Коммутационные перенапряжения в сетях высокого напряжения

Исследование коммутационных перенапряжений в высоковольтных сетях. В работе проводилось моделирование коммутационных перенапряжений в двух расчётных программах. Был произведён подбор защитного оборудования.Research of surge overvoltages in high-voltage grids. The simulation of surge overvoltages in two computational programs was carried out. A selection of protective equipment was made

Analysis of pyrimidine synthesis "de novo" intermediates in urine and dried urine filter- paper strips with HPLC-electrospray tandem mass spectrometry

BACKGROUND: The concentrations of the pyrimidine "de novo" metabolites and their degradation products in urine are useful indicators for the diagnosis of an inborn error of the pyrimidine de novo pathway or a urea-cycle defect. Until now, no procedure was available that allowed the analysis of all of these metabolites in a single analytical run. We describe a rapid, specific method to measure these metabolites by HPLC-tandem mass spectrometry. METHODS: Urine or urine-soaked filter-paper strips were used to measure N-carbamyl-aspartate, dihydroorotate, orotate, orotidine, uridine, and uracil. Reversed-phase HPLC was combined with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry, and detection was performed by multiple-reaction monitoring. Stable-isotope-labeled reference compounds were used as internal standards. RESULTS: All pyrimidine de novo metabolites and their degradation products were measured within a single analytical run of 14 min with lower limits of detection of 0.4-3 micromol/L. The intra- and interassay variation for urine with added compounds was 1.2-5% for urines and 2-9% for filter-paper extracts of the urines. Recoveries of the added metabolites were 97-106% for urine samples and 97-115% for filter-paper extracts of the urines. Analysis of urine samples from patients with a urea-cycle defect or pyrimidine degradation defect showed an aberrant metabolic profile when compared with controls. CONCLUSION: HPLC with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry allows rapid testing for disorders affecting the pyrimidine de novo pathway. The use of filter-paper strips could facilitate collection, transport, and storage of urine sample

New insights in dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase deficiency: a pivotal role for beta-aminoisobutyric acid?

DPD (dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase) constitutes the first step of the pyrimidine degradation pathway, in which the pyrimidine bases uracil and thymine are catabolized to beta-alanine and the R-enantiomer of beta-AIB (beta-aminoisobutyric acid) respectively. The S-enantiomer of beta-AIB is predominantly derived from the catabolism of valine. It has been suggested that an altered homoeostasis of beta-alanine underlies some of the clinical abnormalities encountered in patients with a DPD deficiency. In the present study, we demonstrated that only a slightly decreased concentration of beta-alanine was present in the urine and plasma, whereas normal levels of beta-alanine were present in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with a DPD deficiency. Therefore the metabolism of beta-alanine-containing peptides, such as carnosine, may be an important factor involved in the homoeostasis of beta-alanine in patients with DPD deficiency. The mean concentration of beta-AIB was approx. 2-3-fold lower in cerebrospinal fluid and urine of patients with a DPD deficiency, when compared with controls. In contrast, strongly decreased levels (10-fold) of beta-AIB were present in the plasma of DPD patients. Our results demonstrate that, under pathological conditions, the catabolism of valine can result in the production of significant amounts of beta-AIB. Furthermore, the observation that the R-enantiomer of beta-AIB is abundantly present in the urine of DPD patients suggests that significant cross-over exists between the thymine and valine catabolic pathways

Bloodspot assay using HPLC-tandem mass spectrometry for detection of Barth syndrome

BACKGROUND: Barth syndrome (BTHS) is a serious X-linked, metabolic, multisystem disorder characterized by cardiomyopathy, neutropenia, myopathy, and growth delay. Because early diagnosis and appropriate treatment are of key importance for the survival of affected boys, we developed a biochemical BTHS screening method based on analysis of the monolysocardiolipin:cardiolipin ratio in bloodspots. METHODS: We performed chloroform/methanol extraction on quarter-inch punches of dried bloodspots on Guthrie cards from BTHS patients and controls. Extracts were dried (60 degrees C, N(2)) and reconstituted in CHCl(3)/methanol/H(2)O [50:45:5 vol/vol/vol, 0.1% NH(3) (25%)]. HPLC-tandem mass spectrometry analysis was performed with a normal-phase HPLC column and multiple reaction monitoring transitions for monolysocardiolipin (MLCL) and cardiolipin (CL) with a total run time of 10 min. The ratio of MLCL and CL was used as screening parameter. RESULTS: All BTHS patients (n = 31) had monolysocardiolipin:cardiolipin ratios >0.40 and all controls (n = 215) had monolysocardiolipin:cardiolipin ratios 1 year without affecting the test outcome. Three neonatal Guthrie cards of BTHS patients taken 3.6 to 5.8 years previously were correctly identified as positive for BTHS. CONCLUSIONS: HPLC-tandem mass spectrometry analysis of dried bloodspots is an unambiguous screening test for BTHS with potential for rapid screening of neonates suspected of having BTHS, making remote and retrospective diagnosis accessible for a disease that is almost certainly underdiagnose

Evaluation of C26:0-lysophosphatidylcholine and C26:0-carnitine as diagnostic markers for Zellweger spectrum disorders

Introduction Zellweger spectrum disorders (ZSD) are a group of genetic metabolic disorders caused by a defect in peroxisome biogenesis. This results in multiple metabolic abnormalities, including elevated very long-chain fatty acid (VLCFA) levels. Elevated levels of C26:0-lysophosphatidylcholine (C26:0-lysoPC) have been shown in dried blood spots (DBS) from ZSD patients. However, little is known about the sensitivity and specificity of this marker and C26:0-carnitine, another VLCFA-marker, in ZSD. We investigated C26:0-lysoPC and C26:0-carnitine as diagnostic markers for ZSD in DBS and fibroblasts. Methods C26:0-lysoPC levels in 91 DBS from 37 different ZSD patients were determined and compared to the levels in 209 control DBS. C26:0-carnitine levels were measured in 41 DBS from 29 ZSD patients and 97 control DBS. We measured C26:0-lysoPC levels in fibroblasts from 24 ZSD patients and 61 control individuals. Results Elevated C26:0-lysoPC levels (> 72 nmol/L) were found in 86/91 ZSD DBS (n=33/37 patients) corresponding to a sensitivity of 89.2%. Median level was 567 nmol/l (range 28-3133 nmol/l). Consistently elevated C26:0-carnitine levels (> 0.077 mu mol/L) in DBS were found in 16 out of 29 ZSD patients corresponding to a sensitivity of 55.2%. C26:0-lysoPC levels were elevated in 21/24 ZSD fibroblast lines. Discussion C26:0-lysoPC in DBS is a sensitive and useful marker for VLCFA accumulation in patients with a ZSD. C26:0-carnitine in DBS is elevated in some ZSD patients, but is less useful as a diagnostic marker. Implementation of C26:0-lysoPC measurement in the diagnostic work-up when suspecting a ZSD is advised. This marker has the potential to be used for newborn screening for ZS

Substrate specificity of human carnitine acetyltransferase: Implications for fatty acid and branched-chain amino acid metabolism

Carnitine acyltransferases catalyze the reversible conversion of acyl-CoAs into acylcarnitine esters. This family includes the mitochondrial enzymes carnitine palmitoyltransferase 2 (CPT2) and carnitine acetyltransferase (CrAT). CPT2 is part of the carnitine shuttle that is necessary to import fatty acids into mitochondria and catalyzes the conversion of acylcarnitines into acyl-CoAs. In addition, when mitochondrial fatty acid β-oxidation is impaired, CPT2 is able to catalyze the reverse reaction and converts accumulating long- and medium-chain acyl-CoAs into acylcarnitines for export from the matrix to the cytosol. However, CPT2 is inactive with short-chain acyl-CoAs and intermediates of the branched-chain amino acid oxidation pathway (BCAAO). In order to explore the origin of short-chain and branched-chain acylcarnitines that may accumulate in various organic acidemias, we performed substrate specificity studies using purified recombinant human CrAT. Various saturated, unsaturated and branched-chain acyl-CoA esters were tested and the synthesized acylcarnitines were quantified by ESI-MS/MS. We show that CrAT converts short- and medium-chain acyl-CoAs (C2 to C10-CoA), whereas no activity was observed with long-chain species. Trans-2-enoyl-CoA intermediates were found to be poor substrates for this enzyme. Furthermore, CrAT turned out to be active towards some but not all the BCAAO intermediates tested and no activity was found with dicarboxylic acyl-CoA esters. This suggests the existence of another enzyme able to handle the acyl-CoAs that are not substrates for CrAT and CPT2, but for which the corresponding acylcarnitines are well recognized as diagnostic markers in inborn errors of metabolis

Comparison of the Diagnostic Performance of C26:0-Lysophosphatidylcholine and Very Long-Chain Fatty Acids Analysis for Peroxisomal Disorders

Peroxisomes are subcellular organelles that are involved in various important physiological processes such as the oxidation of fatty acids and the biosynthesis of bile acids and plasmalogens. The gold standard in the diagnostic work-up for patients with peroxisomal disorders is the analysis of very long-chain fatty acid (VLCFA) levels in plasma. Alternatively, C26:0-lysophosphatidylcholine (C26:0-LPC) can be measured in dried blood spots (DBS) using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS); a fast and easy method but not yet widely used. Currently, little is known about the correlation of C26:0-LPC in DBS and C26:0-LPC in plasma, and how C26:0-LPC analysis compares to VLCFA analysis in diagnostic performance. We investigated the correlation between C26:0-LPC levels measured in DBS and plasma prepared from the same blood sample. For this analysis we included 43 controls and 38 adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) (21 males and 17 females) and 33 Zellweger spectrum disorder (ZSD) patients. In combined control and patient samples there was a strong positive correlation between DBS C26:0-LPC and plasma C26:0-LPC, with a Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient of r (114) = 0.962, p < 0.001. These data show that both plasma and DBS are suitable to determine blood C26:0-LPC levels and that there is a strong correlation between C26:0-LPC levels in both matrices. Following this, we investigated how VLCFA and C26:0-LPC analysis compare in diagnostic performance for 67 controls, 26 ALD males, 19 ALD females, and 35 ZSD patients. For C26:0-LPC, all ALD and ZSD samples had C26:0-LPC levels above the upper limit of the reference range. For C26:0, one out of 67 controls had C26:0 levels above the upper reference range. For 1 out of 26 (1/26) ALD males, 1/19 ALD females and 3/35 ZSD patients, the C26:0 concentration was within the reference range. The C26:0/C22:0 ratio was within the reference range for 0/26 ALD males, 1/19 ALD females and 2/35 ZSD patients. Overall, these data demonstrate that C26:0-LPC analysis has a superior diagnostic performance compared to VLCFA analysis (C26:0 and C26:0/C22:0 ratio) in all patient groups. Based on our results we recommend implementation of C26:0-LPC analysis in DBS and/or plasma in the diagnostic work-up for peroxisomal disorders