Correlation of fasting blood glucose and haemoglobin A1c measured with an automated analyser

A subtype of glycohaemoglobin, haemoglobin (Hb) A1c, in specimens of whole blood was assayed on a new automated analyser that makes use of high-pressure liquid chromatography. The analyser provided precise and reproducible values. The mean of the HbA1c values was lower than that with an older instrument. The mean tended to increase with the age of the subjects, who were undergoing routine health examinations. No sex difference was found. When measurement was made 1 h after the subjects drank 50g of glucose, the value of HbA1c was unaffected. Correlation was strong between the HbA1c value and the fasting blood glucose value, which suggested that fasting blood glucose could be estimated from the HbA1c value

Evaluation of use of the optional unit QA-810V for the determination of five-part leukocyte differentials

The newly developed QA-810V is an optional unit for the determination of five-part white blood cell differentials. It can be used together with the same manufacturer's haematology analyser which has been used in relatively small-sized laboratories. The present study evaluates the basic performance of the QA-810V and the MEK-8118 haematology analyser using routinely obtained blood specimens treated with ethylenedioaminetetraacetic acid-2K. In this evaluation, reproducibility was good and little carryover was found. Accurate measurements were possible for up to 24h of storage. Storage at 4 °C yielded more stable measurements of complete blood counts and five-part differentials than storage at room temperature. A good correlation between findings with the MEK-8118 haematology analyser and those with the SE-9000 haematology analyser was found for complete blood counts. The leukocyte differential obtained with the QA-810V correlated well with eye counts, with r > 0.9 for percentages of neutrophils, lymphocytes and eosinophils. Scattergrams obtained with the QA-810V reflected the presence of abnormal cells. The performance of the QA-810V was excellent and it can improve the quality of testing in clinical laboratories

Impact extractive fracture of jointed steel plates of a bolted joint

This study is concerned with the development of a fracture criterion for the impact fracture of jointed steel plates of a bolted joint used in a car body. For the accurate prediction of crash characteristics of car bodies by computer-aided engineering (CAE), it is also necessary to examine the behavior and fracture of jointed steel plates subjected to impact loads. Although the actual impact fracture of jointed steel plates of a bolted joint used in cars is complicated, for simplifying the problem it might be classified into the shear fracture and the extractive fracture of jointed steel plates. Attention is given to the extractive fracture of jointed steel plates in this study. The extractive behavior and fracture of three kinds of steel plates used for cars are examined in experiments and numerical simulations. The impact extraction test of steel plates jointed by a bolt is performed using the one-bar method, together with the static test. In order to understand the mechanism of extractive fracture process of jointed steel plates, numerical simulations by a FEM code LS-DYNA are also carried out. The obtained results suggest that a stress-based fracture criterion may be developed for the impact extractive fracture of jointed steel plates of a bolted joint used in a car body

Automated bone marrow analysis using the CD4000 automated haematology analyser

At present, bone marrow analysis is performed microscopically, but is time consuming and labour intensive. No automated methods have been successfully applied to classification of bone marrows cells because automated blood cell analysers have been incapable of identifying erythroblasts. The present study was designed to evaluate automated analysis of bone marrow aspirates with the CELL-DYN 4000 (CD4000) haematology analyser, which enables automated determination of erythroblast counts in both the normal mode (haemolytic time; 11.5s) and the resistant RBC mode (34.0s). The percentages of subpopulations including lymphocytes, neutrophils and erythroblasts were obtained with the CD4000, and as a reference, differential counts by microscopic observation of May–Grünwald–Giesa-stained films of bone marrow aspirates were performed (n=98). Significant correlations (P < 0.01) between the results obtained with the two methods were observed for total nucleated cell count and lymphocytes, neutrophils, erythroblasts and myeloid/erythroid (M/E) ratio. However, there were biases in the average percentages of erythroblasts, lymphocytes and M/E ratio obtained using the normal mode with the CD4000 toward values lower than those obtained with the microscopic method. Using the RBC resistant mode with the CD4000, the average percentages of erythroblasts, lymphocytes and M/E ratio approximated those obtained with the microscopic method. In conclusion, the CD4000 in resistant RBC mode is more useful for analysis of bone marrow aspirates than is the normal mode, because the former better approximates the M/E ratio than the latter

Virtual imaging-guided RAPN

Objectives : To evaluate whether virtual partial nephrectomy images could help surgeons identify vascular and collecting system around tumors during actual surgery. Materials & methods : We retrospectively analyzed 36 patients who underwent robot-assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN) between 2016 and 2017. Virtual partial nephrectomy images were created from preoperative CT images using computer software, and then analyzed. For analysis, blood vessels and collecting system portions within a 5-mm-thick safety margin around the tumor were examined. During analysis, we predicted whether targeted vasculature around the tumor would require clipping or suturing during surgery, and also whether the collecting system would require opening during resection. Surgical outcomes for virtual partial nephrectomy analyses and actual RAPNs were compared and analyzed for sensitivity and specificity. Results : In 36 cases, 119 arteries and 100 veins were targeted on virtual partial nephrectomy images. Arterial suturing or clipping for hemostasis showed a sensitivity and specificity of 83.3% and 84.5%, respectively. For veins, the sensitivity and specificity were 39.1% and 92.2%, respectively. Collecting system opening prediction sensitivity was 85.7%, and specificity was 65.2%. Conclusion : Virtual partial nephrectomy imaging is useful for RAPN planning, particularly regarding arteries and the collecting system. It is hoped that techniques for visualizing veins will improve