On the reproducibility and repeatability of laser absorption spectroscopy measurements for δ2H and δ18O isotopic analysis

The aim of this study was to analyse the reproducibility of off-axis integrated cavity output spectroscopy (OA-ICOS)-derived δ2H and δ18O measurements on a set of 35 water samples by comparing the performance of four laser spectroscopes with the performance of a conventional mass spectrometer under typical laboratory conditions. All samples were analysed using three different schemes of standard/sample combinations and related data processing to assess the improvement of results compared with mass spectrometry. The repeatability of the four OA-ICOS instruments was further investigated by multiple analyses of a sample subset to evaluate the stability of δ2H and δ18O measurements. Results demonstrated an overall agreement between OA-ICOS-based and mass spectrometry-based measurements for the entire dataset. However, a certain degree of variability existed in precision and accuracy between the four instruments. There was no evident bias or systematic deviations from the mass spectrometer values, but random errors, which were apparently not related to external factors, significantly affected the final results. Our investigation revealed that analytical precision ranged ±from ±0.56‰ to ±1.80‰ for δ2H and from ±0.10‰ to ±0.27‰ for δ18O measurements, with a marked variability among the four instruments. The overall capability of laser instruments to reproduce stable results with repeated measurements of the same sample was acceptable, and there were general differences within the range of the analytical precision for each spectroscope. Hence, averaging the measurements of three identical samples led to a higher degree of accuracy and eliminated the potential for random deviations

Targeting Non-Coding RNAs for the Development of Novel Hepatocellular Carcinoma Therapeutic Approaches

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains a global health challenge, representing the third leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. Although therapeutic advances have been made in the few last years, the prognosis remains poor. Thus, there is a dire need to develop novel therapeutic strategies. In this regard, two approaches can be considered: (1) the identification of tumor-targeted delivery systems and (2) the targeting of molecule(s) whose aberrant expression is confined to tumor cells. In this work, we focused on the second approach. Among the different kinds of possible target molecules, we discuss the potential therapeutic value of targeting non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), which include micro interfering RNAs (miRNAs), long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and circular RNAs (circRNAs). These molecules represent the most significant RNA transcripts in cells and can regulate many HCC features, including proliferation, apoptosis, invasion and metastasis. In the first part of the review, the main characteristics of HCC and ncRNAs are described. The involvement of ncRNAs in HCC is then presented over five sections: (a) miRNAs, (b) lncRNAs, (c) circRNAs, (d) ncRNAs and drug resistance and (e) ncRNAs and liver fibrosis. Overall, this work provides the reader with the most recent state-of-the-art approaches in this field, highlighting key trends and opportunities for more advanced and efficacious HCC treatments

Purification and immobilization of engineered glucose dehydrogenase: A new approach to producing gluconic acid from breadwaste

Background Platform chemicals are essential to industrial processes. Used as starting materials for the manufacture of diverse products, their cheap availability and efficient sourcing are an industrial requirement. Increasing concerns about the depletion of natural resources and growing environmental consciousness have led to a focus on the economics and ecological viability of bio-based platform chemical production. Contemporary approaches include the use of immobilized enzymes that can be harnessed to produce high-value chemicals from waste. Results In this study, an engineered glucose dehydrogenase (GDH) was optimized for gluconic acid (GA) production. Sulfolobus solfataricus GDH was expressed in Escherichia coli. The Km and Vmax values for recombinant GDH were calculated as 0.87 mM and 5.91 U/mg, respectively. Recombinant GDH was immobilized on a hierarchically porous silica support (MM-SBA-15) and its activity was compared with GDH immobilized on three commercially available supports. MM-SBA-15 showed significantly higher immobilization efficiency (> 98%) than the commercial supports. After 5 cycles, GDH activity was at least 14% greater than the remaining activity on commercial supports. Glucose in bread waste hydrolysate was converted to GA by free-state and immobilized GDH. After the 10th reuse cycle on MM-SBA-15, a 22% conversion yield was observed, generating 25 gGA/gGDH. The highest GA production efficiency was 47 gGA/gGDH using free-state GDH. Conclusions This study demonstrates the feasibility of enzymatically converting BWH to GA: immobilizing GDH on MM-SBA-15 renders the enzyme more stable and permits its multiple reuse

Analisi dei tempi d\u2019attesa tra le varie fasi di gestione dei carcinomi mammari screening-detected a Trieste nel biennio 2013-2014: come si pu\uf2 migliorare?

Gli indicatori relativi ai tempi di attesa sono difficili da rispettare, come recentemente evidenziato al XIII Convegno ONS 2015 . Per questo motivo \ue8 fondamentale identificare in quale momento della gestione dei carcinomi screening-detected si concentrino i ritardi e stabilirne le cause (se attribuibili alla paziente o all\u2019organizzazione del programma o intrinseci al tipo di lesione) cos\uec da proporre mirate modifiche migliorative. Metodi: L\u2019analisi riguarda 146 carcinomi screening-detected consecutivi (biennio 2013-2014). Sono stati misurati i tempi tra le varie fasi diagnostiche (Mammografia di I\ub0 livello, Richiamo II\ub0 livello, I\ub0 approfondimento cito/microistologico, Comunicazione diagnosi) e i tempi chirurgici (Visita chirurgica, Intervento chirurgico, Referto istologico con marcatori biologici, Visita oncologica). Per ogni fase sono stati calcolati i tempi medi/mediani rappresentati tramite box plot e giustificati gli outliers.Risultati: La latenza nella presa in carico chirurgica \ue8 legato alla complessit\ue0 degli esami preoperatori (3) (tempo mediano tra richiamo al II\ub0 livello ed intervento: 53 giorni (se unico esame pre-operatorio) vs 73 (se pi\uf9 di un esame pre-operatorio, p<0.0001), mentre rispetto ad un recente studio (4) il tempo mediano tra visita chirurgica e intervento non \ue8 aumentato per i casi con necessit\ue0 di RM (28 vs 26 giorni, p=0.13), perch\ue9 gi\ue0 programmata in fase preoperatoria. Per i casi con mastectomia sempre con ricostruzione, si registra un tempo medio dalla visita chirurgica all\u2019intervento di 7 giorni superiore rispetto alle quadrantectomie. Ulteriore criticit\ue0 \ue8 il tempo mediano tra intervento e visita oncologica (44 giorni), attribuibile in parte ad un \u201critardo\u201d nella disponibilit\ue0 dei marcatori biomolecolari (soprattutto HER2/FISH) ed in parte a rinvii dell\u2019appuntamento da parte della paziente stessa Conclusioni: Soltanto un attento monitoraggio del turnaround time dell\u2019intero percorso delle pazienti con carcinoma screening detected consente l\u2019identificazione dei punti di debolezza su cui intervenire efficacemente per garantire il rispetto degli indicatori

Adherence issues related to sublingual immunotherapy as perceived by allergists

Objectives: Sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) is a viable alternative to subcutaneous immunotherapy to treat allergic rhinitis and asthma, and is widely used in clinical practice in many European countries. The clinical efficacy of SLIT has been established in a number of clinical trials and meta-analyses. However, because SLIT is self-administered by patients without medical supervision, the degree of patient adherence with treatment is still a concern. The objective of this study was to evaluate the perception by allergists of issues related to SLIT adherence. Methods: We performed a questionnaire-based survey of 296 Italian allergists, based on the adherence issues known from previous studies. The perception of importance of each item was assessed by a VAS scale ranging from 0 to 10. Results: Patient perception of clinical efficacy was considered the most important factor (ranked 1 by 54% of allergists), followed by the possibility of reimbursement (ranked 1 by 34%), and by the absence of side effects (ranked 1 by 21%). Patient education, regular follow-up, and ease of use of SLIT were ranked first by less than 20% of allergists. Conclusion: These findings indicate that clinical efficacy, cost, and side effects are perceived as the major issues influencing patient adherence to SLIT, and that further improvement of adherence is likely to be achieved by improving the patient information provided by prescribers. © 2010 Scurati et al, publisher and licensee Dove Medical Press Ltd