Sebia (France)

Methylglyoxal (MGO) is a potent glycating agent that contributes to the pathogenesis of diabetes. However, MGO is unstable in plasma without demanding sample preparation at blood collection, limiting its clinical utility as a biomarker. We aimed to discover reliable MGO-glycated albumin (ALB)-derived biomarkers and to assess their association with new-onset diabetes (NOD) in people with prediabetes. Bottom-up mass spectrometry-based proteomics was used to discover peptide biomarkers of MGO-glycated ALB, including MGO-derived hydroimidazolone (MGH)-ALB219-225, which proved to be biologically stable and reliable for large-scale analyses in human plasma. After assay validation, the IT-DIAB (Innovation Thérapeutique DIABète) prospective study, conducted in 300 individuals with impaired fasting plasma glucose (FPG) levels (110 to 125 mg/dL, 6.1 to 6.9 mmol/L), was used to assess the association between plasma MGH-ALB219-225 and NOD, defined as FPG ≥126 mg/dL (7 mmol/L), using Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox models. In total, 113 participants of the IT-DIAB study developed NOD during a median follow-up of 5 years. There was a graded association between the baseline plasma MGH-ALB219-225 concentration and incident NOD (log-rank P < 0.0001), in contrast to a lack of association for plasma MGO and total or glycated ALB (commercial kit). After adjustment for age, sex, body mass index, FPG, hemoglobin (Hb) A1c, and ALB, the plasma levels of MGH-ALB219-225 were associated with NOD (hazard ratio [HR] per one SD [95% CI] = 1.50 [1.26-1.78]; P < 0.0001). MGH-ALB219-225 is a novel and stable peptide biomarker of MGO-glycated ALB, whose plasma levels are positively associated with an increased risk of NOD in individuals with prediabetes, independently of traditional risk factors. ClinicalTrials.gov Registration Number: NCT01218061.

We report a novel mutation on the β-globin gene in a 68-year-old woman of Sicilian origin living in Alessandria, Italy. This mutation produces a hemoglobin (Hb) variant of Hb A that was detected by the capillary electrophoresis (CE) method during measurement of Hb A1c. The variant Hb did not separate from Hb A using different high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) instruments. Direct DNA sequencing revealed a G>T transversion at codon 37 and subsequent substitution of a tryptophan residue for a leucine residue. The new Hb variant was named Hb Alessandria [β37(C3)Trp→Leu; HBB: c.113G>T]. The p50 value was slightly decreased while the stability test at 37 °C in isopropyl alcohol and the main erythrocyte parameters were normal. Overall, the patient appeared clinically normal.

Abstract Background. The traditional knowledge about herbal use in veterinary medicine in Serbs is voluminous. However, that wealth is threatened to oblivion because new times give modern methods of treatment. Hence, the aim of this report was to present the collected data about folk methods of treatment and nutrition by the help of available plants related to the animals in Serbs what could be applied in up to date veterinary pharmacy. Methods. The questionnaire of 28 questions was prepared regarding the breeding, nutrition and medical treatment of domestic animals as well as the herbal list of medicinal plants to use. The study is based on the ”Show-and-Tell Technique” from the groups people without veterinary or medical education, with preference to people living in the remote settlements without resident veterinary services. Results. Interviewed persons were in the age range of 30-90 years. Plant interviewee were asked to show the plant species in a fresh or dried condition (for adequate identification). The 1120 filled inquiry sheets were analysed. Ninety two herbs were presented, of whom the most frequent noted were Carlina acaulis, Asteraceae (6 times) and Geum urbanum, Rosaceae (5 times). The most frequent treated diseases were of digestive (47%) and pulmonary system (25%), skin (hair, hoof) (8%) and urinary system (7%). Among “other” cathegory answers like “generaly good for helath” are included. Conclusion. It is still open question for the scientific branches of veterinary pharmacology to find out active ingredients, mechanism of action and application of some plants in the scope of veterinary pharmacology, phytochemistry and phytopharmacology. In that way the listed herbs in this work, which are still not in use nowadays, could be recognized as commercially available.

Background Electrophoretic methods to detect, characterize and quantify M-proteins play an important role in the management of patients with monoclonal gammopathies (MGs). Significant uncertainty in the quantification and limit of detection (LOD) is documented when M-proteins are <10 g/L. Using spiked sera, we aimed to assess the variability in intact M-protein quantification and LOD across 16 laboratories. Methods Sera with normal, hypo- or hyper-gammaglobulinemia were spiked with daratumumab or elotuzumab, with concentrations from 0.125 to 10 g/L (n = 62) along with a beta-migrating sample (n = 9). Laboratories blindly analyzed samples according to their serum protein electrophoresis (SPEP)/isotyping standard operating procedures. LOD and intra-laboratory percent coefficient of variation (%CV) were calculated and further specified with regard to the method (gel/capillary electrophoresis [CZE]), gating strategy (perpendicular drop [PD]/tangent skimming [TS]), isotyping (immunofixation/immunosubtraction [ISUB]) and manufacturer (Helena/Sebia). Results All M-proteins ≥1 g/L were detected by SPEP. With isotyping the LOD was moderately more sensitive than with SPEP. The intensity of polyclonal background had the biggest negative impact on LOD. Independent of the method used, the intra-laboratory imprecision of M-protein quantification was small (mean CV = 5.0%). Low M-protein concentration and high polyclonal background had the strongest negative impact on intra-laboratory precision. All laboratories were able to follow trend of M-protein concentrations down to 1 g/L. Conclusions In this study, we describe a large variation in the reported LOD for both SPEP and isotyping; overall LOD is most affected by the polyclonal immunoglobulin background. Satisfactory intra-laboratory precision was demonstrated. This indicates that the quantification of small M-proteins to monitor patients over time is appropriate, when subsequent testing is performed within the same laboratory.

ABSTRACTIn this article the authors present an example of an agricultural farm that produces wheat corn, soya, and other plants. After harvesting granular products, large amounts of plant remains (biomass) are used as biofuel at the boiler in order to heat the agricultural farm.We present the results of research of energetic characteristics and boiler efficiency of thermal power of 750 kW that serves for farm heating. At the boiler biomass is burned and the boiler is adapted for burning dead animals and other remains using liquid petroleum gas) as additional fuel.Biomass that is used as biofuel is wheat or soya straw. Using the straw as an alternative biofuel significant cuts are achieved on conventional fuel LPG. The annual expense of soya straw is 1,700 tons, from an area of 565 ha, or 1,970tons of wheat straw from an area of 660 ha. Expenses of gathering, transport and storage are approximately 0.021 €/kg. Economic validity of using biomass as an energent had been proven by the fact that using straw is six times cheaper than using LPG. The ecological significance of using the biomass is investigated.

We revisit the SeqBin constraint. This meta-constraint subsumes a number of important global constraints like Change, Smooth and IncreasingNValue. We show that the previously proposed filtering algorithm for SeqBin has two drawbacks even under strong restrictions: it does not detect bounds disentailment and it is not idempotent. We identify the cause for these problems, and propose a new propagator that overcomes both issues. Our algorithm is based on a connection to the problem of finding a path of a given cost in a restricted $n$-partite graph. Our propagator enforces domain consistency in O(nd^2) and, for special cases of SeqBin that include Change, Smooth and IncreasingNValue, in O(nd) time.

Agarose Gel Electrophoresis - Applications in Clinical ChemistryAgarose gel electrophoresis is a well established technique routinely used in clinical laboratories for screening protein abnormalities in various biological fluids (serum, urine, CSF). It is based on the principles of zone electrophoresis. Electrophoretograms are evaluated visually for the presence of quantitatively or qualitatively abnormal protein bands. The technique is used for electrophoresis of serum, urine, CSF proteins, enzymes (ALP, LDH and CK), lipoproteins and hemoglobin. Serum protein electrophoresis (SPE) is a very commonly used analytical method in clinical chemistry. Changes in the relative concentration of fractions allow easy recognition of pathological disorders associated with nephrotic syndrome, inflammatory reaction and hepatic diseases. SPE is a screening test for detecting the M component (MC). Immunofixation (IFE) with use of specific antisera allows detection of the type of MC. SPE is also a method for the quantification of MC and monitoring of disease that is essential for clinical evaluation and follow-up of patients with plasma cell disorders.