The inclusion of succinylacetone as marker for tyrosinemia type I in expanded newborn screening programs

In expanded newborn screening programs by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry false negatives for tyrosinemia type I are a significant problem. We describe a method for inclusion of succinylacetone in order to avoid false negatives. We studied spots from 13,000 neonates born in Tuscany (January-May 2007) and ten spots from six patients with tyrosinemia type I. The traditional screening method was modified by adding dioxooctanoid acid (or 13C2-succinylacetone) as an internal standard to the methanolic solution of deuterated acylcarnitines and amino acids. A hydrazine solution was added to the mixture. The times of extraction, butylation and drying were only slightly prolonged. Specific multiple reaction monitoring for derivatized and labelled succinylacetone and dioxooctanoic acid was carried out. The assays were linear up to 100 micromol/L for succinylacetone. Intra- and inter-day imprecision data were in the range of 1.34% to 7.09% and 3.50% to 4.49%. Limits of detection and of quantification were 0.2 micromol/L and 0.4 micromol/L, respectively. Recovery ranged from 97.02% to 100.29%. Succinylacetone levels in samples from unaffected neonates were very close to the detection limit. Of the 46 recalls, eight (17.4%) were for abnormal tyrosine levels and all these cases had succinylacetone levels within the normal range (<2.4 micromol/L). In ten spots from six affected patients succinylacetone values ranged from 3.3 to 35.0 micromol/L. Including succinylacetone in newborn screening programs for amino acids and acylcarnitines avoids false-negative results for tyrosinemia type I. Newborn screening laboratories should consider implementing these modifications.     

Highly atom-economic one-pot formation of three different C-P bonds: general synthesis of acyclic tertiary phosphine sulfides

The reaction of benzothiadiphosphole 1 with an equimolar mixture of R1MgBr and R2MgBr gave intermediate A', which, after only 4-5 min, was treated with an equimolar amount of R3MgBr, giving the asymmetric phosphine PR1R2R3 in 45% overall yield (75-80% yield when R1 = R2 and 85-90% yield when R1 = R2 = R3) and the byproduct 6 in 90% yield. The treatment of 6 with PCl3 quantitatively regenerates the starting reagent 1. Treatment of the phosphines with elemental sulfur gave the corresponding sulfides.     

RGB method in immunofluorescence investigations on stem cells

Colour is not related to a particular discipline, but it is transversely present in many circles and in almost all the aspects of life. It has a special value in art, but also as far as other disciplines are concerned, like the sciences, the colour is at the basis of some of their intrinsic significances and it often needed to allow the interpretation of some of their phenomena as well. As regards the development of cell biology knowledge, colour acquired more and more importance in revealing the observations of the researchers. A field in which the methods based on the colours are particularly employed is the immunofluorescence, used to identify specific proteins in cells and tissues. These techniques combine the fluorochrome properties with specific molecules, i.e. antibodies, directed against particular substances to investigate, for example a specific protein. In single immunofluorescence analysis, the signal from an excited fluorochrome corresponds to a particular protein. In multiple immunofluorescence analysis, two or more signals are simultaneously detected to show the localization of different proteins on the same sample. The three primary colours red, green and blue were currently assigned to the signals from immunofluorescence-processed samples and visualized by the RGB method. In the present work, different examples of RGB applications in immunocytochemical investigations are showed: the first concerns the multiple analysis of three markers, localized in different loci of the cell plasma membrane; the second is related to the co-localization of two signals in the same site of specific subcellular structures. In this case the secondary colours, obtained by overlapping the primary ones, demonstrate the specific co-presence of two proteins in the same site. With the present paper, the authors wish to underline the relevant role of colours also in those areas in which colours are the means not the end.     

Proficiency testing in food microbiology: experience from implementation of ISO/IEC 17043 and ISO/TS 22117

The proficiency testing (PT) scheme ??AQUA?? for food microbiology was organised by the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie (IZSVe) according to ISO/IEC 17043 and ISO/TS 22117. This paper describes the IZSVe experience on the application of the above-mentioned standards for the PTs, with focus on the Enterobacteriaceae enumeration one. Freeze-dried food matrices contaminated with American Type Culture Collection bacterial strains were used as test samples for each microbiological PT organised by IZSVe. The sample homogeneity and stability were verified prior to distribution to participants and throughout the PT, respectively. The participating laboratories analysed samples using their routine methods, and results were transmitted to IZSVe. Data and methods used by each participating laboratory were analysed in order to evaluate the laboratory performance. With reference to the Enterobacteriaceae PT, the test samples were homogeneous and stable. In addition, most laboratory results were obtained using equivalent test methods. Statistical approaches applied to analyse data generated from all participating laboratories revealed similar outcomes as no significant outlying count and only 5?% of unacceptable results were observed. Finally, the z-score, with the standard deviation that does not vary from round toround, was applied to compare and to evaluate the performance of each laboratory over time highlighting possible persistent trends over several rounds.     

Survival of B c mesons in a hot plasma within a potential model

We extend a previous work on the study of heavy charmonia and bottomonia in a deconfined quark-gluon plasma by considering the B _c family of mesons. With the introduction of this bound state of a charm and a beauty quark, we investigate at finite temperature the behavior of the quarkonium, in an energy region between the ψ and the Y states.     

Electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometric investigation of phenylpropanoids and secoiridoids from solid olive residue

This work is focused on the recovery and structural characterisation of bioactive compounds from SOR (solid olive residue), a low cost and widely available by-product in the Mediterranean basin. In the light of the interesting biological activities attributed both to secoiridoid and phenylpropanoids, the aim of this work was to carry out a systematic tandem mass spectrometric study for the identification and characterisation of these two class of compounds extracted from SOR derived from Coratina, a cultivar widely diffused in the south of Italy. Five phenylpropanoids, in addition to verbascoside, and two new secoiridoids were identified.     

Self-similar solutions of a nonlinear friction equation in higher dimensions

We study the class of self-similar solutions of certain multi-dimensional kinetic models of granular flows, which have been recently introduced in connection with the quasi elastic limit of a model Boltzmann equation with dissipative collisions and variable coefficient of restitution. The importance of these solutions in connection with the cooling of the dissipative gas is subsequently discussed.

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Sunto Si studia la classe delle soluzioni di similarità di alcune equazioni cinetiche per flussi granulari in più dimensioni. Queste equazioni sono state introdotte di recente in connessione con il limite quasi elastico di un’ equazione di Boltzmann per collisioni dissipative con coefficiente di restituzione variabile. Nella seconda parte del lavoro si discute l’importanza di tali soluzioni nello studio del raffreddamento del gas dissipativo.

     

Biological applications of LbL multilayer capsules: From drug delivery to sensing

Polyelectrolyte multilayer (PEM) capsules engineered with active elements for targeting, labeling, sensing and delivery hold great promise for the controlled delivery of drugs and the development of new sensing platforms. PEM capsules composed of biodegradable polyelectrolytes are fabricated for intracellular delivery of encapsulated cargo (for example peptides, enzymes, DNA, and drugs) through gradual biodegradation of the shell components. PEM capsules with shells responsive to environmental or physical stimuli are exploited to control drug release. In the presence of appropriate triggers (e.g., pH variation or light irradiation) the pores of the multilayer shell are unlocked, leading to the controlled release of encapsulated cargos. By loading sensing elements in the capsules interior, PEM capsules sensitive to biological analytes, such as ions and metabolites, are assembled and used to detect analyte concentration changes in the surrounding environment. This Review aims to evaluate the current state of PEM capsules for drug delivery and sensing applications.