scholarly journals The potential of neurofilaments analysis using dry-blood and plasma spots

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vittoria Lombardi ◽  
Daniele Carassiti ◽  
Gavin Giovannoni ◽  
Ching-Hua Lu ◽  
Rocco Adiutori ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Filter Paper ◽  
Neurodegenerative Disorders ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Haemoglobin Concentration ◽  
Cold Chain ◽  
Blood Collection ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Analytical Treatment ◽  
Erythrocyte Lysis

AbstractThe lack of biomarkers for an early diagnosis of neurodegenerative disorders (NDs) has hampered the development of therapeutics whose effect would be enhanced by a timely intervention. Neurofilaments light chain (Nf-L), an integral part of the axonal structure, has emerged as a robust fluid biomarker for fatal neurodegenerative disorders like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). To facilitate large-scale studies into early-stage neurodegeneration, reduce costs of samples collection/processing and cold-chain storage, we describe the measurement of Nf-L in blood fractions obtained from dry blood spots (DBS) and dry plasma spots (DPS), two filter paper-based remote blood collection tools. To test the feasibility of using this approach, Nf-L analysis in DBS/DPS is compared to that in plasma obtained from the same blood sample, looking at Nf-L discriminatory power in the clinical stratification of ALS compared to healthy controls. With the best pre-analytical treatment for total protein recovery and using highly sensitive immunoassays, we report the detection of different Nf-L levels in DBS elute compared to reference plasma and DPS from the same blood samples. However, Nf-L measurement in DBS elutes provides a very good discrimination of ALS from healthy controls which is comparable to that obtained using plasma Nf-L assays. With the available immunodetection methods, we show that Nf-L measurement based on DPS microsampling is similar to that in plasma. The filter-paper biophysical characteristics and the interference of high haemoglobin concentration released by erythrocyte lysis is likely to perturb Nf-L detection in DBS elute. Further studies into DBS-based Nf-L detection and its analytical optimization are needed to make this method suitable for routine Nf-L blood analyses in neurodegeneration.

scholarly journals DNA Extract was from filter paper stored at room temperature v1

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie Izenour ◽  
Anwar Kalalah ◽  
Fayez Salib ◽  
Sarah not provided Zohdy
Keyword(s):  
Filter Paper ◽  
Whole Blood ◽  
Room Temperature ◽  
Cold Chain ◽  
Western World ◽  
Blood Collection ◽  
Conventional Pcr ◽  
Liquid Form ◽  
And Storage ◽  
Babesia Spp

Preservation of samples requiring cold-chain storage is an often unavoidable challenge especially when doing laboratory work outside the western world. Samples are a precious commodity and it is imperative to maintain their viability. One method for collection and storage of samples in a liquid form (blood, saliva, serum) at room temperature is on filter paper cards like the Cellabs Tropbio Filter Paper Blood Collection Disks™. Methods and protocols exist for the use and recovery of whole blood from filter paper discs. This protocol describes the wash and recovery of DNA extracted from whole blood using the Qiagen DNeasy Extraction kit and dried on filter paper, re-suspended after several months of room temperature storage and use in conventional PCR. This protocol was used to suspend DNA extracted from the wholeblood of Dogs in Cairo, Egypt. The DNA was extracted using the Qiagen DNEasy Extraction Kit and placed on Cellabs Tropbio Filter Paper Blood Collection Disks™ (filter paper). The DNA dried on the filter paper overnight and was stored in plastic self-closure baggies for several months before being washed off and used in Conventional PCR. The use case described here is of a dog who was PCR positive for Babesia spp. using a sample of whole blood washed from the filter paper as well as dried DNA from filter paper.

Konkurrenz zwischen Stieleiche und Buche auf Lothar-Sturmflächen | Competition between pedunculate oak and European beech on Lothar windthrow areas

2009 ◽  
Vol 160 (5) ◽  
pp. 114-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Otto ◽  
Sven Wagner ◽  
Peter Brang
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Tree Height ◽  
European Beech ◽  
Threshold Value ◽  
Test Methods ◽  
Permanent Plots ◽  
Pedunculate Oak ◽  
Competitive Pressure ◽  
Competition Index

The competitive pressure of naturally regenerated European beech (Fagus sylvatica) saplings on planted pedunculate oak (Quercus robur) was investigated on two 1.8 ha permanent plots near Habsburg and Murten (Switzerland). The plots were established with the aim to test methods of artificial oak regeneration after large-scale windthrow. On both plots, 80 oaks exposed to varying levels of competitive pressure from at most 10 neighbouring beech trees were selected. The height of each oak as well as stem and branch diameters were measured. The competitive pressure was assessed using Schütz's competition index, which is based on relative tree height, crown overlap and distance from competing neighbours. Oak trees growing without or with only slight competition from beech were equally tall, while oaks exposed to moderate to strong competition were smaller. A threshold value for the competition index was found above which oak height decreased strongly. The stem and branch diameters of the oaks started to decrease even if the competition from beech was slight, and decreased much further with more competition. The oak stems started to become more slender even with only slight competition from beech. On the moderately acid beech sites studied here, beech grow taller faster than oak. Thus where beech is competing with oak and the aim is to maintain the oak, competitive pressure on the oak must be reduced at an early stage. The degree of the intervention should, however, take the individual competitive interaction into account, with more intervention if the competition is strong.

scholarly journals A MYC-Driven Plasma Polyamine Signature for Early Detection of Ovarian Cancer

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 913
Author(s):  
Johannes Fahrmann ◽  
Ehsan Irajizad ◽  
Makoto Kobayashi ◽  
Jody Vykoukal ◽  
Jennifer Dennison ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ovarian Cancer ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Area Under The Curve ◽  
Polyamine Metabolism ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Test Set ◽  
Exact Test ◽  
Oncogenic Driver ◽  
Characteristic Area ◽  
Validation Set

MYC is an oncogenic driver in the pathogenesis of ovarian cancer. We previously demonstrated that MYC regulates polyamine metabolism in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and that a plasma polyamine signature is associated with TNBC development and progression. We hypothesized that a similar plasma polyamine signature may associate with ovarian cancer (OvCa) development. Using mass spectrometry, four polyamines were quantified in plasma from 116 OvCa cases and 143 controls (71 healthy controls + 72 subjects with benign pelvic masses) (Test Set). Findings were validated in an independent plasma set from 61 early-stage OvCa cases and 71 healthy controls (Validation Set). Complementarity of polyamines with CA125 was also evaluated. Receiver operating characteristic area under the curve (AUC) of individual polyamines for distinguishing cases from healthy controls ranged from 0.74–0.88. A polyamine signature consisting of diacetylspermine + N-(3-acetamidopropyl)pyrrolidin-2-one in combination with CA125 developed in the Test Set yielded improvement in sensitivity at >99% specificity relative to CA125 alone (73.7% vs 62.2%; McNemar exact test 2-sided P: 0.019) in the validation set and captured 30.4% of cases that were missed with CA125 alone. Our findings reveal a MYC-driven plasma polyamine signature associated with OvCa that complemented CA125 in detecting early-stage ovarian cancer.

scholarly journals Automated Assay of a Four-Protein Biomarker Panel for Improved Detection of Ovarian Cancer

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 325
Author(s):  
Christopher Walker ◽  
Tuan-Minh Nguyen ◽  
Shlomit Jessel ◽  
Ayesha B. Alvero ◽  
Dan-Arin Silasi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ovarian Cancer ◽  
Early Detection ◽  
Predictive Value ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Ca 125 ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Classification Models ◽  
Serum Samples ◽  
Protein Biomarker ◽  
Biomarker Panel

Background: Mortality from ovarian cancer remains high due to the lack of methods for early detection. The difficulty lies in the low prevalence of the disease necessitating a significantly high specificity and positive-predictive value (PPV) to avoid unneeded and invasive intervention. Currently, cancer antigen- 125 (CA-125) is the most commonly used biomarker for the early detection of ovarian cancer. In this study we determine the value of combining macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), osteopontin (OPN), and prolactin (PROL) with CA-125 in the detection of ovarian cancer serum samples from healthy controls. Materials and Methods: A total of 432 serum samples were included in this study. 153 samples were from ovarian cancer patients and 279 samples were from age-matched healthy controls. The four proteins were quantified using a fully automated, multi-analyte immunoassay. The serum samples were divided into training and testing datasets and analyzed using four classification models to calculate accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, PPV, negative predictive value (NPV), and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Results: The four-protein biomarker panel yielded an average accuracy of 91% compared to 85% using CA-125 alone across four classification models (p = 3.224 × 10−9). Further, in our cohort, the four-protein biomarker panel demonstrated a higher sensitivity (median of 76%), specificity (median of 98%), PPV (median of 91.5%), and NPV (median of 92%), compared to CA-125 alone. The performance of the four-protein biomarker remained better than CA-125 alone even in experiments comparing early stage (Stage I and Stage II) ovarian cancer to healthy controls. Conclusions: Combining MIF, OPN, PROL, and CA-125 can better differentiate ovarian cancer from healthy controls compared to CA-125 alone.

scholarly journals Favorable Effects of GLP-1 Receptor Agonist against Pancreatic β-Cell Glucose Toxicity and the Development of Arteriosclerosis: “The Earlier, the Better” in Therapy with Incretin-Based Medicine

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (15) ◽  
pp. 7917
Author(s):  
Hideaki Kaneto ◽  
Tomohiko Kimura ◽  
Masashi Shimoda ◽  
Atsushi Obata ◽  
Junpei Sanada ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Cell Function ◽  
Apoptotic Cell ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Insulin Biosynthesis ◽  
Protective Effects ◽  
Pancreatic Β Cell ◽  
Β Cells ◽  
Β Cell ◽  
Glucose Toxicity

Fundamental pancreatic β-cell function is to produce and secrete insulin in response to blood glucose levels. However, when β-cells are chronically exposed to hyperglycemia in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), insulin biosynthesis and secretion are decreased together with reduced expression of insulin transcription factors. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) plays a crucial role in pancreatic β-cells; GLP-1 binds to the GLP-1 receptor (GLP-1R) in the β-cell membrane and thereby enhances insulin secretion, suppresses apoptotic cell death and increase proliferation of β-cells. However, GLP-1R expression in β-cells is reduced under diabetic conditions and thus the GLP-1R activator (GLP-1RA) shows more favorable effects on β-cells at an early stage of T2DM compared to an advanced stage. On the other hand, it has been drawing much attention to the idea that GLP-1 signaling is important in arterial cells; GLP-1 increases nitric oxide, which leads to facilitation of vascular relaxation and suppression of arteriosclerosis. However, GLP-1R expression in arterial cells is also reduced under diabetic conditions and thus GLP-1RA shows more protective effects on arteriosclerosis at an early stage of T2DM. Furthermore, it has been reported recently that administration of GLP-1RA leads to the reduction of cardiovascular events in various large-scale clinical trials. Therefore, we think that it would be better to start GLP-1RA at an early stage of T2DM for the prevention of arteriosclerosis and protection of β-cells against glucose toxicity in routine medical care.

Development of standardized regression-based formulas to assess meaningful cognitive change in early Parkinson’s disease

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah L Combs ◽  
Kate A Wyman-Chick ◽  
Lauren O Erickson ◽  
Michele K York
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Prediction Models ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Cognitive Change ◽  
Cognitive Test ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Change Over Time ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Objective Longitudinal assessment of cognitive and emotional functioning in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) is helpful in tracking progression of the disease, developing treatment plans, evaluating outcomes, and educating patients and families. Determining whether change over time is meaningful in neurodegenerative conditions, such as PD, can be difficult as repeat assessment of neuropsychological functioning is impacted by factors outside of cognitive change. Regression-based prediction formulas are one method by which clinicians and researchers can determine whether an observed change is meaningful. The purpose of the current study was to develop and validate regression-based prediction models of cognitive and emotional test scores for participants with early-stage idiopathic PD and healthy controls (HC) enrolled in the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI). Methods Participants with de novo PD and HC were identified retrospectively from the PPMI archival database. Data from baseline testing and 12-month follow-up were utilized in this study. In total, 688 total participants were included in the present study (NPD = 508; NHC = 185). Subjects from both groups were randomly divided into development (70%) and validation (30%) subsets. Results Early-stage idiopathic PD patients and healthy controls were similar at baseline. Regression-based models were developed for all cognitive and self-report mood measures within both populations. Within the validation subset, the predicted and observed cognitive test scores did not significantly differ, except for semantic fluency. Conclusions The prediction models can serve as useful tools for researchers and clinicians to study clinically meaningful cognitive and mood change over time in PD.

scholarly journals Understanding the Processes Causing the Early Intensification of Hurricane Dorian through an Ensemble of the Hurricane Analysis and Forecast System (HAFS)

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 93
Author(s):  
Andrew Hazelton ◽  
Ghassan J. Alaka ◽  
Levi Cowan ◽  
Michael Fischer ◽  
Sundararaman Gopalakrishnan
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Cyclone ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Early Period ◽  
Storm Track ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Complex Interplay ◽  
Forecast System ◽  
Model Initialization

The early stages of a tropical cyclone can be a challenge to forecast, as a storm consolidates and begins to grow based on the local and environmental conditions. A high-resolution ensemble of the Hurricane Analysis and Forecast System (HAFS) is used to study the early intensification of Hurricane Dorian, a catastrophic 2019 storm in which the early period proved challenging for forecasters. There was a clear connection in the ensemble between early storm track and intensity: stronger members moved more northeast initially, although this result did not have much impact on the long-term track. The ensemble results show several key factors determining the early evolution of Dorian. Large-scale divergence northeast of the tropical cyclone (TC) appeared to favor intensification, and this structure was present at model initialization. There was also greater moisture northeast of the TC for stronger members at initialization, favoring more intensification and downshear development of the circulation as these members evolved. This study highlights the complex interplay between synoptic and storm scale processes in the development and intensification of early-stage tropical cyclones.

scholarly journals Cytotoxic Profiling of Annotated and Diverse Chemical Libraries Using Quantitative High-Throughput Screening

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivia W. Lee ◽  
Shelley Austin ◽  
Madison Gamma ◽  
Dorian M. Cheff ◽  
Tobie D. Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Lines ◽  
Cancer Cell ◽  
High Throughput ◽  
High Throughput Screening ◽  
Drug Targets ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Cancer Cell Line ◽  
Hek 293 ◽  
Cytotoxic Compounds

Cell-based phenotypic screening is a commonly used approach to discover biological pathways, novel drug targets, chemical probes, and high-quality hit-to-lead molecules. Many hits identified from high-throughput screening campaigns are ruled out through a series of follow-up potency, selectivity/specificity, and cytotoxicity assays. Prioritization of molecules with little or no cytotoxicity for downstream evaluation can influence the future direction of projects, so cytotoxicity profiling of screening libraries at an early stage is essential for increasing the likelihood of candidate success. In this study, we assessed the cell-based cytotoxicity of nearly 10,000 compounds in the National Institutes of Health, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences annotated libraries and more than 100,000 compounds in a diversity library against four normal cell lines (HEK 293, NIH 3T3, CRL-7250, and HaCat) and one cancer cell line (KB 3-1, a HeLa subline). This large-scale library profiling was analyzed for overall screening outcomes, hit rates, pan-activity, and selectivity. For the annotated library, we also examined the primary targets and mechanistic pathways regularly associated with cell death. To our knowledge, this is the first study to use high-throughput screening to profile a large screening collection (>100,000 compounds) for cytotoxicity in both normal and cancer cell lines. The results generated here constitute a valuable resource for the scientific community and provide insight into the extent of cytotoxic compounds in screening libraries, allowing for the identification and avoidance of compounds with cytotoxicity during high-throughput screening campaigns.

Fisheries Development and Management in Indonesia

1973 ◽  
Vol 30 (12) ◽  
pp. 2335-2340
Author(s):  
N. Zachman
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Training System ◽  
Fish Distribution ◽  
Cold Chain ◽  
Artisanal Fisheries ◽  
Commercial Fisheries ◽  
Fresh Fish ◽  
System Establishment ◽  
Fishery Products ◽  
Quality Of Products

Before 1968, fishery development in Indonesia concentrated on the artisanal fisheries. No significant progress was made until the emphasis changed to the commercial fisheries, as part of the first 5-year development plan of 1969–74. The new approach was on economics and marketing instead of on production. A long-term plan over 25 years has been prepared, divided into 5-year operational plans.Indonesia has important fishery resources, especially pelagic stocks. Large extents of continental shelves also provide the possibility of increased trawl fishing, especially for shrimp. Conditions are also favorable for aquaculture. The position of the country between two oceans and two continents locates it favorably to exploit the tunas of both the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, and to maintain a flow of fishery products to international markets. Manpower is abundant and relatively cheap.The program to develop artisanal fisheries concentrates on increasing the income per capita of fishermen through developing fish marketing and production. Commercial fisheries are concentrating on production of export products, especially shrimp, skipjack, and tuna, to earn foreign exchange. Effective and efficient administration is being formed to carry out fisheries development, involving the reorganization of the Central and Regional Fisheries agencies. Staff are being upgraded, training and education are being reviewed, and research is being intensified.New laws have resulted in the establishment of eight domestic companies with a total investment of $27 million (US). Exports of fishery products have significantly increased, especially shrimp. Marketing is improved through the establishment of a cold chain, which is expected to lead to improved quality of products and increased earnings for fishermen.The goals of the first 5-year plan include: establishment of large-scale fishing industries, to export products valued at $30–40 million (US) per year; establishment of marketing facilities for fresh fish distribution in the most populated areas; raising artisanal fisheries to a level where they can independently sustain growth; establishment of an effective research system; establishment of an effective education and training system; establishment of fisheries cooperatives; improvement of the administration of fisheries.

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