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OBJECTIVE: To ease the anxiety and medical fear before intravenous cannulation or blood collection procedures among hospitalized children. METHODOLOGY: This study employed a pre-test, post-test quasi-experimental design during June to August 2023 from the hospital paediatric medicine ward. Sixty school-aged children (aged 6-12) were chosen through purposive sampling. The control group's data was collected first, followed by a play intervention for the experimental group. Both groups were similar in size. Baseline data on children and parents was gathered using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Children's Fear Scale. RESULTS: The children participating in the intervention had a mean age of 9.23±1.65. Notably, a significant portion of both groups experienced respiratory illnesses, with a higher prevalence observed in the control group (33.3%) compared to the intervention group (26.6%). A three-day play intervention significantly improved outcomes for hospitalized children (p

An aerobic, Gram-stain-negative, non-motile, non-spore-forming, short rod-shaped bacterial strain, designated NCCP 15609 T, was isolated from the blood sample of a patient in the Republic of Korea. The strain was identified as Brevundimonas diminuta using MALDI–TOF. A phylogenetic tree constructed using 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that the isolate was of the genus Brevundimonas with 99.8% similarity to B. naejangsanensis. The strain NCCP 15609T genome consisted of one contig with 3,063,090 bp, and had a G+C content of 67.4%. The genome contained 2,949 protein-coding sequences, 52 tRNAs, and 6 rRNAs. The DNA–DNA hybridisation between NCCP 15609T and B. naejangsanensis yielded 92.5% and 49.5% ± 2.6%, respectively, using the average nucleotide identity (ANI) and digital DNA–DNA hybridisation (dDDH). The predominant fatty acids of strain NCCP 15609T were summed feature 8 (C18:1ω7c/C18:1ω6c) and C16:0. The isolate contained polar lipids and quinone, corresponding to phosphatidylglycerol, 1,2-di-O-acyl-3-O-[D-glycopyranosyl (1 → 4)-α-D-glucopyranuronosyl] glycerol, and ubiquinone-10, respectively. Based on its phylogenetic, physiological, and chemotaxonomic characteristics, we suggest that NCCP 15609T represents a novel pathogen resource of the genus Brevundimonas and propose to name it Brevundimonas sanguinis sp. nov. The type strain is NCCP 15609T (= DSM 116005T). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Method Results Conclusions Samples for transfusion rejected due to mislabelling can lead to harm when a patient has to be re‐bled or has a transfusion or procedure delayed. Electronic labelling systems which scan the patient's identification band and generate a label at their side aim to reduce mislabelling and misidentification leading to wrong blood in tube (WBIT) errors. The 2022 National Comparative audit of sample collection aimed to compare national rates of sample mislabelling and WBIT to the 2012 audit and to examine the impact of electronic systems.All UK hospitals were invited to provide data on rejected transfusion samples and WBIT incidents in 1 month (October 2022) and were asked if they had electronic labelling.Twenty‐three thousand five hundred and eighty‐four rejected samples were reported by 179 sites in 1 month. The rejection rate of 4.4% represents a 47% increase compared to 2012 (2.99%). There were 92 WBIT incidents, an incidence of 1 in 5882 samples—a 45% increase compared to 1 in 8547 in 2012. Twenty‐three percent of sites can print a sample label at the patient's side, up by 224%. The six sites using only electronic sample labelling had a 46.9% lower rejection rate than sites using only hand‐labelling but still reported WBIT.The increase in sample rejection and WBIT may reflect pressures facing clinical staff, zero tolerance policies and the two‐sample rule. A human factors approach to understanding and tackling underlying reasons locally is recommended. Electronic systems are associated with fewer labelling errors, but careful implementation and training is needed to maximise their safety benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Arterial blood gas analysis (ABGA) plays a vital role in emergency and intensive care, which is affected by many factors, such as different instrumentation, temperature, and testing time. However, there are still no relevant reports on the difference in discarding different blood volumes on ABGA values. Methods We enrolled 54 patients who underwent thoracoscopic surgery and analysed differences in blood gas analysis results when different blood volumes were discarded from the front line of the arterial heparin blood collector. A paired t test was used to compare the results of the same patient with different volumes of blood discarded from the samples. The difference was corrected by Bonferroni correction. Results Our results demonstrated that the PaO2, PaCO2, and THbc were more stable in the 4th ml (PaO2 = 231.3600 ± 68.4878 mmHg, PaCO2 = 41.9232 ± 7.4490 mmHg) and 5th ml (PaO2 = 223.7600 ± 12.9895 mmHg, PaCO2 = 42.5679 ± 7.6410 mmHg) blood sample than in the 3rd ml (PaO2 = 234.1000 ± 99.7570 mmHg, PaCO2 = 40.6179 ± 7.2040 mmHg). Conclusion It may be more appropriate to discard the first 3 ml of blood sample in the analysis of blood gas results without wasting blood samples.

Background: Arterial blood gas analysis (ABGA) plays a vital role in emergency and intensive care, which is affected by many factors, such as different instrumentation, temperature, and testing time. However, there are still no relevant reports on the difference in discarding different blood volumes on ABGA values. Methods: We enrolled 54 patients who underwent thoracoscopic surgery and analysed differences in blood gas analysis results when different blood volumes were discarded from the front line of the arterial heparin blood collector. A paired t test was used to compare the results of the same patient with different volumes of blood discarded from the samples. The difference was corrected by Bonferroni correction. Results: Our results demonstrated that the PaO2, PaCO2, and THbc were more stable in the 4th ml (PaO2 = 231.3600 ± 68.4878 mmHg, PaCO2 = 41.9232 ± 7.4490 mmHg) and 5th ml (PaO2 = 223.7600 ± 12.9895 mmHg, PaCO2 = 42.5679 ± 7.6410 mmHg) blood sample than in the 3rd ml (PaO2 = 234.1000 ± 99.7570 mmHg, PaCO2 = 40.6179 ± 7.2040 mmHg). Conclusion: It may be more appropriate to discard the first 3 ml of blood sample in the analysis of blood gas results without wasting blood samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: To ease the anxiety and medical fear before intravenous cannulation or blood collection procedures among hospitalized children. METHODOLOGY: This study employed a pre-test, post-test quasi-experimental design during June to August 2023 from the hospital paediatric medicine ward. Sixty school-aged children (aged 6-12) were chosen through purposive sampling. The control group's data was collected first, followed by a play intervention for the experimental group. Both groups were similar in size. Baseline data on children and parents was gathered using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Children's Fear Scale. RESULTS: The children participating in the intervention had a mean age of 9.23±1.65. Notably, a significant portion of both groups experienced respiratory illnesses, with a higher prevalence observed in the control group (33.3%) compared to the intervention group (26.6%). A three-day play intervention significantly improved outcomes for hospitalized children (p<0.001). It helped them manage anxiety both in the general sense (trait anxiety) and specifically related to medical procedures (p<0.001) such as inserting intravenous catheters (IVs) or drawing blood. The study also found a strong correlation between a child's overall anxiety level and their anxiety around medical procedures (r 0.49, p=0.000). CONCLUSION: Play intervention had a positive impact on state anxiety, trait anxiety and fear about intravenous cannulation or blood collection procedures. Pediatric nurses and parents working together to incorporate play is one of the most important aspects of a child's hospitalization. This approach focuses on improving health outcomes by making play a part in the healing process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hemoglobin in a blood sample has been analyzed for the diagnosis of anemia cancer in a human's body by using metal/defect/metal multilayer one-dimensional (1D) photonic crystals. The proposed structure contains five periodic layers of Si/BaF2 and a very thin defect layer of blood sample between two thin metal layers of Ag. In this case, a low concentration of hemoglobin in red blood cells (RBC) which is a function of refractive index indicates anemia cancer in the patient. The modification of the refractive index or concentration simply causes a shift in the transmittance of the defect mode in the photonic bandgap, which can be used for anemia diagnosis. To analyze the transmittance properties, the thickness of a metal layer, angle of incidence, and refractive index/concentration of the defect layer have been varied by using the transfer matrix method. It is analyzed that the shifting of the transmission peak has been improved further with an increase in metal layer thickness and incident angle. Detailed analysis shows that the proposed device contains a quality factor of 990 and a sensitivity of 892.85 nm/RIU. Detailed analysis shows that the proposed device demonstrates very high sensitivity when the defective layer is placed between two metal layers. So the proposed device may have potential applications in biosensing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Sepsis is a life-threatening condition with high mortality rates due to delayed treatment of patients. The conventional methodology for blood diagnosis takes several hours, which suspends treatment, limits early drug administration, and affects the patient's recovery. Thus, rapid, accurate, bedside (onsite), economical, and reliable sepsis biomarker reading of the clinical sample is an emergent need for patient lifesaving. Electrochemical label-free biosensors are specific and rapid devices that are able to perform analysis at the patient's bedside; thus, they are considered an attractive methodology in a clinical setting. To reveal their full diagnostic potential, electrode architecture strategies of fabrication are highly desirable, particularly those able to preserve specific antibody–antigen attraction, restrict non-specific adsorption, and exhibit high sensitivity with a low detection limit for a target biomarker. The aim of this review is to provide state-of-the-art methodologies allowing the fabrication of ultrasensitive and highly selective electrochemical sensors for sepsis biomarkers. This review focuses on different methods of label-free biomarker sensors and discusses their advantages and disadvantages. Then, it highlights effective ways of avoiding false results and the role of molecular labels and functionalization. Recent literature on electrode materials and antibody grafting strategies is discussed, and the most efficient methodology for overcoming the non-specific attraction issues is listed. Finally, we discuss the existing electrode architecture for specific biomarker readers and promising tactics for achieving quick and low detection limits for sepsis biomarkers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: For the extraction of equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG), mares in the first 2–4 months of pregnancy are harvested for blood. The extracted eCG has been used in pharmaceutical products for the control of reproduction in other animal species. Blood harvesting from mares has raised concerns around their welfare, such as the possibility of them developing anaemia. This study was carried out to investigate the effect on the haematological variables of repeated blood harvesting from pregnant mares in two free-range herds. Our results show that up to 14.3% of mares in one herd had transient moderate to marked anaemia, but that no mares in the other herd developed more than mild anaemia. No mares in either herd had anaemia as defined by Hct three weeks after the last blood harvest. This difference between the herds indicates that external factors such as nutrients ingested by the mares are vitally important in the response to blood loss. Studies have been carried out on the effect of large-volume blood harvesting from horses, but they were performed on nonpregnant horses of various breeds other than Icelandic horses. This study aimed to investigate the effect on the haematological variables indicating erythropoiesis of repeated blood harvesting from pregnant mares. To account for regional variation, two herds of mares were chosen, both kept under free-range conditions. Sequential EDTA blood samples were collected weekly from 160 mares and analysed for haematological variables in an automated analyser. Serum samples from 115 mares were analysed for total protein. In both herds, after three harvests, mares began to measure below the minimum value for erythrocyte numbers, and mild anaemia was present in up to 37% at one time. Mares in only one herd had moderate or marked anaemia, 14.3% of the herd. Both herds showed evidence of increased erythropoiesis, but there was a difference between the herds in the intensity of the response. In both herds, however, all mares had reached the minimum normal haematocrit value three weeks after the last harvest. It is important to investigate the causes for the differences between these herds, which might be addressed to reduce the risk of anaemia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, an optical fiber biomedical sensor for detecting the ratio of the hemoglobin in the blood is presented. A surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-based coreless optical fiber was developed and implemented using single- and multi-mode optical fibers. The sensor is also utilized to evaluate refractive indices and concentrations of hemoglobin in blood samples, with 40 nm thickness of (20 nm Au and 20 nm Ag) to increase the sensitivity. It is found in practice that when the sensitive refractive index increases, the resonant wavelength increases due to the decrease in energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sepsis is a life-threatening condition with high mortality rates due to delayed treatment of patients. The conventional methodology for blood diagnosis takes several hours, which suspends treatment, limits early drug administration, and affects the patient’s recovery. Thus, rapid, accurate, bedside (onsite), economical, and reliable sepsis biomarker reading of the clinical sample is an emergent need for patient lifesaving. Electrochemical label-free biosensors are specific and rapid devices that are able to perform analysis at the patient’s bedside; thus, they are considered an attractive methodology in a clinical setting. To reveal their full diagnostic potential, electrode architecture strategies of fabrication are highly desirable, particularly those able to preserve specific antibody–antigen attraction, restrict non-specific adsorption, and exhibit high sensitivity with a low detection limit for a target biomarker. The aim of this review is to provide state-of-the-art methodologies allowing the fabrication of ultrasensitive and highly selective electrochemical sensors for sepsis biomarkers. This review focuses on different methods of label-free biomarker sensors and discusses their advantages and disadvantages. Then, it highlights effective ways of avoiding false results and the role of molecular labels and functionalization. Recent literature on electrode materials and antibody grafting strategies is discussed, and the most efficient methodology for overcoming the non-specific attraction issues is listed. Finally, we discuss the existing electrode architecture for specific biomarker readers and promising tactics for achieving quick and low detection limits for sepsis biomarkers.

INTRODUZIONE: Il catetere venoso periferico è un dispositivo inserito per la somministrazione di liquidi nel torrente ematico. I pazienti spesso si trovano ad affrontare ripetuti esami al fine di monitorare lo stato di salute e l’andamento della terapia e tra questi vi rientrano le numerose venipunture ai fini della raccolta di campioni ematici, che arrecano loro dolore e discomfort. Al fine di ridurre il discomfort è possibile sostituire alla procedura standard con ago butterfly quella con prelievo da catetere venoso periferico. MATERIALI E METODI: è stato condotto uno studio osservazionale prospettico nel quale sono stati inclusi 207 pazienti nei quali era necessaria l’esecuzione di un prelievo venoso. I dati raccolti sono stati analizzati attraverso la statistica descrittiva. RISULTATI: L’esecuzione della procedura sperimentata risulta di buon successo con alcune difficoltà come l’esecuzione dello scarto iniziale mentre in caso di procedura non riuscita quella che si ripete per frequenza rispetto alle altre è l’aspirazione dello scarto iniziale assente. L'emolisi è risultata poco frequente ed è più diffusa nella chimica clinica. CONCLUSIONI: Da questo studio sono emersi nuovi quesiti inerenti allo svolgimento della tecnica del prelievo venoso da cannula periferica ma anche dati inerenti al tasso di emolisi, e quindi al successo della procedura stessa. Questo apre a nuovi spunti in futuro per un’analisi più approfondita sulle determinanti che conducono a questo fenomeno. Ciò nonostante, la procedura è una buona alternativa alla tecnica standard con ago butterfly per diminuire il dolore nei contesti d’urgenza.

The complement system seems to influence cancer pathophysiology. The primary aim of this study was to explore complement components associated with the classical pathway (CP) of the complement system in peripheral blood from patients with IDH–wild-type (IDH-wt) glioblastoma. Patients undergoing primary surgery due to glioblastoma in the years 2019–2021 were prospectively included in the present study. Blood samples were collected prior to surgery, and analyzed with regard to CP complement components, as well as standard coagulation tests. In total, 40 patients with IDH-wt glioblastomas were included. C1q was reduced in 44% of the cases compared to the reference interval. C1r was reduced in 61% of the analyzed samples. Both C1q and C1r are parts of the initial steps of the classical complement activation pathway, which, however, was not correspondingly altered. Activated pro-thromboplastin time (APTT) was shorter in 82% of the analyzed samples compared to the reference interval. APTT was shorter in those with reduced C1q and C1r levels. C1q is an important link between the innate and acquired immunity, and C1q and C1r also interact with the coagulation system. Patients who displayed reduced levels of both C1q and C1r preoperatively had a significantly shorter overall survival compared with the rest of the cohort. Our findings demonstrate that there are alterations in C1q and C1r concentrations in peripheral blood from patients with IDH1-wt glioblastoma compared with the normal population. Patients who displayed reduced C1q and C1r levels had a significantly shorter survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and purpose: Candidiasis is one of the most serious problems in adult and neonatal intensive care units. Molecular techniques play a key role in identifying invasive fungal infections and could be of great benefit beside other mycological diagnostic methods such as smear preparation and blood culture. The aim of this study was to detect candida species isolated from patients in oncology unit and intensive care unit in Zanjan Valiasr Hospital, Iran. Materials and methods: In this cross-sectional descriptive study, we examined 154 patients between November 2017 and May 2018. Blood culture was done and PCR was carried out after DNA extraction. Results: In this study, Candidemia was found to be considerably higher in men with a mean age of 72 years old compared with women. Also, more than one procedure in a patient, fever, and antibiotic treatments were the main underlying factors causing Candidemia. In this study, blood cultures were positive for yeast growth in 2.6% of the patients (C. albicans in 1.3%, C. tropicalis in 0.65%, and C. glabrata in 0.65 %(. Conclusion: Candida species are among the main causes of blood infection in patients admitted to intensive care units and death rate of the condition can approach 100% in case of late diagnosis.

It is known that drinking and driving is an important factor causing traffic accidents and this situation affects every part of the society. The data for which ethyl alcohol was requested from the şırnak state hospital automation system between 01/01/2020 and 01/07/2022 will be analyzed statistically. Demographic characteristics and ethyl alcohol results of patients admitted to the emergency department were obtained from the hospital information management system. 90.8% of the 306 requests are male and 9.2% are female. 50.7% of the requests are from young people between the ages of 18–29 and 5.9% are under the age of 18. When the cases were evaluated according to age, traffic accidents took first place among individuals between the ages of 18-29. In the evaluation of the cases according to gender, traffic accidents were found to be higher in males, and we found it statistically significant (p=0.016). When the cases were evaluated according to their ethyl alcohol levels, it was seen that 284 out of 306 people were below 50 ml/dL. It was determined that 191 people applied as a result of a traffic accident, but they were not alcoholics, and it was found to be statistically significant (P [Med-Science 2022; 11(4.000): 1686-9]

Studies have been carried out on the effect of large-volume blood harvesting from horses, but they were performed on nonpregnant horses of various breeds other than Icelandic horses. This study aimed to investigate the effect on the haematological variables indicating erythropoiesis of repeated blood harvesting from pregnant mares. To account for regional variation, two herds of mares were chosen, both kept under free-range conditions. Sequential EDTA blood samples were collected weekly from 160 mares and analysed for haematological variables in an automated analyser. Serum samples from 115 mares were analysed for total protein. In both herds, after three harvests, mares began to measure below the minimum value for erythrocyte numbers, and mild anaemia was present in up to 37% at one time. Mares in only one herd had moderate or marked anaemia, 14.3% of the herd. Both herds showed evidence of increased erythropoiesis, but there was a difference between the herds in the intensity of the response. In both herds, however, all mares had reached the minimum normal haematocrit value three weeks after the last harvest. It is important to investigate the causes for the differences between these herds, which might be addressed to reduce the risk of anaemia.

In this work, a single and dual rhombic-shaped ring resonator (RR) bio-sensor using 2D photonic crystal (2D-PhC) are designed and simulated with circular Si rods in a square lattice in an air arrangement. The photonic band gap (PBG) of the structure is calculated using plane wave expansion (PWE) method. The simulation and investigation of the bio-sensor structure is carried out using finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. The optimized simulation parameters like rod radius, lattice constant, angle of incidence and cavity thickness are 142 nm, 630 nm, 90° and 2 μm respectively. A small change in refractive index (RI) will cause a considerable shift in the resonant wavelength and transmission output. The proposed bio-sensor is capable of analyzing eleven different components of blood based on the RI. Many blood-related disorders such as nutritional deficiency, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), leukemia, lymphoma and thalassemia can be found using this bio-sensor in less time and with minimum human effort. The average quality factor (QF), sensitivity and transmission efficiency (η) of the bio-sensor are 3702, 166 (nm/RIU) and 80% respectively. This design is instigated for medical applications with a compactness of 515.29 μm2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The diagnostic value of next‐generation sequencing (NGS) of blood samples from patients with periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) after total hip arthroplasty (THA) was evaluated by comparing it with drainage fluid NGS and bacterial culture. The study was designed as a retrospective diagnostic test. Thirty‐six infected patients were diagnosed with PJI according to the Musculoskeletal Infection Society (MSIS) criteria and 57 volunteers were included in our study. NGS and bacterial culture were chosen to detect PJI after THA. Blood samples and drainage fluid were collected for NGS, and the drainage fluid, which was collected at the same time as the NGS drainage fluid sample, was used for bacterial culture. The primary outcomes of interest were sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy. In the infection group, 31 patients showed positive results by blood sample NGS, 33 patients showed positive results by drainage fluid NGS, and 17 patients showed positive bacterial culture results. In the control group, the results of 2 blood sample NGS, 16 drainage fluid NGS, and 3 bacterial cultures were positive. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the blood sample were 0.86, 0.96, and 0.92, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the drainage fluid samples were 0.92, 0.72, and 0.80, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of bacterial culture were 0.47, 0.95, and 0.79, respectively. The study demonstrated that both the sensitivity and specificity of NGS were higher than those of bacterial culture, regardless of the kind of sample. Compared with drainage fluid NGS, the sensitivity of blood sample NGS was slightly lower (0.86 vs 0.92), but blood sample NGS showed higher specificity (0.96 vs 0.72). In total, the diagnostic value of blood sample NGS was superior to that of drainage fluid NGS and bacterial culture. The majority of infected patients could be identified by blood sample NGS. Moreover, because of its high specificity, blood sample NGS can not only detect infectious bacteria but also distinguish infectious from non‐infectious bacteria, which is dramatically different from using drainage fluid NGS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Full-length circRNA was sequenced in BNT162b2 mRNA vaccinated blood. • Binding motifs of stress granule assemblies proteins enriched on sequenced circRNAs. • SARS-CoV-2 related RNA binding proteins PABPC1, PUM1, YBX1. • Long-read circRNA sequencing compared with short-read whole transcriptome sequencing. Circular RNAs (circRNA) lack 5′ or 3′ ends; their unique covalently closed structures prevent RNA degradation by exonucleases. These characteristics provide circRNAs with high pharmaceutical stability and biostability relative to current standard-of-care linear mRNAs. CircRNA levels are reportedly associated with certain human diseases, making them novel disease biomarkers and a noncanonical class of therapeutic targets. In this study, the endogenous circRNAs underlying the response to BNT162b2 mRNA vaccination were evaluated. To this end, peripheral blood samples were subjected to full-length sequencing of circRNAs via nanopore sequencing and transcriptome sequencing. Fifteen samples, comprising pre-, first, and second vaccination cohorts, were obtained from five healthcare workers with no history of SARS-CoV-2 infection or previous vaccination. A total of 4706 circRNAs were detected; following full-length sequencing, 4217 novel circRNAs were identified as being specifically expressed during vaccination. These circRNAs were enriched in the binding motifs of stress granule assemblies and SARS-CoV-2 RNA binding proteins, namely poly(A) binding protein cytoplasmic 1 (PABPC1), pumilio RNA binding family member 1 (PUM1), and Y box binding protein 1 (YBX1). Moreover, 489 circRNAs were identified as previously reported miRNA sponges. The differentially expressed circRNAs putatively originated from plasma B cells compared to circRNAs reported in human blood single-cell RNA sequencing datasets. The pre- and post-vaccination differences observed in the circRNA expression landscape in response to the SARS-CoV-2 BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Fasting blood glucose is one of the major tests in the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of Diabetes Mellitus. Researchers have found the racial/ethnic differences in reference interval of common biochemical and haematological laboratory tests. Reference Intervals denotes normative values related to laboratory parameters/analytes used by diagnostic centres for clinical diagnosis. An appropriate reference value is essential for effective clinical decision making. Aim: To establish reference intervals for fasting blood glucose in healthy adult population of Ambalapuzha, North Grama Panchayath, Kerala, India. Materials And Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Biochemistry, Govt. T.D. Medical College, Ambalapuzha, Alappuzha, Kerala, India, from February 2018 to August 2018. A total of 420 healthy individuals were included in the study. After random selection of subjects, fasting blood samples were collected and all the samples were analysed for fasting blood glucose levels. Data was analysed statistically by using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test. Mean, standard deviation, reference interval and comparison between both sexes and different age groups was done. Results: Out of 420 individuals 166 (39.5%) were males and 254 (60.5%) were females. The mean level of glucose was 80.97±10.113 mg% and the standard error of means was 0.493. The study population were categorised into 20-29 years, 30- 39 years, 40-49 years and 50-59 years age groups. When compared those age groups, the mean blood glucose level was highest (83.81 mg%) for the age group 50-59 years. Significant difference in mean was seen when 30-39 years and 40-49 years was compared with 50-59 years age category. Conclusion: The study concluded that there was no difference in the reference range established between males and females. There was a significant difference in the mean fasting blood glucose among different age groups.

Chromium (Cr), silver (Ag) and hafnium oxide (HfO2) are used in a surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-based biosensor with an optimized design for measuring blood groups at a wavelength of 633 nm. A buffer layer was placed on the SPR active metal in this investigation to avoid oxidation and contamination of blood samples. A theoretical model based on experimental data considered the refractive index of blood samples. The BK7 prism is the optimum substrate material for blood type identification analysis using a combination of Ag and Cr as an SPR active metal. The sensor's performance is carefully researched in terms of its angular shift and curve width to predict the design aspects that provide precise blood-group identification. The SPR dip slope, detection accuracy and figure of merit (FOM) have been investigated concerning the subsequent generation of biosensor applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel and efficient Graphene Oxide-Polyethylene Glycol mono-4-nonylphenyl Ether (GO-PEGPE) nanocomposite was synthesized and used for solid phase extraction of trace levels of Pb2+ in different water and blood samples. The synthesized adsorbent was then characterized by the Fourier Transform-Infrared spectrophotometry (FT-IR), Field Emission-Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM), Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD). To optimize the critical parameters including pH of samples solution, amounts of adsorbent and extraction time, the response surface methodology based on the central composite design (RSM-CCD) was used and based on the results, pH = 6.0, extraction time = 22 min and amounts of adsorbent = 15 mg were selected as the optimum conditions. The relative standard deviation based on seven replicate analysis of 2 µg L−1 Pb2+ was 5.2% and the limit of detection was 0.023 µg L−1 (n = 8). The results of adsorption isotherm investigation show that the adsorption of Pb2+ onto the GO-PEGPE nanocomposite obeyed by the Langmuir isotherm with the maximum adsorption capacity of 69.44 mg g−1. Also, based on the Temkin and Dubinin–Radushkevich (DR) isotherms, the adsorption of Pb2+ onto the GO-PEGPE nanocomposite is a physisorption phenomenon and the consequences of the kinetic models illustrated that the adsorption of Pb2+ followed by the pseudo second order adsorption kinetic model. Finally, the proposed method was successfully applied for preconcentration of Pb2+ in different water and blood samples of turning industry workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and purpose: Candidiasis is one of the most serious problems in adult and neonatal intensive care units. Molecular techniques play a key role in identifying invasive fungal infections and could be of great benefit beside other mycological diagnostic methods such as smear preparation and blood culture. The aim of this study was to detect candida species isolated from patients in oncology unit and intensive care unit in Zanjan Valiasr Hospital, Iran. Materials and methods: In this cross-sectional descriptive study, we examined 154 patients between November 2017 and May 2018. Blood culture was done and PCR was carried out after DNA extraction. Results: In this study, Candidemia was found to be considerably higher in men with a mean age of 72 years old compared with women. Also, more than one procedure in a patient, fever, and antibiotic treatments were the main underlying factors causing Candidemia. In this study, blood cultures were positive for yeast growth in 2.6% of the patients (C. albicans in 1.3%, C. tropicalis in 0.65%, and C. glabrata in 0.65 %). Conclusion: Candida species are among the main causes of blood infection in patients admitted to intensive care units and death rate of the condition can approach 100% in case of late diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global surge in chronic hyperglycemia, the autoimmune disease resulting from diabetes mellitus, has attracted worldwide scientists to develop novel methods for assaying blood glucose levels in the human body. In this work, we reported a new sensitive chromogenic reagent‐based single beam spectrophotometric assay of glucose. This method is based on the catalytic oxidation of D‐glucose to D‐gluconolactone and H2O2 by glucose oxidase (GOD), later by the oxidative coupling of quinone with imine radical to give purple‐colored quinone‐imine chromogenic species with λmax = 540 nm. The linearity of glucose lies in the range of 57.81–1850.2 and 14.45–925.1 µmol L–1 by rate and fixed time method. The Michaelis–Menten constant attained by the Lineweaver–Burk plot at the optimal concentration of the reagents was 526.31 µM with Vmax of 0.2659 EU min–1 and catalytic constant of 1.3295 min–1. Intra‐ and inter‐day precision ranged between 0.73%–1.4% and 1.76%–2.4%, respectively. The standard addition method for the recovery of glucose fluctuated between 97.78% and 104.35%, registering minimal common interference species present in the blood samples. The results showed a good accuracy level (90%–102%), and the calculated limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were as low as 2.17 and 8.56 µM. The proposed work has a good correlation with the standard enzyme kit method. Hence, the proposed system can be convenient for the determination of glucose in biological samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blood samples from birds are used to address a wide variety of questions and to assess individual attributes such as gender, condition, and physiological status. As the use of blood samples expands, researchers have begun to investigate whether sampling has negative impacts on the individuals being sampled. The majority of studies to date have examined survival probability, mostly finding no detectable effect on survival or recapture rate. Significantly fewer studies have looked for effects of collecting a blood sample on measures of reproductive success. Of those that have, none found a detectable effect unless both parents were bled prior to incubation. Since fitness is determined by both survival and reproductive success, we used data from a population of Field Sparrows (Spizella pusilla) in northeastern Pennsylvania for which no negative effect of blood sampling on apparent survival was found and tested whether taking a blood sample affected measures of reproductive success. We found no evidence that clutch size, egg volume, number of offspring fledged, and nest success/failure differed between bled and unbled birds, suggesting minimal impact of blood collection in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is known that drinking and driving is an important factor causing traffic accidents and this situation affects every part of the society. The data for which ethyl alcohol was requested from the şırnak state hospital automation system between 01/01/2020 and 01/07/2022 will be analyzed statistically. Demographic characteristics and ethyl alcohol results of patients admitted to the emergency department were obtained from the hospital information management system. 90.8% of the 306 requests are male and 9.2% are female. 50.7% of the requests are from young people between the ages of 18--29 and 5.9% are under the age of 18. When the cases were evaluated according to age, traffic accidents took first place among individuals between the ages of 18-29. In the evaluation of the cases according to gender, traffic accidents were found to be higher in males, and we found it statistically significant (p=0.016). When the cases were evaluated according to their ethyl alcohol levels, it was seen that 284 out of 306 people were below 50 ml/dL. It was determined that 191 people applied as a result of a traffic accident, but they were not alcoholics, and it was found to be statistically significant (P<0.001). It is important that the study has the first remarkable findings for the province of Şırnak. We tried to make predictions by looking at the data we obtained from this study. In this study, the majority of which are traffic accident claims, young adults and men are in the majority. However, it is noteworthy that traffic accidents do not occur due to alcohol, but traffic rules are not followed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study's main purpose is to provide helpful information using blood samples from COVID-19 patients as a non-medical approach for helping healthcare systems during the pandemic. Also, this paper aims to evaluate machine learning algorithms for predicting the survival or death of COVID-19 patients. We use a blood sample dataset of 306 infected patients in Wuhan, China, compiled by Tangji Hospital. The dataset consists of blood's clinical indicators and information about whether patients are recovering or not. The used methods include K-nearest neighbor (KNN), decision tree (DT), logistic regression (LR), support vector machine (SVM), random forest (RF), stochastic gradient descent (SGD), bagging classifier (BC), and adaptive boosting (AdaBoost). We compare the performance of machine learning algorithms using statistical hypothesis testing. The results show that the most critical feature is age, and there is a high correlation between LD and CRP, and leukocytes and CRP. Furthermore, RF, SVM, DT, AdaBoost, DT, and KNN outperform other machine learning algorithms in predicting the survival or death of COVID-19 patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new method to monitor internal training load from muscle oxygen saturation using near-infrared spectroscopy could be of practical application for research and training purposes. This technology has been validated in different scientific fields, including sports science, and Humon Hex and Moxy are two leading brands. However, its relationship with hemoglobin has not been studied. Forty-eight professional cyclists, 19 men and 29 women, underwent a blood test to measure hemoglobin in the early morning. Immediately afterwards, hemoglobin and muscle oxygenation were monitored at rest by Moxy and Humon Hex on their right quadriceps (where the skinfold was measured). Venous blood hemoglobin was higher than the measurement for both devices (p< 0.001). Both hemoglobin (p <0.001) and muscle oxygen saturation measurements (p <0.05) were higher in Humon Hex than for Moxy, and there was a reasonable reproducibility (ICC=0.35 for hemoglobin and 0.26 for muscle oxygen saturation). Skinfold had an inverse relationship with hemoglobin measurement (r =–0.85 p <0.001 for Humon Hex and r =–0.75 p <0.001 for Moxy). These findings suggest that resting hemoglobin data provided by these devices are not coincident with those of blood sample, and skinfold has an inverse relationship with blood hemoglobin measurement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The outbreak of the COVID-19 virus has faced the world with a new and dangerous challenge due to its contagious nature. Hence, developing sensory technologies to detect the coronavirus rapidly can provide a favorable condition for pandemic control of dangerous diseases. In between, because of the nanoscale size of this virus, there is a need for a good understanding of its optical behavior, which can give an extraordinary insight into the more efficient design of sensory devices. For the first time, this paper presents an optical modeling framework for a COVID-19 particle in the blood and extracts its optical characteristics based on numerical computations. To this end, a theoretical foundation of a COVID-19 particle is proposed based on the most recent experimental results available in the literature to simulate the optical behavior of the coronavirus under varying physical conditions. In order to obtain the optical properties of the COVID-19 model, the light reflectance by the structure is then simulated for different geometrical sizes, including the diameter of the COVID-19 particle and the size of the spikes surrounding it. It is found that the reflectance spectra are very sensitive to geometric changes of the coronavirus. Furthermore, the density of COVID-19 particles is investigated when the light is incident on different sides of the sample. Following this, we propose a nanosensor based on graphene, silicon, and gold nanodisks and demonstrate the functionality of the designed devices for detecting COVID-19 particles inside the blood samples. Indeed, the presented nanosensor design can be promoted as a practical procedure for creating nanoelectronic kits and wearable devices with considerable potential for fast virus detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pesticides are synthetic chemical compounds that are toxic and may cause toxicity when exposed in large quantities. The leading site of action of these compounds is the inhibition of acetylcholinesterase. Quantifying the pesticide levels in the human body can help understand and study pesticide exposure in humans. The study aimed to develop and validate a rapid and accurate liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method for the quantitative determination of pesticide concentration in human blood samples. The analytes were separated using an Agilent Stable Bond C18 column and a mobile phase containing 10 mM ammonium formate in water and acetonitrile. The limits of detection and quantitation from the developed method were 0.023–0.161 and 0.072–0.487 ng/mL, respectively, while the recoveries from the spiked blood samples were 78.01–104.36%. The intraday and interday accuracies and precision were 40–105% and 0.5–13 RSD% and 40–113% and 3–14 RSD%, respectively. Linear regression was obtained at a value of > 0.9921, indicating the method to be accurate and precise. Validation was further performed on pesticide exposure and control blood samples effectively. The developed method can be employed to estimate the levels of exposure in blood samples since the method has been found to be accurate and reliable under the European standard guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pseudoarthrosis or non-union is a complication with an incidence of 5–10% of bone fractures, most frequently located in the diaphysis of long bones. The management of this complication is addressed by means of complex surgical procedures and is a concern for orthopaedic and trauma surgeons nowadays. The use of biomarkers for diagnosing patients at risk of non-union would help us to establish special measures for early corrective treatment. Methods: Prospective exploratory pilot study with a cohort of 20 patients diagnosed of non-hypertrophic pseudoarthrosis of long bones who were treated surgically with either autologous bone graft or a Tissue Engineering Product composed of bone marrow-derived Mesenchymal Stromal Cells. Patients were followed for 12 months and plasma blood samples were obtained to determine circulating levels of Transforming Growth Factor Beta 1 and Beta 2 (TGF-β1 and TGF-β2, respectively) at inclusion, and at 1 week, 2 weeks, and months 1, 2, 3, 6 and 12 after surgery. Radiological bone healing was evaluated by the Tomographic Union Score (TUS). Results: Basal levels of TGF-β1 and TGF-β2 were determined in the twenty patients (26,702 ± 14,537 pg/mL and 307.8 ± 83.1 pg/mL, respectively). Three of them withdrew from the study, so complete follow-up was conducted on 17 patients (9 successfully healed vs. 8 that did not heal). Statistically significant differences between the bone healing group and the non-union group were found at month 12 for both TGF-β1 (p = 0.005) and TGF-β2 (p = 0.02). Conclusions: TGF-β1 and TGF-β2 are biomarkers that correlate with clinical evidence of bone regeneration and may be used to monitor patients, although early predictive value after intervention needs to be further studied in combination with other molecules.

The present work has been undertaken with an aim to design and develop a material-based nanoscale fluorescence sensory system for the selective and sensitive detection of both highly reactive oxidative species (hROS) and antioxidants in a single chemical entity by exploiting two optically distinguishable useful signals. For this purpose, water-soluble, chitosan-capped fluorescent copper nanoclusters (CuNCs) have been synthesized and characterized by using conventional methods. The sensory action of the CuNCs for several analytes of interest has been investigated at both ensemble-averaged and single-particle levels by exploiting spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. The steady-state fluorescence studies have revealed that CuNCs can act as a very efficient turn-off sensor for hROS (•OH and ClO–) and also a turn-on sensor for antioxidants (ascorbic acid and glutathione). Interestingly, it has been demonstrated that the present sensory system is quite effective in detecting antioxidants in commercial fruit juice and human blood samples at low concentration levels. The feasibility of the hROS sensing ability of CuNCs at single-particle levels is also demonstrated with the help of fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS). Analysis of the data obtained from X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) has clearly indicated that the mechanism of turn-off sensing is due to the oxidation of Cu(0)-NCs to Cu-(II) by hROS. On the other hand, fluorescence studies have revealed that the turn-on sensing mechanism is due to the presence of antioxidants, which prevents the oxidation of CuNCs by hROS. More interestingly, investigation has also demonstrated that the optical output signals of the probe–analyte interaction during the hROS/antioxidant signaling can successfully be exploited to construct NAND and IMPLICATION logic gates. Essentially, the outcome of the present investigation demonstrates that CuNCs not only can be effectively used as a nanoscale sensor for both hROS and antioxidants but also have the potential to be used for electronics and medical diagnostics purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human cancers are often complicated with increased incidences of blood vessel occlusion, which are mostly insensitive to anticoagulation therapy. We searched for causal factors of cancer-associated embolism. A total of 2,017 blood samples was examined for visible abnormalities. Examined were peripheral blood samples from cancer patients who were about to undergo surgical treatment for genitourinary, breast, gastrointestinal or abdominal tumors. Samples from ambulatory patients being treated for recurrent or castration-resistant prostate cancers were included in the study. The lipid-rich nature was studied with lipophilic stains and lipid panel analysis, while surface membrane was assessed with specific staining and antibody detection. We identified a new entity, lipid droplet-like objects or circulating fatty objects (CFOs), visible in the blood samples of many cancer patients, with the potential of causing embolism. CFOs were defined as lipid-rich objects with a membrane, capable of gaining in volume through interaction with peripheral blood mononuclear cells in ex vivo culture. Blood samples from pancreatic cancer patients were found to have the highest CFO incidence and largest CFO numbers. Most noticeably, CFOs from many pancreatic cancer samples presented as large clusters entangled in insoluble fiber networks, suggestive of intravascular clotting. This study identifies CFO as an abnormal entity in cancer patient blood, and a contributory factor to intravascular embolism during cancer development and progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human cancers are often complicated with increased incidences of blood vessel occlusion, which are mostly insensitive to anticoagulation therapy. We searched for causal factors of cancer-associated embolism. A total of 2,017 blood samples was examined for visible abnormalities. Examined were peripheral blood samples from cancer patients who were about to undergo surgical treatment for genitourinary, breast, gastrointestinal or abdominal tumors. Samples from ambulatory patients being treated for recurrent or castration-resistant prostate cancers were included in the study. The lipid-rich nature was studied with lipophilic stains and lipid panel analysis, while surface membrane was assessed with specific staining and antibody detection. We identified a new entity, lipid droplet-like objects or circulating fatty objects (CFOs), visible in the blood samples of many cancer patients, with the potential of causing embolism. CFOs were defined as lipid-rich objects with a membrane, capable of gaining in volume through interaction with peripheral blood mononuclear cells in ex vivo culture. Blood samples from pancreatic cancer patients were found to have the highest CFO incidence and largest CFO numbers. Most noticeably, CFOs from many pancreatic cancer samples presented as large clusters entangled in insoluble fiber networks, suggestive of intravascular clotting. This study identifies CFO as an abnormal entity in cancer patient blood, and a contributory factor to intravascular embolism during cancer development and progression.

Objective: Currently, fetal monitoring during labor is based on visual analysis of the fetal heart rate (FHR). This test is imperfect, with high intra- and inter-observer variability and a moderate to poor prediction of the occurrence of neonatal acidosis or anoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy. In situations where there is an intermediate risk of acidosis, it is possible to use second-line tests such as blood scalp sampling (with pH or lactate measurement) or ST segment analysis of the fetal ECG. However, these invasive tests have many limitations and their place is debated. Some authors suggest a more physiological approach to FHR assessment. The main actor in maintaining fetal homeostasis is the autonomic nervous system (ANS). Its activity can be assessed by analysing heart rate variability (HRV). The aim is to assess whether HRV can be used to identify situations at risk of acidosis., Materials and Methods: Our team has developed an index, the Fetal Stress Index, to measure HRV. To test it in a situation of acidosis, we used a pregnant ewe model. We also developed in parallel a human fetal ECG recording system., Results: In our experimental model, we have shown that this index reflects variations in the parasympathetic system and correlates with the onset of acidosis. As its use in clinical practice requires the acquisition of a beat-to-beat FHR signal, we have also developed an abdominal patch that allows highly accurate analysis of the fetal ECG., Conclusion: The future is therefore to validate the FSI as a marker of acidosis in a prospective cohort using the signal obtained from our patch. This could be a new tool for fetal monitoring during labor., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.. All rights reserved.)

The primary aim of the investigation was to determine the daily load variations between the microcycles of an entire season of an elite group of professional soccer players. The second aim of this study was to determine the relationships between Foster's rating of perceived exertion (RPE), the Hooper index (HI) and CK levels over the weekly microcycles of the season. Thirty-five male professional soccer players participated in this study (3 goalkeepers, 6 wide defenders, 4 central defenders, 9 midfielders, 8 wide midfielders and 4 forwards) (25.7 ± 5.0 years, 182.3 ± 6.4 cm; 79.1 ± 7.0 kg). Significant differences between months in the variables of HI (p = 0.001; ES = 0.052), minT (p = 0.001; ES = 0.066), IL (p = 0.001; ES = 0.052, minimum effect) and CK (p = 0.002; ES = 0.031) were found. Comparison of the HI (p = 0.044; ES = 0.002), minT (p = 0.001; ES = 0.045), and IL (p = 0.001; ES = 0.045) revealed significant differences between microcycles. No significant differences were found in CK (p = 0.710; ES = 0.001) across the period. A significantly higher internal training load and fatigue perception in microcycles with only one official match was found. The greater load occurred 3 to 4 days before the game. In addition, it can be concluded that the first quarter of the season seemed to induce a greater physical demand on elite professional players. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An electrochemical sensor with high sensitivity and selectivity and excellent stability was developed for the determination of sofosbuvir (SOF), based on molecular imprinting strategy. The imprinted polymer was fabricated using acrylamide and methacrylic acid as monomers, 2, 2′-azobisisobutyronitrile (initiator), SOF as a template and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (cross-linker). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray and scanning electron microscopy were used for the characterization of the morphology and composition of the synthesized polymer. The proposed sensor was designed layer-by-layer assembled graphene oxide and imprinted polymer film on the surface of glassy carbon electrode. Cyclic voltammetry, square wave voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were utilized to investigate the electrochemical behavior of the modified sensor toward SOF. Under the optimum experimental condition, the relative current intensity of the sensor is directly proportional to the concentration of SOF in the range from 1 nM to 0.83 mM with lower detection limit of 0.013 nM. Moreover, the proposed sensor exhibited high selectivity (imprinting factor = 5.2), temporal stability (5 weeks), good reproducibility (RSD = 2.1%) and excellent sensitivity. Finally, the imprinted sensor was successfully applied for detection of SOF tracing in human blood of pre-treated patients and in sovaldi tablets with good recovery (98.5–100.7%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chromium (Cr), silver (Ag) and hafnium oxide (HfO2) are used in a surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-based biosensor with an optimized design for measuring blood groups at a wavelength of 633 nm. A buffer layer was placed on the SPR active metal in this investigation to avoid oxidation and contamination of blood samples. A theoretical model based on experimental data considered the refractive index of blood samples. The BK7 prism is the optimum substrate material for blood type identification analysis using a combination of Ag and Cr as an SPR active metal. The sensor’s performance is carefully researched in terms of its angular shift and curve width to predict the design aspects that provide precise blood-group identification. The SPR dip slope, detection accuracy and figure of merit (FOM) have been investigated concerning the subsequent generation of biosensor applications.