1,721,057 research outputs found
Renal dysfunction is a confounder for plasma natriuretic peptides in detectingheart dysfunction in uremic and idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathies.
No full textClin Chem. 2007 Dec;53(12):2097-104. Epub 2007 Oct 12.
Renal dysfunction is a confounder for plasma natriuretic peptides in detecting heart dysfunction in uremic and idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathies.
Codognotto M, Piccoli A, Zaninotto M, Mion M, Plebani M, Vertolli U, Tona F, Ruzza L, Barchita A, Boffa GM.
Source
Division of Nephrology, University Hospital, University of Padova, Italy.
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
The diagnostic value of natriuretic peptides in uremic cardiomyopathy has not been defined, nor has the effect of a hemodialysis (HD) session on peptides.
METHODS:
We performed an observational study of 100 white adult outpatients in New York Heart Association class I-II, with neither diabetes nor ischemic heart disease, 50 of whom had idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and 50 of whom had uremic cardiomyopathy and were undergoing HD. We measured plasma N-terminal proB-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), BNP, and atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) both before and after a dialysis session. Doppler echocardiograms were evaluated. We performed multiple regression analysis on the logarithm of peptide concentrations using clinical, laboratory, and echocardio-Doppler data as explanatory variables.
RESULTS:
Mean peptide concentrations were higher in the HD group, with an HD:DCM ratio of 25 for NT-proBNP and 5 for BNP and ANP. Peptides were correlated with each other (r > 0.85). After HD, NT-proBNP significantly increased by 14%, BNP decreased by 17%, and ANP decreased by 56%. Predialysis concentrations correlated with postdialysis values (r > 0.85). A multiple regression equation significantly fitted the observed peptide concentrations, both pre- and postdialysis, using the same set of 4 variables: disease group (DCM or HD), diastolic pattern, left atrial volume, and body mass index.
CONCLUSIONS:
Renal dysfunction was a confounder for natriuretic peptides, which were present in higher concentrations in the uremic patients with milder cardiac dysfunction than in those with idiopathic DCM without renal dysfunction. Left diastolic function pattern and atrial volume were cardiac determinants of peptide concentrations in DCM and HD
Numerical modeling and leakage reduction in the water distribution system of Udine
No full textThe paper describes the effective achievements in terms of water supply and water resources management obtained by AMGA
S.p.A. within the GAP-UK Project (Interreg IV Programme). Two main issues are addressed, namely, the calibration of the
numerical simulation model and the water loss reduction which has been obtained after extensive leakage identification and
repair campaigns performed all over the network. In particular, the priority of leakage identification and repair has been
assigned to those sectors affected by a high rate of water loss, as a result of modeling and monitoring, thus confirming some
model prediction. All the identified leakages have been repaired and the effect on the global water balance of the system is
evident, characterized by a minimum night flow which passed from 215 L/s down to 165 L/s
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Esperienza di gestione del bulking filamentoso causato da Microthrix particella in un impianto a biomassa sospesa
No full text
Acque meteoriche nei depuratori: effetti sul carico organico e azotato
No full textIn questo lavoro è stato studiato l’effetto delle acque
meteoriche sui carichi di sostanza organica e azoto in ingresso
all’impianto di depurazione di Udine, prendendo come
riferimento i valori di un giorno di tempo secco. In un
giorno con 23 mm di pioggia l’impianto ha trattato una portata
superiore del 79%, un carico organico superiore del 7%
e un carico azotato inferiore del 9% rispetto al giorno secco;
in un giorno con 46 mm di pioggia l’impianto ha trattato una
portata superiore del 187%, un carico organico superiore del
43% e un carico azotato inferiore del 40%. In tutti i casi
l’impianto in tempo di pioggia ha rispettato i limiti allo scarico
nonostante i minori tempi di residenza rispetto al tempo
secco
Quality specifications for biochemical markers of myocardial injury
No full textBACKGROUND:
The current approach to the diagnosis and monitoring of myocardial damage, recognizes to biochemical markers, and in particular to troponins, a key role being well demonstrated that all elevated values were associated with a worsened prognosis. In 2001, the IFCC Committee on Standardization of Markers of Cardiac Damage published guidelines addressing the quality specifications for troponin assays in order to guarantee an analytical performance satisfying medical requirements and to standardize the quality of commercial methods. We describe how the application of quality specifications may be useful in daily practice, in order to provide advice to clinicians in the investigations of complex clinical cases of patients suffering from myocardial damage.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
The samples from three patients (cases 1-3) admitted to the hospital with symptoms suggestive of cardiac disease, showing high troponin I (cTnI) values not correlated with clinical condition, were investigated in order to verify the accuracy of the laboratory data. The standard of quality specifications related to assay specificity, imprecision and interferences were evaluated using different platforms for cTnI assays, carrying out imprecision profile and specific studies on more common interferents in immunoassays.
RESULTS:
The obtained results allow us to demonstrate two cases of false-positive cTnI values attributable to a macrocomplex between a modified "in vivo" cTnI and immunoglobulin G (case 1) and to a presence of heterophilic antibodies affecting the RxL Dimension procedure (case 3). Instead, the accuracy of data obtained in case 2 was evidenced by the imprecision profile obtained in our laboratory and by the comparison of results between different laboratories using same platform.
CONCLUSIONS:
The lack of standardization as well as the wide differences in the development of each assay give rise to major concerns regarding cTnI determinations. The laboratory must therefore check the compliance between the analytical characteristics of the method utilised against recommended quality specifications for a reliable understanding of the frequency of false-positive results as well as other serious analytical errors
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