Highly Versatile Cloud-Based Automation Solution for the Remote Design and Execution of Experiment Protocols during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

There is an urgent need to accelerate the development and validation of both diagnostics and vaccines for COVID-19. These priorities are challenging both public and private sector research groups around the world and have shone a spotlight on both existing bottlenecks in the research workflows involved as well as on the implications of having to do much of this work remotely because of enforced social distancing and lockdown measures. The ability to respond quickly to rapidly evolving events, coupled with an emerging understanding of the disease and its pathology, as well as different mutations of the virus, necessitates a highly flexible liquid-handling automation solution that is amenable to rapid switching between different assay workflows and processes to be exploited tactically as needed.

The Chikungunya epidemic in Italy and its repercussion on the blood system.

Background: The Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes and recently caused a massive epidemic on La Réunion Island, in the Indian Ocean. Between July and September 2007 it caused the first autochthonous epidemic outbreak in Europe, in the Region of Emilia-Romagna in the north-east of Italy.

Materials And Methods: After the first reports of an unusually high number of patients with a febrile illness of unknown origin in two contiguous villages, an outbreak investigation was carried out to identify the primary source of infection, the modes of transmission and the dynamics of the epidemic.

Quality control of recovered plasma for fractionation: an extensive Italian study.

Background: This study was aimed at obtaining significant information on the quality of whole-blood plasma (WBP) delivered to a private pharmaceutical company by the blood transfusion centers (BTCs) of 10 Italian regions.

Study Design And Methods: A statistical sampling plan of plasma units took into account the contribution each selected blood transfusion center, belonging to the 10 regions, made to the plasma pool annually delivered to the pharmaceutical company. A total of 1787 plasma units were selected for coagulation Factor VIII (FVIII:C) and Factor VIII antigen (FVIII:Ag) analysis.

Haemodialysis with on-line monitoring equipment: tools or toys?

Background: On-line monitoring of chemical/physical signals during haemodialysis (HD) and bio-feedback represents the first step towards a 'physiological' HD system incorporating adaptive and logic controls in order to achieve pre-set treatment targets.

Methods: Discussions took place to achieve a consensus on key points relating to on-line monitoring and bio-feedback, focusing on the clinical applications.

Results: The relative blood volume (BV) reduction during HD can be monitored by optic devices detecting the variations in concentration of haemoglobin/haematocrit.