An Overview of Capillary Electrophoresis (CE) in Clinical Analysis

The development and general applications of capillary electrophoresis (CE) in the field of clinical chemistry are discussed. It is shown how the early development of electrophoresis was closely linked to clinical testing. The rise of gel electrophoresis in clinical chemistry is described, as well as the eventual developments that lead to the creation and the use of modern CE. The general principles of CE are reviewed and the potential advantages of this method in clinical testing are examined. Finally, an overview is presented of several areas in which CE has been developed and is currently being explored for use with clinical samples

Efficacy and safety of Ho:YAG Laser Lithotripsy for ureteroscopic removal of proximal and distal ureteral calculi

Background: Laser lithotripsy is an established endourological modality. Ho:YAG laser have broadened the indications for ureteroscopic stone managements to include larger stone sizes throughout the whole upper urinary tract. Aim of current work is to assess efficacy and safety of Ho: YAG laser lithotripsy during retrograde ureteroscopic management of ureteral calculi in different locations. Methods: 88 patients were treated with ureteroscopic Ho: YAG laser lithotripsy in our institute. Study endpoint was the number of treatments until the patient was stone-free. Patients were classified according to the location of their stones as Group I (distal ureteric stones, 51 patients) and group II (proximal ureteral stones, 37). Group I patients have larger stones as Group II (10.70 mm vs. 8.24 mm, respectively, P = 0.020). Results: Overall stone free rate for both groups was 95.8%. The mean number of procedures for proximal calculi was 1.1 +/- 0.1 (1-3) and for distal calculi was 1.0 +/- 0.0. The initial treatment was more successful in patients with distal ureteral calculi (100% vs. 82.40%, respectively, P = 0.008). No significant difference in the stone free rate was noticed after the second laser procedure for stones smaller versus larger than 10 mm (100% versus 94.1%, P = 0.13). Overall complication rate was 7.9% (Clavien II und IIIb). Overall and grade-adjusted complication rates were not dependant on the stone location. No laser induced complications were noticed. Conclusions: The use of the Ho: YAG laser appears to be an adequate tool to disintegrate ureteral calculi independent of primary location. Combination of the semirigid and flexible ureteroscopes as well as the appropriate endourologic tools could likely improve the stone clearance rates for proximal calculi regardless of stone-size

Kapilarna elektroforeza - osnovni principi i primena

Electrophoresis is a process in which charged species (ions or colloidal particles) are separated based upon differential migration rates in an electrical field. The first sophisticated electrophoresis apparatus was developed by Swedish scientist Arne Tiselius (Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1948). In the subsequent years electrophoresis separations were the backbone of much research by biochemists and molecular biologists. But as classical electrophoresis is slow, labor intensive technique with poor reproducibility, a new technique - capillary electrophoresis was developed in the mid 1980s. Electrophoresis separation is done in capillaries that are usually 25-75 μm wide (small sample volumes are used (1-10 nL)), under electric field which strength can rise up to 700 V/cm without significant system heating. Therefore capillary electrophoresis (CE) is recognized as a powerful analytical separation technique that brings speed, quantitation reproducibility, and automation to the inherently highly resolving but labor intensive methods of electrophoresis. CE has established itself as an important and widely utilized technique for routine analytical separations isolation, and analysis of proteins, polynucleotides, and other biopolymers.Kapilarna elektroforeza je jedna od danas najčešće korišćenih tehnika za razdvajanje supstanci. Efikasnost, brzina i jednostavnost u podešavanju selektivnosti, osnovne su prednosti koje je vrlo često čine odabranom tehnikom odvajanja i određivanja čak i u konkurenciji sa visoko efikasnom tečnom hromatografijom (HPLC). Elektroforeza je, u opštem smislu, metoda razdvajanja naelektrisanih supstanci prema brzinama kretanja u električnom polju. Prvo razdvajanje supstanci na bazi različitih brzina kretanja u električnom polju izvedeno je krajem 20-ih godina XX veka. Švedski hemičar Arne Tiselius (Arne Wilhelm Kaurin Tiselius, 1902-1971) doktorirao je 1930. godine sa tezom "Tehnika pokretnih granica u proučavanju elektroforeze proteina". U godinama koje su sledile Tiselius se bavio istraživanjima pojava difuzije i adsorpcije kod prirodnih zeolita, ali se od 1936. godine vraća razvijanju tehnike elektroforetskih razdvajanja i ispitivanjima mogućnosti upotrebe fizičkih metoda za rešavanje problema u biohemiji. Godine 1937. objavio je rad na temu razdvajanja serumskih proteina znatno usavršenom tehnikom elektroforeze (A. Tiselius, Trans Faraday Soc 33 (1937) 524). Sa ekipom saradnika nastavio je da istražuje mogućnosti elektroforetskih razdvajanja i određivanja, za šta je 1948. godine dobio Nobelovu nagradu za hemiju

The influence of South African mineral water on reduction of risk of calcium oxalate kidney stone formation

No Abstract

The three-dimensional prey field of the northern krill, Meganyctiphanes norvegica, and the escape responses of their copepod prey

In the north Atlantic, Meganyctiphanes norvegica feeds predominantly on copepods, including Calanus spp. To quantify its perceptual field for prey, and the sensory systems underlying prey detection, the responses of tethered krill to free-swimming Calanus spp. were observed in 3D using silhouette video imaging. An attack–which occurred despite the krill’s being tethered—was characterized by a pronounced movement of the krill’s antennae towards the target, followed by a propulsion and opening of the feeding basket. Frequency distributions of prey detection distances were significantly different in the light vs. the dark, with median values of 26.5 mm and 19.5 mm, respectively. There were no significant differences in the angles at which prey were detected by krill (relative to the predator’s longitudinal body axis) in the light vs. the dark. Prey detections were symmetrically distributed on either side of the predator, in both light and dark. However, significant asymmetry was found in the dorsal–ventral direction with 80% of the prey detections located below the midline of the krill’s body axis and, given the placement and orientation of the compound eyes, presumably outside its visual field of view. This indicates that, at least under these conditions, vision was not the main sensory modality involved in the detection of active prey by M. norvegica. However, under some circumstances, vision may provide supplemental information. Avoidance responses of copepod prey were nearly twice the velocity of their nominal background swimming speed (153 ± 48 and 85 ± 75 mm s−1, respectively), on average taking them 43 ± 16 mm away from the predator. This is far beyond the krill’s perceptual range, suggesting that the escape reaction provides an effective deterrent to predation (although perhaps less so for free-swimming krill). This information can be used to parameterize models that assess the role of krill as predators in marine ecosystems

Kapilarna elektroforeza - osnovni principi i primena

Electrophoresis is a process in which charged species (ions or colloidal particles) are separated based upon differential migration rates in an electrical field. The first sophisticated electrophoresis apparatus was developed by Swedish scientist Arne Tiselius (Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1948). In the subsequent years electrophoresis separations were the backbone of much research by biochemists and molecular biologists. But as classical electrophoresis is slow, labor intensive technique with poor reproducibility, a new technique - capillary electrophoresis was developed in the mid 1980s. Electrophoresis separation is done in capillaries that are usually 25-75 μm wide (small sample volumes are used (1-10 nL)), under electric field which strength can rise up to 700 V/cm without significant system heating. Therefore capillary electrophoresis (CE) is recognized as a powerful analytical separation technique that brings speed, quantitation reproducibility, and automation to the inherently highly resolving but labor intensive methods of electrophoresis. CE has established itself as an important and widely utilized technique for routine analytical separations isolation, and analysis of proteins, polynucleotides, and other biopolymers.Kapilarna elektroforeza je jedna od danas najčešće korišćenih tehnika za razdvajanje supstanci. Efikasnost, brzina i jednostavnost u podešavanju selektivnosti, osnovne su prednosti koje je vrlo često čine odabranom tehnikom odvajanja i određivanja čak i u konkurenciji sa visoko efikasnom tečnom hromatografijom (HPLC). Elektroforeza je, u opštem smislu, metoda razdvajanja naelektrisanih supstanci prema brzinama kretanja u električnom polju. Prvo razdvajanje supstanci na bazi različitih brzina kretanja u električnom polju izvedeno je krajem 20-ih godina XX veka. Švedski hemičar Arne Tiselius (Arne Wilhelm Kaurin Tiselius, 1902-1971) doktorirao je 1930. godine sa tezom "Tehnika pokretnih granica u proučavanju elektroforeze proteina". U godinama koje su sledile Tiselius se bavio istraživanjima pojava difuzije i adsorpcije kod prirodnih zeolita, ali se od 1936. godine vraća razvijanju tehnike elektroforetskih razdvajanja i ispitivanjima mogućnosti upotrebe fizičkih metoda za rešavanje problema u biohemiji. Godine 1937. objavio je rad na temu razdvajanja serumskih proteina znatno usavršenom tehnikom elektroforeze (A. Tiselius, Trans Faraday Soc 33 (1937) 524). Sa ekipom saradnika nastavio je da istražuje mogućnosti elektroforetskih razdvajanja i određivanja, za šta je 1948. godine dobio Nobelovu nagradu za hemiju

A historical perspective on milestones in multiple myeloma research

The first well-documented case of multiple myeloma was reported in 1844 by Samuel Solly. In this article, the author presents a historical review of the disease. In particular, the review is focused on the main steps, including the definition of Bence Jones proteinuria, the characterization of tumoral plasma cells and serum globulins, and the fundamental contribution of Jan Waldenstrom. Finally, treatment of multiple myeloma, as well as the development of new agents, is discussed

Metabolic accompaniment of quantitative-qualitative blood pressure clusters in patients of Truskavets’ spa

Background. Earlier we studied the neural and endocrine accompaniments of quantitative-qualitative blood pressure (BP) clusters of profile patients of Truskavets’ spa. The purpose of this study is to clarify the metabolic accompaniment in the same contingent. Materials and methods. Under an observations were 44 patients with chronic pyelonephritis and cholecystitis in the phase of remission. Testing was performed twice - on admission and after 7-10 days of standard balneotherapy. The main object of the study was BP (tonometer “Omron M4-I”, Netherlands). The plasma levels of lipids, glucose, nitrogenous metabolites and electrolytes as well as urinary excretion of last two were determined. In addition, electrokinetics and cholecystokinetics indexes were determined. Results. The forward stepwise program identified 21 parameters as characteristic of quantitative-qualitative blood pressure clusters. In addition to BP parameters by default, the most informative among them are sodium and uric acid daily excretion as well as plasma phosphate and magnesium, whose levels are maximal in patients with hypertension, while minimal in patients with low norm BP, on the one hand, and electrokinetics index, the level of which are polar, on the other hand. The accuracy of patient classification is 97,7%. Conclusion. The quantitative-qualitative blood pressure clusters have a characteristic metabolic accompaniment