An FTIR Spectroscopy Investigation on Different Methods of Lipid Extraction from HepG2 Cells

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Mapping 123 million neonatal, infant and child deaths between 2000 and 2017

Since 2000, many countries have achieved considerable success in improving child survival, but localized progress remains unclear. To inform efforts towards United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3.2—to end preventable child deaths by 2030—we need consistently estimated data at the subnational level regarding child mortality rates and trends. Here we quantified, for the period 2000–2017, the subnational variation in mortality rates and number of deaths of neonates, infants and children under 5 years of age within 99 low- and middle-income countries using a geostatistical survival model. We estimated that 32% of children under 5 in these countries lived in districts that had attained rates of 25 or fewer child deaths per 1,000 live births by 2017, and that 58% of child deaths between 2000 and 2017 in these countries could have been averted in the absence of geographical inequality. This study enables the identification of high-mortality clusters, patterns of progress and geographical inequalities to inform appropriate investments and implementations that will help to improve the health of all populations

Global, regional, and national cancer incidence, mortality, years of life lost, years lived with disability, and disability-Adjusted life-years for 29 cancer groups, 1990 to 2017 : A systematic analysis for the global burden of disease study

Importance: Cancer and other noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are now widely recognized as a threat to global development. The latest United Nations high-level meeting on NCDs reaffirmed this observation and also highlighted the slow progress in meeting the 2011 Political Declaration on the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases and the third Sustainable Development Goal. Lack of situational analyses, priority setting, and budgeting have been identified as major obstacles in achieving these goals. All of these have in common that they require information on the local cancer epidemiology. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study is uniquely poised to provide these crucial data. Objective: To describe cancer burden for 29 cancer groups in 195 countries from 1990 through 2017 to provide data needed for cancer control planning. Evidence Review: We used the GBD study estimation methods to describe cancer incidence, mortality, years lived with disability, years of life lost, and disability-Adjusted life-years (DALYs). Results are presented at the national level as well as by Socio-demographic Index (SDI), a composite indicator of income, educational attainment, and total fertility rate. We also analyzed the influence of the epidemiological vs the demographic transition on cancer incidence. Findings: In 2017, there were 24.5 million incident cancer cases worldwide (16.8 million without nonmelanoma skin cancer [NMSC]) and 9.6 million cancer deaths. The majority of cancer DALYs came from years of life lost (97%), and only 3% came from years lived with disability. The odds of developing cancer were the lowest in the low SDI quintile (1 in 7) and the highest in the high SDI quintile (1 in 2) for both sexes. In 2017, the most common incident cancers in men were NMSC (4.3 million incident cases); tracheal, bronchus, and lung (TBL) cancer (1.5 million incident cases); and prostate cancer (1.3 million incident cases). The most common causes of cancer deaths and DALYs for men were TBL cancer (1.3 million deaths and 28.4 million DALYs), liver cancer (572000 deaths and 15.2 million DALYs), and stomach cancer (542000 deaths and 12.2 million DALYs). For women in 2017, the most common incident cancers were NMSC (3.3 million incident cases), breast cancer (1.9 million incident cases), and colorectal cancer (819000 incident cases). The leading causes of cancer deaths and DALYs for women were breast cancer (601000 deaths and 17.4 million DALYs), TBL cancer (596000 deaths and 12.6 million DALYs), and colorectal cancer (414000 deaths and 8.3 million DALYs). Conclusions and Relevance: The national epidemiological profiles of cancer burden in the GBD study show large heterogeneities, which are a reflection of different exposures to risk factors, economic settings, lifestyles, and access to care and screening. The GBD study can be used by policy makers and other stakeholders to develop and improve national and local cancer control in order to achieve the global targets and improve equity in cancer care. © 2019 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Probing Biochemical Differences in Lipid Components of Human Cells by Means of ATR-FTIR Spectroscopy

Infrared spectroscopy has emerged as a promising technique for studying the composition of biological samples like lipids that play important roles in cellular functions and are involved in various diseases. For this reason, lipids are a target of interest in many biomedical studies. The objective of the present study is to utilize Fourier-Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy to examine the main lipid components of human cells (phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylserine, phosphatidylinositol, C18 ceramide, sphingosine-1-phosphate, ceramide-1-phosphate, sphingomyelin, cholesterol, and triolein). FT-IR analysis on the previously mentioned lipid samples was performed in Attenuated Total Reflection (ATR) mode. The obtained spectra clearly evidence the contributions of the different functional groups that are present in the examined samples. Detailed assignments of spectral features were carried out in agreement with the literature. Similarities and differences among the different types of commercial lipid samples are evidenced and discussed, with particular attention to phospholipid and sphingolipid components. A quantitative analysis of phosphatidylinositol and sphingomyelin spectra using a ratiometric approach is reported. Moreover, a reconstruction procedure of FT-IR spectra of complex lipids useful for chemometrics applications is described. These representative examples of the potential use of the results of the present study can certainly contribute to a larger use of FT-IR spectroscopy in lipidomics

A Sphingolipidomic Profiling Approach for Comparing X-ray-Exposed and Unexposed HepG2 Cells

: An analytical method based on tandem mass spectrometry-shotgun is presently proposed to obtain sphingolipidomic profiles useful for the characterization of lipid extract from X-ray-exposed and unexposed hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HepG2). To obtain a targeted lipidic profile from a specific biological system, the best extraction method must be identified before instrumental analysis. Accordingly, four different classic lipid extraction protocols were compared in terms of efficiency, specificity, and reproducibility. The performance of each procedure was evaluated using the Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopic technique; subsequently, the quality of extracts was estimated using electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. The selected procedure based on chloroform/methanol/water was successfully used in mass spectrometry-based shotgun sphingolipidomics, allowing for evaluation of the response of cells to X-ray irradiation, the most common anticancer therapy. Using a relative quantitative approach, the changes in the sphingolipid profiles of irradiated cell extracts were demonstrated, confirming that lipidomic technologies are also useful tools for studying the key sphingolipid role in regulating cancer growth during radiotherapy

Field-In-Field Plan Versus Tangential Wedged Beam Plan in Chest Wall Radiotherapy of Post-Mastectomy Patients: Treatment Planning Study

Introduction: In this study, dose distribution of the chest wall in post-mastectomy breast cancer patients was evaluated and compared in the tangential wedged beam (TWB) and field-in-field (FIF) plans. Materials and Methods: Thirty-six patients with left-sided breast cancer were enrolled in this study. The FIF and TWB plans were generated for each patient to compare dosimetric parameters of the chest wall. The maximum dose (Dmax), homogeneity index (HI), conformity index (CI), and uniformity index (UI) were defined and used for comparison of the dosimetric parameters of the planning target volume (PTV) in both FIF and TWB plans. The percentage of volumes receiving at least 10, 20, 30, and 40 Gy of the left lung and 5, 10, 20, 25 and 30 Gy of the heart were used to compare the dosimetric results of the organs at risk. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS, version 20. Results: The FIF plan had significantly lower HI (P=0.000) than the TWB plan, indicating that the FIF plan was better than the TWB plan in PTV. The V40lung (15.36±4.35 vs. 18.37±4.42) and V30heart (8.15±3.75 vs. 10.94±3.94; P=0.000) were significantly lower in the FIF plan than in the TWB plan. In addition, the monitor unit (MU) was significantly lower in the FIF plan than in the TWB plan (227.76 vs. 323.59; P=0.000). Conclusion: The FIF plan significantly reduced the dose volume of the left lung and heart in post-mastectomy radiotherapy compared to the TWB plan. Therefore, the FIF plan is recommended for this purpose

An FTIR Spectroscopy Investigation on Different Methods of Lipid Extraction from HepG2 Cells

Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is a non-invasive technique that is largely used for studying lipidomics. Lipids are a primary class of biological molecules that play numerous vital roles in various processes. In the present work, we adopted FTIR spectroscopy for monitoring the lipid extraction efficiency of different methods used for extracting lipids from hepatocarcinoma cells. The spectra acquired from samples obtained with the selected methods showed the contributions of different functional groups. A qualitative comparison indicated that all the spectra exhibited similar lipid species profiles. The peak intensity attributed to the CH2 asymmetric stretching mode has been used for a quantitative comparison of the efficiency of the different extraction methods

Association of patient satisfaction with cataract grading in five types of multifocal IOLs

Abstract: Introduction: This study investigated patient satisfaction levels in five premium intraocular lenses (IOLs). A secondary aim was to determine whether patient satisfaction was associated with the cataract grade before lens surgery.Methods: In this multicenter prospective comparative study, 164 patients from diverse backgrounds underwent cataract surgery and were assigned for identical bilateral implantation of multifocal IOLs. In addition to visual performance, quality of life was measured using the National Eye Institute Refractive Error Quality Of Life Instrument (NEI-RQL 42) scoring questionnaire. The Sirius Scheimpflug Analyzer was used to evaluate the posterior cornea and aberrations. Finally, the association of patient satisfaction reports with the Pentacam Cataract Grading Scale (PCGS) and Lens Opacities Classification System (LOCS III) was evaluated.Results: A considerable subjective improvement was observed in uncorrected far, near (40 cm), and intermediate (60 cm) visual acuity in the five groups (P values < 0.001). A significant difference was observed in mesopic and photopic contrast sensitivity between Symfony, Trinova, and AT LISA at the spatial frequency of 12 cycles per degree, favoring Symfony (P < 0.001). PanOptix users had considerably lower mean coma values (P < 0.001), while AT LISA users had lower mean spherical aberrations (P = 0.009) compared to the other groups. No additional safety concerns relating to IOLs were recorded. Mean satisfaction had a high correlation with LOCS and Pentacam Nuclear Staging (PNS) in each lens group, e.g., correlation coefficient and P value for AT LISA were respectively r = 0.99, P < 0.001 and r = 0.97, P = 0.004.Conclusion: Despite discrepancies between groups of lenses, most patients who received multifocal IOLs reported satisfaction at more than 3 years after the initial operation. A growing number of patients with cataracts are seeking spectacle-free vision with presbyopia-correcting IOLs. Hence, the high satisfaction rate among patients with cataract could indicate the value of offering a wider range of available lenses