Search results for "Laboratory"
showing 10 items of 923 documents
Candida blood stream infections observed between 2011 and 2016 in a large Italian University Hospital: A time-based retrospective analysis on epidemi…
2019
Candida bloodstream infection (BSI) represents a growing infective problem frequently associated to biofilm production due to the utilization of intravascular devices. Candida species distribution (n = 612 strains), their biofilm production and hospital antifungal drug consumption were evaluated in different wards of a tertiary care academic hospital in Italy during the years 2011–2016. In the considered time window, an increasing number of Candida BSI (p = 0.005) and of biofilm producing strains were observed (p<0.0001). Although C. albicans was the species more frequently isolated in BSI with a major biofilm production, an increased involvement of non-albicans species was reported, partic…
Anticancer, antioxidant, and antibacterial activities of low molecular weight bioactive subfractions isolated from cultures of wood degrading fungus …
2017
The aim of this study is to investigate in vitro the anticancer, antioxidant, and antibacterial activities of three low molecular weight subfractions I, II and III isolated from secondary metabolites produced by the wood degrading fungus Cerrena unicolor. The present study demonstrated that the low molecular weight subfractions III exhibited the strongest inhibitory activity towards breast carcinoma cells MDA-MB-231, prostatic carcinoma cells PC3, and breast cancer cells MCF7 with the half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) value of 52,25 μg/mL, 60,66 μg/mL, and 54,92 μg/mL, respectively. The highest percentage of inhibition was noted at a concentration of 300 μg/mL in all the examined…
Secretion of autoimmune antibodies in the human subcutaneous adipose tissue
2018
The adipose tissue (AT) contributes to systemic and B cell intrinsic inflammation, reduced B cell responses and secretion of autoimmune antibodies. In this study we show that adipocytes in the human obese subcutaneous AT (SAT) secrete several pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, which contribute to the establishment and maintenance of local and systemic inflammation, and consequent suboptimal immune responses in obese individuals, as we have previously shown. We also show that pro-inflammatory chemokines recruit immune cells expressing the corresponding receptors to the SAT, where they also contribute to local and systemic inflammation, secreting additional pro-inflammatory mediators.…
Spatial clustering of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato within populations of Allen's chipmunks and dusky-footed woodrats in northwestern California.
2017
The ecology of Lyme borreliosis is complex in northwestern California, with several potential reservoir hosts, tick vectors, and genospecies of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. The primary objective of this study was to determine the fine-scale spatial distribution of different genospecies in four rodent species, the California ground squirrel (Otospermophilus beecheyi), northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus), dusky-footed woodrat (Neotoma fuscipes), and Allen's chipmunk (Neotamias senex). Rodents were live-trapped between June 2004 and May 2005 at the Hoopa Valley Tribal Reservation (HVTR) in Humboldt County, California. Ear-punch biopsies obtained from each rodent were tested by po…
Standardization of Light Transmission Aggregometry for Diagnosis of Platelet Disorders: An Inter-Laboratory External Quality Assessment.
2019
AbstractSeveral in vitro platelet function tests are available for the diagnosis of inherited platelet function disorders. Currently, the light transmission aggregometry (LTA) is recommended as one of the first-step tests. LTA is available in most specialized hemostasis laboratories. Although the LTA is accepted as a ‘gold standard’ assay for the evaluation of platelet function, its standardization in the clinical practice is still challenging. The GTH-based THROMKID-Plus Study Group has performed an inter-laboratory trial in Germany and Austria. Five different agonists were selected according to the Scientific and Standardization Committee/International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasi…
Aberrant splicing of the tumor suppressor CYLD promotes the development of chronic lymphocytic leukemia via sustained NF-κB signaling
2017
The pathogenesis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) has been linked to constitutive NF-κB activation but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Here we show that alternative splicing of the negative regulator of NF-κB and tumor suppressor gene CYLD regulates the pool of CD5+ B cells through sustained canonical NF-κB signaling. Reinforced canonical NF-κB activity leads to the development of B1 cell-associated tumor formation in aging mice by promoting survival and proliferation of CD5+ B cells, highly reminiscent of human B-CLL. We show that a substantial number of CLL patient samples express sCYLD, strongly implicating a role for it in human B-CLL. We propose that our new CLL-l…
An International Proficiency Study with the Tumor Marker CA 125
1990
A strict and adequate quality assurance program is the only real guarantee of the reliability of laboratory test results. Such proficiency testing was carried out for the CA 125 test system in five university laboratories over a period of three years (1984 - 1987) using five different reference materials (BIOREF, FRG). A concentration-dependent performance profile could thus be established evaluating a total of 301 assays. Intra-assay precision of the test ranged between 4.8 and 11.5%, and interassay precision between 13.6 and 19.1%. Laboratory specific average values of the individual reference materials ranged between 26 and 32 U/ml for reference 1, 51 and 59 U/ml for reference 2, 109 an…
Infrared microspectroscopic determination of collagen cross-links in articular cartilage
2017
Collagen forms an organized network in articular cartilage to give tensile stiffness to the tissue. Due to its long half-life, collagen is susceptible to cross-links caused by advanced glycation end-products. The current standard method for determination of cross-link concentrations in tissues is the destructive high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The aim of this study was to analyze the cross-link concentrations nondestructively from standard unstained histological articular cartilage sections by using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) microspectroscopy. Half of the bovine articular cartilage samples ( n = 27 ) were treated with threose to increase the collagen cross-linking whi…
Toxicity and cell density monitoring in monolayer and three-dimensional cultures with the XTT assay
1998
The application of viability criteria (MTT and XTT tests) to monolayer cultures and immobilised cells in three-dimensional systems was investigated in order to assess cell viability and cell proliferation. The suitability and accuracy of these tests were compared with the conventional criteria (cellular protein and DNA content) used in monolayer cultures for the same purpose. The colorimetric assay based on the metabolic reduction of the tetrazolium salt XTT to a water-soluble formazan proved to be very useful, rapid and sensitive. This automated spectrophotometric enzymatic method, due to its lack of toxicity, also permits repeated nondestructive assays on a single cellular culture for the…
Grey Matter Microstructural Integrity Alterations in Blepharospasm Are Partially Reversed by Botulinum Neurotoxin Therapy.
2016
OBJECTIVE Benign Essential Blepharospasm (BEB) and hemifacial spasm (HFS) are the most common hyperkinetic movement disorders of facial muscles. Although similar in clinical presentation different pathophysiological mechanisms are assumed. Botulinum Neurotoxin (BoNT) is a standard evidence-based treatment for both conditions. In this study we aimed to assess grey matter microstructural differences between these two groups of patients and compared them with healthy controls. In patients we furthermore tracked the longitudinal morphometric changes associated with BoNT therapy. We hypothesized microstructural differences between the groups at the time point of maximum symptoms representation a…