bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Reference values for cerebrospinal fluid glutamine concentration in infants.
Authors: Boeckx R L , Iosefsohn M , Hicks J M 
Published: February 2020

Abstract
We measured cerebrospinal fluid glutamine concentration in a reference group of 85 newborn to 30-month-old infants. All of the spinal taps were performed for the diagnosis of illnesses unrelated to hyperammonemia or hepatic encephalopathy. We also analyzed samples from patients with meningitis or cerebral hemorrhage, or who were receiving total parenteral nutrition. The mean glutamine concentration in cerebrospinal fluid in the reference group was somewhat lower than values reported for older children and adults. Values were significantly higher in patients with meningitis or cerebral hemorrhage and in those infants receiving total parenteral nutrition.
Microencapsulated antibodies in radioimmunoassay. III. Determination of cortisol.
Authors: Bordens R W , Halpern E P 
Published: February 2020

Abstract
We describe a method for directly measuring total plasma cortisol by use of a microencapsulated antibody. The antibody microcapsules were incubated with plasma and 125I-labeled cortisol in a competitive reaction at 37 degrees C for 15 min, then separated by centrifugation; the radioactivity of the pellet was counted for 1 min. Analytical recovery of cortisol from three plasma pools was 97.6% (SD 8.5%) and was unaffected by triglyceridemia, hemolysis, or icterus. The standard curve was linear to 500 microgram/L and the sensitivity was 10 microgram/l. Recovery of cortisol added as the hemisuccinate was 102% (SD 10.6%), whereas that of the conjugate cortisol hemisuccinate/bovine serum albumin was 4.3% (SD 3.5%). This confirmed that the microcapsule excludes large molecules. The within-day CV for two control pools was 9.8 and 12.8%, the day-to-day variation 13.4 and 13.8%.
Fluorometric quantitation of glutamine in cerebrospinal fluid.
Authors: Liu T Z , Khayam-Bashi H 
Published: February 2020

Abstract
We describe a rapid, relatively simple-procedure for fluorometry of glutamine in cerebrospinal fluid. Glutamine is de-aminated with diluted sulfuric acid at 100 °C. The ammonia liberated is then reacted with a buffered o-phthalaldehyde—mercaptoethanol solution, pH 7.4, to form a fluorochrome. Fluorescence is linearly related to the concentration of glutamine from 0.10 to 0.60 g/L (0.68 to 4.10 mmol/l). To prevent interference by endogenous ammonia, each specimen was corrected for its own background fluorescence. The mean analytical recovery was 99.8%. Within-day variation (CV) for pooled, enriched cerebrospinal fluid controls at 0.33 g/L (2.22 mmol/L) and 0.53 g/L (3.63 mmol/L) were 2.2 and 5.1%. Day-to-day variation (CV) for the same controls was 4.4 and 4.8%, respectively. Data obtained by our method correlate excellently (r = 0.980) with those by an established procedure based on the Berthelot (phenol—hypochlorite) reaction.
Graphical determination of specific activity, binding constants, and antibody-site concentrations for radioimmunoassays, with application to thymopoietin.
Authors: Verhoff F H , Lisi P J , Fischer C D , Teipel J W , Goldstein G , Schiffman M B 
Published: February 2020

Abstract
A graphical procedure for determining the specific activity of radiolabeled ligands has been developed for use with radioimmunoassays. Although with this procedure we utilize the same experimental information required for displacement analysis, we are also able to determine both the specific activity and the binding constants of the labeled and unlabeled materials without assuming that these constants are equal; the concentration of antibody-binding sites can also be calculated. Thus, this graphical technique permits calculation of additional information without additional experimentation. We applied this procedure to the labeled materials used in a thymopoietin assay, testing two different preparations of radiolabeled material, and saw negligible differences between the two. The specific activity determined from the displacement analysis correlated well with that calculated by the graphical procedure.
Cortisol directly determined in serum by fluoroimmunoassay with magnetizable solid phase.
Authors: Pourfarzaneh M , White G W , Landon J , Smith D S 
Published: February 2020

Abstract
We developed a direct fluoroimmunoassay for cortisol in serum. This method involves cortisol labeled at the 3 position with fluorescein, and antibodies to cortisol coupled to magnetizable cellulose/iron oxide particles. Sodium salicylate is used as a blocking agent to prevent interference from endogenous binding proteins in serum. Serum sample and labeled cortisol are incubated with the antibody-coupled solid phase for 30 min. The solid phase is then separated and washed to remove free labeled cortisol and endogenous fluorophores of the sample. Finally we elute the antibody-bound fraction of the labeled cortisol into an alkaline methanolic medium and measure its fluorescence. The separation, wash, and elution steps are facilitated by magnetic sedimentation. The assay is sufficiently sensitive, specific, and reliable for routine use and correlates acceptably (r = 0.92) with an established radioimmunoassay. Precision (CV) ranged from 4 to 10% in experiments on three pooled sera; analytical recovery for sera supplemented with as much as 360 μg of cortisol per liter was 91 to 109%.
Enzyme-linked immunoassay for placental lactogen in human serum.
Authors: MacDonald D J , Nicol K M , Belfield A , Shah M M , Mack D S 
Published: February 2020

Abstract
We describe an enzyme-linked immunoassay for measuring human placental lactogen (HPL) in serum. After suitable dilution, sera are pipetted into the wells of polyvinyl microtitre plates previously coated with anti-HPL. After incubation the sera are decanted, and replaced by a conjugate of horseradish peroxidase and anti-HPL. An amount of enzyme proportional to the concentration of HPL in the serum is bound to the wells via an antibody—HPL—antibody bridge. Peroxidase activity is measured by oxidation of o-phenylenediamine, the resulting color being related to the concentration of HPL. Results correlate well with those by radioimmunoassay (r = 0.96). Our between-assay coefficient of variation was 13%; no discernible effect of protein was observed. This 4-h assay can be used to monitor placental function in pregnancy.
Interference by the 4-hydroxylated metabolite of propranolol with determination of metanephrines by the Pisano method.
Authors: Chou D , Tsuru M , Holtzman J L , Eckfeldt J H 
Published: February 2020

Abstract
Measurements of urinary metanephrines by the Pisano procedure (Clin. Chim. Acta 5: 406, 1960) are unreliable in patients who are taking propranolol owing to the presence of 4-hydroxypropranolol in the urine. Three properties of this propranolol metabolite lead to interference: (a) it is absorbed and eluted from ion-exchange resins under the conditions Pisano used for metanephrine isolation, (b) at high pH it absorbs at 350 to 360 nm, and (c) it is oxidized by periodate to a substance with negligible absorption in this region. Because 350 to 360 nm is the wavelength used to quantitate vanillin, the product formed from periodate oxidation of metanephrines, and because the unoxidized eluate is used as a specimen blank, the presence of 4-hydroxypropranolol spuriously decreases the measured urinary metanephrines; this has special significance because patients being tested for increased metanephrines are also likely to be receiving propranolol for hypertension.
Decreasing sample volume used in the “Sequential Multichannel Analyzer Computerized” (SMAC).
Authors: Stamper R , Robertshaw D M 
Published: February 2020

Abstract
We describe modifications to two cartridges, those for alkaline phosphatase and creatinine, on an 18-channel SMAC (Sequential Multichannel Analyzer Computerized), which allow all 18 tests to be run with a commonly prediluted sample. This decreases the required sample size and eliminates the problem of fibrin clots in the stream-splitter on the main sample line. The modifications can be made rapidly and require few new components. Accuracy, precision, linearity, and carryover are acceptable after these modifications, as judged by comparison with premodification data. Some financial savings ensue from the decreased consumption of reagents and the fewer repeat analyses necessitated by clotting problems.
Mechanized amidolytic technique for determination of factor X and factor-X antigen, and its application to patients being treated with oral anticoagulants.
Authors: van Wijk E M , Kahlé L H , ten Cate J W 
Published: February 2020

Abstract
We describe a mechanized chromogenic assay for factor X, the results of which correlate well with those for the one-stage clotting assays for factor X in which it is activated either via the extrinsic pathway by thromboplastin or directly by Russell's viper venom. We purified human factor X and raised monospecific antibodies to it in rabbits. We used our chromogenic assay for factor X to develop a factor-X-inhibitor neutralization assay for determination of factor-X antigen. Patients receiving oral anticoagulant treatment had significantly different factor-X activities after activation via thromboplastin or with Russell's viper venom. The concentration of factor-X antigen, although decreased, significantly exceeded factor-X clotting activity or chromogenic activity in this group of patients. Results of the chromogenic assay for factor X correlated well with results of "Thrombotest," a clotting test introduced by Owren (Lancet ii: 754, 1959) to control anticoagulant therapy. For patients taking oral anticoagulant drugs, the therapeutic range by our assay is 180 to 300 units/L.
Acid Phosphatase in Gaucher's Disease
Authors: Robinson Douglas B , Glew Robert H 
Published: February 2020

Abstract
Vol. 26
p 374: Second column, line 1: "designated," not "designed."
p 457: First line of abstract: correct number is "2.7.3.2"; second paragraph under "Serum Samples": "mammary artery," not "mammary vein."
p 458: Under "Column Chromatography," line 9 to read "buffer (200 mmol/L NaCl, 50 mmol/L Tris-HCl)..." Sublegend to Figure 1: add "a, concentration gel; b, separation gel." Under "Isoelectric Focusing," line 6 should read "7 mg of ammonium persulfate, 0.1 mL of pH 4-6 carrier ampholyte, and 0.1 mL of pH 5-7 ampholyte."
p 485:last paragraph: insert "98" before "(29.4%)," delete "low value," change "(6.5%)," to "(6.3%)," and change "µ/L" to "µg/L."
Human conjugated bilirubin--isolation, biosynthesis, and direct molecular characterization.
Authors: Wu T W , Zumbulyadis N , Gross S , Gohlke R S 
Published: February 2020

Abstract
We prepared human conjugated bilirubin by isolation from fresh gall bladder bile and by biosynthesis using liver homogenates. The isolation protocol was modified after Lucassen (doctoral thesis, Univ. Utrecht, 1961), and the in vitro synthesis was done with fresh liver homogenates in the presence of D-glucaro-1,4-lactone (a glucuronidase inhibitor). From direct analyses of these preparations with 270-MHz proton nuclear magnetic resonance and field-desorption mass spectrometry, we deduced that a major conjugated bilirubin species in bile is a diglucuronide, whereas in liver biosynthesis it is a diconjugate containing glucuronic acid and possibly glucuronolactone co-esterified to the bilirubin backbone. If the glucuronolactone is indeed present in the native biosynthetic material, we do not know whether it derives from glucuronic acid and, if so, whether lactonization occurs before or after the acid has been esterified to form the conjugate.
Photoelectroanalytical chemistry: possible interferences in serum and the selective detection of tris(2,2'-bipyridine)ruthenium(II) in the presence of interferents.
Authors: Weber S G , Morgan D M , Elbicki J M 
Published: February 2020

Abstract
Photoelectroanalytical chemistry, the application of photoelectrochemistry to analysis, as reported here, is based on the amperometric detection of tris(2,2'-bipyridine)ruthenium(III) after its production from the corresponding Ru(II) complex in an excited state and quenching by electron transfer. The Ru(II) complex is detectable in concentrations less than 10(-10) mol/L injected into a flow stream in 100 microL. The selectivity of the detection is based upon several competitive reactions and their rates. The complex can be detected accurately in the presence of at least 10(4) molar excess of the potent interferents uric acid and oxalic acid. We anticipate that this complex will be used in assays that involve the use of labels.
Combined stress of ocean acidification and warming influence survival and drives differential gene expression patterns in the Antarctic pteropod, Limacina helicina antarctica
Authors: Johnson Kevin M , Hofmann Gretchen E 
Published: February 2020

AbstractThe ecologically important thecosome pteropods in the Limacina spp. complex have recently been the focus of studies examining the impacts global change factors – e.g., ocean acidification (OA) and ocean warming (OW) – on their performance and physiology. This focus is driven by conservation concerns where the health of pteropod populations is threatened by the high susceptibility of their shells to dissolution in low aragonite saturation states associated with OA and how coupling of these stressors may push pteropods past the limits of physiological plasticity. In this manipulation experiment, we describe changes in the transcriptome of the Antarctic pteropod, Limacina helicina antarctica, to these combined stressors. The conditions used in the laboratory treatments met or exceeded those projected for the Southern Ocean by the year 2100. We made two general observations regarding the outcome of the data: (1) Temperature was more influential than pH in terms of changing patterns of gene expression, and (2) these Antarctic pteropods appeared to have a significant degree of transcriptomic plasticity to respond to acute abiotic stress in the laboratory. In general, differential gene expression was observed amongst the treatments; here, for example, transcripts associated with maintaining protein structure and cell proliferation were up-regulated. To disentangle the effects of OA and OW, we used a weighted gene co-expression network analysis to explore patterns of change in the transcriptome. This approach identified gene networks associated with OW that were enriched for transcripts proposed to be involved in increasing membrane fluidity at warmer temperatures. Together these data provide evidence that L.h.antarctica has a limited capacity to acclimate to the combined conditions of OA and OW used in this study. This reduced scope of acclimation argues for continued study of how adaptation to polar aquatic environments may limit the plasticity of present-day populations in responding to future environmental change.
Intestinal Epithelial Cells Express Immunomodulatory ISG15 During Active Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s Disease
Authors: Østvik Ann Elisabet , Svendsen Tarjei Dahl , Granlund Atle van Beelen , Doseth Berit , Skovdahl Helene Kolstad , Bakke Ingunn , Thorsvik Silje , Afroz Wahida , Walaas Gunnar Andreas , Mollnes Tom Eirik , Gustafsson Björn Inge , Sandvik Arne Kristian , Bruland Torunn 
Published: February 2020

AbstractBackground and AimsIntestinal epithelial cells [IECs] secrete cytokines that recruit immune cells to the mucosa and regulate immune responses that drive inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease [IBD]. However, experiments in patient-derived IEC models are still scarce. Here, we aimed to investigate how innate immunity and IEC-specific pattern recognition receptor [PRR] signalling can be involved in an enhanced type I interferon [IFN] gene signature observed in colon epithelium of patients with active IBD, with a special focus on secreted ubiquitin-like protein ISG15.MethodsGene and protein expression in whole mucosa biopsies and in microdissected human colonic epithelial lining, in HT29 human intestinal epithelial cells and primary 3D colonoids treated with PRR-ligands and cytokines, were detected by transcriptomics, in situ hybridisation, immunohistochemistry, western blots, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay [ELISA]. Effects of IEC-secreted cytokines were examined in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells [PBMCs] by multiplex chemokine profiling and ELISA.ResultsThe type I IFN gene signature in human mucosal biopsies was mimicked in Toll-like receptor TLR3 and to some extent tumour necrosis factor [TNF]-treated human IECs. In intestinal biopsies, ISG15 expression correlated with expression of the newly identified receptor for extracellular ISG15, LFA-1 integrin. ISG15 was expressed and secreted from HT29 cells and primary 3D colonoids through both JAK1-pSTAT-IRF9-dependent and independent pathways. In experiments using PBMCs, we show that ISG15 releases IBD-relevant proinflammatory cytokines such as CXCL1, CXCL5, CXCL8, CCL20, IL1, IL6, TNF, and IFNγ.ConclusionsISG15 is secreted from primary IECs upon extracellular stimulation, and mucosal ISG15 emerges as an intriguing candidate for immunotherapy in IBD.
The Murder of Jamal Khashoggi: Immunities, Inviolability and the Human Right to Life
Authors: Milanovic Marko 
Published: February 2020

Abstract
On 2 October 2018, Jamal Khashoggi, a dissident Saudi journalist residing in the United States of America, where he was a columnist for the Washington Post newspaper, was murdered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. This article analyses Khashoggi’s killing from the standpoint of the human right to life. It examines not only the obligation of Saudi Arabia to respect Khashoggi’s right to life, but also the obligations of Turkey and the United States to protect Khashoggi’s right to life from third parties, and to ensure respect through an effective investigation of his killing and mutual cooperation for the purpose of that investigation. It also looks at the extraterritorial scope of these various obligations. Finally, the article examines possible norm conflicts between state obligations under human rights law and their obligations under diplomatic and consular law, such as the inviolability of diplomatic and consular premises, agents and means of transportation.
Beyond ‘find and fix’: improving quality and safety through resilient healthcare systems
Authors: Anderson J E , Ross A J , Back J , Duncan M , Snell P , Hopper A , Jaye P 
Published: February 2020

Abstract

Objective
The aim was to develop a method based on resilient healthcare principles to proactively identify system vulnerabilities and quality improvement interventions.

Design
Ethnographic methods to understand work as it is done in practice using concepts from resilient healthcare, the Concepts for Applying Resilience Engineering model and the four key activities that are proposed to underpin resilient performance—anticipating, monitoring, responding and learning.

Setting
Accident and Emergency Department (ED) and the Older People’s Unit (OPU) of a large teaching hospital in central London.

Participants
ED—observations 104 h, and 14 staff interviews. OPU—observations 60 h, and 15 staff interviews.

Results
Data were analysed to identify targets for quality improvement. In the OPU, discharge was a complex and variable process that was difficult to monitor. A system to integrate information and clearly show progress towards discharge was needed. In the ED, patient flow was identified as a complex high-intensity activity that was not supported by the existing data systems. The need for a system to integrate and display information about both patient and organizational factors was identified. In both settings, adaptive capacity was limited by the absence of systems to monitor the work environment.

Conclusions
The study showed that using resilient healthcare principles to inform quality improvement was feasible and focused attention on challenges that had not been addressed by traditional quality improvement practices. Monitoring patient and workflow in both the ED and the OPU was identified as a priority for supporting staff to manage the complexity of the work.
A case-controlled study of relatives’ complaints concerning patients who died in hospital: The role of treatment escalation/limitation planning
Authors: Taylor D Robin , Bouttell Janet , Campbell Jonathan N , Lightbody Calvin J 
Published: February 2020

Abstract

Objectives
To independently assess quality of care among patients who died in hospital and whose next-of-kin submitted a letter of complaint and make comparisons with matched controls. To identify whether use of a treatment escalation limitation plan (TELP) during the terminal illness was a relevant background factor.

Design
The study was an investigator-blinded retrospective case-note review of 42 complaints cases and 72 controls matched for age, sex, ward location and time of death.

Setting
The acute medical and surgical wards of three District General Hospitals administered by NHS Lanarkshire, Scotland.

Participants
None.

Intervention
None.

Outcome measures
Quality of care: clinical ‘problems’, non-beneficial interventions (NBIs) and harms were evaluated using the Structured Judgment Review Method. Complaints were categorized using the Healthcare Complaints Analysis Tool.

Results
The event frequencies and rate ratios for clinical ‘problems’, NBIs and harms were consistently higher in complaint cases compared to controls. The difference was only significant for NBIs (P = 0.05). TELPs were used less frequently in complaint cases compared to controls (23.8 versus 47.2%, P = 0.013). The relationship between TELP use and the three key clinical outcomes was nonsignificant.

Conclusions
Care delivered to patients at end-of-life whose next-of-kin submitted a complaint was poorer overall than among control patients when assessed independently by blinded reviewers. Regular use of a TELP in acute clinical settings has the potential to influence complaints relating to end-of-life care, but this requires further prospective study.
Effect of nonuniform heat source/sink, and viscous and Joule dissipation on 3D Eyring–Powell nanofluid flow over a stretching sheet
Authors: Thumma Thirupathi , Mishra S R 
Published: February 2020

Abstract
The aim of this paper is to explore the effect of heat source/sink, and space- and temperature-dependent viscous and Joule dissipation on 3D magnetohydrodynamic radiating Eyring–Powell nanofluid streamline flow with convective conditions past a stretching sheet. The coupled nonlinear flow, thermal, and species phenomena equations are transformed into a system of coupled nonlinear ordinary differential equations through suitable similarity transformations with corresponding boundary conditions. The transformed dimensionless equations are then solved analytically with the Adomian decomposition method. A comprehensive study is conducted on the influence of sundry physical dimensionless parameters governing the flow velocity, temperature, and concentration distributions. For parameters of engineering interest, the computed numerical results are presented with the aid of tables. Furthermore, the present solutions agree with the earlier reported results in specific cases, and an excellent correlation is witnessed. The present analysis is of great interest germane to cooling of metallic plates, polishing of artificial heart valves, oil pipeline friction reduction in the oil industry, flow tracers, enhanced oil recovery, and separation processes in chemical industries and petroleum extraction.