Measuring change

A change in the reporting of HbA1c is being adopted globally, including in Australia. It's anticipated that this change will, among other things, make it easier for doctors to educate their patients about the importance of glycaemic control. However, to understand how this change will help in practice, it's useful to firstly understand what HbA1c is and to know something of the history of how laboratories have measured the HbA1c assay

Size and shape analysis of error-prone shape data

We consider the problem of comparing sizes and shapes of objects when landmark data are prone to measurement error. We show that naive implementation of ordinary Procrustes analysis that ignores measurement error can compromise inference. To account for measurement error, we propose the conditional score method for matching configurations, which guarantees consistent inference under mild model assumptions. The effects of measurement error on inference from naive Procrustes analysis and the performance of the proposed method are illustrated via simulation and application in three real data examples. Supplementary materials for this article are available online

Complementary Ionization Techniques for the Analysis of Scotch Whisky by High Resolution Mass Spectrometry

Fourier transform mass spectrometry (FTMS) is widely used to characterize the chemical complexity of mixtures, such as natural organic matter (NOM), petroleum, and agri-food products (including Scotch whisky). Although electrospray ionization (ESI) is by far the most widely used ionization source in these studies, other ionization techniques are available and may offer complementary information. In a recent study, we found matrix free laser desorption/ionization (LDI) to be effective for the analysis of Suwannee river fulvic acid (SRFA), and to provide complementary chemical insights. In this study, LDI along with atmospheric pressure photoionization (APPI) and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) were compared to ESI for the analysis of Scotch whisky. High mass accuracy (54 ppb, mean) allowed for the assignment of 86% of peaks, with 3993 unique molecular formulas identified from four representative samples analyzed. All four ionization techniques, performed in negative mode, identified thousands of formulas. Many were unique to each ionization source, while 699 formulas were common to all techniques. Ions were identified in both deprotonated and radical anion forms. Our study highlights the importance of a multi-ionization source approach; we recommend that analysis of complex mixtures, especially novel ones, should not be limited solely to ESI

Through-container, extremely low concentration detection of multiple chemical markers of counterfeit alcohol using a handheld SORS device

Major food adulteration incidents occur with alarming frequency and are episodic, with the latest incident, involving the adulteration of meat from 21 producers in Brazil supplied to 60 other countries, reinforcing this view. Food fraud and counterfeiting involves all types of foods, feed, beverages, and packaging, with the potential for serious health, as well as significant economic and social impacts. In the spirit drinks sector, counterfeiters often ‘recycle’ used genuine packaging, or employ good quality simulants. To prove that suspect products are non-authentic ideally requires accurate, sensitive, analysis of the complex chemical composition while still in its packaging. This has yet to be achieved. Here, we have developed handheld spatially offset Raman spectroscopy (SORS) for the first time in a food or beverage product, and demonstrate the potential for rapid in situ through-container analysis; achieving unequivocal detection of multiple chemical markers known for their use in the adulteration and counterfeiting of Scotch whisky, and other spirit drinks. We demonstrate that it is possible to detect a total of 10 denaturants/additives in extremely low concentrations without any contact with the sample; discriminate between and within multiple well-known Scotch whisky brands, and detect methanol concentrations well below the maximum human tolerable level

Comparative analysis of the surface exposed proteome of two canine osteosarcoma cell lines and normal canine osteoblasts

BACKGROUND: Osteosarcoma (OSA) is the most common primary bone tumor of dogs and carries a poor prognosis despite aggressive treatment. An improved understanding of the biology of OSA is critically needed to allow for development of novel diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic tools. The surface-exposed proteome (SEP) of a cancerous cell includes a multifarious array of proteins critical to cellular processes such as proliferation, migration, adhesion, and inter-cellular communication. The specific aim of this study was to define a SEP profile of two validated canine OSA cell lines and a normal canine osteoblast cell line utilizing a biotinylation/streptavidin system to selectively label, purify, and identify surface-exposed proteins by mass spectrometry (MS) analysis. Additionally, we sought to validate a subset of our MS-based observations via quantitative real-time PCR, Western blot and semi-quantitative immunocytochemistry. Our hypothesis was that MS would detect differences in the SEP composition between the OSA and the normal osteoblast cells. RESULTS: Shotgun MS identified 133 putative surface proteins when output from all samples were combined, with good consistency between biological replicates. Eleven of the MS-detected proteins underwent analysis of gene expression by PCR, all of which were actively transcribed, but varied in expression level. Western blot of whole cell lysates from all three cell lines was effective for Thrombospondin-1, CYR61 and CD44, and indicated that all three proteins were present in each cell line. Semi-quantitative immunofluorescence indicated that CD44 was expressed at much higher levels on the surface of the OSA than the normal osteoblast cell lines. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present study identified numerous differences, and similarities, in the SEP of canine OSA cell lines and normal canine osteoblasts. The PCR, Western blot, and immunocytochemistry results, for the subset of proteins evaluated, were generally supportive of the mass spectrometry data. These methods may be applied to other cell lines, or other biological materials, to highlight unique and previously unrecognized differences between samples. While this study yielded data that may prove useful for OSA researchers and clinicians, further refinements of the described techniques are expected to yield greater accuracy and produce a more thorough SEP analysis

Cost estimation for remanufacture with limited and uncertain information using case based reasoning

Assessing products prior to remanufacture is an important part of the remanufacturing process, ensuring that unsuitable cores are removed at an early stage to avoid unnecessary processing. In particular, understanding the economic cost of remanufacturing a product can be an important aspect of the assessment, especially for businesses operating in low volumes and on high value products, where the risk associated with unexpected costs or failure to complete remanufacture are much greater. Estimating these costs can however be difficult, as important information required to make a prediction is often uncertain, such as the product design, its condition and also the understanding of the resource requirements for remanufacture. Within this research a method has been developed to estimate the economic cost and risks of conducting a remanufacturing activity to a product when information is uncertain. Summation of the individual activities can then be conducted to determine the economic cost and risks of the entire remanufacturing process. The method utilises a combination of case based reasoning and probability theory to identify similarities between historical data records and the product under assessment, to predict the cost and risks of remanufacture. In particular this method enables cost estimation when important product information is missing including the manufacturer, model or condition. Additionally estimates can be made when exact historical information is not present, which can be useful to business remanufacturing bespoke or rare products. The method is then implemented within a service oriented architecture and functionally demonstrated using an example of an independent wind turbine gearbox remanufacturer

An evaluation of section 1 of the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012

A mixed methods evaluation of a legislation introduced by the Scottish Government to tackle sectarian and other offensive behaviours at regulated fotoball matche