Transactions of the Mississippi Valley Horticultural Society.

v.1 (1883)

Transactions of the California State Agricultural Society.

1874

Europeanization and the Emergence of a European Society

This article examines the European integration process from a sociological perspective, where the main focus is the examination of the social consequences of the integration process. The European Union has advanced significantly in the economic, social, and political integration processes. This has resulted in a rapid Europeanization of behavior. There has hardly been any progress, however, toward the development of European social groups. This article examines the causes of this lag and concludes that it is highly unlikely that in the middle run there be significant progress toward the Europeanization of society.

The Olympic Movement and Information Society: New Internet Challenges and Opportunities

Article describing the current situation of the Internet, the use of Internet by sport institutions, and the relationship between the Internet and the Olympic Games, and the Olympic Movement. This paper was presented at the International Symposium on Television in the Olympic Games held in Lausanne in October 1998.

Liquid nitrogen cryopreservation of Bracoccidioides brasiliensis in Fava's Netto medium

The aplicability of Fava's Netto medium in the liquid nitrogen cryopreservation technique of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis cells was demonstrated.

Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC/APCI-MS/MS) methods for the quantification of captan and folpet phthalimide metabolites in human plasma and urine.

Captan and folpet are fungicides largely used in agriculture. They have similar chemical structures, except that folpet has an aromatic ring unlike captan. Their half-lives in blood are very short, given that they are readily broken down to tetrahydrophthalimide (THPI) and phthalimide (PI), respectively. Few authors measured these biomarkers in plasma or urine, and analysis was conducted either by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry or liquid chromatography with UV detection. The objective of this study was thus to develop simple, sensitive and specific liquid chromatography-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (LC/APCI-MS/MS) methods to quantify both THPI and PI in human plasma and urine. Briefly, deuterated THPI was added as an internal standard and purification was performed by solid-phase extraction followed by LC/APCI-MS/MS analysis in negative ion mode for both compounds. Validation of the methods was conducted using spiked blank plasma and urine samples at concentrations ranging from 1 to 250 μg/L and 1 to 50 μg/L, respectively, along with samples of volunteers and workers exposed to captan or folpet. The methods showed a good linearity (R (2) > 0.99), recovery (on average 90% for THPI and 75% for PI), intra- and inter-day precision (RSD, <15%) and accuracy (<20%), and stability. The limit of detection was 0.58 μg/L in urine and 1.47 μg/L in plasma for THPI and 1.14 and 2.17 μg/L, respectively, for PI. The described methods proved to be accurate and suitable to determine the toxicokinetics of both metabolites in human plasma and urine.

International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) Consensus Conference on Handling and Staging of Radical Prostatectomy Specimens. Working group 2: T2 substaging and prostate cancer volume.

The 2009 International Society of Urological Pathology consensus conference in Boston made recommendations regarding the standardization of pathology reporting of radical prostatectomy specimens. Issues relating to the substaging of pT2 prostate cancers according to the TNM 2002/2010 system, reporting of tumor size/volume and zonal location of prostate cancers were coordinated by working group 2. A survey circulated before the consensus conference demonstrated that 74% of the 157 participants considered pT2 substaging of prostate cancer to be of clinical and/or academic relevance. The survey also revealed a considerable variation in the frequency of reporting of pT2b substage prostate cancer, which was likely a consequence of the variable methodologies used to distinguish pT2a from pT2b tumors. Overview of the literature indicates that current pT2 substaging criteria lack clinical relevance and the majority (65.5%) of conference attendees wished to discontinue pT2 substaging. Therefore, the consensus was that reporting of pT2 substages should, at present, be optional. Several studies have shown that prostate cancer volume is significantly correlated with other clinicopathological features, including Gleason score and extraprostatic extension of tumor; however, most studies fail to demonstrate this to have prognostic significance on multivariate analysis. Consensus was reached with regard to the reporting of some quantitative measure of the volume of tumor in a prostatectomy specimen, without prescribing a specific methodology. Incorporation of the zonal and/or anterior location of the dominant/index tumor in the pathology report was accepted by most participants, but a formal definition of the identifying features of the dominant/index tumor remained undecided.

Quantification of clenbuterol at trace level in human urine by ultra-high pressure liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

Clenbuterol is a β2 agonist agent with anabolic properties given by the increase in the muscular mass in parallel to the decrease of the body fat. For this reason, the use of clenbuterol is forbidden by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in the practice of sport. This compound is of particular interest for anti-doping authorities and WADA-accredited laboratories due to the recent reporting of risk of unintentional doping following the eating of meat contaminated with traces of clenbuterol in some countries. In this work, the development and the validation of an ultra-high pressure liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS) method for the quantification of clenbuterol in human urine is described. The analyte was extracted from urine samples by liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) in basic conditions using tert butyl-methyl ether (TBME) and analyzed by UHPLC-MS/MS with a linear gradient of acetonitrile in 9min only. The simple and rapid method presented here was validated in compliance with authority guidelines and showed a limit of quantification at 5pg/mL and a linearity range from 5pg/mL to 300pg/mL. Good trueness (85.8-105%), repeatability (5.7-10.6% RSD) and intermediate precision (5.9-14.9% RSD) results were obtained. The method was then applied to real samples from eighteen volunteers collecting urines after single oral doses administration (1, 5 and 10μg) of clenbuterol-enriched yogurts.

Rapid high-performance liquid chromatographic determination with fluorescence detection of furosemide in human body fluids and its confirmation by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Furosemide (FD: Lasix) is a loop diuretic which strongly increases both urine flow and electrolyte urinary excretion. Healthy volunteers were administered 40 mg orally (dissolved in water) and concentrations of FD were determined in serum and urine for up to 6 h for eight subjects, who absorbed water at a rate of 400 ml/h. Quantification was performed by HPLC with fluorescence detection (excitation at 233 nm, emission at 389 nm) with a limit of detection of 5 ng/ml for a 300-microliters sample. The elution of FD was completed within 4 min using a gradient of acetonitrile concentration rising from 30 to 50% in 0.08 M phosphoric acid. The delay to the peak serum concentration ranged from 60 to 120 min. FD was still easily measurable in the sera from all subjects 6 h after administration. In urine, the excretion rates reached their maximum between 1 and 3 h. The total amount of FD excreted in the urine averaged 11.2 mg (range 7.6-14.0 mg), with a mean urine volume of 3024 ml (range 2620-3596 ml). Moreover, the urine density was lower than 1.010 (recommended as an upper limit in doping analysis to screen diuretics) only for 2 h. An additional volunteer was administered 40 mg of FD and his urine was collected over a longer period. FD was still detectable 48 h after intake. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry with different types of ionization was used to confirm the occurrence of FD after permethylation of the extract. Negative-ion chemical ionization, with ammonia as reactant gas, was found to be the most sensitive method of detection.

International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) Consensus Conference on Handling and Staging of Radical Prostatectomy Specimens. Working group 1: specimen handling.

The 2009 International Society of Urological Pathology Consensus Conference in Boston made recommendations regarding the standardization of pathology reporting of radical prostatectomy specimens. Issues relating to the handling and processing of radical prostatectomy specimens were coordinated by working group 1. Most uropathologists followed similar procedures for fixation of radical prostatectomy specimens, with 51% of respondents transporting tissue in formalin. There was also consensus that the prostate weight without the seminal vesicles should be recorded. There was consensus that the surface of the prostate should be painted. It was agreed that both the prostate apex and base should be examined by the cone method with sagittal sectioning of the tissue sample. There was consensus that the gland should be fully fixed before sectioning. Both partial and complete embedding of prostates was considered to be acceptable as long as the method of partial embedding is stated. No consensus was determined regarding the necessity of weighing and measuring the length of the seminal vesicles, the preparation of whole mounts rather than standardized blocks and the methodology for sampling of fresh tissue for research purposes, and it was agreed that these should be left to the discretion of the working pathologist.

Rhinitis due to acrylates : case report

Background: Acrylates and methacrylates (salts and esters of acrylic and metacrylic acid respectively), are monomers commonly found in polymer plastics, resins and glues, and are widely used in many industry sectors. The first adverse health effects described were skin reactions and asthma. Exposure to acrylates, for instance when using multicomponent glues, is now a well known cause of occupational asthma. Methods: We report the case of a rhinitis - and possible asthma - to acrylates, in a 38-year-old woman, working in a nail beauty salon. She was currently treated for hypertension, and otherwise known for obesity and seasonal rhinoconjunctivitis, but did not have any respiratory problem. Two years after starting this activity, she progressively started to complain of anosmia, rhinitis, and intermittent dyspnea. Her job consisted in decorating nails with a mixture of a polymer powder and a liquid monomer, after removing the previous artificial nail with a small sander. We assessed exposure to acrylates at her working place, both as dust (from sanded nails) and volatile compound (from the mixture described above), and she was asked to measure her peak flow values twice a day for ten days, in order to detect a possible relationship between her occupational activities, the symptoms and the peak flow values. Results: Measures made during the visit of the patient's place of work showed that the existing aspiration system was efficient for eliminating the dust produced by nail sanding, but not for eliminating the volatile components. Thus, occupational exposure to acrylates was demonstrated. Moreover, the peak flow measures showed an average decrease of almost 10 percent when the patient was at work, compared to when she stayed home. We concluded that she actually suffered from professional rhinitis and, possibly, professional asthma (not certain because of the limited number of peak flow measures per day). Conclusion: Although exposure to acrylates is a well known cause of occupational asthma, it should be emphasized that the exact mechanisms of action remain unknown, despite the abundant literature about it. Some professions, which tend to be more frequent nowadays (such as working in a nail beauty salon), can expose the worker to particular risks. This highlights the need of always inquiring not only about the profession, but also the related activities, when facing a case of suspected asthma.

Antidiabetic drugs and kidney disease - Recommendations of the Swiss Society for Endocrinology and Diabetology.

Patients with diabetes are at risk of early renal function decline. Therefore, kidney function needs monitoring at least once per year. Once the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is less than 60 ml/min, the pharmacokinetics of antidiabetic drugs may be altered. Sulfonylurea and glinide therapies are associated with a risk of hypoglycaemia which is increased in the presence of renal impairment. Most sulfonylureas must be discontinued once GFR is <60 ml/min. Some glinides may be continued beyond this threshold, in particular repaglinide, which may be used in dialysis patients. In the absence of comorbidities, metformin can be continued at lower doses until a GFR of 45 ml/min, but must be withdrawn in case of dehydration or during the administration of a nephrotoxic drug including dye for radiological investigations. Glitazones may worsen water and sodium retention in patients with renal impairment. The pharmacokinetics of all DPP-IV inhibitors except linagliptin are altered with impaired renal function. Only sitagliptin, saxagliptin and linagliptin may be used in advanced kidney disease, but experience is as yet very limited. GLP-1 agonists are contraindicated in moderate to advanced kidney disease.

Multiplex ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for simultaneous quantification in human plasma of fluconazole, itraconazole, hydroxyitraconazole, posaconazole, voriconazole, voriconazole-N-oxide, anidulafungin, and caspofungin.

Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) may contribute to optimizing the efficacy and safety of antifungal therapy because of the large variability in drug pharmacokinetics. Rapid, sensitive, and selective laboratory methods are needed for efficient TDM. Quantification of several antifungals in a single analytical run may best fulfill these requirements. We therefore developed a multiplex ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method requiring 100 μl of plasma for simultaneous quantification within 7 min of fluconazole, itraconazole, hydroxyitraconazole, posaconazole, voriconazole, voriconazole-N-oxide, caspofungin, and anidulafungin. Protein precipitation with acetonitrile was used in a single extraction procedure for eight analytes. After reverse-phase chromatographic separation, antifungals were quantified by electrospray ionization-triple-quadrupole mass spectrometry by selected reaction monitoring detection using the positive mode. Deuterated isotopic compounds of azole antifungals were used as internal standards. The method was validated based on FDA recommendations, including assessment of extraction yields, matrix effect variability (<9.2%), and analytical recovery (80.1 to 107%). The method is sensitive (lower limits of azole quantification, 0.01 to 0.1 μg/ml; those of echinocandin quantification, 0.06 to 0.1 μg/ml), accurate (intra- and interassay biases of -9.9 to +5% and -4.0 to +8.8%, respectively), and precise (intra- and interassay coefficients of variation of 1.2 to 11.1% and 1.2 to 8.9%, respectively) over clinical concentration ranges (upper limits of quantification, 5 to 50 μg/ml). Thus, we developed a simple, rapid, and robust multiplex UPLC-MS/MS assay for simultaneous quantification of plasma concentrations of six antifungals and two metabolites. This offers, by optimized and cost-effective lab resource utilization, an efficient tool for daily routine TDM aimed at maximizing the real-time efficacy and safety of different recommended single-drug antifungal regimens and combination salvage therapies, as well as a tool for clinical research.