A Multi-Center Assessment of Thyroid Function Test Precision in Chemiluminescence Immunoassay (CLIA) Systems

Background: Chemiluminiscence immunoassay (CLIA) is exclusively pragmatic technology for the analysis of biomarker for diagnosis of thyroid disorders. However, performance characteristics of different chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA) systems supplied by different manufacturers in diverse set up for thyroid function test (TFT) has not yet been studied well. Objective: Our aim is to evaluate laboratory results by assessment of the reproducibility and repeatability of TFTs in three different diagnostic set up to assure the quality of thyroid hormone assay using chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA) instruments: Advia Centaur CP (Siemens), Access 2 (Beckman Coulter) and Liaison (Diasorin). Materials and Methods: Among the adult male and female individuals visited for thyroid hormone assay, 51 normal individuals were selected for the study. Three aliquots of serum samples were distributed to assess the reproducibility of three different CLIA equipments operated in three diagnostic centers. Additional three aliquots of serum were analyzed weekly for TFT (fFT3, fFT4 and TSH) to check the repeatability of assay in ADVIA Centaur CP set up. Assay precision was determined by reproducibility and repeatability of test results. Results: Results of TFTs of serum samples obtained from three different interlaboratory assays using different CLIA systems have achieved good precision showing minimal variance (P>0.05) and acceptable reproducibility. Results are also precise with adequate repeatability showing minimal variance (P >0.05) obtained from the three different intra-laboratory assays in a single CLIA system using ADVIA Centaur CP by same team. Conclusion: Our study elucidates the thyroid hormone assay performance of CLIA systems in three centers, which has shown assay precision with good reproducibility and repeatability of thyroid hormone assay. Thus, the analysis of precision as an essential component of quality control is necessary to deliver precise diagnostic services

Assessment of Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Females with Subclinical Hypothyroidism

Background. Subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) is a common endocrine disorder prevalent in the Nepalese female population. Dyslipidemia, a prerequisite to the development of cardiovascular disease, links the thyroid profile and cardiovascular disease risk. This study is aimed at assessing the cardiovascular disease risk in females with SCH. Methods. This laboratory-based cross-sectional study was carried out at Manmohan Memorial Teaching Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal, where 100 females with SCH and 100 euthyroid controls were included. Estimates of thyroid and lipid profiles were made, and lipid variables were used to calculate lipid indices. Results. In comparison to controls, females with SCH had significantly higher lipid profiles, thyroid profiles, and lipid indices but significantly lower HDL-C. The TSH (p<0.001), TG (p=0.039), VLDL (p=0.039), and AIP (p=0.031) were significantly associated with mild and severe SCH. AIP was significantly correlated with TSH (r=0.256, p=0.010) among SCH females. Conclusion. Our findings suggest that women with SCH are more likely to get CVD. Hence, timely monitoring of cardiovascular status among females with SCH is crucial, and it can be performed using simple lipid indices like AIP, AI, and LCI

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Not AvailableA field experiment was conducted at Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Central Agroforestry Research India, Jhansi (U.P.), India, to assess the effect of land use on soil organic carbon stocks (SOCs), microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and basal respiration by selecting sixteen land uses including one cropland system. The results revealed that agroforestry system (AFS) performed better as compared to other land use systems. Acacia nilotica-based AFS has the highest SOCs (23.39 Mg ha-1 ), followed by Dalbergia sissoo-based AFS in 0–15 cm soil depth. Among the pure tree plantation, Jatropha curcas observed highest SOCs (15.78 Mg ha-1 ) in 0–15 cm soil depth. However, silvopasture system is able to build up (20.88 Mg ha-1 ) more SOCs than pure tree plantation systems. Soil MBC was also recorded significantly higher under Acacia nilotica-based AFS (764.61 lg g-1 ) in 0–15 cm depth, while the basal respiration was highest under silvopasture system irrespective of SOCs and MBC. Overall, our study results indicated that the SOC in the different land use systems is not only influenced by difference in age and density of tree but also largely controlled by different management practices adopted. The principal component analysis (PCA) data have shown that two major components (PC1 and PC2) have represented 70.90% of the total variation. And among the parameters, BR followed by soil organic carbon (SOC) was found to be the most sensitive factor while assessing the impact of land use changes on soil quality. We also found that SOCs, microbial biomass carbon and basal respiration have a strong correlation between each otherNot Availabl

Not Available

Not AvailableA field experiment was conducted at Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Central Agroforestry Research India, Jhansi (U.P.), India, to assess the effect of land use on soil organic carbon stocks (SOCs), microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and basal respiration by selecting sixteen land uses including one cropland system. The results revealed that agroforestry system (AFS) performed better as compared to other land use systems. Acacia nilotica-based AFS has the highest SOCs (23.39 Mg ha-1), followed by Dalbergia sissoo-based AFS in 0–15 cm soil depth. Among the pure tree plantation, Jatropha curcas observed highest SOCs (15.78 Mg ha-1) in 0–15 cm soil depth. However, silvopasture system is able to build up (20.88 Mg ha-1) more SOCs than pure tree plantation systems. Soil MBC was also recorded significantly higher under Acacia nilotica-based AFS (764.61 lg g-1) in 0–15 cm depth, while the basal respiration was highest under silvopasture system irrespective of SOCs and MBC. Overall, our study results indicated that the SOC in the different land use systems is not only influenced by difference in age and density of tree but also largely controlled by different management practices adopted. The principal component analysis (PCA) data have shown that two major components (PC1 and PC2) have represented 70.90% of the total variation. And among the parameters, BR followed by soil organic carbon (SOC) was found to be the most sensitive factor while assessing the impact of land use changes on soil quality. We also found that SOCs, microbial biomass carbon and basal respiration have a strong correlation between each other.Not Availabl