis was significantly higher for individuals residing in areas without sewage systems (p < 0.0001. In conclusion, the results indicate a probable endemic situation of cysticercosis in this population. These results reinforce the urgent need for control and prevention measures to be taken by the local public health services.

  7. The use of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of Mycoplasma hominis antibodies in infertile women serum samples

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Baczynska, Agata; Friis Svenstrup, Helle; Fedder, Jens

    2005-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Besides Chlamydiae trachomatis and Mycoplasma genitalium, Mycoplasma hominis may also cause infertility due to damage of the Fallopian tubes. Therefore serum samples from infertile women were analyzed for antibodies to M. hominis. METHODS: Sera from 304 infertile women were investigat...

  8. Stir-bar supported micro-solid-phase extraction for the determination of polychlorinated biphenyl congeners in serum samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sajid, Muhammad; Basheer, Chanbasha

    2016-07-15

    In present work, a new configuration of micro-solid phase extraction was introduced and termed as stir-bar supported micro-solid-phase extraction (SB-μ-SPE). A tiny stir-bar was packed inside the porous polypropylene membrane along with sorbent material and the edges of membrane sheet were heat sealed to secure the contents. The packing of stir-bar inside the μ-SPE device does not allow the device to stick with the wall or any corner of the sample vial during extraction, which is, however, a frequent observation in routine μ-SPE. Moreover, it enhances effective surface area of the sorbent exposed to sample solution through continuous agitation (motion and rotation). It also completely immerses the SB-μ-SPE device in the sample solution even for non-polar sorbents. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were selected as model compounds and the method performance was evaluated in human serum samples. After extraction, samples were analyzed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The factors that affect extraction efficiency of SB-μ-SPE were optimized. Under optimum conditions, a good linearity (0.1-100ngmL(-1)) with coefficients of determinations ranging from 0.9868 to 0.9992 was obtained. Limits of detections were ranged between 0.003 and 0.047ngmL(-1). Acceptable values for inter-day (3.2-9.1%) and intra-day (3.1-7.2%) relative standard deviations were obtained. The optimized method was successfully applied to determine the concentration of PCB congeners in human serum samples. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. A study of serum lipid profile and serum apolipoproteins A1 and B in Indian male violent criminal offenders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chakrabarti, Nandini; Sinha, V K

    2006-01-01

    High cholesterol has been advanced as the most important factor in the development of coronary artery disease. Most panels have recommended population-wide dietary restrictions, yet a body of evolving data yields evidence of the hazards of low cholesterol, including links to aggression and hostility. The aim of this study was to compare the serum lipid profile and serum apolipoproteins A1 and B of men with a violent criminal record and men with no criminal history. Fasting blood samples were collected from 30 men with a known history of violent crime and 30 men with no criminal record. Serum lipid profile and serum apolipoproteins A1 and B were measured in each sample, and compared between the two groups. The group with the violent criminal record showed significantly lower total cholesterol, lower LDL cholesterol, higher apolipoprotein A1 and lower apolipoprotein B compared with the control group. Lower total cholesterol, lower LDL cholesterol, higher apolipoprotein A1 and lower apolipoprotein B could predispose to violence. Future research might explore the possibility that diets offered in prison could affect relevant pathways in lipid metabolism. Copyright (c) 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  10. Microcontroller-based system for estimate of calcium in serum samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neelamegam, Periyaswmy; Jamaludeen, Abdul Sheriff; Ragendran, Annamalai; Murugrananthan, Krishanamoorthy

    2010-01-01

    In this study, a microcontroller-based control unit was designed and constructed for the estimation of serum calcium in blood samples. The proposed optoelectronic instrument used a red light emitting diode (LED) as a light source and photodiode as a sensor. The performance of the system was compared with that of a commercial instrument in measuring calcium ion. The quantitative analysis of calcium in a catalyst using arsenazo III as colorimetric reagent was used to test the device. The calibration curve for calcium binding with arsenazo III was drawn to check the range of linearity, which was between 0.1 to 4.5 mM L⁻¹. The limit of detection (LOD) is 0.05 mM L⁻¹. Absorbance changes over the pH range of 2-12 were determined to optimize the assay, with maximum absorption at pH 9.0. Interferences in absorbance from monovalent (K+ and Na+) and divalent (Mg²+) cations were also studied. The results show that the system works successfully.

  11. Radioimmunological assay of alpha-fetoprotein concentrations in blood serum samples from women in the first half of gestation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chomanski, M.; Grzes, A.

    1977-01-01

    In 66 unpregnant women and in 199 pregnant subjects (in the first half of pregnancy) the alpha-fetoprotein (α-FP) concentrations were determined in peripheric blood-serum samples. The α-FP was determined using radioimmunoo-assay technique where the addition of I 125 labelled protein was preceded by 3 hours lasting preincubation period. The free protein was separated from the bound by means of precipitation with a mixture of 96% ethanol and 34.5% ammonium acetate in a ratio 77.5 : 22.5. The patients were grouped into 5 subgroups according to the gestational age. The mean values of α-FP concentration demonstrated a steady increase along with the advancement of gestation. It is suggested that the concentration of this protein in the blood-serum samples may serve as a valuable parameter for the study of gestation development and the state of the fetus. (author)

  12. Serum total and free carnitine levels in children with asthma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asilsoy, Suna; Bekem, Ozlem; Karaman, Ozkan; Uzuner, Nevin; Kavukçu, Salih

    2009-02-01

    Serum carnitine is decreased in recurrent pulmonary infections. We aimed to evaluate serum carnitine levels in asthmatic children. Study group consisted of children with stable asthma and those with acute asthma attacks, while control group included healthy children. Attack severity was determined by the pulmonary score system. Total and free carnitine levels were studied in one blood sample from the control group and stable asthmatics and in two samples from children with acute asthma exacerbation during and after the attack. All the 40 patients in the study group had moderate asthma including 30 with acute attack (13 mild and 17 moderate) and 10 with stable asthma. Carnitine levels were significantly lower in acute attack asthmatics than in the stable asthmatics and controls, while there was no significant difference between the latter two groups. Carnitine levels were not different between asthmatics with mild and moderate attack, and were similar during and after an acute attack. Serum carnitine levels decrease in children with moderate asthma during exacerbation of asthma and shortly thereafter. Further studies are needed to evaluate the effect of carnitine treatment on serum carnitine level.

  13. Effect of storage duration on cytokine stability in human serum and plasma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vincent, Fabien B; Nim, Hieu T; Lee, Jacinta P W; Morand, Eric F; Harris, James

    2018-06-14

    Quantification of analytes such as cytokines in serum samples is intrinsic to translational research in immune diseases. Optimising pre-analytical conditions is critical for ensuring study quality, including evaluation of cytokine stability. We aimed to evaluate the effect on cytokine stability of storage duration prior to freezing of serum, and compare to plasma samples obtained from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Protein stability was analysed by simultaneously quantifying 18 analytes using a custom multi-analyte profile in SLE patient serum and plasma samples that had been prospectively stored at 4 °C for pre-determined periods between 0 and 30 days, prior to freezing. Six analytes were excluded from analysis, because most tested samples were above or below the limit of detection. Amongst the 12 analysed proteins, 11 did not show significant signal degradation. Significant signal degradation was observed from the fourth day of storage for a single analyte, CCL19. Proteins levels were more stable in unseparated serum compared to plasma for most analytes, with the exception of IL-37 which appears slightly more stable in plasma. Based on this, a maximum 3 days of storage at 4 °C for unseparated serum samples is recommended for biobanked samples intended for cytokine analysis in studies of human immune disease. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. [Trend of the selenium supply of cattle in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Denmark. Retrospective analysis of serum samples of the years 2006-2015].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Müller, A; Freude, B

    2016-01-01

    An optimal selenium supply of cattle is essential, because an insufficiency can lead to health disorders and reduced performance. The aim of the study was to retrospectively evaluate the selenium supply of cattle in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Denmark. Serum samples from 45  068 cattle with unknown clinical status originating from countries all across Europe, which had been sent by veterinarians to the IDEXX Laboratory Ludwigsburg, Germany, between January 1st, 2006 and June 30th, 2015, were routinely analyzed for the selenium concentration by means of Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry. A total of 40  949 samples (30  462 from Germany, 4004 from Austria, 3232 from Switzerland, 3251 from Denmark) were included in the evaluation. Results were categorized as follows: 50-150 µg/l: sufficient supply,  150 µg/l: supply too high. During the observation period, a generalized trend towards a decreasing selenium supply was clear. Denmark showed the best selenium supply (77.4% of samples indicating a sufficient supply); however, even in this country a tendency towards a deterioration was seen. A very poor situation with a strongly decreasing selenium supply was observed in Austria, followed by Germany (38% and 30% of samples, respectively, indicating an undersupply). For Switzerland, a constantly poor selenium supply was found (49% of samples indicating an undersupply). Due to the ongoing trend of a selenium undersupply in cattle herds, it is recommended to control the serum selenium concentration annually and supplement this trace element via mineral food when necessary.

  15. Retrospective analysis of dengue specific IgM reactive serum samples

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nemai Bhattacharya

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To conduct a retrospective analysis of dengue cases in Kolkata, on the basis of presence of anti-dengue IgM in their sera and presence or absence of anti-dengue IgG and dengue specific Non structural 1 (NS1 antigen in each of the serum sample. Methods: Sample was tested quantitatively employing ELISA technique, using Biorad test kits, with a view to get a more comprehensive picture of dengue in an urban endemic area and also to evaluate individual cases. Results: This reconstructed study revealed that of those 91 dengue cases, 70.3% (64 and 29.7% (27 were suffering from secondary and primary dengue respectively, showing that number of secondary dengue cases were much more than that of primary dengue cases with a possibility of emergence of DHF. A small proportion of cases 18.7% (17 were reactive for NS1. The duration of fever in NS1 antigen positive cases varied between 5 and 7 days. Of 17 NS1 reactive cases, 10 (10.9% and 7 (7.7% were suffering from secondary and primary dengue respectively. Conclusions: Early detection of primary and secondary dengue cases would be facilitated by utilizing all three parameters (NS1 antigen, anti-dengue IgM and IgG helping to evaluate, monitor and treat a dengue case effectively.

  16. Prevalence of parvovirus B19 and parvovirus V9 DNA and antibodies in paired bone marrow and serum samples from healthy individuals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heegaard, Erik D; Petersen, Bodil Laub; Heilmann, Carsten J; Hornsleth, Allan

    2002-03-01

    Parvovirus B19 (hereafter referred to as B19) exhibits a marked tropism to human bone marrow (BM), and infection may lead to erythema infectiosum, arthropathy, hydrops fetalis, and various hematologic disorders. Recently, a distinct parvovirus isolate termed V9 with an unknown clinical spectrum was discovered. In contrast to the many studies of B19 serology and viremia, valid information on the frequency of B19 or V9 DNA in the BM of healthy individuals is limited. To develop a reference value, paired BM and serum samples from healthy subjects were tested for the presence of B19 and V9 DNA and specific antibodies. Immunoglobulin M (IgM) was not found in any of the serum samples. The prevalence of IgG showed a gradual and steady increase from 37% in children aged 1 to 5 years to 87% in people aged >50 years. When 190 well-characterized subjects were examined, B19 DNA was detected in the BM of 4 individuals (2.1%; 95% confidence interval, 0.58 to 5.3%) while none of the paired serum samples showed evidence of circulating viral DNA. V9 DNA was not found in any of the BM or serum samples. The finding of B19 DNA probably indicated a primary infection in one 7-year-old individual and reinfection or reactivation of persistent infection in the remaining three persons, aged 47 to 58 years. Serving as a benchmark for future studies, these findings are useful when interpreting epidemiologic data, performing BM transplantation, or considering clinical implications of parvovirus infection.

  17. Tissue and serum samples of patients with papillary thyroid cancer with and without benign background demonstrate different altered expression of proteins

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mardiaty Iryani Abdullah

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Background Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC is mainly diagnosed using fine-needle aspiration biopsy. This most common form of well-differentiated thyroid cancer occurs with or without a background of benign thyroid goiter (BTG. Methods In the present study, a gel-based proteomics analysis was performed to analyse the expression of proteins in tissue and serum samples of PTC patients with (PTCb; n = 6 and without a history of BTG (PTCa; n = 8 relative to patients with BTG (n = 20. This was followed by confirmation of the levels of proteins which showed significant altered abundances of more than two-fold difference (p < 0.01 in the tissue and serum samples of the same subjects using ELISA. Results The data of our study showed that PTCa and PTCb distinguish themselves from BTG in the types of tissue and serum proteins of altered abundance. While higher levels of alpha-1 antitrypsin (A1AT and heat shock 70 kDa protein were associated with PTCa, lower levels of A1AT, protein disulfide isomerase and ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme E2 N seemed apparent in the PTCb. In case of the serum proteins, higher abundances of A1AT and alpha 1-beta glycoprotein were detected in PTCa, while PTCb was associated with enhanced apolipoprotein A-IV and alpha 2-HS glycoprotein (AHSG. The different altered expression of tissue and serum A1AT as well as serum AHSG between PTCa and PTCb patients were also validated by ELISA. Discussion The distinctive altered abundances of the tissue and serum proteins form preliminary indications that PTCa and PTCb are two distinct cancers of the thyroid that are etiologically and mechanistically different although it is currently not possible to rule out that they may also be due other reasons such as the different stages of the malignant disease. These proteins stand to have a potential use as tissue or serum biomarkers to discriminate the three different thyroid neoplasms although this requires further validation in clinically

  18. Association of serum uric acid with blood urea and serum creatinine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haq, A.U.; Ahmad, Z.; Rehman, J.U.

    2010-01-01

    Background: Hyperuricemia can cause serious health problems including renal insufficiency. Hyperuricemia is associated with many diseases including Hypertension, Diabetes Mellitus, Hypertriglyceridemia and Obesity. Objective of the present study was to study the Association of Serum Uric Acid with Blood Urea and Serum Creatinine. Methods: Eighty subjects, aged above 40, having blood urea more than 40 mg/dl and serum Creatinine more than 1.3 mg/dl were selected. 52.5 % subjects were male. Eighty subjects were selected as control group matching the age and sex with study group with normal blood urea and serum Creatinine. Results: Serum Uric Acid was found to be raised in 33 patients. Mean Serum Uric Acid value was 6.98+-2.021 in males (p<0.05) and 5.054+-2.324 in females (p<0.05). Conclusion: Serum Uric Acid is raised in patients with impaired renal function (p<0.05). Levels of increased Serum Uric Acid were not significantly associated with the cause of renal disease. (author)

  19. Can serums be replaced by Mueller‑Hinton agar in germ tube test?

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2016-03-03

    Mar 3, 2016 ... various serums (i.e., human, rabbit, horse, and fetal bovine serum) used in the GTT and Mueller‑Hinton agar (MHA). Materials and Methods: Fifty species isolated from various clinical samples that were defined as C. albicans by both conventional and DNA sequence analysis methods were included in the ...

  20. Association between serum soluble CD30 and serum creatinine before and after renal transplantation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    López-Hoyos, M; San Segundo, D; Benito, M J; Fernández-Fresnedo, G; Ruiz, J C; Rodrigo, E; Gómez-Alamillo, C; Benito, A; Arias, M

    2008-11-01

    There is increasing evidence that circulating levels of soluble CD30 (sCD30) may represent a biomarker for outcome in kidney transplantation. The aim of this study was to measure the pre- and posttransplantation serum levels of sCD30 in cadaveric kidney transplant recipients and correlate them with serum creatinine. Serum sCD30 was measured by a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) from prospective samples of 38 kidney allograft recipients serially transplanted at our center. Samples were collected at day 0 pretransplantation and at months 6, 12, 18, and 24 posttransplantation. We also studied sera from 29 patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) at different stages of the K/DOQI guidelines, as a control group. Serum levels of sCD30 decreased significantly in samples posttransplantation compared with pretransplantation. The significant decrease after transplantation may be related to the improvement in renal function since we observed a significant correlation between serum levels of sCD30 and creatinine (sCr) at all times of the study. In addition, the patients with chronic renal failure showed a significant association between serum sCD30 and sCr (r = .454; P = .013). Our results did not suggest that the measurement of sCD30 may be used as a valuable biomarker in renal transplantation. Increased levels may be related to a decrease in its renal elimination.

  1. Comparative Analysis of Clinical Samples Showing Weak Serum Reaction on AutoVue System Causing ABO Blood Typing Discrepancies

    OpenAIRE

    Jo, Su Yeon; Lee, Ju Mi; Kim, Hye Lim; Sin, Kyeong Hwa; Lee, Hyeon Ji; Chang, Chulhun Ludgerus; Kim, Hyung-Hoi

    2016-01-01

    Background ABO blood typing in pre-transfusion testing is a major component of the high workload in blood banks that therefore requires automation. We often experienced discrepant results from an automated system, especially weak serum reactions. We evaluated the discrepant results by the reference manual method to confirm ABO blood typing. Methods In total, 13,113 blood samples were tested with the AutoVue system; all samples were run in parallel with the reference manual method according to...

  2. Characterizing concentrations of diethylene glycol and suspected metabolites in human serum, urine, and cerebrospinal fluid samples from the Panama DEG mass poisoning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schier, J G; Hunt, D R; Perala, A; McMartin, K E; Bartels, M J; Lewis, L S; McGeehin, M A; Flanders, W D

    2013-12-01

    Diethylene glycol (DEG) mass poisoning is a persistent public health problem. Unfortunately, there are no human biological data on DEG and its suspected metabolites in poisoning. If present and associated with poisoning, the evidence for use of traditional therapies such as fomepizole and/or hemodialysis would be much stronger. To characterize DEG and its metabolites in stored serum, urine, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) specimens obtained from human DEG poisoning victims enrolled in a 2006 case-control study. In the 2006 study, biological samples from persons enrolled in a case-control study (42 cases with new-onset, unexplained AKI and 140 age-, sex-, and admission date-matched controls without AKI) were collected and shipped to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta for various analyses and were then frozen in storage. For this study, when sufficient volume of the original specimen remained, the following analytes were quantitatively measured in serum, urine, and CSF: DEG, 2-hydroxyethoxyacetic acid (HEAA), diglycolic acid, ethylene glycol, glycolic acid, and oxalic acid. Analytes were measured using low resolution GC/MS, descriptive statistics calculated and case results compared with controls when appropriate. Specimens were de-identified so previously collected demographic, exposure, and health data were not available. The Wilcoxon Rank Sum test (with exact p-values) and bivariable exact logistic regression were used in SAS v9.2 for data analysis. The following samples were analyzed: serum, 20 case, and 20 controls; urine, 11 case and 22 controls; and CSF, 11 samples from 10 cases and no controls. Diglycolic acid was detected in all case serum samples (median, 40.7 mcg/mL; range, 22.6-75.2) and no controls, and in all case urine samples (median, 28.7 mcg/mL; range, 14-118.4) and only five (23%) controls (median, urine diglycolic acid (both OR > 999; exact p sample results were excluded and two from the same case were averaged, yielding

  3. Metabolic Footprinting of Fermented Milk Consumption in Serum of Healthy Men

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pimentel, Grégory; Burton, Kathryn J; von Ah, Ueli; Bütikofer, Ueli; Pralong, François P; Vionnet, Nathalie; Portmann, Reto; Vergères, Guy

    2018-01-01

    Abstract Background Fermentation is a widely used method of natural food preservation that has consequences on the nutritional value of the transformed food. Fermented dairy products are increasingly investigated in view of their ability to exert health benefits beyond their nutritional qualities. Objective To explore the mechanisms underpinning the health benefits of fermented dairy intake, the present study followed the effects of milk fermentation, from changes in the product metabolome to consequences on the human serum metabolome after its ingestion. Methods A randomized crossover study design was conducted in 14 healthy men [mean age: 24.6 y; mean body mass index (in kg/m2): 21.8]. At the beginning of each test phase, serum samples were taken 6 h postprandially after the ingestion of 800 g of a nonfermented milk or a probiotic yogurt. During the 2-wk test phases, subjects consumed 400 g of the assigned test product daily (200 g, 2 times/d). Serum samples were taken from fasting participants at the end of each test phase. The serum metabolome was assessed through the use of LC-MS–based untargeted metabolomics. Results Postprandial serum metabolomes after milk or yogurt intake could be differentiated [orthogonal projections to latent structures discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) Q2 = 0.74]. Yogurt intake was characterized by higher concentrations of 7 free amino acids (including proline, P = 0.03), reduced concentrations of 5 bile acids (including glycocholic acid, P = 0.04), and modulation of 4 indole derivative compounds (including indole lactic acid, P = 0.01). Fasting serum samples after 2 wk of daily intake of milk or yogurt could also be differentiated based on their metabolic profiles (OPLS-DA Q2 = 0.56) and were discussed in light of the postprandial results. Conclusion Metabolic pathways related to amino acids, indole derivatives, and bile acids were modulated in healthy men by the intake of yogurt. Further investigation to explore novel

  4. A highly selective and sensitive Tb3+-acetylacetone photo probe for the assessment of acetazolamide in pharmaceutical and serum samples

    Science.gov (United States)

    Youssef, A. O.

    2018-04-01

    A novel, simple, sensitive and selective spectrofluorimetric method was developed for the determination of Acetazolamide in pharmaceutical tablets and serum samples using photo probe Tb3+-ACAC. The Acetazolamide can remarkably quench the luminescence intensity of Tb3+-ACAC complex in DMSO at pH 6.8 and λex = 350 nm. The quenching of luminescence intensity of Tb3+-ACAC complex especially the electrical band at λem = 545 nm is used for the assessment of Acetazolamide in the pharmaceutical tablet and serum samples. The dynamic range found for the determination of Acetazolamide concentration is 4.49 × 10-9-1.28 × 10-7 mol L-1, and the limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) are (4.0 × 10-9 and 1.21 × 10-8) mol L-1, respectively.

  5. A novel radioassay for the determination of folate in serum and red cells and new observations on the stability of serum folate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lynch, E.P.J.; Tovey, K.C.; Guilford, H.

    1977-01-01

    A Competitive Protein Binding assay for the determination of folate in serum and red cells has been developed. The assay has been fully validated in hospital trials and comparisons have been made with the microbiological assay. We have based the standardization of the radioassay on N 5 -methyltetrahydrofolate (N 5 -MTHF) as this is the predominant folate derivative in serum samples. At about pH 9.5 pteroylglutamic acid (PGA) and N 5 -MTHF demonstrate the same affinity for folate binding proteins. Therefore, many folate assays have adopted PGA largely because of the popular belief that N 5 -MTHF is highly unstable. However, we have demonstrated that N 5 -MTHF in serum standards is surprisingly stable at -20 0 C. All the reagents for the assay (including the N 5 -MTHF standards) have shown perfectly acceptable stability, permitting their storage for at least three weeks at -20 0 C and one week at 4 0 C. Evidence will be presented to support the use of N 5 -MTHF as being the more appropriate standard. Folate in human serum samples is stable even at room temperature in the presence of 0.1% sodium azide. (orig./AJ) [de

  6. Serum sample levels of bromine, iron, scandium and zinc in preschool children of Atayal and Bunun aborigines living in central Taiwan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chien-Yi Chen; Ding-Bang Lin; Yuan-Yaw Wei

    2006-01-01

    This study determined bromine, iron, scandium and zinc serum levels in Taiwanese aboriginal preschool children living in remote mountainous areas to increase the understanding of the social, cultural, nutrient and ethnic background of the Taiwanese children. Seventy-three serum samples were taken from two ethnic groups of preschool children, Atayal aborigines (AAPC) and Bunun aborigines (BAPC). Sera of these children were freeze dried. Trace elements in sera were identified by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). The accuracy and precision of INAA was evaluated using certified reference materials: Tomato Leaves (NIST-SRM 1570a) and Lichen (IAEA-336). Statistical analysis identified several different patterns for ethnic groups, gender and age via the two-tailed Student's t-test. Analytical results showed that the ranges of Br, Fe, Sc and Zn in sera were somewhat wide. The Zn serum levels (p < 0.05) and Br serum levels (p < 0.01) in the AAPC were significantly lower than those in the BAPC. However, there were no significant differences in Fe or Sc serum levels between the two groups. Analytical results were compared to published data for different counties. This study is the first investigating trace elements in Taiwanese aborigines and can be used to establish a much-needed serum element database. (author)

  7. Wet sample digestion for quantification of vanadium(V) in serum by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heinemann, G.; Vogt, W.; Jacob, K.

    1999-01-01

    Three types of pressure digestion systems used prior to the determination of the ultratrace element vanadium by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry were evaluated: The high-pressure ashing (HPA) system, the DAB III pressure digestion system and the pressurized microwave digestion (PMD) system. Complete sample digestion and no loss of graphite tube sensitivity as well as reliable vanadium values could only be achieved with HPA digests of freeze-dried serum. The mean recovery rate was 98% and no loss of tube sensitivity could be observed. Using non-lyophilized serum the mean recovery rate was 70%. The DAB III digestion system, vicarious for closed pressure digestion in steel bombs with an allowable temperature up to about 200C, cannot be recommended to mineralize human biological material for vanadium determinations, because the remaining not completely decomposed organic compounds extracted together with the vanadium-cupferron complex caused a marked carbon-buildup and formation of carbides in the graphite tube were found to change the shape of the absorption signals distinctly, and to decline the tube sensitivity strongly (about 25%) so that reliable results cannot be achieved. The recovery rate was too low in general (about 50%). In addition, a subsequent treatment of the DAB III digests with perchloric acid was unsuccessful. The PMD system proved to be not suited, because the samples became highly contaminated by vanadium possibly from the titan seal. (Copyright (c) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam. All rights reserved.)

  8. Airborne Precursors Predict Maternal Serum Perfluoroalkyl Acid Concentrations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Makey, Colleen M; Webster, Thomas F; Martin, Jonathan W; Shoeib, Mahiba; Harner, Tom; Dix-Cooper, Linda; Webster, Glenys M

    2017-07-05

    Human exposure to persistent perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs), including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), and perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS), can occur directly from contaminated food, water, air, and dust. However, precursors to PFAAs (PreFAAs), such as dipolyfluoroalkyl phosphates (diPAPs), fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs), perfluorooctyl sulfonamides (FOSAs), and sulfonamidoethanols (FOSEs), which can be biotransformed to PFAAs, may also be a source of exposure. PFAAs were analyzed in 50 maternal sera samples collected in 2007-2008 from participants in Vancouver, Canada, while PFAAs and PreFAAs were measured in matching samples of residential bedroom air collected by passive sampler and in sieved vacuum dust (<150 μm). Concentrations of PreFAAs were higher than for PFAAs in air and dust. Positive associations were discovered between airborne 10:2 FTOH and serum PFOA and PFNA and between airborne MeFOSE and serum PFOS. On average, serum PFOS concentrations were 2.3 ng/mL (95%CI: 0.40, 4.3) higher in participants with airborne MeFOSE concentrations in the highest tertile relative to the lowest tertile. Among all PFAAs, only PFNA in air and vacuum dust predicted serum PFNA. Results suggest that airborne PFAA precursors were a source of PFOA, PFNA, and PFOS exposure in this population.

  9. Comparison of PRRSV Nucleic Acid and Antibody Detection in Pen-Based Oral Fluid and Individual Serum Samples in Three Different Age Categories of Post-Weaning Pigs from Endemically Infected Farms.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nick De Regge

    Full Text Available Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV is the causative agent of an economically important disease in swine. Since it has been shown that PRRSV and PRRSV specific antibodies can be detected in oral fluid, many different aspects have been studied to show that oral fluid could be a worthy alternative diagnostic sample to serum for monitoring and surveillance of this disease. Thorough field evaluations are however missing to convincingly show its usefulness under representative field conditions.Pen-based oral fluid samples and serum samples from all individual pigs in the corresponding pens were collected from post-weaning pigs of three different age categories in eight endemically PRRSV infected farms and one PRRSV free farm in Belgium. All samples were tested by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR and ELISA to detect PRRSV RNA and PRRSV specific antibodies, respectively.While the relative specificity of PRRSV detection by qRT-PCR in pen-based oral fluid compared to serum collected from individual pigs was high in all age categories (>90%, the relative sensitivity decreased with the age of the pigs (89, 93 and 10% in 8-12w, 16-20w and 24-28w old pigs, respectively. The latter correlated with a lower percentage of PRRSV positive pigs in serum/pen in the different age categories (55, 29 and 6%, respectively. Irrespective of the age category, pen-based oral fluid samples were always found PCR positive when at least 30% of the individual pigs were positive in serum. PRRSV specific antibody detection in oral fluid by ELISA showed a 100% relative sensitivity to detection in serum since oral fluid samples were always positive as soon as one pig in the pen was positive in serum. On the other hand, two false positive oral fluid samples in 11 pens without serum positive pigs were found, resulting in a relative specificity of 82%. Indications are however present that the oral fluid result indicated the

  10. Serum concentration of anti-Müllerian hormone is not associated with semen quality

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Aksglaede, L; Olesen, I A; Carlsen, E

    2018-01-01

    Impaired semen quality is frequent in Western countries and is the main reason or contributing reason in up to 50% of cases of couple infertility. Male factor infertility is mainly determined by examination of semen samples according to the World Health Organization's 2010 guidelines. AMH has both...... autocrine and paracrine properties through a direct effect via the AMH type II receptor and is therefore thought to be involved in spermatogenesis. We aimed to study the association between the serum concentration of AMH and semen quality in a cross-sectional study including 970 young Danish men from...... the general population. All participants provided a semen sample, had a blood sample drawn, underwent a physical examination, and answered a questionnaire including information on lifestyle and medical history. Serum concentrations of reproductive hormones [AMH, luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle...

  11. A novel colorimetric method based on copper nanoclusters with intrinsic peroxidase-like for detecting xanthine in serum samples

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Zhengyu; Niu, Qianqian; Mou, Mingyao; Wu, Yi; Liu, Xiaoxuan; Liao, Shenghua

    2017-07-01

    A facile strategy for detecting xanthine in serum samples by copper nanocluster (CuNCs) with high intrinsic peroxidase-like activity was reported. Firstly, a simple, mild and time-saving method for preparing CuNCs was developed, in which dithiothreitol (DTT) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) were used as reductant and stabilizer, respectively. The as-prepared CuNCs exhibited a fluorescence emission at 590 nm with a quantum yield (QY) of approximately 5.29%, the fluorescence intensity of the as-prepared CuNCs exhibited no considerable change when stored under ambient condition with the lifetime is 1.75 μs. Moreover, the as-prepared CuNCs exhibited high intrinsic peroxidase-like activity with lower K m ( K m = 8.90 × 10-6 mol L-1) for H2O2, which indicated that CuNCs have a higher affinity for H2O2. Compared with natural enzyme, the as-synthesized CuNCs are more catalytic stable over a wide range of pH (4.0 13.0) and temperature (4 80 °C). Finally, an indirect method for sensing xanthine was established because xanthine oxidase can catalyse the oxidation of xanthine to produce H2O2. Xanthine could be detected as low as 3.8 × 10-7 mol L-1 with a linear range from 5.0 × 10-7 to 1.0 × 10-4 mol L-1. These results proved that the proposed method is sensitive and accurate and could be successfully applied to the determination of xanthine in the serum sample with satisfaction.

  12. Serum endocan levels before and after surgery on low-grade gliomas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanriverdi, Taner; Kemerdere, Rahsan; Inal, Berrin B; Yuksel, Odhan; Emre, Humeyra O; Ahmedov, Merdin; Baran, Oguz; Ates, Seda

    2017-01-01

    Endocan has been shown to be a marker for several cancers and may show degree of malignancy. The aim of this study is to assess serum levels of endocan before and after surgery on low-grade gliomas (LGGs). Endocan was assayed by commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits in a total of 19 patients and 12 controls. Serial serum samples were obtained before and after surgery (1 st day, 1 st week, and 1 st month of surgery). Control samples were collected from cord blood during cesarean section. The results were compared with control brain tissues. Controls showed significantly lower serum endocan levels compared to before and after surgery ( P < 0.05). There is a trend of increase in mean serum levels from before surgery and during the very early period after surgery (during first week); however, in the first month, mean serum levels became lower. Endocan, a vital molecule for angiogenesis, is highly expressed before and after surgery in LGGs, but long-term data is needed. Furthermore, future studies should include high-grade gliomas to discuss whether endocan is associated with recurrence and response to treatment.

  13. Whole Blood Reveals More Metabolic Detail of the Human Metabolome than Serum as Measured by 1H-NMR Spectroscopy: Implications for Sepsis Metabolomics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stringer, Kathleen A.; Younger, John G.; McHugh, Cora; Yeomans, Larisa; Finkel, Michael A.; Puskarich, Michael A.; Jones, Alan E.; Trexel, Julie; Karnovsky, Alla

    2015-01-01

    Serum is a common sample of convenience for metabolomics studies. Its processing time can be lengthy and may result in the loss of metabolites including those of red blood cells (RBC). Unlike serum, whole blood (WB) is quickly processed, minimizing the influence of variable hemolysis while including RBC metabolites. To determine differences between serum and WB metabolomes, both sample types, collected from healthy volunteers, were assayed by 1H-NMR spectroscopy. A total of 34 and 50 aqueous metabolites were quantified from serum and WB, respectively. Free hemoglobin (Hgb) levels in serum were measured and the correlation between Hgb and metabolite concentrations was determined. All metabolites detected in serum were at higher concentrations in WB with the exception of acetoacetate and propylene glycol. The 18 unique metabolites of WB included adenosine, AMP, ADP and ATP, which are associated with RBC metabolism. The use of serum results in the underrepresentation of a number of metabolic pathways including branched chain amino acid degradation and glycolysis and gluconeogenesis. The range of free Hgb in serum was 0.03-0.01 g/dL and 8 metabolites were associated (p ≤ 0.05) with free Hgb. The range of free Hgb in serum samples from 18 sepsis patients was 0.02-0.46 g/dL. WB and serum have unique aqueous metabolite profiles but the use of serum may introduce potential pathway bias. Use of WB for metabolomics may be particularly important for studies in diseases like sepsis in which RBC metabolism is altered and mechanical and sepsis-induced hemolysis contributes to variance in the metabolome. PMID:26009817

  14. An evaluation of multiplex bead-based analysis of cytokines and soluble proteins in archived lithium heparin plasma, EDTA plasma and serum samples

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brøndum, Line; Sørensen, Brita Singers; Eriksen, Jesper Grau

    2016-01-01

    -13, and VEGF, LH plasma levels vs. EDTA plasma: IL-2 and IL-4. CONCLUSION: Stored serum, LH plasma, and EDTA plasma from clinical trials can be used for analysis of circulating cytokines and proteins. Variations in measurements occur, but are within reasonable ranges. The optimal type of media...... in plasma and serum from 86 head and neck cancer patients and 33 controls were evaluated: EGFR, leptin, OPN, VEGFR-1, VEGFR-2, IL-2, IL-13, PDGF-bb, TNF, PAI-1, SDF-1a, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, eotaxin, G-CSF, VEGF, GRO-a, and HGF. RESULTS: The correlation between measurements of the same samples analyzed...... on different dates was reasonable. However, samples run on different dates could exhibit different absolute values. The 75th percentile of the fold differences for samples run on different dates was 2.2. No significant difference was found between one and four freeze-thaw cycles (except for HGF...

  15. Detection of cryoglobulins in serum of Caspian miniature horse

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Atyabi, N,

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Blood samples were collected from 20 healthy miniature Caspian horses at 37 °C. Isolation of cryoglobulin was performed based on a standard method in present study. Harvested sera were kept at 4 °C for two hours and then examined for cryoglubolin. Four serum samples containing precipitate Suspicious of containing cryoglobulin were selected. Subsequently serum protein electrophoresis was performed on normal serum samples and also on four serum samples containing precipitates using an automated electrophoresis system on cellulose acetate strips. In addition Ig isotypes detection (IgG, IgM and IgA was performed on both precipitates and serum containing precipitates using single radio immunediffusion method (SRID. A narrow-based peak on gamma region of precipitate acetate cellulose strips was observed. Precipitate concentrations were strikingly higher than normal concentration of serum immuneglobulins. It can be suggested that cryoglobulin concentration in a proportion of Caspian miniature horse is higher than other equides may be in relation with animal susceptibility to neoplasias such as lymphoma and leukemia.

  16. Radioimmunologic determination of alphafetoproteins concentration in blood serum samples and in the amniotic fluid in healthy pregnant women in the 2 trimester of pregnancy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Skalba, P; Krupa, B; Rozmus, M; Brudnik, K; Kokocinska, D; Rajs, M [Slaska Akademia Medyczna, Katowice (Poland)

    1980-01-01

    Radioimmunologic technique of double antibodies was used for the determination of alphafetoprotein (AFP) concentrations in blood serum samples from 223 healthy, pregnant women with single pregnancies and in amniotic fluid samples from 43 donors. The gestational age during samples collection was 10 to 25 weeks. The AFP preparation for the test was supplied by the International Agency of Cancer Research, anti-AFP antibodies produced by Behringwerke and personally produced rabbit antiglobulin antibodies. The results of the AFP determinations in the blood and amniotic fluid samples were presented in tables in form of medians. The serum AFP concentrations overranging the double medians value were met in 8.5%, overranging the triple medians - in 2.6%. Repeat determinations decreased the number of false positive results for about 50%. The results permit to issue a conclusion that the used technique is fully applicable for scan examinations in prenatal diagnosis of fetal nervous system malformations.

  17. Specific Antibodies Reacting with SV40 Large T Antigen Mimotopes in Serum Samples of Healthy Subjects.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mauro Tognon

    Full Text Available Simian Virus 40, experimentally assayed in vitro in different animal and human cells and in vivo in rodents, was classified as a small DNA tumor virus. In previous studies, many groups identified Simian Virus 40 sequences in healthy individuals and cancer patients using PCR techniques, whereas others failed to detect the viral sequences in human specimens. These conflicting results prompted us to develop a novel indirect ELISA with synthetic peptides, mimicking Simian Virus 40 capsid viral protein antigens, named mimotopes. This immunologic assay allowed us to investigate the presence of serum antibodies against Simian Virus 40 and to verify whether Simian Virus 40 is circulating in humans. In this investigation two mimotopes from Simian Virus 40 large T antigen, the viral replication protein and oncoprotein, were employed to analyze for specific reactions to human sera antibodies. This indirect ELISA with synthetic peptides from Simian Virus 40 large T antigen was used to assay a new collection of serum samples from healthy subjects. This novel assay revealed that serum antibodies against Simian Virus 40 large T antigen mimotopes are detectable, at low titer, in healthy subjects aged from 18-65 years old. The overall prevalence of reactivity with the two Simian Virus 40 large T antigen peptides was 20%. This new ELISA with two mimotopes of the early viral regions is able to detect in a specific manner Simian Virus 40 large T antigen-antibody responses.

  18. Origin of DNA in human serum and usefulness of serum as a material for DNA typing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takayama, T; Yamada, S; Watanabe, Y; Hirata, K; Nagai, A; Nakamura, I; Bunai, Y; Ohya, I

    2001-06-01

    The aims of this study were to clarify the origin of DNA in human serum and to investigate whether serum is a material available for DNA typing in routine forensic practice. Blood was donated from 10 healthy adult volunteers and stored for up to 8 days, at 4 degrees C and at room temperature. The serum DNA concentration at zero time was in the range of 5.6 to 21.8 ng/ml with a mean of 12.2+/-1.6 ng/ml. The concentrations increased with storage time. On agarose gel electrophoresis, all serum samples showed ladder patterns and the size of each band was an integer multiple of approximately 180 bp considered to be characteristic of apoptosis. DNA typing from DNA released by apoptosis was possible. Exact DNA typing of D1S80, HLA DQA1, PM, CSF1PO, TPOX, TH01 and vWA was possible for each sample. These results indicate that serum contains fragmented DNA derived from apoptosis of leukocytes, especially neutrophils, and that fragmented DNA is an appropriate material for DNA typing.

  19. Reproducibility of serum protein profiling by systematic assessment using solid-phase extraction and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Callesen, Anne K; Christensen, René Depont; Madsen, Jonna S

    2008-01-01

    for serum protein profiling we investigated a range of sample preparation techniques and developed a statistical method based on repeated analyses for evaluation of protein-profiling performance of MALDI MS. Two different solid-phase extraction (SPE) methods were investigated, namely custom......Protein profiling of human serum by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI MS) is potentially a new diagnostic tool for early detection of human diseases, including cancer. Sample preparation is a key issue in MALDI MS and the analysis of complex samples such as serum......-made microcolumns and commercially available magnetic beads. Using these two methods, nineteen different sample preparation methods for serum profiling by MALDI MS were systematically tested with regard to matrix selection, stationary phase, selectivity, and reproducibility. Microcolumns were tested with regard...

  20. Metabonomic study of human serum in gallbladder cancer by 1H NMR spectroscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sonkar, Kanchan; Sinha, Neeraj; Behari, Anu; Kapoor, V.K.

    2012-01-01

    Gallbladder carcinoma (GBC) is one of the most lethal malignancies of upper gastrointestinal tract and it has the highest mortality rate in Chile and India. It has a very high incidence rates in northern India therefore it is also called as an Indian disease. There are several factors which play important role in development of gallbladder cancer including long-standing stones in gallbladder and alterations in composition of bile. Studies on gallstones and gallbladder tissues revealed that benign group can easily be discriminated from malignant group. Many proteomic studies have been performed for different cancers and several responsible serum protein markers have been identified but there is no such metabonomics study that shows the presence of any biomarker associated with gallbladder carcinoma. Identification of such biomarker would help immensely in the diagnostic of GBC. For this study we have collected blood samples (70; including patients from Chronic Cholecystitis (CC), XanthoGranulomatous Cholecystitis (XGC) and Gallbladder Cancer (GBC)) post-operatively (immediately after surgery) from patient undergoing cholecystectomy in Department of Surgical Gastroenterology, SGPGIMS. Control samples were also collected from 20 volunteers after 12 hrs of fasting. 4 ml of blood sample was collected and was allowed to clot in plastic tube for 30 min at room temperature in incubator. The serum was collected by centrifugation and samples were stored at -80 deg C till NMR experiments. 400 μL of serum was used for recording NMR spectra. NMR spectra were recorded at Bruker Avance 800 MHz spectrometer using CPMG pulse sequence with water presaturation. Control serum shows presence of various amino acids and low molecular weight metabolites. Detailed multivariate analysis along with markers found in serum associated with GBC will be presented. (author)

  1. Evaluation of Six Different Immunoassays for Serum Thyrotropin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ma Donghong; Lu Hankui; Gao Yunchao; Ge Wenli; Xiong Jiang; Liu Qiaoping; Gu Qing

    2010-01-01

    To analyzes the discrepancy and association among six different thyrotropin (TSH) immunoassay methods and to study their impact on the clinical diagnoses of thyroid diseases, the 150 serum samples from three groups consisting of hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism and healthy subjects, 50 samples in each group were included in this study. The serum TSH levels were measured simultaneously by radioimmunoassay (RIA), immunoradiometric assay (IRMA), three-type chemilumiminescence immunoassay (CLIA) and electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA). The results showed that individual serum TSH level varied significantly from one assay to another. There was no correlation between TSH RIA and other five assays in groups of hyperthyroidism and healthy subjects(P>0.05). The correlations between TSH IRMA and four automatic assays in hyperthyroidism group were relatively low (r= 0.38∼0.41). However, among the four automatic assays, TSH levels were well correlated (r= 0.92∼0.99). For clinical diagnoses, TSH RIA alone was not useful in the differentiation of hyperthyroidism and normal subjects, and TSH IRMA was misleading in some hyperthyroidism. There were no significant differences for four TSH automatic immunoassays in differential diagnoses of thyroid diseases. (authors)

  2. A Comprehensive Software and Database Management System for Glomerular Filtration Rate Estimation by Radionuclide Plasma Sampling and Serum Creatinine Methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jha, Ashish Kumar

    2015-01-01

    Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) estimation by plasma sampling method is considered as the gold standard. However, this method is not widely used because the complex technique and cumbersome calculations coupled with the lack of availability of user-friendly software. The routinely used Serum Creatinine method (SrCrM) of GFR estimation also requires the use of online calculators which cannot be used without internet access. We have developed user-friendly software "GFR estimation software" which gives the options to estimate GFR by plasma sampling method as well as SrCrM. We have used Microsoft Windows(®) as operating system and Visual Basic 6.0 as the front end and Microsoft Access(®) as database tool to develop this software. We have used Russell's formula for GFR calculation by plasma sampling method. GFR calculations using serum creatinine have been done using MIRD, Cockcroft-Gault method, Schwartz method, and Counahan-Barratt methods. The developed software is performing mathematical calculations correctly and is user-friendly. This software also enables storage and easy retrieval of the raw data, patient's information and calculated GFR for further processing and comparison. This is user-friendly software to calculate the GFR by various plasma sampling method and blood parameter. This software is also a good system for storing the raw and processed data for future analysis.

  3. Reproducibility of positive results for the detection of serum galactomannan by Platelia™ aspergillus EIA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pedroza, Kelly C M C; de Matos, Sócrates B; de Moura, Daniel L; Oliveira, Mônica B B; Araújo, Marco A S; Nascimento, Roberto J M; Lima, Fernanda W M

    2013-10-01

    Galactomannan (GM) was recently included in consensus guidelines as an indirect mycological criterion for the diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis. Currently, there is an enzyme immunoassay available to detect GM in biological samples, the Platelia™ Aspergillus EIA. In this study, the reproducibility of positive results obtained using this assay was evaluated using serum samples from neutropenic patients. A trend toward lower values was observed, and 55 %(27/49) of positive results were negative after retesting. A low reproducibility of positive results for the detection of GM in serum was observed.

  4. Serum heavy metals and hemoglobin related compounds in Saudi Arabia firefighters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Al-Malki Abdulrahman L

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Firefighters are frequently exposed to significant concentrations of hazardous materials including heavy metals, aldehydes, hydrogen chloride, dichlorofluoromethane and some particulates. Many of these materials have been implicated in the triggering of several diseases. The aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of fire smoke exposure on serum heavy metals and possible affection on iron functions compounds (total iron binding capacity, transferrin saturation percent, ferritin, unsaturated iron-binding capacity blood hemoglobin and carboxyhemoglobin,. Subjects and methods Two groups of male firefighter volunteers were included; the first included 28 firefighters from Jeddah city, while the second included 21 firefighters from Yanbu city with an overall age rang of 20–48 years. An additional group of 23 male non-firefighters volunteered from both cities as normal control subjects. Blood samples were collected from all volunteer subjects and investigated for relevant parameters. Results The results obtained showed that there were no statistically significant changes in the levels of serum heavy metals in firefighters as compared to normal control subjects. Blood carboxyhemoglobin and serum ferritin were statistically increased in Jeddah firefighters, (p Conclusion Such results might point to the need for more health protective and prophylactic measures to avoid such hazardous health effects (elevated Blood carboxyhemoglobin and serum ferritin and decreased serum TIBC and UIBC that might endanger firefighters working under dangerous conditions. Firefighters must be under regular medical follow-up through standard timetabled medical laboratory investigations to allow for early detection of any serum biochemical or blood hematological changes.

  5. Effect of oral contraceptive progestins on serum copper concentration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Berg, Gabriele; Kohlmeier, L; Brenner, H

    1998-01-01

    OBJECTIVES: Recent epidemiologic studies have shown an increased mortality from cardiovascular diseases in people with higher serum copper levels. Even though higher serum copper concentration in women using oral contraceptives is well known, there is still uncertainty about the influence of newer...... progestin compounds in oral contraceptives on serum copper concentration. This issue is of particular interest in the light of recent findings of an increased risk of venous thromboembolism in users of oral contraceptives containing newer progestins like desogestrel compared to users of other oral...... contraceptives. DESIGN: Cross-sectional epidemiologic study. Examinations included a detailed questionnaire on medical history and lifestyle factors, a seven day food record, and blood samples. SETTING: National health and nutrition survey among healthy people living in private homes in West Germany in 1987...

  6. Association of serum sparc with insulin resistance in type-2 diabetes mellitus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nadeem, K.; Ahmed, U.; Arif, H.

    2017-01-01

    Objective: To determine the association of serum SPARC with insulin resistance in type-2 diabetes. Study Design: Descriptive study. Place and Duration of Study: Physiology department and CREAM lab, Army medical college, Rawalpindi, in collaboration with Military Hospital Rawalpindi, from Feb 2016 to Oct 2016. Material and Methods: Sixty individuals were recruited in this descriptive study. Thirty diagnosed cases of type- 2 DM were included, while thirty age and gender matched healthy individuals were included as controls through non-probability purposive sampling. Controls were labelled as group A, while cases were labelled as group B. Patients with type-1 DM, type-2 DM on insulin therapy, hyperglycemic states other than DM and inflammatory disorders were excluded from the study. Data were collected after informed and written consent. Blood samples were withdrawn under strict aseptic measures and serum was stored at -20 degree C. Serum insulin levels and serum SPARC levels were analyzed by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Insulin resistance was determined using homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and its value >1.5 was considered significant. Results: Fasting insulin levels were significantly higher in group B as compared with group A, supporting the diagnosis of type-2 DM. HOMA-IR values were greater than 1.5 in group B, thus establishing significant insulin resistance. Serum SPARC levels were significantly higher in group B than group A (17.7 ± 1.14 vs 8.7 ± 1.08 ng/ml) with p-value<0.001. Serum SPARC levels showed positive correlation with fasting insulin levels and HOMA-IR values. Conclusion: Our study showed a positive correlation between serum SPARC levels and insulin resistance, which indicates that SPARC plays an important role in the development of insulin resistance in type-2 diabetes mellitus. (author)

  7. Total Effective Xenoestrogen Burden in Serum Samples and Risk for Breast Cancer in a Population-Based Multicase–Control Study in Spain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pastor-Barriuso, Roberto; Fernández, Mariana F.; Castaño-Vinyals, Gemma; Whelan, Denis; Pérez-Gómez, Beatriz; Llorca, Javier; Villanueva, Cristina M.; Guevara, Marcela; Molina-Molina, José-Manuel; Artacho-Cordón, Francisco; Barriuso-Lapresa, Laura; Tusquets, Ignasi; Dierssen-Sotos, Trinidad; Aragonés, Nuria; Olea, Nicolás; Kogevinas, Manolis; Pollán, Marina

    2016-01-01

    Background: Most studies on endocrine-disrupting chemicals and breast cancer have focused on single compounds and have produced inconclusive findings. Objectives: We assessed the combined estrogenic effects of mixtures of xenoestrogens in serum and their relationship to breast cancer risk. Methods: A total of 186 incident pretreatment breast cancer cases and 196 frequency-matched controls were randomly sampled from a large population-based multicase–control study in Spain. The total effective xenoestrogen burden attributable to organohalogenated xenoestrogens (TEXB-α) and endogenous hormones and more polar xenoestrogens (TEXB-β) was determined in serum samples using high-performance liquid chromatography and E-Screen bioassay. Odds ratios for breast cancer comparing tertiles of serum TEXB-α and TEXB-β were estimated using logistic models, and smooth risk trends were obtained using spline models. Results: Cases had higher geometric mean TEXB-α and TEXB-β levels (8.32 and 9.94 Eeq pM/mL, respectively) than controls (2.99 and 5.96 Eeq pM/mL, respectively). The fully adjusted odds ratios for breast cancer (95% confidence intervals) comparing the second and third tertiles of TEXB-α with the first tertile were 1.77 (0.76, 4.10) and 3.45 (1.50, 7.97), respectively, and those for TEXB-β were 2.35 (1.10, 5.03) and 4.01 (1.88, 8.56), respectively. A steady increase in risk was evident across all detected TEXB-α levels and a sigmoidal trend was observed for TEXB-β. Individual xenoestrogens showed weak and opposing associations with breast cancer risk. Conclusions: This is the first study to show a strong positive association between serum total xenoestrogen burden and breast cancer risk, highlighting the importance of evaluating xenoestrogen mixtures, rather than single compounds, when studying hormone-related cancers. Citation: Pastor-Barriuso R, Fernández MF, Castaño-Vinyals G, Whelan D, Pérez-Gómez B, Llorca J, Villanueva CM, Guevara M, Molina-Molina JM

  8. Application of serum SELDI proteomic patterns in diagnosis of lung cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhou Bin

    2005-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Currently, no satisfactory biomarkers are available to screen for lung cancer. Surface-Enhanced Laser Desorption/ionization Time-of- Flight Mass Spectrometry ProteinChip system (SELDI-TOF-MS is one of the currently used techniques to identify biomarkers for cancers. The aim of this study is to explore the application of serum SELDI proteomic patterns to distinguish lung cancer patients from healthy individuals. Methods A total of 208 serum samples, including 158 lung cancer patients and 50 healthy individuals, were randomly divided into a training set (including 11 sera from patients with stages I/II lung cancer, 63 from patients with stages III/IV lung cancer and 20 from healthy controls and a blinded test set (including 43 sera from patients with stages I/II lung cancer, 41 from patients with stages III/IV lung cancer and 30 from healthy controls. All samples were analyzed by SELDI technology. The spectra were generated on weak cation exchange (WCX2 chips, and protein peaks clustering and classification analyses were made using Ciphergen Biomarker Wizard and Biomarker Pattern software, respectively. We additionally determined Cyfra21-1 and NSE in the 208 serum samples included in this study using an electrochemiluminescent immunoassay. Results Five protein peaks at 11493, 6429, 8245, 5335 and 2538 Da were automatically chosen as a biomarker pattern in the training set. When the SELDI marker pattern was tested with the blinded test set, it yielded a sensitivity of 86.9%, a specificity of 80.0% and a positive predictive value of 92.4%. The sensitivities provided by Cyfra21-1 and NSE used individually or in combination were significantly lower than that of the SELDI marker pattern (P P Conclusion These results suggest that serum SELDI protein profiling can distinguish lung cancer patients, especially NSCLC patients, from normal subjects with relatively high sensitivity and specificity, and the SELDI-TOF-MS is a potential tool

  9. Clinical implications of carcinoembryonic antigen distribution in serum exosomal fraction-Measurement by ELISA.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shozo Yokoyama

    Full Text Available Serum exosomal proteins have great potential as indicators of disease status in cancer, inflammatory or metabolic diseases. The association of a fraction of various serum proteins such as carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA with circulating exosomes has been debated. The establishment of a method to measure the exosomal fraction of such proteins might help resolve this controversy. The use of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs to measure serum exosomal molecules, for example CEA, is rare in research laboratories and totally absent in clinical biology. In this study, we optimized a method for assessment of serum exosomal molecules combining a treatment by volume-excluding polymers to isolate the exosomes, their subsequent solubilization in an assay buffer and ELISA.One hundred sixteen consecutive patients with colorectal cancer were enrolled for this study between June 2015 and June 2016 at Wakayama Medical University Hospital (WMUH. Whole blood samples were collected from patients during surgery. Exosomes were isolated using the ExoQuick reagent, solubilized in an assay buffer and subjected to CEA detection by ELISA. The procedure of serum exosome isolation and the formulation of the assay buffer used for the ELISA were optimized in order to improve the sensitivity and specificity of the assay.A five-fold increase in the concentration of the exosomes in the assay buffer (using initial serum volume as a reference and the addition of bovine serum albumin (BSA resulted in more accurate measurements of the serum exosomal CEA. The thawing temperature of frozen serum samples before exosome extraction was also optimized. A validation study that included one hundred sixteen patients with colorectal cancer demonstrated that serum exosomal CEA from samples thawed at 25°C exhibited a better AUC value, sensitivity, and specificity as well as a more correct classification than serum CEA.We optimized an easy and rapid detection method for assessment of

  10. Serum ferritin in normal subjects and assessment of iron status during pregnancy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eltayeb, Ahmed Eltayeb

    1997-12-01

    This study was conducted with two main objectives;the estimation of serum ferritin level in normal subjects in khartoum area and the assessment of iron status during pregnancy at second and third trimesters. To fulfill the first objective,two hundred and sixty symptoms-free subjects were included in the study,103 males with ages ranging from 15 to 36 years and 157 females with ages ranging from 15 to 45 years.Serum ferritin was determined by radioimmunoassay (RIA). It was found that the mean concentration of male serum ferritin was much higher than that of the females. For the assessment of iron status during pregnancy,eighty five normal pregnant women were included in the study at the start of the second trimester.Two blood samples were taken during the second trimester and two blood samples during the third trimester. The height of all subjects was measured.The weights of the subjects were measured with each sample. All subjects were under iron-supplementations throughout the gestation period.Sixty four normal non pregnant women were included in the study to serve as controls. No significant difference was observed in the mean haemoglobin concentrations but the PCV of the non-pregnant women was higher than that of the pregnant women at different stages of gestation. MCV, MCH and MCHC values of the non-pregnant women were lower than those of the pregnant women at different stages of gestation. Serum iron and transferrin saturation of the non-pregnant women were higher than those of the pregnant women,this difference was statistically significant at weeks (16 -18) and weeks (22-24). Serum ferritin of the non-pregnant women was higher than that of the pregnant women and decreased continously during the prgnancy, but this decrease was not statistically significant. Iron deficiency anaemia was observed in both pregnant and non-pregnant women. The best parameter which could be used as a marker for iron deficiency is serum ferritin. Iron supplementations corrected for

  11. Serum ferritin in normal subjects and assessment of iron status during pregnancy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Eltayeb, Ahmed Eltayeb [Sudan Atomic Energy Commission, Khartoum (Sudan)

    1997-12-01

    This study was conducted with two main objectives;the estimation of serum ferritin level in normal subjects in khartoum area and the assessment of iron status during pregnancy at second and third trimesters. To fulfill the first objective,two hundred and sixty symptoms-free subjects were included in the study,103 males with ages ranging from 15 to 36 years and 157 females with ages ranging from 15 to 45 years.Serum ferritin was determined by radioimmunoassay (RIA). It was found that the mean concentration of male serum ferritin was much higher than that of the females. For the assessment of iron status during pregnancy,eighty five normal pregnant women were included in the study at the start of the second trimester.Two blood samples were taken during the second trimester and two blood samples during the third trimester. The height of all subjects was measured.The weights of the subjects were measured with each sample. All subjects were under iron-supplementations throughout the gestation period.Sixty four normal non pregnant women were included in the study to serve as controls. No significant difference was observed in the mean haemoglobin concentrations but the PCV of the non-pregnant women was higher than that of the pregnant women at different stages of gestation. MCV, MCH and MCHC values of the non-pregnant women were lower than those of the pregnant women at different stages of gestation. Serum iron and transferrin saturation of the non-pregnant women were higher than those of the pregnant women,this difference was statistically significant at weeks (16 -18) and weeks (22-24). Serum ferritin of the non-pregnant women was higher than that of the pregnant women and decreased continously during the prgnancy, but this decrease was not statistically significant. Iron deficiency anaemia was observed in both pregnant and non-pregnant women. The best parameter which could be used as a marker for iron deficiency is serum ferritin. Iron supplementations corrected for

  12. Assessment of iron status of Sudanese pregnant women by serum ferritin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eltayeb, E.A.; Khangi, F.A.; Satti, G.M.; Abu Salab, A.

    2004-03-01

    Eighty five normal pregnant women were included in the study at the start of the second trimester. Two blood samples were taken during the second trimester and two blood samples during the third trimester. The height of all subjects was measured. The weights of the subjects were under iron-supplementation throughout the gestation period. Sixty four normal non-parentage women were included in the study to serve as controls. Iron status was assessed for the groups with following parameters, haemoglobin (Hb), packed corpuscular volume (PCV), red blood cells count, peripheral blood film, mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean cell haemoglobin (MCH), Mean haemoglobin concentration (MCH C), serum iron (Si), total iron binding capacity (T IBC), serum transferrin saturation (Ts) and serum ferritin (Sf). No significant difference was observed in the mean haemoglobin concentrations but the PCV of the non-pregnant women was higher than that of the pregnant women at different stages of gestation (p<0.05). MCV, MCH and MCH C values of the non-pregnant women were lower than those of the of the pregnant at different stages of gestation (p<0.05). Serum iron and transferrin saturation of the non-pregnant women were higher than those of the pregnant women, this difference was statistically significant at weeks (16-18) and (22-24) (p<0.05). Serum ferritin of the non-pregnant women was higher than that of the pregnant women and decreased continuously during the pregnancy, but this decrease was not statistically significant. Iron deficiency anaemia was observed in both pregnant and non-pregnant women. The best parameter that could be used as a marker for iron deficiency is serum ferritin. Iron supplementation s corrected for haemoglobin but not for iron status, but more studies were needed to cover this issue using different parameters.(Author)

  13. Serum copper and zinc concentrations in a representative sample of the Canarian population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Díaz Romero, Carlos; Henríquez Sánchez, Patricia; López Blanco, Félix; Rodríguez Rodríguez, Elena; Serra Majem, Lluis

    2002-01-01

    Serum copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) concentrations of 395 individuals (187 males + 208 females) living in Canary Islands were determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The mean copper and zinc concentrations were 1.10 +/- 0.25 mg/L and 1.16 +/- 0.52 mg/L respectively. Our data were similar to other data published in other Spanish regions. Individuals from Lanzarote presented a mean Cu and Zn concentrations higher (p EL Hierro showed the lowest (p 0.05) among the different age intervals. No clear trends in the serum Cu and Zn concentrations were observed when drinking and smoking habits were considered. The increase of physical exercise reduced (p < 0.05) the serum Cu concentrations.

  14. Influence of common preanalytical variations on the metabolic profile of serum samples in biobanks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fliniaux, Ophélie; Gaillard, Gwenaelle; Lion, Antoine; Cailleu, Dominique; Mesnard, François; Betsou, Fotini

    2011-01-01

    A blood pre-centrifugation delay of 24 h at room temperature influenced the proton NMR spectroscopic profiles of human serum. A blood pre-centrifugation delay of 24 h at 4°C did not influence the spectroscopic profile as compared with 4 h delays at either room temperature or 4°C. Five or ten serum freeze–thaw cycles also influenced the proton NMR spectroscopic profiles. Certain common in vitro preanalytical variations occurring in biobanks may impact the metabolic profile of human serum.

  15. Blood serum components and serum protein test of Hybro-PG broilers of different ages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    PRL Silva

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available Blood serum samples of HYBRO PG broilers were analyzed, with 30 samples collected from 21-day-old broilers (G1, 30 from 35-day-old birds (G2, and 30 from 42-day-old birds (G3, with the aim of establishing normal values of some blood serum parameters. The activities of the enzymes gamma-glutamyl-transferase (GGT, aspartate aminotransferase (AST, creatine kinase (CK, alkaline phosphatase (ALP, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH, serum levels of total calcium, calcium ion, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, magnesium, chlorides, creatinine, uric acid, triglycerides, cholesterol, total protein, albumin, total and indirect and direct bilirubin, and electrophoretic profile of serum proteins in acrylamide (SDS-PAGE and agarose gel were determined. There was no influence of age on total bilirubin and albumin levels. All the other evaluated parameters presented differences in at least one age group. Protein electrophoretic profile also changed as a function of age. The obtained results can be considered as normal for the studied ages, and therefore be used as references for the interpretation of laboratory exams of broilers of this genetic line in the evaluated ages.

  16. Influence of common preanalytical variations on the metabolic profile of serum samples in biobanks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fliniaux, Ophelie [University of Picardie Jules Verne, Laboratoire de Phytotechnologie EA 3900-BioPI (France); Gaillard, Gwenaelle [Biobanque de Picardie (France); Lion, Antoine [University of Picardie Jules Verne, Laboratoire de Phytotechnologie EA 3900-BioPI (France); Cailleu, Dominique [Batiment Serres-Transfert, rue de Mai/rue Dallery, Plateforme Analytique (France); Mesnard, Francois, E-mail: francois.mesnard@u-picardie.fr [University of Picardie Jules Verne, Laboratoire de Phytotechnologie EA 3900-BioPI (France); Betsou, Fotini [Integrated Biobank of Luxembourg (Luxembourg)

    2011-12-15

    A blood pre-centrifugation delay of 24 h at room temperature influenced the proton NMR spectroscopic profiles of human serum. A blood pre-centrifugation delay of 24 h at 4 Degree-Sign C did not influence the spectroscopic profile as compared with 4 h delays at either room temperature or 4 Degree-Sign C. Five or ten serum freeze-thaw cycles also influenced the proton NMR spectroscopic profiles. Certain common in vitro preanalytical variations occurring in biobanks may impact the metabolic profile of human serum.

  17. Proteomic profiling of renal allograft rejection in serum using magnetic bead-based sample fractionation and MALDI-TOF MS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sui, Weiguo; Huang, Liling; Dai, Yong; Chen, Jiejing; Yan, Qiang; Huang, He

    2010-12-01

    Proteomics is one of the emerging techniques for biomarker discovery. Biomarkers can be used for early noninvasive diagnosis and prognosis of diseases and treatment efficacy evaluation. In the present study, the well-established research systems of ClinProt Micro solution incorporated unique magnetic bead sample preparation technology, which, based on matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS), have become very successful in bioinformatics due to its outstanding performance and reproducibility for discovery disease-related biomarker. We collected fasting blood samples from patients with biopsy-confirmed acute renal allograft rejection (n = 12), chronic rejection (n = 12), stable graft function (n = 12) and also from healthy volunteers (n = 13) to study serum peptidome patterns. Specimens were purified with magnetic bead-based weak cation exchange chromatography and analyzed with a MALDI-TOF mass spectrometer. The results indicated that 18 differential peptide peaks were selected as potential biomarkers of acute renal allograft rejection, and 6 differential peptide peaks were selected as potential biomarkers of chronic rejection. A Quick Classifier Algorithm was used to set up the classification models for acute and chronic renal allograft rejection. The algorithm models recognize 82.64% of acute rejection and 98.96% of chronic rejection episodes, respectively. We were able to identify serum protein fingerprints in small sample sizes of recipients with renal allograft rejection and establish the models for diagnosis of renal allograft rejection. This preliminary study demonstrated that proteomics is an emerging tool for early diagnosis of renal allograft rejection and helps us to better understand the pathogenesis of disease process.

  18. Data Stewardship in the Ocean Sciences Needs to Include Physical Samples

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carter, M.; Lehnert, K.

    2016-02-01

    Across the Ocean Sciences, research involves the collection and study of samples collected above, at, and below the seafloor, including but not limited to rocks, sediments, fluids, gases, and living organisms. Many domains in the Earth Sciences have recently expressed the need for better discovery, access, and sharing of scientific samples and collections (EarthCube End-User Domain workshops, 2012 and 2013, http://earthcube.org/info/about/end-user-workshops), as has the US government (OSTP Memo, March 2014). iSamples (Internet of Samples in the Earth Sciences) is a Research Coordination Network within the EarthCube program that aims to advance the use of innovative cyberinfrastructure to support and advance the utility of physical samples and sample collections for science and ensure reproducibility of sample-based data and research results. iSamples strives to build, grow, and foster a new community of practice, in which domain scientists, curators of sample repositories and collections, computer and information scientists, software developers and technology innovators engage in and collaborate on defining, articulating, and addressing the needs and challenges of physical samples as a critical component of digital data infrastructure. A primary goal of iSamples is to deliver a community-endorsed set of best practices and standards for the registration, description, identification, and citation of physical specimens and define an actionable plan for implementation. iSamples conducted a broad community survey about sample sharing and has created 5 different working groups to address the different challenges of developing the internet of samples - from metadata schemas and unique identifiers to an architecture for a shared cyberinfrastructure to manage collections, to digitization of existing collections, to education, and ultimately to establishing the physical infrastructure that will ensure preservation and access of the physical samples. Repositories that curate

  19. Serum protein profile at remission can accurately assess therapeutic outcomes and survival for serous ovarian cancer.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jinhua Wang

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Biomarkers play critical roles in early detection, diagnosis and monitoring of therapeutic outcome and recurrence of cancer. Previous biomarker research on ovarian cancer (OC has mostly focused on the discovery and validation of diagnostic biomarkers. The primary purpose of this study is to identify serum biomarkers for prognosis and therapeutic outcomes of ovarian cancer. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Forty serum proteins were analyzed in 70 serum samples from healthy controls (HC and 101 serum samples from serous OC patients at three different disease phases: post diagnosis (PD, remission (RM and recurrence (RC. The utility of serum proteins as OC biomarkers was evaluated using a variety of statistical methods including survival analysis. RESULTS: Ten serum proteins (PDGF-AB/BB, PDGF-AA, CRP, sFas, CA125, SAA, sTNFRII, sIL-6R, IGFBP6 and MDC have individually good area-under-the-curve (AUC values (AUC = 0.69-0.86 and more than 10 three-marker combinations have excellent AUC values (0.91-0.93 in distinguishing active cancer samples (PD & RC from HC. The mean serum protein levels for RM samples are usually intermediate between HC and OC patients with active cancer (PD & RC. Most importantly, five proteins (sICAM1, RANTES, sgp130, sTNFR-II and sVCAM1 measured at remission can classify, individually and in combination, serous OC patients into two subsets with significantly different overall survival (best HR = 17, p<10(-3. CONCLUSION: We identified five serum proteins which, when measured at remission, can accurately predict the overall survival of serous OC patients, suggesting that they may be useful for monitoring the therapeutic outcomes for ovarian cancer.

  20. [The comparative study of specificity of test-systems in diagnostic of HIV-infection on categories of samples of blood serum of pregnant women].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharipova, I N; Khodak, N M; Puzirev, V F; Burkov, A N; Ulanova, T I

    2015-03-01

    The detection of false positive serological reactions (FPSR) on HIV-infection under screening examination of pregnant women is an actual problem of practical health care. The original observations testify that under analysis of the same samples of blood serum of pregnant women using screening immune enzyme test-systems of various manufacturers the unmatched data concerning FPSR can be obtained. The purpose of this study was to implement comparative evaluation of specificity of immune enzyme test-systems of three different manufacturers: "DS-IFA-HIV-AGAT-SCREEN" ("Diagnostic Systems"), "Genscreen Ultra HIV Ag-Ab" "Bio Rad" France) and "The CombiBest HIV-1,2 AG/AT" ("Vector-Best" Novosibirsk). The sampling of 440 samples of blood serums of pregnant women from various medical institutions of Nizhnii Novgorod was analyzed. The results of the study demonstrated that FPSR were detected in all test-systems and at that spectrum of samples differed. The identical specificity of compared test-systems amounted to 98.64%. The alternative approach to FPSR to HIV issue under screening examinations of pregnant women was proposed. The proposed mode consisted of consistent application of two test-systems of fourth generation with different format of setup of reaction.

  1. Quantitative determination of albumin in microlitre amounts of rat serum: With a short note on serum albumin levels in ageing rats

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Leeuw-Israel, F.R. de; Arp-Neefjes, J.M.; Hollander, C.F.

    1967-01-01

    A simple dye binding method for determining rat serum albumin, which employs the anionic dye 2-(4′-hydroxybenzneeazo) benzoic acid (HBABA) is described. Albumin in 5μ1 of serum is determined colorimetrically. Purified rat albumin is used as a primary standard and rat serum as a reference sample.

  2. Serum levels of inflammatory and regulatory cytokines in patients with hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Avšič-Županc Tatjana

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Hantaviruses are the causative agents of two zoonotic diseases: hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS and hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS. The pathogenesis of HFRS is poorly understood. However, it has been suggested that immune mechanisms, including cytokines, might have an important role in HFRS pathogenesis. Thus, the aim of our study was to investigate cytokine profiles in serum samples of HFRS patients from Slovenia and explore a possible correlation between cytokine levels and disease severity. Methods Acute-phase serum samples from 52 patients, diagnosed with DOBV infection, and 61 patients, diagnosed with PUUV infection, were included in this study. Patients were divided into two groups - severe or mild - based on disease severity. Levels of IL-10, IL-12, INF-γ and TNF-α were measured in the serum samples with commercial ELISA tests. Results Increased levels of IL-10, INF-γ, and TNF-α were found in almost all the serum samples tested. On average, higher concentrations were detected in patients infected with DOBV than PUUV. Furthermore, significantly higher levels of IL-10 (P = 0.001 and TNF-α (P = 0.003 were found in patients with a more severe clinical course of disease. The same association between IL-10 (P P = 0.021, and the severity of the disease was observed also when only patients infected with DOBV were considered. No differences in cytokine concentrations according to disease severity were observed in patients infected with PUUV. Concentrations of serum IL-12 in HFRS patients were in the normal range, however, higher levels were detected in patients infected with PUUV than in patients infected with DOBV. Conclusions We suggest that imbalance in production of proinflammatory and regulatory cytokines might be in part responsible for a more severe course of HFRS.

  3. Quantitating Iron in Serum Ferritin by Use of ICP-MS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Scott M.; Gillman, Patricia L.

    2003-01-01

    A laboratory method has been devised to enable measurement of the concentration of iron bound in ferritin from small samples of blood (serum). Derived partly from a prior method that depends on large samples of blood, this method involves the use of an inductively-coupled-plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS). Ferritin is a complex of iron with the protein apoferritin. Heretofore, measurements of the concentration of serum ferritin (as distinguished from direct measurements of the concentration of iron in serum ferritin) have been used to assess iron stores in humans. Low levels of serum ferritin could indicate the first stage of iron depletion. High levels of serum ferritin could indicate high levels of iron (for example, in connection with hereditary hemochromatosis an iron-overload illness that is characterized by progressive organ damage and can be fatal). However, the picture is complicated: A high level of serum ferritin could also indicate stress and/or inflammation instead of (or in addition to) iron overload, and low serum iron concentration could indicate inflammation rather than iron deficiency. Only when concentrations of both serum iron and serum ferritin increase and decrease together can the patient s iron status be assessed accurately. Hence, in enabling accurate measurement of the iron content of serum ferritin, the present method can improve the diagnosis of the patient s iron status. The prior method of measuring the concentration of iron involves the use of an atomic-absorption spectrophotometer with a graphite furnace. The present method incorporates a modified version of the sample- preparation process of the prior method. First, ferritin is isolated; more specifically, it is immobilized by immunoprecipitation with rabbit antihuman polyclonal antibody bound to agarose beads. The ferritin is then separated from other iron-containing proteins and free iron by a series of centrifugation and wash steps. Next, the ferritin is digested with nitric acid

  4. Significance of serum and bile tumor markers in the diagnostic approach of patients with malignant pancreatobiliary disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Natsios, Athanasios; Vezakis, Antonios; Kaparos, Georgios; Fragulidis, Georgios; Karakostas, Nikolaos; Kouskouni, Evangelia; Logothetis, Emmanouil; Polydorou, Andreas

    2015-01-01

    Serum and bile tumor markers are under intense scrutiny for the diagnosis of malignant disease. The purpose of our study was to report the usefulness of serum and bile tumor markers for the discrimination between benign and malignant pancreatobiliary diseases. Between March 2010 and May 2013, 95 patients with obstructive jaundice or history of biliary obstruction, were included in the study. During ERCP, bile samples were obtained for measurement of tumor markers CEA, CA19- 9, CA125, CA72-4 and CA242. Serum samples were taken before ERCP for the same measurements. The patients were divided into two groups: patients with malignant disease and patients with benign disease. Serum tumor marker levels were significantly higher in patients with malignant disease. Serum CA242 and CA19-9 exhibited the highest diagnostic accuracy (76.8% and 73.7%, respectively). CA125 and CA72-4 levels in bile samples were significantly higher in patients with malignant disease. Bile CA125, CEA and CA72-4 achieved the best diagnostic accuracy (69, 65 and 65), respectively). The combined detection of CA19-9, CA242 in serum and CA125, CA72-4 in bile along with total bilirubin levels, showed the best diagnostic accuracy (81%). Serum and bile tumor markers, when studied alone, lack the diagnostic yield to discriminate benign from malignant pancreatobiliary diseases. In cases of diagnostic dilemmas the combination of serum and bile markers might be helpful.

  5. Ultrasensitive radioimmunoassay for direct determination of free triiodothyronine concentration in serum

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weeke, J.; Oerskov, H.

    1975-01-01

    Free triiodothyronine (T 3 ) in serum has been measured directly in dialysates of serum, using a wick chromatographic radioimmunoassay. Adequate sensitivity was attained by the use of [ 125 I]T 3 with a very high specific activity (2,000 to 3,000μCi/μg). Sera were dialysed against a Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate buffer modified so as to be similar to plasma water. Dialysis took place under carefully controlled circumstances. The influence on the equilibrium of total to free T 3 of temperature, serum dilution and dialysis time was studied. By the present method, free T 3 in serum from groups of subjects including 20 men, 10 women taking oral contraceptives and 20 women with normal menstrual cycles were identical, averaging 5.2 pg/ml. A chromatographic radioimmunoassay of total T 3 using high specific activity [ 125 I]T 3 and a very small test sample is also described. (auth.)

  6. Clinical Usefulness of Serum Cystatin C as a Marker of Renal Function

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kwang-Sook Woo

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available BackgroundAccurate renal function measurements are important in the diagnosis and treatment of kidney diseases. In contrast to creatinine, the production of serum cystatin C has been extensively reported to be unaffected by body muscle mass, age, gender, and nutritional status.MethodsOur study included 37 samples from diabetic chronic kidney disease (CKD patients for whom serum creatinine tests had been requested and 40 samples from a healthy populations in Dong-A University Hospital between May 2010 and June 2010. The assay precision (i.e., the coefficient of variation and the reference range of the serum cystatin C test were evaluated. We compared the estimated glomerular filtration rates (GFRs based on cystatin C with those based on creatinine. Moreover, we investigated the influences of age, gender, weight, and muscle mass on serum creatinine and serum cystatin C.ResultsThere was a positive correlation between GFR based on creatinine and that based on cystatin C (r=0.79, P<0.0001 among the diabetic CKD patients. Serum creatinine and cystatin C were significantly correlated with body weight and muscle mass, but the strengths of these correlations were greater for serum creatinine. The precision study revealed excellent results for both the high and low controls. The 95% reference interval of cystatin C in the healthy population was 0.371 to 1.236 mg/L.ConclusionBased on these results, we conclude that, despite the strong correlation between serum creatinine and cystatin C, cystatin C is less affected by weight and muscle mass and might represent a better alternative for the assessment of renal function.

  7. Quantitative proteomic analysis for high-throughput screening of differential glycoproteins in hepatocellular carcinoma serum

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gao, Hua-Jun; Chen, Ya-Jing; Zuo, Duo; Xiao, Ming-Ming; Li, Ying; Guo, Hua; Zhang, Ning; Chen, Rui-Bing

    2015-01-01

    Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Novel serum biomarkers are required to increase the sensitivity and specificity of serum screening for early HCC diagnosis. This study employed a quantitative proteomic strategy to analyze the differential expression of serum glycoproteins between HCC and normal control serum samples. Lectin affinity chromatography (LAC) was used to enrich glycoproteins from the serum samples. Quantitative mass spectrometric analysis combined with stable isotope dimethyl labeling and 2D liquid chromatography (LC) separations were performed to examine the differential levels of the detected proteins between HCC and control serum samples. Western blot was used to analyze the differential expression levels of the three serum proteins. A total of 2,280 protein groups were identified in the serum samples from HCC patients by using the 2D LC-MS/MS method. Up to 36 proteins were up-regulated in the HCC serum, whereas 19 proteins were down-regulated. Three differential glycoproteins, namely, fibrinogen gamma chain (FGG), FOS-like antigen 2 (FOSL2), and α-1,6-mannosylglycoprotein 6-β-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase B (MGAT5B) were validated by Western blot. All these three proteins were up-regulated in the HCC serum samples. A quantitative glycoproteomic method was established and proven useful to determine potential novel biomarkers for HCC

  8. Association between serum antibodies to periodontal bacteria and rheumatoid factor in NHANES III

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goh, Charlene E.; Kopp, Jacob; Papapanou, Panos N.; Molitor, Jerry A.; Demmer, Ryan T.

    2016-01-01

    Objective Alterations in the microbiome, including the periodontal microbiome, may be a risk factor for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Most studies that have analyzed this association are relatively small, focus primarily on a single periodontal pathogen (Porphyromonas gingivalis), and are not population-based. We investigated the association between elevated serum IgG antibodies to 19 periodontal species and the prevalence of rheumatoid factor (RF) in a large nationally representative sample of adults. Methods The Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey is a cross-sectional sample of the non-institutionalized US population (n=33,994). Our study population included all dentate participants ≥60 years, who did not have RA as defined by a modified version of the American College of Rheumatology 1987 criteria, and had complete data for both serum IgG antibodies against periodontal bacteria and serum RF antibody titer (n=2461). Results Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) (95% CI) summarizing the relationship between the 19 periodontal serum IgGs and RF seropositivity ranged from 0.53 (0.29, 0.97) to 1.27 (0.79, 2.06), and 17 of the 19 observed ORs were periodontal IgGs to be mostly unassociated with RF seropositivity in the nationally representative NHANES III. Elevated antibody levels to P. intermedia and C. ochracea were associated with lower odds of RF seropositivity. PMID:27110949

  9. Simultaneous UHPLC-UV analysis of hydroxychloroquine, minocycline and doxycycline from serum samples for the therapeutic drug monitoring of Q fever and Whipple's disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Armstrong, Nicholas; Richez, Magali; Raoult, Didier; Chabriere, Eric

    2017-08-15

    A fast UHPLC-UV method was developed for the simultaneous analysis of Hydroxychloroquine, Minocycline and Doxycycline drugs from 100μL of human serum samples. Serum samples were extracted by liquid-liquid extraction and injected into a phenyl hexyl reverse phase column. Compounds were separated using a mobile phase linear gradient and monitored by UV detection at 343nm. Chloroquine and Oxytetracycline were used as internal standards. Lower and upper limits of quantifications, as well as the other levels of calibration, were validated with acceptable accuracy (<15% deviation) and precision (<15% coefficient of variation) according to the European Medicines Agency guidelines. This new method enables cost and time reduction and was considered suitable for the clinical laboratory. It is the first published assay for the therapeutic drug monitoring of patients diagnosed with Q fever or Whipple's disease. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Development and Validation of HPLC Method for Determination of Crocetin, a constituent of Saffron, in Human Serum Samples

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amir Hooshang Mohammadpour

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective(s:The present study reports the development and validation of a sensitive and rapid extraction method beside high performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of crocetin in human serum. Materials and Methods:The HPLC method was carried out by using a C18 reversed-phase column and a mobile phase composed of methanol/water/acetic acid (85:14.5:0.5 v/v/v at the flow rate of 0.8 ml/min. The UV detector was set at 423 nm and 13-cis retinoic acid was used as the internal standard. Serum samples were pretreated with solid-phase extraction using Bond Elut C18 (200mg cartridges or with direct precipitation using acetonitrile. Results:The calibration curves were linear over the range of 0.05-1.25 µg/ml for direct precipitation method and 0.5-5 µg/ml for solid-phase extraction. The mean recoveries of crocetin over a concentration range of 0.05-5 µg/ml serum for direct precipitation method and 0.5-5 µg/ml for solid-phase extraction were above 70 % and 60 %, respectively. The intraday coefficients of variation were 0.37- 2.6% for direct precipitation method and 0.64 - 5.43% for solid-phase extraction. The inter day coefficients of variation were 1.69 – 6.03% for direct precipitation method and 5.13-12.74% for solid-phase extraction, respectively. The lower limit of quantification for crocetin was 0.05 µg/ml for direct precipitation method and 0.5 µg/ml for solid-phase extraction. Conclusion: The validated direct precipitation method for HPLC satisfied all of the criteria that were necessary for a bioanalytical method and could reliably quantitate crocetin in human serum for future clinical pharmacokinetic study

  11. The Prognostic Significance of Pretreatment Serum CEA Levels in Gastric Cancer: A Meta-Analysis Including 14651 Patients

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, Kai; Yang, Li; Hu, Bing; Wu, Hao; Zhu, Hong; Tang, Chengwei

    2015-01-01

    Background Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is commonly used as a serum tumor marker in clinical practice; however, its prognostic value for gastric cancer patients remains uncertain. This meta-analysis was performed to assess the prognostic value of CEA and investigate CEA as a tumor marker. Methods PubMed, EMBASE and other databases were searched for potentially eligible studies. Forty-one studies reporting the prognostic effect of pretreatment serum CEA expression in gastric cancer patients were selected. Data on 14651 eligible patients were retrieved for the meta-analysis. Based on the data extracted from the available literature, the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for an adverse prognosis were estimated for gastric cancer patients with elevated pretreatment serum levels of CEA (CEA+) relative to patients with normal pretreatment CEA levels (CEA-). Results The CEA+ patients had a significantly poorer prognosis than the CEA- patients in terms of overall survival (OS: HR 1.716, 95% CI 1.594 - 1.848, P 0.05). In the pooled analyses of multivariate-adjusted HRs, the results suggested that pretreatment serum CEA may be an independent prognostic factor in gastric cancer (OS: HR 1.681, 95% CI 1.425 - 1.982; DSS: HR 1.900, 95% CI 1.441 - 2.505; DFS: HR 2.579, 95% CI 1.935 - 3.436). Conclusion/Significance The meta-analysis based on the available literature supported the association of elevated pretreatment serum CEA levels with a poor prognosis for gastric cancer and a nearly doubled risk of mortality in gastric cancer patients. CEA may be an independent prognostic factor for gastric cancer patients and may aid in determining appropriate treatment which may preferentially benefit the CEA+ patients. PMID:25879931

  12. Association of testosterone and BDNF serum levels with craving during alcohol withdrawal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heberlein, Annemarie; Lenz, Bernd; Opfermann, Birgitt; Gröschl, Michael; Janke, Eva; Stange, Katrin; Groh, Adrian; Kornhuber, Johannes; Frieling, Helge; Bleich, Stefan; Hillemacher, Thomas

    2016-08-01

    Preclinical and clinical studies show associations between testosterone and brain-derived neurotrophic growth factor (BDNF) serum levels. BDNF and testosterone have been independently reported to influence alcohol consumption. Therefore, we aimed to investigate a possible interplay of testosterone and BDNF contributing to alcohol dependence. Regarding possible interplay of testosterone and BDNF and the activity of the hypothalamic pituitary axis (HPA), we included cortisol serum levels in our research. We investigated testosterone and BDNF serum levels in a sample of 99 male alcohol-dependent patients during alcohol withdrawal (day 1, 7, and 14) and compared them to a healthy male control group (n = 17). The testosterone serum levels were significantly (p BDNF serum levels (day 1: p = 0.008). In a subgroup of patients showing high cortisol serum levels (putatively mirroring high HPA activity), we found a significant association of BDNF and testosterone as well as with alcohol craving measured by the Obsessive and Compulsive Drinking Scale (OCDS). Our data suggest a possible association of BDNF and testosterone serum levels, which may be relevant for the symptomatology of alcohol dependence. Further studies are needed to clarify our results. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Limited interlaboratory comparison of Schmallenberg virus antibody detection in serum samples

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    van der Poel, W. H. M.; Cay, B.; Zientara, S.

    2014-01-01

    Eight veterinary institutes in seven different countries in Europe participated in a limited interlaboratory comparison trial to evaluate laboratory performances of Schmallenberg virus (SBV) antibody detection in serum. Seven different sheep sera and three different cattle sera were circulated, a...

  14. Elevated serum leptin levels in patients with acute myocardial infarction; correlation with coronary angiographic and echocardiographic findings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khafaji Hadi AR

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background To assess the relationship between serial serum leptin levels in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI who received thrombolysis and the degree of coronary atherosclerosis, coronary reperfusion, echocardiographic findings, and clinical outcome. 51 consecutive patients presenting with AMI were studied. Clinical characteristics including age, sex, body mass index (BMI and cardiovascular risk factors were recorded. Serial serum leptin levels at the time of admission and subsequently at 0, 6, 12, 24, 36, 60 hours afterwards were obtained. Coronary angiography was performed in 34 patients; the relation between serum leptin levels and evidence of coronary reperfusion as well as the extent of coronary atherosclerosis according to the coronary artery surgery study classification (CASS were evaluated. Echocardiographic evaluation was performed in all patients. 36 matched patients were enrolled as control group who had serum leptin level 9.4 ± 6.5 ng/ml. Results The patients mean age was 50.5 ± 10.6 years. There were 47 males and 3 females. 37.1% were diabetics, 23.5% were hypertensive, 21.6% were dyslipidemic and 22.7% were obese (BMI ≥ 30. Leptin concentrations (ng/ml increased and peaked at the 4th sample (36 hrs after admission (mean ± SD sample (1 =9.55 ± 7.4, sample (2 =12.9 ± 8.4, sample (3 =13.8 ± 10.4, sample (4 =18.9 ± 18.1, sample (5 =11.4 ± 6.5, sample (6 =10.8 ± 8.9 ng/ml. There was a significant correlation between serum leptin and BMI (r = 0.342; p = 0.03. Leptin levels correlated significantly to creatine kinase level on the second day (r = 0.43, p ≤ 0.01. Significant correlation of mean serum leptin with the ejection fraction (P p = 0.8. There was a trend for an increase in the mean serum leptin levels with increasing number of diseased vessels. There was no correlation between serum leptin levels and outcome neither during the

  15. Serum nerve growth factor (NGF) levels in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guney, Esra; Ceylan, Mehmet Fatih; Kara, Mehmet; Tekin, Neslihan; Goker, Zeynep; Senses Dinc, Gulser; Ozturk, Onder; Eker, Sevda; Kizilgun, Murat

    2014-02-07

    Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most commonly diagnosed neurobehavioral disorder of childhood. The etiopathogeny of ADHD has not been totally defined. Recent reports have suggested a pathophysiological role of neurotrophins in ADHD. In this study, we evaluated serum levels of nerve growth factor (NGF) in patients with ADHD. The sample population consisted of 44 child or adolescent patients diagnosed with ADHD according to DSM-IV criteria; 36 healthy subjects were included in the study as controls. Venous blood samples were collected, and NGF levels were measured. The mean serum NGF levels of the ADHD patients were significantly higher than those of the controls. Age and gender of the patients were not correlated with serum NGF levels. There were no significant differences in NGF levels among the combined and predominantly inattentive subtypes of ADHD. Our study suggests that there are higher levels of serum NGF in drug naive ADHD patients, and that increased levels of NGF might have an important role in the pathophysiology of ADHD. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Matrix removal in state of the art sample preparation methods for serum by charged aerosol detection and metabolomics-based LC-MS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schimek, Denise; Francesconi, Kevin A; Mautner, Anton; Libiseller, Gunnar; Raml, Reingard; Magnes, Christoph

    2016-04-07

    Investigations into sample preparation procedures usually focus on analyte recovery with no information provided about the fate of other components of the sample (matrix). For many analyses, however, and particularly those using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), quantitative measurements are greatly influenced by sample matrix. Using the example of the drug amitriptyline and three of its metabolites in serum, we performed a comprehensive investigation of nine commonly used sample clean-up procedures in terms of their suitability for preparing serum samples. We were monitoring the undesired matrix compounds using a combination of charged aerosol detection (CAD), LC-CAD, and a metabolomics-based LC-MS/MS approach. In this way, we compared analyte recovery of protein precipitation-, liquid-liquid-, solid-phase- and hybrid solid-phase extraction methods. Although all methods provided acceptable recoveries, the highest recovery was obtained by protein precipitation with acetonitrile/formic acid (amitriptyline 113%, nortriptyline 92%, 10-hydroxyamitriptyline 89%, and amitriptyline N-oxide 96%). The quantification of matrix removal by LC-CAD showed that the solid phase extraction method (SPE) provided the lowest remaining matrix load (48-123 μg mL(-1)), which is a 10-40 fold better matrix clean-up than the precipitation- or hybrid solid phase extraction methods. The metabolomics profiles of eleven compound classes, comprising 70 matrix compounds showed the trends of compound class removal for each sample preparation strategy. The collective data set of analyte recovery, matrix removal and matrix compound profile was used to assess the effectiveness of each sample preparation method. The best performance in matrix clean-up and practical handling of small sample volumes was showed by the SPE techniques, particularly HLB SPE. CAD proved to be an effective tool for revealing the considerable differences between the sample preparation methods. This detector can

  17. Serum levels of INSL3, AMH, Inhibin B and Testosterone during pubertal transition in healthy boys

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lindhardt Johansen, Marie; Anand-Ivell, Ravinder; Mouritsen, Annette

    2014-01-01

    to luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), testosterone, inhibin B, and anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) during puberty in healthy boys.MethodsTen boys were included from the longitudinal part of the COPENHAGEN Puberty Study. Pubertal evaluation, including testicular volume, was performed...... and blood samples drawn every 6 months for 5 years. Serum concentrations of testosterone were determined by a newly developed LC-MS/MS method, and serum concentrations of INSL3, AMH, inhibin B, FSH and LH, respectively, were determined by validated immunoassays.ResultsSerum INSL3 levels increased...... progressively with increasing age, pubertal onset and testicular volume. In six of ten boys, LH increased prior to the first observed increase in INSL3. In the remaining four boys, the increase in LH and INSL3 was observed at the same examination. The increases in serum concentrations of LH, testosterone...

  18. Prevalence of Peste Des Petits Ruminants Virus (PPRV in Mardan, Hangu and Kohat District of Pakistan; Comparative Analysis of PPRV Suspected serum samples using Competitive ELISA (cELISA and Agar Gel Immunodiffusion (AGID

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Misbah Aslam

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Peste des petits Ruminants (PPR is an acute, febrile, highly contagious and economically important viral disease of small ruminants. However PPR is more prevalent in sheep and goat. Competitive ELISA, Virus neutrilization test, and RT-PCR are the available techniques for diagnosis of PPR which give rapid detection where as Agar gel immunodiffusion and Counter immunoelectrophoresis were previously used for PPR detection. In this study two serological techniques were compared for PPR diagnosis. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the comparative sensitivity of both techniques for PPR detection. For this purpose one hundred and sixty PPR suspected serum samples collected from goats and sheep flocks (unvaccinated from three Districts of NWFP including Mardan, Hangu and Kohat were analyzed in National Veterinary Laboratories, Islamabad. Out of these 160 samples, fifty (50 were found positive for PPR antibodies with cELISA (Prevalence = 31.25%. The cELISA positive serum samples however gave negative results when tested with AGID although the control well was always positive. Thus it was concluded that cELISA technique is more sensitive and specific than AGID for PPR antibody detection. [Vet. World 2009; 2(3.000: 89-92

  19. Influence of feeding on serum canine pancreatic lipase immunoreactivity concentrations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Steiner JM

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Jörg M Steiner, Craig G Ruaux, David A Williams Gastrointestinal Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA Abstract: Measurement of serum concentration of pancreatic lipase immunoreactivity (PLI has been shown to be highly specific for exocrine pancreatic function and sensitive for the diagnosis of canine pancreatitis. Currently, it is recommended that food be withheld for at least 12 hours before collecting a blood sample for analysis from dogs. However, it is unknown whether feeding has any influence on serum canine PLI concentration. Thus, the goal of this study was to evaluate the influence of feeding on serum canine PLI concentrations in healthy dogs. Food was withheld from eight healthy adult Beagle dogs for at least 17 hours and a baseline serum sample (0 minutes was collected. Dogs were fed and serum samples were collected at 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, 105, 150, 180, 210, 240, 300, 360, 420, and 480 minutes. There was no significant difference in serum canine PLI concentrations at any time after feeding (P=0.131. We conclude that feeding has no significant influence on serum canine PLI concentrations. Keywords: dog, pancreatic function, pancreatitis, biomarker, diagnostic test

  20. Sample Preparation Strategies for the Effective Quantitation of Hydrophilic Metabolites in Serum by Multi-Targeted HILIC-MS/MS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elisavet Tsakelidou

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The effect of endogenous interferences of serum in multi-targeted metabolite profiling HILIC-MS/MS analysis was investigated by studying different sample preparation procedures. A modified QuEChERS dispersive SPE protocol, a HybridSPE protocol, and a combination of liquid extraction with protein precipitation were compared to a simple protein precipitation. Evaluation of extraction efficiency and sample clean-up was performed for all methods. SPE sorbent materials tested were found to retain hydrophilic analytes together with endogenous interferences, thus additional elution steps were needed. Liquid extraction was not shown to minimise matrix effects. In general, it was observed that a balance should be reached in terms of recovery, efficient clean-up, and sample treatment time when a wide range of metabolites are analysed. A quick step for removing phospholipids prior to the determination of hydrophilic endogenous metabolites is required, however, based on the results from the applied methods, further studies are needed to achieve high recoveries for all metabolites.

  1. Ultrasonic energy enhanced the efficiency of advance extraction methodology for enrichment of trace level of copper in serum samples of patients having neurological disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arain, Mariam S; Kazi, Tasneem G; Afridi, Hassan I; Ali, Jamshed; Akhtar, Asma

    2017-07-01

    An innovative dual dispersive ionic liquid based on ultrasound assisted microextraction (UDIL-μE), for the enrichment of trace levels of copper ion (Cu 2+ ), in serum (blood) of patients suffering from different neurological disorders. The enriched metal ions were subjected to flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). In the UDIL-μE method, the extraction solvent, ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate [C 4 mim][PF 6 ], was dispersed into the aqueous samples using an ultrasonic bath. The(PAN) 1-(2-pyridylazo)-2-naphthol was used as ligand for the complexation of Cu ion in IL (as extracting solvent). The various variables such as sonication time, pH, concentration of complexing agent, time and rate of centrifugation, IL volume that affect the extraction process were optimized. The enhancement factor (EF) and detection limit (LOD) was found under favorable condition was 31 and 0.36μgL -1 , respectively. Reliability of the proposed method was checked by relative standard deviation (%RSD), which was found to be <5%. The accuracy of developed procedure was assured by using certified reference material (CRM) of blood serum. The developed procedure was applied successfully to the analysis of concentration of Cu ion in blood serum of different neurological disorders subjects and referents of same age group. It was observed that the levels of Cu ion was two folds higher in serum samples of neurological disorders patients as related to normal referents of same age group. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  2. The role of serum vitamin D levels in vitiligo

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ebru Karagün

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Introduction : Vitiligo is a common acquired pigmentary skin disorder. Vitamin D is responsible for skin pigmentation, increases tyrosinase activity and melanogenesis, and exhibits immunoregulatory functions. Low levels of vitamin D are associated with many autoimmune diseases, including systemic lupus, diabetes mellitus, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and alopecia areata. Few reports have evaluated serum vitamin D levels in vitiligo patients, and their results are conflicting. Aim : To evaluate serum vitamin D levels of vitiligo patients and compare the results with controls. Material and methods : In total, 50 vitiligo patients and 47 controls were enrolled in the study. Vitamin D levels were measured from blood samples. Group comparisons were performed using appropriate statistical methods. Results : The patients had lower serum vitamin D levels than the controls, but this difference was not significant (p = 0.570. Conclusions : It remains unknown whether vitamin D deficiency causes vitiligo. Larger controlled studies are required to prove whether low circulating vitamin D is a causative factor in vitiligo.

  3. Serum Lipid Profile: Fasting or Non-fasting?

    OpenAIRE

    Nigam, P. K.

    2010-01-01

    Serum lipid profile has now become almost a routine test. It is usually done in fasting state due to certain limitations in non-fasting serum sample. In the recent past efforts have been made to simplify blood sampling by replacing fasting lipid profile with non-fasting lipid profile. However, fasting specimen is preferred if cardiovascular risk assessment is based on total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol or non-HDL cholesterol. A lot has yet to be done in this area. Till then we have to believe...

  4. Evaluation of a type 1 diabetes serum cohort by SELDI-TOF MS protein profiling

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Albrethsen, J.; Kaas, A.; Schonle, E.

    2009-01-01

    Proteomics analysis of serum from patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) may lead to novel biomarkers for prediction of disease and for patient monitoring. However, the serum proteome is highly sensitive to sample processing and before proteomics biomarker research serum cohorts should preferably...... be examined for potential bias between sample groups. S ELDI-TOF MS protein profiling was used for preliminary evaluation of a biological-bank with 766 serum samples from 270 patients with T1D, collected at 18 different paediatric centers representing 15 countries in Europe and Japan over 2 years (2000......-2002). Samples collected 1 (n = 270), 6 (n = 248), and 12 (n = 248) months after T1D diagnosis were grouped across centers and compared. The serum protein profiles varied with collection site and day of analysis; however, markers of sample processing were not systematically different between samples collected...

  5. Serum Protein Profile Study of Clinical Samples Using High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Laser Induced Fluorescence

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Karemore, Gopal Raghunath; Ukendt, Sujatha; Rai, Lavanya

    2009-01-01

    The serum protein profiles of normal subjects, patients diagnosed with cervical cancer, and oral cancer were recorded using High Performance Liquid Chromatography combined with Laser Induced Fluorescence detection (HPLC-LIF). Serum protein profiles of the above three classes were tested for estab...

  6. Levels of some trace elements in serum of esophageal cancer patients

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Saeed, D M. A. [Sudan Academy of Sciences, Atomic Energy Council, Khartoum (Sudan)

    2011-01-15

    The aim of this study is to measure the concentrations of six trace elements (Zn, Se, Fe, Co, Rb, Hg) in the serum of patients with esophageal cancer who were newly diagnosed before undergoing any type of treatment. Biopsy was taken from diseased esophagus and examined histologically. A total of 43 samples of patients and 36 samples from healthy control group was collected, which were then dried by freeze drying. Then analyzed by neutron activation analysis technology, using research reactor in Syria (the miniature neutron source, MNSR) with neutron flux of 1x10''1''2 n.cm ''-''2 s''-''1 was performed. Certified reference sample from the International Agency were obtained for quality control analysis to ensure the reliability of the device. All six elements were statistically analyzed, the study proved statistical significant difference concentration of following five elements, Zn, Se, Fe, Co, Rb in the serum of patients compared to the serum samples of healthy people. The concentration of Zn and Se in patients serum were less compared to serum of healthy individuals, and the concentrations of Fe, Co, Rb in serum of patients were higher than its that the serum of healthy individuals. While the concentrations of Hg was found to be higher in serum of healthy individuals compared to patients serum, but without statistical significant. The concentration presented by means with standard deviation. The findings were compared to results obtained from literature. All five elements compatible with literature. Hg has not been investigated in such studies before. Selenium and zinc supplementation are need by cancer patient in order to enhance and increase the chances for natural immunological of cancer.(Author)

  7. Levels of some trace elements in serum of esophageal cancer patients

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saeed, D. M. A.

    2011-01-01

    The aim of this study is to measure the concentrations of six trace elements (Zn, Se, Fe, Co, Rb, Hg) in the serum of patients with esophageal cancer who were newly diagnosed before undergoing any type of treatment. Biopsy was taken from diseased esophagus and examined histologically. A total of 43 samples of patients and 36 samples from healthy control group was collected, which were then dried by freeze drying. Then analyzed by neutron activation analysis technology, using research reactor in Syria (the miniature neutron source, MNSR) with neutron flux of 1x10''1''2 n.cm ''-''2 s''-''1 was performed. Certified reference sample from the International Agency were obtained for quality control analysis to ensure the reliability of the device. All six elements were statistically analyzed, the study proved statistical significant difference concentration of following five elements, Zn, Se, Fe, Co, Rb in the serum of patients compared to the serum samples of healthy people. The concentration of Zn and Se in patients serum were less compared to serum of healthy individuals, and the concentrations of Fe, Co, Rb in serum of patients were higher than its that the serum of healthy individuals. While the concentrations of Hg was found to be higher in serum of healthy individuals compared to patients serum, but without statistical significant. The concentration presented by means with standard deviation. The findings were compared to results obtained from literature. All five elements compatible with literature. Hg has not been investigated in such studies before. Selenium and zinc supplementation are need by cancer patient in order to enhance and increase the chances for natural immunological of cancer.(Author)

  8. Bovine serum albumin-Cu(II) hybrid nanoflowers: An effective adsorbent for solid phase extraction and slurry sampling flame atomic absorption spectrometric analysis of cadmium and lead in water, hair, food and cigarette samples

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yilmaz, Erkan [Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, Erciyes University, Kayseri 38039 (Turkey); Ocsoy, Ismail [Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Erciyes University, Kayseri 38039 (Turkey); Nanotechnology Research Center (ERNAM), Erciyes University, Kayseri 38039 (Turkey); Ozdemir, Nalan [Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, Erciyes University, Kayseri 38039 (Turkey); Soylak, Mustafa, E-mail: soylak@erciyes.edu.tr [Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, Erciyes University, Kayseri 38039 (Turkey)

    2016-02-04

    Herein, the synthesis of bovine serum albumin-Cu(II) hybrid nanoflowers (BSA-NFs) through the building blocks of bovine serum albumin (BSA) and copper(II) ions in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) and their use as adsorbent for cadmium and lead ions are reported. The BSA-NFs, for the first time, were efficiently utilized as novel adsorbent for solid phase extraction (SPE) of cadmium and lead ions in water, food, cigarette and hair samples. The method is based on the separation and pre-concentration of Cd(II) and Pb(II) by BSA-NFs prior to determination by slurry analysis via flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). The analytes were adsorbed on BSA-NFs under the vortex mixing and then the ion-loaded slurry was separated and directly introduced into the flame AAS nebulizer by using a hand-made micro sample introduction system to eliminate a number of drawbacks. The effects of analytical key parameters, such as pH, amount of BSA-NFs, vortexing time, sample volume, and matrix effect of foreign ions on adsorbing of Cd(II) and Pb(II) were systematically investigated and optimized. The limits of detection (LODs) for Cd(II) and Pb(II) were calculated as 0.37 μg L{sup −1} and 8.8 μg L{sup −1}, respectively. The relative standard deviation percentages (RSDs) (N = 5) for Cd(II) and Pb(II) were 7.2%, and 5.0%, respectively. The accuracy of the developed procedure was validated by the analysis of certified reference materials (TMDA-53.3 Fortified Water, TMDA-70 Fortified Water, SPS-WW2 Waste Water, NCSDC-73349 Bush Branches and Leaves) and by addition/recovery analysis. The quantitative recoveries were obtained for the analysis of certified reference materials and addition/recovery tests. The method was successfully applied to the analysis of cadmium and lead in water, food, cigarette and hair samples. - Highlights: • The synthesis of bovine serum albumin-Cu(II) hybrid nanoflowers is reported. • The nanoflowers were utilized for solid phase microextraction of

  9. Use of serum and blood samples on filter paper to improve the surveillance of Dengue in Pacific Island Countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aubry, Maite; Roche, Claudine; Dupont-Rouzeyrol, Myrielle; Aaskov, John; Viallon, Jérôme; Marfel, Maria; Lalita, Paul; Elbourne-Duituturaga, Salanieta; Chanteau, Suzanne; Musso, Didier; Pavlin, Boris I; Harrison, Dustin; Kool, Jacob L; Cao-Lormeau, Van-Mai

    2012-09-01

    In Pacific Island Countries (PICs) the epidemiology of dengue is characterized by long-term transmission of a single dengue virus (DENV) serotype. The emergence of a new serotype in one island country often indicates major outbreaks with this serotype will follow in other PICs. Filter paper (FP) cards on which whole blood or serum from dengue suspected patients had been dried was evaluated as a method for transportation of this material by standard mail delivery throughout the Pacific. Twenty-two FP-dried whole blood samples collected from patients in New Caledonia and Wallis & Futuna Islands, during DENV-1 and DENV-4 transmission, and 76 FP-dried sera collected from patients in Yap State, Majuro (Republic of Marshall Islands), Tonga and Fiji, before and during outbreaks of DENV-2 in Yap State and DENV-4 in Majuro, were tested for the presence of DENV RNA, by serotype specific RT-PCR, at the Institut Louis Malardé in French Polynesia. The serotype of DENV could be determined, by a variety of RT-PCR procedures, in the FP-dried samples after more than three weeks of transport at ambient temperatures. In most cases, the sequencing of the envelope gene to genotype the viruses also was possible. The serotype and genotype of DENV can be determined from FP-dried serum or whole blood samples transported over thousands of kilometers at ambient, tropical, temperatures. This simple and low-cost approach to virus identification should be evaluated in isolated and resource poor settings for surveillance for a range of significant viral diseases. Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  10. Serum neutralization as a differential serological test for classical swine fever virus and other pestivirus infections

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paredes J.C.M.

    1999-01-01

    Full Text Available Serum neutralization tests (SN were performed against classical swine fever virus (CSFV, bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV and border disease virus (BDV on samples of swine serum collected for screening of antibodies to CSFV, in order to determine the SN value as a differential serological test. Ninety-nine sera out of a sample of 16,664 were positive for antibodies to pestiviruses in an ELISA test which did not distinguish antibodies to different pestiviruses. When submitted to SN, 81 sera were positive for CSFV antibodies only. In 17 sera, crossreactive antibodies to either CSFV, BVDV or BDV were detected. In most of these sera (13 out of 17 the differences between SN titres against the three viruses were not sufficient to estimate which was the most likely antibody-inducing virus. It was concluded that, for the SN to be useful in such differentiation, it is essential to examine a sample which must include a representative number of sera from the same farm where suspect animals were detected. When isolated serum samples are examined, such as those obtained with the sampling strategy adopted here, the SN may give rise to inconclusive results.

  11. Association of Mood Disorders with Serum Zinc Concentrations in Adolescent Female Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tahmasebi, Kobra; Amani, Reza; Nazari, Zahra; Ahmadi, Kambiz; Moazzen, Sara; Mostafavi, Seyed-Ali

    2017-08-01

    Among various factors influencing mood disorders, the impact of micronutrient deficiencies has attracted a great attention. Zinc deficiency is considered to play a crucial role in the onset and progression of mood disorders in different stages of life. The main objective of this study was to assess the correlation between serum zinc levels and mood disorders in high school female students. This cross-sectional study was conducted on a random sample of 100 representative high school female students. The participants completed 24-h food recall questionnaires to assess the daily zinc intakes. Serum zinc status was assessed using flame atomic absorption spectrometry, and zinc deficiency was defined accordingly. Mood disorders were estimated by calculating the sum of two test scores including Beck's depression inventory (BDI) and hospital anxiety depression scale (HADS) tests. General linear model (GLM) and Pearson's regression test were applied to show the correlation of serum zinc levels and mood disorder scores and the correlation between zinc serum levels and BDI scores, respectively. Dietary zinc intake was higher in subjects with normal zinc concentrations than that of zinc-deficient group (p = 0.001). Serum zinc levels were inversely correlated with BDI and HADS scores (p zinc levels led to 0.3 and 0.01 decrease in depression and anxiety scores, respectively (p zinc levels were inversely correlated with mood disorders including depression and anxiety in adolescent female students. Increasing serum levels of zinc in female students could improve their mood disorders.

  12. Comparison of digoxin concentration in plastic serum tubes with clot activator and heparinized plasma tubes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dukić, Lora; Simundić, Ana-Maria; Malogorski, Davorin

    2014-01-01

    Sample type recommended by the manufacturer for the digoxin Abbott assay is either serum collected in glass tubes or plasma (sodium heparin, lithium heparin, citrate, EDTA or oxalate as anticoagulant) collected in plastic tubes. In our hospital samples are collected in plastic tubes. Our hypothesis was that the serum sample collected in plastic serum tube can be used interchangeably with plasma sample for measurement of digoxin concentration. Our aim was verification of plastic serum tubes for determination of digoxin concentration. Concentration of digoxin was determined simultaneously in 26 venous blood plasma (plastic Vacuette, LH Lithium heparin) and serum (plastic Vacuette, Z Serum Clot activator; both Greiner Bio-One GmbH, Kremsmünster, Austria) samples, on Abbott AxSYM analyzer using the original Abbott Digoxin III assay (Abbott, Wiesbaden, Germany). Tube comparability was assessed using the Passing Bablok regression and Bland-Altman plot. Serum and plasma digoxin concentrations are comparable. Passing Bablok intercept (0.08 [95% CI = -0.10 to 0.20]) and slope (0.99 [95% CI = 0.92 to 1.11]) showed there is no constant or proportional error. Blood samples drawn in plastic serum tubes and plastic plasma tubes can be interchangeably used for determination of digoxin concentration.

  13. Serum sample containing endogenous antibodies interfering with multiple hormone immunoassays. Laboratory strategies to detect interference

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena García-González

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: Endogenous antibodies (EA may interfere with immunoassays, causing erroneous results for hormone analyses. As (in most cases this interference arises from the assay format and most immunoassays, even from different manufacturers, are constructed in a similar way, it is possible for a single type of EA to interfere with different immunoassays. Here we describe the case of a patient whose serum sample contains EA that interfere several hormones tests. We also discuss the strategies deployed to detect interference. Subjects and methods: Over a period of four years, a 30-year-old man was subjected to a plethora of laboratory and imaging diagnostic procedures as a consequence of elevated hormone results, mainly of pituitary origin, which did not correlate with the overall clinical picture. Results: Once analytical interference was suspected, the best laboratory approaches to investigate it were sample reanalysis on an alternative platform and sample incubation with antibody blocking tubes. Construction of an in-house ‘nonsense’ sandwich assay was also a valuable strategy to confirm interference. In contrast, serial sample dilutions were of no value in our case, while polyethylene glycol (PEG precipitation gave inconclusive results, probably due to the use of inappropriate PEG concentrations for several of the tests assayed. Conclusions: Clinicians and laboratorians must be aware of the drawbacks of immunometric assays, and alert to the possibility of EA interference when results do not fit the clinical pattern. Keywords: Endogenous antibodies, Immunoassay, Interference, Pituitary hormones, Case report

  14. Evaluation of HER2/neu oncoprotein in serum & tissue samples of women with breast cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shailaja Shukla

    2016-01-01

    Interpretation & conclusions: The results suggest that elevated serum HER2 level was associated with a clinicopathological aggressive phenotype of breast carcinoma and was related to tissue HER2 overexpression. Therefore, serum HER2 may be useful for monitoring the course of the disease and response to treatment.

  15. Production of antiserum and development of radioimmunoassay for progesterone measurement in serum

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abdalla, O.M; Abbas, S.H.

    2004-03-01

    The anti progesterone antibody was obtained by injection of local sudanese sheep (bevies arias) intramuscularly and subcutaneously using 11-a-hydroxy progesterone conjugated with bovine serum albumin and emulsified in friend's adjuvant. The blood samples collected one week after the 3 rd injection was tested for anti-progesterone antibodies. Different dilutions of antisera in Pbs containing 0.0.1 % BSA and 0.1 % Na N 3 (Ph 7.4) were made. Using these dilutions, polystyrene balls of 6.4 mm diameter were coated with a coating volume of 500 μ1/bead.The antibody dilution of 1/200000 was selected and used for assembling a kit to measure progesterone level in serum. Optimization of the assay condition resulted in the following recipes: Fifty μ1 of standard or Qc (Low, normal and high) from Bio Rad for 2 hours. The reaction medium aspirated, washed twice and read for 100 seconds in gamma counter. Assay validation tests including Linearity, recovery, reproducibility and comparability were done. In regards to linearity, the measured concentrations of progesterone in serum samples were plotted against the expected values. The correlation coefficient was 0.997 and a linear regression equation was Y=1.1019+0.9895 X. The mean recovery was 96.86% of the sample replicates ranged from 0.2% to 6%. between assay reproducibility was assessed fro the results obtained from 3 samples which were used for quality control in different assays. The results obtained were in the reference range and were close to each other. Comparison between local and American Dpc reagents for progesterone determination in serum showed high correlation high correlation where r 0.9492.(Author)

  16. 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.

  17. Including Below Detection Limit Samples in Post Decommissioning Soil Sample Analyses

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Jung Hwan; Yim, Man Sung [KAIST, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-05-15

    To meet the required standards the site owner has to show that the soil at the facility has been sufficiently cleaned up. To do this one must know the contamination of the soil at the site prior to clean up. This involves sampling that soil to identify the degree of contamination. However there is a technical difficulty in determining how much decontamination should be done. The problem arises when measured samples are below the detection limit. Regulatory guidelines for site reuse after decommissioning are commonly challenged because the majority of the activity in the soil at or below the limit of detection. Using additional statistical analyses of contaminated soil after decommissioning is expected to have the following advantages: a better and more reliable probabilistic exposure assessment, better economics (lower project costs) and improved communication with the public. This research will develop an approach that defines an acceptable method for demonstrating compliance of decommissioned NPP sites and validates that compliance. Soil samples from NPP often contain censored data. Conventional methods for dealing with censored data sets are statistically biased and limited in their usefulness.

  18. [Serum glycosaminoglycans in Graves' disease patients].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Winsz-Szczotka, Katarzyna B; Olczyk, Krystyna Z; Koźma, Ewa M; Komosińska-Vassev, Katarzyna B; Wisowski, Grzegorz R; Marcisz, Czesław

    2006-01-01

    The aim of the study was to determine the blood serum sulfated glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and hyaluronic acid (HA) concentration of Graves' disease patients before treatment and after attainment of the euthyroid state. The study was carried out on the blood serum obtained from 17 patients with newly recognised Graves' disease and from the same patients after attainment of the euthyroid state. Graves' patients had not any clinical symptoms neither of ophthalmopathy nor pretibial myxedema. GAGs were isolated from the blood serum by the multistage extraction and purification using papaine hydrolysis, alkali elimination, as well as cetylpyridium chloride binding. Total amount of GAGs was quantified by the hexuronic acids assay. HA content in obtained GAGs sample was evaluated by the ELISA method. Increased serum concentration of sulfated GAGs in non-treated Graves' disease patients was found. Similarly, serum HA level in untreated patients was significantly elevated. The attainment of euthyroid state was accompanied by the decreased serum sulfated GAGs level and by normalization of serum HA concentration. In conclusion, the results obtained demonstrate that the alterations of GAGs metabolism connected with Graves' disease can lead to systemic changes of the extracellular matrix properties.

  19. Serum chemerin level during the first trimester of pregnancy and the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Xuezhou; Quan, Xiaozhen; Lan, Yanli; Ye, Jinhai; Wei, Qipeng; Yin, Xiaofang; Fan, Fangfang; Xing, Hui

    2017-10-01

    To investigate the association between chemerin level in the first trimester of pregnancy and the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus. The blood samples of 212 women at 8-12 weeks of gestation were collected. After screening for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), 19 women with GDM and 20 women randomly selected from 144 women with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) were included in the study. Blood samples were collected from these women. Triglycerides, glucose, total cholesterol, and HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, insulin and chemerin were measured. Gestational weight gain and body mass index was assessed. Serum levels of chemerin were significantly elevated during late gestation, and the risk of GDM was positively associated with maternal serum chemerin in the first trimester. Serum chemerin level during the first trimester of pregnancy has the potential to predict risk of GDM.

  20. Advanced prostatic carcinomas with low serum levels of prostate-specific antigen

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cerović Snežana J.

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available The serum levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA represent a significant diagnostic and monitoring parameter of prostatic carcinoma (PC. The aim of the study was to establish correlation of serum PSA level in addition to grade, histological type, and clinical stage of PC in patients with normal or intermediary PSA serum level. In 37 untreated PC patients with preoperative serum PSA levels ranging between 0.1 and 9.6 ng/ml, paraffin-embedded tissue and serum samples were immunohistological studied and immunoassay for PSA was done. The most representative was poorly differentiated PC with D stage In serum samples from PC patients 27 (73.7% normal (≤ 4.0 ng/ml, and 10 (27.3% intermediate (4.1-10 ng/ml PSA levels were found Immunohistochemistry, in 36 PC (97.3% had demonstrated the expression of PSA. Our study results had shown low serum PSA levels in some patients with advanced poorly differentiated PC.

  1. Ambient and at-the-ear occupational noise exposure and serum lipid levels

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Arlien-Søborg, Mai C; Schmedes, Astrid S; Stokholm, Z A

    2016-01-01

    -the-ear occupational noise exposure and serum levels of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, and triglycerides when accounting for well-established predictors of lipid levels. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 424 industrial workers and 84 financial......OBJECTIVES: Occupational and residential noise exposure has been related to increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Alteration of serum lipid levels has been proposed as a possible causal pathway. The objective of this study was to investigate the relation between ambient and at...... workers to obtain contrast in noise exposure levels. They provided a serum sample and wore portable dosimeters that every 5-s recorded ambient noise exposure levels during a 24-h period. We extracted measurements obtained during work and calculated the full-shift mean ambient noise level. For 331 workers...

  2. Soluble serum Klotho levels in healthy subjects

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Lise Mariager; Pedersen, Susanne Møller; Brasen, Claus Lohman

    2013-01-01

    Klotho concentrations were determined in 120 healthy adults aged 19-66years. Blood samples were collected, and stored sera were assayed for Klotho according to age and gender. In addition several other clinical and laboratory characteristics were determined in the cohort and compared to the levels...... genders. Concentrations of serum Klotho were independently associated with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and body weight using TRF whereas serum Klotho concentrations were associated with age using the ELISA. CONCLUSION: Comparison of two different immunoassays for serum Klotho indicate...

  3. Selection of candidate radiation bio-markers in the serum of rats exposed to gamma-rays by GC/TOFMS-based metabolomics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, H.; Wang, Z.; Zhang, X.; Qiao, Y.; Wu, S.; Dong, F.; Chen, Y.

    2013-01-01

    In the study, gas chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC/TOFMS) techniques coupled with principal components analysis (PCA) were used to investigate metabolite perturbations in the serum of the rats exposed to 0.75, 3 or 8 Gy gamma rays. Male standard deviation rats were gamma-irradiated at doses of 0.75, 3 and 8 Gy (1.9 Gy min -1 ) or sham-irradiated. Serum samples were collected over the first 24 h under the exposure to irradiation in order to analyse the samples by GC/TOFMS. And multivariate data were analysed by PCA. The composition of metabolites in serum yielded distinct metabolomic phenotypes for 0.75, 3 and 8 Gy at 24 h after irradiation. Nine serum metabolites were significantly altered as a result of radiation exposure. Up-regulated metabolites included inositol, serine, lysine, glycine, threonine and glycerol; down regulated metabolites included isocitrate, gluconic acid and stearic acid. The nine metabolites were significantly altered after ionising radiation for they may be the potential bio-markers for the diagnosis of radiation injury. All rights reserved. (authors)

  4. Biomonitoring of selenoprotein P in human serum by fast affinity chromatography coupled to ICP-MS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heitland, Peter; Köster, Helmut D

    2018-04-01

    Most of the Se in human serum is bound to selenoprotein P (SEPP1) in which Se is present in form of selenocysteine. The SEPP1 is a new possible biomarker for the Se status and for this reason we developed a fast, simple and reliable method for the quantitative determination of SEPP1 in serum by affinity chromatography coupled to ICP-MS. It is possible to separate SEPP1 from other selenoproteins in serum in only 5 min, which allows high sample throughput in clinical laboratories. Measured and certified concentrations of total Se and Se(SEPP1) are in good agreement for the reference material SRM 1950. The SEPP1 concentration was stable in serum samples of 3 persons for a minimum of 2 weeks. Further results of method validation were described including internal and external quality assurance. The analytical method was applied for a biomonitoring study of the SEPP1 and total Se concentration in human serum of 50 occupationally non-exposed persons living in northern Germany. Concentration ranges and mean concentrations for Se(SEPP1) are 31.1-59.7 and 46.2 μg/L, respectively. The corresponding values for total Se are 62-120 and 83.5 μg/L. The mean percentage of total Se in serum present as SEPP1 is 58%. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  5. Development of optical immunosensors for detection of proteins in serum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kyprianou, Dimitris; Chianella, Iva; Guerreiro, Antonio; Piletska, Elena V; Piletsky, Sergey A

    2013-01-15

    The detection of proteins in biological samples such as blood, serum or plasma by biosensors is very challenging due to the complex nature of the matrix, which contains a high level of many interfering compounds. Here we show the application of a novel polymeric immobilisation matrix that helps in the detection of specific protein analytes in biological samples by surface plasmon resonance (SPR) immunosensors. This polymer matrix contains thioacetal functional groups included in the network, and these groups do not require any further activation in order to react with proteins, making it attractive for sensor fabrication. The protein prostate specific antigen (PSA) was selected as a model target analyte. A sandwich format with two primary antibodies recognising different parts (epitopes) of the analyte was used for the detection of PSA in serum. The efficiency of the reduction of non-specific binding achieved with novel polymer was compared with those of other techniques such as coating of sensor surface with polyethylene glycol (PEG), use of charged hydrophilic aspartic acid and surfactants such as Tween20. The detection limit of the polymer based immunosensor was 0.1 ng ml(-1) for free form PSA (f-PSA) in buffer and 5 ng ml(-1) in 20% serum. This is an improvement compared with similar devices reported on literature, indicating the potential of the immunosensor developed here for the analysis of real samples. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Maldi-Tof /Tof-MS Reveals Elevated Serum Haptoglobin and Amyloid A in Behcet's Disease

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mao, L.; Dong, H.; Yang, P.; Zhou, H.; Huang, X.; Lin, X.; Kijlstra, A.

    2008-01-01

    Behcet¿s disease (BD) is a multisystemic autoimmune disease with unclear etiology and pathogenesis. To screen aberrant serum proteins in BD, serum samples were obtained from eight male BD patients with active uveitis and eight male healthy volunteers with informed consent. The serum samples from

  7. Evaluation of pharmacokinetics and the stability of daptomycin in serum at various temperatures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ogami, Chika; Tsuji, Yasuhiro; Kasai, Hidefumi; Hiraki, Yoichi; Yamamoto, Yoshihiro; Matsunaga, Kazuhisa; Karube, Yoshiharu; To, Hideto

    2017-04-01

    Daptomycin exhibits concentration-dependent antibacterial activity. By monitoring daptomycin serum concentrations, clinicians may be able to predict the effectiveness of treatments for infections more accurately. However, it has been reported that daptomycin concentrations in plasma samples stored at -20°C decrease approximately 25% after 4 weeks. The aim of this study was to evaluate the stability of daptomycin in serum at various temperatures. Daptomycin serum samples were prepared and stored at different temperatures. The stability of daptomycin under various conditions was evaluated by sequential measurements of concentration. Although the loss of concentration of daptomycin in serum samples stored in freezers (-80°C and -20°C) was less than 10% after 168days (6 months), the concentrations in samples stored in a refrigerator (4°C) decreased by more than 70% over the same period. Furthermore, daptomycin concentrations in serum samples stored at close to body temperature (35°C, 37°C, and 39°C) decreased by more than 50% after only 24h. The results of the present study demonstrate that the measurement of serum concentrations of daptomycin needs to be performed rapidly. Furthermore, the degradation of daptomycin in serum may be involved in its elimination from the living body. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  8. Radioimmunological determination of reverse triiodo thyronine in unextracted serum and serum dialysates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Laurberg, P.; Weeke, J.

    1977-01-01

    A sensitive radioimmunoassay for measurements of 3,3,5-triiodothyronine (reverse T3,rT3) in small amounts of unextracted serum is described. The interference of rT3 binding proteins in serum was precluded by addition of 8-anilinol-naphthalene sulphonic acid (ANS). The cross reaction of T4 with the rT3 anti-serum varied with the concentration of T4 in the samples. At 50 per cent inhibition of I 125 rT3 binding, the T4 cross reaction was 0.075% (mol/mol). All values were corrected for T4 cross reaction. By the present method total rT3 averaged 0.37 nmol/l in thirty-two normal subjects. Higher values (0.81-1.98 nmol/l) were obtained in seventeen thyrotoxic patients, while the rT3 was very low (<=0.046 nmol/l) in ten patients with severe primary hypothyroidism. A modification of the total rT3 assay was used for measurements of rT3 in serum dialysates (free rT3). The sensitivity was 0.46 pmol/l. This sensitivity did not allow detection of free rT3 in all normal subjects. (Auth.)

  9. Comparison of human whole blood, plasma, and serum matrices for the determination of perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), and other fluorochemicals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ehresman, David J.; Froehlich, John W.; Olsen, Geary W.; Chang, Shu-Ching; Butenhoff, John L.

    2007-01-01

    Interest in human exposure to perfluorinated acids, including perfluorobutanesulfonate (PFBS), perfluorohexanesulfonate (PFHS), perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS), and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) has led to their measurement in whole blood, plasma and serum. Comparison of measurements in these different blood-based matrices, however, has not been rigorously investigated to allow for across-matrix comparisons. This research evaluated concentrations of PFBS, PFHS, PFOS, and PFOA in whole blood collected in heparin (lithium) and ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA), plasma samples collected in heparin and EDTA, and serum (from whole blood allowed to clot). Blood samples were collected from 18 voluntary participants employed at 3M Company. Solid phase extraction methods were used for all analytical sample preparations, and analyses were completed using high-pressure liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry methods. Serum concentrations ranged from: limit of quantitation (LOQ, 5 ng/mL) to 25 ng/mL for PFBS; LOQ (5 ng/mL) to 75 ng/mL for PFHS; LOQ (5 ng/mL) to 880 ng/mL for PFOS; and LOQ (5 or 10 ng/mL) to 7320 ng/mL for PFOA. Values less than the LOQ were not included in the statistical analyses of the mean of the ratios of individual values for the matrices. PFBS was not quantifiable in most samples. Serum to plasma ratios for PFHS, PFOS, and PFOA were 1:1 and this ratio was independent of the level of concentrations measured. Serum or plasma to whole blood ratios, regardless of the anticoagulant used, approximated 2:1. The difference between plasma and serum and whole blood corresponded to volume displacement by red blood cells, suggesting that the fluorochemicals are not found intracellularly or attached to the red blood cells

  10. Serum Metabolomic Profiles for Human Pancreatic Cancer Discrimination

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Takao Itoi

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available This study evaluated the clinical use of serum metabolomics to discriminate malignant cancers including pancreatic cancer (PC from malignant diseases, such as biliary tract cancer (BTC, intraductal papillary mucinous carcinoma (IPMC, and various benign pancreaticobiliary diseases. Capillary electrophoresismass spectrometry was used to analyze charged metabolites. We repeatedly analyzed serum samples (n = 41 of different storage durations to identify metabolites showing high quantitative reproducibility, and subsequently analyzed all samples (n = 140. Overall, 189 metabolites were quantified and 66 metabolites had a 20% coefficient of variation and, of these, 24 metabolites showed significant differences among control, benign, and malignant groups (p < 0.05; Steel–Dwass test. Four multiple logistic regression models (MLR were developed and one MLR model clearly discriminated all disease patients from healthy controls with an area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC of 0.970 (95% confidential interval (CI, 0.946–0.994, p < 0.0001. Another model to discriminate PC from BTC and IPMC yielded AUC = 0.831 (95% CI, 0.650–1.01, p = 0.0020 with higher accuracy compared with tumor markers including carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA, carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9, pancreatic cancer-associated antigen (DUPAN2 and s-pancreas-1 antigen (SPAN1. Changes in metabolomic profiles might be used to screen for malignant cancers as well as to differentiate between PC and other malignant diseases.

  11. Effect of haemolysis and repeated freeze-thawing cycles on wild boar serum antibody testing by ELISA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Boadella Mariana

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Monitoring wildlife diseases is needed to identify changes in disease occurrence. Wildlife blood samples are valuable for this purpose but are often gathered haemolysed. To maximise information, sera often go through repeated analysis and freeze-thaw cycles. Herein, we used samples of clean and haemolysed Eurasian wild boar (Sus scrofa serum stored at -20°C and thawed up to five times to study the effects of both treatments on the outcome of a commercial ELISA test for the detection of antibodies against Suid Herpesvirus 1 (ADV. Results The estimated prevalence of antibodies against ADV was 50-53% for clean and haemolysed sera. Hence, haemolysis did not reduce the mean observed serum antibody prevalence. However, 10 samples changed their classification after repeated freeze-thawing. This included 3 (15% of the clean sera and 7 (41% of the haemolysed sera. Conclusions We recommend (1 establishing more restrictive cut-off values when testing wildlife sera, (2 recording serum quality prior to sample banking, (3 recording the number of freezing-thawing cycles and (4 store sera in various aliquots to reduce repeated usage. For instance, sera with more than 3 freeze-thaw cycles and a haemolysis of over 3 on a scale of 4 should better be discarded for serum antibody monitoring. Even clean (almost not haemolysed sera should not go through more than 5 freeze-thaw cycles.

  12. Application of serum SELDI proteomic patterns in diagnosis of lung cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, Shuan-ying; Xiao, Xue-yuan; Zhang, Wang-gang; Zhang, Li-juan; Zhang, Wei; Zhou, Bin; Chen, Guoan; He, Da-cheng

    2005-01-01

    Currently, no satisfactory biomarkers are available to screen for lung cancer. Surface-Enhanced Laser Desorption/ionization Time-of- Flight Mass Spectrometry ProteinChip system (SELDI-TOF-MS) is one of the currently used techniques to identify biomarkers for cancers. The aim of this study is to explore the application of serum SELDI proteomic patterns to distinguish lung cancer patients from healthy individuals. A total of 208 serum samples, including 158 lung cancer patients and 50 healthy individuals, were randomly divided into a training set (including 11 sera from patients with stages I/II lung cancer, 63 from patients with stages III/IV lung cancer and 20 from healthy controls) and a blinded test set (including 43 sera from patients with stages I/II lung cancer, 41 from patients with stages III/IV lung cancer and 30 from healthy controls). All samples were analyzed by SELDI technology. The spectra were generated on weak cation exchange (WCX2) chips, and protein peaks clustering and classification analyses were made using Ciphergen Biomarker Wizard and Biomarker Pattern software, respectively. We additionally determined Cyfra21-1 and NSE in the 208 serum samples included in this study using an electrochemiluminescent immunoassay. Five protein peaks at 11493, 6429, 8245, 5335 and 2538 Da were automatically chosen as a biomarker pattern in the training set. When the SELDI marker pattern was tested with the blinded test set, it yielded a sensitivity of 86.9%, a specificity of 80.0% and a positive predictive value of 92.4%. The sensitivities provided by Cyfra21-1 and NSE used individually or in combination were significantly lower than that of the SELDI marker pattern (P < 0.005 or 0.05, respectively). Based on the results of the test set, we found that the SELDI marker pattern showed a sensitivity of 91.4% in the detection of non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC), which was significantly higher than that in the detection of small cell lung cancers (P < 0.05); The

  13. Serum alkaline phosphatase screening for vitamin D deficiency states

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shaheen, S.; Barrakzai, Q.

    2012-01-01

    Objective: To determine whether serum vitamin D levels are correlated with serum levels of alkaline phosphatase or not. Study Design: Cross-sectional, observational study. Place and Duration of Study: Multi-centre study, conducted at Liaquat National Hospital and Medical College, National Medical Centre and Medicare Hospital, Karachi, from January to October 2009. Methodology: Patients attending the Orthopaedic OPDs with complaints of pain in different body regions and serum vitamin D/sub 3/ levels of greater or equal to 30 ng/ml were included in the study. Patients with vitamin D deficiency were further categorized into mild deficiency or insufficiency (vit. D/sub 3/ = 20-29 ng/ml), moderate deficiency (vit. D/sub 3/ = 5 - 19 ng/ml) and severe deficiency forms (vit. D/sub 3/ < 5 ng/ml). Pearson correlation was applied to test the correlation of serum alkaline phosphatase levels with serum vitamin D/sub 3/ levels. P-value < 0.05 was considered to be significant. Results: Out of 110 samples, 26 had mild (23%), 61 had moderate (55%) and 21 had severe (19.1%) vitamin D deficiencies. All of the patients in the three groups had alkaline phosphatase with in normal limits and the total mean value of the enzyme was 135.97 +- 68.14I U/L. The inter group comparison showed highest values of alkaline phosphatase in the moderate vitamin D deficiency group. The correlation coefficient of alkaline phosphatase and serum vitamin D/sub 3/ levels was r =0.05 (p =0.593). Conclusion: Serum vitamin D/sub 3/ levels may not be correlated with increased serum alkaline phosphatase levels. Therefore, alkaline phosphatase may not be used as a screening test to rule out vitamin D deficiency. (author)

  14. Serum erythropoietin levels by radioimmunoassay in polycythaemia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Birgegaard, G.; Miller, O.; Caro, J.; Erslev, A. (Cardeza Foundation for Hematological Research, Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pa.)

    1982-01-01

    A radioimmunoassay (RIA) method for erythropoietin (Epo) was developed and validated against the polycythaemic mouse assay. The correlation was good, with a r=0.94. Several other criteria of specificity were also filled by the RIA, which had a lower detection limit of 5 mU/ml. The mean serum-Epo level in 6 patients with secondary polycythaemia, 50.2 +- 26.2 mU/ml, was significantly higher than in a group of 11 normal subjects, 28.7 +- 7.2 mU/ml (P<0.0002). However, the Epo level in 31 polycythaemia vera (PV) patients, M = 21.9 +- 6.6 mU/ml, was not significantly different from normal (P = 0.006). Since previous studies with bioassay of heat-treated and concentrated plasma samples have shown a decreased serum-Epo level in PV, Epo levels were measured before and after heat treatment and concentration of samples from normals and polycythaemics. It was found that the levels of immunoreactive material increased after heat treatment and 40 times concentration in samples from normals and patients with secondary polycythaemias, but decreased in PV. We conclude that the Epo levels in serum in the low range measured by our and previous RIA:s probably are not true Epo levels but are partly due to an unspecific serum effect, that was removed by heat treatment.

  15. Therapeutic drug monitoring of caffeine in preterm infants: Could saliva be an alternative to serum?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chaabane, Amel; Chioukh, Fatma Z; Chadli, Zohra; Ben Fredj, Nadia; Ben Ameur, Karim; Ben Hmida, Hayet; Boughattas, Naceur A; Monastiri, Kamel; Aouam, Karim

    2017-12-01

    Evaluate whether saliva could be a useful alternative to serum for routine therapeutic drug monitoring of caffeine in preterm infants using the enzyme multiplied immunoassay technique (EMIT) assay. We conducted a prospective study including preterm infants (less than 34 weeks' amenorrhea) admitted to the intensive care and neonatal medicine department. All infants received 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25mg/kg/day of citrate caffeine intravenously from the first to the fifth day of birth, respectively. For each patient, two concomitant blood and saliva samples corresponding to the trough concentrations were collected 24hours after each caffeine dose. The caffeine concentrations were determined using the EMIT ® 2000 caffeine assay. Thirteen preterm infants were included. The saliva and the serum caffeine concentration increased proportionally to the administered dose. Saliva and serum kinetics were comparable and the saliva caffeine concentrations were correlated to the serum ones (r 2 =0.76). Saliva caffeine monitoring by EMIT is a valid, useful and safe alternative to serum in preterm infants. Copyright © 2017 Société française de pharmacologie et de thérapeutique. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  16. The effect of a non-denaturing detergent and a guanidinium-based inactivation agent on the viability of Ebola virus in mock clinical serum samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burton, J E; Easterbrook, L; Pitman, J; Anderson, D; Roddy, S; Bailey, D; Vipond, R; Bruce, C B; Roberts, A D

    2017-12-01

    The 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa required the rapid testing of clinical material for the presence of potentially high titre Ebola virus (EBOV). Safe, fast and effective methods for the inactivation of such clinical samples are required so that rapid diagnostic tests including downstream analysis by RT-qPCR or nucleotide sequencing can be carried out. One of the most commonly used guanidinium - based denaturing agents, AVL (Qiagen) has been shown to fully inactivate EBOV once ethanol is added, however this is not compatible with the use of automated nucleic acid extraction systems. Additional inactivation agents need to be identified that can be used in automated systems. A candidate inactivation agent is Triton X-100, a non-denaturing detergent that is frequently used in clinical nucleic acid extraction procedures and has previously been used for inactivation of EBOV. In this study the effect of 0.1% and 1.0% Triton X-100 (final concentration 0.08% and 0.8% respectively) alone and in combination with AVL on the viability of EBOV (10 6 TCID 50 /ml) spiked into commercially available pooled negative human serum was tested. The presence of viable EBOV in the treated samples was assessed by carrying out three serial passages of the samples in Vero E6 cells (37°C, 5% CO 2 , 1 week for each passage). At the end of each passage the cells were observed for evidence of cytopathic effect and samples were taken for rRT-PCR analysis for the presence of EBOV RNA. Before cell culture cytotoxic components of AVL and Triton X-100 were removed from the samples using size exclusion spin column technology or a hydrophobic adsorbent resin. The results of this study showed that EBOV spiked into human serum was not fully inactivated when treated with either 0.1% (v/v) Triton X-100 for 10 mins or 1.0% (v/v) Triton X-100 for 20 mins (final concentrations 0.08% and 0.8% Triton X-100 respectively). AVL alone also did not consistently provide complete inactivation. Samples treated

  17. Aspects of the Hematology and Serum Biochemistry of Sahel and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study was conducted to investigate effects of year, age, season and breeds on aspects of the hematology and serum biochemical indices of Sahel and Sokoto red bucks in Mubi, Adamawa state, Nigeria. Blood and serum samples were used to determine PCV, Hb, RBC and WBC, and while serum protein (BSP) and ...

  18. A new dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction using ionic liquid based microemulsion coupled with cloud point extraction for determination of copper in serum and water samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arain, Salma Aslam; Kazi, Tasneem Gul; Afridi, Hassan Imran; Arain, Mariam Shahzadi; Panhwar, Abdul Haleem; Khan, Naeemullah; Baig, Jameel Ahmed; Shah, Faheem

    2016-04-01

    A simple and rapid dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction procedure based on ionic liquid assisted microemulsion (IL-µE-DLLME) combined with cloud point extraction has been developed for preconcentration copper (Cu(2+)) in drinking water and serum samples of adolescent female hepatitits C (HCV) patients. In this method a ternary system was developed to form microemulsion (µE) by phase inversion method (PIM), using ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([C4mim][PF6]) and nonionic surfactant, TX-100 (as a stabilizer in aqueous media). The Ionic liquid microemulsion (IL-µE) was evaluated through visual assessment, optical light microscope and spectrophotometrically. The Cu(2+) in real water and aqueous acid digested serum samples were complexed with 8-hydroxyquinoline (oxine) and extracted into IL-µE medium. The phase separation of stable IL-µE was carried out by the micellar cloud point extraction approach. The influence of of different parameters such as pH, oxine concentration, centrifugation time and rate were investigated. At optimized experimental conditions, the limit of detection and enhancement factor were found to be 0.132 µg/L and 70 respectively, with relative standard deviation <5%. In order to validate the developed method, certified reference materials (SLRS-4 Riverine water) and human serum (Sero-M10181) were analyzed. The resulting data indicated a non-significant difference in obtained and certified values of Cu(2+). The developed procedure was successfully applied for the preconcentration and determination of trace levels of Cu(2+) in environmental and biological samples. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Distinctive serum protein profiles involving abundant proteins in lung cancer patients based upon antibody microarray analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gao, Wei-Min; Haab, Brian B; Hanash, Samir M; Kuick, Rork; Orchekowski, Randal P; Misek, David E; Qiu, Ji; Greenberg, Alissa K; Rom, William N; Brenner, Dean E; Omenn, Gilbert S

    2005-01-01

    Cancer serum protein profiling by mass spectrometry has uncovered mass profiles that are potentially diagnostic for several common types of cancer. However, direct mass spectrometric profiling has a limited dynamic range and difficulties in providing the identification of the distinctive proteins. We hypothesized that distinctive profiles may result from the differential expression of relatively abundant serum proteins associated with the host response. Eighty-four antibodies, targeting a wide range of serum proteins, were spotted onto nitrocellulose-coated microscope slides. The abundances of the corresponding proteins were measured in 80 serum samples, from 24 newly diagnosed subjects with lung cancer, 24 healthy controls, and 32 subjects with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Two-color rolling-circle amplification was used to measure protein abundance. Seven of the 84 antibodies gave a significant difference (p < 0.01) for the lung cancer patients as compared to healthy controls, as well as compared to COPD patients. Proteins that exhibited higher abundances in the lung cancer samples relative to the control samples included C-reactive protein (CRP; a 13.3 fold increase), serum amyloid A (SAA; a 2.0 fold increase), mucin 1 and α-1-antitrypsin (1.4 fold increases). The increased expression levels of CRP and SAA were validated by Western blot analysis. Leave-one-out cross-validation was used to construct Diagonal Linear Discriminant Analysis (DLDA) classifiers. At a cutoff where all 56 of the non-tumor samples were correctly classified, 15/24 lung tumor patient sera were correctly classified. Our results suggest that a distinctive serum protein profile involving abundant proteins may be observed in lung cancer patients relative to healthy subjects or patients with chronic disease and may have utility as part of strategies for detecting lung cancer

  20. Study of Serum Amylase and Serum Cholinesterase in Organophosphorus Poisoning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sharan Badiger

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Background: Poisoning due to organophosphorus compounds is most commonly seen. Earlier plasma cholinesterase level was used to assess the severity of poisoning. Presently serum amylase is being recommended as a better indicator of severity. Aims and Objectives: To study plasma cholinesterase and serum amylase levels in acute organophosphorus and to correlate serum amylase levels with clinical severity and outcome. Material and Methods: A total of 80 patients in the study admitted to a tertiary care centre within 24 hours with a history of organophosphorus poisoning were included in study. Estimation of plasma cholinesterase and serum rd amylase was done at the time of admission, and on 3 th day and on 5 day. Results: Occurrence of organophosphorus poisoning was more common among age group 21-30 years and among males (57.5%. They were 25 (31.2% farmers, 23 (28.8% st u d e n ts, a n d 2 2 ( 2 7 . 5% h o u s ewi v e s. Monocrotophos (45.0% was commonly used compound. Mean value of plasma cholinesterase and serum amylase at admission are 3693 U/L, and 185.4 U/L. There was significant inhibition of plasma cholinesterase and elevation of serum amylase at th admission with return to normal values on 5 day. Conclusion: Plasma cholinesterase inhibition 200 U/L has been associated with poor prognosis and proneness to respiratory failure.

  1. Analysis of Serum Total and Free PSA Using Immunoaffinity Depletion Coupled to SRM: Correlation with Clinical Immunoassay Tests

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Tao; Hossain, Mahmud; Schepmoes, Athena A.; Fillmore, Thomas L.; Sokoll, Lori J.; Kronewitter, Scott R.; Izmirlian, Grant; Shi, Tujin; Qian, Wei-Jun; Leach, Robin J.; Thompson, Ian M.; Chan, Daniel W.; Smith, Richard D.; Kagan, Jacob; Srivastava, Sudhir; Rodland, Karin D.; Camp, David G.

    2012-01-01

    Recently, selected reaction monitoring mass spectrometry (SRM-MS) has been more frequently applied to measure low abundance biomarker candidates in tissues and biofluids, owing to its high sensitivity and specificity, simplicity of assay configuration, and exceptional multiplexing capability. In this study, we report for the first time the development of immunoaffinity depletion-based workflows and SRM-MS assays that enable sensitive and accurate quantification of total and free prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in serum without the requirement for specific PSA antibodies. Low ng/mL level detection of both total and free PSA was consistently achieved in both PSA-spiked female serum samples and actual patient serum samples. Moreover, comparison of the results obtained when SRM PSA assays and conventional immunoassays were applied to the same samples showed good correlation in several independent clinical serum sample sets. These results demonstrate that the workflows and SRM assays developed here provide an attractive alternative for reliably measuring candidate biomarkers in human blood, without the need to develop affinity reagents. Furthermore, the simultaneous measurement of multiple biomarkers, including the free and bound forms of PSA, can be performed in a single multiplexed analysis using high-resolution liquid chromatographic separation coupled with SRM-MS. PMID:22846433

  2. Multiplex assessment of serum cytokine and chemokine levels in idiopathic morphea and vitamin K1-induced morphea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cox, Lori Ann; Webster, Guy F; Piera-Velazquez, Sonsoles; Jimenez, Sergio A

    2017-05-01

    The levels of 63 cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors were measured in the serum of four patients with idiopathic morphea and of one patient with vitamin K 1 -induced morphea employing a multiplex assay to identify the role of inflammatory/immunologic events in their pathogenesis. Full-thickness skin biopsies of affected skin were analyzed by histopathology. Luminex assays for 63 cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors were performed in the sera from four patients with idiopathic morphea and in two different samples of serum obtained in two separate occasions from one patient with vitamin K 1 -induced morphea. The serum values of numerous inflammatory cytokines and growth factors including IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, and IFNβ were markedly increased in the serum of patients with idiopathic morphea, whereas, these values were normal in the serum of the patient with vitamin K 1 -induced morphea. In contrast, serum eotaxin levels were greater than threefold higher in the patient with vitamin K 1 -induced morphea compared to patients with idiopathic morphea. The results demonstrated remarkable increases in the levels of numerous cytokines and chemokines in the serum samples of all patients with idiopathic morphea indicative of a prominent role of inflammatory/immunologic events in its pathogenesis. The results also showed statistically significant differences between idiopathic morphea and vitamin K 1 -induced morphea suggesting that their development involves different pathogenetic mechanisms.

  3. Rapid detection of cytomegalovirus in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and serum samples by polymerase chain reaction: correlation of virus isolation and clinical outcome for patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, K K; Vestbo, Jørgen; Benfield, T

    1997-01-01

    Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluids and serum samples from 153 patients with pulmonary symptoms who were infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and underwent BAL were examined for the presence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) by conventional culture and by polymerase chain reaction (PCR...... technique than conventional culture. Detection of CMV DNA in BAL fluid or serum predicted subsequent development of extrapulmonary CMV disease but not death for HIV-infected patients with pulmonary symptoms....

  4. Competitive radioimmunoassay of digoxin in serum

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oslapas, Raymond; Herrin, T.R.

    1975-01-01

    The process described is for determining the digoxin level of a serum. To do so a mixture is made by adding to the serum sample an antidigoxin antibody and a suitable labelling quantity of O 3 -(hydroxy-4 phenethylcarbamoyl)digoxigenin for radioactive labelling. The mixture is allowed to incubate so that the digoxin of the sample and the radioactive labelling reagent joint to the antidigoxin antibody. A precipitating agent is added to the mixture to help the formation of a precipitate and thus separate the labelled digoxin taken up from the precipitate free digoxin. The liquid is separated from the precipitate formed and the residual radioactivity of the precipitate is measured [fr

  5. Serum bicarbonate and dehydration severity in gastroenteritis

    OpenAIRE

    Narchi, H.

    1998-01-01

    The concentration of bicarbonate was measured in serum samples from 106 children with gastroenteritis and dehydration. A concentration less than 22 mmol/l was more common in children with severe dehydration, but the magnitude of bicarbonate reduction was not significantly different with increasing degrees of dehydration. Doctors should not rely on the serum bicarbonate concentration when assessing fluid deficit.



  6. Impact of Prolonged Blood Incubation and Extended Serum Storage at Room Temperature on the Human Serum Metabolome

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Beate Kamlage

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Metabolomics is a powerful technology with broad applications in life science that, like other -omics approaches, requires high-quality samples to achieve reliable results and ensure reproducibility. Therefore, along with quality assurance, methods to assess sample quality regarding pre-analytical confounders are urgently needed. In this study, we analyzed the response of the human serum metabolome to pre-analytical variations comprising prolonged blood incubation and extended serum storage at room temperature by using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS -based metabolomics. We found that the prolonged incubation of blood results in a statistically significant 20% increase and 4% decrease of 225 tested serum metabolites. Extended serum storage affected 21% of the analyzed metabolites (14% increased, 7% decreased. Amino acids and nucleobases showed the highest percentage of changed metabolites in both confounding conditions, whereas lipids were remarkably stable. Interestingly, the amounts of taurine and O-phosphoethanolamine, which have both been discussed as biomarkers for various diseases, were 1.8- and 2.9-fold increased after 6 h of blood incubation. Since we found that both are more stable in ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA blood, EDTA plasma should be the preferred metabolomics matrix.

  7. A Multiplex Microsphere-Based Immunoassay Increases the Sensitivity of SIV-Specific Antibody Detection in Serum Samples and Mucosal Specimens Collected from Rhesus Macaques Infected with SIVmac239.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Powell, Rebecca L R; Ouellette, Ian; Lindsay, Ross W; Parks, Christopher L; King, C Richter; McDermott, Adrian B; Morrow, Gavin

    2013-06-01

    Results from recent HIV-1 vaccine studies have indicated that high serum antibody (Ab) titers may not be necessary for Ab-mediated protection, and that Abs localized to mucosal sites might be critical for preventing infection. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) has been used for decades as the gold standard for Ab measurement, though recently, highly sensitive microsphere-based assays have become available, with potential utility for improved detection of Abs. In this study, we assessed the Bio-Plex(®) Suspension Array System for the detection of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-specific Abs in rhesus macaques (RMs) chronically infected with SIV, whose serum or mucosal SIV-specific Ab titers were negative by ELISA. We developed a SIVmac239-specific 4-plex bead array for the simultaneous detection of Abs binding to Env, Gag, Pol, and Nef. The 4-plex assay was used to quantify SIV-specific serum IgG and rectal swab IgA titers from control (SIV-naive) and SIVmac239-infected RMs. The Bio-Plex assay specifically detected anti-SIV Abs in specimens from SIV-infected animals for all four analytes when compared to SIV-naive control samples (p≤0.04). Furthermore, in 70% of Env and 79% of Gag ELISA-negative serum samples, specific Ab was detected using the Bio-Plex assay. Similarly, 71% of Env and 48% of Gag ELISA-negative rectal swab samples were identified as positive using the Bio-Plex assay. Importantly, assay specificity (i.e., probability of true positives) was comparable to ELISA (94%-100%). The results reported here indicate that microsphere-based methods provide a substantial improvement over ELISA for the detection of Ab responses, aid in detecting specific Abs when analyzing samples containing low levels of Abs, such as during the early stages of a vaccine trial, and may be valuable in attempts to link protective efficacy of vaccines with induced Ab responses.

  8. Serum lipids and lipoproteins in patients with psoriasis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taheri Sarvtin, Mehdi; Hedayati, Mohammad Taghi; Shokohi, Tahereh; HajHeydari, Zohreh

    2014-05-01

    Psoriasis is a common chronic and recurrent inflammatory skin disorder characterized by hyperproliferation of keratinocytes and infiltration of T cells, monocytes/macrophages and neutrophils into dermal and epidermal layers of the skin. The prevalence of cardiovascular disorders in these patients is remarkably higher compared to normal individuals, which seems to be associated with the hyperlipidemia. This study was designed and conducted to investigate the serum lipid profile in psoriatic patients and its association with the severity of disease. This case-control study was performed on 50 plaque-type psoriasis patients and 50 healthy individuals as control, matched for age and sex. Blood samples were collected after 14 h fasting. Serum triglyceride, cholesterol and lipoproteins were assayed using the standard kit (made by Pars Azmon Co. Iran). Certain parameters, including serum triglyceride, cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL), and very low density lipoprotein (VLDL), were significantly higher in the case group compared to the controls (P lipoprotein (HDL) was significantly lower in the former (P < 0.001). In addition, there was a significant relationship between severity of psoriasis and serum lipid profile. The results have revealed the higher plasma level of lipids in psoriatic patients. This may elevate the risk of atherosclerosis, particularly cardiovascular disorders. Therefore, from the epidemiological point of view, screening psoriatic patients, particularly those with severe psoriasis, is recommended.

  9. Selenium status of South Bohemia seniors characterized by INAA of blood serum

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kvicala, J.; Zamrazil, V.; Nemecek, J.; Jiranek, J.

    2008-01-01

    To estimate the status of selenium in seniors of the South Bohemia region, Czech Republic, 481 serum samples from seniors living in 17 Asylum Houses for seniors in the age between 60 and 99 years were obtained. Samples were analyzed by instrumental neutron activation analysis with concurrent analysis of 4 reference materials for quality assurance. Average concentration of serum Se, arithmetic means in individual Asylum Houses, frequency distribution of serum Se concentrations as well as five years running monitoring of serum Se concentrations of one group of seniors proved selenium deficiency of the elderly population of the region South Bohemia. (author)

  10. Effect of Ramadan fasting on serum heat shock protein 70 and serum lipid profile.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zare, A; Hajhashemi, M; Hassan, Z M; Zarrin, S; Pourpak, Z; Moin, M; Salarilak, S; Masudi, S; Shahabi, S

    2011-07-01

    Ramadan, the holy month for the Islamic world, is a period every year when food and fluid intake is restricted to the pre-sunrise and post-sunset hours. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of Ramadan fasting on the serum concentration of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) and serum lipid profile in healthy men. A total of 32 male volunteers with a mean age of 28.5 (range 23-37) years were selected for the study. Blood samples were obtained one day prior to Ramadan and on the 3rd and 25th days of fasting. Serum HSP70, triglyceride (TG), cholesterol (Chol), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL), LDL/HDL and Chol/HDL ratios were investigated. It was observed that the mean concentrations of serum HSP70 and HDL on the 25th day of Ramadan were significantly higher than those recorded one day before Ramadan and on the 3rd day of Ramadan, and the levels on the 3rd day of Ramadan was significantly higher than those recorded one day before Ramadan. Mean concentrations of serum TG, Chol, LDL, and LDL/HDL and Chol/HDL ratios on the 25th day of Ramadan were significantly lower than those recorded one day before Ramadan and on the 3rd day of Ramadan, and the levels found on the 3rd day of Ramadan were also significantly lower than those recorded one day before Ramadan. Ramadan fasting increases serum HSP70 and improves serum lipid profile.

  11. A competitive immunoassay for ultrasensitive detection of Hg"2"+ in water, human serum and urine samples using immunochromatographic test based on surface-enhanced Raman scattering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    She, Pei; Chu, Yanxin; Liu, Chunwei; Guo, Xun; Zhao, Kang; Li, Jianguo; Du, Haijing; Zhang, Xiang; Wang, Hong; Deng, Anping

    2016-01-01

    An immunochromatographic test (ICT) strip was developed for ultrasensitive competitive immunoassay of Hg"2"+. This strategy was achieved by combining the easy-operation and rapidity of ICT with the high sensitivity of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). Monoclonal antibody (mAb) against Hg"2"+ and Raman active substance 4-mercaptobenzoic acid (MBA) dual labelled gold nanoparticles (GNPs) were prepared as an immunoprobe. The Raman scattering intensity of MBA on the test line of the ICT strip was measured for quantitative determination of Hg"2"+. The ICT was able to directly detect Hg"2"+ without complexing due to the specific recognition of the mAb with Hg"2"+. The IC_5_0 and limit of detection (LOD) of the assay for Hg"2"+ detection were 0.12 ng mL"−"1 and 0.45 pg mL"−"1, respectively. There was no cross-reactivity (CR) of the assay with other nineteen ions and the ICT strips could be kept for 5 weeks without loss of activity. The recoveries of the assay for water, human serum and urine samples spiked with Hg"2"+ were in range of 88.3–107.3% with the relative standard deviations (RSD) of 1.5–9.5% (n = 3). The proposed ICT was used for the detection of Hg"2"+ in urine samples collected from Occupational Disease Hospital and the results were confirmed by cold-vapor atomic fluorescence spectroscopy (CV-AFS). The assay exhibited high sensitivity, selectivity, stability, precision and accuracy, demonstrating a promising method for the detection of trace amount of Hg"2"+ in environmental water samples and biological serum and urine samples. - Highlights: • The proposed ICT was able to directly detect Hg"2"+ without formation of Hg"2"+-ligand complex. • The proposed ICT exhibited high sensitivity, specificity, stability, precision and accuracy for Hg"2"+ detection. • The proposed ICT was applicable for the detection of trace amount of Hg"2"+ in water, human serum and urine samples.

  12. Serum melatonin levels in survivor and non-survivor patients with traumatic brain injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lorente, Leonardo; Martín, María M; Abreu-González, Pedro; Pérez-Cejas, Antonia; Ramos, Luis; Argueso, Mónica; Solé-Violán, Jordi; Cáceres, Juan J; Jiménez, Alejandro; García-Marín, Victor

    2017-07-19

    Circulating levels of melatonin in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) have been determined in a little number of studies with small sample size (highest sample size of 37 patients) and only were reported the comparison of serum melatonin levels between TBI patients and healthy controls. As to we know, the possible association between circulating levels of melatonin levels and mortality of patients with TBI have not been explored; thus, the objective of our current study was to determine whether this association actually exists. This multicenter study included 118 severe TBI (Glasgow Coma Scale melatonin, malondialdehyde (to assess lipid peroxidation) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) at day 1 of severe TBI. We used mortality at 30 days as endpoint. We found that non-survivor (n = 33) compared to survivor (n = 85) TBI patients showed higher circulating levels of melatonin (p melatonin levels predicted 30-day mortality (Odds ratio = 1.334; 95% confidence interval = 1.094-1.627; p = 0.004), after to control for GCS, CT findings and age. We found a correlation between serum levels of melatonin levels and serum levels of TAC (rho = 0.37; p melatonin levels in patients with severe TBI. The main findings were that non-survivors had higher serum melatonin levels than survivors, and the association between serum levels of melatonin levels and mortality, peroxidation state and antioxidant state.

  13. Trehalose significantly enhances the recovery of serum and serum exosomal miRNA from a paper-based matrix.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neo, Shu Hui; Chung, Ka Yan; Quek, Jia Min; Too, Heng-Phon

    2017-11-30

    The preservation of nucleic acids from clinical samples is critical to facilitate accurate molecular diagnosis. The use of a paper matrix, Flinders Technology Associates (FTA) Elute cards, to archive DNA and viral RNA is well-documented. However, the feasibility of FTA Elute cards for archiving serum and serum exosomal microRNAs (miRNAs) remains unclear. Here, we performed a comprehensive evaluation of FTA Elute cards for miRNA storage and recovery in different pre-analytical conditions. The recovery of serum miRNA dry-spotted on FTA Elute cards by direct elution with water at high temperature was poor. However, serum miRNAs dry-spotted on the cards were isolated with about 40% yield when using QIAzol lysis reagent and recovery was improved remarkably (>80%) upon extraction from cards pre-treated with trehalose. miRNAs stored on the cards remained stable at room temperature and can be kept for prolonged periods. Furthermore, miRNAs could be similarly recovered from serum exosomes dry-spotted on the cards. Importantly, when using sera from gastric cancer (GC) patients, the miRNAs were efficiently recovered from trehalose pre-treated cards without affecting their representation. Collectively, we have demonstrated the potential of FTA Elute cards to archive serum and serum exosomal miRNAs, making it useful for biomarker discovery and diagnostics.

  14. Optimization of the radioimmunoassays for measuring fentanyl and alfentanil in human serum

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schuettler, J.; White, P.F.

    1984-01-01

    Measurement of serum fentanyl and alfentanil concentrations by radioimmunoassay (RIA) may result in significant errors and high variability when the technique described in the available fentanyl and alfentanil RIA kits is used. The authors found a 29-94% overestimation of measured fentanyl and alfentanil serum levels when 3H-fentanyl or 3H-alfentanil was added lastly to the mixture of antiserum and sample. This finding is related to a reduction in binding sites for the labeled compounds after preincubation of sample and antiserum. If this sequence is used, it becomes necessary to extend the incubation period up to 6 h for fentanyl and up to 10 h for alfentanil in order to achieve equilibration between unlabeled and labeled drug with respect to antiserum binding. However, when antiserum is added lastly to the mixture of sample and labeled drug, measurement accuracy and precision for fentanyl and alfentanil serum concentrations are enhanced markedly. In addition, it is important to perform the calibration curves and sample measurements using the same medium (i.e., serum alone or a serum/buffer dilution). In summary, to optimize the RIA for fentanyl and alfentanil, the authors recommend the following: 1) adding the antiserum lastly to the mixture of sample and labeled drug; 2) performing calibration curves using patient's blank serum when possible; 3) carefully examining and standardizing each step of the RIA procedure to reduce variability, and, finally; 4) comparing results with those of other established RIA laboratories

  15. Optimization of the radioimmunoassays for measuring fentanyl and alfentanil in human serum

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schuettler, J.; White, P.F.

    1984-09-01

    Measurement of serum fentanyl and alfentanil concentrations by radioimmunoassay (RIA) may result in significant errors and high variability when the technique described in the available fentanyl and alfentanil RIA kits is used. The authors found a 29-94% overestimation of measured fentanyl and alfentanil serum levels when 3H-fentanyl or 3H-alfentanil was added lastly to the mixture of antiserum and sample. This finding is related to a reduction in binding sites for the labeled compounds after preincubation of sample and antiserum. If this sequence is used, it becomes necessary to extend the incubation period up to 6 h for fentanyl and up to 10 h for alfentanil in order to achieve equilibration between unlabeled and labeled drug with respect to antiserum binding. However, when antiserum is added lastly to the mixture of sample and labeled drug, measurement accuracy and precision for fentanyl and alfentanil serum concentrations are enhanced markedly. In addition, it is important to perform the calibration curves and sample measurements using the same medium (i.e., serum alone or a serum/buffer dilution). In summary, to optimize the RIA for fentanyl and alfentanil, the authors recommend the following: 1) adding the antiserum lastly to the mixture of sample and labeled drug; 2) performing calibration curves using patient's blank serum when possible; 3) carefully examining and standardizing each step of the RIA procedure to reduce variability, and, finally; 4) comparing results with those of other established RIA laboratories.

  16. Evaluation of a Serum Lung Cancer Biomarker Panel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mazzone, Peter J; Wang, Xiao-Feng; Han, Xiaozhen; Choi, Humberto; Seeley, Meredith; Scherer, Richard; Doseeva, Victoria

    2018-01-01

    A panel of 3 serum proteins and 1 autoantibody has been developed to assist with the detection of lung cancer. We aimed to validate the accuracy of the biomarker panel in an independent test set and explore the impact of adding a fourth serum protein to the panel, as well as the impact of combining molecular and clinical variables. The training set of serum samples was purchased from commercially available biorepositories. The testing set was from a biorepository at the Cleveland Clinic. All lung cancer and control subjects were >50 years old and had smoked a minimum of 20 pack-years. A panel of biomarkers including CEA (carcinoembryonic antigen), CYFRA21-1 (cytokeratin-19 fragment 21-1), CA125 (carbohydrate antigen 125), HGF (hepatocyte growth factor), and NY-ESO-1 (New York esophageal cancer-1 antibody) was measured using immunoassay techniques. The multiple of the median method, multivariate logistic regression, and random forest modeling was used to analyze the results. The training set consisted of 604 patient samples (268 with lung cancer and 336 controls) and the testing set of 400 patient samples (155 with lung cancer and 245 controls). With a threshold established from the training set, the sensitivity and specificity of both the 4- and 5-biomarker panels on the testing set was 49% and 96%, respectively. Models built on the testing set using only clinical variables had an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.68, using the biomarker panel 0.81 and by combining clinical and biomarker variables 0.86. This study validates the accuracy of a panel of proteins and an autoantibody in a population relevant to lung cancer detection and suggests a benefit to combining clinical features with the biomarker results.

  17. Comparison of serum lipid profile in ischaemic and haemorrhagic stroke

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mehmood, A.; Sharif, M.A.

    2010-01-01

    To compare serum lipid profile between patients of ischaemic and haemorrhagic strokes. Study Design: Cross sectional, comparative study. Place and Duration of Study: Military Hospital, Rawalpindi, from August 2004 to February 2005. Methodology: Patients with diagnosis of stroke comprising 100 consecutive patients each of ischaemic and haemorrhagic strokes were included in the study while patients on lipid lowering therapy were excluded from study. To determine the subtype of stroke, clinical examination followed by CT scan of brain was done. A serum sample after 8 hours of overnight fasting was taken on the next day of admission for both groups of patients. Total serum cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL cholesterol, VLDL-cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol was determined, using enzymatic colorimetric method. Statistical analysis was done by comparison of lipid profile in two subgroups, using proportion test for any significant difference. Results: The mean age at presentation of patients with stroke was 64.2+-12 years with a male to female ratio of 3.6:1. In 100 ischaemic stroke patients, raised serum total cholesterol was seen in 42, triglyceride in 04, LDL-cholesterol in 05 and VLDL-cholesterol in 07 patients. Serum HDL-cholesterol was below the normal reference in 31 cases. On the other hand, serum total cholesterol and triglycerides was raised in 05 patients each, LDL-cholesterol in 09 and VLDL-cholesterol in 03 patients of haemorrhagic stroke. Serum HDL-cholesterol was below normal in 04 patients of haemorrhagic stroke. On comparison, there were significantly greater number of patients with raised serum cholesterol and low HDL-cholesterol in ischaemic stroke than haemorrhagic stroke (p < 0.05). No statistical significance was found on comparing serum values of ischaemic and haemorrhagic stroke for triglycerides, LDL-cholesterol and VLDL-cholesterol. Conclusion: Ischaemic stroke patients had high serum total cholesterol and lower HDL-cholesterol levels as compared to

  18. Influence of the collection tube on metabolomic changes in serum and plasma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    López-Bascón, M A; Priego-Capote, F; Peralbo-Molina, A; Calderón-Santiago, M; Luque de Castro, M D

    2016-04-01

    Major threats in metabolomics clinical research are biases in sampling and preparation of biological samples. Bias in sample collection is a frequently forgotten aspect responsible for uncontrolled errors in metabolomics analysis. There is a great diversity of blood collection tubes for sampling serum or plasma, which are widely used in metabolomics analysis. Most of the existing studies dealing with the influence of blood collection on metabolomics analysis have been restricted to comparison between plasma and serum. However, polymeric gel tubes, which are frequently proposed to accelerate the separation of serum and plasma, have not been studied. In the present research, samples of serum or plasma collected in polymeric gel tubes were compared with those taken in conventional tubes from a metabolomics perspective using an untargeted GC-TOF/MS approach. The main differences between serum and plasma collected in conventional tubes affected to critical pathways such as the citric acid cycle, metabolism of amino acids, fructose and mannose metabolism and that of glycerolipids, and pentose and glucuronate interconversion. On the other hand, the polymeric gel only promoted differences at the metabolite level in serum since no critical differences were observed between plasma collected with EDTA tubes and polymeric gel tubes. Thus, the main changes were attributable to serum collected in gel and affected to the metabolism of amino acids such as alanine, proline and threonine, the glycerolipids metabolism, and two primary metabolites such as aconitic acid and lactic acid. Therefore, these metabolite changes should be taken into account in planning an experimental protocol for metabolomics analysis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Determination of mercury in human serum and packed blood cells by neutron activation analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Versieck, J.; Vanballenberghe, L.; Wittoek, A.; Vermeir, G.; Vandecasteele, C.

    1990-01-01

    A method is described for the determination of mercury in human blood serum and packed blood cells employing neutron activation analysis. Great attention was devoted to the collection and manipulation of the samples. The accuracy and precision of the method were tested by analyzing biological reference materials and by comparing the concentrations measured in a number of serum samples to those obtained by another, independent technique (cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry) in the same samples. The article reports the levels measured in blood serum and packed blood cells samples from 15 adult volunteers, as well as the figures determined in a open-quotes second-generationclose quotes biological reference material (freeze-dried human serum), prepared and conditioned at the University of Ghent

  20. Organic cattle products: Authenticating production origin by analysis of serum mineral content.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodríguez-Bermúdez, Ruth; Herrero-Latorre, Carlos; López-Alonso, Marta; Losada, David E; Iglesias, Roberto; Miranda, Marta

    2018-10-30

    An authentication procedure for differentiating between organic and non-organic cattle production on the basis of analysis of serum samples has been developed. For this purpose, the concentrations of fourteen mineral elements (As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, I, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Se and Zn) in 522 serum samples from cows (341 from organic farms and 181 from non-organic farms), determined by inductively coupled plasma spectrometry, were used. The chemical information provided by serum analysis was employed to construct different pattern recognition classification models that predict the origin of each sample: organic or non-organic class. Among all classification procedures considered, the best results were obtained with the decision tree C5.0, Random Forest and AdaBoost neural networks, with hit levels close to 90% for both production types. The proposed method, involving analysis of serum samples, provided rapid, accurate in vivo classification of cattle according to organic and non-organic production type. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Clinical and biochemical assessment of high serum vitamin B12 levels

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Arendt, Johan Frederik Berg; Nexø, Ebba

    2012-01-01

    Introduction: Measurement of serum cobalamin (Cbl) is routinely used to assess suspected Cbl deficiency. Surprisingly, 15% of all samples analysed for serum Cbl show values above the reference range of 200-600 pmol/L. Aim: We hypothesized that increased Cbl levels are caused by alterations...... in the circulating Cbl binding proteins haptocorrin (HC) and/or transcobalamin (TC), and that such changes may be of clinical importance. Materials and methods: We collected 834 blood samples from hospital treated patients with serum Cbl levels: 1000 pmol/L. In-house ELISAs were used...

  2. Fecal corticosterone reflects serum corticosterone in Florida sandhill cranes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ludders, J W; Langenberg, J A; Czekala, N M; Erb, H N

    2001-07-01

    Florida sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis pratensis) were conditioned to confinement 6 hr/day for 7 days. On day 8, each bird's jugular vein was catheterized, blood samples were drawn, and each crane was confined for 6 hr. Using a randomized, restricted cross-over design, cranes were injected intravenously with either 0.9% NaCl solution or ACTH (cosyntropin; Cortrosyn; 0.25 mg). During the 6 hr of confinement, fecal samples (feces and urine) were collected from each of five cranes immediately after defecation. Individual fecal samples were collected approximately at hourly intervals and assayed for corticosterone. We showed previously that serum corticosterone did not vary significantly following saline injection, but peaked significantly 60 min after ACTH injection. Maximal fecal corticosterone concentrations (ng/g) were greater (P cranes under controlled conditions, fecal corticosterone concentration reflects serum corticosterone levels, fecal corticosterone, Grus canadensis pratensis, sandhill cranes, serum corticosterone levels.

  3. Radioimmunoassay of haloperidol in human serum: correlation of serum haloperidol with serum prolactin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Poland, R.E.; Rubin, R.T.

    1981-01-01

    A radioimmunoassay (RIA) for measurement of serum haloperidol is described. Compared to gaschromatography (GC), RIA vaues average 40% higher. However, a simple organic extraction of serum yields statistically equivalent RIA and GC haloperidol determinations. For both men and women combined, there was a positive correlation between dose (mg/kg/day) and steady-state serum haloperidol level (r = +0.86) and between steady-state serum haloperidol and serum prolactin (PRL) concentration

  4. Trehalose significantly enhances the recovery of serum and serum exosomal miRNA from a paper-based matrix

    OpenAIRE

    Neo, Shu Hui; Chung, Ka Yan; Quek, Jia Min; Too, Heng-Phon

    2017-01-01

    The preservation of nucleic acids from clinical samples is critical to facilitate accurate molecular diagnosis. The use of a paper matrix, Flinders Technology Associates (FTA) Elute cards, to archive DNA and viral RNA is well-documented. However, the feasibility of FTA Elute cards for archiving serum and serum exosomal microRNAs (miRNAs) remains unclear. Here, we performed a comprehensive evaluation of FTA Elute cards for miRNA storage and recovery in different pre-analytical conditions. The ...

  5. A new approach for rapid detection and typing of serum monoclonal components.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cacoub, P; Camproux, A C; Thiolières, J M; Assogba, U; Hausfater, P; Mallet, A; Foglietti, M J; Piette, J C; Bernard, M

    2000-12-01

    When used independently, none of the routine methods to explore serum monoclonal components (MC), including: serum protein electrophoresis (SPE), immunoelectrophoresis (IEP), kappa to lambda ratio (KLR) and immunofixation (IFE), provides a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative identification of the MC. In the past few years the concept of 'protein profile', based on immunonephelometric quantifications of serum proteins, has become widely used. It consists of a qualitative and quantitative graphic representation of numerous serum proteins including immunoglobulins. Aim of study was to develop a multidimensional model based exclusively on protein profiles labeled the protein profile prediction method (PPPM) to improve routine MC detection and typing. Serum samples from 127 hospitalized patients and 99 healthy blood donors were submitted to all of the following: SPE, IFE, KLR and a protein profile (which included IgM, IgA, IgG, kappa and lambda chain detections and quantification). The presence of a MC using IFE was chosen as the gold standard. Healthy donors and patients were randomly divided into two groups defined as testing and validation groups. A logistic model was designed based on the protein profiles of the testing group leading to the determination of a threshold value (called Z(r)) for MC detection. It was then tested to detect MC in the validation group. Using IFE, 73 MC were found in the 127 hospitalized patients. Using the threshold value for MC detection of Z(r)=1.86, the PPPM showed greater sensitivity (94.6%) in detecting a MC compared to either SPE (64.8%) or KLR (89.2%). This result was obtained without diminished specificity (80.8%). The association of SPE or KLR to PPPM did not significantly increase the sensitivity of the PPPM. In the validation group, for samples which had a high predictive probability of a MC using PPPM, the correct MC typing was identified in up to 77% of sera using PPPM only. These results may be interesting in helping

  6. Comparison of immunofluorescence and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunoglobulin G avidity techniques for screening of anti: Toxoplasma antibodies among single serum sample pregnant women in Tabriz, Iran

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mehrangiz Rajaii

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Congenital toxoplasmosis is that pregnant women acquire the infection during gestation; diagnosis of the acute infection during pregnancy is a complex subject of maternal toxoplasmosis. Thus, the presence of immunoglobulin G (IgG and/or IgM Toxoplasma antibodies in a single serum sample drawn during gestation cannot be used to define whether the infection was recently acquired or chronic. Materials and Methods: At this cross-sectional descriptive study, sera of 391 pregnant women examined and compared. They were in an age range of 21-35 years, referred by gynecologists and infectious disease specialists, during March 2012-April 2013. They have referred, 215 (54.98%, 102 (26%, 74 (18.92% in the first, second and third trimesters of gestation, respectively. For each of them, a questionnaire was completed and serum samples were prepared in an equal condition, examined according to the procedures of indirect immunofluorescence (IIF, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA and IgG Avidity techniques. Results: We have found 111 (28.38% seronegative and 280 (71.61% seropositive cases by IIF and 124 (31.70% seronegative, 267 (68.28% seropositive cases by ELISA. The IgG avidity test confirmed 45 (69.23% and 7 (10.76% doubtful cases of IgM test in IIF and ELISA techniques. Conclusions: This study highlights how to manage pregnant women with toxoplasmosis, especially in a single serum sample condition.

  7. Giardiasis: Serum antibodies and coproantigens in brown rats (Rattus norvegicus from Grenada, West Indies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Keshaw Tiwari

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Aim: Giardia is a serious zoonotic parasite, which causes diarrheal disease in humans and animals including rodents. The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of Giardia spp. in brown rats (Rattus norvegicus in Grenada. Materials and Methods: Intestinal contents from 99 and serum samples from 169 brown rats (R. norvegicus from Grenada were collected. These samples were examined for the Giardia coproantigens using Cryptosporidium/Giardia Quik Chek assay (Tech lab® Inc., USA, and the serum was screened through an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA test kit for Giardia antibody (anti-GD ELISA kit (MyBioSource, San Diego, CA, USA. Results: Giardia coproantigens were positive in 17.17% (95% confidence interval [CI]; 10.33-26.06% rats, whereas 55% (95% CI: 47.20-62.68 were positive with serum antibodies (anti-GD to Giardia. Conclusion: The prevalence of Giardia spp. in brown rats in Grenada was moderate based on the presence of coproantigens in the intestinal contents and antibody in serum. The findings of Giardia infections and prevalence in brown rats will help veterinarians and physicians to better plan diagnostic and preventative strategies. This is the first report of prevalence of Giardia in brown rats in Grenada.

  8. Factors in selecting serum samples for use in determining the positive/negative threshold (cut-off) in ELISA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jacobson, R.H.

    1998-01-01

    The threshold (cut-off) that defines whether a test result is seropositive or seronegative is calculated by testing serum samples from a subpopulation of animals that is assumed to represent the target population in all aspects. For this proposition to be true, it is essential to consider the variables in the target population that must be represented in the subpopulation. Without representation of the variables in the subpopulation, it is likely that the cut-off selected for the test will be errant and will misclassify animals as to their infection status. The purpose of this paper is to identify a few of the principal variables that need to be taken into account when selecting a subpopulation of animals for test validation. (author)

  9. Maternal serum bisphenol A levels and risk of pre-eclampsia: a nested case–control study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ye, Yunzhen; Zhou, Qiongjie; Feng, Liping; Wu, Jiangnan; Xiong, Yu; Li, Xiaotian

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Background Although recent studies have indicated the potential adverse effects of maternal bisphenol A (BPA) exposure on pregnancy such as increasing the risk of pre-eclampsia, epidemiological evidence is limited. We aimed to evaluate the relationship between maternal BPA exposure and the risk of pre-eclampsia. Methods We conducted a nested case–control study among 173 women (74 cases of pre-eclampsia and 99 controls). BPA concentrations were measured using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry in the maternal serum samples collected during 16–20 gestational weeks. Multivariate logistic models were used to examine the relationship between maternal serum BPA concentrations and the risk of pre-eclampsia. Results BPA was detectable (>0.1 µg/l) in 78.6% of the maternal serum samples at three levels: low (4.44 µg/l). BPA concentrations were significantly higher in the serum samples collected from the pre-eclampsia cases than those from controls (median: 3.40 vs. 1.50 µg/l, P < 0.01). With adjustment for maternal age, primiparous and BMI, the odds of developing pre-eclampsia were significantly elevated in subjects with high serum BPA levels compared with those with low levels (adjusted OR = 16.46, 95%CI = 5.42–49.85) regardless of subcategories of pre-eclampsia including severity and onset time. Among the pre-eclampsia subjects, the maternal serum concentration of BPA was not different between the early- and late-onset subjects (median: 3.09 vs. 3.50 µg/l, P = 0.57), but surprisingly higher in mild pre-eclampsia subjects compared with severe pre-eclampsia subjects (median: 5.20 vs. 1.80 µg/l, P < 0.01). Conclusions These results demonstrated that maternal exposure to high level of BPA could be associated with an increased risk of pre-eclampsia. PMID:29186464

  10. Maternal serum bisphenol A levels and risk of pre-eclampsia: a nested case-control study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ye, Yunzhen; Zhou, Qiongjie; Feng, Liping; Wu, Jiangnan; Xiong, Yu; Li, Xiaotian

    2017-12-01

    Although recent studies have indicated the potential adverse effects of maternal bisphenol A (BPA) exposure on pregnancy such as increasing the risk of pre-eclampsia, epidemiological evidence is limited. We aimed to evaluate the relationship between maternal BPA exposure and the risk of pre-eclampsia. We conducted a nested case-control study among 173 women (74 cases of pre-eclampsia and 99 controls). BPA concentrations were measured using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry in the maternal serum samples collected during 16-20 gestational weeks. Multivariate logistic models were used to examine the relationship between maternal serum BPA concentrations and the risk of pre-eclampsia. BPA was detectable (>0.1 µg/l) in 78.6% of the maternal serum samples at three levels: low (4.44 µg/l). BPA concentrations were significantly higher in the serum samples collected from the pre-eclampsia cases than those from controls (median: 3.40 vs. 1.50 µg/l, P < 0.01). With adjustment for maternal age, primiparous and BMI, the odds of developing pre-eclampsia were significantly elevated in subjects with high serum BPA levels compared with those with low levels (adjusted OR = 16.46, 95%CI = 5.42-49.85) regardless of subcategories of pre-eclampsia including severity and onset time. Among the pre-eclampsia subjects, the maternal serum concentration of BPA was not different between the early- and late-onset subjects (median: 3.09 vs. 3.50 µg/l, P = 0.57), but surprisingly higher in mild pre-eclampsia subjects compared with severe pre-eclampsia subjects (median: 5.20 vs. 1.80 µg/l, P < 0.01). These results demonstrated that maternal exposure to high level of BPA could be associated with an increased risk of pre-eclampsia. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association.

  11. Partial-Body Irradiation in Patients with Prostate Cancer Treated with IMRT Has Little Effect on the Composition of Serum Proteome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pietrowska, Monika; Jelonek, Karol; Polanska, Joanna; Wojakowska, Anna; Marczak, Lukasz; Chawinska, Ewa; Chmura, Aleksanda; Majewski, Wojciech; Miszczyk, Leszek; Widlak, Piotr

    2015-06-30

    Partial body irradiation during cancer radiotherapy (RT) induces a response of irradiated tissues that could be observed at the level of serum proteome. Here we aimed to characterize the response to RT in group of patients treated because of prostate cancer. Five consecutive blood samples were collected before, during, and after the end of RT in a group of 126 patients who received definitive treatment with a maximum dose of 76 Gy. Serum peptidome, which was profiled in the 2000-16,000 Da range using MALDI-MS. Serum proteins were identified and quantified using the shotgun LC-MS/MS approach. The majority of changes in serum peptidome were detected between pre-treatment samples and samples collected after 3-4 weeks of RT (~25% of registered peptides changed their abundances significantly), yet the intensity of observed changes was not correlated significantly with the degree of acute radiation toxicity or the volume of irradiated tissues. Furthermore, there were a few serum proteins identified, the abundances of which were different in pre-RT and post-RT samples, including immunity and inflammation-related factors. Observed effects were apparently weaker than in comparable groups of head and neck cancer patients in spite of similar radiation doses and volumes of irradiated tissues in both groups. We concluded that changes observed at the level of serum proteome were low for this cohort of prostate cancer patients, although the specific components involved are associated with immunity and inflammation, and reflect the characteristic acute response of the human body to radiation.

  12. Partial-Body Irradiation in Patients with Prostate Cancer Treated with IMRT Has Little Effect on the Composition of Serum Proteome

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Monika Pietrowska

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Partial body irradiation during cancer radiotherapy (RT induces a response of irradiated tissues that could be observed at the level of serum proteome. Here we aimed to characterize the response to RT in group of patients treated because of prostate cancer. Five consecutive blood samples were collected before, during, and after the end of RT in a group of 126 patients who received definitive treatment with a maximum dose of 76 Gy. Serum peptidome, which was profiled in the 2000–16,000 Da range using MALDI-MS. Serum proteins were identified and quantified using the shotgun LC-MS/MS approach. The majority of changes in serum peptidome were detected between pre-treatment samples and samples collected after 3–4 weeks of RT (~25% of registered peptides changed their abundances significantly, yet the intensity of observed changes was not correlated significantly with the degree of acute radiation toxicity or the volume of irradiated tissues. Furthermore, there were a few serum proteins identified, the abundances of which were different in pre-RT and post-RT samples, including immunity and inflammation-related factors. Observed effects were apparently weaker than in comparable groups of head and neck cancer patients in spite of similar radiation doses and volumes of irradiated tissues in both groups. We concluded that changes observed at the level of serum proteome were low for this cohort of prostate cancer patients, although the specific components involved are associated with immunity and inflammation, and reflect the characteristic acute response of the human body to radiation.

  13. [Cultivation of a permanent fish cell line in serum-free media special experiences with a cytotoxicity test for waste water samples

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kohlpoth, Martin; Rusche, Brigitte

    1997-01-01

    The use of fetal calf serum (FCS) as standard medium additive for the cell cultivation must be regarded critically from the point of view of animal welfare as well as for scientific reasons and makes it necessary to look for alternatives. In the last years an in vitro cytotoxicity assay for the testing of industrial waste waters with the permanent fish cell line RTG-2 was established and pre-validated as an alternative to the fish test with the golden orfe. The application of FCS is also a special problem with regard to the testing of waste waters in a cytotoxicity test so that FCS-alternatives were tested. The RTG-2 cells were successfully adapted to the two solvents Basal Medium Supplement (BMS) and Ultroser-G (U-G) that are used to replace serum. The characterisation of these adapted cell lines showed no significant differences in growth rate, adhesion rate, viability and sensitivity to chemicals in comparison to the original RTG-2 cells. On the determination of the cytotoxicity of industrial waste waters the RTG-2 cells adapted to the BMS medium indicated a clearly higher toxicity of the waste water samples than the original RTG-2 cells. This result confirms the thesis that serum components react with waste water elements and thus change the bio-availability of toxic compounds.

  14. Mass spectrometry-based serum proteome pattern analysis in molecular diagnostics of early stage breast cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stobiecki Maciej

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Mass spectrometric analysis of the blood proteome is an emerging method of clinical proteomics. The approach exploiting multi-protein/peptide sets (fingerprints detected by mass spectrometry that reflect overall features of a specimen's proteome, termed proteome pattern analysis, have been already shown in several studies to have applicability in cancer diagnostics. We aimed to identify serum proteome patterns specific for early stage breast cancer patients using MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry. Methods Blood samples were collected before the start of therapy in a group of 92 patients diagnosed at stages I and II of the disease, and in a group of age-matched healthy controls (104 women. Serum specimens were purified and the low-molecular-weight proteome fraction was examined using MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry after removal of albumin and other high-molecular-weight serum proteins. Protein ions registered in a mass range between 2,000 and 10,000 Da were analyzed using a new bioinformatic tool created in our group, which included modeling spectra as a sum of Gaussian bell-shaped curves. Results We have identified features of serum proteome patterns that were significantly different between blood samples of healthy individuals and early stage breast cancer patients. The classifier built of three spectral components that differentiated controls and cancer patients had 83% sensitivity and 85% specificity. Spectral components (i.e., protein ions that were the most frequent in such classifiers had approximate m/z values of 2303, 2866 and 3579 Da (a biomarker built from these three components showed 88% sensitivity and 78% specificity. Of note, we did not find a significant correlation between features of serum proteome patterns and established prognostic or predictive factors like tumor size, nodal involvement, histopathological grade, estrogen and progesterone receptor expression. In addition, we observed a significantly (p = 0

  15. Evaluation of serum and milk ELISAs for paratuberculosis in Danish dairy cattle

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Klausen, Joan; Huda, A.; Ekeroth, Lars

    2003-01-01

    concurrently from six dairy herds infected with MAP and from two dairy herds without history of infection with MAP. A cut-off value of 7 OD% was used in the ELISAs. At this cut-off value, all six culture-positive herds were positive in the serum ELISA but one was negative in the milk ELISA. All six culture......-positive herds were positive in the CFT. In the two culture-negative herds, the serum and the milk ELISA deemed all serum samples negative at this cut-off value, whereas four serum samples from one of these herds were positive in the CFT. The highest cut-off value enabling the milk ELISA to record all six...... culture-positive herds as positive was 4 OD%. The highest cut-off value enabling the serum ELISA to record all six culture-positive herds as positive was 17 OD%. Individual-sample relative sensitivities of the ELISAs ranged from 49 to 64% and relative specificities were 80-96% at the cut-off values of 4...

  16. Improved simultaneous determination method of beta-carotene and retinol with saponification in human serum and rat liver.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hosotani, Keisuke; Kitagawa, Masahiro

    2003-07-05

    Among the many simultaneous determination methods for carotenoid and retinoid, there are only a few reports including the saponification process. However, the yields of beta-carotene and retinol were higher when using this process. In this study, the analytical conditions, including saponification, were investigated. The extraction solvent was n-hexane and the sample solvent was HPLC mobile phase in the beta-carotene and retinol analysis. BHT as an antioxidant was added at concentrations of 0.125 and 0.025%, respectively, to ethanol and n-hexane phase in the extraction process for serum. The recovery rates were 99.7, 93.7 and 98.3% for beta-carotene, retinol and retinyl palmitate in serum, respectively, and 107.1, 92.8 and 98.8% for beta-carotene, retinol and retinyl palmitate in liver, respectively. The within-day coefficients of variation (C.V.) were 6.0% for serum and 4.7% for liver in the case of beta-carotene, 7.1% for serum, and 5.1% for liver in the case of retinol. The between-day coefficients of variation were 2.7% for serum and 2.7% for liver in the case of beta-carotene, and for retinol, 6.4% for serum and 2.7% for liver.

  17. Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma prognostic determination using pre-operative serum C-reactive protein levels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lin, Zi-Ying; Liang, Zhen-Xing; Zhuang, Pei-Lin; Chen, Jie-Wei; Cao, Yun; Yan, Li-Xu; Yun, Jing-Ping; Xie, Dan; Cai, Mu-Yan

    2016-01-01

    Serum C-reactive protein (CRP), an acute inflammatory response biomarker, has been recognized as an indicator of malignant disease progression. However, the prognostic significance of CRP levels collected before tumor removal in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma requires further investigation. We sampled the CRP levels in 140 patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma who underwent hepatectomies with regional lymphadenectomies between 2006 and 2013. A retrospective analysis of the clinicopathological data was performed. We focused on the impact of serum CRP on the patients’ cancer-specific survival and recurrence-free survival rates. High levels of preoperative serum CRP were significantly associated with well-established clinicopathologic features, including gender, advanced tumor stage, and elevated carcinoembryonic antigen and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 levels (P < 0.05). Univariate analysis demonstrated a significant association between high levels of serum CRP and adverse cancer-specific survival (P = 0.001) and recurrence-free survival (P < 0.001). In patients with stage I/II intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, the serum CRP level was a prognostic indicator for cancer-specific survival. In patients with stage I/II or stage III/IV, the serum CRP level was a prognostic indicator for recurrence-free survival (P < 0.05). Additionally, multivariate analysis identified serum CRP level in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma as an independent prognostic factor (P < 0.05). We confirmed a significant association of elevated pre-operative CRP levels with poor clinical outcomes for the tested patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. Our results indicate that the serum CRP level may represent a useful factor for patient stratification in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma management

  18. CORRELATION OF GALLSTONE FORMATION WITH SERUM IRON LEVELS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rohini Bipin Bhadre

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available INTRODUCTION Gallstones are one of the most common problem associated with the gallbladder, affecting millions of people throughout the world. Bile is excreted from liver and gallbladder into Duodenum for digestion. After digestion, if the gallbladder is not emptied out completely, the Bile Juice that remains in the gallbladder can become too concentrated with cholesterol leading to gallstone formation. Cholesterol and calcium bilirubinate are the two main substances involved in gallstone formation. Gallstones derived from bile consists of mixture of cholesterol, bilirubin with or without calcium. Based on their chemical composition, gallstones found in the gallbladder are classified as cholesterol, pigmented or mixed stones. Iron deficiency has been shown to alter the activity of several hepatic enzymes, leading to increased gallbladder bile cholesterol saturation and promotion of cholesterol crystal formation. AIMS & OBJECTIVE Attempt to establish a correlation with gallstones and decreased serum iron levels. MATERIAL & METHODS This study was a prospective cohort study which included 100 consecutive patients with imaging studies suggestive of Cholelithiasis. The Gallstone surgically removed was crushed with mortar and pestle and then analysed for cholesterol, calcium, phosphate and bilirubin (pigment. Serum samples were analysed for Cholesterol, iron and iron binding capacity. RESULTS 86% patients had increased cholesterol levels (p=0.04 and 93% had decreased serum Iron levels (p=0.96. The most common type of gallstone was found to be Cholesterol type of gallstone followed by Mixed and Pigment gallstones. CONCLUSION Serum cholesterol levels were found to be raised in majority of the patients and serum iron was found to be low in these majority of the patients indicating iron deficiency may play a role in gallstone formation.

  19. Does the time interval between antimüllerian hormone serum sampling and initiation of ovarian stimulation affect its predictive ability in in vitro fertilization-intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycles with a gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonist?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Polyzos, Nikolaos P; Nelson, Scott M; Stoop, Dominic

    2013-01-01

    To investigate whether the time interval between serum antimüllerian hormone (AMH) sampling and initiation of ovarian stimulation for in vitro fertilization-intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF-ICSI) may affect the predictive ability of the marker for low and excessive ovarian response.......To investigate whether the time interval between serum antimüllerian hormone (AMH) sampling and initiation of ovarian stimulation for in vitro fertilization-intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF-ICSI) may affect the predictive ability of the marker for low and excessive ovarian response....

  20. Brix refractometry in serum as a measure of failure of passive transfer compared to measured immunoglobulin G and total protein by refractometry in serum from dairy calves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hernandez, D; Nydam, D V; Godden, S M; Bristol, L S; Kryzer, A; Ranum, J; Schaefer, D

    2016-05-01

    A series of trials were conducted to evaluate Brix refractometry (Brix %) for the assessment of failure of passive transfer (FPT) in dairy calves compared to: (1) serum IgG (reference standard) when measured by radial immunodiffusion (RID) or a turbidometric immunoassay (TIA), and (2) serum total protein refractometry (STP). For the serum samples tested with TIA, STP, and Brix % (n = 310; Holstein calves), the median concentrations were 21.3 g/L IgG, 58 g/L STP, and 9.2%, respectively. For the serum samples tested with RID, STP and Brix % (n = 112; Jersey calves), the mean concentrations were 38 g/L IgG, 68 g/L STP, and 10.2%, respectively. For samples tested with only Brix % and STP (n = 265; Holstein calves), median STP and Brix % were 50 g/L STP and 8.5%, respectively. Correlations between Brix % and RID, and between Brix % and TIA were equal (r = 0.79, respectively). Brix % and STP were positively correlated (r = 0.99). Brix % estimated serum IgG concentrations determined by TIA and RID (r(2) = 0.63, 0.62, respectively). When FPT was defined as serum IgG refractometry predicted successful transfer of passive immunity in dairy calves, but further evaluation as a diagnostic tool for the diagnosis of FPT is warranted. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  1. Effect of bilirubin on the spectrophotometric and radionuclide assay for serum angiotensin-converting enzyme

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saxe, A.W.; Hollinger, M.A.; Essam, T.

    1986-01-01

    The effect of bilirubin on serum angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) activity was studied with spectrophotometric and radionuclide assays. In the spectrophotometric assay addition of bilirubin to normal serum from dog, mouse, and human produced a dose-related inhibition of ACE activity. A 50% decrease in human ACE activity was produced by the addition of approximately 250 mg/L in vitro. Serum from icteric patients with elevated bilirubin was also associated with a reduction in ACE activity in the spectrophotometric assay. A 50% decrease in ACE activity in these samples was associated with a serum bilirubin of approximately 220 mg/L. In the radionuclide assay, however, addition of bilirubin to normal human serum failed to reduce measured ACE activity. The use of a radionuclide assay for serum ACE in clinical samples offers the advantage of less interference from serum bilirubin

  2. Direct 125I-radioligand assays for serum progesterone compared with assays involving extraction of serum

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ratcliffe, W.A.; Corrie, J.E.T.; Dalziel, A.H.; Macpherson, J.S.

    1982-01-01

    Two direct radioimmunoassays for progesterone in 50 μL of unextracted serum or plasma with assays involving extraction of serum were compared. The direct assays include the use of either danazol at pH 7.4 or 8-anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonic acid at pH 4.0 to displace progesterone from serum binding-proteins. Progesterone is then assayed by using an antiserum to a progesterone 11α-hemisuccinyl conjugate and the radioligand 125 I-labeled progesterone 11α-glucuronyl tyramine, with separation by double-antibody techniques. Direct assays with either displacing agent gave good analytical recovery of progesterone added to human serum, and progesterone values for patients' specimens correlated well (r > 0.96) with results of assays involving extraction of serum. Precision was similar with each displacing agent over the working range 2.5-100 nmol/L and superior to that of extraction assays. We conclude that these direct assays of progesterone are analytically valid and more robust, precise, and technically convenient than many conventional methods involving extraction of serum

  3. Genetic factors explain half of all variance in serum eosinophil cationic protein

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Elmose, Camilla; Sverrild, Asger; van der Sluis, Sophie

    2014-01-01

    with variation in serum ECP and to determine the relative proportion of the variation in ECP due to genetic and non-genetic factors, in an adult twin sample. METHODS: A sample of 575 twins, selected through a proband with self-reported asthma, had serum ECP, lung function, airway responsiveness to methacholine......, exhaled nitric oxide, and skin test reactivity, measured. Linear regression analysis and variance component models were used to study factors associated with variation in ECP and the relative genetic influence on ECP levels. RESULTS: Sex (regression coefficient = -0.107, P ... was statistically non-significant (r = -0.11, P = 0.50). CONCLUSION: Around half of all variance in serum ECP is explained by genetic factors. Serum ECP is influenced by sex, BMI, and airway responsiveness. Serum ECP and airway responsiveness seem not to share genetic variance....

  4. Progressive periodontal disease has a simultaneous incremental elevation of gingival crevicular fluid and serum CRP levels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pradeep, A R; Manjunath, R G Shiva; Kathariya, Rahul

    2010-11-01

    Increased C-reactive protein levels have been found in all active inflammations, including periodontitis. This study aims to assess the C-reactive protein levels in periodontal disease progression. Forty-five patients were divided into the following three groups (n=15) based on gingival index, probing pocket depth, and clinical attachment level: healthy (group I), gingivitis (group II), and chronic periodontitis (group III). Gingival crevicular fluid and serum samples were quantified for C-reactive protein using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The mean C-reactive protein concentration in gingival crevicular fluid and serum was found to be highest in group III (1233.33ng/mL for gingival crevicular fluid, 5483.33ng/mL for serum), and least in group I (60 ng/mL and 413 ng/mL for gingival crevicular fluid and serum, respectively) The mean C-reactive protein concentration in group II (453.33ng/mL for gingival crevicular fluid and 3565.33 ng/mL for serum) was found to be intermediate. C-reactive protein levels in gingival crevicular fluid and serum increased proportionately with the severity of periodontal disease. They correlated positively with clinical parameters, including gingival index, probing pocket depth, and clinical attachment level. Thus, it can be considered as a periodontal inflammatory biomarker and deserves further consideration. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

  5. Serum zinc and copper levels in children with febrile convulsion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad Shokrzadeh

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Febrile convulsions (FC are the most common neurologic disorder in children 6-60 months of age. Zinc (Zn and copper (Cu play role as cofactors in more than 300 enzymatic activities significantly. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship serum levels of Zn and Cu with seizure occurrence in febrile children. In this case-control study, 270 children with 6 month to 6 years were evaluated. The patients were enrolled in three groups: a children with febrile convulsion, b febrile children without convulsion and c healthy ones. After recording of all patients’ characteristics, 5 mL blood was taken from peripheral vessels at the first 12 hours of hospitalization. Absorption of all samples was read by BRAIC (Rayleigh instrument company, WFX-130 model with calibration diagram, considering samples dilution levels. The mean of serum Zn levels in children with FC were significantly lower than other two groups. Mean serum Cu levels in children with FC and non-FC patients were significantly higher than healthy children. No meaningful differences were observed in serum levels of Zn and Cu among the girl or boy cases. This study showed significant lower serum zinc level in children with febrile seizure and meaningful higher serum copper level than control group cases. There was no significant difference in level of serum zinc and copper in term of sex.

  6. Clinical utility of serum folate measurement in tertiary care patients: Argument for revising reference range for serum folate from 3.0 ng/mL to 13.0 ng/mL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gurmukh Singh

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Objective: Assess the need for folate testing, frequency of corrective action, and determine reference level for serum folate. Methods: Serum folate levels in 5313 samples from 4448 patients, and clinical data were reviewed for patient characteristics and for (a evidence of corrective action in patients with serum folate values 25.7 ng/mL. Results: The prevalence of serum folate levels, in patients, 25.7 ng/mL the sample was collected after supplementation with folic acid. Of the 128 patients with serum folate 60% of the patients. Since serum folate levels ≥13.0 ng/mL are needed for optimal prevention of neural tube defects in the embryo/fetus, we propose that normal serum folate level should be designated to be ≥13.0 ng/mL. Keywords: Serum folate, Prevalence of folate deficiency, Neural tube defects, Optimum serum folate level, Utility of folate testing

  7. Value of serum tenascin-C in patients with acute myocardial infarction

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Rania Gaber

    2015-10-09

    Oct 9, 2015 ... Aliquots of serum were delivered into Eppendorf tubes. Serum samples have been .... Tenascin-C induced by aldosterone-mediated inflammation. J · Cardiovasc .... nosis estimation and targeted therapy. Cell Adh Migr 2015 ...

  8. Screening and staging for non-small cell lung cancer by serum laser Raman spectroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Hong; Zhang, Shaohong; Wan, Limei; Sun, Hong; Tan, Jie; Su, Qiucheng

    2018-08-05

    Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Current clinical screening methods to detect lung cancer are expensive and associated with many complications. Raman spectroscopy is a spectroscopic technique that offers a convenient method to gain molecular information about biological samples. In this study, we measured the serum Raman spectral intensity of healthy volunteers and patients with different stages of non-small cell lung cancer. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the application of serum laser Raman spectroscopy as a low cost alternative method in the screening and staging of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The Raman spectra of the sera of peripheral venous blood were measured with a LabRAM HR 800 confocal Micro Raman spectrometer for individuals from five groups including 14 healthy volunteers (control group), 23 patients with stage I NSCLC (stage I group), 24 patients with stage II NSCLC (stage II group), 19 patients with stage III NSCLC (stage III group), 11 patients with stage IV NSCLC (stage IV group). Each serum sample was measured 3 times at different spots and the average spectra represented the signal of Raman spectra in each case. The Raman spectrum signal data of the five groups were statistically analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA), principal component analysis (PCA), linear discriminant analysis (LDA), and cross-validation. Raman spectral intensity was sequentially reduced in serum samples from control group, stage I group, stage II group and stage III/IV group. The strongest peak intensity was observed in the control group, and the weakest one was found in the stage III/IV group at bands of 848 cm -1 , 999 cm -1 , 1152 cm -1 , 1446 cm -1 and 1658 cm -1 (P Raman spectroscopy can effectively identify patients with stage I, stage II or stage III/IV Non-Small Cell Lung cancer using patient serum samples. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Direct analysis of formate in human plasma, serum and whole blood by in-line coupling of microdialysis to capillary electrophoresis for rapid diagnosis of methanol poisoning

    OpenAIRE

    Kubáň, P. (Pavel); Boček, P. (Petr)

    2013-01-01

    A microdialytic device was in-line coupled to capillary electrophoresis for direct injection of blood samples. Its performance was demonstrated on rapid analysis of formic acid in various blood samples including serum samples of a patient diagnosed with acute methanol poisoning.

  10. Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae and Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae: the sensitivities of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for detecting vaccinated sows of unknown disease status using serum and colostrum, and the correlation of the results for sow serum, colostrum, and piglet serum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jenvey, Caitlin J; Reichel, Michael P; Cockcroft, Peter D

    2015-03-01

    Due to relatively high concentrations of immunoglobulins, colostrum has the potential to improve the sensitivity of diagnostic tests for diseases in pigs when compared with serum. It is possible that colostrum could improve the sensitivity of the antibody enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) compared with serum. Colostrum is also essential for piglets, providing protection against infections in the first few weeks and months of life. The sensitivity of 2 commercially available ELISAs, one for the detection of Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae and the second for Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae antibodies, when used with sow colostrum in comparison with serum was investigated. The correlation of maternal E. rhusiopathiae- and M. hyopneumoniae-specific antibody levels with specific-antibody serum levels in the piglet was also determined. The sensitivity was defined as the proportion of vaccinated sows that were correctly identified as vaccinated at a given cutoff point. The true disease status of the sows with regard to the 2 infections was unknown. Blood and colostrum samples were collected from 20 sows, 10 primiparous and 10 multiparous, and blood samples were also collected from the piglets of each sow, 48-72 hr post-farrowing. The sensitivities of both ELISAs were significantly improved when using colostrum compared with serum. Sow serum and colostrum optical density (OD) values were significantly correlated. The mean sow OD values for serum for E. rhusiopathiae and M. hyopneumoniae and colostrum for E. rhusiopathiae were significantly correlated with piglet serum OD levels. If the improved sensitivity of colostrum can be demonstrated in infected animals, this will increase the ability of the test to identify infected animals using both individual and pooled colostrum. Testing serum and/or colostrum using ELISA can be useful predictors of piglet disease-specific OD values. © 2015 The Author(s).

  11. Mass Spectrometry-Based Serum Proteomics for Biomarker Discovery and Validation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhosale, Santosh D; Moulder, Robert; Kouvonen, Petri; Lahesmaa, Riitta; Goodlett, David R

    2017-01-01

    Blood protein measurements are used frequently in the clinic in the assessment of patient health. Nevertheless, there remains the need for new biomarkers with better diagnostic specificities. With the advent of improved technology for bioanalysis and the growth of biobanks including collections from specific disease risk cohorts, the plasma proteome has remained a target of proteomics research toward the characterization of disease-related biomarkers. The following protocol presents a workflow for serum/plasma proteomics including details of sample preparation both with and without immunoaffinity depletion of the most abundant plasma proteins and methodology for selected reaction monitoring mass spectrometry validation.

  12. Low serum hdl-c levels: a hidden threat to patients with spinal cord injury

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ali, S.; Ayyub, A.

    2014-01-01

    To determine the serum lipid profile in patients with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) of duration >1 year and to compare the serum HDL-c levels of SCI patients undergoing regular physiotherapy for >60 minutes daily with those who did not Undergo physiotherapy. Study Design: Cross-sectional, comparative study. Place and Duration of Study: Spinal Cord Injury Department, AFIRM Rawalpindi and Department of Chemical Pathology, Army Medical College, Rawalpindi, from January 2013 to June 2013. Patients and Methods: Forty six patients suffering from traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) were included. After recording the detailed medical history, fasting blood samples were obtained and analyzed for serum lipid profile. Dyslipidemias were assessed using guidelines from the National Cholesterol Education Project Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III). Serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c)< 0.9 mmol/l (40mg/dl) was considered as low HDL-c level. Results: Out of total 46 patients, 33 (71.7%) were male and 13 (28.3%) were females with mean age of 34.9+- 9.55 years. Low levels of serum HDL-c were found in 21 (45.7%) SCI patients (mean serum HDL-clevels: 0.97+-0.23). SCI patients were further categorized in two groups depending upon the status of regular physiotherapy. Statistically significant difference was found in mean serum HDL-c levels of 22 (47.82%) SCI patients undergoing regular physiotherapy as compared to 24 (52.18%) SCI patients who did not underwent physiotherapy (p<0.05). Conclusion: Patients with SCI have decreased levels of serum HDL-c, imparting an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in these disabled persons. SCI individuals following regular physiotherapy, have better serum HDL-c levels as compared to bed-ridden SCI patients, suggesting the physical activity as an important factor to elevate the serum HDL-c in such patients. Knowledge of relative risk of CVD in persons with SCI is important for appropriate intervention alstrategies

  13. Plasma as alternatively sample to quantify tetanus antitoxin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ariel Menéndez-Barrios

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Tetanus antitoxin is quantified in Cuba at blood banks, from the serum of immunized donors, to produce aspecific human gamma globulin. A heterogeneous indirect immunoenzymatic assay is used, using the serum as analytical sample. The possible use of plasma obtained from plasmapheresis as alternative sample was evaluated in this research, to minimize the volume of total blood extracted to the donors. One hundred plasma donors who came to donate between October and November 2013 were selected by simple random sampling. Serum sample was obtained for extraction of 5 mL of blood, deposited in dry glass tube. While the other sample took 1.5 mL of plasma in a plastic tube with cover, at the end of the donation directly of the unit of plasma collected. Comparison of the difference between the means of both groups was done using SPSS for Windows. It was found that the values obtained in serum were bigger than those obtained in plasma. Difference between the means of both groups was statistically significant (p 0.00. It is not advisable to use the obtained plasma of the plasmapheresis as analytic sample in this assay.

  14. Kinetics of human serum amyloid A

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rosenthal, C.J.; Martin, M.E.; Solomon, N.

    1986-01-01

    In order to better understand the pathogenetic role of serum amyloid A (SAA) we studied the kinetics of 131 I radiolabelled pure SAA, extracted from 400 ml serum of a human volunteer. 50 microCi of 131 I SAA and 15 microCi 125 I labelled sodium iodide were administered i.v. on two occasions at 6 month intervals. Serum and plasma samples were collected at 10-20 min intervals x 10, then once daily x 10; lymphocytes were separated from monocytes and granulocytes. Counts per minute of 131 I and 125 I were measured in each sample in the serum, in serum precipitates resulting after addition of a rabbit anti-SAA antibody and of TCA and in various cell subpopulations as well as in the whole urine and TCA precipitated urine from each micturition. The 131 I disappearance curves from the plasma and serum precipitates were semilogarithmically plotted; cumulative 131 I cpm in plasma, cells and urine at various intervals were determined. Body scanning was performed at 2, 16, and 48 h. The results of the two experiments were very similar. The curve of 131 I SAA in plasma TCA precipitates indicated the existence of 4 compartments likely due to uptake of 131 I SAA by some plasma proteins, circulating cells and other tissues; later release from tissues started at 6 h. The 131 I SAA half-life time in these compartments was found to be 35, 170, 255, and 550 min, respectively. Tissue binding of 131 I was also suggested by a rising of the 125 I: 131 I ratio with time and by a 26% release of 131 I in the urine at 15 h which could not account for its plasma disappearance. Scanning, except for 131 I uptake in the spleen at 2 h likely due to blood activity, showed no organ concentration. 92% of the injected 131 I was found in the urine but only 6.2% of 131 I SAA was accounted for in urine precicipitates

  15. Sustained high serum caspase-3 concentrations and mortality in septic patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lorente, L; Martín, M M; Pérez-Cejas, A; González-Rivero, A F; López, R O; Ferreres, J; Solé-Violán, J; Labarta, L; Díaz, C; Palmero, S; Jiménez, A

    2018-02-01

    Caspase-3 is the main executor of the apoptotic process. Higher serum caspase-3 concentrations in non-survivor compared to survivor septic patients have been found. The objectives of this work (with the increase of sample size to 308 patients, and the determination of serum caspase-3 concentrations also on days 4 and 8 of diagnosis of severe sepsis) were to know whether an association between serum caspase-3 concentrationss during the first week, degree of apoptosis, sepsis severity, and sepsis mortality exists. We collected serum samples of 308 patients with severe sepsis from eight intensive care units on days 1, 4 and 8 to measure concentrations of caspase-3 and caspase-cleaved cytokeratin (CCCK)-18 (to assess degree of apoptosis). End point was 30-day mortality. We found higher serum concentrations of caspase-3 and CCCK-18 in non-survivors compared to survivors on days 1 (p < 0.001), 4 (p < 0.001), and 8 (p < 0.001). We found an association between serum caspase-3 concentrations on days 1, 4 and 8 of severe sepsis diagnosis and serum CCCK-18 concentrations (p < 0.001), SOFA (p < 0.001), serum acid lactic concentrations (p < 0.001), and 30-day sepsis mortality (p < 0.001). The new findings of this work were that an association between serum caspase-3 concentrations during the first week, apoptosis degree, sepsis severity, and sepsis mortality exists.

  16. Serum Glutamate Is a Predictor for the Diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gheyath Al Gawwam

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available One neurotransmitter, glutamate, has been implicated in the autoimmune demyelination seen in multiple sclerosis (MS. Glutamate is present in many tissues in the body, so consideration should be given to whether the serum level of glutamate is likely well correlated with the activity of the disease. This research aimed to compare the serum glutamate levels from patients diagnosed with MS with those from an age-matched control population. A review of this data could shed light upon whether the serum testing of glutamate using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA is a reliable indicator of MS activity. Serum samples were obtained from 55 patients with different patterns of MS and from 25 healthy adults as a control group. The ELISA technique was used to determine the glutamate levels in the serum samples. The mean serum glutamate level for patients with MS was 1.318±0.543 nmol/ml and that of the controls was 0.873±0.341 nmol/ml. The serum glutamate levels showed an area under the curve via the receiver operating characteristics (ROC of 0.738, which was significant (p value = 0.001. The present study is the first to establish a strong connection between the serum glutamate levels and MS patients, where there was statistically significant elevation of serum glutamate in MS patients; hence this elevation might be used as a monitor to help in the diagnosis of MS patients.

  17. Serum amyloid A isoforms in serum and synovial fluid from spontaneously diseased dogs with joint diseases or other conditions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kjelgaard-Hansen, Mads Jens; Christensen, Michelle B.; Lee, Marcel Huisung

    2007-01-01

    Serum amyloid A (SAA) is a major acute phase protein in dogs. However, knowledge of qualitative properties of canine SAA and extent of its synthesis in extrahepatic tissues is limited. The aim of the study was to investigate expression of different SAA isoforms in serum and synovial fluid...... in samples obtained from dogs (n = 16) suffering from different inflammatory or non-inflammatory conditions, which were either related or unrelated to joints. Expression of SAA isoforms was visualized by denaturing isoelectric focusing and Western blotting. Serum amyloid A was present in serum from all dogs...... with systemic inflammatory activity, and up to four major isoforms with apparent isoelectric points between 6.1 and 7.9 were identified. In synovial fluid from inflamed joints one or more highly alkaline SAA isoforms (with apparent isoelectric points above 9.3) were identified, with data suggesting local...

  18. The determination of serum vitamin B/sub 12/ values using radioassay

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kariyone, S; Morishita, R; Sato, M; Fujimori, K; Miki, M [Kyoto Univ. (Japan). Faculty of Medicine

    1975-04-01

    Strong and weak points of both the Phadebas B/sub 12/ test kit by Pharmacia Co. Ltd. and the CIS B/sub 12/ kit by CEA Co. Ltd. were examined to determine and evaluated. One strong point was that both of kits were comparatively easy to operate. Another was that they were very accurate if only one pipet was used and it was correctly handled. The error from the fractional infusion of 0.1 ml of /sup 57/Co-B/sub 12/ sample remained within +-1.8%, including the error of measuring radioactivity. The recovery rate of vitamin B/sub 12/ added to the serum was 100+-10%. Close correlation was found between the serum B/sub 12/ values measured by each kit and with a careful procedure almost accurate, highly reproducible values were obtained. It was necessary to further examine the pH of the buffer solution in the Phadebas kit and the conditions of extraction of B/sub 12/ from the serum in the CIS kit. In reading the B/sub 12/ values from the standard curve, it was preferable to perform a logic change B/B/sub 0/ % in the samples and to make a linear standard curve, so that the accuracy of the reading would not be infuluenced by variations in the data. (Kanao, N.).

  19. Parathyroid hormone related protein concentration in human serum and CSF correlates with age.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kushnir, Mark M; Peterson, Lisa K; Strathmann, Frederick G

    2018-02-01

    Parathyroid Hormone-Related Protein (PTHrP) is involved in intracellular calcium (Ca) regulation, and has been demonstrated to participate in regulation of Ca in brain cells, activation of neurons, and modulation of pain. However, there are conflicting reports regarding the presence of PTHrP in CSF. PTHrP and Ca were quantified in paired CSF and serum samples using mass spectrometry-based methods. Associations between PTHrP and Ca concentrations with age, sex and concentrations of nine CSF diagnostic markers in a set of 140 paired serum and CSF patient samples were evaluated. The observed median PTHrP concentration in CSF was 51 times higher than in serum; the median concentration of Ca in CSF was 1.8 times lower than in serum. We observed positive correlation between concentrations of PTHrP in CSF and serum (p=0.013). Distribution of PTHrP concentrations in serum was associated with age (p=0.0068) and the concentrations were higher in women. In samples with serum calcium concentrations within the reference intervals (n=118), central 95% distribution of concentrations for Ca-CSF, PTHrP-serum and PTHrP-CSF were 5.4 (4.5-6.1) mg/dL, 1.2 (0.5-2.5) pmol/L, 62 (22-125) pmol/L, respectively. Our data demonstrate that PTHrP is a normal constituent of human CSF with median concentrations 51 fold higher than in serum. Elevated serum PTHrP concentrations were positively correlated with age and significantly higher in women. Our data suggest that CSF could be a significant source of circulating PTHrP. Copyright © 2017 The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Serum ferritin, serum nitric oxide, and cognitive function in pediatric thalassemia major

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Septiana Nur Qurbani

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Background Hemolysis and repeated blood transfusions in children with thalassemia major cause iron overload in various organs, including the brain, and may lead to neurodegeneration. Hemolysis also causes decreased levels of nitric oxide, which serves as a volume transmitter and slow dynamic modulation, leading to cognitive impairment. Objective To assess for correlations between serum ferritin as well as nitric oxide levels and cognitive function in children with thalassemia major.  Methods This analytical study with cross-sectional design on 40 hemosiderotic thalassemia major patients aged 6−14 years, was done at the Thalassemia Clinic in Dr. Hasan Sadikin Hospital, Bandung, West Java, from May to June 2015. Serum ferritin measurements were performed by an electrochemiluminescence immunoassay; serum nitric oxide was assayed by a colorimetric procedure based on Griess reaction; and cognitive function was assessed by the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children test. Statistical analysis was done using Spearman’s Rank correlation, with a significance value of 0.05. Results Abnormal values in verbal, performance, and full scale IQ were found in 35%, 57.5% and 57.5%, respectively. Serum nitric oxide level was significantly correlated with performance IQ (P=0.022, but not with verbal IQ (P=0.359 or full scale IQ (P=0.164. There were also no significant correlations between serum ferritin level and full scale, verbal, or performance IQ (P=0.377, 0.460, and 0.822, respectively. Conclusion Lower serum nitric oxide level is significantly correlated to lower cognitive function, specifically in the performance IQ category. However, serum ferritin level has no clear correlation with cognitive function.

  1. Salivary Creatinine Estimation as an Alternative to Serum Creatinine in Chronic Kidney Disease Patients

    OpenAIRE

    Venkatapathy, Ramesh; Govindarajan, Vasupradha; Oza, Nirima; Parameswaran, Sreejith; Pennagaram Dhanasekaran, Balamurali; Prashad, Karthikshree V.

    2014-01-01

    Context. Sampling blood for serum analysis is an invasive procedure. A noninvasive alternative would be beneficial to patients and health care professionals. Aim. To correlate serum and salivary creatinine levels and evaluate the role of saliva as a noninvasive alternative to serum for creatinine estimation in chronic kidney disease patients. Study Design. Case-control study. Methods. Blood and saliva samples were collected from 37 healthy individuals and 105 chronic kidney disease patients...

  2. Fetal Serum Metabolites Are Independently Associated with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yong-Ping Lu

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Background/Aims: Gestational diabetes (GDM might be associated with alterations in the metabolomic profile of affected mothers and their offspring. Until now, there is a paucity of studies that investigated both, the maternal and the fetal serum metabolome in the setting of GDM. Mounting evidence suggests that the fetus is not just passively affected by gestational disease but might play an active role in it. Metabolomic studies performed in maternal blood and fetal cord blood could help to better discern distinct fetal from maternal disease interactions. Methods: At the time of birth, serum samples from mothers and newborns (cord blood samples were collected and screened for 163 metabolites utilizing tandem mass spectrometry. The cohort consisted of 412 mother/child pairs, including 31 cases of maternal GDM. Results: An initial non-adjusted analysis showed that eight metabolites in the maternal blood and 54 metabolites in the cord blood were associated with GDM. After Benjamini-Hochberg (BH procedure and adjustment for confounding factors for GDM, fetal phosphatidylcholine acyl-alkyl C 32: 1 and proline still showed an independent association with GDM. Conclusions: This study found metabolites in cord blood which were associated with GDM, even after adjustment for established risk factors of GDM. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study demonstrating an independent association between fetal serum metabolites and maternal GDM. Our findings might suggest a potential effect of the fetal metabolome on maternal GDM.

  3. MINERAL COMPONENTS OF BLOOD SERUM AND QUALITY PARAMETERS OF MILK AND CHEESE OF SHEEP

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amina Hrković-Porobija

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Plan of research included two Pramenka sheep-breeding family farms producing Livno and Travnik cheese in the traditional ways. The experiment included 117 animals of the Pramenka strain. The serum concentrations of the minerals (calcium, phosphorus and magnesium were followed over time. Based on the physical-chemical analysis of the sheep milk, we evaluated the milk parameters (milk fat, protein and lactose and cheese parameters (dry matter, moisture, grease and pH that can be indicative of the cheese milk quality. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of the serum minerals to the sheep milk quality, and the Livno and Travnik cheese quality, being the final products. Blood, milk and cheese samples were taken in the summer during the summer grazing of sheep. The results were analyzed using the software package/Program SPSS 15.00. Differences were considered statistically significant at p <0.05. Influence of serum minerals on the quality of milk and cheese was determined by calculating the correlation factor.Analysis of mineral blood components and basic milkand cheese parameters showed variations, wich may be acceptable considering the influence of lactation, climate and botanic quality.Keywords: sheep, mineral components of serum, milk, cheese, correlation

  4. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and radioimmunoassay of serum pepsinogen A

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pals, G; Meuwissen, S G.M.; Frants, R R; Kostense, P J; Eriksson, A W; Raesaenen, V

    1987-02-01

    The determination of serum pepsinogen A (=pepsinogen I) levels is of clinical importance in the study of duodenal ulcer, atrophic gastritis and gastric cancer. In the present study two different quantitative immunological techniques for serum pepsinogen A were compared: a radioimmunoassay (RIA) (Helsinki) and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (Amsterdam). Serum samples of 177 subjects with various gastric diseases were tested in a double blind study. The correlation was excellent (r=0.954 in the range 0-760 ..mu..g/l and r=0.971 in the range 0-100 ..mu..g/l). The functional relationship between ELISA (x) and RIA (y), determined by weighted model II regression, was y=1.12x-0.54. Initially the use of goat anti-PGA in the ELISA resulted in falsely high values in about 10% of the individuals. This was caused by circulating antibodies cross-reacting with goat IgG. This artefact was eliminated by pre-incubation of all samples with non-immune goat serum.

  5. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and radioimmunoassay of serum pepsinogen A

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pals, Gerard; Meuwissen, S.G.M.; Frants, R.R.; Kostense, P.J.; Eriksson, A.W.; Raesaenen, Vesa

    1987-01-01

    The determination of serum pepsinogen A (=pepsinogen I) levels is of clinical importance in the study of duodenal ulcer, atrophic gastritis and gastric cancer. In the present study two different quantitative immunological techniques for serum pepsinogen A were compared: a radioimmunoassay (RIA) (Helsinki) and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (Amsterdam). Serum samples of 177 subjects with various gastric diseases were tested in a double blind study. The correlation was excellent (r=0.954 in the range 0-760 μg/l and r=0.971 in the range 0-100 μg/l). The functional relationship between ELISA (x) and RIA (y), determined by weighted model II regression, was y=1.12x-0.54. Initially the use of goat anti-PGA in the ELISA resulted in falsely high values in about 10% of the individuals. This was caused by circulating antibodies cross-reacting with goat IgG. This artefact was eliminated by pre-incubation of all samples with non-immune goat serum. (author)

  6. Xeno-oestrogenic activity in serum as marker of occupational pesticide exposure

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Helle Raun; Nielsen, Flemming; Nielsen, Jesper Bo

    2007-01-01

    -oestrogenic activity in serum was statistically significant for women who had been at work within the last week, while no association was observed for women who had not been at work during the most recent week. Conclusions: The study illustrates the usefulness of this biomarker for qualitative assessment...... with oestrogen-like properties in an occupational setting. Methods: Serum samples were obtained from two separate cohorts representing non-pregnant and pregnant female greenhouse workers in Denmark. Serum samples from 270 non-pregnant women and 173 pregnant women were analysed for xeno-oestrogenic activity......, medium or high based on information collected by detailed interviews of the women and the employers. Results: In both cohorts, an exposure-associated increase in the xeno-oestrogenic activity in serum was demonstrated. Among the pregnant women, the association between pesticide exposure and xeno...

  7. Investigation and management of a raised serum ferritin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cullis, Jonathan O; Fitzsimons, Edward J; Griffiths, William Jh; Tsochatzis, Emmanouil; Thomas, D Wayne

    2018-05-01

    Serum ferritin level is one of the most commonly requested investigations in both primary and secondary care. Whilst low serum ferritin levels invariably indicate reduced iron stores, raised serum ferritin levels can be due to multiple different aetiologies, including iron overload, inflammation, liver or renal disease, malignancy, and the recently described metabolic syndrome. A key test in the further investigation of an unexpected raised serum ferritin is the serum transferrin saturation. This guideline reviews the investigation and management of a raised serum ferritin level. The investigation and management of genetic haemochromatosis is not dealt with however and is the subject of a separate guideline. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  8. Serum biotin in Japanese children: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay measurement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wakabayashi, Kenji; Kodama, Hiroko; Ogawa, Eishin; Sato, Yasuhiro; Motoyama, Kahoko; Suzuki, Mitsuyoshi

    2016-09-01

    Biotin deficiency has been reported in Japanese infants fed special formulas for medical reasons, including those with milk allergy and congenital metabolic diseases, because these formulas contain little biotin. Serum biotin measurement is useful for diagnosing biotin deficiency. We applied a simple and rapid method to analyze serum biotin, and established normal ranges for children and adults. Serum biotin in 188 healthy Japanese children aged 0-4 years and in 25 healthy adults was analyzed using a Biotin ELISA Kit (immundiagnostik). The effects of various conditions on the measurement of serum biotin were also examined. Median biotin in children aged 0-4 years was 10.4 ng/dL (IQR, 7.9-13.4 ng/dL), and that in adults was 12.9 ng/dL (IQR, 10.8-15.8 ng/dL). Normal range was 4.7-22.0 ng/dL in children and 8.4-20.5 ng/dL in adults (calculated using two-sided 95%CI). Measurements obtained with this method were not affected by frozen storage, freeze-thaw, or hemolysis, indicating that serum biotin can be analyzed accurately under these conditions, with a possible application to plasma samples. Serum biotin was significantly lower in children than in adults, with the normal range being 4.7-22.0 ng/dL in children and 8.4-20.5 ng/dL in adults. This simple and accurate enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method is useful for diagnosing biotin deficiency. © 2016 The Authors. Pediatrics International published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Japan Pediatric Society.

  9. Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Concentrations and Depressive Symptoms among Young Adult Men and Women

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria A. Polak

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available There has been an increased interest in the role of vitamin D in depression; however, there have been few studies conducted in younger population groups. Our aim was to investigate the association between vitamin D status and depressive symptoms in a non-clinical young adult sample living in Dunedin, New Zealand. A cross-sectional sample of 615 young adults completed a questionnaire including demographics and the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D. Height, weight and a blood sample for 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OHD] was obtained. Serum 25(OHD was used to predict depression scores, adjusting for potential confounders including time spent outdoors for 13 consecutive days, BMI, age, sex and ethnicity. Prevalence of low vitamin D was high even in this age group, and serum 25(OHD was negatively associated with depression symptoms before and after adjustment. When investigating the relationship between the presence versus absence of depressive symptoms and quartiles of 25(OHD, participants in the lowest quartile were more likely to report depressive symptoms compared with those in the highest quartile. Although our findings suggest that vitamin D is a predictor of depression symptomatology, even when controlling for time spent outdoors, a randomised controlled trial in this young adult target group is needed to confirm the association.

  10. Alterations of serum cholesterol and serum lipoprotein in breast cancer of women

    OpenAIRE

    Hasija, Kiran; Bagga, Hardeep K.

    2005-01-01

    Fasting blood sample of 50 normal subjects (control) and 100 patients of breast cancer were investigated for serum total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, very low density lipoprotein, high density lipoprotein cholesterol:low density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio and total cholesterol:high density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio during breast cancer of women. Five cancer stages, types, age groups, parity and menopausal status were undertaken...

  11. Plasma Homocysteine, Serum Folic Acid, Serum Vitamin B12, Serum Vitamin B6, MTHFR, and Risk of Normal-Tension Glaucoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jinmiao; Xu, Fan; Zeng, Rui; Gong, Haijun; Lan, Yuqing

    2016-02-01

    This meta-analysis aims to comprehensively evaluate the association between total homocysteine (tHcy) levels, serum folic acid, vitamin B12, vitamin B6 levels, methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T genotype, and risk of normal-tension glaucoma (NTG). A systematic search of the EMBASE and PubMed databases was performed to evaluate plasma tHcy levels, serum folic acid, B vitamins' mean difference, and odds ratios of MTHFR C677T genotype between cases and controls. A total of 7 studies including 458 cases and 555 controls meeting the inclusion criteria were involved in this meta-analysis. There were 4 studies for tHcy (149 cases and 148 controls), 2 studies for vitamin B6, vitamin B12, and folate (90 cases and 82 controls), and 4 studies for MTHFR (343 cases and 449 controls). Overall, the mean plasma tHcy levels, serum folic acids, vitamin B12, and vitamin B6 levels were 1.16 μmol/L [95% confidence interval (CI), -0.13, 2.45], -0.62 μmol/L (95% CI, -1.98, 0.74), 5.81 μmol/L (95% CI, -3.53, 15.14), and -16.79 μmol/L (95% CI, -86.09, 52.51). MTHFR TT genotype was found to be unrelated to NTG risk (odds ratio=1.08; 95% CI, 0.69, 1.69). NTG is not associated with elevated plasma tHcy, serum folic acid, serum vitamin B12, serum vitamin B6, and MTHFR C677T genotype.

  12. [Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatograph--application to serum aluminium monitoring].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoshino, H; Kaneko, E

    1996-01-01

    High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) with the reversed-phase partition mode separation (including ion-pair one) towards metal chelate compounds prepared in an off-line fashion (precolumn chelation) is most versatile in terms of high sensitivity with base-line flatness, unique selectivity and cost effectiveness. The extraordinary toughness to the complicated matrices encountered in clinical testing is exemplified by the successful application to the aluminium monitoring of human serum samples. The A1 chelate with 2,2'-dihydroxyazobenzene is efficiently chromatographed on a LiChroCART RP-18 column using an aqueous methanol eluent (63.6 wt%) containing tetrabutylammonium bromide as an ion-pair agent. The serum concentration level of A1 down to 6 micrograms dm-3 is readily monitored without influences from iron, chyle and haemolysis.

  13. A Routine 'Top-Down' Approach to Analysis of the Human Serum Proteome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Silva, Arlene M; Hyett, Jon A; Coorssen, Jens R

    2017-06-06

    Serum provides a rich source of potential biomarker proteoforms. One of the major obstacles in analysing serum proteomes is detecting lower abundance proteins owing to the presence of hyper-abundant species (e.g., serum albumin and immunoglobulins). Although depletion methods have been used to address this, these can lead to the concomitant removal of non-targeted protein species, and thus raise issues of specificity, reproducibility, and the capacity for meaningful quantitative analyses. Altering the native stoichiometry of the proteome components may thus yield a more complex series of issues than dealing directly with the inherent complexity of the sample. Hence, here we targeted method refinements so as to ensure optimum resolution of serum proteomes via a top down two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DE) approach that enables the routine assessment of proteoforms and is fully compatible with subsequent mass spectrometric analyses. Testing included various fractionation and non-fractionation approaches. The data show that resolving 500 µg protein on 17 cm 3-10 non-linear immobilised pH gradient strips in the first dimension followed by second dimension resolution on 7-20% gradient gels with a combination of lithium dodecyl sulfate (LDS) and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) detergents markedly improves the resolution and detection of proteoforms in serum. In addition, well established third dimension electrophoretic separations in combination with deep imaging further contributed to the best available resolution, detection, and thus quantitative top-down analysis of serum proteomes.

  14. An analysis of the relationship between serum cortisol and serum sodium in routine clinical patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eleanor McLaughlan

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: Adrenal insufficiency is an uncommon cause of hyponatraemia that should not be overlooked due to the severe consequences of an Addisonian crisis. Using the laboratory database of a large teaching hospital, we have explored the relationship between serum sodium and serum cortisol, and have estimated the frequency of hypoadrenalism in severely hyponatraemic patients. Design and methods: Data were gathered over a 23 month period from the Laboratory Information Management System at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust for instances where serum sodium and cortisol had been measured on a single sample. Data were also gathered over the same time period for all patients with severe hyponatraemia (serum sodium ≤120 mmol/L in order to determine the frequency of cortisol requesting and the incidence of adrenal insufficiency. Results: Analysis of the data (n=3268 patients revealed a trend showing higher cortisol concentrations in patients who were severely hypo- or hypernatraemic. The median cortisol concentration for patients with sodium ≤110 mmol/L was 856 nmol/L, and there was a gradual decrease in cortisol over the sodium range ≤110–150 mmol/L (Rs =−0.323, p<0.0001. Patients with sodium ≥151 mmol/L had a median cortisol of 725 nmol/L. 42% of the 978 patients with serum sodium ≤120 mmol/L had serum cortisol measured within two weeks, of whom 1.7% were diagnosed with adrenal insufficiency. Conclusions: This dataset shows rising cortisol in response to hypo- or hypernatraemia, in keeping with the stress response to illness. The data show that adrenal insufficiency is a rare cause of hyponatraemia which may be overlooked. Keywords: Serum, Sodium, Cortisol, Adrenal insufficiency

  15. Precise determination of sodium in serum by simulated isotope dilution method of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yan Ying; Zhang Chuanbao; Zhao Haijian; Chen Wenxiang; Shen Ziyu; Wang Xiaoru; Chen Dengyun

    2007-01-01

    A new precise and accurate method for the determination of sodium in serum by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was developed. Since 23 Na is the single isotope element, 27 Al is selected as simulated isotope of Na. Al is spiked into serum samples and Na standard solution. 23 Na/ 27 Al ratio in the Na standard solution is determined to assume the natural Na isotope ratio. The serums samples are digested by purified HNO 3 /H 2 O 2 and diluted to get about 0.6 μg·g -1 Al solutions, and the 23 Na/ 27 Al ratios of the serum samples are obtained to calculate the accurate Na concentrations basing on the isotope dilution method. When the simulated isotope dilution method of ICP-MS is applied and Al is selected as the simulated isotope of Na, the precise and accurate Na concentrations in the serums are determined. The inter-day precision of CV<0.13% for one same serum sample is obtained during 3 days 4 measurements. The spike recoveries are between 99.69% and 100.60% for 4 different serum samples and 3 days multi-measurements. The results of measuring standard reference materials of serum sodium are agree with the certified value. The relative difference between 3 days is 0.22%-0.65%, and the relative difference in one bottle is 0.15%-0.44%. The ICP-MS and Al simulated isotope dilution method is proved to be not only precise and accurate, but also quick and convenient for measuring Na in serum. It is promising to be a reference method for precise determination of Na in serum. Since Al is a low cost isotope dilution reagent, the method is possible to be widely applied for serum Na determination. (authors)

  16. Serum Metabonomics of Mild Acute Pancreatitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Hongmin; Zhang, Lei; Kang, Huan; Zhang, Jiandong; Liu, Jie; Liu, Shuye

    2016-11-01

    Mild acute pancreatitis (MAP) is a common acute abdominal disease, and exhibits rising incidence in recent decades. As an important component of systemic biology, metabonomics is a new discipline developed following genomics and proteomics. In this study, the objective was to analyze the serum metabonomics of patients with MAP, aiming to screen metabolic markers with potential diagnostic values. An analysis platform with ultra performance liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry was used to screen the difference metabolites related to MAP diagnosis and disease course monitoring. A total of 432 endogenous metabolites were screened out from 122 serum samples, and 49 difference metabolites were verified, among which 12 difference metabolites were identified by nonparametric test. After material identification, eight metabolites exhibited reliable results, and their levels in MAP serum were higher than those in healthy serum. Four metabolites exhibited gradual downward trend with treatment process going on, and the differences were statistically significant (P Metabonomic analysis has revealed eight metabolites with potential diagnostic values toward MAP, among which four metabolites can be used to monitor the disease course. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  17. Immunoreactive somatomedin A in human serum

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hall, K.; Brandt, J.; Enberg, G.; Fryklund, L.

    1979-01-01

    A RIA has been developed for somatomedin A (SM-A) utilizing Sepharose-bound antibodies. This assay, measuring SM-A, the insulin-like growth factors 1 and 2, and somatomedin C, allows determination in serum samples. In comparison with a serum standard, the mean serum levels in patients with acromegaly or GH deficiency and healthy subjects were 8.7 +- 0.7 (n=25), 0.24 +- 0.02 (n=25), and 1.15 +- 0.11 U/ml, respectively. The correlation coefficient between immunoreactive SM-A and SM-A by radioreceptor assay was highly significant (r=0.93), although the potency ratio of SM-A between the two groups of patients was higher in the RIA than in the radioreceptor assay. Gel chromatography revealed that SM-A in acromegalic serum is bound to a carrier protein which is absent in patients with GH deficiency. After gel chromatography at low pH, 90% of applied immunoreactive SM-A was recovered in the low molecular weight fraction and consisted mainly of neutral polypeptides

  18. Coxiella burnetii Circulation in a Naturally Infected Flock of Sheep: Individual Follow-Up of Antibodies in Serum and Milk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joulié, A; Rousset, E; Gasqui, P; Lepetitcolin, E; Leblond, A; Sidi-Boumedine, K; Jourdain, E

    2017-07-01

    The control of Q fever, a zoonotic disease caused by the Coxiella burnetii bacterium, remains a scientific challenge. Domestic ruminants are considered the main reservoir, shedding C. burnetii essentially through parturition products during abortion or birth. Sheep are particularly frequently associated with human outbreaks, but there are insufficient field data to fully understand disease dynamics and to instigate efficient control measures. A longitudinal follow-up study of a naturally infected sheep flock was performed (i) to investigate relationships between seropositivity and bacterial shedding in the vaginal mucus, (ii) to describe the kinetics of antibodies, including responses to vaccination, (iii) to monitor maternal antibodies in ewe lambs, and (iv) to compare serological results for milk and serum samples. For 8 months, we collected blood samples every 3 weeks from 11 aborting and 26 nonaborting dairy ewes, 20 nonaborting suckler ewes, and 9 ewe lambs. Individual milk samples were also obtained from lactating females. All serum and milk samples were tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), whereas vaginal swabs were tested by quantitative PCR. We found that some dairy females did not seroconvert despite shedding C. burnetii in their vaginal mucus. Overall, antibody levels in adult females were found to remain stable over time, with exceptions during the mating and lambing periods. Maternal antibodies decreased during the first month after birth. Interestingly, antibody levels in milk were correlated with those in serum. This study provides valuable field data that will help improve Q fever surveillance and within-flock management measures. IMPORTANCE Field data are necessary to improve the surveillance, diagnosis, and sanitary management of Q fever in livestock. Here, we provide extensive serological data obtained from serum and milk samples from infected and vaccinated ewes belonging to a naturally infected flock of sheep. We show that

  19. Increased serum cortisol binding in chronic active hepatitis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Orbach, O.; Schussler, G.C.

    1989-01-01

    A high serum cortisol concentration, apparently due to increased cortisol-binding globulin (CBG), was found in a patient (index case) with chronic active hepatitis (CAH). We therefore performed further studies to determine whether increased cortisol binding is generally associated with CAH. Serum samples were obtained from 15 hospitalized patients with long-term liver function test elevations but no evidence of cirrhosis, 15 normal subjects without a history of hepatitis, four healthy pregnant women, and 10 alcoholic patients with stigmata of cirrhosis. Serum cortisol binding was measured by an adaptation of a previously described charcoal uptake method. Thyroxine-binding globulin (TBG) and sex hormone-binding globulin were determined by radioimmunoassays. Charcoal uptake of 125I cortisol from sera of normal subjects and additional patients with CAH revealed that increased serum cortisol binding by a saturable site, presumably CBG, was associated with CAH. Cortisol binding was significantly correlated with immunoassayable TBG, suggesting that in CAH, similar mechanisms may be responsible for increasing the serum concentrations of CBG and TBG

  20. Hydrolysis of pyrethroids by human and rat tissues: Examination of intestinal, liver and serum carboxylesterases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Crow, J. Allen; Borazjani, Abdolsamad; Potter, Philip M.; Ross, Matthew K.

    2007-01-01

    Hydrolytic metabolism of pyrethroid insecticides in humans is one of the major catabolic pathways that clear these compounds from the body. Rodent models are often used to determine the disposition and clearance rates of these esterified compounds. In this study the distribution and activities of esterases that catalyze pyrethroid metabolism have been investigated in vitro using several human and rat tissues, including small intestine, liver and serum. The major esterase in human intestine is carboxylesterase 2 (hCE2). We found that the pyrethroid trans-permethrin is effectively hydrolyzed by a sample of pooled human intestinal microsomes (5 individuals), while deltamethrin and bioresmethrin are not. This result correlates well with the substrate specificity of recombinant hCE2 enzyme. In contrast, a sample of pooled rat intestinal microsomes (5 animals) hydrolyze trans-permethrin 4.5-fold slower than the sample of human intestinal microsomes. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that pooled samples of cytosol from human or rat liver are ∼ 2-fold less hydrolytically active (normalized per mg protein) than the corresponding microsomal fraction toward pyrethroid substrates; however, the cytosolic fractions do have significant amounts (∼ 40%) of the total esteratic activity. Moreover, a 6-fold interindividual variation in carboxylesterase 1 protein expression in human hepatic cytosols was observed. Human serum was shown to lack pyrethroid hydrolytic activity, but rat serum has hydrolytic activity that is attributed to a single CE isozyme. We purified the serum CE enzyme to homogeneity to determine its contribution to pyrethroid metabolism in the rat. Both trans-permethrin and bioresmethrin were effectively cleaved by this serum CE, but deltamethrin, esfenvalerate, alpha-cypermethrin and cis-permethrin were slowly hydrolyzed. Lastly, two model lipase enzymes were examined for their ability to hydrolyze pyrethroids. However, no hydrolysis products could be detected

  1. Smart management of sample dilution using an artificial neural network to achieve streamlined processes and saving resources: the automated nephelometric testing of serum free light chain as case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ialongo, Cristiano; Pieri, Massimo; Bernardini, Sergio

    2017-02-01

    Saving resources is a paramount issue for the modern laboratory, and new trainable as well as smart technologies can be used to allow the automated instrumentation to manage samples more efficiently in order to achieve streamlined processes. In this regard the serum free light chain (sFLC) testing represents an interesting challenge, as it usually causes using a number of assays before achieving an acceptable result within the analytical range. An artificial neural network based on the multi-layer perceptron (MLP-ANN) was used to infer the starting dilution status of sFLC samples based on the information available through the laboratory information system (LIS). After the learning phase, the MLP-ANN simulation was applied to the nephelometric testing routinely performed in our laboratory on a BN ProSpec® System analyzer (Siemens Helathcare) using the N Latex FLC kit. The MLP-ANN reduced the serum kappa free light chain (κ-FLC) and serum lambda free light chain (λ-FLC) wasted tests by 69.4% and 70.8% with respect to the naïve stepwise dilution scheme used by the automated analyzer, and by 64.9% and 66.9% compared to a "rational" dilution scheme based on a 4-step dilution. Although it was restricted to follow-up samples, the MLP-ANN showed good predictive performance, which alongside the possibility to implement it in any automated system, made it a suitable solution for achieving streamlined laboratory processes and saving resources.

  2. Influenza A plasma and serum virus antibody detection comparison in dogs using blocking enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. T. Lin

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Background and Aim: The influenza A virus (IAV is an important zoonotic pathogen with infections also reported in dogs. IAV infections can be detected through the presence of antibodies using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA. Serum is the only standard sample source; however, there is no information on the availability of other sample sources for IAV antibody detection in dogs. Compared with serum, plasma is more widely employed in most animal hospitals. The object of this study is to investigate whether plasma collected in ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA tubes (EDTA plasma or heparin tubes (heparin plasma could be used in the ELISA protocol instead of serum for IAV antibody detection in dogs. Materials and Methods: Totally, 82 matched EDTA plasma and serum sample pairs and 79 matched heparin plasma and serum sample pairs were employed using blocking enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (bELISA. The agreement and correlation between the plasma (EDTA or heparin plasma and serum were assessed using the agreement index kappa (kD calculation and Pearson correlation coefficient, respectively. Results: The agreement index kD of EDTA plasma and serum was 1.0, and that of heparin plasma and serum was 0.85. The Pearson correlation coefficient of EDTA plasma and serum was 0.87 (p<0.01, and that of heparin plasma and serum was 0.82 (p<0.01. Conclusion: The results proved that plasma, especially EDTA plasma, could be substituted for serum in the bELISA test. This might greatly expand the clinical applicability of IAV antibody detection in dogs.

  3. Cathepsin X in serum from patients with colorectal cancer: relation to prognosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vizin, Tjasa; Christensen, Ib Jarle; Nielsen, Hans Jørgen; Kos, Janko

    2012-01-01

    Background Up-regulation of lysosomal cysteine protease cathepsin X (Cat X) is associated with disorders of the immune system and neurodegenerative diseases, while its role in the development and progression of cancer is less understood. Enhanced secretion of pro-Cat X was observed in malignant processes, and therefore, the level of total serum Cat X rather than the active enzyme may better reflect the tumour status. Patients and methods Seventy-seven patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) were included in a retrospective study. Blood samples were collected prior to therapy. Using ELISA, the values of total Cat X were measured in serum. Groups of healthy persons (n=77), patients with adenomas (n=77) and patients with non-neoplastic findings (n=77) were included. Results Significant differences between the group of colorectal patients and the groups of healthy persons, adenoma patients and patients with non-malignant findings could not be shown (p=0.89). Within the group of CRC, higher levels of total Cat X significantly correlated to shorter overall survival (HR=2.08, 95% CI:1.07–4.05, p=0.028). Conclusions Total serum Cat X could be a useful prognostic indicator for determining survival of patients with CRC. Increased serum levels of total Cat X may reflect more aggressive tumour cell phenotypes and suggest the involvement of Cat X in processes involved in later stages of tumour progression. PMID:23077459

  4. Efficient evaluation of humoral immune responses by the use of serum pools

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sternbæk, Louise; Draborg, Anette H.; Nielsen, Christoffer T.

    2017-01-01

    has considered using serum pools as a quick and efficient screening method to confirm or deny hypotheses. Methods We created serum pools from four different patient groups (systemic lupus erythematosus n = 85, rheumatoid arthritis n = 77, Sjögren's syndrome n = 91, systemic sclerosis n = 66) and one......Background Collection and testing of individual serum samples are often used in research to gain knowledge about e.g. the humoral response against bacteria or virus. This is a valid but time-consuming method and might be a waste of valuable serum samples for inefficient research. So far, no study...... healthy control group (n = 67). Each serum pool was analyzed using three well-known immunoassays: enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), line blot, and immunofluorescence microscopy (anti-nuclear antibody (ANA) screening). The presence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) EA/D-, EBNA-1-, VCA p23-, and gp350...

  5. Isotope-dilution TurboFlow-LC-MS/MS method for simultaneous quantification of ten steroid metabolites in serum

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Søeborg, Tue; Frederiksen, Hanne; Johannsen, Trine Holm

    2017-01-01

    ), and estrone 3-sulfate (E1-S) in serum was developed and validated. Limits of quantification, variability (inter- and intra-day), analytical range and linearity were all found to be acceptable for clinical use. Furthermore, sample stability was evaluated including the influence of freeze-thaw cycles...

  6. A competitive immunoassay for ultrasensitive detection of Hg{sup 2+} in water, human serum and urine samples using immunochromatographic test based on surface-enhanced Raman scattering

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    She, Pei; Chu, Yanxin [The Key Lab of Health Chemistry & Molecular Diagnosis of Suzhou, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering & Materials Science, Soochow University, Renai Road 199, Suzhou 215123 (China); Liu, Chunwei; Guo, Xun [OptoTrace (Suzhou) Technologies, Inc., STE 316, Building 4, No. 218, Xinghu Street, bioBAY, Suzhou Industrial Park, Suzhou 215123 (China); Zhao, Kang [The Key Lab of Health Chemistry & Molecular Diagnosis of Suzhou, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering & Materials Science, Soochow University, Renai Road 199, Suzhou 215123 (China); Li, Jianguo, E-mail: lijgsd@suda.edu.cn [The Key Lab of Health Chemistry & Molecular Diagnosis of Suzhou, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering & Materials Science, Soochow University, Renai Road 199, Suzhou 215123 (China); Du, Haijing; Zhang, Xiang [The Key Lab of Health Chemistry & Molecular Diagnosis of Suzhou, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering & Materials Science, Soochow University, Renai Road 199, Suzhou 215123 (China); Wang, Hong [OptoTrace (Suzhou) Technologies, Inc., STE 316, Building 4, No. 218, Xinghu Street, bioBAY, Suzhou Industrial Park, Suzhou 215123 (China); Deng, Anping, E-mail: denganping@suda.edu.cn [The Key Lab of Health Chemistry & Molecular Diagnosis of Suzhou, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering & Materials Science, Soochow University, Renai Road 199, Suzhou 215123 (China)

    2016-02-04

    An immunochromatographic test (ICT) strip was developed for ultrasensitive competitive immunoassay of Hg{sup 2+}. This strategy was achieved by combining the easy-operation and rapidity of ICT with the high sensitivity of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). Monoclonal antibody (mAb) against Hg{sup 2+} and Raman active substance 4-mercaptobenzoic acid (MBA) dual labelled gold nanoparticles (GNPs) were prepared as an immunoprobe. The Raman scattering intensity of MBA on the test line of the ICT strip was measured for quantitative determination of Hg{sup 2+}. The ICT was able to directly detect Hg{sup 2+} without complexing due to the specific recognition of the mAb with Hg{sup 2+}. The IC{sub 50} and limit of detection (LOD) of the assay for Hg{sup 2+} detection were 0.12 ng mL{sup −1} and 0.45 pg mL{sup −1}, respectively. There was no cross-reactivity (CR) of the assay with other nineteen ions and the ICT strips could be kept for 5 weeks without loss of activity. The recoveries of the assay for water, human serum and urine samples spiked with Hg{sup 2+} were in range of 88.3–107.3% with the relative standard deviations (RSD) of 1.5–9.5% (n = 3). The proposed ICT was used for the detection of Hg{sup 2+} in urine samples collected from Occupational Disease Hospital and the results were confirmed by cold-vapor atomic fluorescence spectroscopy (CV-AFS). The assay exhibited high sensitivity, selectivity, stability, precision and accuracy, demonstrating a promising method for the detection of trace amount of Hg{sup 2+} in environmental water samples and biological serum and urine samples. - Highlights: • The proposed ICT was able to directly detect Hg{sup 2+} without formation of Hg{sup 2+}-ligand complex. • The proposed ICT exhibited high sensitivity, specificity, stability, precision and accuracy for Hg{sup 2+} detection. • The proposed ICT was applicable for the detection of trace amount of Hg{sup 2+} in water, human serum and urine samples.

  7. Serum protein fingerprint of patients with gastric cancer by SELDI ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    To study the serum protein fingerprint of patients with gastric cancer and to screen for protein molecules closely related to gastric cancer during the onset and progression of the disease using surface-enhanced laser desorption and ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF-MS). Serum samples from 80 gastric ...

  8. Elevated serum pesticide levels and risk for Alzheimer disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richardson, Jason R; Roy, Ananya; Shalat, Stuart L; von Stein, Richard T; Hossain, Muhammad M; Buckley, Brian; Gearing, Marla; Levey, Allan I; German, Dwight C

    2014-03-01

    The causes of late-onset Alzheimer disease (AD) are not yet understood but likely include a combination of genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors. Limited epidemiological studies suggest that occupational pesticide exposures are associated with AD. Previously, we reported that serum levels of dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE), the metabolite of the pesticide dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), were elevated in a small number of patients with AD (n=20). To evaluate the association between serum levels of DDE and AD and whether the apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype modifies the association. A case-control study consisting of existing samples from patients with AD and control participants from the Emory University Alzheimer's Disease Research Center and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School's Alzheimer's Disease Center. Serum levels of DDE were measured in 79 control and 86 AD cases. Serum DDE levels, AD diagnosis, severity of AD measured by the Mini-Mental State Examination score, and interaction with APOE4 status. Levels of DDE were 3.8-fold higher in the serum of those with AD (mean [SEM], 2.64 [0.35] ng/mg cholesterol) when compared with control participants (mean [SEM], 0.69 [0.1] ng/mg cholesterol; P risk for AD (95% CI, 2.54-5.82; P risk for AD and carriers of an APOE4 ε4 allele may be more susceptible to the effects of DDE. Both DDT and DDE increase amyloid precursor protein levels, providing mechanistic plausibility for the association of DDE exposure with AD. Identifying people who have elevated levels of DDE and carry an APOE ε4 allele may lead to early identification of some cases of AD.

  9. Serum Metabolite Biomarkers Discriminate Healthy Smokers from COPD Smokers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Qiuying; Deeb, Ruba S.; Ma, Yuliang; Staudt, Michelle R.; Crystal, Ronald G.; Gross, Steven S.

    2015-01-01

    COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) is defined by a fixed expiratory airflow obstruction associated with disordered airways and alveolar destruction. COPD is caused by cigarette smoking and is the third greatest cause of mortality in the US. Forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) is the only validated clinical marker of COPD, but it correlates poorly with clinical features and is not sensitive enough to predict the early onset of disease. Using LC/MS global untargeted metabolite profiling of serum samples from a well-defined cohort of healthy smokers (n = 37), COPD smokers (n = 41) and non-smokers (n = 37), we sought to discover serum metabolic markers with known and/or unknown molecular identities that are associated with early-onset COPD. A total of 1,181 distinct molecular ions were detected in 95% of sera from all study subjects and 23 were found to be differentially-expressed in COPD-smokers vs. healthy-smokers. These 23 putative biomarkers were differentially-correlated with lung function parameters and used to generate a COPD prediction model possessing 87.8% sensitivity and 86.5% specificity. In an independent validation set, this model correctly predicted COPD in 8/10 individuals. These serum biomarkers included myoinositol, glycerophopshoinositol, fumarate, cysteinesulfonic acid, a modified version of fibrinogen peptide B (mFBP), and three doubly-charged peptides with undefined sequence that significantly and positively correlate with mFBP levels. Together, elevated levels of serum mFBP and additional disease-associated biomarkers point to a role for chronic inflammation, thrombosis, and oxidative stress in remodeling of the COPD airways. Serum metabolite biomarkers offer a promising and accessible window for recognition of early-stage COPD. PMID:26674646

  10. Detection of Serum IgG4 Levels in Patients with IgG4-Related Disease and Other Disorders

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Chenqiong; Wu, Xuefen; Miao, Ye; Xiong, Hui; Bai, Lin; Dong, Lingli

    2015-01-01

    Objective Elevated serum IgG4 levels are an important hallmark for diagnosing IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD), but can also be observed in other diseases. This study aimed to compare two different testing methods for IgG4: ELISA and nephelometric assay. Both assays were used to measure serum IgG4 concentrations, and to assess the prevalence of high serum IgG4 levels in both IgG4-RD and non-IgG4-RD diseases. Methods A total of 80 serum samples were tested using the nephelometric assay and ELISA method that we established. Serum IgG4 concentrations were determined by ELISA for 957 patients with distinct diseases, including 12 cases of IgG4-RD and 945 cases of non-IgG4-RD. Results IgG4 levels from 80 selected serum samples examined by ELISA were in agreement with those detected using the nephelometry assay. Meanwhile, the serum IgG4 concentrations measured by ELISA were also consistent with the clinical diagnoses of patients with IgG4-RD during the course of disease. The Elevated levels of serum IgG4 (>1.35 g/L) were detected in all IgG4-RD (12/12) patients, and the prevalence of high IgG4 serum levels was 3.39% in non-IgG4-RD cases. Among them, the positive rates of serum IgG4 were 2.06% in patients with carcinoma and 6.3% in patients with other non-IgG4 autoimmune diseases. Conclusion Our established ELISA method is a reliable and convenient technique, which could be extensively used in the clinic to measure serum IgG4 levels. High levels of IgG4 were observed in IgG4-RD. However, this phenomenon could also be observed in other diseases, such as carcinomas and other autoimmune diseases. Thus, a diagnosis of IgG4 disease cannot only be dependent on the detection of elevated serum IgG4 levels. PMID:25885536

  11. Serum Uric Acid as a Predictor of Perinatal Outcome in Women with Pre-Eclampsia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jwan Muhammad Zangana

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Background and objectives: Pre-eclampsia is one of the medical complication of pregnancy and contributes significantly to maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. Hyperuricemia is often associated with preeclampsia. The objective of this study was to assess serum uric acid in group of women with pre-eclampsia and to evaluate its diagnostic effect on perinatal outcome. Patients and methods: This is a hospital-based cross-sectional study conducted in Maternity Teaching Hospital in Erbil city, Iraq. Convenient sample size of 200 participants preeclamptic pregnant women with ≥ 34 weeks of gestation in different level of hypertension were included. After getting informed consent from participant who were diagnosed with pre-eclampsia (hypertension and proteinuria, all sociodemographic information was collected from 1st June 2017 to 19th January 2018. Blood samples were obtained to assess serum uric acid besides other investigation routinely done and fetal outcome (birth weight, gestational age, intrauterine death, Apgar score, admission to neonatal care unit, intrauterine growth restriction and early neonatal death was evaluated. Results: Serum uric acid was ≥ 6 mg/dL in 127 (63.5% among all pre-eclamptic women. There was positive significant association between means of serum uric acid at different levels of hypertension with p=0.000 in ANOVA and x2 test. This study revealed significant association between increased level of serum uric acid and bad fetal outcome (birth weight, gestational age, intrauterine death, Apgar score, admission to neonatal care unit, intrauterine growth restriction and early neonatal death and Apgar score in 1st minute. Conclusion: This study revealed significant raised level of serum uric acid among pre-eclamptic women and significant effect on fetal outcome and perinatal morbidity and mortality.

  12. Assessment of xenoestrogenic exposure by a biomarker approach: application of the E-Screen bioassay to determine estrogenic response of serum extracts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Weihe Pal

    2003-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Epidemiological documentation of endocrine disruption is complicated by imprecise exposure assessment, especially when exposures are mixed. Even if the estrogenic activity of all compounds were known, the combined effect of possible additive and/or inhibiting interaction of xenoestrogens in a biological sample may be difficult to predict from chemical analysis of single compounds alone. Thus, analysis of mixtures allows evaluation of combined effects of chemicals each present at low concentrations. Methods We have developed an optimized in vitro E-Screen test to assess the combined functional estrogenic response of human serum. The xenoestrogens in serum were separated from endogenous steroids and pharmaceuticals by solid-phase extraction followed by fractionation by high-performance liquid chromatography. After dissolution of the isolated fraction in ethanol-DMSO, the reconstituted extract was added with estrogen-depleted fetal calf serum to MCF-7 cells, the growth of which is stimulated by estrogen. After a 6-day incubation on a microwell plate, cell proliferation was assessed and compared with the effect of a 17-beta-estradiol standard. Results and conclusions To determine the applicability of this approach, we assessed the estrogenicity of serum samples from 30 pregnant and 60 non-pregnant Danish women thought to be exposed only to low levels of endocrine disruptors. We also studied 211 serum samples from pregnant Faroese women, whose marine diet included whale blubber that contain a high concentration of persistent halogenated pollutants. The estrogenicity of the serum from Danish controls exceeded the background in 22.7 % of the cases, while the same was true for 68.1 % of the Faroese samples. The increased estrogenicity response did not correlate with the lipid-based concentrations of individual suspected endocrine disruptors in the Faroese samples. When added along with the estradiol standard, an indication of an

  13. Helicobacter pylori infection and serum ferritin

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Berg, Gabriele; Bode, G; Blettner, M

    2001-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: Helicobacter pylori may possibly affect the iron metabolism by occult bleeding, impaired absorption of non-hem iron, and by scavenging hem iron or ferritin, as some studies have suggested. The aim of this study was to analyze the association between H. pylori infection and serum ferritin...... in 1987/1988. The examination included a detailed questionnaire on medical history and lifestyle factors, a 7-day food record, and blood samples. Infection with H. pylori was measured serologically by ELISA and Westernblot. RESULTS: In total, 39.2% of 1806 persons aged 18 to 89 yr included in the study...... were H. pylori positive, of whom 57.6% had an infection with a CagA-positive H. pylori strain. Age- and sex-adjusted geometric mean of ferritin was 54.5 microg/dl among H. pylori-infected compared with 63.8 microg/dl among uninfected persons. A multiple linear regression model with log...

  14. Excited state interaction between Hydrochlorothiazide and europium ion in PMMA polymer and its application as optical sensor for Hydrochlorothiazide in tablet and serum samples

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Attia, M.S., E-mail: Mohamed_sam@yahoo.com [Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Abbassia, Cairo (Egypt); Othman, A.M. [Environmental Biotechnology, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Institute, Menofiea University (Egypt); Youssef, A.O. [Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Abbassia, Cairo (Egypt); El-Raghi, E. [Environmental Biotechnology, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Institute, Menofiea University (Egypt)

    2012-08-15

    This paper reports on a facile technique combined with a simple, sensitive and selective spectrofluorimetric method for the determination of hydrochlorothiazide. In methanol, at pH 8.3 and {lambda}{sub ex}=340, hydrochlorothiazide can remarkably enhance the luminescence intensity of the Eu{sup 3+} ion doped in polymethylmethacrylate polymer (PMMA) matrix. This could be due to the energy transfer from hydrochlorothiazide to Eu{sup 3+} in the excited stated. At the optimized experimental conditions, the enhancement of the characteristic emission band (617 nm) of Eu{sup 3+} ion doped PMMA is directly proportional to the concentration of hydrochlorothiazide with a dynamic range of 5 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -8}-1.0 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -5} mol L{sup -1} and detection limit of 8.0 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -9} mol L{sup -1}. Application of the suggested method was successfully applied to the determination of hydrochlorothiazide in pharmaceutical preparations and human serum samples, with high percentage of recovery, good accuracy and precision. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer HCT was determined by europium sensitized by HCT in PMMA polymer. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Band at 617 nm of Eu{sup 3+} ion ({sup 5}D{sub 0}{yields}{sup 7}F{sub 2}) is sensitive to HCT concentration. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Recovery and R.S.D for tablets serum samples in proposed method were calculated. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Method is verified for HCT determination in real samples with no interferences.

  15. An analysis on the roles of angiogenesis-related factors including serum vitamin D, soluble endoglin (sEng), soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt1), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the diagnosis and severity of late-onset preeclampsia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cim, Numan; Kurdoglu, Mertihan; Ege, Serhat; Yoruk, Ibrahim; Yaman, Gorkem; Yildizhan, Recep

    2017-07-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the roles of proangiogenic factors including serum vitamin D and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and anti-angiogenic factors including soluble endoglin (sEng) and soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt1) in the diagnosis and severity of late-onset preeclampsia. The study was conducted at Yuzuncu Yil University Research and Education Hospital Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics. The study included a patient group of 40 women with late-onset preeclampsia who were pregnant at ≥32 weeks of gestation according to the last menstrual period (LMP) or ultrasonographic fetal biometric measurement and a control group of 40 healthy pregnant women who presented to our clinic for routine pregnancy examination and were at the same age and gestational period with those in the patient group. The two groups were compared in terms of maternal age, gravida, parity, week of gestation, systolic/diastolic blood pressure, total protein in spot urine sample, 24-h urine protein, white blood cell (WBC), hemoglobin (Hgb), platelet count, urea, creatinine, liver function tests (AST, ALT, LDH), vitamin D 3 , 25(OH) vitamin D 3 , 1,25(OH) vitamin D 3 , sEng, sFlt1, and VEGF levels, mode of delivery, the infant APGAR score at 1 and 5 min after delivery, and infant weight at delivery. The groups were similar in terms of age, gravida, parity, week of gestation, serum vitamin D 3 , 25(OH) vitamin D 3 , 1,25(OH) 2 vitamin D 3 and VEGF levels, and infant weight at delivery (p > 0.05). Systolic/diastolic blood pressure, total protein in spot urine sample, 24-h urine protein, WBC, Hgb, serum urea, creatine, AST, ALT, and LDH were significantly higher in the preeclamptic group compared to the healthy group (p preeclampsia compared to the women with mild preeclampsia (p preeclampsia (p > 0.05). Both sEng and sFlt1 levels are remarkably high in patients with late-onset preeclampsia; however, only sEng may be a useful tool in the

  16. Levels of the natural hormones 17β-oestradiol and testosterone in serum of cattle: results from population studies in Poland

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Woźniak Barbara

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: The present study is a comprehensive overview of the natural occurrence of 17β-oestradiol and testosterone in serum of cattle in Poland. Material and Methods: The serum samples (n = 826 were collected from cattle within five years. The samples were examined for the presence of oestradiol and testosterone using ELISA or gas chromatography with mass spectrometry. Results: In 98 samples (24% 17β-oestradiol was detected above decision limits of applied methods, including five samples over the recommended concentration of 0.1 μg L-1. Of the serum samples taken from cows (≤18 months of age, 95 and 99 percentiles of the animals had 17β-oestradiol concentration below 0.027 and 0.086 μg L-1 and of samples from cows over 18 months of age - below 0.059 and 0.125 μg L-1 respectively. Calculated values for bulls (≤18 months of age were 0.025 and 0.034 μg L-1 and for the animals older than 18 months of age - 0.035 and 0.041 μg L-1. The natural presence of testosterone was detected in 201 serum samples (48.7%. According to the obtained data, 95% and 99% of cows (≤18 months of age serum samples had testosterone concentration below 0.05 and 0.23 μg L-1 and the animals over 18 months of age - 0.30 and 0.49 μg L-1, respectively. For bulls these values did not depend on the age of the animals and were in the ranges of 5 - 6.3 μg L-1 (95% and 11.4 - 12.1 μg L-1 (99%. Conclusion: Our study showed that the threshold values for these hormones in plasma of cattle designated years ago are correct, but they need to be supplemented for animals older than 18 months.

  17. Genotyping of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in DNA Isolated from Serum Using Sequenom MassARRAY Technology.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tess V Clendenen

    Full Text Available Large epidemiologic studies have the potential to make valuable contributions to the assessment of gene-environment interactions because they prospectively collected detailed exposure data. Some of these studies, however, have only serum or plasma samples as a low quantity source of DNA.We examined whether DNA isolated from serum can be used to reliably and accurately genotype single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs using Sequenom multiplex SNP genotyping technology. We genotyped 81 SNPs using samples from 158 participants in the NYU Women's Health Study. Each participant had DNA from serum and at least one paired DNA sample isolated from a high quality source of DNA, i.e. clots and/or cell precipitates, for comparison.We observed that 60 of the 81 SNPs (74% had high call frequencies (≥95% using DNA from serum, only slightly lower than the 85% of SNPs with high call frequencies in DNA from clots or cell precipitates. Of the 57 SNPs with high call frequencies for serum, clot, and cell precipitate DNA, 54 (95% had highly concordant (>98% genotype calls across all three sample types. High purity was not a critical factor to successful genotyping.Our results suggest that this multiplex SNP genotyping method can be used reliably on DNA from serum in large-scale epidemiologic studies.

  18. Automated measurement of serum thyroxine with the ''AIRA II,'' as compared with competitive protein binding and radioimmunoassay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reese, M.G.; Johnson, L.V.R.

    1978-01-01

    Two conventional serum thyroxine assays, run in separate laboratories, one by competitive protein binding and one by radioimmunoassay, were used to evaluate the automated ARIA II (Becton Dickinson Immunodiagnostics) serum thyroxine assay. Competitive protein binding as compared to ARIA II with 111 clinical serum samples gave a slope of 1.04 and a correlation coefficient of 0.94. The radioimmunoassay comparison to ARIA II with 53 clinical serum samples gave a slope of 1.05 and a correlation coefficient of 0.92. The ARIA II inter-assay coefficient of variation for 10 replicates of low, medium, and high thyroxine serum samples was 6.2, 6.0, and 2.9%, respectively, with an inter-assay coefficient of variation among 15 different assays of 15.5, 10.1, and 7.9%. The automated ARIA II, with a 2.2-min cycle per sample, gives results that compare well with those by manual methodology

  19. Systems analysis of singly and multiply O-glycosylated peptides in the human serum glycoproteome via EThcD and HCD mass spectrometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yong; Xie, Xinfang; Zhao, Xinyuan; Tian, Fang; Lv, Jicheng; Ying, Wantao; Qian, Xiaohong

    2018-01-06

    Human serum has been intensively studied to identify biomarkers via global proteomic analysis. The altered O-glycoproteome is associated with human pathological state including cancer, inflammatory and degenerative diseases and is an attractive source of disease biomarkers. Because of the microheterogeneity and macroheterogeneity of O-glycosylation, site-specific O-glycosylation analysis in human serum is still challenging. Here, we developed a systematic strategy that combined multiple enzyme digestion, multidimensional separation for sample preparation and high-resolution tandem MS with Byonic software for intact O-glycopeptide characterization. We demonstrated that multiple enzyme digestion or multidimensional separation can make sample preparation more efficient and that EThcD is not only suitable for the identification of singly O-glycosylated peptides (50.3%) but also doubly (21.2%) and triply (28.5%) O-glycosylated peptides. Totally, with the strict scoring criteria, 499 non-redundant intact O-glycopeptides, 173 O-glycosylation sites and 6 types of O-glycans originating from 49 O-glycoprotein groups were identified in human serum, including 121 novel O-glycosylation sites. Currently, this is the largest data set of site-specific native O-glycoproteome from human serum samples. We expect that the strategies developed by this study will facilitate in-depth analyses of native O-glycoproteomes in human serum and provide opportunities to understand the functional roles of protein O-glycosylation in human health and diseases. The altered O-glycoproteome is associated with human pathological state and is an attractive source of disease biomarkers. However, site-specific O-glycosylation analysis is challenging because of the microheterogeneity (different glycoforms attached to one glycosylation site) and macroheterogeneity (site occupancy) of O-glycosylation. In this work, we developed a systematic strategy for intact O-glycopeptide characterization. This study took

  20. Limitations in SELDI-TOF MS whole serum proteomic profiling with IMAC surface to specifically detect colorectal cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Qi; Gu, Jin; Shen, Jing; Li, Zhen-fu; Jie, Jian-zheng; Wang, Wen-yue; Wang, Jin; Zhang, Zhong-tao; Li, Zhi-xia; Yan, Li

    2009-01-01

    Surface enhanced laser desorption and ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF-MS) analysis on serum samples was reported to be able to detect colorectal cancer (CRC) from normal or control patients. We carried out a validation study of a SELDI-TOF MS approach with IMAC surface sample processing to identify CRC. A retrospective cohort of 338 serum samples including 154 CRCs, 67 control cancers and 117 non-cancerous conditions was profiled using SELDI-TOF-MS. No CRC 'specific' classifier was found. However, a classifier consisting of two protein peaks separates cancer from non-cancerous conditions with high accuracy. In this study, the SELDI-TOF-MS-based protein expression profiling approach did not perform to identify CRC. However, this technique is promising in distinguishing patients with cancer from a non-cancerous population; it may be useful for monitoring recurrence of CRC after treatment

  1. Selection Component Analysis of Natural Polymorphisms using Population Samples Including Mother-Offspring Combinations, II

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jarmer, Hanne Østergaard; Christiansen, Freddy Bugge

    1981-01-01

    Population samples including mother-offspring combinations provide information on the selection components: zygotic selection, sexual selection, gametic seletion and fecundity selection, on the mating pattern, and on the deviation from linkage equilibrium among the loci studied. The theory...

  2. Organohalogenated contaminants (OHCs) in the serum and hair of pet cats and dogs: Biosentinels of indoor pollution

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ali, Nadeem [Toxicological Centre, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk (Belgium); Malik, Riffat Naseem [Environmental Biology and Ecotoxicology Laboratory, Department of Environmental Sciences, Quiad-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320 (Pakistan); Mehdi, Toufeer [Institute of Microbiology, University of Agriculture Faisalabad (Pakistan); Eqani, Syed Ali Musstjab Akber Shah [Department of Bio Sciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad (Pakistan); Javeed, Aqeel [Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore (Pakistan); Neels, Hugo [Toxicological Centre, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk (Belgium); Covaci, Adrian, E-mail: adrian.covaci@ua.ac.be [Toxicological Centre, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk (Belgium)

    2013-04-01

    Concentrations of different classes of organohalogenated contaminants (OHCs) viz., polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), novel brominated flame retardants (NBFRs), bromophenols (BPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and their metabolites were determined in cat and dog serum and hair samples from Pakistan. The major DDT metabolite, p,p′-DDE, was the major OHC in cat serum (N = 20) and ranged between 1 and 2150 ng/g lipid weight (lw). p,p′-DDE was not detected in dog serum (N = 16). In contrary to other OHCs, levels of ∑HO-PCBs were significantly higher in dog serum (median = 6.0 ng/g lw) than cat serum (median = 2.2 ng/g lw). Levels of most OHCs were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in cat serum than those found in human serum from the same region, in particular for ∑PBDEs (ranged 1–1280 ng/g lw). Significantly lower levels of OCPs (p < 0.05) were detected in dog serum than in human serum. The concentrations of ∑BPs were seven times higher in cat serum (median 112 ng/g lw) than dog serum (median 16 ng/g lw). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that NBFRs, e.g. 1,2-bis(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy)ethane (BTBPE), decabromodiphenylethane (DBDPE), and bis(2-ethylhexyl)-3,4,5,6-tetrabromophthalate (TBPH), were detected in cat and dog's hair. BTBPE had the highest detection frequency (30%) in the serum samples. In cat and dog hair samples, the order of importance of OHCs was ∑OCPs > ∑NBFRs > ∑PBDEs > ∑PCB, with the highest concentrations being around 38 ng/g hair. In paired hair-serum cat samples (N = 12), ∑DDTs (r = 0.65, p = 0.001) were significantly correlated, while for all other OHCs no significant correlations (p < 0.001) were observed in both cats and dogs. Our findings on both hair and serum samples suggested that pet dogs do not bioaccumulate DDTs. Our results are also in agreement with the hypothesis that pets may serve as biosentinels for indoor pollution. This is the first study to

  3. Serum cation profile of broilers at various stages of exposure to deoxynivalenol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yunus, Agha Waqar; Böhm, Josef

    2013-05-01

    The present experiment was carried out to investigate if levels of serum cations in broilers are modulated differently at various stages of exposure to deoxynivalenol (DON). Male broiler chicks at 7 days of age were fed a basal diet (0.27 mg of DON; 0.01 mg of zearalenone/kg), or either a low DON diet (1.68 mg of DON; 0.15 mg of zearalenone/kg) or a high DON diet (12.21 mg of DON; 1.09 mg of zearalenone/kg) produced using extracts from Fusarium graminearum cultures. Blood samples from the birds were collected during weeks 2, 4, and 5 of exposure. The high DON diet resulted in lower serum calcium levels compared to the basal diet at all the 3 sampling stages, while the low DON diet resulted in lower serum calcium levels only during weeks 2 and 5. Serum potassium levels were reduced under both the DON diets during weeks 2 and 5, while no diet-associated changes were found for serum levels of magnesium, sodium, and zinc. Under the present experimental conditions, the serum levels of calcium were consistently modulated in the broilers exposed to the DON-contaminated diets. The modulation of serum levels of potassium was, however, dependent upon the stage of exposure to DON.

  4. [False positive serum des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin after resection of hepatocellular carcinoma].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hiramatsu, Kumiko; Tanaka, Yasuhito; Takagi, Kazumi; Iida, Takayasu; Takasaka, Yoshimitsu; Mizokami, Masashi

    2007-04-01

    Measurements of serum concentrations of des-gamma-carboxy-prothrombin (PIVKA-II) are widely used for diagnosing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Recently, when we evaluated the correlation of PIVKA-II between two commercially available PIVKA-II immunoassay kits (Lumipulse f vs. Picolumi) to introduce it in our hospital, false high values of PIVKA-II were observed in Lumipulse assay. Four(4%) of 100 serum samples showed false high values, and all of them were obtained from patients less than 2 month after curative resection of HCC. Examining additional 7 patients with HCC resection, serum samples from the 5 patients had the same trend. To elucidate the non-specific reaction by Lumipulse assay which utilized alkaline phosphatase (ALP) enzymatic reaction, inhibition assays by various absorbents such as inactive ALP and IgM antibodies were performed. Excess of inactive ALP reduced the high values of PIVKA-II. Note that anti-bleeding sheets (fibrinogen combined drug), which included bovine thrombin, were directly attached on liver of all patients with HCC resection in this study. As the sheets also contaminate ALP and probably produce IgM antibodies to ALP, the IgM may cross-react with anti-PIVKA-II antibodies directly. Taken together, it was suggested that produced antibodies against ALP derived from anti-bleeding sheets led false high values of PIVKA-II in the patients with HCC resection.

  5. Relationship between Serum Iron Profile and Blood Groups among the Voluntary Blood Donors of Bangladesh.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoque, M M; Adnan, S D; Karim, S; Al-Mamun, M A; Faruki, M A; Islam, K; Nandy, S

    2016-04-01

    Blood donation results in a substantial iron loss and subsequent mobilization from body stores. Chronic iron deficiency is a well-recognized complication of regular blood donation. The present study conducted to compare the level of serum ferritin, serum iron, total iron binding capacity (TIBC) and percentage transferrin saturation in different ABO and Rhesus type blood groups among the voluntary blood donors of Bangladesh. The present prospective study included 100 healthy voluntary donors attending at Department of Blood Transfusion, Dhaka Medical College, Dhaka between the periods of July 2013 to Jun 2014. From each donor 10mL venous blood sample was taken and divided into heparinized and non-heparinized tubes for determination of hemoglobin (Hb), hematocrit (Hct), serum iron (SI), total iron binding capacity (TIBC) and serum ferritin by standard laboratory methods. Percentage of transferrin saturation (TS) calculated from serum iron and TIBC. Data were analyzed with SPSS (version 16) software and comparisons between groups were made using student's t-test and one way ANOVA. In the present study mean±SD of age of the respondents was 27.2±6.5 years with a range of 18 to 49 years and 81.0% were male and 19.0% were female. Among the donors 18.0% had blood group A, 35.0% had blood group B, 14.0% had blood group AB and 33.0% had blood group O. Among the donors 91.0% had rhesus positive and 9.0% had rhesus negative. Donors with blood group O had lowest haemoglobin, serum iron and transferring saturation levels. Donors with blood group A had highest TIBC level. Donors with blood group B had lowest serum ferritin level. An independent samples 't' test showed statistically significant difference in serum ferritin and percentage transferrin saturation between blood group AB and blood group O and in percentage transferrin saturation between blood group B and blood group O. One way ANOVA showed that there is no significant difference in haemoglobin, serum iron, serum

  6. A New Serum Biomarker for Lung Cancer - Transthyretin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liyun LIU

    2009-04-01

    Full Text Available Background and objective Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide and very few specific biomarkers could be used in clinical diagnosis at present. The aim of this study is to find novel potential serum biomarkers for lung cancer using Surface Enhanced Laser Desorption/Ionization (SELDI technique. Methods Serumsample of 227 cases including 146 lung cancer, 13 pneumonia, 28 tuberculous pleurisy and 40 normal individuals were analyzed by CM10 chips. The candidate biomarkers were identified by ESI/MS-MS and database searching, and further confirmed by immunoprecipitation. The same sets of serum sample from all groups were re-measured by ELISA assay. Results Three protein peaks with the molecular weight 13.78 kDa, 13.90 kDa and 14.07 kDa were found significantlydecreased in lung cancer serum compared to the other groups and were all automatically selected as specific biomarkers by Biomarker Wizard software. The candidate biomarkers obtained from 1-D SDS gel bands by matching the molecular weight with peaks on CM10 chips were identified by Mass spectrometry as the native transthyretin (nativeTTR, cysTTR and glutTTR, and the identity was further validated by immunoprecipitation using commercial TTR antibodies. Downregulated of TTR was found in both ELISA and SELDI analysis. Conclusion TTRs acted as the potentially useful biomarkers for lung cancer by SELDI technique.

  7. Detection of Cytomegalovirus DNA in Serum Correlates with Clinical Cytomegalovirus Retinitis in AIDS

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, K.K.; Ricksten, A.; Hofmann, B.

    1994-01-01

    The high sensitivity of nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) offers the possibility of rapid detection of cytomegalovirus (CMV) DNA in serum. Five consecutive serum samples were examined from 52 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-seropositive patients (19 of whom had clinically presumed diagnosis...... became positive with the onset of clinical retinitis. In contrast, 29 of 33 HIV-seropositive subjects without clinical CMV chorioretinitis and matched with respect to age and CD4 T cell numbers were negative for CMV DNA in all 5 serum samples. Thus, the presence of CMV DNA in serum analyzed by PCR...... is a good predictive marker of CMV retinitis in HIV-seropositive subjects. A positive PCR results supports the clinical diagnosis and may be useful for monitoring response to antiviral treatment....

  8. Supercritical fluid extraction of selected pharmaceuticals from water and serum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simmons, B R; Stewart, J T

    1997-01-24

    Selected drugs from benzodiazepine, anabolic agent and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) therapeutic classes were extracted from water and serum using a supercritical CO2 mobile phase. The samples were extracted at a pump pressure of 329 MPa, an extraction chamber temperature of 45 degrees C, and a restrictor temperature of 60 degrees C. The static extraction time for all samples was 2.5 min and the dynamic extraction time ranged from 5 to 20 min. The analytes were collected in appropriate solvent traps and assayed by modified literature HPLC procedures. Analyte recoveries were calculated based on peak height measurements of extracted vs. unextracted analyte. The recovery of the benzodiazepines ranged from 80 to 98% in water and from 75 to 94% in serum. Anabolic drug recoveries from water and serum ranged from 67 to 100% and 70 to 100%, respectively. The NSAIDs were recovered from water in the 76 to 97% range and in the 76 to 100% range from serum. Accuracy, precision and endogenous peak interference, if any, were determined for blank and spiked serum extractions and compared with classical sample preparation techniques of liquid-liquid and solid-phase extraction reported in the literature. For the benzodiazepines, accuracy and precision for supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) ranged from 1.95 to 3.31 and 0.57 to 1.25%, respectively (n = 3). The SFE accuracy and precision data for the anabolic agents ranged from 4.03 to 7.84 and 0.66 to 2.78%, respectively (n = 3). The accuracy and precision data reported for the SFE of the NSAIDs ranged from 2.79 to 3.79 and 0.33 to 1.27%, respectively (n = 3). The precision of the SFE method from serum was shown to be comparable to the precision obtained with other classical preparation techniques.

  9. Serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor level in dysthymia: a comparative study with major depressive disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aydemir, Omer; Deveci, Artuner; Taskin, Oryal E; Taneli, Fatma; Esen-Danaci, Aysen

    2007-06-30

    In this present work, it is aimed to demonstrate BDNF serum concentrations in patients with dysthymia and to compare them with BDNF serum concentrations in patients with major depressive disorder and healthy subjects. The study was carried out in Celal Bayar University Hospital, Manisa, Turkey. Seventeen patients with dysthymia, 24 patients with major depressive disorder and 26 subjects without any psychiatric diagnosis and any psychiatric treatment were included in the study. The severity of depression was assessed with 17-item HAM-D. All subjects were asked to give their written consent. Blood samples were collected at baseline. Serum BDNF was kept at -70 degrees C before testing, and assayed with an ELISA Kit (Promega; Madison, WI, USA), after dilution with the Block and Sample solution provided with the kit. The data were subjected to the analysis of variance. The BDNF serum concentrations of the dysthymia group (mean=28.9+/-9.2 ng/ml) were significantly higher than that of the major depressive disorder group (21.2+/-11.3 ng/ml) (p=0.002), and it was not different from the level of the control group (31.4+/-8.8 ng/ml). BDNF serum concentrations and HAM-D score did not have any significant correlation in the dysthymia and major depression groups (r=-0.276, p=0.086). The low level of BDNF in patients with dysthymic disorder seems to point out that BDNF changes in mood disorders are state-dependent and vary according to the severity of depressive episodes.

  10. Analysis of Serum Total and Free PSA Using Immunoaffinity Depletion Coupled to SRM: Correlation with Clinical Immunoassay Tests

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Tao; Hossain, Mahmud; Schepmoes, Athena A.; Fillmore, Thomas L.; Sokoll, Lori J.; Kronewitter, Scott R.; Izmirlian, Grant; Shi, Tujin; Qian, Weijun; Leach, Robin; Thompson, Ian M.; Chan, Daniel W.; Smith, Richard D.; Kagan, Jacob; Srinivastava, Sudhir; Rodland, Karin D.; Camp, David G.

    2012-08-03

    Sandwich immunoassay is the standard technique used in clinical labs for quantifying protein biomarkers for disease detection, monitoring and therapeutic intervention. Albeit highly sensitive, the development of a specific immunoassay is rather time-consuming and associated with extremely high cost due to the requirement for paired immunoaffinity reagents of high specificity. Recently, mass spectrometry-based methods, specifically selected reaction monitoring mass spectrometry (SRM-MS), have been increasingly applied to measure low abundance biomarker candidates in tissue and biofluids, owing to high sensitivity and specificity, simplicity of assay configuration, and great multiplexing capability. In this study, we report for the first time the development of immunoaffinity depletion-based workflows and SRM-MS assays that enable sensitive and accurate quantification of total and free prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in serum without the requirement for specific PSA antibodies. With stable isotope dilution and external calibration, low ng/mL level detection of both total and free PSA was consistently achieved in both PSA-spiked female serum samples and actual patient serum samples. Moreover, comparison of the results obtained when SRM PSA assays and conventional immunoassays were applied to the same samples showed very good correlation (R2 values ranging from 0.90 to 0.99) in several independent clinical serum sample sets, including a set of 33 samples assayed in a blinded test. These results demonstrate that the workflows and SRM assays developed here provide an attractive alternative for reliably measuring total and free PSA in human blood. Furthermore, simultaneous measurement of free and total PSA and many other biomarkers can be performed in a single analysis using high-resolution liquid chromatographic separation coupled with SRM-MS.

  11. Use of serum biochemistry to evaluate nutritional status and health of incubating common eiders (Somateria mollissima) in Finland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hollmen, T.; Franson, J.C.; Hario, Martti; Sankari, S.; Kilpi, Mikael; Lindstrom, K.

    2001-01-01

    During 1997–1999, we collected serum samples from 156 common eider (Somateria mollissima) females incubating eggs in the Finnish archipelago of the Baltic Sea. We used serum chemistry profiles to evaluate metabolic changes in eiders during incubation and to compare the health and nutritional status of birds nesting at a breeding area where the eider population has declined by over 50% during the past decade, with birds nesting at two areas with stable populations. Several changes in serum chemistries were observed during incubation, including (1) decreases in serum glucose, total protein, albumin, β‐globulin, and γ‐globulin concentrations and (2) increases in serum uric acid, creatine kinase, and β‐hydroxybutyrate concentrations. However, these changes were not consistent throughout the 3‐yr period, suggesting differences among years in the rate of carbohydrate, lipid, and protein utilization during incubation. The mean serum concentrations of free fatty acids, glycerol, and albumin were lowest and the serum α‐ and γ‐globulin levels were highest in the area where the eider population has declined, suggesting a role for nutrition and diseases in the population dynamics of Baltic eiders.

  12. Application of FT-IR spectroscopy on breast cancer serum analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elmi, Fatemeh; Movaghar, Afshin Fayyaz; Elmi, Maryam Mitra; Alinezhad, Heshmatollah; Nikbakhsh, Novin

    2017-12-01

    Breast cancer is regarded as the most malignant tumor among women throughout the world. Therefore, early detection and proper diagnostic methods have been known to help save women's lives. Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, coupled with PCA-LDA analysis, is a new technique to investigate the characteristics of serum in breast cancer. In this study, 43 breast cancer and 43 healthy serum samples were collected, and the FT-IR spectra were recorded for each one. Then, PCA analysis and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) were used to analyze the spectral data. The results showed that there were differences between the spectra of the two groups. Discriminating wavenumbers were associated with several spectral differences over the 950-1200 cm- 1(sugar), 1190-1350 cm- 1 (collagen), 1475-1710 cm- 1 (protein), 1710-1760 cm- 1 (ester), 2800-3000 cm- 1 (stretching motions of -CH2 & -CH3), and 3090-3700 cm- 1 (NH stretching) regions. PCA-LDA performance on serum IR could recognize changes between the control and the breast cancer cases. The diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of PCA-LDA analysis for 3000-3600 cm- 1 (NH stretching) were found to be 83%, 84%, 74% for the control and 80%, 76%, 72% for the breast cancer cases, respectively. The results showed that the major spectral differences between the two groups were related to the differences in protein conformation in serum samples. It can be concluded that FT-IR spectroscopy, together with multivariate data analysis, is able to discriminate between breast cancer and healthy serum samples.

  13. Comparison of serum pools and oral fluid samples for detection of porcine circovirus type 2 by quantitative real-time PCR in finisher pigs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Gitte Blach; Nielsen, Jens Peter; Haugegaard, John

    2018-01-01

    Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) diagnostics in live pigs often involves pooled serum and/or oral fluid samples for group-level determination of viral load by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The purpose of the study was to compare the PCV2 viral load determined by q......PCR of paired samples at the pen level of pools of sera (SP) from 4 to 5 pigs and the collective oral fluid (OF) from around 30 pigs corresponding to one rope put in the same pen. Pigs in pens of 2 finishing herds were sampled by cross-sectional (Herd 1) and cross-sectional with follow-up (Herd 2) study designs....... In Herd 1, 50 sample pairs consisting of SP from 4 to 5 pigs and OF from around 23 pigs were collected. In Herd 2, 65 sample pairs consisting of 4 (SP) and around 30 (OF) pigs were collected 4 times at 3-week intervals. A higher proportion of PCV2-positive pens (86% vs. 80% and 100% vs. 91%) and higher...

  14. Proteomics Analysis for Finding Serum Markers of Ovarian Cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yushan Cheng

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available A combination of peptide ligand library beads (PLLB and 1D gel liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (1DGel-LC-MS/MS was employed to analyze serum samples from patients with ovarian cancer and from healthy controls. Proteomic analysis identified 1200 serum proteins, among which 57 proteins were upregulated and 10 were downregulated in the sera from cancer patients. Retinol binding protein 4 (RBP4 is highly upregulated in the ovarian cancer serum samples. ELISA was employed to measure plasma concentrations of RBP4 in 80 samples from ovarian cancer patients, healthy individuals, myoma patients, and patients with benign ovarian tumor, respectively. The plasma concentrations of RBP4 ranging from 76.91 to 120.08 ng/mL with the mean value 89.13±1.67 ng/mL in ovarian cancer patients are significantly higher than those in healthy individuals (10.85±2.38 ng/mL. Results were further confirmed with immunohistochemistry, demonstrating that RBP4 expression levels in normal ovarian tissue were lower than those in ovarian cancer tissues. Our results suggested that RBP4 is a potential biomarker for diagnostic of screening ovarian cancer.

  15. Serum omega-3 fatty acids and treatment outcomes among women undergoing assisted reproduction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiu, Y-H; Karmon, A E; Gaskins, A J; Arvizu, M; Williams, P L; Souter, I; Rueda, B R; Hauser, R; Chavarro, J E

    2018-01-01

    Are serum polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) concentrations, including omega-3 (ω3-PUFA) and omega-6 (ω6-PUFA), related to ART outcomes? Serum levels of long-chain ω3-PUFA were positively associated with probability of live birth among women undergoing ART. Intake of ω3-PUFA improves oocyte and embryo quality in animal and human studies. However, a recent cohort study found no relation between circulating ω3-PUFA levels and pregnancy rates after ART. This analysis included a random sample of 100 women from a prospective cohort study (EARTH) at the Massachusetts General Hospital Fertility Center who underwent 136 ART cycles within one year of blood collection. Serum fatty acids (expressed as percentage of total fatty acids) were measured by gas chromatography in samples taken between Days 3 and 9 of a stimulated cycle. Primary outcomes included the probability of implantation, clinical pregnancy and live birth per initiated cycle. Cluster-weighted generalized estimating equation (GEE) models were used to analyze the association of total and specific PUFAs with ART outcomes adjusting for age, body mass index, smoking status, physical activity, use of multivitamins and history of live birth. The median [25th, 75th percentile] serum level of ω3-PUFA was 4.7% [3.8%, 5.8%] of total fatty acids. Higher levels of serum long-chain ω3-PUFA were associated with higher probability of clinical pregnancy and live birth. Specifically, after multivariable adjustment, the probability of clinical pregnancy and live birth increased by 8% (4%, 11%) and 8% (95% CI: 1%, 16%), respectively, for every 1% increase in serum long-chain ω3-PUFA levels. Intake of long-chain ω3-PUFA was also associated with a higher probability of life birth in these women, with RR of 2.37 (95% CI: 1.02, 5.51) when replacing 1% energy of long-chain ω3-PUFA for 1% energy of saturated fatty acids. Serum ω6-PUFA, ratios of ω6 and ω3-PUFA, and total PUFA were not associated with ART outcomes. The

  16. Serum AMH levels are lower in healthy boys who develop pubertal gynaecomastia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mieritz, Mikkel G.; Hagen, Casper P.; Almstrup, Kristian

    2015-01-01

    Background: Pubertal gynaecomastia is thought to be a clinical sign of an oestrogen-androgen imbalance, affecting up to 60% of boys. In most cases no underlying endocrinopathy can be identified. In boys, Anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) is produced by immature Sertoli cells and circulating level...... decreases as testosterone increases during pubertal maturation. In a previous cross sectional study we found significant lower levels of AMH in boys with pubertal gynaecomastia (Mieritz et al., Clin Endocrinol, 2013). Objective and hypotheses: To investigate serum AMH levels and genetic polymorphisms...... in boys with or without gynaecomastia. Method: 99 healthy Danish boys (aged 5.8-16.4 years) were followed in a prospective cohort over 8 years with semi-annual examinations (total examinations, n=951), including breast palpations and blood samples. Serum AMH concentrations were analysed by immunoassay...

  17. Determination of chlormequat in pig serum and sow milk by LC-MS/MS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poulsen, M E; Christensen, H B; Sørensen, M T; Leffers, H; Andersen, J H

    2007-11-01

    Chlormequat is a plant growth regulator widely used on cereals, and there is general concern that it may impair human fertility. A LC-MS/MS method for the analysis of chlormequat in milk and serum was developed and validated in connection with an investigation on the effect of chlormequat on pig reproduction. Validation of the method was based on recovery tests at three spiking levels, determined as double determinations and repeated at least four times. Samples were extracted with methanol-water-acetic acid, centrifuged, filtrated and determined by LC-MS/MS. The mean recoveries were in the range 80-110%, and the LOD was 0.2 ng/g for serum and 0.3 ng/g for milk. The values for repeatability and reproducibility were within 2/3 of the limits given by the Horwitz equation. Samples of pig serum (59) and sow milk (27) were analyzed using the method. Chlormequat was determined in four milk samples in the range of 0.4 ng/g to 1.2 ng/g and in all serum samples in the range of 0.2 ng/g-4.0 ng/g.

  18. Effect of mobile usage on serum melatonin levels among medical students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shrivastava, Abha; Saxena, Yogesh

    2014-01-01

    Exposure to extremely low frequency (ELF) electromagnetic radiations from mobile phones may affect the circadian rhythm of melatonin in mobile users. The study was designed with objective to evaluate the influence of mobile phone on circadian rhythm of melatonin and to find the association if any between the hours of mobile usage with serum melatonin levels. All the volunteers medical students using mobiles for > 2 hrs/day were included in high users group and volunteers who used mobile for ≤ 2 hrs where included in low users group. Both high and low users volunteers were sampled three times in the same day (Morning-3-4 am, Noon 1-2 pm, Evening-5-6 pm) for estimation of serum melatonin levels: Comparsion of sernum melatonin levels in high users and low users were done by Mann Whitney "U" Test. Reduced morning melatonin levels (3-4 am) was observed in high users (> 2 hrs/day) i.e high users had a disturbed melatonin circadian rhythm.There was a negative correlation between melatonin secretion and hours of mobile usages.

  19. Evaluation of automated assays for immunoglobulin G, M, and A measurements in dog and cat serum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tvarijonaviciute, Asta; Martínez-Subiela, Silvia; Caldin, Marco; Tecles, Fernando; Ceron, Jose J

    2013-09-01

    Measurements of immunoglobulins (Igs) in companion animals can be useful to detect deficiencies of the humoral immune system, that can be associated with opportunistic or chronic infections, or other immune-mediated disorders including B-cell neoplasms. The purpose of this study was to evaluate commercially available automated immunoturbidimetric assays designed for human IgG, M, and A measurements in canine and feline serum using species-specific calibrators. Canine and feline serum samples with different IgG, M, and A concentrations were used for the analytical validation of the assays. Intra- and inter-assay precision, linearity under dilution, spiking recovery, and limit of detection were determined. In addition, effects of lipemia, hemolysis, and bilirubinemia were evaluated. Finally, Ig concentrations were determined in small groups of diseased dogs and cats, and compared with healthy groups. Spiking recovery and linearity under dilution tests showed that the assays measured Igs in canine and feline serum samples precisely and accurately. Intra- and inter-assay imprecisions were lower than 15% in all cases. Significantly higher IgG, IgM, and IgA levels were observed in dogs with leishmaniasis, while dogs with pyometra showed a statistically significant increase in IgM and IgA concentrations in comparison with healthy dogs. Significantly higher IgG and IgM levels were observed in FIV-infected cats compared with healthy ones. The automated human Ig assays showed adequate precision and accuracy with serum samples from dogs and cats. Also, they were able to discriminate different concentrations of Igs in healthy and diseased animals. © 2013 American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology.

  20. Serum anti-Helicobacter pylori immunoglobulin G titer correlates with grade of histological gastritis, mucosal bacterial density, and levels of serum biomarkers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tu, Huakang; Sun, Liping; Dong, Xiao; Gong, Yuehua; Xu, Qian; Jing, Jingjing; Yuan, Yuan

    2014-03-01

    OBJECTIVE. Clinical implications of serum anti-Helicobacter pylori immunoglobulin G (IgG) titer were unclear. This study investigated the associations of serum anti-H. pylori IgG titer with grade of histological gastritis, mucosal bacterial density and levels of serum biomarkers, including pepsinogen (PG) I, PGII, PGI/II ratio and gastrin-17. MATERIAL AND METHODS. Study participants were from a screening program in northern China. Serum anti-H. pylori IgG measurements were available for 5922 patients with superficial gastritis. Serum anti-H. pylori IgG titer and serum biomarkers were measured using ELISA, and gastric biopsies were evaluated using standardized criteria. RESULTS. In patients with mild, moderate or severe superficial gastritis, the mean serum anti-H. pylori IgG titers were 17.3, 33.4 and 54.4 EIU (p for trend histological gastritis, mucosal bacterial density and concentrations of serum PGI, PGII and gastrin-17, and negatively with PGI/II ratio.

  1. determination of serum chloride ion concentration in pregnant

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Yusif

    ABSTRACT. Serum chloride ion level in blood samples of pregnant women attending ante-natal care clinic in Minjibir was investigated. The mean and standard deviation of the ion in the samples is 100.51+ 4.89mmol/L. The distribution is skewed towards high frequency of low concentrations and could be attributed to.

  2. The association between serum C-reactive protein and macronutrients and antioxidants intake in hemodialysis patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kooshki, A; Samadipour, E; Akbarzadeh, R

    2015-01-01

    Background: Despite the high levels of inflammation in hemodialysis patients and the effects of diet on systemic inflammation, such as the development of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease, few studies have evaluated the relationship of macronutrients and antioxidants intake with serum C-reactive protein (CRP). Therefore, this study assessed the relationship between serum high sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP) with macronutrients and antioxidants intake and serum albumin. Methods: This cross-sectional study used census sampling to select 75 hemodialysis patients (35 men and 40 women) who attended the hemodialysis department of Vaseie Hospital of Sabzevar, Iran. After obtaining the written consent, all the patients were interviewed and dietary data was collected by using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire including 160 food items. Diet analysis was performed with Nutritionist IV. Before being connected to the dialysis machine, 5 cc fasting blood samples were obtained from all participants and serum hs-CRP and albumin levels were measured. All the statistical analyses were conducted with SPSS -for Windows, version 16.0. Results: The patients' mean body mass index was 20.09 ± 3.27 kg/ m2. The participants' intake of antioxidants and all macronutrients, except for carbohydrates and proteins, was less than the standard levels. Moreover, the hs-CRP had significant inverse relationships with serum albumin (P=0.0001) and vitamin E and C intakes but was not significant. Also, a significant relationship was observed between hs-CRP levels and the intake of energy (P=0.002) and protein (P=0.0001). Conclusion: Our findings indicated hs-CRP levels of hemodialysis patients to have significant inverse relationships with serum albumin and vitamin E and C intakes but was not significant. Also, a significant relationship was observed between hs-CRP levels and the intake of energy and protein.

  3. Plasma and Serum Metabolite Association Networks: Comparability within and between Studies Using NMR and MS Profiling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suarez-Diez, Maria; Adam, Jonathan; Adamski, Jerzy; Chasapi, Styliani A; Luchinat, Claudio; Peters, Annette; Prehn, Cornelia; Santucci, Claudio; Spyridonidis, Alexandros; Spyroulias, Georgios A; Tenori, Leonardo; Wang-Sattler, Rui; Saccenti, Edoardo

    2017-07-07

    Blood is one of the most used biofluids in metabolomics studies, and the serum and plasma fractions are routinely used as a proxy for blood itself. Here we investigated the association networks of an array of 29 metabolites identified and quantified via NMR in the plasma and serum samples of two cohorts of ∼1000 healthy blood donors each. A second study of 377 individuals was used to extract plasma and serum samples from the same individual on which a set of 122 metabolites were detected and quantified using FIA-MS/MS. Four different inference algorithms (ARANCE, CLR, CORR, and PCLRC) were used to obtain consensus networks. The plasma and serum networks obtained from different studies showed different topological properties with the serum network being more connected than the plasma network. On a global level, metabolite association networks from plasma and serum fractions obtained from the same blood sample of healthy people show similar topologies, and at a local level, some differences arise like in the case of amino acids.

  4. Validity of transcobalamin II-based radioassay for the determination of serum vitamin B12 concentrations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paltridge, G.; Rudzki, Z.; Ryall, R.G.

    1980-01-01

    A valid radioassay for the estimation of serum vitamin B 12 in the presence of naturally occurring vitamin B 12 (= cobalamin) analogues can be operated if serum transcobalamin II (TC II) is used as the binding protein. Serum samples that gave diagnostically discrepant results when their vitamin B 12 content was analysed (i) by a commercial radioassay known to be susceptible to interference from cobalamin analogues, and (ii) by microbiological assay, were further analysed by an alternative radioassay which uses the transcobalamins (principally TC II) of diluted normal serum as the assay binding protein. Concordance between the results from microbiological assay and the TC II-based radioassay was found in all cases. In an extended study over a three-year period, all routine serum samples sent for vitamin B 12 analysis that had a vitamin B 12 content of less than 320 ng/l by the TC II-based radioassay (reference range 200-850 ng/l) were reanalysed using an established microbiological method. Over 1000 samples were thus analysed. The data are presented to demonstrate the validity of the TC II-based radioassay results in this group of patients, serum samples from which are most likely to produce diagnostically erroneous vitamin B 12 results when analysed by a radioassay that is less specific for cobalamins. (author)

  5. Serum S100B levels after meningioma surgery: A comparison of two laboratory assays

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Weiniger Carolyn F

    2008-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background S100B protein is a potential biomarker of central nervous system insult. This study quantitatively compared two methods for assessing serum concentration of S100B. Methods A prospective, observational study performed in a single tertiary medical center. Included were fifty two consecutive adult patients undergoing surgery for meningioma that provided blood samples for determination of S100B concentrations. Eighty samples (40 pre-operative and 40 postoperative were randomly selected for batch testing. Each sample was divided into two aliquots. These were analyzed by ELISA (Sangtec and a commercial kit (Roche Elecsys® for S100B concentrations. Statistical analysis included regression modelling and Bland-Altman analysis. Results A parsimonious linear model best described the prediction of commercial kit values by those determined by ELISA (y = 0.045 + 0.277*x, x = ELISA value, R2 = 0.732. ELISA measurements tended to be higher than commercial kit measurements. This discrepancy increased linearly with increasing S100B concentrations. At concentrations above 0.7 μg/L the paired measurements were consistently outside the limits of agreement in the Bland-Altman display. Similar to other studies that used alternative measurement methods, sex and age related differences in serum S100B levels were not detected using the Elecsys® (p = 0.643 and 0.728 respectively. Conclusion Although a generally linear relationship exists between serum S100B concentrations measured by ELISA and a commercially available kit, ELISA values tended to be higher than commercial kit measurements particularly at concentrations over 0.7 μg/L, which are suggestive of brain injury. International standardization of commercial kits is required before the predictive validity of S100B for brain damage can be effectively assessed in clinical practice.

  6. Elevated Serum Pesticide Levels and Risk for Alzheimer Disease

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richardson, Jason R.; Roy, Ananya; Shalat, Stuart L.; von Stein, Richard T.; Hossain, Muhammad M.; Buckley, Brian; Gearing, Marla; Levey, Allan I.; German, Dwight C.

    2014-01-01

    IMPORTANCE The causes of late-onset Alzheimer disease (AD) are not yet understood but likely include a combination of genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors. Limited epidemiological studies suggest that occupational pesticide exposures are associated with AD. Previously, we reported that serum levels of dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE), the metabolite of the pesticide dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), were elevated in a small number of patients with AD (n=20). OBJECTIVE To evaluate the association between serum levels of DDE and AD and whether the apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype modifies the association. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS A case-control study consisting of existing samples from patients with AD and control participants from the Emory University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School’s Alzheimer’s Disease Center. Serum levels of DDE were measured in 79 control and 86 AD cases. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Serum DDE levels, AD diagnosis, severity of AD measured by the Mini-Mental State Examination score, and interaction with APOE4 status. RESULTS Levels of DDE were 3.8-fold higher in the serum of those with AD (mean [SEM], 2.64 [0.35] ng/mg cholesterol) when compared with control participants (mean [SEM], 0.69 [0.1] ng/mg cholesterol; P risk for AD (95% CI, 2.54–5.82; P risk for AD and carriers of an APOE4 ε4 allele may be more susceptible to the effects of DDE. Both DDT and DDE increase amyloid precursor protein levels, providing mechanistic plausibility for the association of DDE exposure with AD. Identifying people who have elevated levels of DDE and carry an APOE ε4 allele may lead to early identification of some cases of AD. PMID:24473795

  7. Analysis of serum angiotensin-converting enzyme.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muller, B R

    2002-09-01

    Serum angiotensin-converting enzyme (SACE) levels are influenced by genetic polymorphism. Interpretation of serum levels with the appropriate genotypic reference range improves the diagnostic sensitivity of the assay for sarcoidosis. SACE assays are performed by a large number of routine clinical laboratories. However, there is no external quality assessment (EQA) for SACE other than an informal regional scheme. This showed analytical performance of SACE assays to be poor, with a diversity of reference ranges, leading to widely disparate clinical classification of EQA samples. Genetic polymorphism combined with poor analytical performance suggest that perhaps SACE assays should revert to being the province of specialized laboratories.

  8. Bovine serum albumin-Cu(II) hybrid nanoflowers: An effective adsorbent for solid phase extraction and slurry sampling flame atomic absorption spectrometric analysis of cadmium and lead in water, hair, food and cigarette samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yilmaz, Erkan; Ocsoy, Ismail; Ozdemir, Nalan; Soylak, Mustafa

    2016-02-04

    Herein, the synthesis of bovine serum albumin-Cu(II) hybrid nanoflowers (BSA-NFs) through the building blocks of bovine serum albumin (BSA) and copper(II) ions in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) and their use as adsorbent for cadmium and lead ions are reported. The BSA-NFs, for the first time, were efficiently utilized as novel adsorbent for solid phase extraction (SPE) of cadmium and lead ions in water, food, cigarette and hair samples. The method is based on the separation and pre-concentration of Cd(II) and Pb(II) by BSA-NFs prior to determination by slurry analysis via flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). The analytes were adsorbed on BSA-NFs under the vortex mixing and then the ion-loaded slurry was separated and directly introduced into the flame AAS nebulizer by using a hand-made micro sample introduction system to eliminate a number of drawbacks. The effects of analytical key parameters, such as pH, amount of BSA-NFs, vortexing time, sample volume, and matrix effect of foreign ions on adsorbing of Cd(II) and Pb(II) were systematically investigated and optimized. The limits of detection (LODs) for Cd(II) and Pb(II) were calculated as 0.37 μg L(-)(1) and 8.8 μg L(-)(1), respectively. The relative standard deviation percentages (RSDs) (N = 5) for Cd(II) and Pb(II) were 7.2%, and 5.0%, respectively. The accuracy of the developed procedure was validated by the analysis of certified reference materials (TMDA-53.3 Fortified Water, TMDA-70 Fortified Water, SPS-WW2 Waste Water, NCSDC-73349 Bush Branches and Leaves) and by addition/recovery analysis. The quantitative recoveries were obtained for the analysis of certified reference materials and addition/recovery tests. The method was successfully applied to the analysis of cadmium and lead in water, food, cigarette and hair samples. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Serum apolipoprotein E concentration and polymorphism influence serum lipid levels in Chinese Shandong Han population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, ShuYi; Xu, YiHui; Gao, MeiHua; Wang, YunShan; Wang, Jun; Liu, YanYan; Wang, Min; Zhang, XiaoQian

    2016-12-01

    Apolipoprotein E (ApoE), which has been shown to influence serum lipid parameters, can bind to multiple types of lipids and plays an important role in the metabolism and homeostasis of lipids and lipoproteins. A previous study showed that ApoE concentration significantly affects serum lipid levels independently of ApoE polymorphism. The serum lipid levels were also closely correlated with dietary habits, and Shandong cuisine is famous for its high salt and oil contents, which widely differ among the different areas in China. Therefore, studying the effect of ApoE polymorphism on ApoE concentration and serum lipid levels in Shandong province is very important.A total of 815 subjects including 285 men and 530 women were randomly selected and studied from Jinan, Shandong province. In order to evaluate the association of ApoE polymorphism and serum level on lipid profiles, the ApoE genotypes, as well as levels of fasting serum ApoE and other lipid parameters, were detected in all subjects.The frequency of the ApoE E3 allele was highest (83.1%), while those of E2 and E4 were 9.4% and 7.5%, respectively, which are similar to those in other Asian populations. ApoE2 allele carriers showed significantly increased ApoE levels but lower levels of serum total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and Apolipoprotein B (ApoB).We found that ApoE level is influenced by ApoE polymorphism in a gene-dependent manner. The ApoE polymorphism showed different influences on serum lipid parameters with increasing age and body mass index (BMI) in our Shandong Han population.

  10. A computational platform for MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry data: application to serum and plasma samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mantini, Dante; Petrucci, Francesca; Pieragostino, Damiana; Del Boccio, Piero; Sacchetta, Paolo; Candiano, Giovanni; Ghiggeri, Gian Marco; Lugaresi, Alessandra; Federici, Giorgio; Di Ilio, Carmine; Urbani, Andrea

    2010-01-03

    Mass spectrometry (MS) is becoming the gold standard for biomarker discovery. Several MS-based bioinformatics methods have been proposed for this application, but the divergence of the findings by different research groups on the same MS data suggests that the definition of a reliable method has not been achieved yet. In this work, we propose an integrated software platform, MASCAP, intended for comparative biomarker detection from MALDI-TOF MS data. MASCAP integrates denoising and feature extraction algorithms, which have already shown to provide consistent peaks across mass spectra; furthermore, it relies on statistical analysis and graphical tools to compare the results between groups. The effectiveness in mass spectrum processing is demonstrated using MALDI-TOF data, as well as SELDI-TOF data. The usefulness in detecting potential protein biomarkers is shown comparing MALDI-TOF mass spectra collected from serum and plasma samples belonging to the same clinical population. The analysis approach implemented in MASCAP may simplify biomarker detection, by assisting the recognition of proteomic expression signatures of the disease. A MATLAB implementation of the software and the data used for its validation are available at http://www.unich.it/proteomica/bioinf. (c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Serum LP(A) levels in randomized healthy men from different European countries

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cigolini, M; Seidell, J C; Zenti, M G; Bonadonna, G; Zambelli, L; Deslypere, J P; Contaldo, F; Cruz, A.; Charzewska, J; Targher, G

    Serum lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)], blood lipids, serum insulin and anthropometric parameters were determined in randomized samples of 38-year-old men living in six European cities: Ede (The Netherlands), Deinze (Belgium), Warsaw (Poland), Lumiar (Portugal), Verona and Naples (respectively in northern and

  12. Comparative evaluation of various solid phases for the development of coated tube assays for the estimation of progesterone in human serum, bovine serum and bovine milk

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Karir, Tarveen; Samuel, Grace; Sivaprasad, N.; Venkatesh, Meera

    2009-01-01

    Immobilization of progesterone antibody using three polystyrene surfaces and two progesterone radiotracers for use in the development of a coated tube assay for the evaluation of progesterone levels in human serum, bovine serum and bovine milk was studied. The selection of the solid phase and the tracers were based on the maximum binding, non-specific binding, sensitivity and percentage recovery. Amongst the polystyrene tubes studied, streptavidin coated tubes showed the acceptable assay features such as low non-specific binding (0.5-1.0%), adequate sensitivity (0.13-0.16 ng/ml) and recovery (85-115%) for all the three sample matrices, human serum, bovine serum and bovine milk.

  13. Analysis of serum and cerebrospinal fluid in clinically normal adult miniature donkeys.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mozaffari, A A; Samadieh, H

    2013-09-01

    To establish reference intervals for serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) parameters in clinically healthy adult miniature donkeys. Experiments were conducted on 10 female and 10 male clinically normal adult miniature donkeys, randomly selected from five herds. Lumbosacral CSF collection was performed with the sedated donkey in the standing position. Cell analysis was performed immediately after the samples were collected. Blood samples were obtained from the jugular vein immediately after CSF sample collection. Sodium, potassium, glucose, urea nitrogen, total protein, calcium, chloride, phosphorous and magnesium concentrations were measured in CSF and serum samples. A paired t-test was used to compare mean values between female and male donkeys. The CSF was uniformly clear, colourless and free from flocculent material, with a specific gravity of 1.002. The range of total nucleated cell counts was 2-4 cells/μL. The differential white cell count comprised only small lymphocytes. No erythrocytes or polymorphonuclear cells were observed on cytological examination. Reference values were obtained for biochemical analysis of serum and CSF. Gender had no effect on any variables measured in serum or CSF (p>0.05). CSF analysis can provide important information in addition to that gained by clinical examination. CSF analysis has not previously been performed in miniature donkeys; this is the first report on the subject. In the present study, reference intervals for total nucleated cell count, total protein, glucose, urea nitrogen, sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, phosphorous and magnesium concentrations of serum and CSF were determined for male and female miniature donkeys.

  14. Identification of serum biomarkers for aging and anabolic response

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Urban Randall J

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Objective With the progressive aging of the human population, there is an inexorable decline in muscle mass, strength and function. Anabolic supplementation with testosterone has been shown to effectively restore muscle mass in both young and elderly men. In this study, we were interested in identifying serum factors that change with age in two distinct age groups of healthy men, and whether these factors were affected by testosterone supplementation. Methods We measured the protein levels of a number of serum biomarkers using a combination of banked serum samples from older men (60 to 75 years and younger men (ages 18 to 35, as well as new serum specimens obtained through collaboration. We compared baseline levels of all biomarkers between young and older men. In addition, we evaluated potential changes in these biomarker levels in association with testosterone dose (low dose defined as 125 mg per week or below compared to high dose defined as 300 mg per week or above in our banked specimens. Results We identified nine serum biomarkers that differed between the young and older subjects. These age-associated biomarkers included: insulin-like growth factor (IGF1, N-terminal propeptide of type III collagen (PIIINP, monokine induced by gamma interferon (MIG, epithelial-derived neutrophil-activating peptide 78 (ENA78, interleukin 7 (IL-7, p40 subunit of interleukin 12 (IL-12p40, macrophage inflammatory protein 1β (MIP-1β, platelet derived growth factor β (PDGFβ and interferon-inducible protein 10 (IP-10. We further observed testosterone dose-associated changes in some but not all age related markers: IGF1, PIIINP, leptin, MIG and ENA78. Gains in lean mass were confirmed by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA. Conclusions Results from this study suggest that there are potential phenotypic biomarkers in serum that can be associated with healthy aging and that some but not all of these biomarkers reflect gains in muscle mass upon

  15. Serum homocysteine level in vegetarians in District Tharparker, Sindh

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kapoor, Aneel; Zuberi, Nudrat Anwar; Rathore, M. Imran; Baig, Mukhtiar

    2015-01-01

    Objectives: The aim of present study was to investigate serum homocysteine levels in apparently healthy vegetarians and ominvores in Mithi, district Tharparker, Sindh, Pakistan. Methods: This study was conducted in the Department of Biochemistry, Basic Medical Sciences Institute (BMSI), Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC), Karachi and blood samples were collected from Mithi, district Tharparker, Sindh, Pakistan, in 2012. One hundred vegetarian and one hundred omnivores (age ranging from 20-40 years) were enrolled for this study. Serum homocysteine levels were measured by the chemiluminescence enzyme immunoassay method. Results: Serum homocysteine (Hcy) level was considerably higher (p15µmol/L compared to omnivores 6%, (p15µmol/L serum Hcy level in vegetarian group and 6.9% male and 3.5% females had >15µmol/L serum Hcy level in omnivores group, but the difference was not significant in any group. Conclusion: Vegetarians are more prone to develop hyperhomocysteinemia, so they are at high risk to develop cardiovascular disease. PMID:25878628

  16. Association Between Serum Antibodies to Periodontal Bacteria and Rheumatoid Factor in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goh, Charlene E; Kopp, Jacob; Papapanou, Panos N; Molitor, Jerry A; Demmer, Ryan T

    2016-10-01

    Alterations in the microbiome, including the periodontal microbiome, may be a risk factor for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Most studies that have analyzed this association are relatively small, focus primarily on a single periodontal pathogen (Porphyromonas gingivalis), and are not population based. This study was undertaken to investigate the association between elevated serum levels of IgG antibodies to 19 periodontal species and the prevalence of rheumatoid factor (RF) in a large nationally representative sample of adults. The Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES-III) is a cross-sectional sample of the noninstitutionalized US population (n = 33,994). Our study population included all dentate participants who were 60 years and older, did not have RA as defined by a modified version of the American College of Rheumatology 1987 criteria, and had complete data for both serum IgG antibodies against periodontal bacteria and serum RF antibody titer (n = 2,461). Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) summarizing the relationship between the 19 periodontal serum IgG antibodies and RF seropositivity ranged from 0.53 (95% CI 0.29-0.97) to 1.27 (95% CI 0.79-2.06), and 17 of the 19 observed ORs were periodontal bacteria are mostly unassociated with RF seropositivity in the nationally representative NHANES-III. Elevated levels of antibodies to P intermedia and C ochracea are associated with lower odds of RF seropositivity. © 2016, American College of Rheumatology.

  17. Association between coffee consumption and serum lipid profile.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karabudak, Efsun; Türközü, Duygu; Köksal, Eda

    2015-05-01

    The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between coffee consumption and serum lipid levels in a study population of 122 Turkish subjects (mean age, 41.4±12.69 years), including 48 males and 74 females. A questionnaire was compiled to determine baseline characteristics, and food and coffee consumption. Subjects were divided into three groups, which included non-drinkers, Turkish coffee and instant coffee drinkers, and anthropometric measurements were acquired, including weight, height and body mass index. Serum lipid levels were analyzed, including the total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C) levels. Of the population studied, 76.2% had consumed at least one cup of coffee per week over the previous year. Daily consumption values were 62.3±40.60 ml (0.7±0.50 cup) for Turkish coffee and 116.3±121.96 ml (0.7±0.81 cup) for instant coffee. No statistically significant differences were observed in the serum levels of TC, TG, LDL-C, HDL-C or VLDL-C among the three groups. In addition, no statistically significant differences were observed in the serum lipid levels when comparing individuals who consumed coffee with sugar/cream or who smoked and those who did not (P>0.05). Therefore, the present observations indicated no significant association between the consumption of Turkish or instant coffee and serum lipid levels.

  18. Stability of selected serum hormones and lipids after long-term storage in the Janus Serum Bank.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gislefoss, Randi E; Grimsrud, Tom K; Mørkrid, Lars

    2015-04-01

    The potential value of a biobank depends on the quality of the samples, i.e. how well they reflect the biological or biochemical state of the donors at the time of sampling. Documentation of sample quality has become a particularly important issue for researchers and users of biobank studies. The aim of this study was to investigate the long-term stability of selected components: cholesterol, high density cholesterol (HDLC), low density cholesterol (LDLC), apolipoprotein A1 (apo-A1), apolipoprotein B (apo B), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), prolactin (PRL), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and free thyroxin (FT4). Samples, stored at -25°C, from 520 men aged 40-49 years at blood sampling distributed in equally sized groups (n=130) according to length of storage, 0, 4, 17 and 29 years, respectively, were used in a cross sectional design. The freshly collected serum samples were used as a reference group to calculate storage related changes. The differences between fresh samples and samples stored for 29 years were substantial for apo-A1 (+12%), apo-B (+22.3%), HDLC (-69.2%), LDLC (+31.3%), and PRL (-33.5%), while total cholesterol, FSH, LH, TSH and FT4 did not show any significant difference. The study showed large differences in serum level of the selected components. The lipids and apolipoproteins were all changed except for total cholesterol. Most hormones investigated (FSH, LH, TSH and FT4) proved to be stable after 29 years of storage while PRL showed sign of degradation. The observed differences are probably due to long-term storage effects and/or external factors (i.e. diet and smoking). Copyright © 2014 The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Estimation of Serum Triglycerides, Serum Cholesterol, Total Protein, IgG Levels in Chronic Periodontitis Affected Elderly Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saravanan, A V; Ravishankar, P L; Kumar, Pradeep; Rajapandian, K; Kalaivani, V; Rajula, M Prem Blaisie

    2017-01-01

    The present study was conducted to evaluate the serum triglycerides, serum cholesterol, total protein, and IgG levels in elderly patients who were affected by periodontal disease. This study was conducted at the Rajah Muthiah Dental College and Hospital in the periodontics division. The study was conducted for a period of 3 months. This study is a prospective analytical study. Sixty individuals who were systemically healthy in the age group of 50 and above were included in this study. Control and experimental groups of 30 participants each were included. Plaque index, gingival index, probing pocket depth, and clinical attachment loss were recorded. Biochemical parameters such as serum cholesterol, serum triglycerides, total protein, and IgG levels were also evaluated and correlated with the periodontal parameters. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 16.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). The relationship between periodontal status and the biochemical parameters such as serum cholesterol, serum triglycerides, total protein, and IgG levels were evaluated by Student's t-test. There was no significant difference in the plaque and gingival scores between the experimental and control group. It was observed that serum cholesterol level and total protein level was lower in participants suffering from chronic periodontitis. Triglycerides level was significantly elevated in the experimental group. IgG, a level which is not significant, concluded that there is no difference in control and experimental group. It was concluded from the results obtained from the study that there is an association between serum triglycerides, serum cholesterol, total protein, and periodontal disease. However, further longitudinal and well-controlled studies are required to evaluate the relationship between these biochemical parameters and periodontal disease.

  20. Protein Turnover Measurements in Human Serum by Serial Immunoaffinity LC-MS/MS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farrokhi, Vahid; Chen, Xiaoying; Neubert, Hendrik

    2018-02-01

    The half-life of target proteins is frequently an important parameter in mechanistic pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) modeling of biotherapeutics. Clinical studies for accurate measurement of physiologically relevant protein turnover can reduce the uncertainty in PK/PD model-based predictions, for example, of the therapeutic dose and dosing regimen in first-in-human clinical trials. We used a targeted mass spectrometry work flow based on serial immunoaffinity enrichment ofmultiple human serum proteins from a [5,5,5- 2 H 3 ]-L-leucine tracer pulse-chase study in healthy volunteers. To confirm the reproducibility of turnover measurements from serial immunoaffinity enrichment, multiple aliquots from the same sample set were subjected to protein turnover analysis in varying order. Tracer incorporation was measured by multiple-reaction-monitoring mass spectrometry and target turnover was calculated using a four-compartment pharmacokinetic model. Five proteins of clinical or therapeutic relevance including soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily member 12A, tissue factor pathway inhibitor, soluble interleukin 1 receptor like 1, soluble mucosal addressin cell adhesion molecule 1, and muscle-specific creatine kinase were sequentially subjected to turnover analysis from the same human serum sample. Calculated half-lives ranged from 5-15 h; however, no tracer incorporation was observed for mucosal addressin cell adhesion molecule 1. The utility of clinical pulse-chase studies to investigate protein turnover can be extended by serial immunoaffinity enrichment of target proteins. Turnover analysis from serum and subsequently from remaining supernatants provided analytical sensitivity and reproducibility for multiple human target proteins in the same sample set, irrespective of the order of analysis. © 2017 American Association for Clinical Chemistry.

  1. Proteomic analysis of swine serum following highly virulent classical swine fever virus infection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guo Huan-cheng

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Classical swine fever virus (CSFV belongs to the genus Pestivirus within the family Flaviviridae. Virulent strains of classical swine fever virus (CSFV cause severe disease in pigs characterized by immunosuppression, thrombocytopenia and disseminated intravascular coagulation, which causes significant economic losses to the pig industry worldwide. Methods To reveal proteomic changes in swine serum during the acute stage of lethal CSFV infection, 5 of 10 pigs were inoculated with the virulent CSFV Shimen strain, the remainder serving as uninfected controls. A serum sample was taken at 3 days post-infection from each swine, at a stage when there were no clinical symptoms other than increased rectal temperatures (≥40°C. The samples were treated to remove serum albumin and immunoglobulin (IgG, and then subjected to two-dimension differential gel electrophoresis. Results Quantitative intensity analysis revealed 17 protein spots showing at least 1.5-fold quantitative alteration in expression. Ten spots were successfully identified by MALDI-TOF MS or LTQ MS. Expression of 4 proteins was increased and 6 decreased in CSFV-infected pigs. Functions of these proteins included blood coagulation, anti-inflammatory activity and angiogenesis. Conclusion These proteins with altered expression may have important implications in the pathogenesis of classical swine fever and provide a clue for identification of biomarkers for classical swine fever early diagnosis.

  2. The effect of aqueous Aloe vera gel extract on serum mineral ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study was conducted to determine the effect of Aloe vera gel extract on the serum mineral compositions of Red Sokoto bucks. Blood samples were collected from 30 bucks before the commencement of administration of Aloe vera gel extract for serum minerals and these served as control group. The bucks were now ...

  3. Clinical study on the changes of perioperative serum thyroid hormone during heart surgery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu Zhonghua; Qian Yongyue; Liu Zengli; Wu Jinchang; Yang Chen

    2002-01-01

    To observe the changes of perioperative serum thyroid hormone and their clinical significance, blood samples were obtained from 20 patients before, during and after heart operations. Thyroid hormones were measured by radioimmunoassay. The results showed that serum T 3 , T 4 and FT 3 levels significantly declined during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and thereafter. Serum T 3 and T 4 concentrations reached their nadir at the lowest hypothermia of CPB. TSH and FT 4 levels remained normal ranges at postoperative sampling times. Conclusions: CPB would severely affect patients' thyroid function, thus simulated a 'low T 3 syndrome', and low T 3 syndrome would produce side effects on postoperative heart function

  4. Reproducibility of biomarkers in induced sputum and in serum from chronic smokers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zuiker, Rob G J A; Kamerling, Ingrid M C; Morelli, Nicoletta; Calderon, Cesar; Boot, J Diderik; de Kam, Marieke; Diamant, Zuzana; Burggraaf, Jacobus; Cohen, Adam F

    2015-08-01

    Soluble inflammatory markers obtained from non-invasive airway sampling such as induced sputum may be useful biomarkers for targeted pharmaceutical interventions. However, before these soluble markers can be used as potential targets, their variability and reproducibility need to be established in distinct study populations. This study aimed to assess the reproducibility of biomarkers obtained from induced sputum and serum in chronic smokers and non-smokers. Sputum and serum samples were obtained from 16 healthy non-smokers and 16 asymptomatic chronic smokers (for both groups: 8M/8F, 30-52 years, FEV1 ≥80% pred.; ≥10 pack years for the smokers) on 2 separate visits 4-10 days apart. Soluble markers in serum and sputum were analysed by ELISA. The differences between smokers vs non-smokers were analysed with a t-test and variability was assessed on log-transformed data by a mixed model ANOVA. Analysable sputum samples could be obtained from all 32 subjects. In both study populations neutrophils and macrophages were the predominant cell types. Serum Pulmonary Surfactant Associated Protein D had favourable reproducibility criteria for reliability ratio (0.99), intra-subject coefficient of variation (11.2%) and the Bland Altman limits of agreement. Furthermore, chronic smokers, compared to non-smokers, had significantly higher sputum concentrations of IL-8 (1094.6 pg/mL vs 460.8 pg/mL, p = 0.006)), and higher serum concentrations of Pulmonary Surfactant Associated Protein D (110.9 pg/mL vs 64.7 pg/mL, p = 0.019), and lower concentrations of Serum Amyloid A (1352.4 pg/mL vs 2297.5 pg/mL, p = 0.022). Serum Pulmonary Surfactant Associated Protein D proved to be a biomarker that fulfilled the criteria for reproducibility in both study groups. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Evaluation of Serum IgA level in nontreated and treated oral squamous cell carcinoma patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Richa Mishra

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Research in early cancer detection has led to discovery of many immunological tumor markers that contribute considerably to supplement the method of diagnosis. High serum immunoglobulin A (IgA values in patients with cancer have been used as tumor markers. Aims and Objectives: To evaluate and compare the serum IgA levels in nontreated, treated oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC patients, and control group. Materials and Methods: A total of 60 patients were included in the study. 20 biopsy confirmed oral SCC patients, who have received no medical treatment, 20 oral SCC patients treated with surgery and/or radiotherapy and 20 normal healthy individuals. Venous blood samples were collected from anterior cubital vein and were delivered to the biochemistry laboratory for the estimation of serum IgA level by nephelometry method. Statistical Analysis Used: Statistical method employed were the Pearson's Chi-square test and One-way analysis of variance (Welch followed by Games-Howell post-hoc test. Results: We observed significant difference for serum IgA between study subjects in control, nontreated and treated oral SCC patients (P < 0.001. Serum IgA level in nontreated group was significantly higher than treated group and there was an approximately two-fold increase in serum IgA level in nontreated oral SCC patients when compared to that of the normal healthy individuals. Conclusion: Serum level of IgA might be employed as diagnostic and prognostic indicators in oral cancer.

  6. Measurement of total antioxidant capacity in gingival crevicular fluid and serum in dogs with periodontal disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pavlica, Zlatko; Petelin, Milan; Nemec, Alenka; Erzen, Damjan; Skaleric, Uros

    2004-11-01

    To determine whether gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) and serum total antioxidant capacities (TACs) correlate with the degree of severity of periodontal disease in dogs. 41 Toy and Miniature Poodles. After assessment of the degree of severity of naturally occurring periodontitis, GCF samples from both maxillary fourth premolars and a blood sample were collected from each dog. The condition of the periodontium of the entire dentition and at each site of GCF collection was recorded. Clinical parameters assessed included plaque index, gingival index, and probing depth. Radiographic analysis of alveolar bone level was also performed. Total antioxidant capacity was measured in GCF and serum samples by use of a commercial kit. Dogs with gingivitis and minimal periodontitis had significantly higher TAC in GCF than dogs with advanced periodontitis. Bivariate regression analysis revealed significant negative correlations between TAC in GCF and clinical parameters and age. The TAC in serum was significantly negatively correlated with the degree of gingival inflammation but was not significantly correlated with age. TAC in GCF is related to the degree of severity of periodontal disease in dogs. This is likely the result of release of reactive oxygen species by activated phagocytes and fibroblasts in the inflamed periodontal tissues. The results of our study suggest that the local delivery of antioxidants may be a useful adjunctive treatment for periodontitis in dogs.

  7. Effect of using heat-inactivated serum with the Abbott human T-cell lymphotropic virus type III antibody test.

    OpenAIRE

    Jungkind, D L; DiRenzo, S A; Young, S J

    1986-01-01

    The Abbott enzyme immunoassay (Abbott Laboratories, North Chicago, Ill.) for human T-cell lymphotropic virus type III (HTLV-III) antibody was evaluated to determine the effect of using heat-inactivated (56 degrees C for 30 min) serum as the sample. Each of 58 nonreactive serum samples gave a higher A492 value when tested after heat inactivation. Ten of the samples became reactive after heating. Heat-inactivated serum should not be used in the current Abbott HTLV-III antibody test, because thi...

  8. Effect of different anesthesia techniques on the serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ozer, A B; Demirel, I; Erhan, O L; Firdolas, F; Ustundag, B

    2015-10-01

    Serum Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) levels are associated with neurotransmission and cognitive functions. The goal of this study was to examine the effect of general anesthesia on BDNF levels. It was also to reveal whether this effect had a relationship with the surgical stress response or not. The study included 50 male patients, age 20-40, who were scheduled to have inguinoscrotal surgery, and who were in the ASA I-II risk group. The patients were divided into two groups according to the anesthesia techniques used: general (GA) and spinal (SA). In order to measure serum BDNF, cortisol, insulin and glucose levels, blood samples were taken at four different times: before and after anesthesia, end of the surgery, and before transferal from the recovery room. Serum BDNF levels were significantly low (p BDNF and the stress hormones. Our findings suggested that general anesthetics had an effect on serum BDNF levels independent of the stress response. In future, BDNF could be used as biochemical parameters of anesthesia levels, but studies with a greater scope should be carried out to present the relationship between anesthesia and neurotrophins.

  9. Association of serum uric acid level and blood pressure in type 2 diabetes mellitus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savira, M.; Rusdiana; Syahputra, M.

    2018-03-01

    Uric acid is an end product of purine degradation in humans and primarily excreted through urine. In adulthood, concentrations rise steadily over time and vary with height, body weight, blood pressure, renal function, and alcohol intake. Uric acid is known as anti-oxidant, it has a beneficial role in diseases. Elevated serum uric acid associated with anincreased risk of cardiovascular disease. It has been found that elevated levels of uric acid associated with high risks of acomplication of type 2 diabetes mellitus and It has astrong association between elevated uric acid levels and obesity, metabolic syndrome, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, cardiovascular and renal disorders. The aim of the study analyzed the association between serum uric acid level and blood pressure in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. This research is descriptive analytic research with a cross sectional design included 50 diabetic subjects aged over 40 years old. Subjects picked by consecutive sampling then we examined the weight, height, waist size, blood pressure, fasting blood sugar, and serum uric acid level. Statistical analysis using chi-square found that there was no significant association between serum uric acid level and systole and diastole pressure in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients (p>0.005).

  10. MMP-2 Isoforms in Aortic Tissue and Serum of Patients with Ascending Aortic Aneurysms and Aortic Root Aneurysms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tscheuschler, Anke; Meffert, Philipp; Beyersdorf, Friedhelm; Heilmann, Claudia; Kocher, Nadja; Uffelmann, Xenia; Discher, Philipp; Siepe, Matthias; Kari, Fabian A.

    2016-01-01

    Objective The need for biological markers of aortic wall stress and risk of rupture or dissection of ascending aortic aneurysms is obvious. To date, wall stress cannot be related to a certain biological marker. We analyzed aortic tissue and serum for the presence of different MMP-2 isoforms to find a connection between serum and tissue MMP-2 and to evaluate the potential of different MMP-2 isoforms as markers of high wall stress. Methods Serum and aortic tissue from n = 24 patients and serum from n = 19 healthy controls was analyzed by ELISA and gelatin zymography. 24 patients had ascending aortic aneurysms, 10 of them also had aortic root aneurysms. Three patients had normally functioning valves, 12 had regurgitation alone, eight had regurgitation and stenosis and one had only stenosis. Patients had bicuspid and tricuspid aortic valves (9/15). Serum samples were taken preoperatively, and the aortic wall specimen collected during surgical aortic repair. Results Pro-MMP-2 was identified in all serum and tissue samples. Pro-MMP-2 was detected in all tissue and serum samples from patients with ascending aortic/aortic root aneurysms, irrespective of valve morphology or other clinical parameters and in serum from healthy controls. We also identified active MMP-2 in all tissue samples from patients with ascending aortic/aortic root aneurysms. None of the analyzed serum samples revealed signals relatable to active MMP-2. No correlation between aortic tissue total MMP-2 or tissue pro-MMP-2 or tissue active MMP-2 and serum MMP-2 was found and tissue MMP-2/pro-MMP-2/active MMP-2 did not correlate with aortic diameter. This evidence shows that pro-MMP-2 is the predominant MMP-2 species in serum of patients and healthy individuals and in aneurysmatic aortic tissue, irrespective of aortic valve configuration. Active MMP-2 species are either not released into systemic circulation or not detectable in serum. There is no reliable connection between aortic tissue—and serum MMP-2

  11. Potential of cancer screening with serum surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy and a support vector machine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, S X; Zhang, Y J; Zeng, Q Y; Li, L F; Guo, Z Y; Liu, Z M; Xiong, H L; Liu, S H

    2014-01-01

    Cancer is the most common disease to threaten human health. The ability to screen individuals with malignant tumours with only a blood sample would be greatly advantageous to early diagnosis and intervention. This study explores the possibility of discriminating between cancer patients and normal subjects with serum surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and a support vector machine (SVM) through a peripheral blood sample. A total of 130 blood samples were obtained from patients with liver cancer, colonic cancer, esophageal cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer, gastric cancer, as well as 113 blood samples from normal volunteers. Several diagnostic models were built with the serum SERS spectra using SVM and principal component analysis (PCA) techniques. The results show that a diagnostic accuracy of 85.5% is acquired with a PCA algorithm, while a diagnostic accuracy of 95.8% is obtained using radial basis function (RBF), PCA–SVM methods. The results prove that a RBF kernel PCA–SVM technique is superior to PCA and conventional SVM (C-SVM) algorithms in classification serum SERS spectra. The study demonstrates that serum SERS, in combination with SVM techniques, has great potential for screening cancerous patients with any solid malignant tumour through a peripheral blood sample. (letters)

  12. Comparison of Serum Protein Electrophoresis Values in Wild and Captive Whooping Cranes ( Grus americana ).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hausmann, Jennifer C; Cray, Carolyn; Hartup, Barry K

    2015-09-01

    Protein electrophoresis of serum samples from endangered, wild whooping cranes ( Grus americana ) was performed to help assess the health of the only self-sustaining, migratory population in North America. Serum samples from wild adult cranes (n = 22) were taken at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, Texas, USA during winter. Wild juvenile cranes (n = 26) were sampled at Wood Buffalo National Park, Northwest Territories, Canada, in midsummer. All captive crane samples were acquired from the International Crane Foundation, Baraboo, WI, USA. Captive adult cranes (n = 30) were sampled during annual examinations, and archived serum samples from captive juvenile cranes (n = 19) were selected to match the estimated age of wild juveniles. Wild juveniles had significantly lower concentrations of all protein fractions than wild adults, except for prealbumin and γ globulins. All protein fraction concentrations for wild juveniles were significantly lower compared with captive juveniles, except for prealbumin and γ globulins, which were higher. Wild adults had significantly greater γ globulin concentrations than captive adults. Captive juveniles had significantly lower prealbumin and albumin concentrations and albumin : globulin ratios than captive adults. The higher γ globulin concentrations in wild versus captive cranes are likely because of increased antigenic exposure and immune stimulation. Protein fraction concentrations vary significantly with age and natural history in this species. Reference intervals for serum protein electrophoresis results from captive adult whooping cranes are provided in this study.

  13. Studies of serial serum electrophoretic pattern for prognosis in various cancer patients during irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ra, Woo Youn; Woo, Won Hyung

    1971-01-01

    During the period from June. 1969 to Dec. 1970, the serum protein electrophoretic patterns of 44 cases of various cancer patients have been studied to determine the alterations in serum protein fractions in patients who were responding to irradiation or those failing. The serum electrophoretic pattern could be observed as an indicator of prognosis or radiosensitivity. A blood sample was obtained prior to any treatment and the follow up sampling was performed 2 times during radiation therapy. Serum total protein was determined by the method of Wolfson and serum electrophoresis was carried out by using Spinoco Model R B electrophoresis system. The results were following: Seven cases out of cases of cervical cancer responding favorably to radiotherapy showed decreased in Alpha-2 globulin fraction were increased. A case whose third time serum electrophoretic pattern showed multiple myeloma type died 5 months after radiotherapy with bone metastasis. Four cases out of 9 cases of favorably responded breast cancer patients showed decreased in Alpha-2 globulin foraction compared with 2 cases of unfavorable response showed increased in Alpha-2 globulin fraction

  14. Studies of serial serum electrophoretic pattern for prognosis in various cancer patients during irradiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ra, Woo Youn; Woo, Won Hyung [Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Taegu (Korea, Republic of)

    1971-10-15

    During the period from June. 1969 to Dec. 1970, the serum protein electrophoretic patterns of 44 cases of various cancer patients have been studied to determine the alterations in serum protein fractions in patients who were responding to irradiation or those failing. The serum electrophoretic pattern could be observed as an indicator of prognosis or radiosensitivity. A blood sample was obtained prior to any treatment and the follow up sampling was performed 2 times during radiation therapy. Serum total protein was determined by the method of Wolfson and serum electrophoresis was carried out by using Spinoco Model R B electrophoresis system. The results were following: Seven cases out of cases of cervical cancer responding favorably to radiotherapy showed decreased in Alpha-2 globulin fraction were increased. A case whose third time serum electrophoretic pattern showed multiple myeloma type died 5 months after radiotherapy with bone metastasis. Four cases out of 9 cases of favorably responded breast cancer patients showed decreased in Alpha-2 globulin foraction compared with 2 cases of unfavorable response showed increased in Alpha-2 globulin fraction.

  15. Monitoring serum PCB levels in the adult population of the Canary Islands (Spain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guillermo Burillo-Putze

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs are persistent organic chemicals that have been detected in human serum or tissues all over the world. These pollutants could exert a number of deleterious effects on humans and wildlife, including carcinogenic processes. The Spanish population of the Canary Islands was evaluated with respect to PCB levels more than ten years ago showing lower levels than other Western populations. The objective of our study was to assess the current level of contamination by PCBs showed by this population. We measured serum PCBs in a sample of healthy adult subjects (206 serum samples from subjects with an average age of 66 years old to evaluate the potential modification of PCB serum levels in this population during the last decade. PCB congeners (28, 52, 77, 81, 101, 105, 114, 118, 123, 126, 138, 153, 156, 157, 167, 169, 180, and 189 were measured by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS. Our results showed that PCB residues were found in 84% of serum samples analyzed, the congeners 28, 153 and 180 being the most frequently detected and at the highest median values (0.1 ng/mL. In addition, the median concentration of the sum of those PCBs considered as markers of environmental contamination by these chemicals (Marker-PCBs was 0.6 ng/mL, reaching values as high as as 2.6 ng/mL in the 95th percentile. Levels of the sum of PCBs with toxic effects similar to dioxins (dioxin-like PCBs reached median values of 0.4 ng/mL in the 95th percentile. The reported levels are similar to those described previously in this population more than ten years ago, in the sense that the inhabitants of the Canary Archipelago show levels of PCB contamination lower than the majority of populations from developed countries. These findings suggest that currently there is not any active source of these chemicals in this archipelago. Nevertheless, as foods seem to be a relevant source for these compounds, Public Health authorities should monitor the

  16. The impact of FCN2 polymorphisms and haplotypes on the Ficolin-2 serum levels

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Munthe-Fog, L; Hummelshøj, T; Hansen, B E

    2007-01-01

    Ficolin-2 in serum samples and identified FCN2 genotypes with a Taq Man-based minor groove binder assay and by sequencing. Serum samples were applied to gel-permeation chromatography and fractions were analysed by an ELISA, SDS-PAGE and subsequently Western blotting. In 214 Danish blood donors, the median...... Ficolin-2 serum concentration was determined to 5.4 microg/ml (range: 1.0-12.2 microg/ml). An ELISA, SDS-PAGE and Western blot analysis of gel-permeation chromatography fractions showed that Ficolin-2 comprises a mixture of covalently and non-covalently linked Ficolin-2 oligomers independent...

  17. Biochemical Changes in the Serum and Liver of albino rats exposed ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Biochemical changes in the serum and liver of albino rats chronically exposed to rats administered 5gk-1 , 7.5gk-1 and 15gk-1 of gasoline , kerosine and crude petroleum(bonny light) respectively were studied. The petroleum samples were administered intraperitoneally and the biochemical changes in the rat serum and the ...

  18. Serum levels of IGF-1 are related to human skin characteristics including the conspicuousness of facial pores.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sugiyama-Nakagiri, Y; Naoe, A; Ohuchi, A; Kitahara, T

    2011-04-01

    Conspicuous facial pores are one type of serious aesthetic defects for many women. However, the mechanism(s) that underlie the conspicuousness of facial pores remains unclear. We previously characterized the epidermal architecture around facial pores that correlates with the appearance of those pores in various ethnic groups including Japanese. The goal of this study was to evaluate the possible relationships between facial pore size, the severity of impairment of epidermal architecture around facial pores and sebum output levels to investigate the possible role of IGF-1 in the pathogenesis of conspicuous facial pores. The subjects consisted of 38 healthy Japanese women (aged 22-41 years). IGF-1 was measured using immunoradiometric assay. Surface replicas were collected to compare pore sizes of cheek skin and horizontal cross-section images of cheek skin were obtained non-invasively from the same subjects using in vivo confocal laser scanning microscopy and the severity of impairment of epidermal architecture around facial pores was determined. The skin surface lipids of each subject were collected from their cheeks and lipid classes were determined using gas chromatography/flame ionization detection. The serum level of IGF-1 correlated significantly with total pore area (R = 0.36, P facial pores (R = 0.43, P pore area (R = 0.32, P facial skin characteristics including facial pore size and with the severity of impairment of epidermal architecture around facial pores. © 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2010 Society of Cosmetic Scientists and the Société Française de Cosmétologie.

  19. Serum metabonomics of rats irradiated by low-dose γ-rays

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ying HE

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Objective To explore the effect of low-dose γ-rays on the metabolites in rat serum. Methods Sixteen healthy male SD rats were randomly divided into control group and irradiated group (n=8. The rats in irradiated group were irradiated by 60Co γ-rays with a dose rate of 72mGy/h for 7 days (1 hour per day. At the 7th day after irradiation, blood samples were taken from abdominal aorta to obtain the serum. The metabolic fingerprints of serum were obtained from the two groups of rats, and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR spectroscopy, principal component analysis (PCA and orthogonal signal correction-partial least squares (OSC-PLS method were used for pattern recognition, and the difference in metabolite profile between two groups was identified by SIMCA-P software. Results The rat serum 1H NMR spectra revealed a significant difference between control group and irradiated group, the OSC-PLS plots of the serum samples presented marked clustering between two groups. Compared with the control group, the content of lipid, glucose, creatine, glycine/glucose, high density lipoprotein, low density lipoprotein, very low density lipoprotein/low density lipoprotein and unsaturated fatty acid increased, while the content of lactic acid, threonine/lipid, alanine, N-acetyl glycoprotein 1, N-acetyl glycoprotein 2, saturated fatty acid and phosphatidyl choline decreased in irradiated group. Conclusion Irradiation with low-dose γ-ray could induce changes in metabolites in rat serum, concerning mainly immune function, energy metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism and lipid metabolism. DOI: 10.11855/j.issn.0577-7402.2014.07.02

  20. Decreased serum glicentin concentration in patients with severe and morbid obesity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raffort, Juliette; Panaïa-Ferrari, Patricia; Lareyre, Fabien; Blois, Mathilde; Bayer, Pascale; Staccini, Pascal; Fénichel, Patrick; Chinetti, Giulia

    2018-03-01

    Background Proglucagon-derived hormones represent a family of peptides mainly produced in the pancreas and the intestine. While several proglucagon-derived peptides play key roles in metabolic diseases, little is known about glicentin. The aim of the present study was to investigate serum glicentin concentrations in individuals with adult obesity and to study its potential link with various metabolic parameters. Methods Fifty-two individuals with normal body mass index (BMI  35 kg/m 2 ) were prospectively included at the University Hospital of Nice between January 2014 and April 2016. Clinical data were recorded, and a fasting blood sample was collected to measure glicentin, glucose, insulin, C-peptide, total cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL and HDL-cholesterol. In addition, a homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA2-IR) was also calculated. Results Patients with severe and morbid obesity had significantly higher plasma glucose, together with higher serum concentrations of insulin, C-peptide, HOMA2-IR, triglyceride, LDL-cholesterol and lower serum concentrations of HDL-cholesterol compared with individuals with a normal body mass index. The obese patients displayed significantly lower fasting serum concentrations of glicentin compared with subjects with a normal body mass index (12 pmol/L vs. 24 pmol/L, P < 0.0001). In the total population, fasting glicentin concentrations did not correlate with BMI, glycaemic parameters (glucose, insulin, C-peptide, HOMA-IR) or lipid parameters (total cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL and HDL-cholesterol). Conclusion To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study reporting serum glicentin concentrations in healthy lean and obese adult subjects. We found that fasting serum glicentin concentrations are decreased in patients with severe or morbid obesity suggesting the potential interest of this peptide in obesity and metabolic-related disorders.

  1. Relationships between serum selenium and zinc concentrations versus profibrotic and proangiogenic cytokines (FGF-19 and endoglin) in patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prystupa, Andrzej; Kiciński, Paweł; Luchowska-Kocot, Dorota; Błażewicz, Anna; Kurys-Denis, Ewa; Niedziałek, Jarosław; Sak, Jarosław; Panasiuk, Lech

    2017-09-21

    Liver cirrhosis is a disease involving the liver parenchyma, which is characterised by fibrosis and impaired architectonics of the parenchyma with regenerative nodules. The aim of the study was to determine the relationship between stage of alcoholic liver cirrhosis, concentrations of selenium, zinc and profibrotic and proangiogenic cytokines (FGF-19, ENG). The study included 99 patients with alcoholic cirrhosis and 20 healthy subjects. Ion chromatography with UV/VIS detection was used for determination of zinc ions in the previously mineralized serum samples. The measurements of selenium were performed with the ContrAA700 high-resolution continuum source graphite tube atomic absorption spectrometer. ELISA was used to determine concentration of FGF-19 and ENG in serum samples. Concentrations of zinc and selenium were significantly decreased in cirrhotic patients (pselenium in serum of patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis are not independently related to concentrations of FGF-19 and ENG.

  2. Method and apparatus for automated processing and aliquoting of whole blood samples for analysis in a centrifugal fast analyzer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burtis, C.A.; Johnson, W.F.; Walker, W.A.

    1985-08-05

    A rotor and disc assembly for use in a centrifugal fast analyzer. The assembly is designed to process multiple samples of whole blood followed by aliquoting of the resultant serum into precisely measured samples for subsequent chemical analysis. The assembly requires minimal operator involvement with no mechanical pipetting. The system comprises: (1) a whole blood sample disc; (2) a serum sample disc; (3) a sample preparation rotor; and (4) an analytical rotor. The blood sample disc and serum sample disc are designed with a plurality of precision bore capillary tubes arranged in a spoked array. Samples of blood are loaded into the blood sample disc by capillary action and centrifugally discharged into cavities of the sample preparation rotor where separation of serum and solids is accomplished. The serum is loaded into the capillaries of the serum sample disc by capillary action and subsequently centrifugally expelled into cuvettes of the analyticaly rotor for conventional methods. 5 figs.

  3. Method and apparatus for automated processing and aliquoting of whole blood samples for analysis in a centrifugal fast analyzer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burtis, Carl A.; Johnson, Wayne F.; Walker, William A.

    1988-01-01

    A rotor and disc assembly for use in a centrifugal fast analyzer. The assembly is designed to process multiple samples of whole blood followed by aliquoting of the resultant serum into precisely measured samples for subsequent chemical analysis. The assembly requires minimal operator involvement with no mechanical pipetting. The system comprises (1) a whole blood sample disc, (2) a serum sample disc, (3) a sample preparation rotor, and (4) an analytical rotor. The blood sample disc and serum sample disc are designed with a plurality of precision bore capillary tubes arranged in a spoked array. Samples of blood are loaded into the blood sample disc in capillary tubes filled by capillary action and centrifugally discharged into cavities of the sample preparation rotor where separation of serum and solids is accomplished. The serum is loaded into the capillaries of the serum sample disc by capillary action and subsequently centrifugally expelled into cuvettes of the analytical rotor for analysis by conventional methods.

  4. Determination of serum calcium levels by 42Ca isotope dilution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Bingqing; Ge, Menglei; Zhao, Haijian; Yan, Ying; Zeng, Jie; Zhang, Tianjiao; Zhou, Weiyan; Zhang, Jiangtao; Wang, Jing; Zhang, Chuanbao

    2017-11-27

    Serum calcium level is an important clinical index that reflects pathophysiological states. However, detection accuracy in laboratory tests is not ideal; as such, a high accuracy method is needed. We developed a reference method for measuring serum calcium levels by isotope dilution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ID ICP-MS), using 42Ca as the enriched isotope. Serum was digested with 69% ultrapure nitric acid and diluted to a suitable concentration. The 44Ca/42Ca ratio was detected in H2 mode; spike concentration was calibrated by reverse IDMS using standard reference material (SRM) 3109a, and sample concentration was measured by a bracketing procedure. We compared the performance of ID ICP-MS with those of three other reference methods in China using the same serum and aqueous samples. The relative expanded uncertainty of the sample concentration was 0.414% (k=2). The range of repeatability (within-run imprecision), intermediate imprecision (between-run imprecision), and intra-laboratory imprecision were 0.12%-0.19%, 0.07%-0.09%, and 0.16%-0.17%, respectively, for two of the serum samples. SRM909bI, SRM909bII, SRM909c, and GBW09152 were found to be within the certified value interval, with mean relative bias values of 0.29%, -0.02%, 0.10%, and -0.19%, respectively. The range of recovery was 99.87%-100.37%. Results obtained by ID ICP-MS showed a better accuracy than and were highly correlated with those of other reference methods. ID ICP-MS is a simple and accurate candidate reference method for serum calcium measurement and can be used to establish and improve serum calcium reference system in China.

  5. Analysis of trace elements in serum from human eating irradiated food

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang Zongzhi; Zhou Hongdi; Chen Shijie; Gao Sumei

    1987-01-01

    A method of trace element analysis by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectrometry (ICP-AEC) in serum from human eating food preserved by irradiation is described. Trace element analysis in human serum is one of the research projects concerning the wholesomeness. 78 serum samples of the human eating food preserved by irradiation were collected. After ashing and solving ICP-AES analysis of serum is performed for detecting 12 trace elements in specimen solution. The detection limitations are in the range of 10 -2 - 10 -3 ppm for differemt elements. The recoveries of elements are over 73%. Concentrations of 12 trace elements in 78 human serum has been calculated with F and t tests at PDP 11/70 computer and it was concluded that there is no significant difference between testing group and control group

  6. Estimation of Serum Triglycerides, Serum Cholesterol, Total Protein, IgG Levels in Chronic Periodontitis Affected Elderly Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saravanan, A. V.; Ravishankar, P. L.; Kumar, Pradeep; Rajapandian, K.; Kalaivani, V.; Rajula, M. Prem Blaisie

    2017-01-01

    Aim: The present study was conducted to evaluate the serum triglycerides, serum cholesterol, total protein, and IgG levels in elderly patients who were affected by periodontal disease. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted at the Rajah Muthiah Dental College and Hospital in the periodontics division. The study was conducted for a period of 3 months. This study is a prospective analytical study. Sixty individuals who were systemically healthy in the age group of 50 and above were included in this study. Control and experimental groups of 30 participants each were included. Plaque index, gingival index, probing pocket depth, and clinical attachment loss were recorded. Biochemical parameters such as serum cholesterol, serum triglycerides, total protein, and IgG levels were also evaluated and correlated with the periodontal parameters. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 16.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). The relationship between periodontal status and the biochemical parameters such as serum cholesterol, serum triglycerides, total protein, and IgG levels were evaluated by Student's t-test. Results: There was no significant difference in the plaque and gingival scores between the experimental and control group. It was observed that serum cholesterol level and total protein level was lower in participants suffering from chronic periodontitis. Triglycerides level was significantly elevated in the experimental group. IgG, a level which is not significant, concluded that there is no difference in control and experimental group. Conclusion: It was concluded from the results obtained from the study that there is an association between serum triglycerides, serum cholesterol, total protein, and periodontal disease. However, further longitudinal and well-controlled studies are required to evaluate the relationship between these biochemical parameters and periodontal disease. PMID:28462181

  7. Serum progranulin as an indicator of neutrophilic airway inflammation and asthma severity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, So Young; Hong, Gyong Hwa; Park, Sunjoo; Shin, Bomi; Yoon, Sun-Young; Kwon, Hyouk-Soo; Kim, Tae-Bum; Moon, Hee-Bom; Cho, You Sook

    2016-12-01

    Progranulin, a protein secreted from the airway epithelium, is known to attenuate the downstream cascade of neutrophilic inflammation in particular. We hypothesized that progranulin may have a role in inflammatory regulation in asthma. To investigate the association between serum progranulin levels and various clinical features in patients with asthma. Serum samples and clinical data of 475 patients with asthma and 35 healthy controls at a tertiary referral hospital and its affiliated health promotion center were collected. Serum progranulin levels were compared between patients with asthma and healthy controls and then were compared within the patients with asthma in terms of pulmonary function and measures of inflammatory status. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify factors associated with severity of asthma. Serum progranulin levels were significantly lower in the asthma group than in healthy group and were positively correlated with prebronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 second predicted within patients with asthma. We found a negative correlation between serum progranulin levels and blood neutrophil counts. Multivariate analysis revealed that higher serum progranulin levels were associated with a lower risk of severe asthma (odds ratio, 0.888; 95% confidence interval, 0.846-0.932; P progranulin remains unknown, we suggest that serum progranulin may be an indicator of severe asthma with airflow limitation. Future studies with comprehensive airway sampling strategies are warranted to clarify its role, particularly in neutrophilic asthma. Copyright © 2016 American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Organochlorine pesticide residue levels in blood serum of inhabitants from Veracruz, Mexico.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waliszewski, Stefan M; Caba, M; Herrero-Mercado, M; Saldariaga-Noreña, H; Meza, E; Zepeda, R; Martínez-Valenzuela, C; Gómez Arroyo, S; Villalobos Pietrini, R

    2012-09-01

    The objective of the present study was to monitor the levels of organochlorine pesticides HCB; α-, β-, γ-HCH; pp'DDE; op'DDT; and pp'DDT in blood serum of Veracruz, Mexico inhabitants. Organochlorine pesticides were analyzed in 150 blood serum samples that constituted that which remained after clinical analyses, using gas chromatography-electron-capture detection (GC-ECD). The results were expressed as milligrams per kilogram on fat basis and micrograms per liter on wet weight. Only the following pesticides were detected: p,p'-DDE was the major organochlorine component, detected in 100% of samples at mean 15.8 mg/kg and 8.4 μg/L; p,p'-DDT was presented in 41.3.% of monitored samples at mean 3.1 mg/kg and 1.4 μg/L; β-HCH was found in 48.6% of the samples at mean 4.9 mg/kg and 2.7 μg/L; op'DDT was determined to be in only 3.3% of monitored samples at mean 2.7 mg/kg and 1.4 μg/L. The pooled samples divided according to sex showed significant differences of β-HCH and pp'DDE concentrations in females. The samples grouped according to age presented the third tertile as more contaminated in both sexes, indicating age as a positively associated factor with serum organochlorine pesticide levels in Veracruz inhabitants.

  9. Quantitative Assessment of Serum Nickel and Chromium Levels in Orthodontic Patients: An in vitro Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rohan Rai

    2011-01-01

    Results : Results obtained indicated that although nickel level in the serum was significant initially in the samples when compared to the controls, there was a gradual decrease of serum nickel level when the appliance was present for a longer duration. However, serum chromium levels showed no significant changes with time.

  10. Evaluation of three high abundance protein depletion kits for umbilical cord serum proteomics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nie Jing

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background High abundance protein depletion is a major challenge in the study of serum/plasma proteomics. Prior to this study, most commercially available kits for depletion of highly abundant proteins had only been tested and evaluated in adult serum/plasma, while the depletion efficiency on umbilical cord serum/plasma had not been clarified. Structural differences between some adult and fetal proteins (such as albumin make it likely that depletion approaches for adult and umbilical cord serum/plasma will be variable. Therefore, the primary purposes of the present study are to investigate the efficiencies of several commonly-used commercial kits during high abundance protein depletion from umbilical cord serum and to determine which kit yields the most effective and reproducible results for further proteomics research on umbilical cord serum. Results The immunoaffinity based kits (PROTIA-Sigma and 5185-Agilent displayed higher depletion efficiency than the immobilized dye based kit (PROTBA-Sigma in umbilical cord serum samples. Both the PROTIA-Sigma and 5185-Agilent kit maintained high depletion efficiency when used three consecutive times. Depletion by the PROTIA-Sigma Kit improved 2DE gel quality by reducing smeared bands produced by the presence of high abundance proteins and increasing the intensity of other protein spots. During image analysis using the identical detection parameters, 411 ± 18 spots were detected in crude serum gels, while 757 ± 43 spots were detected in depleted serum gels. Eight spots unique to depleted serum gels were identified by MALDI- TOF/TOF MS, seven of which were low abundance proteins. Conclusions The immunoaffinity based kits exceeded the immobilized dye based kit in high abundance protein depletion of umbilical cord serum samples and dramatically improved 2DE gel quality for detection of trace biomarkers.

  11. Serum and urine metabolomic fingerprinting in diagnostics of inflammatory bowel diseases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dawiskiba, Tomasz; Deja, Stanisław; Mulak, Agata; Ząbek, Adam; Jawień, Ewa; Pawełka, Dorota; Banasik, Mirosław; Mastalerz-Migas, Agnieszka; Balcerzak, Waldemar; Kaliszewski, Krzysztof; Skóra, Jan; Barć, Piotr; Korta, Krzysztof; Pormańczuk, Kornel; Szyber, Przemyslaw; Litarski, Adam; Młynarz, Piotr

    2014-01-07

    To evaluate the utility of serum and urine metabolomic analysis in diagnosing and monitoring of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Serum and urine samples were collected from 24 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), 19 patients with the Crohn's disease (CD) and 17 healthy controls. The activity of UC was assessed with the Simple Clinical Colitis Activity Index, while the activity of CD was determined using the Harvey-Bradshaw Index. The analysis of serum and urine samples was performed using proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. All spectra were exported to Matlab for preprocessing which resulted in two data matrixes for serum and urine. Prior to the chemometric analysis, both data sets were unit variance scaled. The differences in metabolite fingerprints were assessed using partial least-squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). Receiver operating characteristic curves and area under curves were used to evaluate the quality and prediction performance of the obtained PLS-DA models. Metabolites responsible for separation in models were tested using STATISTICA 10 with the Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon test and the Student's t test (α = 0.05). The comparison between the group of patients with active IBD and the group with IBD in remission provided good PLS-DA models (P value 0.002 for serum and 0.003 for urine). The metabolites that allowed to distinguish these groups were: N-acetylated compounds and phenylalanine (up-regulated in serum), low-density lipoproteins and very low-density lipoproteins (decreased in serum) as well as glycine (increased in urine) and acetoacetate (decreased in urine). The significant differences in metabolomic profiles were also found between the group of patients with active IBD and healthy control subjects providing the PLS-DA models with a very good separation (P value fingerprinting of serum and urine has the potential to be a useful tool in distinguishing patients with active IBD from those in remission.

  12. Measurement of hydroxylated PCB metabolites for Slovakia maternal blood serums

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Park, J.S.; Athanasiadou, M; Bergman, A. [Stockholm Univ., Stockholm (Sweden); Charles, J.; Zhao, G.; Hertz-Picciotto, I. [California Univ., Sacramento, CA (United States); Petrik, J.; Kocan, A; Trnovec, T. [Bratislava Inst. of Preventive and Clinical Medicine, Bratislava (Slovakia)

    2005-07-01

    Although it is known that polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have adverse impacts on human health, it is not clear if human health impacts are caused by the PCBs or their related hydroxylated (OH) PCB metabolite compounds. This study measured OH-PCB metabolites in the maternal blood serum specimens from the Svidnik and Michalovce areas in eastern Slovakia where PCBs were intensively produced and inadequately disposed. The aim of the study was to characterize and quantify levels of specific OH-PCB metabolites in Slovakian maternal serums exposed to high environmental PCB levels. All specimens were analyzed for PCBs, and a subset of the samples was analyzed for OH-PCB metabolites. The Wallenburg blood extraction method was adopted to separate the OH-PCBs from the blood serums. Final eluates and calibration standards were spiked with PCB209 as an injection standard before gas chromatography (GC) analysis. OH-PCBs in the samples range from 75{+-}9 per cent to 101{+-}11 per cent. Median concentrations of OH-PCB metabolites of Michalovce samples were approximately twice as high as for the Svidnik samples. Concentrations of OH-PCBs of Michalovce blood samples were comparable to samples obtained from northern Canadian female Inuit and Faroe Island females, and were considered to be among the highest OH-PCB concentrations obtained in human blood. It was concluded that further research is needed to understand the placental transfer of OH-PCBs to the fetus, as well as epidemiological approaches to determine the relationship between the exposure of OH-PCB metabolites and child development. 12 refs., 2 figs.

  13. Effect of Non Surgical Periodontal Therapy on Gingival Crevicular Fluid and Serum Visfatin Concentration in Periodontal Health and Disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N.M. Raghavendra

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Visfatin is a pleiotropic mediator which acts as growth factor, cytokine, enzyme involved in energy including nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide metabolism and has been recently demonstrated to exert several pro-inflammatory functions. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the Visfatin concentration in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF and serum in patients with chronic periodontitis, and to evaluate the effect of non-surgical periodontal therapy on the GCF and serum visfatin concentration. 30 subjects (age range: 25 to 52 years were selected and divided into two groups based on the gingival index, probing depth, periodontal attachment level, and radiologic parameters (bone loss: group 1 (15 subjects with healthy periodontium, group 2 (15 subjects with chronic periodontitis, while, Group 2 patients after 8 weeks of the treatment (scaling and root planning, SRP constituted group 3. GCF samples (by microcapillary pipettes and serum samples (by venipuncture were collected to estimate the levels of Visfatin using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay kit. The mean Visfatin concentration in GCF and serum was observed to be the highest in group 2 and lowest in group 1. While concentration in group 3 was similar to group 1. The concentration of Visfatin in GCF and serum decreased after SRP. The Visfatin concentration in GCF and serum found to be highest in chronic periodontitis group and decreases after treatment. Hence Visfatin values can be considered as an “inflammatory marker” can be explored in future as a potential therapeutic target in the treatment of periodontal disease.

  14. Inositol and hepatic lipidosis. II. Effect of inositol supplementation and time from parturition on serum insulin, thyroxine and triiodothyronine and their relationship to serum and liver lipids in dairy cows.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerloff, B J; Herdt, T H; Wells, W W; Nachreiner, R F; Emery, R S

    1986-06-01

    Percutaneous liver biopsies and blood samples were obtained from 80 dairy cows in nine Michigan herds over the peripartum period. Thirty-nine cows were fed 17 g of supplemental inositol and 41 were fed a placebo. Liver biopsies were assayed for total myoinositol and triglyceride (TG) concentrations. Blood samples were assayed for serum dextran precipitable cholesterol, nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA), insulin, thyroxine (T4), free (FT4), triiodothyronine (T3) and free T3 (FT3) concentrations. Serum concentrations of insulin and the thyroid hormones decreased near parturition, with lowest concentrations occurring in the immediate postpartum period. Concentrations of T3 correlated well with T4, and the concentrations of free thyroid hormones reflected concentrations of total thyroid hormones. The percentage of hormone in the free fraction remained constant over time. Serum insulin, T3 and T4 were negatively correlated with serum NEFA and liver TG concentrations. Thyroid hormone concentrations were positively correlated with serum dextran precipitable cholesterol concentrations. Inositol supplementation was associated with reduced circulating T3 and FT3 concentrations, but not T4 and FT4 concentrations. Changes in hormone concentrations at parturition and their relationship to liver TG and serum NEFA concentrations were consistent with a metabolic adaptation by the dairy cow to the negative energy balance of early lactation.

  15. Targeted liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis of serum acylcarnitines in acetaminophen toxicity in children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhattacharyya, Sudeepa; Yan, Ke; Pence, Lisa; Simpson, Pippa M; Gill, Pritmohinder; Letzig, Lynda G; Beger, Richard D; Sullivan, Janice E; Kearns, Gregory L; Reed, Michael D; Marshall, James D; Van Den Anker, John N; James, Laura P

    2014-01-01

    Aim Long-chain acylcarnitines have been postulated to be sensitive biomarkers of acetaminophen (APAP)-induced hepatotoxicity in mouse models. In the following study, the relationship of acylcarnitines with other known indicators of APAP toxicity was examined in children receiving low-dose (therapeutic) and high-dose (‘overdose’ or toxic ingestion) exposure to APAP. Materials & methods The study included three subject groups: group A (therapeutic dose, n = 187); group B (healthy controls, n = 23); and group C (overdose, n = 62). Demographic, clinical and laboratory data were collected for each subject. Serum samples were used for measurement of APAP protein adducts, a biomarker of the oxidative metabolism of APAP and for targeted metabolomics analysis of serum acylcarnitines using ultra performance liquid chromatography–triple-quadrupole mass spectrometry. Results Significant increases in oleoyl- and palmitoyl-carnitines were observed with APAP exposure (low dose and overdose) compared with controls. Significant increases in serum ALT, APAP protein adducts and acylcarnitines were observed in overdose children that received delayed treatment (time to treatment from overdose >24 h) with the antidote N-acetylcysteine. Time to peak APAP protein adducts in serum was shorter than that of the acylcarnitines and serum ALT. Conclusion Perturbations in long-chain acylcarnitines in children with APAP toxicity suggest that mitochrondrial injury and associated impairment in the β-oxidation of fatty acids are clinically relevant as biomarkers of APAP toxicity. PMID:24521011

  16. Agreement of serum potassium measured by blood gas and biochemistry analyzer in patients with moderate to severe hyperkalemia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Acikgoz, Seyyid Bilal; Genc, Ahmet Bilal; Sipahi, Savas; Yildirim, Mehmet; Cinemre, Behice; Tamer, Ali; Solak, Yalcin

    2016-05-01

    Several studies investigated the agreement between central laboratory biochemistry analyzers and blood gas analyzers for potassium measurements. However, data are scarce when the potassium level is moderate to severely high. We aimed to evaluate the agreement between central laboratory biochemistry analyzers and blood gas analyzer in terms of serum potassium level measurement because differences in potassium at this level translate into very different clinical actions. This was a retrospective medical record review study in which patients who presented to the emergency department and had serum potassium levels ≥6mmol/L were included. Patients who did not have simultaneous potassium measurement by blood gas analyzer were excluded. We included all patients meeting potassium criteria irrespective of their underlying disease or comorbidities. We evaluated agreement between the measurement methods with Pearson correlation, Bland-Altman plot, and Sign test. A total of 118 blood sample pairs were included. The mean serum potassium level measured by biochemistry analyzer was 6.78±0.79mmol/L, whereas it was 6.16±0.86mmol/L by blood gas analyzer (Pbiochemistry analyzer. The mean difference between the methods was 0.62±0.43mmol/L. In patients with moderate to severe hyperkalemia, blood gas analyzer and biochemistry analyzer gives significantly different serum potassium results which may be clinically important. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. A competitive immunoassay for ultrasensitive detection of Hg(2+) in water, human serum and urine samples using immunochromatographic test based on surface-enhanced Raman scattering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    She, Pei; Chu, Yanxin; Liu, Chunwei; Guo, Xun; Zhao, Kang; Li, Jianguo; Du, Haijing; Zhang, Xiang; Wang, Hong; Deng, Anping

    2016-02-04

    An immunochromatographic test (ICT) strip was developed for ultrasensitive competitive immunoassay of Hg(2+). This strategy was achieved by combining the easy-operation and rapidity of ICT with the high sensitivity of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). Monoclonal antibody (mAb) against Hg(2+) and Raman active substance 4-mercaptobenzoic acid (MBA) dual labelled gold nanoparticles (GNPs) were prepared as an immunoprobe. The Raman scattering intensity of MBA on the test line of the ICT strip was measured for quantitative determination of Hg(2+). The ICT was able to directly detect Hg(2+) without complexing due to the specific recognition of the mAb with Hg(2+). The IC50 and limit of detection (LOD) of the assay for Hg(2+) detection were 0.12 ng mL(-1) and 0.45 pg mL(-1), respectively. There was no cross-reactivity (CR) of the assay with other nineteen ions and the ICT strips could be kept for 5 weeks without loss of activity. The recoveries of the assay for water, human serum and urine samples spiked with Hg(2+) were in range of 88.3-107.3% with the relative standard deviations (RSD) of 1.5-9.5% (n = 3). The proposed ICT was used for the detection of Hg(2+) in urine samples collected from Occupational Disease Hospital and the results were confirmed by cold-vapor atomic fluorescence spectroscopy (CV-AFS). The assay exhibited high sensitivity, selectivity, stability, precision and accuracy, demonstrating a promising method for the detection of trace amount of Hg(2+) in environmental water samples and biological serum and urine samples. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Organohalogenated contaminants (OHCs) in the serum and hair of pet cats and dogs: Biosentinels of indoor pollution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ali, Nadeem; Malik, Riffat Naseem; Mehdi, Toufeer; Eqani, Syed Ali Musstjab Akber Shah; Javeed, Aqeel; Neels, Hugo; Covaci, Adrian

    2013-01-01

    Concentrations of different classes of organohalogenated contaminants (OHCs) viz., polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), novel brominated flame retardants (NBFRs), bromophenols (BPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and their metabolites were determined in cat and dog serum and hair samples from Pakistan. The major DDT metabolite, p,p′-DDE, was the major OHC in cat serum (N = 20) and ranged between 1 and 2150 ng/g lipid weight (lw). p,p′-DDE was not detected in dog serum (N = 16). In contrary to other OHCs, levels of ∑HO-PCBs were significantly higher in dog serum (median = 6.0 ng/g lw) than cat serum (median = 2.2 ng/g lw). Levels of most OHCs were significantly higher (p ∑NBFRs > ∑PBDEs > ∑PCB, with the highest concentrations being around 38 ng/g hair. In paired hair-serum cat samples (N = 12), ∑DDTs (r = 0.65, p = 0.001) were significantly correlated, while for all other OHCs no significant correlations (p < 0.001) were observed in both cats and dogs. Our findings on both hair and serum samples suggested that pet dogs do not bioaccumulate DDTs. Our results are also in agreement with the hypothesis that pets may serve as biosentinels for indoor pollution. This is the first study to document the presence of OHCs in pets from Pakistan and provides baseline information for future monitoring of OHCs in pets. - Highlights: ► Different classes of OHCs were analyzed in pet serum and hair from Pakistan. ► p,p′-DDE was the major pollutant in cat serum, but was < LOQ in dog serum. ► Except HO-PCBs all other classes of OHCs were higher in cat than in dog serum. ► Three of the novel BFRs were detected in pet hair samples. ► Most of OHCs were present at higher levels in cats than humans from the same region

  19. Interleukin-6, intracellular adhesion molecule-1, and glycodelin A levels in serum and peritoneal fluid as biomarkers for endometriosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mosbah, Alaa; Nabiel, Yasmin; Khashaba, Eman

    2016-09-01

    To compare levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), and glycodelin A in serum and peritoneal fluid of patients with and without endometriosis, and to correlate levels with disease stage. An observational study was undertaken at Mansoura University Hospital, Egypt, between March 2014 and June 2015. Patients aged 21-48 years laparoscopically diagnosed with endometriosis and those without endometriosis who underwent laparoscopy for tubal ligation were included. Levels of IL-6, ICAM-1, and glycodelin A were measured in samples of serum and peritoneal fluid. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to evaluate diagnostic accuracy. Forty-eight women with endometriosis and 20 without the disorder were included. IL-6 and glycodelin A levels in serum and peritoneal fluid were higher in the endometriosis group than in the control group (Pperitoneal fluid markers were 85.4% and 89.0%, 60.4% and 50.0%, and 89.6% and 90.0%, respectively. IL-6 and glycodelin A levels in serum and peritoneal fluid increased with disease stage (Pendometriosis and are positively correlated with the disease stage. Copyright © 2016 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Depression and BMI influences the serum vascular endothelial growth factor level

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Elfving, Betina; Buttenschøn, Henriette Nørmølle; Foldager, Leslie

    2014-01-01

    in serum by immunoassay and independent determinants of the serum VEGF level were assessed by generalized linear models.The main findings were that depression, severity of depression, previous depressive episodes, age and body mass index (BMI) were associated with higher serum VEGF levels. The genetic...... marker rs10434 was significantly associated with depression after correction for multiple testing, but not with the serum VEGF level. Our final model included depression and BMI as predictors of serum VEGF levels. Our study suggests a role for circulating serum VEGF in depression. Furthermore, our data...

  1. Use of containers with sterilizing filter in autologous serum eyedrops.

    Science.gov (United States)

    López-García, José S; García-Lozano, Isabel

    2012-11-01

    To assess the effect of the use of containers with an adapted sterilizing filter on the contamination of autologous serum eyedrops. Prospective, consecutive, comparative, and randomized study. Thirty patients with Sjögren syndrome. One hundred seventy-six autologous serum containers used in home therapy were studied; 48 of them included an adapted filter (Hyabak; Thea, Clermont-Ferrand, France), and the other 128 were conventional containers. Containers equipped with a filter were tested at 7, 14, 21, and 28 days of use, whereas conventional containers were studied after 7 days of use. In addition, testing for contamination was carried out in 14 conventional containers used during in-patient therapy every week for 4 weeks. In all cases, the preparation of the autologous serum was similar. Blood agar and chocolate agar were used as regular culture media for the microbiologic studies, whereas Sabouraud agar with chloramphenicol was the medium for fungal studies. Microbiologic contamination of containers with autologous serum eyedrops. Only one of the containers with an adapted sterilizing filter (2.1%) became contaminated with Staphylococcus epidermidis after 1 month of treatment, whereas the contamination rate among conventional containers reached 28.9% after 7 days of treatment. The most frequent germs found in the samples were coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (48.6%). With regard the containers used in the in-patient setting, 2 (14.3%) became contaminated after 2 weeks, 5 (35.7%) became contaminated after 3 weeks, and 5 (50%) became contaminated after 4 weeks, leaving 7 (50%) that did not become contaminated after 1 month of treatment. Using containers with an adapted filter significantly reduces the contamination rates in autologous serum eyedrops, thus extending the use of such container by the patients for up to 4 weeks with virtually no contamination risks. Copyright © 2012 American Academy of Ophthalmology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Determination of human albumin in serum and urine samples by constant-energy synchronous fluorescence method.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Madrakian, Tayyebeh; Bagheri, Habibollah; Afkhami, Abbas

    2015-08-01

    A sensitive spectrofluorimetric method using constant-energy synchronous fluorescence technique is proposed for the determination of human albumin without separation. In this method, no reagent was used for enhancement of the fluorescence signal of albumin in the solution. Effects of some parameters, such as energy difference between excitation and emission monochromators (ΔE), emission and excitation slit widths and scan rate of wavelength were studied and the optimum conditions were established. For this purpose factorial design and response surface method were employed for optimization of the effective parameters on the fluorescence signal. The results showed that the scan rate of the wavelength has no significant effect on the analytical signal. The calibration curve was linear in the range 0.1-220.0 µg mL(-1) of albumin with a detection limit of 7.0 × 10(-3)  µg mL(-1). The relative standard deviations (RSD) for six replicate measurements of albumin were calculated as 2.2%, 1.7% and 1.3% for 0.5, 10.0 and 100.0 µg mL(-1) albumin, respectively. Furthermore the proposed method has been employed for the determination of albumin in human serum and urine samples. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  3. Serum proteomics reveals systemic dysregulation of innate immunity in type 1 diabetes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Qibin; Fillmore, Thomas L.; Schepmoes, Athena A.; Clauss, Therese RW; Gritsenko, Marina A.; Mueller, Patricia W.; Rewers, Marian; Atkinson, Mark A.; Smith, Richard D.; Metz, Thomas O.

    2013-01-14

    Using global liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS)-based proteomics analyses, we identified 24 serum proteins significantly variant between those with type 1 diabetes and healthy controls. Functionally, these proteins represent innate immune responses, the activation cascade of complement, inflammatory responses and blood coagulation. Targeted verification analyses were performed on 52 surrogate peptides representing these proteins with serum samples from an antibody standardization program cohort of 100 healthy control and 50 type 1 diabetic subjects, and 16 peptides were verified having very good discriminating power, with areas under the receiver operator characteristic curve ≥ 0.8. Further validation with blinded serum samples from an independent cohort (10 healthy control and 10 type 1 diabetic) demonstrated that peptides from platelet basic protein and C1 inhibitor achieved both 100% sensitivity and 100% specificity for classification of samples. The disease specificity of these proteins was assessed using serum from 50 age matched type 2 diabetic individuals, and a subset of proteins, particularly C1 inhibitor were exceptionally good discriminators between these two forms of diabetes. The panel of biomarkers distinguishing those with type 1 diabetes from healthy control and type 2 diabetes suggests dysregulated innate immune responses may be associated with the development of this disorder.

  4. The effect of serum magnesium levels and serum endothelin-1 levels on bone mineral density in protein energy malnutrition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ozturk, C F; Karakelleoglu, C; Orbak, Z; Yildiz, L

    2012-06-01

    An inadequate and imbalanced intake of protein and energy results in protein-energy malnutrition (PEM). It is known that bone mineral density and serum magnesium levels are low in malnourished children. However, the roles of serum magnesium and endothelin-1 (ET-1) levels in the pathophysiology of bone mineralization are obscure. Thus, the relationships between serum magnesium and ET-1 levels and the changes in bone mineral density were investigated in this study. There was a total of 32 subjects, 25 of them had PEM and seven were controls. While mean serum ET-1 levels of the children with kwashiorkor and marasmus showed no statistically significant difference, mean serum ET-1 levels of both groups were significantly higher than that of the control group. Serum magnesium levels were lower than normal value in 9 (36%) of 25 malnourished children. Malnourished children included in this study were divided into two subgroups according to their serum magnesium levels. While mean serum ET-1 levels in the group with low magnesium levels were significantly higher than that of the group with normal magnesium levels (p malnutrition. Our study suggested that lower magnesium levels and higher ET-1 levels might be important factors in changes of bone mineral density in malnutrition. We recommend that the malnourished patients, especially with hypomagnesaemia, should be treated with magnesium early.

  5. Diagnostic evaluation of serum FSH and LH in primary amenorrhea by radioimmunoassay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hong, I.S.; Kim, G.E.; Yoo, H.S.; Lee, J.T.; Park, C.Y.

    1980-01-01

    The usefulness of single, random measurements of serum FSH and LH in the diagnosis of primary amenorrhea by radioimmunoassay was investigated. The 16 patients were divided into 3 groups by the level of serum FSH and LH. The first group with increased level of serum FSH and LH is five patients, all of these are related to the acquired or congenital abnormality of the ovary. Further studies indicated include buccal smear, chromosome analysis, gynecography and laparoscopy. The second group with normal serum FSH and LH is nine patients, four patients of these are related to the developmental anomaly of the Mullerian duct and five patients are undetermined origin. Further studies indicated include laparoscopy and gynecography. The third group with decreased serum FSH and normal or decreased serum LH is two patients, one of these is related to the pituitary function, isolated FSH deficiency, the other is undetermined origin. Further studies indicated include the pituitary function test, LH-RH stimulation test, skull radiography. Determination of serum FSH and LH levels does not permit a specific etiologic diagnosis of promary amenorrhea. However the serum levels of FSH and LH can be used to differentiate the principal area of the investigation and can be of assistance in choosing more specific testing procedures. (Author)

  6. Serum glutathione transferase does not respond to indole-3-carbinol: A pilot study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel R McGrath

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available Daniel R McGrath1, Hamid Frydoonfar2, Joshua J Hunt3, Chris J Dunkley3, Allan D Spigelman41Ipswich Hospital, Ipswich, UK; 2Hunter Pathology Service, New South Wales; 3Royal Newcastle Centre, Newcastle; 4St Vincent’s Clinical School, Sydney, AustraliaBackground: Despite the well recognized protective effect of cruciferous vegetables against various cancers, including human colorectal cancers, little is known about how this effect is conferred. It is thought that some phytochemicals found only in these vegetables confer the protection. These compounds include the glucosinolates, of which indole-3-carbinol is one. They are known to induce carcinogen-metabolizing (phase II enzymes, including the glutathione S-transferase (GST family. Other effects in humans are not well documented. We wished to assess the effect of indole-3-carbinol on GST enzymes.Methods: We carried out a placebo-controlled human volunteer study. All patients were given 400 mg daily of indole-3-carbinol for three months, followed by placebo. Serum samples were tested for the GSTM1 genotype by polymerase chain reaction. Serum GST levels were assessed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western Blot methodologies.Results: Forty-nine volunteers completed the study. GSTM1 genotypes were obtained for all but two volunteers. A slightly greater proportion of volunteers were GSTM1-positive, in keeping with the general population. GST was detected in all patients. Total GST level was not affected by indole-3-carbinol dosing compared with placebo. Although not statistically significant, the GSTM1 genotype affected the serum GST level response to indole-3-carbinol.Conclusion: Indole-3-carbinol does not alter total serum GST levels during prolonged dosing.Keywords: pilot study, colorectal cancer, glutathione transferase, human, indole-3-carbinol

  7. Association between Obesity and Serum 25(OH)D Concentrations in Older Mexican Adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rontoyanni, Victoria G; Avila, Jaqueline C; Kaul, Sapna; Wong, Rebeca; Veeranki, Sreenivas P

    2017-01-31

    Vitamin D is essential for maintaining bone mineralization and calcium homeostasis, and prevents falls and fractures in older adults. Mexico is undergoing an epidemiologic and demographic transition with increasing obesity rates. The study's aim was to determine the association of obesity with serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations in older Mexican adults. Data from 1772 Mexicans, aged ≥50 years, enrolled in a sub-sample of the 3rd wave of the Mexican Health and Aging Study, were included. Serum 25(OH)D concentrations were used to define vitamin D status, and were categorized into tertiles. Body mass index measures were used to categorize older adults into under/normal weight, overweight, and obese groups. Multinomial logistic regression models were used to assess the relationship, adjusting for potential confounders. Approximately 40% and 37% of older Mexican adults were either overweight or obese, respectively. Compared to under/normal weight older Mexicans, obese adults were 1.78 times (95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.27-2.48) and 1.94 times (95% CI 1.40-2.68) more associated with the first and second tertile concentrations of serum 25(OH)D, respectively. Overweight adults were 1.52 times (95% CI 1.12-2.06) more associated with the second tertile of serum 25(OH)D concentration than under/normal weight adults. Overweight/Obesity was found to be significantly associated with low concentrations of serum 25(OH) in older Mexican adults.

  8. Serum and tissue angiotensin-converting enzyme in patients with alopecia areata.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fahim, Shabnam; Montazer, Fatemeh; Tohidinik, Hamid Reza; Naraghi, Zahra Safaei; Abedini, Robabeh; Nasimi, Maryam; Ghandi, Narges

    2018-03-27

    Alopecia areata is an immune-dependent disorder characterized by the interaction of T-lymphocytes with follicular antigens. Recent studies have shown the existence of a local renin-angiotensin system in the skin, where angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) plays a role in autoimmunity and inflammation. The objective of this study was to evaluate serum and tissue ACE activity in patients with alopecia areata. This case-control study was conducted on patients with alopecia areata and healthy controls. Serum and tissue ACE activity were assessed and compared between the two groups. Twenty-five alopecia areata patients (60% male, mean age 32.1 ± 9.9 years) and 24 controls (50% male, mean age 37.4 ± 8.8 years) were included. Mean serum ACE activity was 52.1 ± 9 U/L in cases and 55.3 ± 14.7 U/L in controls (P = 0.37). Tissue ACE activity was significantly lower in cases in all parts of the skin i.e. epidermis (P = 0.016), follicular epithelium (P = 0.004), and endothelium (P = 0.037). Among cases, serum ACE activity was significantly higher in patients with more severe disease (P = 0.030), nonpatchy alopecia areata (alopecia universalis; ophiasis, patchy and ophiasis, diffuse) (P = 0.029), and with nail involvement (P = 0.027). The sample size was too small to draw definite conclusions. Further, most of the patients had only mild or moderate alopecia areata. Unlike in some other inflammatory diseases, the tissue level of ACE seems to be significantly lower in alopecia areata compared to normal controls. Serum ACE was significantly higher in patients with more severe disease.

  9. Serum and Plasma Metabolomic Biomarkers for Lung Cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Nishith; Shahjaman, Md; Mollah, Md Nurul Haque; Islam, S M Shahinul; Hoque, Md Aminul

    2017-01-01

    In drug invention and early disease prediction of lung cancer, metabolomic biomarker detection is very important. Mortality rate can be decreased, if cancer is predicted at the earlier stage. Recent diagnostic techniques for lung cancer are not prognosis diagnostic techniques. However, if we know the name of the metabolites, whose intensity levels are considerably changing between cancer subject and control subject, then it will be easy to early diagnosis the disease as well as to discover the drug. Therefore, in this paper we have identified the influential plasma and serum blood sample metabolites for lung cancer and also identified the biomarkers that will be helpful for early disease prediction as well as for drug invention. To identify the influential metabolites, we considered a parametric and a nonparametric test namely student׳s t-test as parametric and Kruskal-Wallis test as non-parametric test. We also categorized the up-regulated and down-regulated metabolites by the heatmap plot and identified the biomarkers by support vector machine (SVM) classifier and pathway analysis. From our analysis, we got 27 influential (p-value<0.05) metabolites from plasma sample and 13 influential (p-value<0.05) metabolites from serum sample. According to the importance plot through SVM classifier, pathway analysis and correlation network analysis, we declared 4 metabolites (taurine, aspertic acid, glutamine and pyruvic acid) as plasma biomarker and 3 metabolites (aspartic acid, taurine and inosine) as serum biomarker.

  10. Elevated baseline serum glutamate as a pharmacometabolomic biomarker for acamprosate treatment outcome in alcohol-dependent subjects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nam, H W; Karpyak, V M; Hinton, D J; Geske, J R; Ho, A M C; Prieto, M L; Biernacka, J M; Frye, M A; Weinshilboum, R M; Choi, D-S

    2015-01-01

    Acamprosate has been widely used since the Food and Drug Administration approved the medication for treatment of alcohol use disorders (AUDs) in 2004. Although the detailed molecular mechanism of acamprosate remains unclear, it has been largely known that acamprosate inhibits glutamate action in the brain. However, AUD is a complex and heterogeneous disorder. Thus, biomarkers are required to prescribe this medication to patients who will have the highest likelihood of responding positively. To identify pharmacometabolomic biomarkers of acamprosate response, we utilized serum samples from 120 alcohol-dependent subjects, including 71 responders (maintained continuous abstinence) and 49 non-responders (any alcohol use) during 12 weeks of acamprosate treatment. Notably, baseline serum glutamate levels were significantly higher in responders compared with non-responders. Importantly, serum glutamate levels of responders are normalized after acamprosate treatment, whereas there was no significant glutamate change in non-responders. Subsequent functional studies in animal models revealed that, in the absence of alcohol, acamprosate activates glutamine synthetase, which synthesizes glutamine from glutamate and ammonia. These results suggest that acamprosate reduces serum glutamate levels for those who have elevated baseline serum glutamate levels among responders. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that elevated baseline serum glutamate levels are a potential biomarker associated with positive acamprosate response, which is an important step towards development of a personalized approach to treatment for AUD. PMID:26285131

  11. Effects of blood collection conditions on ovarian cancer serum markers.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jason D Thorpe

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available Evaluating diagnostic and early detection biomarkers requires comparing serum protein concentrations among biosamples ascertained from subjects with and without cancer. Efforts are generally made to standardize blood processing and storage conditions for cases and controls, but blood sample collection conditions cannot be completely controlled. For example, blood samples from cases are often obtained from persons aware of their diagnoses, and collected after fasting or in surgery, whereas blood samples from some controls may be obtained in different conditions, such as a clinic visit. By measuring the effects of differences in collection conditions on three different markers, we investigated the potential of these effects to bias validation studies.We analyzed serum concentrations of three previously studied putative ovarian cancer serum biomarkers-CA 125, Prolactin and MIF-in healthy women, women with ovarian cancer undergoing gynecologic surgery, women undergoing surgery for benign ovary pathology, and women undergoing surgery with pathologically normal ovaries. For women undergoing surgery, a blood sample was collected either in the clinic 1 to 39 days prior to surgery, or on the day of surgery after anesthesia was administered but prior to the surgical procedure, or both. We found that one marker, prolactin, was dramatically affected by collection conditions, while CA 125 and MIF were unaffected. Prolactin levels were not different between case and control groups after accounting for the conditions of sample collection, suggesting that sample ascertainment could explain some or all of the previously reported results about its potential as a biomarker for ovarian cancer.Biomarker validation studies should use standardized collection conditions, use multiple control groups, and/or collect samples from cases prior to influence of diagnosis whenever feasible to detect and correct for potential biases associated with sample collection.

  12. Plasma and serum lipidomics of healthy white adults shows characteristic profiles by subjects' gender and age.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Masaki Ishikawa

    Full Text Available Blood is a commonly used biofluid for biomarker discovery. Although blood lipid metabolites are considered to be potential biomarker candidates, their fundamental properties are not well characterized. We aimed to (1 investigate the matrix type (serum vs. plasma that may be preferable for lipid biomarker exploration, (2 elucidate age- and gender-associated differences in lipid metabolite levels, and (3 examine the stability of lipid metabolites in matrix samples subjected to repeated freeze-thaw cycles. Using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, we performed lipidomic analyses for fasting plasma and serum samples for four groups (15 subjects/group of young and elderly (25-34 and 55-64 years old, respectively males and females and for an additional aliquot of samples from young males, which were subjected to repeated freeze-thaw cycles. Lysophosphatidylcholine and diacylglycerol levels were higher in serum than in plasma samples, suggesting that the clotting process influences serum lipid metabolite levels. Gender-associated differences highlighted that the levels of many sphingomyelin species were significantly higher in females than in males, irrespective of age and matrix (plasma and serum. Age-associated differences were more prominent in females than in males, and in both matrices, levels of many triacylglycerols were significantly higher in elderly females than in young females. Plasma and serum levels of most lipid metabolites were reduced by freeze-thawing. Our results indicate that plasma is an optimal matrix for exploring lipid biomarkers because it represents the original properties of an individual's blood sample. In addition, the levels of some blood lipid species of healthy adults showed gender- and age-associated differences; thus, this should be considered during biomarker exploration and its application in diagnostics. Our fundamental findings on sample selection and handling procedures for measuring blood lipid metabolites

  13. [Value of polymerase chain reaction in serum for the diagnosis of enteroviral meningitis].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marque Juillet, S; Lion, M; Pilmis, B; Tomini, E; Dommergues, M-A; Laporte, S; Foucaud, P

    2013-06-01

    Enteroviruses (EV) are a common cause of aseptic meningitis in children. Virological diagnosis of EV meningitis is currently based on the detection of the viral genome in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). This study attempted to determine the correlation and the temporality of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay in serum and CSF and to evaluate the possibility of diagnosing EV infection only on the serum PCR. The EV genome was sought by RT real-time PCR (Smart Cycler EV Primer and Probe Set(®), Cepheid) in CSF and serum, collected at the same time, for all children who underwent a lumbar puncture for suspected meningitis, between 1 June and 31 July 2010 at the Versailles Hospital. Forty-four patients were included in the study. EV infection was documented for 22 of them. In 10 patients, the EV genome was detected in CSF only; in 3 patients in serum only, and in 9 patients in both. Among patients with acute EV neurological infection, viremic children were significantly younger (1.6 months versus 5.8 years; Pvalue of EV PCR in serum. It suggests that in some children and under certain conditions (age >3 months, clinical and biological compatibility with a viral infection, no previous antibiotic therapy, time from symptom onset to blood sampling <30 h, PCR in serum analyzed within 3h), PCR in serum, when positive, is a possible alternative. Therefore, it may be possible to diagnose EV infection without performing a lumbar puncture in a limited number of young children (11.4% of our suspected cases). This study needs to be reinforced by a multicenter study with a broader panel of patients. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  14. The Impact of Including Below Detection Limit Samples in Post Decommissioning Soil Sample Analyses

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Jung Hwan; Yim, Man-Sung [KAIST, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-10-15

    To meet the required standards the site owner has to show that the soil at the facility has been sufficiently cleaned up. To do this one must know the contamination of the soil at the site prior to clean up. This involves sampling that soil to identify the degree of contamination. However there is a technical difficulty in determining how much decontamination should be done. The problem arises when measured samples are below the detection limit. Regulatory guidelines for site reuse after decommissioning are commonly challenged because the majority of the activity in the soil at or below the limit of detection. Using additional statistical analyses of contaminated soil after decommissioning is expected to have the following advantages: a better and more reliable probabilistic exposure assessment, better economics (lower project costs) and improved communication with the public. This research will develop an approach that defines an acceptable method for demonstrating compliance of decommissioned NPP sites and validates that compliance. Soil samples from NPP often contain censored data. Conventional methods for dealing with censored data sets are statistically biased and limited in their usefulness. In this research, additional methods are performed using real data from a monazite manufacturing factory.

  15. Genetic and environmental influences of surfactant protein D serum levels

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sorensen, G.L.; Hjelmborg, J.V.; Kyvik, K.O.

    2006-01-01

    defining the constitutional serum level of SP-D and determine the magnitude of the genetic contribution to serum SP-D in the adult population. Recent studies have demonstrated that serum SP-D concentrations in children are genetically determined and that a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) located...... in the NH(2)-terminal region (Met11Thr) of the mature protein is significantly associated with the serum SP-D levels. A classic twin study was performed on a twin population including 1,476 self-reported healthy adults. The serum SP-D levels increased with male sex, age, and smoking status. The intraclass...

  16. Genetic and environmental influences of surfactant protein D serum levels

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Grith Lykke; Hjelmborg, Jacob v. B.; Kyvik, Kirsten Ohm

    2006-01-01

    in the NH(2)-terminal region (Met11Thr) of the mature protein is significantly associated with the serum SP-D levels. A classic twin study was performed on a twin population including 1,476 self-reported healthy adults. The serum SP-D levels increased with male sex, age, and smoking status. The intraclass...... defining the constitutional serum level of SP-D and determine the magnitude of the genetic contribution to serum SP-D in the adult population. Recent studies have demonstrated that serum SP-D concentrations in children are genetically determined and that a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) located...

  17. Comparison of blood serum selenium concentrations from elderly population living in Sao Paulo city and literature data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saiki, Mitiko; Alves, Edson R.; Vasconcellos, Marina B.A.; Sumita, Nairo M.; Jaluul, Omar; Jacob Filho, Wilson

    2005-01-01

    Selenium is an essential nutrient of fundamental importance to human biology. This element is a component of the enzyme glutathione peroxidase that avoids the formation of free radicals protecting the organism against the oxidative damage. The Se concentrations in serum vary from one part of the world to another and this fact has been satisfactorily explained as a consequence of different Se intakes of the population. The main objective of this paper was the determination of serum Se concentrations in healthy elderly population included in a program for 'Successful Ageing' of the Hospital das Clinicas, Sao Paulo University Medical School. The blood samples were collected after a 12 h fast from 32 subjects aged 60 to 87 years. The blood was centrifuged after completely clotted and 4.0 mL of serum were freeze.dried for Se determination using neutron activation analysis. The serum samples and Se standard were irradiated for 16 h under a thermal neutron flux of de 5 x 10 12 n cm - '2 s -1 at the IEA-R1 nuclear reactor. Se was determined by measuring the gamma activity of 75 Se using an HGe detector coupled to a gamma ray spectrometer. The mean value of (0.92±0.07) μmol L -1 was obtained for serum Se concentration. This value is within the data used as reference values in clinical laboratories and those published in literature. Results obtained for certified reference materials NIST 1566b Oyster Tissue and NIST 1577b Bovine Liver showed good precision and agreed with the certified values. The relative standard deviation of the results was lower than 4.8 % and relative error lower than 0.97 %. Detection limit value obtained for serum Se determination was 0.003 μmol L-1. (author)

  18. Comparison of the extraction and determination of serum exosome and miRNA in serum and the detection of miR-27a-3p in serum exosome of ALS patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Qian; Zhao, Yuying; Zhou, Xiaoyan; Luan, Jing; Cui, Yazhou; Han, Jinxiang

    2018-02-01

    Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a muscle-bone degenerative disease, which lacks a specific index for diagnosis. In our previous studies, we found that exosomes mediated the interaction mechanism between muscle and bone at the cellular level, and myoblast exosomes can transfer miR-27a-3p to promote osteoblast mineralization. Therefore, we suppose that the expression of miR-27a-3p in the serum exosomes of ALS patients also changes. In this study, we used healthy human serum as a sample to find out the conditions and methods for extraction and detection. Then through comparison of the expression of miR-27a-3p in the serum exosomes of 10 ALS patients and healthy subjects, we found that in the ALS patients miR-27a-3p was down-regulated, and may be involved in the development of ALS, and therefore has potential as a reference for the diagnosis of ALS in the clinic.

  19. Study on polychlorobiphenyl serum levels in French consumers of freshwater fish

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Desvignes, Virginie; Volatier, Jean-Luc; Bels, Frédéric de; Zeghnoun, Abdelkrim; Favrot, Marie-Christine; Marchand, Philippe; Le Bizec, Bruno; Rivière, Gilles; Leblanc, Jean-Charles; Merlo, Mathilde

    2015-01-01

    Introduction: Polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs) are persistent pollutants that are widespread in the environment and in foodstuffs, particularly in freshwater fish, which frequently exceed the maximum levels set by European regulations. Objectives: First, we describe the consumption of freshwater fish and serum PCB levels in French anglers, a population expected to have the highest level of dietary PCB exposure. Second, we investigated whether there is a statistical relationship between serum PCB levels and the angler consumption of freshwater fish with high PCB bioaccumulation potential (PCB-BP + freshwater fish) in order to make recommendations with regard to safe consumption of freshwater fish. Methods: We conducted a survey of anglers from six sites with contrasting PCB contamination levels. The survey included a food consumption frequency questionnaire and blood samples were taken to assess serum PCB levels. We used a regression model to determine the main factors contributing to serum PCB levels. Results: Consumption of PCB-BP + freshwater fish was relatively infrequent. Serum PCB levels of the study population and of women of childbearing age were in the same range as those observed in the French population and in neighbouring European countries, but higher than in the North American population. The two factors with the highest positive association with serum PCB levels were age (R 2 = 61%) and the consumption of PCB-BP + freshwater fish (R 2 = 2%). Using the regression model, we calculated, for several scenarios depending on the age and gender of the population, the maximum annual frequencies for PCB-BP + freshwater fish consumption that do not exceed the critical body burden threshold. Conclusion: Following the results of this study, the French agency for food, environmental and occupational health and safety (ANSES) issued an opinion and recommended some specific maximum freshwater fish consumption frequencies to protect the French general population

  20. Study on polychlorobiphenyl serum levels in French consumers of freshwater fish

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Desvignes, Virginie, E-mail: virginie.desvignes@anses.fr [Risk Assessment Department, French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES), 27–31, avenue du Général Leclerc, Maisons-Alfort, F-94701 (France); Volatier, Jean-Luc [Risk Assessment Department, French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES), 27–31, avenue du Général Leclerc, Maisons-Alfort, F-94701 (France); Bels, Frédéric de [Division for Public Health and Care, French National Cancer Institute (INCa), 52, avenue André Morizet, Boulogne Billancourt Cedex, F-92513 (France); Zeghnoun, Abdelkrim [Department of Environmental Health, French Institute for Public Health Surveillance (InVS), 12, rue du Val d' Osne, Saint-Maurice, F-94415 (France); Favrot, Marie-Christine [Ministry of Health, 14, avenue Duquesne, Paris, F-75350 (France); Marchand, Philippe; Le Bizec, Bruno [LUNAM Université, Oniris, Laboratoire d' Etude des Résidus et Contaminants dans les Aliments (LABERCA), USC INRA 1329, Nantes, F-44307 (France); Rivière, Gilles; Leblanc, Jean-Charles; Merlo, Mathilde [Risk Assessment Department, French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES), 27–31, avenue du Général Leclerc, Maisons-Alfort, F-94701 (France)

    2015-02-01

    Introduction: Polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs) are persistent pollutants that are widespread in the environment and in foodstuffs, particularly in freshwater fish, which frequently exceed the maximum levels set by European regulations. Objectives: First, we describe the consumption of freshwater fish and serum PCB levels in French anglers, a population expected to have the highest level of dietary PCB exposure. Second, we investigated whether there is a statistical relationship between serum PCB levels and the angler consumption of freshwater fish with high PCB bioaccumulation potential (PCB-BP{sup +} freshwater fish) in order to make recommendations with regard to safe consumption of freshwater fish. Methods: We conducted a survey of anglers from six sites with contrasting PCB contamination levels. The survey included a food consumption frequency questionnaire and blood samples were taken to assess serum PCB levels. We used a regression model to determine the main factors contributing to serum PCB levels. Results: Consumption of PCB-BP{sup +} freshwater fish was relatively infrequent. Serum PCB levels of the study population and of women of childbearing age were in the same range as those observed in the French population and in neighbouring European countries, but higher than in the North American population. The two factors with the highest positive association with serum PCB levels were age (R{sup 2} = 61%) and the consumption of PCB-BP{sup +} freshwater fish (R{sup 2} = 2%). Using the regression model, we calculated, for several scenarios depending on the age and gender of the population, the maximum annual frequencies for PCB-BP{sup +} freshwater fish consumption that do not exceed the critical body burden threshold. Conclusion: Following the results of this study, the French agency for food, environmental and occupational health and safety (ANSES) issued an opinion and recommended some specific maximum freshwater fish consumption frequencies to protect the French

  1. Magnetic immunoassay using CdSe/ZnS quantum dots as fluorescent probes to detect the level of DNA methyltransferase 1 in human serum sample

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu F

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Fei Yu,1,* Ya-min Xiong,1,* Song-cheng Yu,1 Lei-liang He,1 Shan-shan Niu,1 Yu-ming Wu,1 Jie Liu,1 Ling-bo Qu,2 Li-e Liu,1 Yong-jun Wu1 1College of Public Health, 2College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Background: DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1, a dominant enzyme responsible for the transfer of a methyl group from the universal methyl donor to the 5-position of cytosine residues in DNA, is essential for mammalian development and closely related to cancer and a variety of age-related chronic diseases. DNMT1 has become a useful biomarker in early disease diagnosis and a potential therapeutic target in cancer therapy and drug development. However, till now, most of the studies on DNA methyltransferase (MTase detection have focused on the prokaryote MTase and its activity.Methods: A magnetic fluorescence-linked immunosorbent assay (FLISA using CdSe/ZnS quantum dots as fluorescent probes was proposed for the rapid and sensitive detection of the DNMT1 level in this study. Key factors that affect the precision and accuracy of the determination of DNMT1 were optimized.Results: Under the optimal conditions, the limit of detection was 0.1 ng/mL, the linear range was 0.1–1,500 ng/mL, the recovery was 91.67%–106.50%, and the relative standard deviations of intra- and inter-assays were respectively 5.45%–11.29% and 7.03%–11.25%. The cross-reactivity rates with DNA methyltransferases 3a and 3b were only 4.0% and 9.4%, respectively. Furthermore, FLISA was successfully used to detect the levels of DNMT1 in human serum samples, and compared with commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA kits. The results revealed that there was a good correlation between FLISA and commercial ELISA kits (correlation coefficient r=0.866, p=0.001. The linear scope of FLISA was broader than ELISA, and the measurement time was much shorter

  2. Evaluation of Serum Anti-Cardiolipin Antibody Titer in Patients with Chronic Periodontitis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    SH. Faghihi

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Objective: Evidence shows periodontally infected patients may be at a higher risk of thrombotic accidents and adverse pregnancy outcomes, via induced systemic inflammatory mediators’ production. Some authors have concluded that increase in systemic inflammatorymarkers occurs together with increase in serum levels of auto antibodies including anti-cardiolipin antibody (ACLA. The aim of the present study was to compare the serum ACLA level between patients with chronic periodontitis (CP and periodontally healthycontrols.Materials and Methods: Fifty-one patients with moderate and advanced CP (test groupand 49 periodontally healthy people (control group were included in the study. Clinical parameters including PI, GBI, PPD and CAL were measured. Serum ACLA level of all cases was measured using ELISA method. The data were analyzed with Student t-test and Pearson's correlation.Results: A significant difference existed in serum ACLA level between test and control groups (P=0.001. All cases in both test and control groups, however, showed a normal range of serum ACLA level.A positive correlation also existed between serum ACLA level and periodontal parameters including CAL, PPD, GBI and PI (P<0.001, P<.001, P=0.001 and P=0.002, respectively.In addition, a moderately positive correlation (P=0.003 between age and ACLA level wasfound.Conclusion: An increased serum ACLA level might be associated with chronic periodontitis.

  3. Non-invasive optical detection of HBV based on serum surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Zuci; Wang, Qiwen; Weng, Cuncheng; Lin, Xueliang; Lin, Yao; Feng, Shangyuan

    2016-10-01

    An optical method of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) was developed for non-invasive detection of hepatitis B surface virus (HBV). Hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg) is an established serological marker that is routinely used for the diagnosis of acute or chronic hepatitis B virus(HBV) infection. Utilizing SERS to analyze blood serum for detecting HBV has not been reported in previous literature. SERS measurements were performed on two groups of serum samples: one group for 50 HBV patients and the other group for 50 healthy volunteers. Blood serum samples are collected from healthy control subjects and patients diagnosed with HBV. Furthermore, principal components analysis (PCA) combined with linear discriminant analysis (LDA) were employed to differentiate HBV patients from healthy volunteer and achieved sensitivity of 80.0% and specificity of 74.0%. This exploratory work demonstrates that SERS serum analysis combined with PCA-LDA has tremendous potential for the non-invasive detection of HBV.

  4. Optimal Fasting Time before Measurement of Serum Triglyceride Levels in Healthy Volunteers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pongsuthana, Surapun; Tivatunsakul, Naris

    2016-02-01

    Coronary heart disease is a major public health problem. Elevated triglyceride levels are a risk factor for atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease. Food intake interferes with the measurement of serum triglyceride levels, and in previous studies, fasting for 12 hours was recommended before blood sampling. In real-world practice, long fasting times cause patient discomfort and poor compliance, and the present study was, therefore, designed to determine the appropriate fasting time prior to measuring serum triglyceride levels. To determine the appropriate fasting time before measuring serum triglyceride levels. This was a pilot study performed using healthy volunteers aged between 20 and 30 years old from November 2013 to December 2013 at Rajavithi Hospital. The first blood sample was measured in the morning after fasting over 12 hours. The subjects then took their regular breakfast, after which they fasted for 8 hours. Blood samples were taken 6 and 8 hours later and sent to the laboratory for measurement of serum triglyceride levels. 40 volunteers, of whom 25 were female, were enrolled. Their mean age was 25.9 ± 2.81 years old, and their mean weight, height, and body mass index were 61.5 ± 12.5 kg, 167.2 ± 8.3 cm and 21.84 ± 3.1 kg/m2, respectively. Mean fasting serum triglyceride level at 12 hours was 80.23 ± 36.33 mg/dl, at 6 hours it was 110.65 ± 73.45 mg/dl, and at 8 hours it was 75.62 ± 46.81 mg/dl. The group fasting for 12 hours had significantly lower serum triglyceride levels than the group fasting for 6 hours (p-value = 0.003), but no significant difference was found between the group fasting for 12 hours and the one fasting for 8 hours (p-value = 0.493). The present study showed no significant difference in triglyceride levels in patients who had fasted or 8 hours and those who had done so for 12 hours. Fasting for only 8 hours before measurement of serum triglyceride may be sufficient.

  5. Serum prolactin levels in psoriasis and its association with disease activity: A case-control study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad Abid Keen

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Psoriasis is a T-cell-mediated autoimmune chronic skin disorder in which an environmental factor, perhaps a viral antigen, induces T cells to produce cytokines. These cytokines stimulate keratinocyte proliferation and production of antigenic adhesion molecules in the dermal blood vessels. Several mediators and hormones have been implicated in keratinocyte hyperproliferation and among these hormones, prolactin (PRL has been found to have an effect on epithelial cells, lymphocytes and keratinocytes, thus an effect on the etiopathogenesis of psoriasis. Aim: The present study was designed to compare serum PRL levels in psoriatic patients with a control group. Settings and Design: This study was a hospital-based case control study, conducted in the department of Dermatology, STD and Leprosy, SMHS Hospital (Associated teaching hospital of Government Medical College Srinagar over a period of 1 year, from September 2012 to 2013. Materials and Methods: The present study included 60 patients of psoriasis (42 males and 18 females and 60 controls matched for age and sex. Serum PRL levels of patients and controls were measured by ECLIA and inferences were drawn. Statistical Analysis Used: Statistical significance of the results was carried out by the Chi-square test and the independent samples t-test. Statistical significance was determined at a level of P < 0.05. Results: Serum PRL levels were significantly increased in patients as compared to the control group (P value: 0.002. There was a positive correlation between pretreatment serum PRL levels and PASI score (r value: 0.379; P value: 0.003. An insignificant association was found between the pretreatment PRL level and serum PRL level after treatment (P value: 0.22. Also, a negative correlation between the duration of psoriasis and serum PRL was seen (r value: -0.008; P value: 0.954. Conclusion: PRL may have a role to play in the etiopathogenesis of psoriasis. However, further studies with

  6. Headspace Solid Phase Micro Extraction Gas Chromatographic Determination of Fenthion in Human Serum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kyriaki Machera

    2008-05-01

    Full Text Available A simple and effective analytical procedure was developed for the determination of fenthion residues in human serum samples. The sample treatment was performed using the headspace solid-phase micro extraction with polyacrylate fiber, which has the advantage to require low amount of serum (1 mL without tedious pre-treatment. The quantification of fenthion was carried out by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and the recoveries ranged from 79 to 104% at two spiking levels for 6 replicates. Detection and quantification limits were calculated as 1.51 and 4.54 ng/mL of serum respectively. Two fenthion metabolites − fenoxon and fenthion–sulfoxide − were also identified.

  7. Antinuclear, Cytoskeletal, Antineuronal Antibodies in the Serum Samples of Children with Tic Disorders and Obsessive Compulsive Disorders

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Işık Görker

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available streptococcus infections in the development of tic and obsessive compulsive disorders (OCD is controversial. The autoimmune hypothesis states that during infection, formation of autoantibodies leads to an autoimmune disorder, which in turn results in movement disorders, tic disorders and/or OCD. In order to test this hypothesis, we assayed these antibodies in children and adolescents diagnosed with tic disorders and/or OCD.Material and Methods: Children and adolescents who were diagnosed with either tic disorders or OCD according to DSM-IV criteria (n=28, were compared with healthy controls (n=15 having similar age and gender characteristics. Regardless of a streptococcus infection history, serum samples of all patients and controls underwent antinuclear, cytoskeletal, and antineuronal antibody assay using indirect immunofluorescence.Results: The rates of antinuclear antibody positivity were 21% and 20% in the patient and control groups respectively (p>0.05. Antineuronal antibody was positive in 2 (7% of 28 patients versus in 1 (6% of 15 controls (p>0.05.Conclusion: These results suggest that such antibodies may not be involved in the pathogenesis of tic disorders/OCD.

  8. Spectrophotometric determination of dopamine hydrochloride in pharmaceutical, banana, urine and serum samples by potassium ferricyanide-Fe(III).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Li; Zhang, Yan; Li, Quanmin

    2009-12-01

    In the present work, we developed a simple, sensitive and inexpensive method to determine dopamine hydrochloride using potassium ferricyanide-Fe(III) by spectrophotometry. The results show that Fe(III) is deoxidized to Fe(II) by dopamine hydrochloride at pH 4.0, and then Fe(II) reacts with potassium ferricyanide to form a soluble prussian blue (KFe(III)[Fe(II)(CN)6]). The absorbance of this product was monitored over time using a spectrophotometer at an absorption maximum of 735 nm, and the amount of dopamine hydrochloride could be calculated based on the absorbance. A good linear relationship of the concentration of dopamine hydrochloride versus absorbance was observed, and a linear regression equation of A = 0.022 + 0.16921C (microg mL(-1)) was obtained. Moreover, the apparent molar absorption coefficient for the indirect determination of dopamine hydrochloride was 3.2 x 10(4) L mol(-1) cm(-1). This described method has been used to determine dopamine hydrochloride in pharmaceutical, banana, urine and serum samples with satisfactory results.

  9. Serum concentrations of organochlorine compounds and predictors of exposure in children living in agricultural communities from South-Eastern Spain

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    González-Alzaga, B.; Lacasaña, M.; Hernández, A. F.

    2017-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Information on exposure levels to organochlorine compounds (OCs) in child population is limited, despite their greater vulnerability to the adverse health effects of these chemicals. OBJECTIVE: To determine serum concentrations of 10 OCs (including organochlorine pesticides and polych...... are no longer used. Their presence in children serum can be explained by their high lipophilicity and environmental persistence, leading to contamination of fatty food. In this line, fish consumption seemed to be the most relevant determinant of OC levels found in our study....... and polychlorinated biphenyls -PCBs-) in children living in agricultural communities from Almería (South-Eastern Spain), and to identify the main predictors of exposure related to socio-economic characteristics, diet and lifestyle. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 133 children aged 6-11 years...... selected from public schools of the study area. OCs compounds were determined in serum samples by GC/ECD. Anthropometric measures were obtained during sample collection. Information on sociodemographic characteristics, parental occupation, residential history, lifestyle and frequency of food consumption...

  10. Serum total antioxidant status in cardiovascular patients and in healthy individuals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gul, R.

    2010-01-01

    The previous studies suggest that low serum total antioxidant status (TAS) might be related to oxidative stress. To further examine the TAS, we investigated its relation in patients suffering from cardiovascular diseases. Total 39 samples of males and females were collected; age ranged from 18 to 86 years and divided them into two groups. Group I included 30 samples of cardiovascular patients; group 2 included 9 healthy individuals as control group. In group I, patients suffering from Myocardial infarction (Ml) showed low TAS values compared to the patients suffering from angina. The rest of the patients in group I showed TAS value within the reference range (1.3- 1.77 mmoVL). The present study concluded that the TAS value in MI patients is lower than patients suffering from angina pectoris, further it was also concluded that aging and smoking both leads to the decrease in the level of T AS. (author)

  11. Serum auto-antibody testing for early diagnosis of breast cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parvez, S.

    2012-01-01

    The aim of this thesis is generate prototype-tests suitable for randomized prospective validation of auto-antibody based diagnostic testing using serum samples. Tumours can stimulate the production of auto-antibodies against autologous cellular proteins known as TAAs (tumour associated antigens). This discovery has lead to a possibility of using the auto-antibodies as serological tools for the early diagnosis and management of breast cancer. The recombinant proteins expressed by the SEREX clones, identified from screenings of brain and lung tumour, were used for the production of the protein microarrays and macroarrays. The protein microarrays showed better correlation between the replicates of the serum samples used. The optimized protocols were used for the subsequent experiments. A sizable panel of 642 clone-proteins was selected by marker-screening on protein macroarrays with 38000 clones. These 642 clone-proteins were used to generate protein microarrays that differentiated serum samples from breast cancer patients and controls. Antigenic peptide motifs were identified by in-silico analysis of 642 clone-proteins and peptide arrays were generated using synthetically generated peptides. Comparative studies between protein microarrays and peptide microarrays were done using breast cancer and healthy control samples. Simultaneously, SEREX strategy was used for the identification of the immunogenic TAAs. I identified 192 cDNA expression clones derived from breast cancer tissue samples and the selection was done using breast cancer sera. The genes corresponding to these clones were found over-represented for the pathways that are known to be associated with cancers. These genes showed typical features of TAAs, like over-expression, mutations and fusion genes. (author)

  12. Development and validation of a rapid turboflow LC-MS/MS method for the quantification of LSD and 2-oxo-3-hydroxy LSD in serum and urine samples of emergency toxicological cases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dolder, Patrick C; Liechti, Matthias E; Rentsch, Katharina M

    2015-02-01

    Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is a widely used recreational drug. The aim of the present study is to develop a quantitative turboflow LC-MS/MS method that can be used for rapid quantification of LSD and its main metabolite 2-oxo-3-hydroxy LSD (O-H-LSD) in serum and urine in emergency toxicological cases without time-consuming extraction steps. The method was developed on an ion-trap LC-MS/MS instrument coupled to a turbulent-flow extraction system. The validation data showed no significant matrix effects and no ion suppression has been observed in serum and urine. Mean intraday accuracy and precision for LSD were 101 and 6.84%, in urine samples and 97.40 and 5.89% in serum, respectively. For O-H-LSD, the respective values were 97.50 and 4.99% in urine and 107 and 4.70% in serum. Mean interday accuracy and precision for LSD were 100 and 8.26% in urine and 101 and 6.56% in serum, respectively. For O-H-LSD, the respective values were 101 and 8.11% in urine and 99.8 and 8.35% in serum, respectively. The lower limit of quantification for LSD was determined to be 0.1 ng/ml. LSD concentrations in serum were expected to be up to 8 ng/ml. 2-Oxo-3-hydroxy LSD concentrations in urine up to 250 ng/ml. The new method was accurate and precise in the range of expected serum and urine concentrations in patients with a suspected LSD intoxication. Until now, the method has been applied in five cases with suspected LSD intoxication where the intake of the drug has been verified four times with LSD concentrations in serum in the range of 1.80-14.70 ng/ml and once with a LSD concentration of 1.25 ng/ml in urine. In serum of two patients, the O-H-LSD concentration was determined to be 0.99 and 0.45 ng/ml. In the urine of a third patient, the O-H-LSD concentration was 9.70 ng/ml.

  13. Pyridoxal 5'-phosphate, pyridoxal, and 4-pyridoxic acid in the paired serum and cerebrospinal fluid of children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akiyama, Tomoyuki; Hayashi, Yumiko; Hanaoka, Yoshiyuki; Shibata, Takashi; Akiyama, Mari; Tsuchiya, Hiroki; Yamaguchi, Tokito; Kobayashi, Katsuhiro

    2017-09-01

    We quantified pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP), pyridoxal (PL), and 4-pyridoxic acid (PA) in paired serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from children and investigated the effect of age on the concentrations and CSF-to-serum ratios of these vitamers. Serum and CSF samples prospectively collected from 49 pediatric patients were analyzed. PLP, PL, and PA were measured using high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection, using pre-column derivatization by semicarbazide. Effects of age on these vitamers, the PLP-to-PL ratio, CSF-to-serum PLP ratio, and CSF-to-serum PL ratio were evaluated using correlation analysis. The PLP, PL, and PA concentrations in the serum and CSF were higher at younger ages, except for CSF PA concentrations that were mostly below the limit of detection (<1.2nmol/l). The PLP-to-PL ratios in the serum and CSF correlated positively with age. The CSF-to-serum PLP ratio and CSF-to-serum PL ratio were independent of age. Age-related changes in PLP, PL, and PA in serum and in CSF from pediatric patients and CSF-to-serum ratios of PLP and PL demonstrated in this study will provide valuable information for evaluating PLP supply to the central nervous system from the peripheral blood. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Comparison of serum fractionation methods by data independent label-free proteomics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. Baiwir

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Off-line sample prefractionations applied prior to biomarker discovery proteomics are options to enable more protein identifications and detect low-abundance proteins. This work compared five commercial methods efficiency to raw serum analysis using label-free proteomics. The variability of the protein quantities determined for each process was similar to the unprefractionated serum. A 49% increase in protein identifications and 12.2% of reliable quantification were obtained. A 61 times lower limit of protein quantitation was reached compared to protein concentrations observed in raw serum. The concentrations of detected proteins were confronted to estimated reference values.

  15. Collagen derived serum markers in carcinoma of the prostate

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rudnicki, M; Jensen, L T; Iversen, P

    1995-01-01

    Three new collagen markers deriving from the collagenous matrix, e.g. carboxyterminal propeptide of type I procollagen (PICP), carboxy-terminal pyridinoline cross-linked telopeptide of type I collagen (ICTP), and aminoterminal propeptide of type III procollagen (PIIINP) were used for the diagnose...... of prostatic bone metastases. Blood samples were obtained prior to biopsy or TURP. Serum PICP, PIIINP and ICTP were measured with commercial available RIAs and PSA by IRMA. Serum PSA was increased in patients with local prostatic cancer compared with patients with hyperplasia (p

  16. Variation in blood serum proteins and association with somatic cell count in dairy cattle from multi-breed herds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bobbo, T; Fiore, E; Gianesella, M; Morgante, M; Gallo, L; Ruegg, P L; Bittante, G; Cecchinato, A

    2017-12-01

    Blood serum proteins are significant indicators of animal health. Nevertheless, several factors should be considered to appropriately interpret their concentrations in blood. Therefore, the objectives of this study were (1) to assess the effect of herd productivity, breed, age and stage of lactation on serum proteins and (2) to investigate association between serum proteins and somatic cell count (SCC) in dairy cattle. Milk and blood samples were collected from 1508 cows of six different breeds (Holstein Friesian, Brown Swiss, Jersey, Simmental, Rendena and Alpine Grey) that were housed in 41 multi-breed herds. Milk samples were analyzed for composition and SCC, while blood samples were analyzed for serum proteins (i.e. total protein, albumin, globulin and albumin-to-globulin ratio (A : G)). Herds were classified as low or high production, according to the cow's average daily milk energy yield adjusted for breed, days in milk (DIM) and parity. Data were analyzed using a linear mixed model that included the fixed effects of DIM, parity, SCS, breed, herd productivity and the random effect of the Herd-test date within productivity level. Cows in high producing herds (characterized also by greater use of concentrates in the diet) had greater serum albumin concentrations. Breed differences were reported for all traits, highlighting a possible genetic mechanism. The specialized breed Jersey and the two dual-purpose local breeds (Alpine Grey and Rendena) had the lowest globulin concentration and greatest A : G. Changes in serum proteins were observed through lactation. Total protein reached the highest concentration during the 4th month of lactation. Blood albumin increased with DIM following a quadratic pattern, while globulin decreased linearly. As a consequence, A : G increased linearly during lactation. Older cows had greater total protein and globulin concentrations, while albumin concentration seemed to be not particularly affected by age. A linear relationship

  17. Preparation of the low molecular weight serum proteome for mass spectrometry analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waybright, Timothy J; Chan, King C; Veenstra, Timothy D; Xiao, Zhen

    2013-01-01

    The discovery of viable biomarkers or indicators of disease states is complicated by the inherent complexity of the chosen biological specimen. Every sample, whether it is serum, plasma, urine, tissue, cells, or a host of others, contains thousands of large and small components, each interacting in multiple ways. The need to concentrate on a group of these components to narrow the focus on a potential biomarker candidate becomes, out of necessity, a priority, especially in the search for immune-related low molecular weight serum biomarkers. One such method in the field of proteomics is to divide the sample proteome into groups based on the size of the protein, analyze each group, and mine the data for statistically significant items. This chapter details a portion of this method, concentrating on a method for fractionating and analyzing the low molecular weight proteome of human serum.

  18. Development and application of a fluorescence protein microarray for detecting serum alpha-fetoprotein in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Aiying; Yin, Chengzeng; Wang, Zhenshun; Zhang, Yonghong; Zhao, Yuanshun; Li, Ang; Sun, Huanqin; Lin, Dongdong; Li, Ning

    2016-12-01

    Objective To develop a simple, effective, time-saving and low-cost fluorescence protein microarray method for detecting serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Method Non-contact piezoelectric print techniques were applied to fluorescence protein microarray to reduce the cost of prey antibody. Serum samples from patients with HCC and healthy control subjects were collected and evaluated for the presence of AFP using a novel fluorescence protein microarray. To validate the fluorescence protein microarray, serum samples were tested for AFP using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results A total of 110 serum samples from patients with HCC ( n = 65) and healthy control subjects ( n = 45) were analysed. When the AFP cut-off value was set at 20 ng/ml, the fluorescence protein microarray had a sensitivity of 91.67% and a specificity of 93.24% for detecting serum AFP. Serum AFP quantified via fluorescence protein microarray had a similar diagnostic performance compared with ELISA in distinguishing patients with HCC from healthy control subjects (area under receiver operating characteristic curve: 0.906 for fluorescence protein microarray; 0.880 for ELISA). Conclusion A fluorescence protein microarray method was developed for detecting serum AFP in patients with HCC.

  19. Determination of bisphenol A in human serum by high-performance liquid chromatography with multi-electrode electrochemical detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Inoue, K; Kato, K; Yoshimura, Y; Makino, T; Nakazawa, H

    2000-11-10

    A simple and sensitive method using high-performance liquid chromatography with multi-electrode electrochemical detection (HPLC-ED) including a coulometric array of four electrochemical sensors has been developed for the determination of bisphenol A in water and human serum. For good separation and detection of bisphenol A, a CAPCELL PAK UG 120 C18 reversed-phase column and a mobile phase consisting of 0.3% phosphoric acid-acetonitrile (60:40) were used. The detection limit obtained by the HPLC-ED method was 0.01 ng/ml (0.5 pg), which was more than 3000-times higher than the detection limit obtained by the ultraviolet (UV) method, and more than 200-times higher than the detection limit obtained by the fluorescence (FL) method. Bisphenol A in water and serum samples was pretreated by solid-phase extraction (SPE) after removing possible contamination derived from a plastic SPE cartridges and water used for the pretreatment. A trace amount (ND approximately 0.013 ng/ml) of bisphenol A was detected from the parts of cartridges (filtration column, sorbent bed and frits) by extraction with methanol, and it was completely removed by washing with at least 15 ml of methanol in the operation process. The concentrations of bisphenol A in tap water and Milli-Q-purified water were found to be 0.01 and 0.02 ng/ml, respectively. For that reason, bisphenol A-free water was made to trap bisphenol A in water using an Empore disk. In every pretreatment, SPE methods using bisphenol A-free water and washing with 15 ml of methanol were done in water and serum samples. The yields obtained from the recovery tests using water to which 0.5 or 0.05 ng/ml of bisphenol A was added were 83.8 to 98.2%, and the RSDs were 3.4 to 6.1%, respectively. The yields obtained from the recovery tests by OASIS HLB using serum to which 1.0 ng/ml or 0.1 ng/ml of bisphenol A was added were 79.0% and 87.3%, and the RSDs were 5.1% and 13.5%, respectively. The limits of quantification in water and serum sample

  20. Associations between serum levels of polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants and environmental and behavioral factors in pregnant women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buttke, Danielle E; Wolkin, Amy; Stapleton, Heather M; Miranda, Marie Lynn

    2013-03-01

    Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) are flame retardants that were previously used in upholstery, fabrics, and household appliances. PBDEs have been linked to adverse health outcomes, including neurotoxicity, thyroid hormone dysregulation, endocrine disruption, and poor semen quality. Because PBDEs pass into placental circulation, maternal exposures can approximate fetal exposures. Our objectives were to determine whether diet and specific human behaviors were significantly associated with PBDE exposures in a cohort of pregnant women. Women between the 34th and 38th week of pregnancy were given a questionnaire about behavioral, environmental, and dietary factors and asked to provide blood samples. Serum PBDE levels were measured using GS-MS and lipid adjusted. An adjusted ordinary least squares regression model was run to identify potential associations between behaviors and serum PBDE levels. Serum concentrations of BDEs 47, 99, 100, and 153 were found above the limit of detection in at least 50% of study participants and used in our models. Associations with serum PBDEs were observed with self-reported hand-to-mouth behaviors, including biting nails and licking fingers. Serum BDE levels of 47, 99, 153, and total PBDEs were also significantly higher in those individuals owning a large-screen TV compared with those who did not. Serum PBDE levels were comparable to levels reported in the general population. Hand-to-mouth behaviors may influence serum PBDE concentrations in adults. Household electronics such as large-screen TVs appear to serve as a significant source of PBDEs in pregnant women. Together, hand-to-mouth behaviors and TV ownership may serve as a route of exposure to PBDEs in adults.

  1. Effect of Camel Milk's Supplementation on Serum Glucose Levels ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Keywords: Camel Milk, Serum glucose, Lipid profile, Diabetes. INTRODUCTION. Diabetes is ... all products of Randox Laboratories, Switzerland. Fresh camel milk samples .... Abbott, R.D., Wilson, P.W., Kannel, W.B. and. Castelli, W.P. (1988).

  2. Mucorales species activation of a serum leukotactic factor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marx, R S; Forsyth, K R; Hentz, S K

    1982-01-01

    Previous studies have suggested that the focal accumulation of phagocytic leukocytes is an important feature of the host response in mucormycosis. To ascertain the basis for this influx of inflammatory cells, we evaluated the effect of members of the order Mucorales, including species from the genera Rhizopus, Absidia, and Mucor, on the chemotactic activity of normal human serum for neutrophils and monocytes. Both hyphae and spores produced concentration-dependent chemotaxigenesis in serum to a maximum level equivalent to that produced by zymosan activation of serum. Chemotactic activity was similar for live and heat-killed hyphae. No leukotactic activity was demonstrated in the absence of serum. The pretreatment of serum with anti-C3 antibody, heating at 56 degrees C, or 0.01 M EDTA abolished the activity. The pretreatment of serum with 0.01 M ethylene glycol-bis(beta-aminoethyl ether)-N,N-tetraacetic acid did not abolish the activity. These data provide evidence that the leukotactic activity of Mucorales species is generated through the alternative complement pathway. PMID:6759409

  3. SERUM magnesium levels as an indicator of status of Diabetes Mellitus type 2.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramadass, S; Basu, Sharbari; Srinivasan, A R

    2015-01-01

    Magnesium deficiency is commonly associated with endocrine and metabolic disorders, especially with Diabetes Mellitus type 2 though the mechanism of hypomagnesemia in Diabetes Mellitus is not completely known. There is a close association between metabolic control of Diabetes Mellitus and impaired magnesium balance. To estimate the serum levels of magnesium in patients of with Diabetes Mellitus type 2 and to find a correlation if any, with the duration and control (by estimating HbA1c) of Diabetes Mellitus type 2. Fifty patients of Diabetes Mellitus type 2 were included in the study. Blood samples were analyzed for fasting and post prandial glucose, HbA1c and magnesium. The patients were grouped into three categories based upon their HbA1c levels into those with good control, need intervention and poor control. The three groups were compared with reference to their mean levels of blood glucose and magnesium. Association of serum magnesium levels with HbA1c, Fasting and postprandial blood glucose and duration of Diabetes Mellitus was also done. Serum magnesium levels were found to decline with rise in HbA1c levels and with duration of Diabetes Mellitus type 2. Hypomagnesemia is linked to poor control of Diabetes Mellitus type 2 and depletion of serum magnesium occurs exponentially with duration of disease. Copyright © 2014 Diabetes India. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Quantitative determination of heparin levels in serum with microtiter plate-format optode

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Sung Bae; Kang, Tae Young; Cha, Geun Sig; Nam, Hakhyun

    2006-01-01

    A new assay method has been developed for the quantitative determination of heparin in serum using a microtiter plate-format optode (MPO). Heparin and proton in physiological sample are favorably co-extracted into the solvent polymeric optode membrane containing both cationic lipophilic additive, tridodecylmethyl ammonium chloride (TDMAC), and proton-selective ionophore, 3-hydroxy-4-(4-nitrophenylazo)-phenyloctadecanoate (ETH 2412), resulting in the absorbance change of the membrane to varying heparin levels. The optimized MPO composition contains low polymer-to-plasticizer ratio compared to those of conventional ion-selective optodes or electrodes, i.e., poly(vinyl chloride) (20.0)/dioctylsebacate (76.3)/ETH 2412 (1.7)/TDMAC (1.0) (wt.%): it resulted in a quantitative response to heparin from 0 to 15 unit/mL in serum with high sensitivity. The heparin-protamine titration on the MPO could provide rapid and precise determination of heparin. It was shown that the heparin levels in serum sample could be determined from the rate of absorbance change over time (ΔA/Δt); this method was more effective than the direct absorbance measurement in minimizing the interferences from color and turbidity of serum samples. MPO has been developed as a high throughput and convenient disposable sensing device, and may find a wide application in the determination of polyions and charged macromolecules

  5. Serum insulin-like growth factor-1 levels in females and males in different cervical vertebral maturation stages

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gupta, Shreya; Deoskar, Anuradha; Gupta, Puneet; Jain, Sandhya

    2015-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: The aim of this cross sectional study was to assess serum insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) levels in female and male subjects at various cervical vertebral maturation (CVM) stages. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study sample consisted of 60 subjects, 30 females and 30 males, in the age range of 8-23 years. For all subjects, serum IGF-1 level was estimated from blood samples by means of chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA). CVM was assessed on lateral cephalograms using the method described by Baccetti. Serum IGF-1 level and cervical staging data of 30 female subjects were included and taken from records of a previous study. Data were analyzed by Kruska-Wallis and Mann Whitney test. Bonferroni correction was carried out and alpha value was set at 0.003. RESULTS: Peak value of serum IGF-1 was observed in cervical stages CS3 in females and CS4 in males. Differences between males and females were observed in mean values of IGF-1 at stages CS3, 4 and 5. The highest mean IGF-1 levels in males was observed in CS4 followed by CS5 and third highest in CS3; whereas in females the highest mean IGF-1 levelswas observed in CS3 followed by CS4 and third highest in CS5. Trends of IGF-1 in relation to the cervical stages also differed between males and females. The greatest mean serum IGF-1 value for both sexes was comparable, for females (397 ng/ml) values were slightly higher than in males (394.8 ng/ml). CONCLUSIONS: Males and females showed differences in IGF-1 trends and levels at different cervical stages. PMID:25992990

  6. Serum insulin-like growth factor-1 levels in females and males in different cervical vertebral maturation stages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gupta, Shreya; Deoskar, Anuradha; Gupta, Puneet; Jain, Sandhya

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this cross sectional study was to assess serum insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) levels in female and male subjects at various cervical vertebral maturation (CVM) stages. The study sample consisted of 60 subjects, 30 females and 30 males, in the age range of 8-23 years. For all subjects, serum IGF-1 level was estimated from blood samples by means of chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA). CVM was assessed on lateral cephalograms using the method described by Baccetti. Serum IGF-1 level and cervical staging data of 30 female subjects were included and taken from records of a previous study. Data were analyzed by Kruska-Wallis and Mann Whitney test. Bonferroni correction was carried out and alpha value was set at 0.003. Peak value of serum IGF-1 was observed in cervical stages CS3 in females and CS4 in males. Differences between males and females were observed in mean values of IGF-1 at stages CS3, 4 and 5. The highest mean IGF-1 levels in males was observed in CS4 followed by CS5 and third highest in CS3; whereas in females the highest mean IGF-1 levelswas observed in CS3 followed by CS4 and third highest in CS5. Trends of IGF-1 in relation to the cervical stages also differed between males and females. The greatest mean serum IGF-1 value for both sexes was comparable, for females (397 ng/ml) values were slightly higher than in males (394.8 ng/ml). Males and females showed differences in IGF-1 trends and levels at different cervical stages.

  7. Elevated Serum Level of Human Alkaline Phosphatase in Obesity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khan, A. R.; Awan, F. R.; Najam, S. S.; Islam, M.; Siddique, T.; Zain, M.

    2015-01-01

    Objective: To investigate a correlation between serum alkaline phosphatase level and body mass index in human subjects. Methods: The comparative cross-sectional study was carried out at the National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Faisalabad, Pakistan, from April 2012 to June 2013. Blood serum alkaline phosphatase levels were estimated and the subjects were divided into three sub-groups on the basis of their body mass index: normal weight (<25kg/m2), overweight (25-27kg/m2) and obese (>27kg/m2) subjects. The serum samples were used for the estimation of clinically important biochemical parameters, using commercial kits on clinical chemistry analyser. Results: Of the 197 subjects, 97(49 percent) were obese and 100(51 percent) were non-obese. The serum alkaline phosphatase level increased in obese (214±6.4 IU/L) compared to the non-obese subjects (184.5±5 IU/L). Furthermore, a significant linear relationship (r=0.3;p-0.0001) was found between serum alkaline phosphatase and body mass index. Other biochemical variables were not correlated to the body mass index. Conclusion: Over activity and higher amounts of alkaline phosphatase were linked to the development of obesity. (author)

  8. Serum prognostic biomarkers in head and neck cancer patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Ho-Sheng; Siddiq, Fauzia; Talwar, Harvinder S; Chen, Wei; Voichita, Calin; Draghici, Sorin; Jeyapalan, Gerald; Chatterjee, Madhumita; Fribley, Andrew; Yoo, George H; Sethi, Seema; Kim, Harold; Sukari, Ammar; Folbe, Adam J; Tainsky, Michael A

    2014-08-01

    A reliable estimate of survival is important as it may impact treatment choice. The objective of this study is to identify serum autoantibody biomarkers that can be used to improve prognostication for patients affected with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Prospective cohort study. A panel of 130 serum biomarkers, previously selected for cancer detection using microarray-based serological profiling and specialized bioinformatics, were evaluated for their potential as prognostic biomarkers in a cohort of 119 HNSCC patients followed for up to 12.7 years. A biomarker was considered positive if its reactivity to the particular patient's serum was greater than one standard deviation above the mean reactivity to sera from the other 118 patients, using a leave-one-out cross-validation model. Survival curves were estimated according to the Kaplan-Meier method, and statistically significant differences in survival were examined using the log rank test. Independent prognostic biomarkers were identified following analysis using multivariate Cox proportional hazards models. Poor overall survival was associated with African Americans (hazard ratio [HR] for death = 2.61; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.58-4.33; P = .000), advanced stage (HR = 2.79; 95% CI: 1.40-5.57; P = .004), and recurrent disease (HR = 6.66; 95% CI: 2.54-17.44; P = .000). On multivariable Cox analysis adjusted for covariates (race and stage), six of the 130 markers evaluated were found to be independent prognosticators of overall survival. The results shown here are promising and demonstrate the potential use of serum biomarkers for prognostication in HNSCC patients. Further clinical trials to include larger samples of patients across multiple centers may be warranted. © 2014 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.

  9. Passive immunity transfer and serum constituents of crossbred calves

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thaís G. Rocha

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Passive immunity transfer (PIT evaluation is an essential tool for the maintenance of healthy calves during the first months of life. Since lactation number and breed have been proven to influence immunoglobulin levels in colostrum, the aim of this study was to evaluate PIT from primiparous and multiparous Canchim cows to their calves. Blood samples were collected from the calves before colostrum intake and 1, 2, 7, 15 and 30 days thereafter, while colostrum samples from the cows were taken immediately after parturition. Activities of gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT, alkaline phosphatase (ALP, and concentrations of total protein, albumin, globulins, immunoglobulin A (IgA, immunoglobulin G (IgG, total and ionized calcium, inorganic phosphorus, magnesium, sodium and potassium were evaluated in calves' serum and activities of GGT and ALP and concentrations of total protein, IgA and IgG were assessed in cow's colostrum whey. Immunoglobulins concentrations were evaluated by electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gels. Serum biochemistry evaluations revealed an increase in gamma-glutamyl transferase and alkaline phosphatase activities and in total protein, globulins, immunoglobulin A and immunoglobulin G levels in calves' serum after colostrum intake. Only total protein and light chain immunoglobulin G levels in colostrum whey were affected by the cows' lactation number. Phosphorus and magnesium levels in blood serum increased after colostrum intake, while sodium and potassium levels oscillated in the experimental period. PIT was influenced by the cows' lactation number but was efficient in both groups.

  10. Aflatoxin B1-lysine adduct in dried blood spot samples of animals and humans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xue, Kathy S; Cai, Wenjie; Tang, Lili; Wang, Jia-Sheng

    2016-12-01

    Dried blood spots (DBS) were proposed as potentially viable method for exposure assessment of environmental toxicants in infant and young children. For this study, we validated an experimental protocol to quantify AFB 1 -lysine adduct in DBS samples of AFB 1 -treated F344 rats, as well as samples from human field study. Significant dose-response relationships in AFB 1 -lysine adduct formation were found in DBS samples of rats treated with single- and repeated-dose AFB 1 . AFB 1 -lysine levels in DBS samples were highly correlated with corresponding serum sample levels. The Person coefficients were 0.997 for the single-dose exposure, and 0.996 for the repeated-dose exposure. Levels of AFB 1 -lysine adduct had also good agreement between DBS and serum samples as shown by Bland-Altman plot analysis. For human field study samples (n = 36), a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.784 was found between AFB 1 -lysine adduct levels of DBS and corresponding serum samples. Bland-Altman plots showed the distribution of the log differences between DBS and serum AFB 1 -lysine levels are within 95% confidence intervals. These results showed AFB 1 -lysine adduct levels in DBS cards and serum samples from animals and human samples are comparable, and the DBS technique and analytical protocol is a good means to assess AFB 1 exposure in infant and children populations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Effect of weekly high-dose vitamin D3 supplementation on serum cholecalciferol concentrations in pregnant women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dimitris, Michelle C; Perumal, Nandita; Craig-Barnes, Hayley A; Leadley, Michael; Mahmud, Abdullah A; Baqui, Abdullah H; Roth, Daniel E

    2016-04-01

    Vitamin D status is conventionally defined by the serum concentration of 25-hydroxyvitamin D. However, it has been proposed that the serum cholecalciferol concentration (D3) also determines functional vitamin D sufficiency. The objective of this study was to describe the effect of weekly high-dose vitamin D3 supplementation on inter-dose serum D3 in pregnant women. We conducted a sub-study of a completed randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial of vitamin D3 (35,000 IU/week) supplementation in late pregnancy (AViDD trial) in Dhaka, Bangladesh. This study included pregnant women enrolled at 26-29 weeks gestation who fully adhered to the prenatal supplement intervention for ≥8 consecutive weeks and for whom serum samples were available for D3 analysis (n=65). Serum D3 was uniformly low at enrolment. Mean D3 increased and was maximal at 1 day after vitamin D dose administration (152.09nmol/L, SD 25.11nmol/L) and remained significantly higher in VitD vs. Pl at 7 days (29.59nmol/L vs. 1.92nmol/L, p=0.007). Daily average of the group mean D3 during the week following dosing was 66.97nmol/L in VitD versus 2.13nmol/L in Pl. In conclusion, serum D3 remained significantly elevated throughout the week following ≥8 consecutive weekly doses of 35,000 IU D3 in pregnant women. However, the clinically significant minimum threshold of serum D3 remains to be established. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Relationship between serum total magnesium and serum potassium ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Relationship between serum total magnesium and serum potassium in emergency surgical patients in a tertiary hospital in Ghana. Robert Djagbletey, Brenda Phillips, Frank Boni, Christian Owoo, Ebenezer Owusu-Darkwa, Papa Kobina Gyakye deGraft-Johnson, Alfred E. Yawson ...

  13. Serum Fetuin-A Levels in Patients with Bilateral Basal Ganglia Calcification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Demiryurek, Bekir Enes; Gundogdu, Asli Aksoy

    2018-02-14

    The idiopathic basal ganglia calcification (Fahr syndrome) may occur due to senility. Fetuin-A is a negative acute phase reactant which inhibits calcium-phosphorus precipitation and vascular calcification. In this study, we aimed to evaluate whether serum fetuin-A levels correlate with bilateral basal ganglia calcification. Forty-five patients who had bilateral basal ganglia calcification on brain CT were selected according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, and 45 age and gender-matched subjects without basal ganglia calcification were included for the control group. Serum fetuin-A levels were measured from venous blood samples. All participants were divided into two groups; with and without basal ganglia calcification. These groups were divided into subgroups regarding age (18-32 and 33-45 years of age) and gender (male, female). We detected lower levels of serum fetuin-A in patients with basal ganglia calcification compared with the subjects without basal ganglia calcification. In all subgroups (female, male, 18-32 years and 33-45 years), mean fetuin-A levels were significantly lower in patients with basal ganglia calcification (p = 0.017, p = 0.014, p = 0.024, p = 0.026, p = 0.01 respectively). And statistically significantly lower levels of fetuin-A was found to be correlated with the increasing densities of calcification in the calcified basal ganglia group (p-value: <0.001). Considering the role of fetuin-A in tissue calcification and inflammation, higher serum fetuin-A levels should be measured in patients with basal ganglia calcification. We believe that the measurement of serum fetuin-A may play a role in the prediction of basal ganglia calcification as a biomarker. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. The influence of smoking and parity on serum markers for Down's syndrome screening.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tislarić, Dubravka; Brajenović-Milić, Bojana; Ristić, Smiljana; Latin, Visnja; Zuvić-Butorac, Marta; Bacić, Josip; Petek, Marijan; Kapović, Miljenko

    2002-01-01

    To evaluate the impact of smoking and number of previous births on maternal serum levels of alpha-fetoprotein and free beta-subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin (free beta-hCG). The study included 3,252 completed unaffected singleton pregnancies that proceeded beyond 37 weeks' gestation and resulted with a birth of healthy child. Smoking status of mothers and data concerning gravidity and parity were collected at the sampling date. Serum markers were measured between 13 and 22 gestational weeks, corrected for maternal weight, and converted to multiples of median (MoM) for unaffected pregnancy of the corresponding gestational age. Median MoM values for both markers were examined in relation to both: smoking habits and number of previous births. Smokers had significantly decreased free beta-hCG MoM values compared to nonsmokers (p habits, especially concerning the free beta-hCG levels, would be worthwhile. The evidence of the coexisting influence of parity on serum levels of free beta-hCG, both in smokers and nonsmokers, should perhaps be a stimulus for reconsideration of which corrections the screening performance is dependent on. Copyright 2002 S. Karger AG, Basel

  15. Comparison of serum lipid profiles between normal controls and breast cancer patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pikul Laisupasin

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Researchers have reported association of plasma/serum lipids and lipoproteins with different cancers. Increase levels of circulating lipids and lipoproteins have been associated with breast cancer risk. Aim: The aim of this study is to compare serum lipid profiles: total-cholesterol (T-CHOL, triglyceride (TG, high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C, low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C and very low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (VLDL-C between breast cancer patients and normal participants. Materials and Methods: A total of 403 women in this study were divided into two groups in the period during May 2006-April 2007. Blood samples were collected from 249 patients with early stage breast cancer and 154 normal controls for serum lipid profiles (T-CHOL, TG, HDL-C, LDL-C and VLDL-C analysis using Hitachi 717 Autoanalyzer (Roche Diagnostic GmbH, Germany. TG, LDL-C and VLDL-C levels in breast cancer group were significantly increased as compared with normal controls group (P < 0.001, whereas HDL-C and T-CHOL levels were not. Results: The results of this study suggest that increased serum lipid profiles may associate with breast cancer risk in Thai women. Further studies to group important factors including, cancer stages, types of cancer, parity, and menopausal status that may affect to lipid profiles in breast cancer patients along with an investigation of new lipid profiles to clarify most lipid factors that may involve in breast cancer development are needed.

  16. Vitamin D status and serum level of some elements in children with sickle cell disease in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khan, J.A.J.

    2003-01-01

    Objective: To study the relationship of Vitamin D deficiency and some minerals metabolism in the children with sickle cell disease (SCD) in the city of Jeddah, western region of Saudi Arabia. Methods: A total of 51 children with sickle cell disease (both gender) included 28 males (54.9%) and 23 females (45.1%) aged between newborn and 12 years old and 70 healthy matching controls were admitted or visited sickle cell section in the Maternity and Children Hospital in the city of Jeddah. Fasting blood samples were collected and the serum was separated and stored at -30 deg. C until the time of analysis. Serum 25 (OH) Vitamin D was determined using a commercially available kit (VDBP, Gc globulin), calcium, phosphorus and magnesium were measured using a clinical autoanalyser. Results: The patients were divided into two groups according to the ages, Group-A included 21 patients (both gender) aged between newborn and 6 years, group-B included 30 patients (both gender) aged between 7-12 years. The results obtained showed that the serum concentrations of 25(OH) Vitamin D in both patients groups were significantly lower than the healthy matching controls (P 0.05) and significantly higher in the serum magnesium of group-B (P<0.05). Conclusion: A significant relation between Vitamin D deficiency and children with sickle cell disease which is normal due to confined patients indoor. The serum calcium concentration had no affect in the early stage of ages but a significant lower appeared with increasing of ages. The serum magnesium concentration was higher in group-B which can be explained to the important role of Mg/sup -2/ in the nature of erythrocyte membrane in sickle cell patients. (author)

  17. An immunoradiometric assay for Helicobacter pylori urease B in serum

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bai Yanyan; Wang Zhaoyue; Bai Xia; Ruan Changgen; Miao Jingcheng; Gu Guanbing

    2008-01-01

    Objective: The aim of this study was to establish and evaluate a novel immunoradiometric assay (IRMA) for detecting helicobacter pylori (HP) urease B (ureB) in serum. Methods: HP ureB was prepared by the DNA recombinant technique. Monoclonal antibodies against HP ureB were produced by hybridoma technique and were used to establish IRMA for detecting HP ureB. Fifty patients with chronic gastric diseases were recruited in this study, including 36 with gastric ulcer disease, 9 with chronic gastritis and 5 with gastric cancer. The IRMA was compared with rapid urease test (RUT), polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test and direct-ELISA test of serum anti-ureB antibody, using HP culture from gastric biopsy samples as a 'golden standard'. Results: The sensitivity and specificity of IRMA for HP ureB were 94.6% and 76.9%, respectively, with positive and negative predictive values being 92.1% and 83.3%. The sensitivity and specificity of RUT, PCR and serum anti-ureB antibody test were 94.6% and 23.1% , 66.8% and 84.6%, 86.5% and 38.5%, respectively. IRMA and the test of serum anti-ureB antibody was not significantly different from the 'golden standard' (X 2 =1.165, P>0.05), but RUT and PCR showed statistically significant difference with the 'gold standard' (X 2 =5.333, 9.436; all P<0.05). Conclusion: IRMA for HP ureB antigen is a sensitive and specific method for detection of HP infection, and can be used in the study of etiology and pathogenesis of gastric and some other related diseases. (authors)

  18. Oral cancer screening: serum Raman spectroscopic approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sahu, Aditi K.; Dhoot, Suyash; Singh, Amandeep; Sawant, Sharada S.; Nandakumar, Nikhila; Talathi-Desai, Sneha; Garud, Mandavi; Pagare, Sandeep; Srivastava, Sanjeeva; Nair, Sudhir; Chaturvedi, Pankaj; Murali Krishna, C.

    2015-11-01

    Serum Raman spectroscopy (RS) has previously shown potential in oral cancer diagnosis and recurrence prediction. To evaluate the potential of serum RS in oral cancer screening, premalignant and cancer-specific detection was explored in the present study using 328 subjects belonging to healthy controls, premalignant, disease controls, and oral cancer groups. Spectra were acquired using a Raman microprobe. Spectral findings suggest changes in amino acids, lipids, protein, DNA, and β-carotene across the groups. A patient-wise approach was employed for data analysis using principal component linear discriminant analysis. In the first step, the classification among premalignant, disease control (nonoral cancer), oral cancer, and normal samples was evaluated in binary classification models. Thereafter, two screening-friendly classification approaches were explored to further evaluate the clinical utility of serum RS: a single four-group model and normal versus abnormal followed by determining the type of abnormality model. Results demonstrate the feasibility of premalignant and specific cancer detection. The normal versus abnormal model yields better sensitivity and specificity rates of 64 and 80% these rates are comparable to standard screening approaches. Prospectively, as the current screening procedure of visual inspection is useful mainly for high-risk populations, serum RS may serve as a useful adjunct for early and specific detection of oral precancers and cancer.

  19. Association analysis of PON2 genetic variants with serum paraoxonase activity and systemic lupus erythematosus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manzi Susan

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Low serum paraoxonase (PON activity is associated with the risk of coronary artery disease, diabetes and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE. Our prior studies have shown that the PON1/rs662 (p.Gln192Arg, PON1/rs854560 (p.Leu55Met, PON3/rs17884563 and PON3/rs740264 SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms significantly affect serum PON activity. Since PON1, PON2 and PON3 share high degree of structural and functional properties, in this study, we examined the role of PON2 genetic variation on serum PON activity, risk of SLE and SLE-related clinical manifestations in a Caucasian case-control sample. Methods PON2 SNPs were selected from HapMap and SeattleSNPs databases by including at least one tagSNP from each bin defined in these resources. A total of nineteen PON2 SNPs were successfully genotyped in 411 SLE cases and 511 healthy controls using pyrosequencing, restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP or TaqMan allelic discrimination methods. Results Our pair-wise linkage disequilibrium (LD analysis, using an r2 cutoff of 0.7, identified 14 PON2 tagSNPs that captured all 19 PON2 variants in our sample, 12 of which were not in high LD with known PON1 and PON3 SNP modifiers of PON activity. Stepwise regression analysis of PON activity, including the known modifiers, identified five PON2 SNPs [rs6954345 (p.Ser311Cys, rs13306702, rs987539, rs11982486, and rs4729189; P = 0.005 to 2.1 × 10-6] that were significantly associated with PON activity. We found no association of PON2 SNPs with SLE risk but modest associations were observed with lupus nephritis (rs11981433, rs17876205, rs17876183 and immunologic disorder (rs11981433 in SLE patients (P = 0.013 to 0.042. Conclusions Our data indicate that PON2 genetic variants significantly affect variation in serum PON activity and have modest effects on risk of lupus nephritis and SLE-related immunologic disorder.

  20. Serum markers related to depression: A systematic review | Tavakoli ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Serum markers related to depression: A systematic review. ... is one of the most common neurological and psychiatric disorders that are associated with imbalance in ... Scholar, Scopus and Web of Science databases were retrieved using the depression, serum markers, ... A total of 89 articles were included in final analysis.

  1. The influence of storage time and temperature on the measurement of serum, plasma and urine osmolality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bezuidenhout, Karla; Rensburg, Megan A; Hudson, Careen L; Essack, Younus; Davids, M Razeen

    2016-07-01

    Many clinical laboratories require that specimens for serum and urine osmolality determination be processed within 3 h of sampling or need to arrive at the laboratory on ice. This protocol is based on the World Health Organization report on sample storage and stability, but the recommendation lacks good supporting data. We studied the effect of storage temperature and time on osmolality measurements. Blood and urine samples were obtained from 16 patients and 25 healthy volunteers. Baseline serum, plasma and urine osmolality measurements were performed within 30 min. Measurements were then made at 3, 6, 12, 24 and 36 h on samples stored at 4-8℃ and room temperature. We compared baseline values with subsequent measurements and used difference plots to illustrate changes in osmolality. At 4-8℃, serum and plasma osmolality were stable for up to 36 h. At room temperature, serum and plasma osmolality were very stable for up to 12 h. At 24 and 36 h, changes from baseline osmolality were statistically significant and exceeded the total allowable error of 1.5% but not the reference change value of 4.1%. Urine osmolality was extremely stable at room temperature with a mean change of less than 1 mosmol/kg at 36 h. Serum and plasma samples can be stored at room temperature for up to 36 h before measuring osmolality. Cooling samples to 4-8℃ may be useful when delays in measurement beyond 12 h are anticipated. Urine osmolality is extremely stable for up to 36 h at room temperature. © The Author(s) 2015.

  2. Comparison of serum YKL-40 bio marker levels in primary prostate cancer and recurrent cases after radiotherapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ziada, M.M.S.

    2012-01-01

    YKL-40, also called human cartilage glycoprotein-39 is homologs of family 18 glycosyl hydrolases secreted by human macrophages.Although high levels of YKL-40 is associated with several diseases. YKL-40, a growth factor for connective tissue cells, a migration factor for endothelial and vascular smooth muscle cells, is expressed by several types of solid human carcinoma, including prostate carcinoma. The aim of this study was to evaluate diagnostic role of serum YKL-40 levels in primary prostate cancer and detection of recurrences after radiotherapy. Methods: YKL-40 determined in serum samples from 50 patients with primary prostate cancer and 25 patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia as control. Serum YKL-40 levels were measured by ELISA. PSA levels were also measured by using IMMULIT system. Results: Serum YKL-40 levels were significantly higher (P= 0.000) in patients with prostate cancer compared with control group whereas no significant elevation in BPH. Conclusion: High serum YKL-40 levels in patients with primary prostate cancer indicate that YKL-40 may have a function in the Progression of malignant diseases, whereas no significant elevation was observed in benign prostatic hyperplasia. Further studies are needed to elucidate the biologic role of YKL-40 in cancer aggressiveness and in progression of malignant diseases.

  3. Serum Soluble Fms-Like Tyrosine Kinase 1 (sFlt-1 Predicts the Severity of Acute Pancreatitis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paulina Dumnicka

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Organ failure is the most important determinant of the severity of acute pancreatitis (AP. Soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt-1 is positively associated with organ failure in sepsis. Our aim was to evaluate the diagnostic utility of automated sFlt-1 measurements for early prediction of AP severity. Adult patients (66 with AP were recruited, including 46 with mild (MAP, 15 with moderately-severe (MSAP and 5 with severe AP (SAP. Serum and urine samples were collected twice. Serum sFlt-1 was measured with automated electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. Serum concentrations of sFlt-1 were significantly higher in patients with MSAP and SAP as compared to MAP. SAP patients had the highest concentrations. At 24 and 48 h, sFlt-1 positively correlated with inflammatory markers (leukocyte count, C-reactive protein, kidney function (creatinine, urea, cystatin C, serum and urine neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin, urine albumin/creatinine ratio, D-dimer and angiopoietin-2. sFlt-1 positively correlated with the bedside index of severity in AP (BISAP score and the duration of hospital stay. Serum sFlt-1 above 139 pg/mL predicted more severe AP (MSAP + SAP. In the early phase of AP, sFlt-1 is positively associated with the severity of AP and predicts organ failure, in particular kidney failure. Serum sFlt-1 may be a practical way to improve early assessment of AP severity.

  4. PERFLUORINATED COMPOUNDS (PFCs) IN SERUM OF ...

    Science.gov (United States)

    The PFCs have been used in a wide range of consumer, including residential, products (e.g., stain-resistant coatings for carpets and upholstery). Carbon-fluoride bonds are highly stable, mak-ing PFCs extremely resistant to biodegradation. Thus, PFCs have become globally distributed and are ubiquitously present in serum of wildlife and people. Despite this, comparatively little is known as to how people are primarily exposed, and what (if any) health risk is associated with chronic, low-level exposure. It is hypothesized that house dust may represent a significant exposure route because PFCs can slough or volatilize from products used indoors, subsequently adsorbing to and accumulating within house dust. The purpose of this study was to determine if PFC serum levels in domestic cats tended to increase in proportion to time spent indoors and whether analyte patterns reflected that of food sources [e.g., fish products with high perfluoro-octane sulfonate (PFOS) but low perfluorohexanesulfonate (PFHxS)] or with house dust (PFOS + PFHxS + perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) ─ with high PFHxS levels in the most contaminated dust). In 2008, serum was obtained from feral and pet cats presenting to shelters and clinics in the Raleigh, NC area, including the NCSU VTH. PFC serum levels were measured using high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectroscopy. Data on housing status was available for 50 cats. From least to greatest indoor residential exposure, cats were grouped as

  5. Assessment of lectin and HILIC based enrichment protocols for characterization of serum glycoproteins by mass spectrometry

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Calvano, Cosima D; Zambonin, Carlo G; Jensen, Ole Nørregaard

    2008-01-01

    glycosylation profiles are associated with certain human ailments. Glycoprotein analysis by mass spectrometry of biological samples, such as blood serum, is hampered by sample complexity and the low concentration of the potentially informative glycopeptides and -proteins. We assessed the utility of lectin...... of 63 glycosylation sites in 38 proteins were identified by both methods, demonstrating distinct differences and complementarity. Serial application of custom-made microcolumns of mixed, immobilized lectins proved efficient for recovery and analysis of glycopeptides from serum samples of breast cancer...

  6. Low serum myeloperoxidase in autistic children with gastrointestinal disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anthony J Russo

    2009-08-01

    Full Text Available Anthony J Russo1, Arthur Krigsman2, Bryan Jepson2, Andy Wakefield21Research Director, Health Research Institute/Pfeiffer Treatment Center, Warrenville, IL, USA; 2Thoughtful House Center for Children, Austin, TX, USAAim: To assess serum myeloperoxidase (MPO levels in autistic children with severe gastrointestinal (GI disease and to test the hypothesis that there is an association between serum MPO concentration and inflammatory GI disease, including antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA, previously seen in a subgroup of autistic children.Subjects and methods: Serum from 40 autistic children with chronic digestive disease (most with ileo-colonic lymphoid nodular hyperplasia (LNH and inflammation of the colorectum, small bowel and/or stomach, and 48 controls (12 age-matched autistic children with no GI disease, 20 age-matched children without autism or GI disease, and 16 nonautistic individuals with no family history of autism were tested using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays designed to quantitate serum MPO levels. MPO serum concentration of autistic children with GI disease was compared to GI disease severity (including LNH and erythema and presence of ANCA.Results: We found that a significant number of autistic children with chronic digestive disease had low serum levels of MPO. However, there was no significant relationship between these levels and severity of GI disease, including the presence of ANCA.Discussion: These results suggest a relationship between low MPO levels and GI disease seen in a subpopulation of autism spectrum disorders individuals. MPO concentration may therefore be a useful biomarker for GI disease in this group of autistic children.Keywords: autism spectrum disorders, autism, myeloperoxidase, GI disease, oxidative stress

  7. Estimate of serum immunoglobulin G concentration using refractometry with or without caprylic acid fractionation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morrill, K M; Polo, J; Lago, A; Campbell, J; Quigley, J; Tyler, H

    2013-07-01

    Objectives of this study were to develop a rapid calf-side test to determine serum IgG concentrations using caprylic acid (CA) fractionation, followed by refractometry of the IgG-rich supernatant and compare the accuracy of this method with results obtained using refractometry using raw serum. Serum samples (n=200) were obtained from 1-d-old calves, frozen (-20°C), and shipped to the laboratory. Samples were allowed to thaw for 1h at room temperature. Fractionation with CA was conducted by adding 1mL of serum to a tube containing 45, 60, or 75µL of CA and 0.5, 1.0, or 1.5mL of 0.06 M acetic acid. The tube contents were mixed well, allowed to react for 1 min, and then centrifuged at 3,300 × g for 0, 10, or 20 min at 25°C. The %Brix and refractive index of the fractionated supernatant were determined using a digital refractometer. Nonfractionated serum was analyzed for %Brix (BRn), refractive index (nDn), and IgG concentration by radial immunodiffusion. The mean serum IgG concentration was 19.0 mg/mL [standard deviation (SD)=9.7], with a range of 3.5 to 47.0 mg/mL. The mean serum BRn was 8.6 (SD=0.91), with a range of 6.8 to 11.0. The mean serum nDn was 1.34566 (SD=0.00140), with a range of 1.34300 to 1.34930. Serum nDn was positively correlated with IgG concentration (correlation coefficient=0.86; n=185). Fractionated samples treated with 1mL 0.6 M acetic acid and 60µL of CA and not centrifuged before analysis resulted in a strong relationship between the refractive index of the fractionated supernatant and IgG (correlation coefficient=0.80; n=45). Regression was used to determine cut points indicative of 10, 12, and 14 mg of IgG/mL to determine the sensitivity and specificity of refractometry to identify failure of passive transfer (serum IgG refractometry of nonfractionated calf serum provides a strong estimate of IgG concentration and 7.8% Brix may be used as the cut point to identify failure of passive transfer in 1-d-old calves. Copyright © 2013 American

  8. First Trimester Urine and Serum Metabolomics for Prediction of Preeclampsia and Gestational Hypertension: A Prospective Screening Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Austdal, Marie; Tangerås, Line H; Skråstad, Ragnhild B; Salvesen, Kjell; Austgulen, Rigmor; Iversen, Ann-Charlotte; Bathen, Tone F

    2015-09-08

    Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, including preeclampsia, are major contributors to maternal morbidity. The goal of this study was to evaluate the potential of metabolomics to predict preeclampsia and gestational hypertension from urine and serum samples in early pregnancy, and elucidate the metabolic changes related to the diseases. Metabolic profiles were obtained by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of serum and urine samples from 599 women at medium to high risk of preeclampsia (nulliparous or previous preeclampsia/gestational hypertension). Preeclampsia developed in 26 (4.3%) and gestational hypertension in 21 (3.5%) women. Multivariate analyses of the metabolic profiles were performed to establish prediction models for the hypertensive disorders individually and combined. Urinary metabolomic profiles predicted preeclampsia and gestational hypertension at 51.3% and 40% sensitivity, respectively, at 10% false positive rate, with hippurate as the most important metabolite for the prediction. Serum metabolomic profiles predicted preeclampsia and gestational hypertension at 15% and 33% sensitivity, respectively, with increased lipid levels and an atherogenic lipid profile as most important for the prediction. Combining maternal characteristics with the urinary hippurate/creatinine level improved the prediction rates of preeclampsia in a logistic regression model. The study indicates a potential future role of clinical importance for metabolomic analysis of urine in prediction of preeclampsia.

  9. First Trimester Urine and Serum Metabolomics for Prediction of Preeclampsia and Gestational Hypertension: A Prospective Screening Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marie Austdal

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, including preeclampsia, are major contributors to maternal morbidity. The goal of this study was to evaluate the potential of metabolomics to predict preeclampsia and gestational hypertension from urine and serum samples in early pregnancy, and elucidate the metabolic changes related to the diseases. Metabolic profiles were obtained by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of serum and urine samples from 599 women at medium to high risk of preeclampsia (nulliparous or previous preeclampsia/gestational hypertension. Preeclampsia developed in 26 (4.3% and gestational hypertension in 21 (3.5% women. Multivariate analyses of the metabolic profiles were performed to establish prediction models for the hypertensive disorders individually and combined. Urinary metabolomic profiles predicted preeclampsia and gestational hypertension at 51.3% and 40% sensitivity, respectively, at 10% false positive rate, with hippurate as the most important metabolite for the prediction. Serum metabolomic profiles predicted preeclampsia and gestational hypertension at 15% and 33% sensitivity, respectively, with increased lipid levels and an atherogenic lipid profile as most important for the prediction. Combining maternal characteristics with the urinary hippurate/creatinine level improved the prediction rates of preeclampsia in a logistic regression model. The study indicates a potential future role of clinical importance for metabolomic analysis of urine in prediction of preeclampsia.

  10. Determination of antibacterial flomoxef in serum by capillary electrophoresis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kitahashi, Toshihiro; Furuta, Itaru

    2003-04-01

    A determination method of flomoxef (FMOX) concentration in serum by capillary electrophoresis is developed. Serum samples are extracted with acetonitrile. After pretreatment, they are separated in a fused-silica capillary tube with a 25 mM borate buffer (pH 10.0) as a running buffer that contains 50mM sodium dodecyl sulfate. The FMOX and acetaminophen (internal standard) are detected by UV absorbance at 200 nm. Linearity (0-200 mg/L) is good, and the minimum limit of detection is 1.0 mg/L (S/N = 3). The relative standard deviations of intra- and interassay variability are 1.60-4.78% and 2.10-3.31%, respectively, and the recovery rate is 84-98%. This method can be used for determination of FMOX concentration in serum.

  11. Significance of Serum Total Oxidant/Antioxidant Status in Patients with Colorectal Cancer.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rong Wu

    Full Text Available Oxidative stress is involved in a variety of diseases. Prospective studies investigating the relationship between oxidative stress biomarkers and the status and development of colorectal cancer (CRC are scarce; previous studies have failed to establish a relationship between the serum total oxidant/antioxidant status and CRC. Therefore, we compared the total serum oxidant/antioxidant levels of CRC patients and healthy subjects, and analyzed their clinical significance in the CRC. Fasting blood samples from 132 CRC patients and 64 healthy subjects were collected. Oxidative stress parameters, including total oxidant status (TOS and total antioxidant status (TAS, were measured, and the oxidative stress index (OSI was calculated. The TOS and OSI levels increased significantly (P0.05.However, the levels of TOS, TAS, and OSI were significantly different between patients with no metastasis and those with metastases to two organs (P<0.05 Finally, the parameters are affected by smoking and drinking, and subsequent research should be conducted excluding the relevant influencing factors.

  12. Vacuum-assisted breast biopsy of suspected mammographic breast diagnoses: predictive value of serum proteomic profile

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schittulli, F.; Ventrella, V.

    2009-01-01

    The project planned a series of actions oriented to different scientific questions: to complete the prospective collection of serum samples for serum proteomic analysis according to SOPs needed for the Italy-USA program; the identification of different mammographic signs for prediction of histological diagnosis of breast lesions through mammotone; the analysis of relationship between serum proteomic profile and micro histology characteristics of breast lesions

  13. Low serum vitamin D concentrations in patients with schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Itzhaky, Dganit; Amital, Daniela; Gorden, Katya; Bogomolni, Alisa; Arnson, Yoav; Amital, Howard

    2012-02-01

    Vitamin D is increasingly associated with the pathology of cognition and mental illness. Vitamin D receptors have been detected on neurons that regulate behavior. To assess vitamin D serum concentrations in patients with major depression and schizophrenia as compared to healthy controls and to determine if a correlation exists between serum levels of vitamin D and disease activity. We recruited 50 patients with schizophrenia and compared them to 33 patients with major depression and 50 controls with no major psychopathology. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) for schizophrenia and the Hamilton Depression scale for depression were administered on the same day the blood samples were drawn. We used LIAISON 25-OH vitamin D (DiaSorin) immunoassay to measure serum concentrations of 25-OH vitamin D. Lower serum vitamin D concentrations were detected among patients with schizophrenia (15.0 +/- 7.3 ng/ml) compared to patients with depression (19.6 +/- 8.3 ng/ml) and to controls (20.2 +/- 7.8 ng/ml, P vitamin D levels. Serum vitamin D levels were lower in patients with schizophrenia as compared to patients with depression and to healthy controls. No correlation was found between serum concentration and disease activity. Additional studies are needed to elucidate the role of vitamin D in the autoimmune mechanism and in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia.

  14. Development of an electrothermal atomization laser-excited atomic fluorescence spectrometry procedure for direct measurements of arsenic in diluted serum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swart, D J; Simeonsson, J B

    1999-11-01

    A procedure for the direct determination of arsenic in diluted serum by electrothermal atomization laser-excited atomic fluorescence spectrometry (ETA-LEAFS) is reported. Laser radiation needed to excite As at 193.696 and 197.197 nm is generated as the second anti-Stokes stimulated Raman scattering output of a frequency-doubled dye laser operating near 230.5 and 235.5 nm, respectively. Two different LEAFS schemes have been utilized and provide limits of detection of 200-300 fg for As in aqueous standards. When measurements of serum samples diluted 1:10 with deionized water are performed, a stable background signal is observed that can be accounted for by taking measurements with the laser tuned off-wavelength. No As is detected in any of the bovine or human serum samples analyzed. Measurements of 100 pg/mL standard additions of As to a diluted bovine serum sample utilizing either inorganic or organic As species demonstrate a linear relationship of the fluorescence signal to As spike concentration, but exhibit a sensitivity of approximately half that observed in pure aqueous standards. The limit of detection for As in 1:10 diluted serum samples is 65 pg/mL or 650 fg absolute mass, which corresponds to 0.65 ng/mL As in undiluted serum. To our knowledge, the ETA-LEAFS procedure is currently the only one capable of directly measuring As in diluted serum at these levels.

  15. Elevated serum levels of Chromogranin A in hepatocellular carcinoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biondi, Antonio; Malaguarnera, Giulia; Vacante, Marco; Berretta, Massimiliano; D'Agata, Velia; Malaguarnera, Michele; Basile, Francesco; Drago, Filippo; Bertino, Gaetano

    2012-01-01

    During the past three decades, the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma in the United States has tripled. The neuroendocrine character has been observed in some tumor cells within some hepatocellular carcinoma nodules and elevated serum chromogranin A also been reported in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. The aim of this work was to investigate the role of serum concentration of chromogranin A in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma at different stages. The study population consisted of 96 patients (63 males and 33 females age range 52-84) at their first hospital admission for hepatocellular carcinoma. The control group consisted of 35 volunteers (20 males and 15 females age range 50-80). The hepatocellular carcinoma patients were stratified according the Barcelona-Clinic Liver Cancer classification. Venous blood samples were collected before treatment from each patients before surgery, centrifuged to obtain serum samples and stored at -80° C until assayed. The chromogranin A serum levels were elevated (> 100 ng/ml) in 72/96 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. The serum levels of chromogranin A were significantly correlated (p<0.05) with alpha-fetoprotein. In comparison with controls, the hepatocellular carcinoma patients showed a significant increase (p<0.001) vs controls. The chromogranin A levels in the Barcelona staging of hepatocellular carcinoma was higher in stage D compared to stage C (p<0.01), to stage B (p<0.001), and to stage A (p<0.001). Molecular markers, such as chromogranin A, could be very useful tools for hepatocellular carcinoma diagnosis. However the molecular classification should be incorporated into a staging scheme, which effectively separated patients into groups with homogeneous prognosis and response to treatment, and thus serves to aid in the selection of appropriate therapy.

  16. Experiments on the radioimmunological determination of the triiodothyronine binding capacity of human blood serum

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Traub, H.W.J.

    1980-01-01

    Bovine serum antibodies have been obtained from rabbits. Constant amounts of antibodies have been incubated with increasing amounts of antigens. The maximum value found for T 3 binding to the antigen-antibody complex was 66 μg RA/mg antigen. Human serum samples containing 0,05 ng 125 J-T 3 /μl were incubated with 600 μg RA, and the antigen was precipitated with 8,4 mg anti-RA. The mean value obtained for 30 enthyreotic test persons was a binding to RA of 7.9 +- 0,52% 125 J-T 3 . Comparative measurements of patient and standard serum samples shared only slight differences. This means that the measured data do not reflect the thyroid function. (orig./MG) [de

  17. Analysis of the research sample collections of Uppsala biobank.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Engelmark, Malin T; Beskow, Anna H

    2014-10-01

    Uppsala Biobank is the joint and only biobank organization of the two principals, Uppsala University and Uppsala University Hospital. Biobanks are required to have updated registries on sample collection composition and management in order to fulfill legal regulations. We report here the results from the first comprehensive and overall analysis of the 131 research sample collections organized in the biobank. The results show that the median of the number of samples in the collections was 700 and that the number of samples varied from less than 500 to over one million. Blood samples, such as whole blood, serum, and plasma, were included in the vast majority, 84.0%, of the research sample collections. Also, as much as 95.5% of the newly collected samples within healthcare included blood samples, which further supports the concept that blood samples have fundamental importance for medical research. Tissue samples were also commonly used and occurred in 39.7% of the research sample collections, often combined with other types of samples. In total, 96.9% of the 131 sample collections included samples collected for healthcare, showing the importance of healthcare as a research infrastructure. Of the collections that had accessed existing samples from healthcare, as much as 96.3% included tissue samples from the Department of Pathology, which shows the importance of pathology samples as a resource for medical research. Analysis of different research areas shows that the most common of known public health diseases are covered. Collections that had generated the most publications, up to over 300, contained a large number of samples collected systematically and repeatedly over many years. More knowledge about existing biobank materials, together with public registries on sample collections, will support research collaborations, improve transparency, and bring us closer to the goals of biobanks, which is to save and prolong human lives and improve health and quality of life.

  18. Correlation of serum magnesium with dyslipidemia in patients on maintenance hemodialysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Rafique Ansari

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available This study was performed to determine the correlation between serum magnesium (Mg and dyslipidemia in patients on maintenance hemodialysis (MHD. This hospital-based cross-sectional observational study was conducted at the Department of Nephro-Urology, Liaquat University Hospital, Hyderabad, Pakistan, from April 2008 to June 2008. Fifty patients with end-stage kidney disease on MHD treatment (33 males and 17 females were studied. The mean duration on HD was 7.58 ± 2.05 years, with frequency being two to three sessions/week, and each session lasted for four hours. After obtaining informed written consent, the general information of each patient was recorded on a proforma. After overnight fasting, blood samples was drawn from the arterio-venous fistula for lipid profile, lipoprotein, serum Mg, serum creatinine, blood urea, serum calcium and serum phosphorus. Dyslipidemia was defined as presence of total cholesterol (TC, triglyceride (TG or low-density lipoprotein (LDL levels more then 95 th percentile for age and gender or high-density lipoprotein (HDL levels less then 35 mg/dL. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 16.0. The mean age of the study patients was 45.68 ± 13.97 years. There was a significant positive correlation between serum Mg and serum lipoprotein-a (LP-a (r = 0.40, P < 0.007, serum HDL (r = 0.31, P < 0.01 and serum TG (r = 0.35, P < 0.005. There was no significant correlation between serum Mg and serum LDL-c and serum TC. The serum TG and LP-a levels were significantly increased while HDL-c was significantly lower in MHD patients. The serum TC, LDL-c and very low-density lipoprotein-c were not significantly elevated. We conclude that patients with chronic kidney disease undergoing MHD show positive correlation between serum Mg and serum HDL, LP-a and TG. The abnormalities of lipid metabolism, such as hyper-triglyceridemia, elevated LP-a and low HDL-c, could contribute to

  19. Lepidium meyenii (Maca) enhances the serum levels of luteinising hormone in female rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uchiyama, Fumiaki; Jikyo, Tamaki; Takeda, Ryosuke; Ogata, Misato

    2014-02-03

    Lepidium meyenii (Maca) is traditionally employed in the Andean region for its supposed fertility benefits. This study investigated the effect of Maca on the serum pituitary hormone levels during the pro-oestrus phase. Maca powder was made from the tubers of Lepidium meyenii Walp collected, dried, and reduced to powder at the plantation in Junín Plateau and was purchased from Yamano del Perú SAC. The Maca powder was identified by chemical profiling and taxonomic methods. Two groups of female Sprague-Dawley rats were provided feed with normal feed containing 5%, 25%, or 50% Maca powder ad libitum for 7 weeks. At 1800h of the proestrus stage, the rats were euthanised, and blood samples were collected for serum isolation. The serum pituitary hormone levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs). No significant differences in feed intake or growth rate were observed among the rats. During the pro-oestrus stage, a 4.5-fold increase (PMaca powder compared with the control rats. No significant differences were observed in the levels of the other pituitary hormones, including growth hormone (GH), prolactin (PRL), adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). A dose-dependent increase of LH serum levels was observed within the range of 3-30g Maca/kg. Furthermore, the enhancement of the LH serum levels was specific to the pro-oestrus LH surge. The present study demonstrates that Maca uniquely enhances the LH serum levels of pituitary hormones in female rats during the pro-oestrus LH surge and acts in a pharmacological, dose-dependent manner. These findings support the traditional use of Maca to enhance fertility and suggest a potential molecular mechanism responsible for its effects. © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Serial measurements of serum PDGF-AA, PDGF-BB, FGF2, and VEGF in multiresistant ovarian cancer patients treated with bevacizumab

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Madsen Christine

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Introduction Anti-VEGF treatment has proven effective in recurrent ovarian cancer. However, the identification of the patients most likely to respond is still pending. It is well known that the angiogenesis is regulated by several other pro-angiogenic proteins, e.g. the platelet - derived growth factor (PDGF system and the fibroblast growth factor (FGF system. These other signaling pathways may remain active or become upregulated during anti-VEGF treatment. The aim of the present study was to investigate if potential changes of PDGF-BB, PDGF-AA, and FGF2 before and during bevacizumab treatment had predictive value for early progression or survival. Furthermore, we wanted to investigate the importance of serum VEGF in the same cohort. Methods This study included 106 patients with chemotherapy-resistant epithelial ovarian cancer who were treated with single agent bevacizumab as part of a biomarker protocol. Patients were evaluated for response by the Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors (RECIST and/ or Gynecologic Cancer Intergroup (GCIG CA125 criteria. Serum samples were collected at baseline and prior to each treatment. FGF2, PDGF-BB, PDGF-AA were quantified simultaneously using the Luminex system, and VEGF-A was measured by ELISA. Eighty-eight baseline samples were avaliable for FGF2, PDGF-BB, PDGF-AA analysis, and 93 baseline samples for VEGF. Results High baseline serum VEGF was related to poor overall survival. Furthermore, high serum PDGF-BB and FGF2 was of prognostic significance. None of the markers showed predictive value, neither at baseline level nor during the treatment.

  1. Serum levels of organochlorine pesticides in the French adult population: the French National Nutrition and Health Study (ENNS), 2006-2007.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saoudi, Abdessattar; Fréry, Nadine; Zeghnoun, Abdelkrim; Bidondo, Marie-Laure; Deschamps, Valérie; Göen, Thomas; Garnier, Robert; Guldner, Laurence

    2014-02-15

    Although most organochlorine (OC) pesticides were banned in France in the 1970s and 1980s, they remain a source of public concern. Because of their high persistence in the environment, they are still detected in foodstuffs, leading to continued human exposure. The purpose of this study was to assess the distribution of serum organochlorine (OC) pesticides in the French adult population and to identify the main risk factors for p,p'-dichlorodiphenyl dichlorethylene (DDE), β-hexachlorocyclohexane (β-HCH) and hexachlorobenzene (HCB). The selected OC pesticides (HCB, DDE, DDT, α-HCH, β-HCB and γ-HCH) were measured in serum samples collected in 2006-2007 from 386 persons (aged 18-74 years) randomly selected among the participants in the clinical and biological component of the French Nutrition and Health Survey (Etude Nationale Nutrition Santé [ENNS]), a cross-sectional survey carried out in the general population. Collected data included biological samples, socio-demographic characteristics, and data about environmental and occupational exposure factors. Of the six OC pesticides investigated, the highest concentrations were observed for HCB, β-HCH and DDE. Median serum concentrations were as follows: 22.8 ng/g lipid for HCB, 0.74 and 27.0 ng/g lipid, respectively, for α- and ß-HCH, and 3.8 and 104.6 ng/g lipid, respectively, for DDT and DDE. Lindane (γ-HCH) was detected in approximately 10% of the sample. OC pesticide levels in serum in French adults were higher (except for DDT and DDE) than those observed in American, Canadian and German populations and generally lower than or in the same range as those observed in other European countries. The low serum DDT/DDE ratio in the present study (3.7%) would suggest that the concentrations observed for these two OC pesticides were mainly the result of past exposure. The most important predictors of serum DDE, HCB and β-HCH concentrations among the French adult population included individual factors (age, gender

  2. Serum/plasma methylmercury determination by isotope dilution gas chromatography-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Baxter, Douglas C., E-mail: douglas.baxter@alsglobal.com [ALS Scandinavia AB, Aurorum 10, 977 75 Lulea (Sweden); Faarinen, Mikko [ALS Scandinavia AB, Aurorum 10, 977 75 Lulea (Sweden); Osterlund, Helene; Rodushkin, Ilia [ALS Scandinavia AB, Aurorum 10, 977 75 Lulea (Sweden); Division of Geosciences, Lulea University of Technology, 977 87 Lulea (Sweden); Christensen, Morten [ALS Scandinavia AB, Maskinvaegen 2, 183 53 Taeby (Sweden)

    2011-09-09

    Highlights: {center_dot} We determine methylmercury in serum and plasma using isotope dilution calibration. {center_dot} Separation by gas chromatography and detection by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. {center_dot} Data for 50 specimens provides first reference range for methylmercury in serum. {center_dot} Serum samples shown to be stable for 11 months in refrigerator. - Abstract: A method for the determination of methylmercury in plasma and serum samples was developed. The method uses isotope dilution with {sup 198}Hg-labeled methylmercury, extraction into dichloromethane, back-extraction into water, aqueous-phase ethylation, purge and trap collection, thermal desorption, separation by gas chromatography, and mercury isotope specific detection by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. By spiking 2 mL sample with 1.2 ng tracer, measurements in a concentration interval of (0.007-2.9) {mu}g L{sup -1} could be performed with uncertainty amplification factors <2. A limit of quantification of 0.03 {mu}g L{sup -1} was estimated at 10 times the standard deviation of concentrations measured in preparation blanks. Within- and between-run relative standard deviations were <10% at added concentration levels of 0.14 {mu}g L{sup -1}, 0.35 {mu}g L{sup -1} and 2.8 {mu}g L{sup -1}, with recoveries in the range 82-110%. Application of the method to 50 plasma/serum samples yielded a median (mean; range) concentration of methylmercury of 0.081 (0.091; <0.03-0.19) {mu}g L{sup -1}. This is the first time methylmercury has been directly measured in this kind of specimen, and is therefore the first estimate of a reference range.

  3. Selective analysis of human serum albumin based on SEC-ICP-MS after labelling with iophenoxic acid

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dersch, Julie Maria; Nguyen, Tam T. T. N.; Østergaard, Jesper

    2015-01-01

    Human serum albumin (HSA) is the most abundant protein in the human plasma. HSA has several physiological roles in the human body, including storage and transport. Owing to the predominance of albumin in plasma, HSA is often involved in the protein binding of drugs. The aim of this work was to de...... plasma and urine samples and for studying the binding of cisplatin to proteins in the human plasma.......Human serum albumin (HSA) is the most abundant protein in the human plasma. HSA has several physiological roles in the human body, including storage and transport. Owing to the predominance of albumin in plasma, HSA is often involved in the protein binding of drugs. The aim of this work...... was to develop a selective, quantitative method for determining albumin in plasma with the purpose of clarifying the fate of metal-based drugs in biological systems. The method can also be applied for determination of urine albumin, which is of relevance in diagnostics of kidney disease. A selective method...

  4. Stability of serum, plasma and urine osmolality in different storage conditions: Relevance of temperature and centrifugation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sureda-Vives, Macià; Morell-Garcia, Daniel; Rubio-Alaejos, Ana; Valiña, Laura; Robles, Juan; Bauça, Josep Miquel

    2017-09-01

    Osmolality reflects the concentration of all dissolved particles in a body fluid, and its measurement is routinely performed in clinical laboratories for the differential diagnosis of disorders related with the hydrolytic balance regulation, the renal function and in small-molecule poisonings. The aim of the study was to assess the stability of serum, plasma and urine osmolality through time and under different common storage conditions, including delayed centrifugation. Blood and urine samples were collected, and classified into different groups according to several preanalytical variables: serum or plasma lithium-heparin tubes; spun or unspun; stored at room temperature (RT), at 4°C or frozen at -21°C. Aliquots from each group were assayed over time, for up to 14days. Statistical differences were based on three different international performance criteria. Whole blood stability was higher in the presence of anticoagulant. Serum osmolality was stable for 2days at RT and 8days at 4°C, while plasma was less stable when refrigerated. Urine stability was 5days at RT, 4days at 4°C and >14days when frozen. Osmolality may be of great interest for the management of several conditions, such as in case of a delay in the clinical suspicion, or in case of problems in sample collection or processing. The ability to obtain reliable results for samples kept up to 14days also offers the possibility to retrospectively assess baseline values for patients which may require it. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  5. Genetic determinants of serum vitamin B12 and their relation to body mass index

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Allin, Kristine H.; Friedrich, Nele; Pietzner, Maik

    2017-01-01

    for associations between (1) serum vitamin B12 levels and body mass index (BMI), (2) genetic variants and serum vitamin B12 levels, and (3) genetic variants and BMI. The effect of a genetically determined decrease in serum vitamin B12 on BMI was estimated by instrumental variable regression. Decreased serum......Lower serum vitamin B12 levels have been related to adverse metabolic health profiles, including adiposity. We used a Mendelian randomization design to test whether this relation might be causal. We included two Danish population-based studies (ntotal = 9311). Linear regression was used to test...... vitamin B12 associated with increased BMI (P vitamin B12 associated variants associated strongly with serum vitamin B12 (P vitamin B12...

  6. Application of cloud point preconcentration and flame atomic absorption spectrometry for the determination of cadmium and zinc ions in urine, blood serum and water samples

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ardeshir Shokrollahi

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available A simple, sensitive and selective cloud point extraction procedure is described for the preconcentration and atomic absorption spectrometric determination of Zn2+ and Cd2+ ions in water and biological samples, after complexation with 3,3',3",3'"-tetraindolyl (terephthaloyl dimethane (TTDM in basic medium, using Triton X-114 as nonionic surfactant. Detection limits of 3.0 and 2.0 µg L-1 and quantification limits 10.0 and 7.0 µg L-1were obtained for Zn2+ and Cd2+ ions, respectively. Relative standard deviation was 2.9 and 3.3, and enrichment factors 23.9 and 25.6, for Zn2+ and Cd2+ ions, respectively. The method enabled determination of low levels of Zn2+ and Cd2+ ions in urine, blood serum and water samples.

  7. The Correlation between Serum and Peritoneal Fluid CA125 The Correlation between Serum and Peritoneal Fluid CA125

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saghar Salehpour

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Despite a high prevalence of endometriosis, there still exist many challenges indiagnosing the disease. This study aims to evaluate non-invasive and practical diagnostic methodsby measuring serum and peritoneal fluid CA 125 levels in patients with endometriosis. A secondaryaim is to determine the correlation between these markers with the stage of disease as well as therelationship of the two markers with each other.Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of 60 women who underwent laparoscopyfor benign conditions. Based on laparoscopic findings and biopsy results, patients were divided to twogroups; one group included patients with pelvic endometriosis (35 patients and the second enrolledpatients free from endometriosis (25 patients. Serum and peritoneal fluid specimens were provided at thetime of laparoscopy and CA125 levels were then assessed by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay.Results: Mean serum and peritoneal fluid CA125 levels were significantly higher in women withendometriosis as compared to the control group (26.42 ± 24.34 IU/ml versus 12.64 ± 6.87 IU/mlin serum and 2203.54 + 993.19 IU/ml versus 1583.42 ± 912.51 IU/ml in peritoneal fluid, p<0.05.CA 125 levels also varied proportionally with the stage of endometriosis; but showed a significantdifference only in higher stages of the disease, both in serum and peritoneal fluid. We calculatedthe cut-off value suggesting a diagnosis of pelvic endometriosis as 14.70 IU/ml for serum and1286.5 IU/ml for peritoneal fluid CA125. A linear correlation between CA 125 levels in serum andperitoneal fluid in patients with pelvic endometriosis has also been observed.Conclusion: Serum and peritoneal fluid CA 125 levels are simple and non-surgical tools fordiagnosing and staging pelvic endometriosis. These markers are of greater diagnostic value inhigher stages of the disease.

  8. Acute effect of copper exposure on serum biochemical characteristics of common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Melika Ghelichpour

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Effects of ambient copper was investigated on serum stress markers, sodium and enzyme levels in Common carp (Cyprinus carpio L. over a 14-d exposure period. Fish were exposed to 0, 25 and 100 μg L-1 copper (as copper sulfate and blood was sampled at 0, 3, 7 and 14 d after exposure. Serum profile was significantly affected by copper concentration, sampling time and their interaction. Increase in serum levels of cortisol, glucose, alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase and decrease in serum sodium levels were observed in both copper-exposed groups, 3 d after copper exposure, which lasted until the end of the experiment. It is concluded that copper exposure causes stress response and sodium loss in common carp. Likewise alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase increase after exposure which might be as results of either tissue damage or stress.

  9. Serum 25(OH)D and incident type 2 diabetes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Husemoen, L L N; Skaaby, T; Thuesen, B H

    2012-01-01

    Mild to moderate vitamin D insufficiency has been proposed as a risk factor for several common chronic diseases including type 2 diabetes. This study aimed to examine the association between serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25(OH)D) and incident diabetes.......Mild to moderate vitamin D insufficiency has been proposed as a risk factor for several common chronic diseases including type 2 diabetes. This study aimed to examine the association between serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25(OH)D) and incident diabetes....

  10. A sensitive radio-immunoassay for serum thyroglobulin -including a correct screening for thyroglobulin autoantibodies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Laurberg, Peter; Pedersen, K.M.

    1987-01-01

    A new thyroglobulin (Tg) assay employing polyethylene glycol (PEG) for separation of free and antibody bound : 125 I:Tg is described. By choosing a suitable PEG concentration the non-specific precipitation of free [ 125 I]Tg was kept low while both [ 125 I]Tg bound to rabbit anti-Tg immunoglobulins and to human Tg autoantibodies were precipitated. For all sera a 'blank' incubation with no rabbit anti-Tg immunoglobulins was run in parallel with the assay tubes. Hence any interference of Tg autoantibodies would be detected. A two-phase incubation gave a very low detection limit of 0.2 μg/l. The inter-assay coefficient of variation was 9.4% and the intra-assay coefficient of variation was 5.6%. Dilution curves of normal sera were parallel to the standard curve and Tg standards added to normal sera were recovered quantitatively. Twelve out of 60 normal sera from the Randers area contained Tg autoantibodies. The average serum Tg in the 48 sera without antibody was 44.6 ± 5.2 μg/l. (author)

  11. Reference values for fasting serum resistin in healthy children and adolescents

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lausten-Thomsen, Ulrik; Christiansen, Michael; Hedley, Paula Louise

    2017-01-01

    are needed for the risk stratification and interpretation of individual serum resistin concentrations. METHODS: A total of 1191 healthy, non-obese Danish schoolchildren (727 girls) aged 6-18years (median 11.9) were included. Fasting serum resistin concentrations were quantitated by Human Resistin ELISA...... in both boys (p=0.02) and girls (pFasting serum resistin concentrations differ between sexes...

  12. Identification of a Hemolysis Threshold That Increases Plasma and Serum Zinc Concentration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Killilea, David W; Rohner, Fabian; Ghosh, Shibani; Otoo, Gloria E; Smith, Lauren; Siekmann, Jonathan H; King, Janet C

    2017-06-01

    Background: Plasma or serum zinc concentration (PZC or SZC) is the primary measure of zinc status, but accurate sampling requires controlling for hemolysis to prevent leakage of zinc from erythrocytes. It is not established how much hemolysis can occur without changing PZC/SZC concentrations. Objective: This study determines a guideline for the level of hemolysis that can significantly elevate PZC/SZC. Methods: The effect of hemolysis on PZC/SZC was estimated by using standard hematologic variables and mineral content. The calculated hemolysis threshold was then compared with results from an in vitro study and a population survey. Hemolysis was assessed by hemoglobin and iron concentrations, direct spectrophotometry, and visual assessment of the plasma or serum. Zinc and iron concentrations were determined by inductively coupled plasma spectrometry. Results: A 5% increase in PZC/SZC was calculated to result from the lysis of 1.15% of the erythrocytes in whole blood, corresponding to ∼1 g hemoglobin/L added into the plasma or serum. Similarly, the addition of simulated hemolysate to control plasma in vitro caused a 5% increase in PZC when hemoglobin concentrations reached 1.18 ± 0.10 g/L. In addition, serum samples from a population nutritional survey were scored for hemolysis and analyzed for changes in SZC; samples with hemolysis in the range of 1-2.5 g hemoglobin/L showed an estimated increase in SZC of 6% compared with nonhemolyzed samples. Each approach indicated that a 5% increase in PZC/SZC occurs at ∼1 g hemoglobin/L in plasma or serum. This concentration of hemoglobin can be readily identified directly by chemical hemoglobin assays or indirectly by direct spectrophotometry or matching to a color scale. Conclusions: A threshold of 1 g hemoglobin/L is recommended for PZC/SZC measurements to avoid increases in zinc caused by hemolysis. The use of this threshold may improve zinc assessment for monitoring zinc status and nutritional interventions.

  13. Thiazide increases serum calcium in anuric patients: the role of parathyroid hormone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vasco, Raquel F V; Reis, Eduardo T; Moyses, Rosa M A; Elias, Rosilene M

    2017-12-01

    We evaluated the effect of hydrochlorothiazide in a sample of anuric patients on hemodialysis and found an increase in serum calcium, which occurred only in those with parathyroid hormone >300 pg/ml. This finding highlights the extra-renal effect of this diuretic and a possible role of parathyroid hormone in the mechanism. Thiazide diuretics are commonly used in patients with chronic kidney disease to treat hypertension. Their effects on calcium and bone metabolism are not well established, once calciuria may not fully explain levels of calcium and parathyroid hormone (PTH) in this population. A previous study has suggested that thiazides require the presence of PTH as a permissive condition for its renal action. In anuric patients, however, the role of PTH, if any, in the thiazide effect is unknown. To assess thiazide extra renal effect on serum calcium and whether such an effect is reliant on PTH, hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) 100 mg was given orally once a day to a sample of 19 anuric patients on hemodialysis for 2 weeks. Laboratories' analyses were obtained in three phases: baseline, after diuretic use, and after a 2-week washout phase. We demonstrated that serum calcium (Ca) increased in ten patients (52.6%) after HCTZ use, returning to previous levels after the washout period. Out of the 19 patients, ten presented PTH ≥ 300 pg/ml, and Ca has increased in eight of them, whereas in the other nine patients with PTH < 300 pg/ml, serum Ca has increased only in two individuals (RR risk of increase Ca 3.9; p = 0.012). HCTZ was capable of increasing serum Ca in a sample of anuric patients on hemodialysis and seems this effect is highly dependent on PTH levels. Caution is required while interpreting this result, as the small sample size might implicate in a finding caused by chance.

  14. Correlation of Serum Magnesium with Serum Parathormone Levels in Patients on Regular Hemodialysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Baradaran Azar

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT is a common, important, and treatable complication of end-stage renal disease. This study was conducted to investigate the role of serum magnesium (Mg in regulating the secretion of parathyroid hormone (PTH by the parathyroid gland in patients on maintenance hemodialysis (HD. Pre-dialysis serum levels of calcium (Ca, phosphorus (P, Mg, alkaline phosphatase (ALP, intact serum PTH (iPTH, serum 25-hydroxy Vitamin D (25-OH Vit D and plasma bicarbonate (HCO3 were measured. The Urea Reduction Rate as well as duration and dosage of HD treatment were noted. Our study did not show any significant correlation between serum Mg levels and duration of HD treatment, levels of serum ALP, and plasma HCO3, Ca and P. An inverse correlation, albeit insignificant, was found between the serum Mg levels and iPTH (r=-0.30 p=0.079; also, a significant positive correlation was found between serum Mg levels and serum 25-OH Vit D levels (r= 0.40 p= 0.009. Our findings are in agreement with previous data, which suggest that factors other than serum Mg are more important in the regulation of PTH secretion in HD patients. A positive and strong association between serum Mg with 25-OH Vit D needs to be studied in greater detail.

  15. Combined experimental and statistical strategy for mass spectrometry based serum protein profiling for diagnosis of breast cancer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Callesen, Anne Kjærgaard; Vach, Werner; Jørgensen, Per E

    2008-01-01

    it in a well-described breast cancer case-control study. A rigorous sample collection protocol ensured high quality specimen and reduced bias from preanalytical factors. Preoperative serum samples obtained from 48 breast cancer patients and 28 controls were used to generate MALDI MS protein profiles. A total...... and controls. A diagnostic rule based on these 72 mass values was constructed and exhibited a cross-validated sensitivity and specificity of approximately 85% for the detection of breast cancer. With this method, it was possible to distinguish early stage cancers from controls without major loss of sensitivity...... and specificity. We conclude that optimized serum sample handling and mass spectrometry data acquisition strategies in combination with statistical analysis provide a viable platform for serum protein profiling in cancer diagnosis....

  16. Serum testosterone levels in males are not associated with entrepreneurial behavior in two independent observational studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Loos, Matthijs J H M; Haring, Robin; Rietveld, Cornelius A; Baumeister, Sebastian E; Groenen, Patrick J F; Hofman, Albert; de Jong, Frank H; Koellinger, Philipp D; Kohlmann, Thomas; Nauck, Matthias A; Rivadeneira, Fernando; Uitterlinden, André G; van Rooij, Frank J A; Wallaschofski, Henri; Thurik, A Roy

    2013-07-02

    Previous research has suggested a positive association between testosterone (T) and entrepreneurial behavior in males. However, this evidence was found in a study with a small sample size and has not been replicated. In the present study, we aimed to verify this association using two large, independent, population-based samples of males. We tested the association of T with entrepreneurial behavior, operationalized as self-employment, using data from the Rotterdam Study (N=587) and the Study of Health in Pomerania (N=1697). Total testosterone (TT) and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) were measured in the serum. Free testosterone (FT), non-SHBG-bound T (non-SHBG-T), and the TT/SHBG ratio were calculated and used as measures of bioactive serum T, in addition to TT adjusted for SHBG. Using logistic regression models, we found no significant associations between any of the serum T measures and self-employment in either of the samples. To our knowledge, this is the first large-scale study on the relationship between serum T and entrepreneurial behavior. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Prevalence of antileptospiral serum antibodies in dogs in Ireland

    Science.gov (United States)

    A total of 474 serum samples from client owned Irish dogs were tested for the presence of antibodies against serovars Canicola, Icterohaemorrhagiae, Bratislava, Autumnalis, Pomona, Altodouro, Grippotyphosa, Mozdok, Hardjobovis and Ballum. Six percent of dogs presented to veterinary practitioners for...

  18. Serum Zinc Concentrations in Children with Acute Bloody and Watery Diarrhoea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abolfazl Mahyar

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: The role of zinc in the pathogenesis of diarrhoea is controversial. This study was conducted to compare serum zinc levels in children with acute diarrhoea to those found in healthy children. Methods: This case-control study was carried out at the Qazvin Children’s Hospital in Qazvin, Iran, between July 2012 and January 2013. A total of 60 children with acute diarrhoea (12 children with bloody diarrhoea and 48 children with watery diarrhoea and 60 healthy children were included. Zinc levels for all subjects were measured using a flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer and data were analysed and compared between groups. Results: Mean serum zinc levels in the patients with acute bloody diarrhoea, acute watery diarrhoea and the control group were 74.1 ± 23.7 μg/dL, 169.4 ± 62.7 μg/dL and 190.1 ± 18.0 μg/dL, respectively (P = 0.01. Hypozincaemia was observed in 50.0% of children with acute bloody diarrhoea and 12.5% of those with acute watery diarrhoea. None of the patients in the control group had hypozincaemia (P = 0.01. Conclusion: Children with acute bloody diarrhoea had significantly reduced serum zinc levels in comparison to healthy children. However, a study with a larger sample size is needed to examine the significance of this trend.

  19. Serum telomerase levels in smokers and smokeless tobacco users as Maras powder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bozkuş, Fulsen; Atilla, Nurhan; Şimşek, Seçil; Kurutaş, Ergül; Samur, Anıl; Arpağ, Hüseyin; Kahraman, Hasan

    2017-09-01

    To the best of our knowledge, no previous study regarding the serum telomerase levels in Maras powder users (MPUs) has been founded. The aim of the current study was to investigate serum telomerase levels in smokers and MPUs. The study was carried out with 98 patients (36 MPUs, 32 smokers and 30 non-smokers). Blood samples were collected, and after having measured the serum telomerase and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels of the patients, comparison were made between the groups. It has been observed that the serum telomerase and MDA levels of smokers (pnon-smoker control subjects. In addition, the levels of serum telomerase and MDA were observed to be higher in the MPU group compared to those of the smoker group (psmokers. In this context, it may be useful to further measure and assess telomerase activity in such patients in order to better determine the harmful effects associated with these habits.

  20. On the radiolysis of desoxyribonucleic acid in presence of serum albumin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Geiger, A.M.

    1984-01-01

    The experiments were carried out on the simple model of DNA-bovine serum albumin. The two substances were solved in 10 -2 M sodium phosphate buffer pH 7 in the ratio 1 : 10, which is about the natural ratio of nucleic acid to protein in the cell. The preparations were irradiated with various doses up to 1760 Gy, in the presence of air, nitrogen, or laughing gas. The irradiated samples were then separated over the gel sepharose CL-2B using 2 x 10 -2 M sodium phosphate buffer pH 7 with and without sodium dodecyl sulphate. Photometric measurement of the fractions was done using a wavelength of 260 nm. The protein content was determined with two different colorimetric techniques, after calibrating experiments defining the linear range. In order to determine the effect of the protein on the radiosensitivity of the DNA, samples without bovine serum albumin were irradiated in the three gaseous environments with 440 Gy. Incubation of the irradiated samples with SDS, and separation in the presence of SDS, revealed information on the covalent bonds forming between DNA and bovine serum albumin, whereas gel filtration without SDS yielded information also on non-covalent bonds. (orig./EF) [de

  1. Serum iron parameters in liver cirrhosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siregar, G. A.; Maail, W.

    2018-03-01

    The liver plays a fundamental role in iron homeostasis. Iron parameters change, especially ferritin, need to be evaluated in patients with liver cirrhosis. Serum ferritin could predict the prognosis of patients with decompensated cirrhosis since it reflects immunemediated and infectious stimuli. Ferritin could express the severity of liver disease and possible subsequent complications. Finally, it might reflect an iron overload condition resulting in significant morbidity and early mortality. 70 patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis divided into three Child-Pugh subgroups. Serum iron parameters include serum iron (SI), total iron binding capacity (TIBC) and ferritin was measured in these groups. From these 70 patients, 30 (42.9%) with HbsAg positive, 26 (37.1%) with anti-HCV positive and 14 (20%) with both HbsAg and anti-HCV positive. Of the 70 patients, 14 (20%) had CTP Class A cirrhosis, 17 (24.3%) had CTP Class B cirrhosis, and 39 (55.7%) had CTP C cirrhosis. The median (range) value of serum iron was 36 (10-345) μg/dl, TIBC was 160 (59-520) μg/dl, Ferritin was 253.5 (8-6078) ng/ml and the transferrin saturation was 22.9 (3.65-216.98) %.We found a significant difference in serum ferritin level with CTP score. Ferritin levels increased as Child-Pugh class progressed (p<0.001).

  2. [Pathogens in expressed prostatic secretion and their correlation with serum prostate specific antigen: analysis of 320 cases].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Shu-Xia; Zhang, Jia-Ming; Wu, Kai; Chen, Juan; Shi, Jian-Feng

    2014-08-01

    To investigate the pathogenic infection and its drug resistance in expressed prostatic secretion (EPS) and its correlation with serum PSA, and provide some evidence for the systematic and normalized diagnosis and treatment of prostatitis. Three EPS swabs were collected from each of the 320 prostatis patients following measurement of the serum PSA level, 1 for bacterial culture and identification, 1 for detection of Mycoplasma and drug sensitivity, and the other for examination of Chlamydia trachomatis antigen by colloidal gold immunoblot. Totally 244 strains were isolated from the 320 EPS samples, including 188 bacterial strains (dominated by Staphylococcus and sensitive to vancomycin or linezolid) and 44 Mycoplasma and Chlamydia strains (mainly Ureaplasma urealyticum and susceptible to josamycin or doxycycline). The serum PSA level was significantly higher in the pathogen-positive than in the pathogen-negative group ([6.98 +/- 0.56] microg/L vs [2.32 +/- 0.12] microg/L, P Prostatitis may lead to the elevation of the serum PSA level and the pathogens involved vary in their resistance to different antibacterial spectrums. Therefore, appropriate and individualized antibiotic therapy should be selected according to etiological diagnosis and the results of drug sensitivity test.

  3. Characterization of the serum metabolome following radiation treatment in patients with high-grade gliomas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mörén, Lina; Wibom, Carl; Bergström, Per; Johansson, Mikael; Antti, Henrik; Bergenheim, A. Tommy

    2016-01-01

    Glioblastomas progress rapidly making response evaluation using MRI insufficient since treatment effects are not detectable until months after initiation of treatment. Thus, there is a strong need for supplementary biomarkers that could provide reliable and early assessment of treatment efficacy. Analysis of alterations in the metabolome may be a source for identification of new biomarker patterns harboring predictive information. Ideally, the biomarkers should be found within an easily accessible compartment such as the blood. Using gas-chromatographic- time-of-flight-mass spectroscopy we have analyzed serum samples from 11 patients with glioblastoma during the initial phase of radiotherapy. Fasting serum samples were collected at admittance, on the same day as, but before first treatment and in the morning after the second and fifth dose of radiation. The acquired data was analyzed and evaluated by chemometrics based bioinformatics methods. Our findings were compared and discussed in relation to previous data from microdialysis in tumor tissue, i.e. the extracellular compartment, from the same patients. We found a significant change in metabolite pattern in serum comparing samples taken before radiotherapy to samples taken during early radiotherapy. In all, 68 metabolites were lowered in concentration following treatment while 16 metabolites were elevated in concentration. All detected and identified amino acids and fatty acids together with myo-inositol, creatinine, and urea were among the metabolites that decreased in concentration during treatment, while citric acid was among the metabolites that increased in concentration. Furthermore, when comparing results from the serum analysis with findings in tumor extracellular fluid we found a common change in metabolite patterns in both compartments on an individual patient level. On an individual metabolite level similar changes in ornithine, tyrosine and urea were detected. However, in serum, glutamine and

  4. Prevalence of hyperuricemia and relation of serum uric acid with cardiovascular risk factors in a developing country

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shamlaye C

    2004-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The prevalence of hyperuricemia has rarely been investigated in developing countries. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of hyperuricemia and the association between uric acid levels and the various cardiovascular risk factors in a developing country with high average blood pressures (the Seychelles, Indian Ocean, population mainly of African origin. Methods This cross-sectional health examination survey was based on a population random sample from the Seychelles. It included 1011 subjects aged 25 to 64 years. Blood pressure (BP, body mass index (BMI, waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, total and HDL cholesterol, serum triglycerides and serum uric acid were measured. Data were analyzed using scatterplot smoothing techniques and gender-specific linear regression models. Results The prevalence of a serum uric acid level >420 μmol/L in men was 35.2% and the prevalence of a serum uric acid level >360 μmol/L was 8.7% in women. Serum uric acid was strongly related to serum triglycerides in men as well as in women (r = 0.73 in men and r = 0.59 in women, p Conclusions This study shows that the prevalence of hyperuricemia can be high in a developing country such as the Seychelles. Besides alcohol consumption and the use of antihypertensive therapy, mainly diuretics, serum uric acid is markedly associated with parameters of the metabolic syndrome, in particular serum triglycerides. Considering the growing incidence of obesity and metabolic syndrome worldwide and the potential link between hyperuricemia and cardiovascular complications, more emphasis should be put on the evolving prevalence of hyperuricemia in developing countries.

  5. Genetic regulation of serum phytosterol levels and risk of coronary artery disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teupser, Daniel; Baber, Ronny; Ceglarek, Uta; Scholz, Markus; Illig, Thomas; Gieger, Christian; Holdt, Lesca M; Leichtle, Alexander; Greiser, Karin H; Huster, Dominik; Linsel-Nitschke, Patrick; Schäfer, Arne; Braund, Peter S; Tiret, Laurence; Stark, Klaus; Raaz-Schrauder, Dorette; Fiedler, Georg M; Wilfert, Wolfgang; Beutner, Frank; Gielen, Stephan; Grosshennig, Anika; König, Inke R; Lichtner, Peter; Heid, Iris M; Kluttig, Alexander; El Mokhtari, Nour E; Rubin, Diana; Ekici, Arif B; Reis, André; Garlichs, Christoph D; Hall, Alistair S; Matthes, Gert; Wittekind, Christian; Hengstenberg, Christian; Cambien, Francois; Schreiber, Stefan; Werdan, Karl; Meitinger, Thomas; Loeffler, Markus; Samani, Nilesh J; Erdmann, Jeanette; Wichmann, H-Erich; Schunkert, Heribert; Thiery, Joachim

    2010-08-01

    Phytosterols are plant-derived sterols that are taken up from food and can serve as biomarkers of cholesterol uptake. Serum levels are under tight genetic control. We used a genomic approach to study the molecular regulation of serum phytosterol levels and potential links to coronary artery disease (CAD). A genome-wide association study for serum phytosterols (campesterol, sitosterol, brassicasterol) was conducted in a population-based sample from KORA (Cooperative Research in the Region of Augsburg) (n=1495) with subsequent replication in 2 additional samples (n=1157 and n=1760). Replicated single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were tested for association with premature CAD in a metaanalysis of 11 different samples comprising 13 764 CAD cases and 13 630 healthy controls. Genetic variants in the ATP-binding hemitransporter ABCG8 and at the blood group ABO locus were significantly associated with serum phytosterols. Effects in ABCG8 were independently related to SNPs rs4245791 and rs41360247 (combined P=1.6 x 10(-50) and 6.2 x 10(-25), respectively; n=4412). Serum campesterol was elevated 12% for each rs4245791 T-allele. The same allele was associated with 40% decreased hepatic ABCG8 mRNA expression (P=0.009). Effects at the ABO locus were related to SNP rs657152 (combined P=9.4x10(-13)). Alleles of ABCG8 and ABO associated with elevated phytosterol levels displayed significant associations with increased CAD risk (rs4245791 odds ratio, 1.10; 95% CI, 1.06 to 1.14; P=2.2 x 10(-6); rs657152 odds ratio, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.07 to 1.19; P=9.4 x 10(-6)), whereas alleles at ABCG8 associated with reduced phytosterol levels were associated with reduced CAD risk (rs41360247 odds ratio, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.78 to 0.91; P=1.3 x 10(-5)). Common variants in ABCG8 and ABO are strongly associated with serum phytosterol levels and show concordant and previously unknown associations with CAD.

  6. Serum calcium and incident diabetes: an observational study and meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sing, C W; Cheng, V K F; Ho, D K C; Kung, A W C; Cheung, B M Y; Wong, I C K; Tan, K C B; Salas-Salvadó, J; Becerra-Tomas, N; Cheung, C L

    2016-05-01

    The study aimed to prospectively evaluate if serum calcium is related to diabetes incidence in Hong Kong Chinese. The results showed that serum calcium has a significant association with increased risk of diabetes. The result of meta-analysis reinforced our findings. This study aimed to evaluate the association of serum calcium, including serum total calcium and albumin-corrected calcium, with incident diabetes in Hong Kong Chinese. We conducted a retrospective cohort study in 6096 participants aged 20 or above and free of diabetes at baseline. Serum calcium was measured at baseline. Incident diabetes was determined from several electronic databases. We also searched relevant databases for studies on serum calcium and incident diabetes and conducted a meta-analysis using fixed-effect modeling. During 59,130.9 person-years of follow-up, 631 participants developed diabetes. Serum total calcium and albumin-corrected calcium were associated with incident diabetes in the unadjusted model. After adjusting for demographic and clinical variables, the association remained significant only for serum total calcium (hazard ratio (HR), 1.32 (95 % confidence interval (CI), 1.02-1.70), highest vs. lowest quartile). In a meta-analysis of four studies including the current study, both serum total calcium (pooled risk ratio (RR), 1.38 (95 % CI, 1.15-1.65); I (2) = 5 %, comparing extreme quantiles) and albumin-corrected calcium (pooled RR, 1.29 (95 % CI, 1.03-1.61); I (2) = 0 %, comparing extreme quantiles) were associated with incident diabetes. Penalized regression splines showed that the association of incident diabetes with serum total calcium and albumin-correlated calcium was non-linear and linear, respectively. Elevated serum calcium concentration is associated with incident diabetes. The mechanism underlying this association warrants further investigation.

  7. Serum concentrations of cholesterol, apolipoprotein A-I and apolipoprotein B in a total of 1694 meat-eaters, fish-eaters, vegetarians and vegans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bradbury, K E; Crowe, F L; Appleby, P N; Schmidt, J A; Travis, R C; Key, T J

    2014-02-01

    The objective of this study was to describe serum lipid concentrations, including apolipoproteins A-I and B, in different diet groups. A cross-sectional analysis of a sample of 424 meat-eaters, 425 fish-eaters, 423 vegetarians and 422 vegans, matched on sex and age, from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition-Oxford cohort. Serum concentrations of total, and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, as well as apolipoproteins A-I and B were measured, and serum non-HDL cholesterol was calculated. Vegans had the lowest body mass index (BMI) and the highest and lowest intakes of polyunsaturated and saturated fat, respectively. After adjustment for age, alcohol and physical activity, compared with meat-eaters, fish-eaters and vegetarians, serum concentrations of total and non-HDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein B were significantly lower in vegans. Serum apolipoprotein A-I concentrations did not differ between the diet groups. In males, the mean serum total cholesterol concentration was 0.87 mmol/l lower in vegans than in meat-eaters; after further adjustment for BMI this difference was 0.76 mmol/l. In females, the difference in total cholesterol between these two groups was 0.6 mmol/l, and after further adjustment for BMI was 0.55 mmol/l. [corrected]. In this study, which included a large number of vegans, serum total cholesterol and apolipoprotein B concentrations were lower in vegans compared with meat-eaters, fish-eaters and vegetarians. A small proportion of the observed differences in serum lipid concentrations was explained by differences in BMI, but a large proportion is most likely due to diet.

  8. Interstitial fluid contains higher in vitro IGF bioactivity than serum

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Espelund, Ulrick; Søndergaard, Klaus; Bjerring, Peter

    2012-01-01

    MEASURE: Serum and SBF concentrations of bioactive IGF (determined in vitro by specific IGF-I receptor (IGF-IR) phosphorylation assay), immunoreactive IGF and IGF binding protein (IGFBP) levels, Western ligand blotting (WLB) of IGFBPs and IGFBP-3 Western immunoblotting (WiB). RESULTS: The ability of SBF...... to phosphorylate the IGF-IR in vitro was 41±27% higher than that of serum (P=0.007 by repeated measures ANOVA). By contrast, immunoreactive IGF and IGFBP-concentrations were approximately 50% lower in SBF than in serum (all P≤0.002). A marked difference in the composition of IGFBPs between serum and SBF...... was observed, including 3-fold elevated amounts of IGFBP-3 fragments in SBF (Pvitro IGF bioactivity was higher in SBF than in serum. This may...

  9. Direct microcomputer controlled determination of zinc in human serum by flow injection atomic absorption spectrometry

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Simonsen, Kirsten Wiese; Nielsen, Bent; Jensen, Arne

    1986-01-01

    A procedure is described for the direct determination of zinc in human serum by fully automated, microcomputer controlled flow injection atomic absorption spectrometry (Fl-AAS). The Fl system is pumpless, using the negative pressure created by the nebuliser. It only consists of a three-way valve......, programmable from the microcomputer, to control the sample volume. No pre-treatment of the samples is necessary. The limit of detection is 0.14 mg l–1, and only small amounts of serum (

  10. Serum metabolomics differentiating pancreatic cancer from new-onset diabetes

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Xiangyi; Zhong, Jie; Wang, Shuwei; Zhou, Yufen; Wang, Lei; Zhang, Yongping; Yuan, Yaozong

    2017-01-01

    To establish a screening strategy for pancreatic cancer (PC) based on new-onset diabetic mellitus (NO-DM), serum metabolomics analysis and a search for the metabolic pathways associated with PC related DM were performed. Serum samples from patients with NO-DM (n = 30) and patients with pancreatic cancer and NO-DM were examined by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Data were analyzed using principal components analysis (PCA) and orthogonal projection to latent structures (OPLS) of the most significant metabolites. The diagnostic model was constructed using logistic regression analysis. Metabolic pathways were analyzed using the web-based tool MetPA. PC patients with NO-DM were older and had a lower BMI and shorter duration of DM than those with NO-DM. The metabolomic profiles of patients with PC and NO-DM were significantly different from those of patients with NO-DM in the PCA and OPLS models. Sixty two differential metabolites were identified by the OPLS model. The logistic regression model using a panel of two metabolites including N_Succinyl_L_diaminopimelic_acid and PE (18:2) had high sensitivity (93.3%) and specificity (93.1%) for PC. The top three metabolic pathways associated with PC related DM were valine, leucine and isoleucine biosynthesis and degradation, primary bile acid biosynthesis, and sphingolipid metabolism. In conclusion, screening for PC based on NO-DM using serum metabolomics in combination with clinic characteristics and CA19-9 is a potential useful strategy. Several metabolic pathways differed between PC related DM and type 2 DM. PMID:28418859

  11. Serum vascular endothelial growth factor and adiponectin levels in patients with benign and malignant gynecological diseases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lasalandra, Carla; Coviello, Maria; Falco, Gaetano; Divella, Rosa; Trojano, Giuseppe; Laterza, Anna Maria; Quero, Carmela; Pepe, Vito; Zito, Francesco Alfredo; Quaranta, Michele

    2010-05-01

    One of the most specific and critical regulators of angiogenesis is vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which regulates endothelial proliferation, permeability, and survival. Vascular endothelial growth factor is an angiogenic mediator in tumors and has been implicated in the pathogenesis and progression of cancer. Adipose tissue is a major endocrine and it secretes hormones termed adipokines. These factors are derived from adipocytes and include proteins and metabolites such as adiponectin. Recently, adiponectin was also shown to modulate angiogenesis. This study was designed to determine the serum VEGF and adiponectin levels in patients with benign and malignant gynecological diseases and if there was a correlation between serum VEGF and adiponectin. Serum samples, collected fasting before surgery or intervention, were available for total of 114 female patients recorded between October 2006 and December 2008. Diagnosis of benign and malignant gynaecological diseases was established by biopsy. Serum levels VEGF and adiponectin were using commercially available enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (R&D Systems Inc, Minneapolis, MN), respectively. Statistical analysis was performed by using the SPSS 9.0 software package (SPSS, Inc, Chicago, IL). The correlation between serum VEGF and serum Adiponectin was calculated using the Pearson correlation coefficient. P values of benign and malignant gynecological diseases of the patient. Only for serum VEGF levels was a significant difference observed (P = 0.004) between patients with benign and malignant gynecological diseases. A significantly inverse correlation between serum VEGF and adiponectin levels among patients with benign and malignant gynecological diseases was found. Adiponectin level is not correlated with body mass index. This is one of the first report on adiponectin in benign and malignant gynecological diseases. Future studies are needed to address the clinical potential role of adiponectin in cancer.

  12. Detection and serotyping of dengue virus in serum samples by multiplex reverse transcriptase PCR-ligase detection reaction assay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Das, S; Pingle, M R; Muñoz-Jordán, J; Rundell, M S; Rondini, S; Granger, K; Chang, G-J J; Kelly, E; Spier, E G; Larone, D; Spitzer, E; Barany, F; Golightly, L M

    2008-10-01

    The detection and successful typing of dengue virus (DENV) from patients with suspected dengue fever is important both for the diagnosis of the disease and for the implementation of epidemiologic control measures. A technique for the multiplex detection and typing of DENV serotypes 1 to 4 (DENV-1 to DENV-4) from clinical samples by PCR-ligase detection reaction (LDR) has been developed. A serotype-specific PCR amplifies the regions of genes C and E simultaneously. The two amplicons are targeted in a multiplex LDR, and the resultant fluorescently labeled ligation products are detected on a universal array. The assay was optimized using 38 DENV strains and was evaluated with 350 archived acute-phase serum samples. The sensitivity of the assay was 98.7%, and its specificity was 98.4%, relative to the results of real-time PCR. The detection threshold was 0.017 PFU for DENV-1, 0.004 PFU for DENV-2, 0.8 PFU for DENV-3, and 0.7 PFU for DENV-4. The assay is specific; it does not cross-react with the other flaviviruses tested (West Nile virus, St. Louis encephalitis virus, Japanese encephalitis virus, Kunjin virus, Murray Valley virus, Powassan virus, and yellow fever virus). All but 1 of 26 genotypic variants of DENV serotypes in a global DENV panel from different geographic regions were successfully identified. The PCR-LDR assay is a rapid, sensitive, specific, and high-throughput technique for the simultaneous detection of all four serotypes of DENV.

  13. Comparison of Proteins in Whole Blood and Dried Blood Spot Samples by LC/MS/MS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chambers, Andrew G.; Percy, Andrew J.; Hardie, Darryl B.; Borchers, Christoph H.

    2013-09-01

    Dried blood spot (DBS) sampling methods are desirable for population-wide biomarker screening programs because of their ease of collection, transportation, and storage. Immunoassays are traditionally used to quantify endogenous proteins in these samples but require a separate assay for each protein. Recently, targeted mass spectrometry (MS) has been proposed for generating highly-multiplexed assays for biomarker proteins in DBS samples. In this work, we report the first comparison of proteins in whole blood and DBS samples using an untargeted MS approach. The average number of proteins identified in undepleted whole blood and DBS samples by liquid chromatography (LC)/MS/MS was 223 and 253, respectively. Protein identification repeatability was between 77 %-92 % within replicates and the majority of these repeated proteins (70 %) were observed in both sample formats. Proteins exclusively identified in the liquid or dried fluid spot format were unbiased based on their molecular weight, isoelectric point, aliphatic index, and grand average hydrophobicity. In addition, we extended this comparison to include proteins in matching plasma and serum samples with their dried fluid spot equivalents, dried plasma spot (DPS), and dried serum spot (DSS). This work begins to define the accessibility of endogenous proteins in dried fluid spot samples for analysis by MS and is useful in evaluating the scope of this new approach.

  14. First-trimester maternal serum human thyroid-stimulating hormone in chromosomally normal and Down syndrome pregnancies

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pratt, JJ; de Wolf, BTHM; Mantingh, A

    Maternal serum human thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels were investigated in chromosomally normal and Down syndrome pregnancies to determine whether TSH can be used as a marker for Down syndrome in the first trimester. Measurements were conducted on stored serum samples collected from 23 Down

  15. Serum insulin-like growth factor-1 levels in females and males in different cervical vertebral maturation stages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shreya Gupta

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: The aim of this cross sectional study was to assess serum insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1 levels in female and male subjects at various cervical vertebral maturation (CVM stages. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study sample consisted of 60 subjects, 30 females and 30 males, in the age range of 8-23 years. For all subjects, serum IGF-1 level was estimated from blood samples by means of chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA. CVM was assessed on lateral cephalograms using the method described by Baccetti. Serum IGF-1 level and cervical staging data of 30 female subjects were included and taken from records of a previous study. Data were analyzed by Kruska-Wallis and Mann Whitney test. Bonferroni correction was carried out and alpha value was set at 0.003. RESULTS: Peak value of serum IGF-1 was observed in cervical stages CS3 in females and CS4 in males. Differences between males and females were observed in mean values of IGF-1 at stages CS3, 4 and 5. The highest mean IGF-1 levels in males was observed in CS4 followed by CS5 and third highest in CS3; whereas in females the highest mean IGF-1 levelswas observed in CS3 followed by CS4 and third highest in CS5. Trends of IGF-1 in relation to the cervical stages also differed between males and females. The greatest mean serum IGF-1 value for both sexes was comparable, for females (397 ng/ml values were slightly higher than in males (394.8 ng/ml. CONCLUSIONS: Males and females showed differences in IGF-1 trends and levels at different cervical stages.

  16. Comparison of FTIR-ATR and Raman spectroscopy in determination of VLDL triglycerides in blood serum with PLS regression

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oleszko, Adam; Hartwich, Jadwiga; Wójtowicz, Anna; Gąsior-Głogowska, Marlena; Huras, Hubert; Komorowska, Małgorzata

    2017-08-01

    Hypertriglyceridemia, related with triglyceride (TG) in plasma above 1.7 mmol/L is one of the cardiovascular risk factors. Very low density lipoproteins (VLDL) are the main TG carriers. Despite being time consuming, demanding well-qualified staff and expensive instrumentation, ultracentrifugation technique still remains the gold standard for the VLDL isolation. Therefore faster and simpler method of VLDL-TG determination is needed. Vibrational spectroscopy, including FT-IR and Raman, is widely used technique in lipid and protein research. The aim of this study was assessment of Raman and FT-IR spectroscopy in determination of VLDL-TG directly in serum with the isolation step omitted. TG concentration in serum and in ultracentrifugated VLDL fractions from 32 patients were measured with reference colorimetric method. FT-IR and Raman spectra of VLDL and serum samples were acquired. Partial least square (PLS) regression was used for calibration and leave-one-out cross validation. Our results confirmed possibility of reagent-free determination of VLDL-TG directly in serum with both Raman and FT-IR spectroscopy. Quantitative VLDL testing by FT-IR and/or Raman spectroscopy applied directly to maternal serum seems to be promising screening test to identify women with increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes and patient friendly method of choice based on ease of performance, accuracy and efficiency.

  17. Serum levels of cytokines in water buffaloes experimentally infected with Fasciola gigantica.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Fu-Kai; Guo, Ai-Jiang; Hou, Jun-Ling; Sun, Miao-Miao; Sheng, Zhao-An; Zhang, Xiao-Xuan; Huang, Wei-Yi; Elsheikha, Hany M; Zhu, Xing-Quan

    2017-09-15

    Fasciola gigantica infection in water buffaloes causes significant economic losses especially in developing countries. Although modulation of the host immune response by cytokine neutralization or vaccination is a promising approach to control infection with this parasite, our understanding of cytokine's dynamic during F. gigantica infection is limited. To address this, we quantified the levels of serum cytokines produced in water buffaloes following experimental infection with F. gigantica. Five buffaloes were infected via oral gavage with 500 viable F. gigantica metacercariae and blood samples were collected from buffaloes one week before infection and for 13 consecutive weeks thereafter. The levels of 10 cytokines in serum samples were simultaneously determined using ELISA. F. gigantica failed to elicit the production of various pro-inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-2, IL-6, IL-12, and IFN-γ. On the other hand, evidence of a Th2 type response was detected, but only early in the course of parasite colonization and included modest increase in the levels of IL-10 and IL-13. The results also revealed suppression of the immune responses as a feature of chronic F. gigantica infection in buffaloes. Taken together, F. gigantica seems to elicit a modest Th2 response at early stage of infection in order to downregulate harmful Th1- and Th17-type inflammatory responses in experimentally infected buffaloes. The full extent of anti-F. gigantica immune response and its relation to pathogenesis requires further study. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. A Common Variant in the SETD7 Gene Predicts Serum Lycopene Concentrations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Adamo, Christopher R; D'Urso, Antonietta; Ryan, Kathleen A; Yerges-Armstrong, Laura M; Semba, Richard D; Steinle, Nanette I; Mitchell, Braxton D; Shuldiner, Alan R; McArdle, Patrick F

    2016-02-06

    Dietary intake and higher serum concentrations of lycopene have been associated with lower incidence of prostate cancer and other chronic diseases. Identifying determinants of serum lycopene concentrations may thus have important public health implications. Prior studies have suggested that serum lycopene concentrations are under partial genetic control. The goal of this research was to identify genetic predictors of serum lycopene concentrations using the genome-wide association study (GWAS) approach among a sample of 441 Old Order Amish adults that consumed a controlled diet. Linear regression models were utilized to evaluate associations between genetic variants and serum concentrations of lycopene. Variant rs7680948 on chromosome 4, located in the intron region of the SETD7 gene, was significantly associated with serum lycopene concentrations (p = 3.41 × 10(-9)). Our findings also provided nominal support for the association previously noted between SCARB1 and serum lycopene concentrations, although with a different SNP (rs11057841) in the region. This study identified a novel locus associated with serum lycopene concentrations and our results raise a number of intriguing possibilities regarding the nature of the relationship between SETD7 and lycopene, both of which have been independently associated with prostate cancer. Further investigation into this relationship might help provide greater mechanistic understanding of these associations.

  19. A Common Variant in the SETD7 Gene Predicts Serum Lycopene Concentrations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christopher R. D’Adamo

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Dietary intake and higher serum concentrations of lycopene have been associated with lower incidence of prostate cancer and other chronic diseases. Identifying determinants of serum lycopene concentrations may thus have important public health implications. Prior studies have suggested that serum lycopene concentrations are under partial genetic control. The goal of this research was to identify genetic predictors of serum lycopene concentrations using the genome-wide association study (GWAS approach among a sample of 441 Old Order Amish adults that consumed a controlled diet. Linear regression models were utilized to evaluate associations between genetic variants and serum concentrations of lycopene. Variant rs7680948 on chromosome 4, located in the intron region of the SETD7 gene, was significantly associated with serum lycopene concentrations (p = 3.41 × 10−9. Our findings also provided nominal support for the association previously noted between SCARB1 and serum lycopene concentrations, although with a different SNP (rs11057841 in the region. This study identified a novel locus associated with serum lycopene concentrations and our results raise a number of intriguing possibilities regarding the nature of the relationship between SETD7 and lycopene, both of which have been independently associated with prostate cancer. Further investigation into this relationship might help provide greater mechanistic understanding of these associations.

  20. Evaluation of serum lysyl oxidase as a blood test for colorectal cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ward, S T; Weston, C J; Hepburn, E; Damery, S; Hejmadi, R K; Morton, D G; Middleton, G; Ismail, T; Adams, D H

    2014-06-01

    Lysyl oxidase (LOX) expression is elevated in colorectal cancer (CRC) tissue and associated with disease progression. A blood test may form a more acceptable diagnostic test for CRC although LOX has not previously been measured in the serum. We therefore sought to determine the clinical usefulness of a serum LOX test for CRC in a symptomatic population. Adult patients referred to a hospital colorectal clinic with bowel symptoms completed a questionnaire and provided a blood sample for serum LOX measurement. Associations between presenting symptoms, serum LOX concentrations and outcomes of investigations were tested by univariate and multivariate analyses to determine if serum LOX was clinically useful in the prediction of CRC. LOX expression in CRC and adjacent colon biopsies was evaluated by ELISA and immunohistochemistry. Thirty-one cases of colorectal cancer and 16 high-risk polyps were identified from a total of 962 participants. There was no association between serum LOX concentration and the presence of CRC, high-risk polyps or cancers at any site. LOX expression was significantly increased in CRC tissue compared to adjacent colon. Despite overexpression of LOX in CRC tissue, elevated serum levels could not be demonstrated. Serum LOX measurement is therefore not a clinically useful test for CRC. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.