An efficient and novel technology for the extraction of parasite genomic DNA from whole blood or culture

The aim of this study was to assess pathogen DNA extraction with a new spin column-based method (DNA-XT). DNA from either whole-blood samples spiked with Plasmodium falciparum or Leishmania donovani amastigote culture was extracted with DNA-XT and compared with that produced by a commercial extraction kit (DNeasy®). Eluates from large and small sample volumes were assessed by PCR and spectroscopy. Using a small volume (5 μl) of blood, the DNA-XT and DNeasy methods produced eluates with similar DNA concentrations (0.63 vs 1.06 ng/μl, respectively). The DNA-XT method produced DNA with lower PCR inhibition than DNeasy. The new technique was also twice as fast and required fewer plastics and manipulations but had reduced total recovered DNA compared with DNeasy

An efficient and novel technology for the extraction of parasite genomic DNA from whole blood or culture

The aim of this study was to assess pathogen DNA extraction with a new spin column-based method (DNA-XT). DNA from either whole-blood samples spiked with Plasmodium falciparum or Leishmania donovani amastigote culture was extracted with DNA-XT and compared with that produced by a commercial extraction kit (DNeasy®). Eluates from large and small sample volumes were assessed by PCR and spectroscopy. Using a small volume (5 μl) of blood, the DNA-XT and DNeasy methods produced eluates with similar DNA concentrations (0.63 vs 1.06 ng/μl, respectively). The DNA-XT method produced DNA with lower PCR inhibition than DNeasy. The new technique was also twice as fast and required fewer plastics and manipulations but had reduced total recovered DNA compared with DNeasy

The interaction of oxomolybdenum(VI) with nucleic acid bases and nucleosides

The reactions have been studied of the nucleic acid bases, adenine, cytosine, guanine, purine, hypoxanthine, mercaptopurine and the nucleosides, guanosine, cytidine and adenosine with sodium molybdate in aqueous solutions. Compounds of the type (AH+)4 Mo8O26·4H2O (where A = adenine, cytosine, guanine, hypoxanthine, purine, mercaptopurine, adenosine and cytidine) were isolated at pH values around 4 and compounds of the type (AH+)2Mo6O19 (where A = Adenosine, cytidine or guanosine) at around pH 2. The compounds prepared were characterized by elemental analysis, infrared, Raman, electronic and 1H NMR spectroscopy, conductivity measurements and pH tirations. © 1982

Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteraemia in patients with hematologic malignancies: risk factors, treatment and outcome

Our aims were to identify factors associated with Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) bloodstream infection (BSI) in patients with hematological malignancies and evaluate the outcome of the affected patients. Consecutive patients with hematological malignancies who developed PA BSI were identified. Subsequently, two case–control studies were performed to evaluate the risk factors (i) for PA BSI and (ii) for carbapenem resistant (CR) PA BSI. Patients' outcome was evaluated at 28 days after the onset of bacteraemia. A total of 64 patients with PA BSI (45 caused by CS and 19 by CR organisms) and 128 without PA BSI were enrolled. Patients with rapidly fatal disease, steroid use, neutropenia or prior surgery were more likely to develop PA BSI, whereas patients with previous hospitalization and prior use of fluoroquinolones were more likely to develop CR PA BSI. The 28-day mortality rate was 35.9%. Severity of sepsis was the only independent predictor of adverse outcome. © 2017 Elsevier Inc

Bioenergetic profiling of the differentiating human MDS myeloid lineage with low and high bone marrow blast counts

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) encompass a very heterogeneous group of clonal hematopoietic stem cell differentiation disorders with malignant potential and an elusive pathobiology. Given the central role of metabolism in effective differentiation, we performed an untargeted metabolomic analysis of differentiating myeloid lineage cells from MDS bone marrow aspirates that exhibited <5% (G1) or ≥5% (G2) blasts, in order to delineate its role in MDS severity and malignant potential. Bone marrow aspirates were collected from 14 previously untreated MDS patients (G1, n = 10 and G2, n = 4) and age matched controls (n = 5). Following myeloid lineage cell isolation, untargeted mass spectrometry-based metabolomics analysis was performed. Data were processed and analyzed using Metabokit. Enrichment analysis was performed using Metaboanalyst v4 employing pathway-associated metabolite sets. We established a bioenergetic profile coordinated by the Warburg phenomenon in both groups, but with a massively different outcome that mainly depended upon its group mitochondrial function and redox state. G1 cells are overwhelmed by glycolytic intermediate accumulation due to failing mitochondria, while the functional electron transport chain and improved redox in G2 compensate for Warburg disruption. Both metabolomes reveal the production and abundance of epigenetic modifiers. G1 and G2 metabolomes differ and eventually determine the MDS clinical phenotype, as well as the potential for malignant transformation.This study was supported in part by research funding from the Special Account for Research Grants of National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, and the Hellenic Society of Hematology to M.V. This study was also partially supported by a European Commission grant (H2020-668353) awarded to G.P.P

SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC DETERMINATION OF RHENIUM IN INDUSTRIAL-SAMPLES - A RAPID AND SIMPLE METHOD WITH HIGH SELECTIVITY

Müller A, PIPERAKI E, HESSRIECHMANN C. SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC DETERMINATION OF RHENIUM IN INDUSTRIAL-SAMPLES - A RAPID AND SIMPLE METHOD WITH HIGH SELECTIVITY. MONATSHEFTE FUR CHEMIE. 1989;120(3):219-223