Search results for " Detection"

Sterols in infant formulas: validation of a gas chromatographic method.

2017

AbstractSterols are components present in the fat fraction of infant formulas (IFs). Their characterization is therefore of interest, though there are no official reference methods for their analysis in these matrices.Aim: To validate a gas chromatographic method with flame ionization detection for the determination of animal (cholesterol and desmosterol) and plant sterols (brassicasterol, campesterol, stigmasterol, β-sitosterol and sitostanol) found in IFs.All correlation coefficients obtained for the calibration curves of sterols studied were >0.99. Limits of detection (<1 μg/100 mL) and quantification (<4 μg/100 mL) are suitable for sterols determination in IFs. The within-assay precisio…

Network-Wide Adaptive Burst Detection Depicts Neuronal Activity with Improved Accuracy

2017

Neuronal networks are often characterized by their spiking and bursting statistics. Previously, we introducedan adaptive burst analysis methodwhich enhances the analysis power for neuronal networks with highly varying firing dynamics. The adaptation is based on single channels analyzing each element of a network separately. Such kind of analysis was adequate for the assessment of local behavior, where the analysis focuses on the neuronal activity in the vicinity of a single electrode. However, the assessment of the whole network may be hampered, if parts of the network are analyzed using different rules. Here, we test how using multiple channels and measurement time points affect adaptive b…

Analysis of normal human retinal vascular network architecture using multifractal geometry

2017

AIM To apply the multifractal analysis method as a quantitative approach to a comprehensive description of the microvascular network architecture of the normal human retina. METHODS Fifty volunteers were enrolled in this study in the Ophthalmological Clinic of Cluj-Napoca, Romania, between January 2012 and January 2014. A set of 100 segmented and skeletonised human retinal images, corresponding to normal states of the retina were studied. An automatic unsupervised method for retinal vessel segmentation was applied before multifractal analysis. The multifractal analysis of digital retinal images was made with computer algorithms, applying the standard box-counting method. Statistical analyse…

Genome wide DNA methylation profiling identifies specific epigenetic features in high-risk cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma

2019

ABSTRACTCutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is the second most common skin cancer. Although most cSCCs have good prognosis, a subgroup of high-risk cSCC has a higher frequency of recurrence and mortality. Therefore, the identification of molecular risk factors associated with this aggressive subtype is of major interest. In this work we carried out a global-scale approach to investigate the DNA-methylation profile in patients at different stages, from premalignant actinic keratosis to low-risk invasive and high-risk non-metastatic and metastatic cSCC. The results showed massive non-sequential changes in DNA-methylome and identified a minimal methylation signature that discriminates bet…

Use of Cepheid Xpert Carba-R® for Rapid Detection of Carbapenemase-Producing Bacteria in Abdominal Septic Patients Admitted to Intensive Care Unit.

2016

Abstract Early institution of effective antibiotic therapy and source control are pivotal to improve survival of abdominal septic patients. Xpert® Carba-R is a real time polymerase chain reaction assay for rapid detection and differentiation of five genes (blaKPC, blaVIM, blaOXA-48, blaIMP-1, blaNDM) responsible for carbapenem resistance. We performed an observational study investigating the clinical usefulness and applicability of Xpert® Carba-R to detect carbapenem resistance in abdominal septic patients admitted to intensive care unit. We compared the results of Xpert® Carba-R with standard microbiological culture. We collected a set of two rectal/stomia swabs and two swabs from abdomina…

Early miR-223 Upregulation in Gastroesophageal Carcinogenesis

2017

Objectives: To test miR-223 upregulation during gastric (intestinal-type) and Barrett esophageal carcinogenesis. Methods: miR-223 expression was assessed by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction in a series of 280 gastroesophageal biopsy samples representative of the whole spectrum of phenotypic changes involved in both carcinogenetic cascades. The results were further validated by in situ hybridization on multiple tissue specimens obtained from six surgically treated gastroesophageal adenocarcinomas. miR-223 expression was also assessed in plasma samples from 30 patients with early stage (ie, stages I and II) gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma and relative controls. Res…

Field evaluation of a rapid antigen test (Panbio™ COVID-19 Ag Rapid Test Device) for COVID-19 diagnosis in primary healthcare centres.

2021

Abstract Objectives To our knowledge no previous study has assessed the performance of a rapid antigen diagnostic immunoassay (RAD) conducted at the point of care (POC). We evaluated the Panbio™ COVID-19 Ag Rapid Test Device for diagnosis of coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19) in symptomatic patients (n = 412) attending primary healthcare centres. Methods RAD was performed immediately after sampling following the manufacturer's instructions (reading at 15 min). RT-PCRs were carried out within 24 h of specimen collection. Samples displaying discordant results were processed for culture in Vero E6 cells. Presence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in cell cultures…

DRH1 - a novel blood-based HPV tumour marker.

2020

Abstract Background To date, no studies have successfully shown that a highly specific, blood-based tumour marker to detect clinically relevant HPV-induced disease could be used for screening, monitoring therapy response or early detection of recurrence. This study aims to assess the clinical performance of a newly developed HPV16-L1 DRH1 epitope-specific serological assay. Methods In a multi-centre study sera of 1486 patients (301 Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC) patients, 12 HIV+ anal cancer patients, 80 HIV-positive patients, 29 Gardasil-9-vaccinees, 1064 healthy controls) were tested for human HPV16-L1 DRH1 antibodies. Analytical specificity was determined using WHO referen…

Evaluation of HIV transmission clusters among natives and foreigners living in Italy

2020

We aimed at evaluating the characteristics of HIV-1 molecular transmission clusters (MTCs) among natives and migrants living in Italy, diagnosed between 1998 and 2018. Phylogenetic analyses were performed on HIV-1 polymerase (pol) sequences to characterise subtypes and identify MTCs, divided into small (SMTCs, 2&ndash

2017

Significant progress in nonlinear and ultrafast optics has recently opened new and exciting opportunities for terahertz (THz) science and technology, which require the development of reliable THz sources, detectors, and supporting devices. In this work, we demonstrate the first solid-state technique for the coherent detection of ultra-broadband THz pulses (0.1–10 THz), relying on the electric-field-induced second-harmonic generation in a thin layer of ultraviolet fused silica. The proposed CMOS-compatible devices, which can be realized with standard microfabrication techniques, allow us to perform ultra-broadband detection with a high dynamic range by employing probe laser powers and bias v…