<strong>Objective:</strong> The study aimed to evaluate the performance of the three glucometers compared to standard the laboratory method (Cobas Integra 400 Plus) in measuring blood glucose levels. <s...<strong>Objective:</strong> The study aimed to evaluate the performance of the three glucometers compared to standard the laboratory method (Cobas Integra 400 Plus) in measuring blood glucose levels. <strong>Patients and Methods: </strong>A total of 100 Yemeni diabetic patients were randomly recruited into a comparative cross-sectional study. Venous and finger-pricked blood samples were obtained from all participants and used for blood glucose levels measurement following the standard procedures. <strong>Results:</strong> The mean blood glucose levels for one-hundred diabetic patients using the Gluco Contour TS and Gluco SD Codefree were not significantly different compared with the Cobas Integra 400 Plus (12.14 ± 6.89 mmol/L vs. 12.85 ± 8.83 mmol/L, <span style="white-space:normal;"><i></span>P<span style="white-space:normal;"></i></span> = 0.159;12.50 ± 7.18 mmol/L vs. 12.85 ± 8.83 mmol/L, <i>P</i> = 0.490), respectively. However, there is a significant difference using the Gluco Alert device from that of the Cobas Integra 400 Plus (11.83 ± 6.94 mmol/L vs. 12.85 ± 8.83 mmol/L, <span style="white-space:normal;"><i></span>P<span style="white-space:normal;"></i></span> = 0.046). Furthermore, using the ROC curve at a 95% confidence interval, the Cobas Integra 400 Plus showed a significant agreement with the Gluco Contour TS (51.4%), Gluco SD Codefree (50.4%), and Gluco Alert (39.3%), respectively. For determining accuracy, the sensitivity of the glucometer devices was the following: Gluco SD Codefree (87.3%), Contour TS (85.9%), and Gluco Alert (78.9%). In this regard, the highest specificity was related to Gluco Contour TS (65.5%). <strong>Conclusion:</strong> The correlation between both methods was good, with high sensitivity and specificity in measuring blood glucose levels as indicated by the ROC curve. Thus, we suggest using these glucometers at homes and hospitals as a point of care for diabetic patients.展开更多
In this study, nine high-lysine maize kernels and two kernels of common maize hybrid were used as experiment materials, and quantitative determination of lysine contents in high-lysine maize kernels and common maize k...In this study, nine high-lysine maize kernels and two kernels of common maize hybrid were used as experiment materials, and quantitative determination of lysine contents in high-lysine maize kernels and common maize kernels was carried out using Hitachi L-8900 Automatic Amino-acid Analyzer, to know the effect of the Analyzer in distinguishing the lysine contents between common maize kernels and high-lysine maize kernels. The results showed that the lysine contents of high-lysine maize kernels were among 0.34%-0.42%, while of common maize kernels were a- mong 0.24%-0.25%, and the difference was significant. Compared with other tradi- tional methods, this method is rapid, simple, sensitive, highly reproductive and needs fewer maize kernels, thus it is applicable in maize breeding.展开更多
The polymerase acidic protein is an important family of proteins from influenza A virus, which is classified as many different subtypes or spe-cies. Thus, an important question is if these classifications are numerica...The polymerase acidic protein is an important family of proteins from influenza A virus, which is classified as many different subtypes or spe-cies. Thus, an important question is if these classifications are numerically distinguishable with respect to the polymerase acidic protein. The amino-acid pair predictability was used to transfer 2432 polymerase acidic proteins into 2432 scalar data. The one-way ANOVA found these polymerase acidic proteins distinguish-able in terms of subtypes and species. However, the large residuals in ANOVA suggested a pos-sible large intra-subtype/species variation. Therefore, the inter- and intra-subtype/species variations were studied using the model II ANOVA. The results showed that the in-tra-subtype/species variations accounted most of variation, which was 100% in total for both inter- and intra- subtype/species variations. Our analysis threw lights on the issue of how to de-termine a wide variety of patterns of antigenic variation across space and time, and within and between subtypes as well as hosts.展开更多
The mutation pattern in protein is a very important feature and is studied through various approaches including the study on mutation pattern in domains where amino acids are converted into numbers from letters. In th...The mutation pattern in protein is a very important feature and is studied through various approaches including the study on mutation pattern in domains where amino acids are converted into numbers from letters. In this study, we converted the amino acids in human adrenoleukodystrophy protein with its 128 missense mutations into random domain using the amino-acid pair predictability, and then we studied their mutation patterns. The results show 1) the mutations are more likely to target the amino-acid pairs whose actual frequency is larger than their predicted one, 2) the mutations are more likely to form the amino-acid pairs whose actual frequency is smaller than their predicted frequency, 3) mutations are more likely to occur at unpredictable amino-acid pairs, and 4) mutations have the trend to narrow the difference between predicted and actual frequencies of amino-acid pairs.展开更多
A formalin-treated polyvinyl-alcohol (PVF) sponge is convenient as a scaffold because its configuration is easily modified. However, coating the sponge with an adhesive chemical agent is necessary to attach bone marro...A formalin-treated polyvinyl-alcohol (PVF) sponge is convenient as a scaffold because its configuration is easily modified. However, coating the sponge with an adhesive chemical agent is necessary to attach bone marrow cells (BMCs) to the sponge structure. Moreover, it was considered that a hybrid scaffold composed of a sponge and enveloped cylindrical porous hydroxyapatite (HA) would be convenient. In this study, the effect of leucine (Leu) coating on a PVF sponge was examined for osteogenesis on an HA/PVF hybrid scaffold by rat BMCs (rBMCs). In an in vivo assessment, the sponge immersed in Leu solution (10 mg/ml) was inserted into the hollow center of cylindrical HA. The sponge received 1.5 × 106 rBMCs obtained from male Fischer 344 rats. The hybrid scaffolds were then implanted subcutaneously of syngeneic rats for 6 weeks. In vitro assessment of Leu to hard tissue formation with coating on the well or addition in rBMC culture medium was also performed in a 6-well plate for 2 weeks. In vivo examinations showed the excellent effect of Leu coating on PVF sponge. Leu-coated PVF sponge in the scaffolds showed marked new bone formation in the pores by histological examination. Leu-coated PVF sponge showed a high quantity of osteocalcine (OC). HA might prevent the release of rBMCs from PVF as a barrier. In in vitro examinations, the quantity of OC in rBMC culture with and without the addition of Leu in culture medium showed no significant difference. However, addition of Leu showed significant ALP activity level in culture medium. Leu coating in culture plate wells showed no influence on the quantity of OC. It was concluded from the results that Leu might prevent the emigration of rBMCs to the outside of the scaffold and promote the differentiation of cells to osteoblasts in the scaffold.展开更多
文摘<strong>Objective:</strong> The study aimed to evaluate the performance of the three glucometers compared to standard the laboratory method (Cobas Integra 400 Plus) in measuring blood glucose levels. <strong>Patients and Methods: </strong>A total of 100 Yemeni diabetic patients were randomly recruited into a comparative cross-sectional study. Venous and finger-pricked blood samples were obtained from all participants and used for blood glucose levels measurement following the standard procedures. <strong>Results:</strong> The mean blood glucose levels for one-hundred diabetic patients using the Gluco Contour TS and Gluco SD Codefree were not significantly different compared with the Cobas Integra 400 Plus (12.14 ± 6.89 mmol/L vs. 12.85 ± 8.83 mmol/L, <span style="white-space:normal;"><i></span>P<span style="white-space:normal;"></i></span> = 0.159;12.50 ± 7.18 mmol/L vs. 12.85 ± 8.83 mmol/L, <i>P</i> = 0.490), respectively. However, there is a significant difference using the Gluco Alert device from that of the Cobas Integra 400 Plus (11.83 ± 6.94 mmol/L vs. 12.85 ± 8.83 mmol/L, <span style="white-space:normal;"><i></span>P<span style="white-space:normal;"></i></span> = 0.046). Furthermore, using the ROC curve at a 95% confidence interval, the Cobas Integra 400 Plus showed a significant agreement with the Gluco Contour TS (51.4%), Gluco SD Codefree (50.4%), and Gluco Alert (39.3%), respectively. For determining accuracy, the sensitivity of the glucometer devices was the following: Gluco SD Codefree (87.3%), Contour TS (85.9%), and Gluco Alert (78.9%). In this regard, the highest specificity was related to Gluco Contour TS (65.5%). <strong>Conclusion:</strong> The correlation between both methods was good, with high sensitivity and specificity in measuring blood glucose levels as indicated by the ROC curve. Thus, we suggest using these glucometers at homes and hospitals as a point of care for diabetic patients.
基金Supported by Henan Major Scientific and Technological Project(121100110300)Outstanding Youth Project of Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences(2013YQ006)~~
文摘In this study, nine high-lysine maize kernels and two kernels of common maize hybrid were used as experiment materials, and quantitative determination of lysine contents in high-lysine maize kernels and common maize kernels was carried out using Hitachi L-8900 Automatic Amino-acid Analyzer, to know the effect of the Analyzer in distinguishing the lysine contents between common maize kernels and high-lysine maize kernels. The results showed that the lysine contents of high-lysine maize kernels were among 0.34%-0.42%, while of common maize kernels were a- mong 0.24%-0.25%, and the difference was significant. Compared with other tradi- tional methods, this method is rapid, simple, sensitive, highly reproductive and needs fewer maize kernels, thus it is applicable in maize breeding.
文摘The polymerase acidic protein is an important family of proteins from influenza A virus, which is classified as many different subtypes or spe-cies. Thus, an important question is if these classifications are numerically distinguishable with respect to the polymerase acidic protein. The amino-acid pair predictability was used to transfer 2432 polymerase acidic proteins into 2432 scalar data. The one-way ANOVA found these polymerase acidic proteins distinguish-able in terms of subtypes and species. However, the large residuals in ANOVA suggested a pos-sible large intra-subtype/species variation. Therefore, the inter- and intra-subtype/species variations were studied using the model II ANOVA. The results showed that the in-tra-subtype/species variations accounted most of variation, which was 100% in total for both inter- and intra- subtype/species variations. Our analysis threw lights on the issue of how to de-termine a wide variety of patterns of antigenic variation across space and time, and within and between subtypes as well as hosts.
文摘The mutation pattern in protein is a very important feature and is studied through various approaches including the study on mutation pattern in domains where amino acids are converted into numbers from letters. In this study, we converted the amino acids in human adrenoleukodystrophy protein with its 128 missense mutations into random domain using the amino-acid pair predictability, and then we studied their mutation patterns. The results show 1) the mutations are more likely to target the amino-acid pairs whose actual frequency is larger than their predicted one, 2) the mutations are more likely to form the amino-acid pairs whose actual frequency is smaller than their predicted frequency, 3) mutations are more likely to occur at unpredictable amino-acid pairs, and 4) mutations have the trend to narrow the difference between predicted and actual frequencies of amino-acid pairs.
文摘A formalin-treated polyvinyl-alcohol (PVF) sponge is convenient as a scaffold because its configuration is easily modified. However, coating the sponge with an adhesive chemical agent is necessary to attach bone marrow cells (BMCs) to the sponge structure. Moreover, it was considered that a hybrid scaffold composed of a sponge and enveloped cylindrical porous hydroxyapatite (HA) would be convenient. In this study, the effect of leucine (Leu) coating on a PVF sponge was examined for osteogenesis on an HA/PVF hybrid scaffold by rat BMCs (rBMCs). In an in vivo assessment, the sponge immersed in Leu solution (10 mg/ml) was inserted into the hollow center of cylindrical HA. The sponge received 1.5 × 106 rBMCs obtained from male Fischer 344 rats. The hybrid scaffolds were then implanted subcutaneously of syngeneic rats for 6 weeks. In vitro assessment of Leu to hard tissue formation with coating on the well or addition in rBMC culture medium was also performed in a 6-well plate for 2 weeks. In vivo examinations showed the excellent effect of Leu coating on PVF sponge. Leu-coated PVF sponge in the scaffolds showed marked new bone formation in the pores by histological examination. Leu-coated PVF sponge showed a high quantity of osteocalcine (OC). HA might prevent the release of rBMCs from PVF as a barrier. In in vitro examinations, the quantity of OC in rBMC culture with and without the addition of Leu in culture medium showed no significant difference. However, addition of Leu showed significant ALP activity level in culture medium. Leu coating in culture plate wells showed no influence on the quantity of OC. It was concluded from the results that Leu might prevent the emigration of rBMCs to the outside of the scaffold and promote the differentiation of cells to osteoblasts in the scaffold.
