Czy galektyna-3 ma związek z nerkowym wydalaniem albumin w cukrzycy typu 2?

  Introduction: The relationship between galectin-3 and diabetes mellitus or renal function has recently been investigated. In this study, we tried to evaluate the association of galectin-3 in urinary albumin excretion levels in type 2 diabetic patients. Material and methods: In a group of 137 type 2 diabetes patients, the mean of the last three urinary microalbumin/creatinine ratios and galectin-3 levels were evaluated. The patient group was divided into three subgroups according to their level of albuminuria calculated with urine microalbumin/creatinine ratio. Results: There was no significant difference between the galectin values of the three subgroups. Significant differences were observed between GFR results of group 1 vs. 3 (p < 0.0001) and group 2 vs. 3 (p = 0.0006), and serum creatinine results of group 1 vs. 3 (p = 0.0003) and group 2 vs. 3 (p < 0.0001). The three subgroups did not reveal any significant difference concerning the age, BMI, duration of DM, FPG, and HbA1c levels. Conclusions: We concluded that serum galectin-3 values are not affected by the levels of urinary albumin excretion in DM patients. We could not find any relation between galectin-3 and the parameters of DM such as FPG, HbA1c, and duration of the disease. (Endokrynol Pol 2016; 67 (6): 580–584)    Wstęp: W ostatnim czasie badano związek między galektyną-3 a cukrzycą i czynnością nerek. Autorzy niniejszego badania podjęli próbę oceny związku galektyny-3 z wydalaniem albumin przez nerki u chorych na cukrzycę typu 2. Materiał i metody: W grupie 137 chorych na cukrzycę typu 2 obliczono średnią ostatnich trzech współczynników mikroalbuminy/kreatynina w moczu oraz pomiarów stężeń galektyny-3. Chorych podzielono na trzy podgrupy w zależności od nasilenia albuminuria określonego na podstawie współczynnika mikroalbuminy/kreatynina w moczu. Wyniki: Nie stwierdzono istotnych różnic pod względem stężeń galektyny między trzema podgrupami. Odnotowano natomiast istotne różnice wartości GFR między grupą 1 i 3 (p < 0,0001) oraz grupą 2 i 3 (p = 0,0006) oraz stężeń kreatyniny między grupą 1 i 3 (p = 0,0003) oraz grupą 2 i 3 (p < 0,0001). Podgrupy nie różniły się istotnie pod względem wieku, BMI, czasu trwania cukrzycy, FPG ani odsetka HbA1c. Wnioski: Autorzy wykazali, że stężenia galektyny-3 w surowicy nie zależą od nasilenia wydalania albumin z moczem u chorych na cukrzycę. Nie stwierdzono zależności między stężeniem galektyny-3 a parametrami charakteryzującymi cukrzycę, takimi jak FPG, HbA1c, czas trwania choroby. (Endokrynol Pol 2016; 67 (6): 580–584)

The effectiveness of BD Vacutainer® Plus Urinalysis Preservative Tubes in preservation of urine for chemical strip analysis and particle counting.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate the stability of urine collected in preservative tubes for chemistry strip analyses and particle counting to determine whether the transport of urine samples with all of their constituents is possible. Materials and methods: 275 pathologic urine specimens were included. Each urine sample was evaluated after 4, 8, 12, 24, and 48 hours of storage in BD Vacutainer® Plus Urinalysis Preservative (BD UAP) tubes and compared with refrigeration at 4 °C. All analyses were peformed on H-800 and FUS-200 automatic modular urine analyzers (Dirui Industry, Changchun, China). The kappa coefficients (?), false positive (FP) and false negative (FN) rates were evaluated. ? > 0.8 was accepted as good agreement. Results: Haemoglobin (Hb), leucocyte esterase (LE), and protein (Pro) analyses should be performed within 4 hours, whereas glucose (Glc) was stable until the end of 48 hours in both storage conditions. Nitrite (Nit) was well preserved in BD UAP tubes for 24 hours but was stable only up to 8 hours at 4 °C. Bilirubin (Bil) had very high FN rates even at 4 hours in both conditions. The particle counting showed high FN rates for white blood cells (WBC) and red blood cells (RBC), whereas squamous epithelial cells (EC) were stable up to 8 hours in both conditions. Conclusions: Preanalytical requirements for both urine chemical strip analyses and particle counting in a unique sample were not met in either condition. Thus, the transfer of urine samples for centralization of urinalysis is not yet feasible

Evaluation of new Beckman Coulter 25(OH) Vitamin D assay and potential improvement of clinical interpretation

IntroductionThe aim of this study was to assess the analytical performances of the newly developed Access2 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) total immunoassay on two analysers, DxI800 and Access2 (Beckman Coulter, Brea, CA, USA), and compare these two and a recalibrated Modular E 170 25(OH)D assay (Roche Diagnostics, Penzberg, Germany) with reference liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) with special emphasis on clinical diagnosis. Materials and methodsBeckman immunoassays were assessed for imprecision, accuracy, limit of blank (LoB), limit of detection (LoD), limit of quantitation (LoQ), linearity, interference, and carryover. One hundred and nineteen samples were run on DxI 800, Access2, and E 170, and agreement with the LC-MS/MS method was evaluated. ResultsDxI 800 and Access2 assays showed good performances in terms of LoB, LoD, LoQ, linearity, and interference. All immunoassays showed negative biases ranging from - 8.6% (DxI 800) to - 19.2% (Access2). DxI 800 and Access2 systems had proportional biases, and the E170 system had a constant bias with the largest random error. Concordance correlation coefficient values ranged from 0.941 (CI: 0.917–0.958) for DxI800 to 0.854 (CI: 0.811–0.889) for Access2. Kappa (κ) coefficients were found moderate for Dxl (0.709; CI: 0.581–0.837) and E170 (0.771; CI: 0.587–0.844) and fair for Access2 (0.572; CI: 0.428–0.716). ConclusionsAll immunoassays can be used in routine 25(OH)D measurements, still fairly diagnosing patients’ status. Recent standardization attempts seem not to contribute too much to clinical diagnosis. A clinical laboratory must at least be aware of its method to avoid misinterpretation of results

Improvement in gas permeability of biaxially stretched PET films blended with high barrier polymers: The role of chemistry and processing conditions

Improvement in oxygen gas barrier properties of polyester/polyamide blends used in packaging industry is the main objective of the present study. For this purpose poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET)/poly(m-xylene adipamide) (nylon-MXD6) (95/5w/w) and poly(ethylene terephthalate-co-isophthalate) copolymer (PETI)/MXD6 (95/5w/w) blends have been prepared with a PET copolymer which consists of 5wt.% sodium sulfonated isophthalate (PET-co-5SIPA) as compatibilizer and a carboxyl-terminated polybutadiene (CTPB) as filler by using a co-rotating intermeshing twin screw extruder. The effects of chemical architecture and morphology on oxygen gas permeability and processability were analyzed by using a range of characterization techniques including differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), oxygen gas permeability analyzer, and a special computer controlled uniaxial stretching system that provides real-time measurement of true stress, true strain and birefringence. The morphological analysis revealed that PET-co-5SIPA was an effective compatibilizer for both PET/MXD6 and PETI/MXD6 blends. DSC analysis and spectral-birefringence technique were used to understand the thermal and stress-induced crystallization behavior of the blends. Morphological analysis of the films after biaxial stretching indicated that the spherical nylon phase was converted to 75nm thick disks during stretching (aspect ratio L/W=6) that creates a tortuous pathway for oxygen ingress. Stretching enhanced the barrier properties of PET/MXD6 and PETI/MXD6 blends

Comparison of different ligation techniques in laparoscopic varicocelectomy

Aim: To evaluate the effects of different intracorporeal ligation techniques with titanium clips, Plasma Trisector (Gyrus, USA) (PTG), and surgical silk on bilateral laparoscopic varicocelectomy (LPVx)

The longitudinal evolution of post-COVID-19 outcomes among hemodialysis patients in Turkey

Introduction: Hemodialysis (HD) patients have increased risk for short-term adverse outcomes of COVID-19. However, complications and survival at the post-COVID-19 period have not been published extensively.Methods: We conducted a national, multicenter observational study that included adult maintenance HD patients recovered from confirmed COVID-19. A control HD group without COVID-19 was selected from patients in the same center. We investigated the characteristics and outcomes in the follow-up of HD patients and compare them with the non-COVID-19 group.Results: A total of 1223 patients (635 patients in COVID-19 group, 588 patients in non-COVID-19 group) from 47 centers were included in the study. The patients' baseline and HD characteristics were almost similar. The 28th-day mortality and mortality between 28th day and 90th day were higher in the COVID-19 group than non-COVID-19 group (19 [3.0%] patients vs. none [0%]; 15 [2.4%] patients vs. 4 [0.7%] patients, respectively). The presence of respiratory symptoms, rehospitalization, need for home oxygen therapy, lower respiratory tract infection, and arteriovenous (AV) fistula thrombosis was significantly higher in the COVID-19 group in both the first 28 days and between 28 and 90 days. In the multivariable analysis, age (odds ratio [OR] [95% CI]: 1.029 [1.004-1.056]), group (COVID-19 group vs. non-COVID-19 group) (OR [95% CI]: 7.258 [2.538-20.751]), and vascular access type (tunneled catheter/AV fistula) (OR [95% CI]: 2.512 [1.249-5.051]) were found as independent parameters related to 90-day mortality.Conclusion: In the post-COVID-19 period, maintenance HD patients who have had COVID-19 have increased rehospitalization, respiratory problems, vascular access problems, and high mortality compared with the non-COVID-19 HD patients