Time and time-frequency analysis of near-infrared signals for the assessment of ozone autohemotherapy long-term effects in multiple sclerosis

Ozone autohemotherapy is an emerging therapeutic technique that is gaining increasing importance in treating neurological disorders. A validated and standard methodology to assess the effect of such therapy on brain metabolism and circulation is however still lacking. We used a near-infrared spectroscopy system (NIRS) to monitor the cerebral oxygenation of 9 subjects: 4 remitting-relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) sufferers and 5 controls. Subjects were tested before, during, and after ozone autohemotherapy. We monitored the concentration changes in the level of oxygenated and deoxygenated haemoglobin, and in the level of the Cytochrome-c-oxidase (CYT-c). From the time and time-frequency analysis of the NIRS signals we extracted 128 variables, which were used to characterize the metabolic brain pattern during the therapy. We showed that by using only 7 NIRS variables out of 128 it is possible to characterize the metabolic brain pattern of the two groups of subjects. The MS subjects showed a marked increase of the CYT-c activity and concentration about 40 minutes after the end of the autohemotherapy, possibly revealing a reduction of the chronic oxidative stress level typical of MS sufferers. From a technical point of view, this preliminary study showed that NIRS could be useful to show the effects of ozone autohemotherapy at cerebral level, in a long term monitoring. The clinical result of this study is the quantitative measurement of the CYT-c level changes in MS induced by ozone autohemotherap

Skeletal muscle microalterations in patients carrying Malignant Hyperthermia-related mutations of the e-c coupling machinery

We have compared the ultrastructure of skeletal muscle biopsies from patients that have survived a [Malignant Hyperthermia, MH] episode and siblings that test positive for MH susceptibility with those from siblings that tested negatives. The aim is to establish whether life long exposure to the MH-related mutation effects may result in subtle abnormalities even in the absence of active episodes and/or clinically detectable deficiencies. Although a specific ultrastructural signature for MH mutants cannot be demonstrated, an MH related pattern of minor alterations does exist. These include the tendency for micro damage to the contractile apparatus and a higher than normal level of mitochondrial abnormalities

Cardiac biomarker testing in the clinical laboratory: Where do we stand? General overview of the methodology with special emphasis on natriuretic peptides

Diagnosis of heart failure (HF) is not based on a single test, but on a combination of history, physical examination and appropriate investigations. For these reasons, the accuracy of diagnosis by clinical means alone is often inadequate, especially in the early, asymptomatic stages of the HF. Thus, there is an increasing interest in the development of new cardiovascular biomarkers and, consequently, a great number of laboratory tests have recently been proposed for their assay. The aim of this article is to provide a general overview on the biomarkers, recommended by international guidelines, for the diagnosis, risk stratification, and follow-up of patients with HF. Cardiac natriuretic peptides and in particular the B-type related peptides, which are considered to be the first line biomarker for HF by international guidelines, will be discussed with special emphasis

Beam diagnostics for charge and position measurements in ELI-NP GBS

The advanced source of Gamma-ray photons to be built in Bucharest (Romania), as part of the ELI-NP European Research Infrastructure, will generate photons by Compton back-scattering in the collision between a multi-bunch electron beam and a high intensity recirculated laser pulse. An S-Band photoinjector and the following C-band Linac at a maximum energy of 720MeV, under construction by an European consortium (EurogammaS) led by INFN, will operate at 100Hz repetition rate with trains of 32 electron bunches, separated by 16ns and a 250pC nominal charge. The different BPMs and current transformers used to measure transverse beam position and charge along the LINAC are described. Design criteria, production status and bench test results of the charge and position pickups are reported in the paper, together with the related data acquisition systems

Comparison between BNP values measured in capillary blood samples with a POCT method and those measured in plasma venous samples with an automated platform

Letter to the Editor. Our data suggest that it is possible to measure BNP in fresh finger-stick samples of capillary whole blood with an acceptable reproducibility, and within 10 – 20 min to obtain results close correlated to those measured by the automated platform in plasma blood samples collected from a vein. The measurement of BNP in fresh finger-stick samples of capillary whole blood with this POCT method is in particular indicated for the management of HF patients at home and for the BNP assay in neonates and children

Isonitrile-responsive and bioorthogonally removable tetrazine protecting groups.

In vivo compatible reactions have a broad range of possible applications in chemical biology and the pharmaceutical sciences. Here we report tetrazines that can be removed by exposure to isonitriles under very mild conditions. Tetrazylmethyl derivatives are easily accessible protecting groups for amines and phenols. The isonitrile-induced removal is rapid and near-quantitative. Intriguingly, the deprotection is especially effective with (trimethylsilyl)methyl isocyanide, and serum albumin can catalyze the elimination under physiological conditions. NMR and computational studies revealed that an imine-tautomerization step is often rate limiting, and the unexpected cleavage of the Si-C bond accelerates this step in the case with (trimethylsilyl)methyl isocyanide. Tetrazylmethyl-removal is compatible with use on biomacromolecules, in cellular environments, and in living organisms as demonstrated by cytotoxicity experiments and fluorophore-release studies on proteins and in zebrafish embryos. By combining tetrazylmethyl derivatives with previously reported tetrazine-responsive 3-isocyanopropyl groups, it was possible to liberate two fluorophores in vertebrates from a single bioorthogonal reaction. This chemistry will open new opportunities towards applications involving multiplexed release schemes and is a valuable asset to the growing toolbox of bioorthogonal dissociative reactions

Precision tests of the Standard Model with leptonic and semileptonic kaon decays

We present a global analysis of leptonic and semileptonic kaon decays data, including all recent results by BNL-E865, KLOE, KTeV, ISTRA+, and NA48. Experimental results are critically reviewed and combined, taking into account theoretical (both analytical and numerical) constraints on the semileptonic kaon form factors. This analysis leads to a very accurate determination of Vus and allows us to perform several stringent tests of the Standard Model