The homogeneous characterisation of Ariel host stars.

The Ariel mission will characterise the chemical and thermal properties of the atmospheres of about a thousand exoplanets transiting their host star(s). The observation of such a large sample of planets will allow to deepen our understanding of planetary and atmospheric formation at the early stages, providing a truly representative picture of the chemical nature of exoplanets, and relating this directly to the type and chemical environment of the host star. Hence, the accurate and precise determination of the host star fundamental properties is essential to Ariel for drawing a comprehensive picture of the underlying essence of these planetary systems.

Proenkephalin, Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin, and Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rates in Patients With Sepsis.

Background: Proenkephalin (PENK) has been suggested as a novel biomarker for kidney function. We investigated the diagnostic and prognostic utility of plasma PENK in comparison with neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) and estimated glomerular filtration rates (eGFR) in septic patients.

Methods: A total of 167 septic patients were enrolled: 99 with sepsis, 37 with septic shock, and 31 with suspected sepsis.

Sol-gel coated ion sources for liquid chromatography-direct electron ionization mass spectrometry.

Advances in interfacing liquid chromatography and electron ionization mass spectrometry are presented. New ion source coatings synthesized by sol-gel technology were developed and tested as vaporization surfaces in terms of peak intensity, peak width and peak delay for the liquid chromatography-direct electron ionization mass spectrometry (Direct-EI) determination of environmental pollutants like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and steroids. Silica-, titania-, and zirconia-based coatings were sprayed inside the stainless steel ion source and characterized in terms of thermal stability, film thickness and morphology.

Comparison Between Soluble ST2 and High-Sensitivity Troponin I in Predicting Short-Term Mortality for Patients Presenting to the Emergency Department With Chest Pain.

Background: High-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI) and the soluble isoform of suppression of tumorigenicity 2 (sST2) are useful prognostic biomarkers in acute coronary syndrome (ACS). The aim of this study was to test the short term prognostic value of sST2 compared with hs-cTnI in patients with chest pain.

Methods: Assays for hs-cTnI and sST2 were performed in 157 patients admitted to the Emergency Department (ED) for chest pain at arrival.

Usefulness of combining admission brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) plus hospital discharge bioelectrical impedance vector analysis (BIVA) in predicting 90 days cardiovascular mortality in patients with acute heart failure.

Heart failure is a disease characterized by high prevalence and mortality, and frequent rehospitalizations. The aim of this study is to investigate the prognostic power of combining brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and congestion status detected by bioelectrical impedance vector analysis (BIVA) in acute heart failure patients. This is an observational, prospective, and a multicentre study.

Soluble Suppression of Tumorigenicity 2 and Echocardiography in Sepsis.

Soluble suppression of tumorigenicity 2 (sST2) has emerged as a biomarker of cardiac stretch or remodeling, and has demonstrated a role in acutely decompensated heart failure. However, its role in sepsis-induced cardiac dysfunction is still unknown. We explored whether sST2 serum concentration reflects either systolic or diastolic dysfunction as measured by Doppler echocardiography.

Soluble ST2 Levels and Left Ventricular Structure and Function in Patients With Metabolic Syndrome.

Background: A biomarker that is of great interest in relation to adverse cardiovascular events is soluble ST2 (sST2), a member of the interleukin family. Considering that metabolic syndrome (MetS) is accompanied by a proinflammatory state, we aimed to assess the relationship between sST2 and left ventricular (LV) structure and function in patients with MetS.

Methods: A multicentric, cross-sectional study was conducted on180 MetS subjects with normal LV ejection fraction as determined by echocardiography.

Prognostic value of decreased peripheral congestion detected by Bioelectrical Impedance Vector Analysis (BIVA) in patients hospitalized for acute heart failure: BIVA prognostic value in acute heart failure.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to investigate the prognostic role of quantitative reduction of congestion during hospitalization assessed by Bioelectrical Impedance Vector Analysis (BIVA) serial evaluations in patients admitted for acute heart failure (AHF).

Background: AHF is a frequent reason for patients to be admitted. Exacerbation of chronic heart failure is linked with a progressive worsening of the disease with increased incidence of death.

Microextraction by packed sorbent (MEPS)-UHPLC-UV: A simple and efficient method for the determination of five benzodiazepines in an alcoholic beverage.

This article describes a nano-scale method for the determination and quantification of five benzodiazepines (BDZ) in an alcoholic grappa drink (chlordiazepoxide; lorazepam; diazepam; oxazepam; medazepam). BDZ are typically used in drug-facilitated crimes (DFC) for their accessibility and synergistic effects with alcohol. Specimens collected on the crime scene must be rapidly analyzed to prove the crime, though, in most cases, a very small amount is available.

Soluble ST2 has a prognostic role in patients with suspected sepsis.

Background: Soluble suppression of tumorigenicity 2 (sST2) has emerged as a novel biomarker for heart failure, and serum sST2 concentrations could be increased in inflammatory diseases. We explored whether sST2 is related to cardiac dysfunction/failure and has a prognostic role in patients with suspected sepsis.

Methods: In a total of 397 patients with suspected sepsis, sST2 concentrations were measured by using the Presage ST2 Assay (Critical Diagnostics, USA).

Boosting the Detection Potential of Liquid Chromatography-Electron Ionization Mass Spectrometry Using a Ceramic Coated Ion Source.

Detection of target and non-target substances and their characterization in complex samples is a challenging task. Here we demonstrate that coating the electron ionization (EI) ion source of an LC-MS system with a sol-gel ceramic film can drastically improve the detection of high-molecular weight and high-boiling analytes. A new ion source coated with a ceramic material was developed and tested with a mixture of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) with an increasing number of rings.

N-Terminal Pro-B-Type Natriuretic Peptide (NT-proBNP) Measurements Until a 30% Reduction Is Attained During Acute Decompensated Heart Failure Admissions and Comparison With Discharge NT-proBNP Levels: Implications for In-Hospital Guidance of Treatment.

Background: A >30% N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) reduction at discharge in acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) predicts a favorable prognosis. To study the feasibility of guiding ADHF treatment by measuring NT-proBNP well before discharge, we assessed at which moment during hospitalization patients attain a NT-proBNP reduction of >30% (target) and whether this target is still attained at discharge.

Methods: Twenty-five consecutive ADHF patients with NT-proBNP >1,700 ng/L were included (original cohort).

Serum Cystatin C for the Diagnosis of Acute Kidney Injury in Patients Admitted in the Emergency Department.

Background: Early diagnosis of acute kidney injury (AKI) at emergency department (ED) is a challenging issue. Current diagnostic criteria for AKI poorly recognize early renal dysfunction and may cause delayed diagnosis. We evaluated the use of serum cystatin C (CysC) for the early and accurate diagnosis of AKI in patients hospitalized from the ED.

Diagnostic and Prognostic Utility of Procalcitonin in Patients Presenting to the Emergency Department with Dyspnea.

Background: Among patients in the emergency department, dyspnea is a common complaint and can pose a diagnostic challenge. Biomarkers are used increasingly to improve diagnostic accuracy and aid with prognostication in dyspneic patients. The purpose of this study was to examine the clinical utility of serum procalcitonin (PCT) for the diagnosis of pneumonia in patients presenting to the emergency department with dyspnea.

Drug Therapy for Acute Heart Failure.

Acute heart failure is globally one of most frequent reasons for hospitalization and still represents a challenge for the choice of the best treatment to improve patient outcome. According to current international guidelines, as soon as patients with acute heart failure arrive at the emergency department, the common therapeutic approach aims to improve their signs and symptoms, correct volume overload, and ameliorate cardiac hemodynamics by increasing vital organ perfusion. Recommended treatment for the early management of acute heart failure is characterized by the use of intravenous diuretics, oxygen, and vasodilators.

The use of discharge haemoglobin and NT-proBNP to improve short and long-term outcome prediction in patients with acute heart failure.

Aims: To examine the prognostic value of admission (A) and discharge (D) haemoglobin (Hb) and its relationship with N-terminal pro-hormone B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in patients hospitalised for acute heart failure (AHF). The outcomes of interests were rehospitalisation or death after one, six or twelve months after discharge.

Methods: 317 hospitalised AHF patients (74.

Occurrence of specific environmental risk factors in brain tissues of sudden infant death and sudden intrauterine unexpected death victims assessed with gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and sudden intrauterine unexpected death syndrome (SIUDS) are an unresolved teaser in the social-medical and health setting of modern medicine and are the result of multifactorial interactions. Recently, prenatal exposure to environmental contaminants has been associated with negative pregnancy outcomes, and verification of their presence in fetal and newborn tissues is of crucial importance. A gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) method, using a triple quadrupole analyzer, is proposed to assess the presence of 20 organochlorine pesticides, two organophosphate pesticides, one carbamate (boscalid), and a phenol (bisphenol A) in human brain tissues.

Diagnostic and short-term prognostic utility of plasma pro-enkephalin (pro-ENK) for acute kidney injury in patients admitted with sepsis in the emergency department.

Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) aggravates the prognosis of patients with sepsis. Reliable biomarkers for early detection of AKI in this setting are lacking. Enkephalins influence kidney function, and may have a role in AKI from sepsis.

Comparison between admission natriuretic peptides, NGAL and sST2 testing for the prediction of worsening renal function in patients with acutely decompensated heart failure.

Background: In order to predict the occurrence of worsening renal function (WRF) and of WRF plus in-hospital death, 101 emergency department (ED) patients with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) were evaluated with testing for amino-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), BNP, sST2, and neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin (NGAL).

Methods: In a prospective international study, biomarkers were collected at the time of admission; the occurrence of subsequent in hospital WRF was evaluated.

Results: In total 26% of patients developed WRF.

Overcrowding in emergency department: an international issue.

Overcrowding in the emergency department (ED) has become an increasingly significant worldwide public health problem in the last decade. It is a consequence of simultaneous increasing demand for health care and a deficit in available hospital beds and ED beds, as for example it occurs in mass casualty incidents, but also in other conditions causing a shortage of hospital beds. In Italy in the last 12-15 years, there has been a huge increase in the activity of the ED, and several possible interventions, with specific organizational procedures, have been proposed.

Evidence of uncoupling between renal dysfunction and injury in cardiorenal syndrome: insights from the BIONICS study.

Objective: The objective of the study was to assess urinary biomarkers of renal injury for their individual or collective ability to predict Worsening renal function (WRF) in patients with acutely decompensated heart failure (ADHF).

Methods: In a prospective, blinded international study, 87 emergency department (ED) patients with ADHF were evaluated with biomarkers of cardiac stretch (B type natriuretic peptide [BNP] and its amino terminal equivalent [NT-proBNP], ST2), biomarkers of renal function (creatinine, estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR]) and biomarkers of renal injury (plasma neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin [pNGAL], urine kidney injury molecule-1 [KIM-1], urine N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase [NAG], urine Cystatin C, urine fibrinogen). The primary endpoint was WRF.

Multicentre Italian analysis on cardiovascular diseases: impact of immigrants' referral to emergency department.

During the recent years, immigration in Italy has increased. There are few data on the health status of immigrants and there is a need to improve their healthcare. Cardiovascular disorders account for 7.