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Alió JL, José-Martínez M, Martínez-Abad A, Rodríguez AE, Versaci F, Hjortdal J, Murta JN, Plaza-Puche AB, Cantó-Cerdán M, Piñero DP. Clinical Evaluation of a New Spectral-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography-Based Biometer. Diagnostics (Basel) 2024; 14:560. [PMID: 38473032 DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics14050560] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2023] [Revised: 02/28/2024] [Accepted: 03/04/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
The VEMoS-AXL system is a new optical biometer based on spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) that has been tested in terms of intrasession repeatability and compared with a swept-source optical coherence tomography biometer (SS-OCT), which is recognized as the gold standard for the performance of an agreement analysis. A biometric analysis was performed three consecutive times in 120 healthy eyes of 120 patients aged between 18 and 40 years with the SD-OCT system, and afterwards, a single measurement was obtained with the SS-OCT system. Within-subject standard deviations were 0.004 mm, 4.394 µm, and 0.017 mm for axial length (AL), central corneal thickness (CCT), and anterior chamber depth (ACD) measures obtained with the SD-OCT biometer, respectively. The agreement between devices was good for AL (limits of agreement, LoA: -0.04 to 0.03 mm) and CCT (LoA: -4.36 to 14.38 µm), whereas differences between devices were clinically relevant for ACD (LoA: 0.03 to 0.21 mm). In conclusion, the VEMoS-AXL system provides consistent measures of anatomical parameters, being most of them interchangeable with those provided by the SS-OCT-based gold standard.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jorge L Alió
- Research and Development Department, Vissum Grupo Miranza, 03016 Alicante, Spain
- School of Medicine, Miguel Hernandez University, 03202 Alicante, Spain
| | - Marina José-Martínez
- Research and Development Department, Vissum Grupo Miranza, 03016 Alicante, Spain
| | | | | | | | - Jesper Hjortdal
- Department of Opthalmology, Aarhus University Hospital, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Joaquim Neto Murta
- Department of Opthalmology, University of Coimbra, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Ana B Plaza-Puche
- Research and Development Department, Vissum Grupo Miranza, 03016 Alicante, Spain
| | - Mario Cantó-Cerdán
- Research and Development Department, Vissum Grupo Miranza, 03016 Alicante, Spain
| | - David P Piñero
- Department of Optics, Pharmacology and Anatomy, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain
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Łaszewska A, Sajjad A, Busschbach J, Simon J, Hakkaart-van Roijen L. Conceptual Framework for Optimised Proxy Value Set Selection Through Supra-National Value Set Development for the EQ-5D Instruments. Pharmacoeconomics 2022; 40:1221-1234. [PMID: 36201130 PMCID: PMC9534733 DOI: 10.1007/s40273-022-01194-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/11/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Preference differences between countries and populations justify the use of country-specific value sets for the EQ-5D instruments. There are no clear criteria based on which the selection of value sets for countries without a national value set should be made. As part of the European PECUNIA project, this study aimed to identify factors contributing to differences in preference-based valuations and develop supra-national value sets for homogenous country clusters in Europe. METHODS A literature review was conducted to identify factors relevant to variations in the EQ-5D-3L/5L health state valuations across countries. Factors fulfilling the pre-specified criteria of validity, reliability, international feasibility and comparability were used to group 27 European Union member states, the European Free Trade Association countries and the UK. Clusters of countries were developed based on the frequency of their appearance in the same grouping. The supra-national value sets were estimated for these clusters from the coefficients of existing published valuation studies using the ordinary least-squares model. RESULTS Ten factors were identified from 69 studies. From these, five grouping variables: (1) culture and religion; (2) linguistics; (3) healthcare system typology; (4) healthcare system financing; and (5) sociodemographic aspects were derived to define the groups of homogenous countries. Frequency-based grouping revealed five cohesive clusters: English-speaking, Nordic, Central-Western, Southern and Eastern European. CONCLUSIONS European countries were clustered considering variables that may relate to differences in health state valuations. Supra-national value sets provide optimised proxy value set selection in the lack of a national value set and/or for regional decision making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agata Łaszewska
- Department of Health Economics, Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, Kinderspitalgasse 15, 1090, Vienna, Austria.
| | - Ayesha Sajjad
- Erasmus School of Health Policy and Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Jan Busschbach
- Section Medical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychiatry, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Judit Simon
- Department of Health Economics, Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, Kinderspitalgasse 15, 1090, Vienna, Austria
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Leona Hakkaart-van Roijen
- Erasmus School of Health Policy and Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
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Sulyok M, Stadler D, Steiner D, Krska R. Validation of an LC-MS/MS-based dilute-and-shoot approach for the quantification of > 500 mycotoxins and other secondary metabolites in food crops: challenges and solutions. Anal Bioanal Chem 2020; 412:2607-2620. [PMID: 32078002 PMCID: PMC7136310 DOI: 10.1007/s00216-020-02489-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 120] [Impact Index Per Article: 30.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2019] [Revised: 01/13/2020] [Accepted: 02/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
This paper describes the validation of an LC-MS/MS-based method for the quantification of > 500 secondary microbial metabolites. Analytical performance parameters have been determined for seven food matrices using seven individual samples per matrix for spiking. Apparent recoveries ranged from 70 to 120% for 53-83% of all investigated analytes (depending on the matrix). This number increased to 84-94% if the recovery of extraction was considered. The comparison of the fraction of analytes for which the precision criterion of RSD ≤ 20% under repeatability conditions (for 7 replicates derived from different individual samples) and intermediate precision conditions (for 7 technical replicates from one sample), respectively, was met (85-97% vs. 93-94%) highlights the contribution of relative matrix effects to the method uncertainty. Statistical testing of apparent recoveries between pairs of matrices exhibited a significant difference for more than half of the analytes, while recoveries of the extraction showed a much better agreement. Apparent recoveries and matrix effects were found to be constant over 2-3 orders of magnitude of analyte concentrations in figs and maize, whereas the LOQs differed less than by a factor of 2 for 90% of the investigated compounds. Based on these findings, this paper discusses the applicability and practicability of current guidelines for multi-analyte method validation. Investigation of (apparent) recoveries near the LOQ seems to be insufficiently relevant to justify the enormous time-effort for manual inspection of the peaks of hundreds of analytes. Instead, more emphasis should be put on the investigation of relative matrix effects in the validation procedure. Graphical abstract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Sulyok
- Department of Agrobiotechnology, IFA-Tulln, Institute of Bioanalytics and Agro-Metabolomics, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), Konrad-Lorenz-Str. 20, 3430 Tulln, Austria
| | - David Stadler
- Department of Agrobiotechnology, IFA-Tulln, Institute of Bioanalytics and Agro-Metabolomics, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), Konrad-Lorenz-Str. 20, 3430 Tulln, Austria
| | - David Steiner
- FFoQSI – Austrian Competence Centre for Feed and Food Quality, Safety & Innovation, FFoQSI GmbH, Technopark 1C, 3430 Tulln, Austria
| | - Rudolf Krska
- Department of Agrobiotechnology, IFA-Tulln, Institute of Bioanalytics and Agro-Metabolomics, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), Konrad-Lorenz-Str. 20, 3430 Tulln, Austria
- Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast, University Road, Belfast, Northern Ireland BT7 1NN UK
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Novati A, Yu-Taeger L, Gonzalez Menendez I, Quintanilla Martinez L, Nguyen HP. Sexual behavior and testis morphology in the BACHD rat model. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0198338. [PMID: 29883458 PMCID: PMC5993248 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0198338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2018] [Accepted: 05/17/2018] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Huntington disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder caused by a mutation in the huntingtin (HTT) gene, which results in brain neurodegeneration and peripheral pathology affecting different organs including testis. Patients with HD suffer from motor and cognitive impairment, and multiple psychiatric symptoms. Among behavioral abnormalities in HD, sexual disturbances have often been reported, but scarcely investigated in animal models. The BACHD rat model of HD carries the human full-length mutated HTT (mHTT) genomic sequence with 97 CAG-CAA repeats and displays HD-like alterations at neuropathological and behavioral level. OBJECTIVE This study aims to phenotype the BACHD rats' sexual behavior and performance as well as testis morphology because alterations in these aspects have been associated to HD. METHODS Two rat cohorts at the age of 3 and 7 months were subjected to mating tests to assess different parameters of sexual behavior. Histological analyses for testis morphology were performed in different rat cohorts at 1.5, 7 and 12 months of age whereas immunohistochemical analyses were carried out at 7 and 12 months of age to visualize the presence of mHTT in testicular tissue. Furthermore, western blot analyses were used to assess HTT and mHTT expression levels in striatum and testis at three months of age. RESULTS At 3 months, BACHD rats showed a decreased time exploring the female anogenital area (AGA), decreased latency to mount, increased number of intromissions and ejaculations and enhanced hit rate. At 7 months, all sexual parameters were comparable between genotypes with the exception that BACHD rats explored the AGA less than wild type rats. Testis analyses did not reveal any morphological alteration at any of the examined ages, but showed presence of mHTT limited to Sertoli cells in transgenic rats at both 7 and 12 months. BACHD rat HTT and mHTT expression levels in testis were lower than striatum at 3 months of age. CONCLUSIONS The testis phenotype in the BACHD rat model does not mimic the changes observed in human HD testis. The altered sexual behavior in BACHD rats at three months of age could be to a certain extent representative of and share common underlying pathways with some of the sexual disturbances in HD patients. Further investigating the biological causes of the sexual phenotype in BACHD rats may therefore contribute to clarifying the mechanisms at the base of sexual behavior changes in HD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arianna Novati
- Institute of Medical Genetics and Applied Genomics, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Centre for Rare Diseases, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Libo Yu-Taeger
- Institute of Medical Genetics and Applied Genomics, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Centre for Rare Diseases, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Irene Gonzalez Menendez
- Institute of Pathology and Neuropathology and Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Leticia Quintanilla Martinez
- Institute of Pathology and Neuropathology and Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Huu Phuc Nguyen
- Institute of Medical Genetics and Applied Genomics, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Centre for Rare Diseases, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Bochum, Bochum, Germany
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Abstract
Supercritical drying of gels is considered as the most important step of aerogel production since it enables preservation of the three-dimensional pore structure which lead to unique material properties such as high porosity, low density, and large surface area. An understanding of the kinetics of supercritical drying is necessary to provide insight into material development, scale-up, and optimization of the aerogel manufacturing process. Thus, investigation of supercritical drying is gaining increased attention in recent years. This review paper covers the experimental considerations and techniques to study the kinetics of supercritical drying, fundamental mass transfer mechanisms during the drying process and modeling efforts to predict the drying kinetics for varying operating conditions and gel properties. Transport phenomena involving diffusion, convection, spillage by volume expansion, and axial dispersion are discussed by providing the fundamental equations and empirical correlations to predict transfer coefficients. A detailed review of literature covering experimental and theoretical studies on kinetics of supercritical drying is presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- İbrahim Şahin
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Koç University, Rumelifeneri Yolu, Sarıyer, Istanbul 34450, Turkey.
| | - Yaprak Özbakır
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Koç University, Rumelifeneri Yolu, Sarıyer, Istanbul 34450, Turkey.
| | - Zeynep İnönü
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Koç University, Rumelifeneri Yolu, Sarıyer, Istanbul 34450, Turkey.
| | - Zeynep Ulker
- Department of Pharmacy, Altınbaş University, Mahmutbey Dilmenler Caddesi, No: 26, Bağcılar, Istanbul 34217, Turkey.
| | - Can Erkey
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Koç University, Rumelifeneri Yolu, Sarıyer, Istanbul 34450, Turkey.
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