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The aim of this study was to determine alterations of the metabolome in blood plasma in response to concentric-eccentric leg exercise performed at a simulated altitude of 3,500 m. To do so, we recruited 11 well-trained subjects and performed an untargeted metabolomics analysis of plasma samples obtained before, 20 min after as well as on day 8 after five sets of maximal, concentric-eccentric leg exercises that lasted 90 s each. We identified and annotated 115 metabolites through untargeted liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry metabolomics and used them to further calculate 20 sum/ratio of metabolites. A principal component analysis (PCA) revealed differences in-between the overall metabolome at rest and immediately after exercise. Interestingly, some systematic changes of relative metabolite concentrations still persisted on day 8 after exercise. The first two components of the PCA explained 34% of the relative concentrations of all identified metabolites analyzed together. A volcano plot indicates that 35 metabolites and two metabolite ratios were significantly changed directly after exercise, such as metabolites related to carbohydrate and TCA metabolism. Moreover, we observed alterations in the relative concentrations of amino acids (e.g., decreases of valine, leucine and increases in alanine) and purines (e.g., increases in hypoxanthine, xanthine and uric acid). In summary, high intensity concentric-eccentric exercise performed at simulated altitude systematically changed the blood metabolome in trained athletes directly after exercise and some relative metabolite concentrations were still changed on day 8. The importance of that persisting metabolic alterations on exercise performance should be studied further.

OBJECTIVES: To provide evidence-based recommendations for vaccination against influenza virus and S. pneumoniae in patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARDs). METHODS: A Consensus Committee including physicians with expertise in rheumatic and infectious diseases was established by two Italian scientific societies, Società Italiana di Reumatologia (SIR) and Società Italiana di Malattie Infettive e Tropicali (SIMIT). The experts were invited to develop evidence-based recommendations concerning vaccinations in ARDs patients, based on their clinical status before and after undergoing immunosuppressive treatments. Key clinical questions were formulated for the systematic literature reviews, based on the clinical pathway. A search was made in Medline (via PubMed) according to the original MeSH strategy from October 2009 and a keyword strategy from January 2016 up to December 2017, updating existing EULAR recommendations. Specific recommendations were separately voted and scored from 0 (no agreement with) to 100 (maximal agreement) and supporting evidence graded. The mean and standard deviation of the scores were calculated to determine the level of agreement among the experts' panel for each recommendation. Total cumulative agreement ≥70 defined consensus for each statement. RESULTS: Nine recommendations, based on 6 key clinical questions addressed by the expert committee, were proposed. The aim of this work is to integrate the 2011 EULAR recommendations on vaccination against influenza and S. pneumoniae in ARDs patients. An implementation plan was proposed to improve the vaccination status of these patients and their safety during immunosuppressive treatments. CONCLUSIONS: Influenza and pneumococcus vaccinations are effective and safe in patients with ARDs. More efforts should be made to translate the accumulated evidence into practice.

BACKGROUND: Alternate sugar metabolism during red blood cell (RBC) storage is not well understood. Here we report fructose and mannose metabolism in RBCs during cold storage in SAGM and the impact that these monosaccharides have on metabolic biomarkers of RBC storage lesion. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: RBCs were stored in SAGM containing uniformly labeled13C-fructose or13C-mannose at 9 or 18 mmol/L concentration for 25 days. RBCs and media were sampled at 14 time points during storage and analyzed using ultraperformance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Blood banking quality assurance measurements were performed. RESULTS: Red blood cells incorporated fructose and mannose during cold storage in the presence of glucose. Mannose was metabolized in preference to glucose via glycolysis. Fructose lowered adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels and contributed little to ATP maintenance when added to SAGM. Both monosaccharides form the advanced glycation end product glycerate. Mannose activates enzymes in the RBC that take part in glycan synthesis. CONCLUSIONS: Fructose or mannose addition to RBC SAGM concentrates may not offset the shift in metabolism of RBCs that occurs after 10 days of storage. Fructose and mannose metabolism at 4°C in SAGM reflects their metabolism at physiologic temperature. Glycerate excretion is a measure of protein deglycosylation activity in stored RBCs. No cytoprotective effect was observed upon the addition of either fructose or mannose to SAGM.

In psoriatic arthritis (PsA), ultrasonography (US) plays a growing role in the differential diagnosis and in monitoring treatment response.1 PsA is a heterogeneous disease with different domains and peculiar sites involved.2 Therefore, a dedicated US composite score is needed to monitor disease activity and to identify structural damage progression. A recently published Systematic Literature Review (SLR) identified only two US scores specifically developed for PsA (ie, 5TPD and PsA-Son) and, although these had a good sensitivity to detect inflammation and a good feasibility, they have not been validated in other series.1 3 4 Recently, the Study Group for US of the Italian Society of Rheumatology promoted the Ultrasound in PSoriatic Arthritis TREAtMent (UPSTREAM) study (registered at ClinicalTrial.gov, NCT03330769). UPSTREAM is a multicentre observational prospective cohort study and it represents the first …

The local and intermediate structure of La1 - x Cax MnO3 has been studied in the orthorhombic (O) and pseudo-cubic (O′) phases, both as a function of temperature (x = 0.00), and as a function of Ca content (at 310 K). Neutron powder diffraction-based high real space resolution atomic pair distribution function (PDF) analysis shows that the Jahn Teller distortion of the MnO6 octahedra persists locally deep in the O′ phase in both cases studied, contrary to the average crystallographic view. The O to O′ structural phase transformation does have a local structural signature evidenced as a dramatic change in a PDF peak at 10.3 Å sensitive to the rotations of the MnO6 octahedra, providing further evidence that the nature of the transformation is orbital order to disorder regardless of whether the phase boundary is crossed as a function of T or x. © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The fatty acyl esters of L-carnitine (acylcarnitines) are useful biomarkers for the diagnosis of some inborn errors of metabolism analyzed by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry. In this study the acylcarnitines were analyzed by atmospheric pressure thermal desorption chemical ionization using a commercial tandem mass spectrometer (APTDCI-MS/MS). The method is based on the precursor ion scan mode determination of underivatized acylcarnitines desorbed from samples by a hot desolvation gas flow and ionized by a corona pin discharge. During desorption/ionization step the temperature induces the degradation of acylcarnitines; nevertheless, the common fragment to all acylcarnitines [MH-59](+) is useful for analyzing their profile. APTDCI parameters, including angle of collection and incidence, gas flows and temperatures, were optimized for acylcarnitines. The experiments were performed drying 2 microL of an equimolar mixture of acylcarnitine standards on a glass slide. The specificity was evaluated by comparing product ion spectra and the precursor ion spectra of 85 m/z of acylcarnitines obtained by the APTDCI method and by electrospray ionization flow injection analysis (ESI-FIA). The method was also employed to analyze acylcarnitines extracted from a pathological dried blood spot and a control. The method enables analysis of biological samples and recognition of some acylcarnitines that are diagnostic markers of inherited metabolic diseases. The intrinsic high-throughput analysis of the ambient desorption ionization methods offers a new opportunity either for its potential application in clinical chemistry and for the expanded screening of some inborn errors of metabolism.

Sugar content is one of the most important quality attributes of citrus fruit, either for fresh or for processing market. Since sugars in citrus juice are highly correlated with total soluble solids (TSS) content, which can be determined easily even by the means of a hand refractometer, TSS is one of the most frequently used quality index. Since TSS can be measured only destructively, the results are representative only if carried out on large samples and do not allow classifying marketable fruit one by one according to their specific sugar content. Objective of this experiment was to assess possibility and limits of a non-destructive estimation of citrus fruits internal quality parameters (TSS and titratable acidity) presenting thick peel by the use of a spectrophotometric portable VIS-NIR system. Four hundred fruit of “Miho” satsuma and 150 fruit of “Page” tangelo were used. Each fruit was first subjected to spectrophotometric acquisition and soon after was juiced and TSS and titratable acidity (TA) determined. Partial least squares (PLS) regression analysis was applied for constructing a predictive model based on the spectral normalized response, constructing the model on a sub-sample and verifying the model (prediction test) on independent ones. The TA relative to Page mandarin was predicted in the test with an r=0.88 and a standard error of prevision (SEP) coefficient of variability of 3.8% while the TSS scored an r=0.85 and a SEP coefficient of variability equal to 4%. The TA of Miho mandarin was predicted in the test with an r=0.81 and a SEP coefficient of Variability of 8.3% while the TSS scored an r=0.84 and a SEP coefficient of variability equal to 5.6%.

The detailed evolution of the magnitude of the local Jahn-Teller (JT) distortion in La1-xCaxMnO3 is obtained across the phase diagram for 0≤x≤0.5 from high-quality neutron diffraction data using the atomic pair distribution function method. A local JT distortion is observed in the insulating phase for all Ca concentrations studied. However, in contrast with earlier local structure studies, its magnitude is not constant, but decreases continuously with increasing Ca content. This observation is at odds with a simple small-polaron picture for the insulating state. © 2007 The American Physical Society.

Total scattering based atomic pair distribution function (PDF) analysis, with the advent of high data throughput neutron powder diffractometers, helps understanding the nature of the Jahn-Teller (JT) phase transition in La 1-xCaxMnO3 colossal magnetoresistive (CMR) manganites. The JT distortion of the MnO6 octahedra, is long-range ordered in the orthorhombic (O) phase, but disappears in the pseudo-cubic (O') phase crystallographically. An anomalous unit cell volume contraction occurs at the transition. The PDF study indicates that the distortion persists locally deep in the O' phase, contrary to the crystallographic view. Simultaneously, local structural features observed in PDF at 10.3 Å, sensitive to the oxygen sublattice changes, evolve dramatically across the transition. The same effect is observed irrespective of the way the O-O' phase boundary is crossed: it is seen both in the temperature series data for x=0, and in the doping series data at 310 K and at 550 K. © by Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag.

The detailed evolution of the magnitude of the local Jahn-Teller (JT) distortion in La_{1-x} Ca_x Mn O_3 is obtained across the phase diagram for 0 < x < 0.5 from high quality neutron diffraction data using the atomic pair distribution function (PDF) method. A local JT distortion is observed in the insulating phase for all Ca concentrations studied. However, in contrast with earlier local structure studies its magnitude is not constant, but decreases continuously with increasing Ca content. This observation is at odds with a simple small-polaron picture for the insulating state., 4 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Physical Review Letters

Shift-work disrupts the sleep-wake cycle and could bring about sleep disorders and excessive daytime sleepiness. We studied two samples of shift-workers, a group of 178 nurses and one of 174 police officers, all working in the town of Palermo (Italy); their answers to a sleep disorder questionnaire were scored and added in order to create a Sleep Disorder Score (SDS). The SDS cut-off value, discrimining pathological values from physiological ones, was settled a-priori. In both groups SDS did not depend on sex, age, weight, height nor on working seniority, but it increased non linearly (cubic form) with shift-work seniority. In nurses this mathematical description of SDS exceeded the cut-off value after 15 years of shift-work seniority; in police officers it settled asymptotically under the critical value. This could be ascribable both to the different composition in sex of the two samples (nurses: 49% F-51% M vs. police officers: 6% F-94% M) both to the self-selection process that seems to undergo police officers (nurses do not leave shift-work because of salary incentives).