Laboratory Methodology Important in the Diagnosis and Prognosis of Antiphospholipid Syndrome

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is an autoimmune disease, characterized by thrombosis and pregnancy complications with persistently elevated levels of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL). Recently, a unique mathematical calculation has been presented to assess the risk of thrombosis in patients with APS called antiphospholipid score or global antiphospholipid syndrome score (GAPSS). This new approach in the diagnosis of APS leads to the assessment of the risk of thrombosis considering the results of different aPL (lupus anticoagulants (LA), anticardiolipin antibodies (aCL), antibodies against β2GPI (anti-β2GPI), and phosphatidylserine-dependent antiprothrombin antibodies (aPS/PT) (isotypes IgG and IgM). This chapter provides an overview of the algorithm strategy for APS diagnosis with the aims of characterizing in detail the laboratory methodology of criteria aPL (LA, aCL, and anti-β2GPI) and noncriteria aPL, such as IgA aCL and IgA anti-β2GPI, anti-domain I β2GPI, and antiprothrombin antibodies. In order to improve APS diagnosis, several new approaches in aPL detection have recently been suggested, such as multiline immunodot assay, detection of aPL by flow cytometry using beads with particular surface properties, and the newly developed automated BioPlex system technology for parallel detection of aCL and anti-β2GPI antibodies of IgG, IgA, and IgM isotypes. A completely different and promising approach in future research lies in the potential of microRNAs as biomarkers for risk of thrombosis and/or obstetric complication

REMOTE CENTRAL LOCKING FOR AUTOMOBILES

Teoretični del te naloge bom začel s kratkim opisal nekaj dejstev o frekvenci ter o frekvenčnih pasovih v elektromagnetnem spektru (seveda bom tu osredotočen na tiste pasove kateri se uporabljajo za RF prenose signalov). V nadaljevanju pa še nekaj malega o osnovah modulacije signalov ter kratka predstavitev najpogosteje uporabljenih modulacij katere srečamo v povezavi z RF daljinskimi sistemi za prenos informacij. Po logičnem zaporedju po modulaciji sledi demodulacija in tako bom nekaj besed namenil tudi demodulaciji (to je t.i. sprejemna stran katera me v tej nalogi tudi najbolj zanima) ter o njenih glavnih sestavnih delih. Od tega trenutka dalje bo tema že počasni zašla v smer reševanja problematike, katera je glavna tema te naloge. Za mehek prestop iz teoretičnega na praktični del te naloge bo poskrbelo nekaj informacij o uporabljeni Adiuno razvojni plošči ter o njenem pripadajočem programskem okolju IDE. V temi izgradnja sistema za zajem in obdelavo RF signala pa se bom poglobil v samo srce problematike katera mi je bila naložena, da jo moram rešiti s to nalogo. Prvo bom na kratko opisal samo strojno opremo katero sem moral zgraditi, da sem lahko signal sploh pripeljal do mikrokontrolerja za nadaljnjo obdelavo. Ko bo signal pripeljan do mikrokontrolerja pa nastopi drugi del reševanja te naloge in to je gradnja programa za zajem in obdelavo signala ter posredovanje njegovega rezultata na neko vizualno napravo. V zadnjem delu pa sem prikazal še rezultate dobljene s pomočjo strojno/programske opreme, ter njihovo obdelavo na način, da je enostavna za dojemanje širšemu krogu bralcev te naloge.The theoretical part of this work, I will start by briefly describing some facts about the frequency and the frequency bands of the electromagnetic spectrum (of course, I will focus here on those bands which are used for RF signal transmissions). Then followed some more about the basics of modulation signal and a short presentation of the most commonly used modulations schemes which meet in conjunction with RF systems for the transmission of information. Following a logical sequence after modulation followed by demodulation and so I spoke also about demodulation (this is also so-called receiver side in which I\u27m most interested in this work) and its main components. From that moment onwards, the theme will be already slow slide into the direction of solving the problem which is the main theme of this work. For a soft transition from the theoretical to the practical part of this work will provide some information about used Adiuno development board and on its associated development environment IDE. In section izgradnja sistema za zajem in obdelavo RF signala I looked into the heart of the problem which I have been accessed, that I have to solve in this task. First, I will briefly describe only the hardware which I had to build that I could signal even lead to microcontroller for further processing. When the signal is fed to the microcontroller is where the second part of solving this task, and this is the construction of program for the capture and signal processing and communication of its result on a visual device. In the last part I show the results obtained with the help of hardware/software and its processing in a way that is easy for the perception of a wider circle of readers of this work

Pharmacy practice and education in Slovenia

The PHARMINE ("Pharmacy Education in Europe") project studied pharmacy practice and education in the European Union (EU) member states. The work was carried out using an electronic survey sent to chosen pharmacy representatives. The surveys of the individual member states are now being published as reference documents. This paper presents the results of the PHARMINE survey on pharmacy practice and education in Slovenia. In the light of this, we examine the harmonisation of practice and education in Slovenia with EU norms

Importance of first-line employees in lean implementation in SMEs

Purpose - Existing research evidence shows a fragmented understanding of the roles of first-line employees (FLEs) as essential factors for successful lean implementation in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), provoking recent calls for additional research on the identification of enablers and barriers for lean acceptance among workers. Therefore, this paper aims to identify related enablers and barriers to lean implementation among FLEs and determine future research avenues for improving the understanding of lean methodology implementation in SMEs. Design/methodology/approach - Relying on a systematic literature review methodology, the authors aimed to synthesize and evaluate available peer-reviewed papers on the role of FLEs in lean implementation in SMEs. General descriptive and thematic analysis comprehensively depicted the selected research topic and identified the main themes within collected papers and potential future research questions. Findings - The authors identified four main themes related to FLEs’ role in lean implementation: cultural change factors, employee characteristics, management involvement and lean job design. Within each theme, the authors present a comprehensive overview of FLE-related factors and associated enablers and barriers that should be considered for a successful lean implementation in SMEs. Practical implications - The research outcomes are important to practicing managers in SMEs, helping them facilitate lean acceptance and enhance the likelihood of successful lean implementation. Originality/value - The insights from this study present building blocks in developing a lean implementation model for SMEs that considers the FLEs’ role more comprehensively

Pharmacy Practice and Education in Slovenia

The PHARMINE (“Pharmacy Education in Europe”) project studied pharmacy practice and education in the European Union (EU) member states. The work was carried out using an electronic survey sent to chosen pharmacy representatives. The surveys of the individual member states are now being published as reference documents. This paper presents the results of the PHARMINE survey on pharmacy practice and education in Slovenia. In the light of this, we examine the harmonisation of practice and education in Slovenia with EU norms

Diagnostic and Research Aspects of Small Intestinal Disaccharidases in Coeliac Disease

Disaccharidases (DS) are brush border enzymes embedded in the microvillous membrane of small intestinal enterocytes. In untreated coeliac disease (CD), a general decrease of DS activities is seen. This manuscript reviews different aspects of DS activities in CD: their utility in the diagnosis and their application to in vitro toxicity testing. The latter has never been established in CD research. However, with the recent advances in small intestinal organoid techniques, DS might be employed as a biomarker for in vitro studies. This includes establishment of self-renewing epithelial cells raised from tissue, which express differentiation markers, including the brush border enzymes. Determining duodenal DS activities may provide additional information during the diagnostic workup of CD: (i) quantify the severity of the observed histological lesions, (ii) provide predictive values for the grade of mucosal villous atrophy, and (iii) aid diagnosing CD where minor histological changes are seen. DS can also provide additional information to assess the response to a gluten-free diet as marked increase of their activities occurs four weeks after commencing it. Various endogenous and exogenous factors affecting DS might also be relevant when considering investigating the role of DS in other conditions including noncoeliac gluten sensitivity and DS deficiencies

The correlation between the triglyceride-glucose index and coagulation markers in patients with recent acute myocardial infarction

Background: Metabolic abnormalities and hypercoagulability seem to have an important predictive role in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). The triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index has emerged as a good marker for metabolic syndrome with predictive value for cardiovascular events. Overall haemostatic potential (OHP) is a reliable global haemostatic essay to identify hypercoagulability in CAD patients. The aim of our study was therefore to evaluate a possible correlation between the TyG index and haemostatic derangements in patients with CAD. Methods: Consecutive patients referred for the first follow-up visit after acute myocardial infarction between December 1, 2018, and March 31, 2020, and did not meet exclusion criteria were included. We determined OHP, overall coagulation potential (OCP), overall fibrinolytic potential (OFP), fibrinogen, D-dimer, and von Willebrand factor from peripheral blood samples. The TyG index was calculated with the previously described and validated formula. Linear regression models were constructed for the multivariate analysis. Results: A total of 117 patients (mean age 56 ± 10 years, 20% women) were included. A correlation was found between TyG index and OCP (r = 0.229, p = 0.026), TyG index and OHP (r = 0.202, p = 0.050), and TyG index and fibrinogen (r = 0.271, p = 0.005). In the multivariate model which accounted for sex, age, and BMI, the correlation between TyG index and OCP (R$^2$ 0.108ANOVA for regression p = 0.035beta 2.08 [0.79-4.01], p = 0.042) and between TyG index and fibrinogen (R$^2$ 0.11ANOVA for regression p = 0.015beta 0.35 [0.08-0.62], p = 0.012) emerged as statistically significant. Conclusion: The TyG index, a marker of metabolic syndrome, has a strong correlation with a hypercoagulability state in CAD, as determined by the OCP and higher fibrinogen levels. Our findings suggest that metabolic syndrome may be an important driver of atherothrombotic risk in patients with CAD