scholarly journals Gelatinization or Pasting? The Impact of Different Temperature Levels on the Saccharification Efficiency of Barley Malt Starch

Foods ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 1733
Author(s):  
Michael Rittenauer ◽  
Stefan Gladis ◽  
Martina Gastl ◽  
Thomas Becker
Keyword(s):  
Laboratory Method ◽  
Partial Hydrolysis ◽  
Reference Laboratory ◽  
Barley Malt ◽  
Reference Limit ◽  
Saccharification Efficiency ◽  
Pre Treatment ◽  
Upper Reference Limit ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Hydrolysis Of

Efficient enzymatic hydrolysis of cereal starches requires a proper hydrothermal pre-treatment. For malted barley, however, the exact initial temperature is presently unknown. Therefore, samples were micro-mashed according to accurately determined gelatinization and pasting temperatures. The impact on starch morphology, mash viscometry and sugar yields was recorded in the presence and absence of an amylase inhibitor to differentiate between morphological and enzymatic effects. Mashing at gelatinization onset temperatures (54.5–57.1 °C) led to negligible morphological and viscometric changes, whereas mashing at pasting onset temperatures (57.5–59.8 °C) induced significant starch granule swelling and degradation resulting in increased sugar yields (61.7% of upper reference limit). Complete hydrolysis of A-type and partial hydrolysis of B-type granules was achieved within only 10 min of mashing at higher temperatures (61.4–64.5 °C), resulting in a sugar yield of 97.5% as compared to the reference laboratory method mashing procedure (65 °C for 60 min). The results indicate that the beginning of starch pasting was correctly identified and point out the potential of an adapted process temperature control.

Abstract 14661: High Sensitive Troponin Elevation Pattern in Covid-19 Era

Circulation ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 142 (Suppl_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Maino ◽  
Enrico Di Stasio ◽  
Maria Chiara Grimaldi ◽  
Luigi Cappannoli ◽  
Erica Rocco ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Disease Severity ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Fatal Outcome ◽  
Treatment Strategies ◽  
High Sensitivity ◽  
Laboratory Findings ◽  
Reference Limit ◽  
Care Information ◽  
Upper Reference Limit ◽  
The Impact

Introduction: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a pandemic disease that has caused a public health emergency due to its high rapid spread, to the high mortality rate, and the high percentage of patients requiring hospitalization and intensive care . Information regarding the impact of cardiovascular complication on fatal outcome is scarce. Purpose: To compare the levels of hs-Tn between patients affected by SARS-CoV-2 admitted to our hospital in the period February 20-April 9, 2020 versus the general population COVID free. Furthermore, we studied the dependence of hs-Tn levels in SARS-CoV-2 patients on disease severity and on other epidemiological, clinical and laboratory parameters. Methods: This retrospective single-center study analyzed all patients in whom hs-TnI was determined at the Policlinico A.Gemelli (Rome, Italy) from 20 February 2020 to 09 April 2020. One hundred-seventy of these patients received SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis. Demographic data, laboratory findings, comorbidities, and treatments were collected and analyzed in patients with COVID 19. Results: In our study, the population affected by SARS-CoV-2 (n=170) showed a significant association between disease severity and troponin levels (median [range] = 4.0 [<2.4-227.0], 13.5 [<2.4-545.0] and 34.0 [<2.4-45345.0], p<0.001, for mild, severe and critical state, respectively). Moreover, 27 subjects out of 170 (16%) showed high sensitivity troponin values higher than the 99 percentile upper reference limit stratified among previously defined severity classes as follows n=2 (2.4%), n=7 (15.9%) and n=18 (45.0%), respectively. Conclusions: The distribution of the troponin values greater than the cut-off in the SARS-CoV-2 population indicates a myocardial suffering independently related to COVID19 infection. This phenomenon may partially explain the high risk of adverse outcome in COVID-19 patients with underlying CVD. Therefore, it may be reasonable to triage patients with COVID-19 according to the presence of underlying CVD and evidence of myocardial injury for prioritized and personalized treatment strategies.

scholarly journals P.109 Causes of albuminocytologic dissociation and the impact of an age-adjusted reference limit on review of 2,627 CSF samples

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (s2) ◽  
pp. S45-S45
Author(s):  
JA Brooks ◽  
C McCudden ◽  
A Breiner ◽  
P Bourque
Keyword(s):  
Blood Cell ◽  
Cell Count ◽  
Care Center ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Common Finding ◽  
Blood Cell Count ◽  
Reference Limit ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
Upper Reference Limit ◽  
The Impact

Background: We set out to test the discriminative power of an age-adjusted upper reference limit (URL) for CSF total protein (CSF-TP) in identifying pathological causes of albuminocytologic dissociation (ACD). Methods: We reviewed the charts of 2,627 adult patients who underwent a lumbar puncture at a tertiary care center over a 20-year period. Samples with CSF-TP above 45 mg/dL (0.45 g/L) were included. Samples with white blood cell count > 5×109/L, red blood cell count > 50×109/L, and glucose < 2.5 mmol/L (45 mg/dL) were excluded. Patients with CSF-TP elevated above 45 mg/dL were considered to have ‘pseudo’ albuminocytologic dissociation (ACD) or ‘true’ ACD if their CSF-TP was in excess of age-adjusted norms. Results: Among all patients with ACD, a pathological source of CSF-TP elevation was identified in 57% (1490/2627) of cases, 51% of those with ‘pseudo’ ACD, and 75% with ‘true’ ACD (p< 0.001). Use of an age-adjusted upper reference limit favored the detection of polyneuropathy patients (13.5% proportionate increase) and excluded a larger number of patients with isolated headache (10.7% proportionate decrease; p < 0.0001). Conclusions: Elevated CSF-TP is a relatively common finding. Use of age-adjusted upper reference limits for CSF-TP values improve diagnostic specificity and help to avoid over-diagnosis of ACD.

scholarly journals The impact of between analytical platform variability on the classification of pleural effusions into exudate or transudate using Light's criteria

2017 ◽  
Vol 70 (7) ◽  
pp. 607-609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael P Cornes ◽  
Andrew J Chadburn ◽  
Claire Thomas ◽  
Catherine Darby ◽  
Rachel Webster ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pleural Fluid ◽  
Serum Lactate ◽  
Serum Lactate Dehydrogenase ◽  
Pleural Effusions ◽  
Reference Limit ◽  
Paired Serum ◽  
Upper Reference Limit ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Analytical Platforms

BackgroundLight's criteria are ratios of pleural fluid to serum total protein (TP), pleural fluid to serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and pleural fluid LDH to the upper reference limit for serum LDH. They are used to classify pleural effusions into an exudate or transudate when pleural fluid protein is 25–35 g/L. We evaluated the impact of between analytical platforms on the classification of pleural effusions using Light's criteria.MethodsLight's criteria were used to classify pleural effusions with fluid TP between 25 and 35 g/L into exudate and transudate. LDH and TP were analysed using an Abbott ARCHITECT c16000 analyser using a lactate to pyruvate method for LDH and two Roche Cobas 800 c702 analysers, one using a lactate to pyruvate method (laboratory B) and one a lactate to pyruvate method (laboratory C).ResultsEighty-three paired serum and pleural fluid samples were analysed. Of these, 44 samples had a pleural fluid TP between 25 and 35 g/L and were classified according to Light's criteria. Classification of pleural fluid into transudate or exudate using different analytical platforms was 82% concordant. The LDH ratio and TP ratio were similar in laboratory B and laboratory C, but these were respectively lower (p<0.001) and higher (p<0.001) than those at laboratory A.ConclusionsAlthough Light's criteria are ratios, which should minimise interassay variability, we report 18% discordance between different analytical platforms. The discordance was largely due to the performance of LDH and to a lesser extent protein assays in pleural fluid. Laboratories should be aware that assays may perform differently in serum and pleural fluid.

scholarly journals Impact of heterozygous hemoglobin E on six commercial methods for hemoglobin A1c measurement

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. e9
Author(s):  
Sharon Yong ◽  
Hong Liu ◽  
Cindy Lye Teng Lum ◽  
Qian Liu ◽  
Sin Ye Sim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Isotope Dilution Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Measurement Range ◽  
Laboratory Method ◽  
Reference Laboratory ◽  
Positive Bias ◽  
Liquid Chromatograph ◽  
Hemoglobin E ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Roche Diagnostics ◽  
The Impact

Background This study examined the impact of heterozygous HbE on HbA1c measurements by six commonly used commercial methods. The results were compared with those from a modified isotope-dilution mass spectrometry (IDMS) reference laboratory method on a liquid chromatograph coupled with tandem mass spectrometer (LC-MS/MS). Methods Twenty-three leftover samples of patients with heterozygous HbE (HbA1c range: 5.4–11.6%), and nineteen samples with normal hemoglobin (HbA1c range: 5.0–13.7%) were included. The selected commercial methods included the Tina-quant HbA1c Gen. 3 (Roche Diagnostics, Basel, Switzerland), Cobas B 101 (Roche Diagnostics, Basel, Switzerland), D100 (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Hercules, CA, USA), Variant II Turbo HbA1c 2.0 (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Hercules, CA, USA), DCA Vantage (Siemens Healthcare, Erlangen, Germany) and HbA1c Advanced (Beckman Coulter Inc., Brea, CA, USA). Results With the exception of Cobas B 101 and the Variant II Turbo 2.0, the 95% confidence intervals of the Passing–Bablok regression lines between the results from the six commercial methods and the IDMS method overlapped. The latter suggested no statistically significant difference in results and hence no impact on HbA1c result despite the presence of heterozygous HbE. The method of Cobas B 101 gave positive bias at the range of concentrations examined (5.4–11.6%), while that of Variant II Turbo 2.0 gave positive bias at concentrations up to approximately 9.5%. The finding of significant positive bias in the methods of Cobas B 101 and Variant II Turbo 2.0 agrees with the observations of some previous studies, but is contrary to manufacturer’s claim indicating the absence of interference by heterozygous HbE. Our results also clearly showed the impact of heterozygous HbE across a fairly broad measurement range using a laboratory method (the Variant II Turbo 2.0). Laboratory practitioners and clinicians should familiarize themselves with prevailing hemoglobin variants in the population they serve and select the appropriate methods for HbA1c measurement.

scholarly journals Causes of albuminocytological dissociation and the impact of age-adjusted cerebrospinal fluid protein reference intervals: a retrospective chart review of 2627 samples collected at tertiary care centre

BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. e025348 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Alexander Brooks ◽  
Christopher McCudden ◽  
Ari Breiner ◽  
Pierre R Bourque
Keyword(s):  
Cerebrospinal Fluid ◽  
Cell Count ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Common Finding ◽  
Care Centre ◽  
Tertiary Care Centre ◽  
Old Patients ◽  
Reference Limit ◽  
Upper Reference Limit ◽  
The Impact

ObjectiveWe set out to test the discriminative power of an age-adjusted upper reference limit for cerebrospinal fluid total protein (CSF-TP) in identifying clinically relevant causes of albuminocytological dissociation (ACD).MethodsWe reviewed the charts of 2627 patients who underwent a lumbar puncture at a tertiary care centre over a 20-year period. Samples with CSF-TP above 45 mg/dL (0.45 g/L) were included. Samples with white cell count >5×109/L, red cell count >50×109/L and glucose <2.5 mmol/L (45 mg/dL) were excluded as were samples with incomplete data and those taken from paediatric patients (ie, age <18 years old). Patients with CSF-TP elevated above 45 mg/dL were considered to have ‘pseudo’ ACD unless their CSF-TP was in excess of age-adjusted norms in which case they were considered to have ‘true’ ACD. Adjustment for sex was not applied to the age-adjusted norms although the importance of gender has been previously described.ResultsThe presence of ACD was associated with a broad range of neurological diagnoses. Among all 2627 patients with ACD, a clinical diagnosis explaining CSF-TP elevation was identified in 57% of cases. ‘True’ ACD was associated with a suitable diagnosis in 75% of cases, whereas patients with ‘pseudo’ ACD showed an appropriate diagnosis in only 51% of cases. Use of an age-adjusted upper reference limit favoured the detection of polyneuropathy patients (13.5% proportionate increase) and excluded a larger number of patients with isolated headache (10.7% proportionate decrease; p<0.0001).ConclusionsElevated CSF-TP is a common finding, with a range of underlying causes. Use of an age-adjusted upper reference limit for the CSF-TP value improves diagnostic specificity and helps to avoid overdiagnosis of ACD.

scholarly journals Clinical Guidelines and PTH Measurement: Does Assay Generation Matter?

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 1468-1480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marjon A Smit ◽  
Caroline M J van Kinschot ◽  
Joke van der Linden ◽  
Charlotte van Noord ◽  
Snježana Kos
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Hyperparathyroidism ◽  
Clinical Guidelines ◽  
Treatment Success ◽  
Fold Increase ◽  
Clinical Decisions ◽  
Phosphate Homeostasis ◽  
Reference Limit ◽  
Important Regulator ◽  
Upper Reference Limit ◽  
The Impact

AbstractPTH is an important regulator of calcium and phosphate homeostasis and bone remodeling. It is metabolized into PTH fragments, which are measured to a different extent by PTH assays of different generations because of differences in fragments recognized and lack of assay standardization. PTH is measured in the workup of several conditions, and clinical guidelines provide recommendations concerning these measurements. This review provides an overview of the impact of differences between PTH assays, applying distinct clinical guidelines for primary and secondary hyperparathyroidism and perioperative use of PTH measurements. Guidelines deal with PTH measurement in different ways, recommending either trend monitoring, the use of a fold increase of the upper reference limit, or an absolute PTH cutoff value. For classic primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT), the type of PTH assay used will not affect diagnosis or management because the precise concentration of PTH is less relevant. In chronic kidney disease, the guideline recommends treating secondary hyperparathyroidism above a twofold to ninefold PTH increase, which will result in different clinical decisions depending on the assay used. For patients after bariatric surgery, guidelines state absolute cutoff values for PTH, but the impact of different generation assays is unknown because direct comparison of PTH assays has never been performed. During parathyroid surgery, PTH measurements with a third-generation assay reflect treatment success more rapidly than second-generation assays. Increased awareness among clinicians regarding the complexity of PTH measurements is warranted because it can affect clinical decisions.

scholarly journals A high rate of modestly elevated plasma normetanephrine in a population referred for suspected PPGL when measured in a seated position

2019 ◽  
Vol 181 (3) ◽  
pp. 301-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Boyd ◽  
Alexander A Leung ◽  
Hossein SM Sadrzadeh ◽  
Christina Pamporaki ◽  
Karel Pacak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Plasma ◽  
False Positives ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Reference Laboratory ◽  
Reference Limit ◽  
Additional Testing ◽  
Abnormal Rate ◽  
Medical Population ◽  
Upper Reference Limit

Objective Determine rate of high plasma normetanephrine or metanephrine (PNM-PMN) in a large sample of patients according to PNM-PMN posture and age-adjusted references. Design Retrospective re-analysis of PNM-PMN from a Canadian reference laboratory (n = 5452), 2011–2015; most were in seated position (n = 5112) rather than supine (n = 340). An international PPGL database demonstrated expected distribution of supine PNM-PMN in PPGL patients. Methods All PNM-PMN from a tertiary referral laboratory were reviewed. Any PNM-PMN result greater than 2× upper reference limit (URL) was considered likely true PPGL. Results 1–2× URL were uncertain, requiring additional testing/follow-up despite most being false positive given the rarity of PPGL. The rate of results in the 1–2× URL category were calculated for each group according to collection posture and differing published URL: seated, supine or supine age adjusted. Results When collected and interpreted by seated URL, 19.6% of PNM required additional testing; only 4.6% being >2× URL. For patients over age 50 years, the abnormal rate was 24.9%. When collected supine, interpreted by supine age-adjusted URL, only 5.3% of PNM were mildly elevated. Possible false positives may be even lower when considering PMN or plasma methoxytyramine which were commonly high in true PPGL despite mild PNM elevations. Conclusions In a general medical population, seated PNM has a high rate of abnormal results, far exceeding expected prevalence. Supine measurement with supine, age-adjusted interpretation is strongly preferred prior to costly or invasive PPGL investigations. Summary Review of 5452 plasma normetanephrine measurements showed 20% to be high, likely false positives for most. Supine, age-adjusted measures were half as likely to be elevated.

scholarly journals The Impact of Substrate–Enzyme Proportion for Efficient Hydrolysis of Hay

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (18) ◽  
pp. 3526 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Mezule ◽  
Ieva Berzina ◽  
Martins Strods
Keyword(s):  
White Rot Fungi ◽  
Inhibitory Effect ◽  
White Rot ◽  
Alcohol Production ◽  
Commercial Enzyme ◽  
Loading Rates ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Pre Treatment ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Hydrolysis Of

Fuel alcohol production yields can be influenced by lignocellulosic biomass loading. High solid loadings (>20 wt%) are suggested to have the potential to produce more products. However, most often, low substrate loadings (<5% solids, w/w) are used to ensure good wetting and enzyme accessibility, and to minimize any inhibitory effect on the hydrolysis products. Here, we analyzed the effect of substrate loading on the enzymatic hydrolysis of hay with non-commercial enzyme products obtained from white-rot fungi. A significant negative effect on hydrolysis was observed when 10 wt% hay loading was used with the commercial enzyme, however, non-commercial enzyme products from white-rot fungi had no impact on hydrolysis in biomass loading rates from 1 to 10 wt%. Moreover, it was estimated that enzymes extracted from white-rot fungi could be used at a concentration of 0.2 FPU/mL at a biomass loading from 1–10 wt%, resulting in 0.17–0.24 g of released reducing carbohydrates per gram of biomass. Higher concentrations did not result in any significant conversion increase. A mixing impact was only observed in test runs at a substrate loading of 10 wt%. The apparently positive features of the non-commercial enzyme mixes give rise to their future use. The combination and upgrade of existing technologies, e.g., efficient pre-treatment, membrane purification, and concentration and efficient product recovery, should result in even higher conversion yields.

Organic material dissolved during oxygen-alkali pulping of hot water extracted birch sawdust

TAPPI Journal ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 237-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
JONI LEHTO ◽  
RAIMO ALÉN
Keyword(s):  
Acetic Acid ◽  
Betula Pendula ◽  
Cooking Time ◽  
Hot Water ◽  
Partial Hydrolysis ◽  
Chemical Pulping ◽  
Black Liquors ◽  
Aliphatic Carboxylic Acids ◽  
Hydrolysis Of ◽  
Cooking Conditions

Untreated and hot water-treated birch (Betula pendula) sawdust were cooked by the oxygen-alkali method under the same cooking conditions (temperature = 170°C, liquor-to-wood ratio = 5 L/kg, and 19% sodium hydroxide charge on the ovendry sawdust). The pretreatment of feedstock clearly facilitated delignification. After a cooking time of 90 min, the kappa numbers were 47.6 for the untreated birch and 10.3 for the hot water-treated birch. Additionally, the amounts of hydroxy acids in black liquors based on the pretreated sawdust were higher (19.5-22.5g/L) than those in the untreated sawdust black liquors (14.8-15.5 g/L). In contrast, in the former case, the amounts of acetic acid were lower in the pretreated sawdust (13.3-14.8 g/L vs. 16.9-19.1 g/L) because the partial hydrolysis of the acetyl groups in xylan already took place during the hot water extraction of feedstock. The sulfur-free fractions in the pretreatment hydrolysates (mainly carbohydrates and acetic acid) and in black liquors (mainly lignin and aliphatic carboxylic acids) were considered as attractive novel byproducts of chemical pulping.

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