Myasthenia Gravis and Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm: A Rare Combination.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm in a patient with myasthenia gravis (MG) is extremely rare. We present a 64-year-old male with MG and an asymptomatic abdominal aortic aneurysm treated endovascularly. After extubation, he suffered a cardiac arrest due to an acute myocardial infarction.

Development and validation of a liquid chromatographic method with diode array detection for the determination of anthraquinones, flavonoids and other natural dyes in aged silk.

A HPLC method coupled with diode array detector was developed and validated for the quantitation of alizarin, apigenin, carminic acid, curcumin, ellagic acid, emodin, fisetin, kaempferide, kaempferol, kermesic acid, morin, purpurin, quercetin and sulfuretin which are components of several natural dyes. 1- Hydroxyanthraquinone was selected as internal standard. The compounds were separated under gradient elution on a RP-column (Altima C18, 250 mm x 3.

Single run analysis of glutathione and its disulfide in food samples by liquid chromatography coupled to on-line post-column derivatization.

Glutathione and its disulfide were determined in a single run using liquid chromatography with on-line post-column derivatization and fluorimetric detection (340 nm/425 nm). The analytes were separated using a reversed-phase column capable of operating at 100% aqueous mobile phase and detected following direct on-line reaction with o-phthalaldehyde (7.5 mmol L) in highly basic medium (0.

Predictors of mortality of trauma patients admitted to the ICU: a retrospective observational study☆.

Background And Objectives: Worldwide, trauma is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality. The aim of the present study is to identify the predictors of mortality of trauma patients requiring Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission.

Methods: This retrospective study was conducted in the ICU of our institution in Greece during a six-year period (2010-215).

Frequency and Significance of Maneuvers to Dissect the Distal Internal Carotid Artery During Carotid Endarterectomy.

Objectives: To describe the frequency, factors associated with, and significance of surgical dissection maneuvers of the distal internal carotid artery (ICA) during carotid endarterectomy (CEA).

Methods: In this retrospective analysis of prospectively collected information in patients undergoing CEA, we recorded information on demographics, risk factors and comorbidities, dissection maneuvers of the distal ICA, other operative variables and neurological outcome measures.

Results: During the period July 2008 and February 2020 inclusive, 218 consecutive patients (180 males, median age 69.

A targeted approach for studying the effect of sugar bee feeding on the metabolic profile of Royal Jelly.

Royal Jelly (RJ) constitutes one of the most popular beehive products and for this reason the use of inexpensive sweeteners during its production remains an important quality issue. In the present study we report results of metabolic profiling of RJ samples obtained after the application of artificial bee-feeding using different feeding protocols. The hydrophilic content of RJ samples was assessed by applying (HILIC)UPLC-MS/MS.

Development and validation of an ultra high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for the determination of phthalate esters in Greek grape marc spirits.

An Ultra High Performance Liquid Chromatography - Tandem Mass Spectrometry method has been developed for the analysis of 12 phthalate esters in Greek grape marc spirits. The phthalates were separated on a U-VDSpher PUR 100 C18-E (100 mm x 2.0 mm, 1.

Wine and grape marc spirits metabolomics.

Introduction: Mass spectrometry (MS)-based and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic analyses play a key role in the field of metabolomics due to their important advantages. The use of metabolomics in wine and grape marc spirits allows a more holistic perspective in monitoring and gaining information on the making processes and thus it can assist on the improvement of their quality.

Objectives: This review surveys the latest metabolomics approaches for wine and grape marc spirits with a focus on the description of MS-based and NMR spectroscopic analytical techniques.

Targeted profiling of hydrophilic constituents of royal jelly by hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

In the present work a Hydrophilic Interaction Liquid Chromatography-tandem Mass Spectrometry (HILIC-MS/MS) method was developed for the efficient separation and quantification of a large number of small polar bioactive molecules in Royal Jelly. The method was validated and provided satisfactory detection sensitivity for 88 components. Quantification was proven to be precise for 64 components exhibiting good linearity, recoveries R% >90% for the majority of analytes and intra- and inter-day precision from 0.

Risk factors and predictors of carbapenem-resistant and mortality in critically ill bacteraemic patients over a 6-year period (2010-15): antibiotics do matter.

and provoke serious infections, especially in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. The risk factors and predictors of mortality for (=84; 46 carbapenem-resistant) and (=129; all carbapenem-resistant) bloodstream infections (BSIs) in an ICU were evaluated. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed using the agar disk diffusion method according to EUCAST guidelines.

Early KPC-Producing Klebsiella pneumoniae Bacteremia among Intensive Care Unit Patients Non-Colonized upon Admission.

Among 140 patients colonized by KPC-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (KPC-Kp) between fourth and seventh day of Intensive Care Unit stay, 24 developed bacteraemia immediately after colonization. Colistin-resistance of the colonizing isolate was the factor significantly associated with early KPC-Kp bacteraemia (P < 0.001; OR 6.

Carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae bloodstream infection in critically ill patients: risk factors and predictors of mortality.

A significant increase in carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (CP-Kp) bacteraemias has been observed worldwide. The objective of the present work was to study the risk factors and predictors of mortality of CP-Kp bacteraemias among critically ill patients. During a 4-year period (2012-3015), a matched 1:2 case-control study was conducted.

The Role of Obesity in Sepsis Outcome among Critically Ill Patients: A Retrospective Cohort Analysis.

The objective of this study was to assess the correlation between sepsis, obesity, and mortality of patients admitted to an Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Data of all patients admitted to the ICU of a tertiary hospital during a 28-month period were retrospectively analyzed and included in the study. Of 834 patients included, 163 (19.

Preoperative High Dose of Methylprednisolone Improves Early Postoperative Pulmonary Function, in Super-Obese Patients Undergoing Open Surgery; a Prospective, Comparative Study.

Background: Surgery stimulates an intense systemic inflammatory response which might increase postoperative morbidity. Corticosteroids may reduce this inflammatory reaction. The purpose of this study was to investigate any possible effect on postoperative morbidity and recovery after administrating methylprednisolone in super-obese patients undergoing open surgery.

Determination of Tyrian purple by high performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection.

Indigotin, indirubin, 6-bromoindigotin, 6'-bromoindirubin, 6-bromoindirubin, 6,6'-dibromoindigotin and 6,6'-dibromoindirubin, the colouring components of Tyrian purple, are quantified by an efficient HPLC method coupled to a diode array detector. The compounds were separated using gradient elution, on a RP-column (Alltima C18, 250mm×3.0mm i.

Number of positive blood cultures, biofilm formation, and adhesin genes in differentiating true coagulase-negative staphylococci bacteremia from contamination.

The significance of the number of coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS)-positive blood cultures remains obscure in regards to determining true bacteremia versus contamination. The goal of this study was to determine the predictors of real CNS bloodstream infection among intensive care unit (ICU) patients. ICU patients with at least one CNS-positive blood culture were identified from the microbiology database.

Anesthesia management for the super obese: is sevoflurane superior to propofol as a sole anesthetic agent? A double-blind randomized controlled trial.

Objective: General anesthesia in obese patients is both challenging and demanding. With the rates of obesity in the general population increasing, more patients undergo bariatric surgery. The aim of this study was to compare the performance, effectiveness and recovery from anesthesia of sevoflurane and propofol in combination with remifentanil, with and without bispectral index (BIS) monitoring in super obese patients undergoing bariatric surgery.

Automated derivatization and fluorimetric determination of biogenic amines in milk by zone fluidics coupled to liquid chromatography.

A novel zone-fluidics/high pressure liquid chromatographic (ZF-HPLC) method is described for the simultaneous determination of six biogenic monoamines, in the presence of hexylamine as internal standard. Automated on-line derivatization of the analytes with naphthalene-2,3-dicarboxaldehyde/cyanide ions was performed using the ZF concept and the derivatives were injected on the HPLC column for separation/detection. The influence of the ZF operation conditions on the derivatization reaction was investigated.

Does epidural morphine loading in addition to thoracic epidural analgesia benefit the postoperative management of morbidly obese patients undergoing open bariatric surgery? A pilot study.

Background: Insufficient data exist regarding postoperative thoracic epidural analgesia for morbidly obese patients undergoing open bariatric surgery. This study evaluated the effectiveness of morphine loading in a postoperative thoracic epidural analgesic regimen of patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA) with levobupivacaine combined with continuously administered epidural morphine in this patient group.

Methods: In this prospective randomized controlled trial, 48 superobese patients (body mass index of ≥ 50 kg/m(2)) undergoing open bariatric surgery were randomly allocated to three groups of 16 patients each.

Determination of glutathione in baker's yeast by capillary electrophoresis using methyl propiolate as derivatizing reagent.

In this study we demonstrate - for the first time - the suitability of methyl propiolate - an alkylester of propiolic acid - as a thiol derivatizing reagent for capillary electrophoresis. Glutathione (as analyte in yeast samples) and N-acetylcysteine (as internal standard) were selected as model compounds. Several parameters affecting the separation efficiency (buffer pH, concentration, and separation voltage) and the derivatization yield (pH, reaction time and reagent concentration) were thoroughly investigated.

Anicteric leptospirosis-associated severe pulmonary hemorrhagic syndrome: a case series study.

In leptospirosis, severe pulmonary hemorrhagic syndrome has replaced Weil's disease as the main cause of mortality, with rates of up to 75%. Four men, all farmers, were admitted to the intensive care unit between August 2009 and July 2010 with a diagnosis of acute respiratory distress syndrome. All patients presented with fever, hemoptysis, bilateral pulmonary infiltrates in chest radiographs, and thrombocytopenia and had compatible epidemiological history with leptospirosis; 3 patients had anemia, 3 had renal failure, 2 had increased creatine kinase, whereas bilirubin was slightly increased in only 1 patient.

Study of the naphthalene-2,3-dicarboxaldehyde pre-column derivatization of biogenic mono- and diamines in mixture and fluorescence-HPLC determination.

A new fluorescence-HPLC method was developed for the simultaneous determination of eight biogenic monoamines (histamine, methylamine, tyramine, ethylamine, propylamine, tryptamine, 2-phenylethylamine, isoamylamine) and two biogenic diamines (putrescine, cadaverine) in the presence of heptylamine as the internal standard. The amines were pre-column derivatized with naphthalene-2,3-dicarboxaldehyde in the presence of cyanide ion as the nucleophile. The effect of the derivatization reaction conditions on the reaction yield was investigated.

Ethyl propiolate as a post-column derivatization reagent for thiols: development of a green liquid chromatographic method for the determination of glutathione in vegetables.

The present study reports the development, validation and application of a new green liquid chromatographic method for the determination of glutathione (GSH) in vegetable samples. In this work we introduce-for the first time-ethyl propiolate (EP) as an advantageous post-column derivatization reagent for thiolic compounds. GSH (t(R)=6.