Improved high-performance liquid chromatographic assay for determining organic acids in wines

Lactic, acetic, tartaric, malic, succinic and citric acids in wine samples were determined as phenacyl esters. The sample was buffered at pH 6.8, mixed with a solution of phenacyl bromide and a crown ether in acetone, and heated at 100°C for 40 min. An aliquot of the reaction mixture was subjected to reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. Recoveries of the six acids were higher than 95%. The specificity of this assay was good as assessed by quantifying wine acids with other chromatographic techniques. The within-run coefficient of variation ranged from 1.7% for acetic acid to 3.1% for citric acid. When compared with a similar, recently reported assay, our assay gave more reliable results, especially for citric acid

Assay for urinary estriol during the menstrual cycle based on extraction by a graphitized carbon black cartridge followed by high-performance liquid chromatography

A high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) assay for estriol in nonpregnancy urine is described. After Enzymic hydrolysis, the estriol is extracted from urine by the sorbent trap technique utilizing graphitized carbon black (Carbopack B). After some washing steps, estriol is desorbed by a suitable solvent system. After solvent removal, the sample is injected into an HPLC column for estriol quantification. Analytical recovery of estriol was 96.1%. The precision of the method was 2.6 and 4.9% respectively at 145 and 10.6ng/ml of urine. The limit of sensitivity was set at 0.8 ng/ml of urine. The mean contents of estriol in the follicular and luteal phases were respectively 11.3 and 38.8 ng/ml of urine. © 1987 Friedr, Vieweg & Sohn Verlagsgesellschaft mbH

Measurement of urinary estriol glucuronides during the menstrual cycle by high-performance liquid chromatography

A simple high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method for measuring estriol-3-glucuronide (E3-3-G) and estriol-16-glucuronide (E3-16-G) in the urine of non-pregnant women is described. Estriol conjugates were extracted from 4 ml of urine with a small cartridge of graphitized carbon black (Carbopack B). After washing, E3-3-G and E3-16-G were desorbed separately by a two-step elution system. After solvent removal, the two glucuronides were quantified by isocratic ion-suppression HPLC with fluorimetric detection. The analytical recovery of the two estriol metabolites was about 95%. The detection limit of the method was 0.6 ng/ml for both analytes in urine, which is well below the concentrations of clinical interest, and the method is not susceptible to substantial interferences. Data relative to urinary levels of E3-3-G and E3-16-G measured by this method on a daily basis in early morning samples from nine women during their menstrual cycles were compared with those reported in the literature and obtained by radioimmunoassay techniques. Moreover, the potential use of defined changes in the concentrations of the two conjugates for predicting the fertile period of women was assessed

Severe neonatal COVID-19: Challenges in management and therapeutic approach

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the etiological agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), may manifest as a life-threatening respiratory infection with systemic complications. Clinical manifestations among children are generally less severe than those seen in adults, but critical cases have increasingly been reported in infants less than 1 year of age. We report a severe case of neonatal COVID-19 requiring intensive care and mechanical ventilation, further complicated by a multidrug-resistant Enterobacter asburiae super-infection. Chest X-rays, lung ultrasound, and chest computed tomography revealed extensive interstitial pneumonia with multiple consolidations, associated with persistent increased work of breathing and feeding difficulties. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in respiratory specimens and stools, but not in other biological samples, with a rapid clearance in stools. Serological tests demonstrated a specific SARS-CoV-2 antibody response mounted by the neonate and sustained over time. The therapeutic approach included the use of enoxaparin and steroids which may have contributed to the bacterial complication, underlying the challenges in managing neonatal COVID-19, where the balance between viral replication and immunomodulation maybe even more challenging than in older ages

Congenital lung malformations: can we avoid computed tomography? A five-year study

Purpose: Congenital lung malformations (CLMs) consist of a variety of pulmonary development disorders. In the CLM approach, computed tomography (CT) is considered the gold standard imaging technique due to the high-resolution for the lung parenchyma evaluation, the study of the vascular system after contrast injection, and the multiplanar reconstructions. In the paediatric population CT is considered too invasive due to ionizing radiation and the use of contrast agent. Therefore, the indications for the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are increasing. The aim of our study is to compare retrospectively MRI and CT in the evaluation of CLMs, to reduce or avoid the use of contrast-enhanced CT in the paediatric population. Material and methods: We retrospectively evaluated 22 paediatric patients with prenatal diagnosis of CLMs. All the patients underwent postnatal MRI in the first 2 weeks of life (except for a patient) and pre-surgery contrast-enhanced CT. A total of 7 blinded radiologists divided into 3 different groups independently reviewed each MRI and CT examination. Sensitivity and specificity of radiologists with different years of experience on the field, as well as of MRI findings regarding every pathology, were evaluated using a ROC curve. The interobserver agreement regarding the MRI findings was also measured. Results: Analysing the ROC curves, we observed that MRI provided a satisfactory accuracy for diagnosing most congenital pulmonary diseases. Conclusions: Our study showed that MRI without contrast agent allows us to reach a CLM diagnosis in good agreement with contrast-enhanced CT, which is considered the gold standard imaging technique

DISEGUAGLIANZE NELLO SCREENING DEL CARCINOMA DELLA MAMMELLA IN ITALIA

INTRODUZIONE Il carcinoma della mammella rappresenta oggi il tumore più frequente nel sesso femminile, sia per incidenza che per mortalità. Lo screening mammografico è offerto a tutta la popolazione femminile tra i 50 e i 69 anni, con cadenza biennale. L’obiettivo di questo studio è descrivere l’adesione allo screening mammografico in Italia e di valutare le variabili ad esso associate, con particolare attenzione anche alle donne straniere. METODI Sono stati elaborati i dati relativi all’Indagine Statistica Multiscopo sulle Famiglie 2012-2013 condotta dall’ISTAT. Il campione è rappresentato da 27831 donne italiane e 3805 straniere. L’outcome considerato è stato “mammografia eseguita in assenza di sintomi” ed è stata indagata la sua associazione con variabili socio-demografiche (stato civile, titolo di studio, regione di residenza), condizioni generali di salute (invalidità, malattie, uso di farmaci) ed abitudini di vita (consumo di tabacco, attività sportiva). E’ stata condotta un’analisi bivariata con test chi quadro, seguita da un’analisi multivariata con regressione logistica. RISULTATI Nel campione analizzato, le donne italiane che hanno riferito di aver eseguito la mammografia in assenza di sintomi sono il 56.1%, mentre le straniere sono il 31.8% (p<0.001). Dall’analisi multivariata, un basso livello di screening nelle donne italiane è risultato associato con: basso titolo di studio (licenza elementare, OR 0.5; IC95% 0.3-0.6) e invalidità da malattia mentale (OR 0.4; IC95% 0.3-0.6). Il ramo di attività economica di impiego, in particolare l’ambito dell’istruzione e della sanità o altri servizi sociali, è associato ad un’alta adesione allo screening mammografico, sia nelle italiane che nelle straniere. CONCLUSIONI I RISULTATI evidenziano differenze nell’adesione allo screening mammografico tra le donne italiane e straniere, inoltre all’interno della stessa cittadinanza si osservano disuguaglianze legate a fattori socio-demografici e condizioni di salute