PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

L Diana

Publications and source records attributed to L Diana.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Determination of ethyl-p-hydroxybenzoate in sow pancreatic juice by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography.

We have developed a high-performance liquid chromatographic-UV-Vis-diode-array detection (HPLC-DAD) method for the determination of ethyl-p-hydroxybenzoate, a hydrolytic degradation product of the synthetic protease inhibitor, gabexate-mesilate ethyl-p-(6-guanidinohexanoyloxy) benzoate methanesulfonate (GM) (FOY) in sow pancreatic juice. Methyl-p-hydroxybenzoate (I) was used as the internal standard. The pancreatic juice was deproteinised by acetonitrile and the analytes were chromatographed on a reversed-phase C18 LC column using the gradient elution method. The mobile phase consisted of a solution of 0.017 M orthophosphoric acid and another solution of acetonitrile-water (80:20, v/v). The wavelength of detection was 237 nm. The limit of quantification of the method was 0.20 microM at a 9:1 signal-to-noise ratio. The overall intra- and inter-day accuracy (relative error, RE) ranged from 14.2 to 8.3% and from 13.3 to 9.8, respectively. The overall intra- and inter-day precision (relative standard deviation, RSD) ranged from 7.6 to 2.62% and from 6.7 to 3.1%, respectively. The method proved to be sensitive, specific, accurate and precise and was successfully used to determine the ethyl-p-hydroxybenzoate (II) in sow pancreatic juice.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

[Oxidative stress in kidney failure: an experimental study].

We studied the activity of some enzymes directly involved in the endogenous antioxidative defense system: glutathione-peroxidase (GPX), glutathione s-transferase (GST) and superoxide dismutase (SOD). We have investigated the effects of selenium and vitamin E diet supplementation, in form of selenium-vitamin E enriched yeast, in Wistar rats that were undergone to surgical right nephrectomy and 30 minutes of hypoxia. Blood samples were tested for several parameters as glucose, cholesterol, etc. to assess the general health conditions. The protocol consisted of 3 groups of 25 Wistar rats: a control group, a pre-fed group and a post-fed group. The results showed a significative difference in the behaviour of azotemia, proteins and cholesterol. In the control group the activity rapidly increased, then the values decreased slowly and differently for each substance. The pre and post-fed group showed a pronounced increase after 48 h but the normal values are reached more rapidly. We observed an increase in the activity of the GPX and GST after surgical operation and ischemia, but the GPX in pre-fed group reached the normal value before the other groups.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

A study of serum glycosidases in cancer.

N-Acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase (NAG) and beta-glucuronidase were measured in the serum of 70 patients with breast and digestive-tract neoplasms and in 70 healthy subjects. The mean value of the NAG activity was significantly (P < 0.001) elevated in patients with gastric, liver and pancreas cancer as compared with the reference population. In patients with liver and pancreas cancer the very high sensitivity contrasted with a low specificity. NAG elevations above normal were observed in 14 (78%) patients with breast cancer, in 11 (100%) with gastric cancer, in 17 (70%) with colorectal cancer, in 8 (100%) with liver cancer and in 9 (100%) with pancreas cancer. In patients with breast and gastric cancer the enzyme shows a good specificity and sufficient sensitivity as a tumor marker. beta-Glucuronidase appeared less sensitive and was significantly elevated (100%) only in patients with pancreas cancer.

Acetylglucosaminidase↗
PubMed1993

The effect of fetal acoustic stimulation on fetal swallowing and amniotic fluid index.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of fetal acoustic stimulation on fetal swallowing and amniotic fluid (AF) index in an attempt to understand the potential mechanism for fetal compromise following fetal acoustic stimulation. METHODS: Fetal swallowing movements and AF index were assessed in 90 full-term fetuses before and after fetal acoustic stimulation. Fetal swallowing movements were identified on a video monitor and measured in terms of the percentage of time they occurred during 30 minutes of observation. The fetal heart rate was recorded 30 minutes before and 30 minutes after fetal acoustic stimulation. RESULTS: The mean (+/- standard deviation) percentage of time spent by the fetus in swallowing increased from 16.1 +/- 6% before to 44.3 +/- 10.3% after stimulation (P < .005). The AF index decreased from 14.6 +/- 8.4 cm before acoustic stimulation to 12.8 +/- 6.8 cm afterward (not statistically significant). Seven of 17 patients (41%) with borderline AF indexes developed oligohydramnios after the fetal acoustic stimulation; two of these demonstrated persistent variable decelerations that required obstetric intervention. CONCLUSIONS: Fetal acoustic stimulation is associated with increased fetal swallowing activity, which can lead to diminution of AF volume. The AF index should be assessed in fetuses before acoustic stimulation and if the volume is low, acoustic stimulation should be used with extreme caution.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMed1989

Influenza vaccination in elderly residents in nursing homes: immune response to trivalent and monovalent inactivated influenza virus vaccine in the season 1986-87.

Immune responses to trivalent inactivated whole virus and monovalent subunit influenza vaccines, used in the season 1986-87, were analyzed in elderly residents in nursing homes. Higher levels of induced antibody were found in the group receiving two doses of trivalent vaccine. This suggests that high risk aged patients should receive a booster dose of vaccine annually. The antibody response to administration of supplemental vaccination, using monovalent subunit preparation, did not reach the high level of antibodies found following trivalent influenza vaccine.

Aged↗
PubMed1988

Surveillance of influenza A and B viruses in Italy between 1984 and 1987.

Antigenically heterogeneous strains and new variants of influenza A viruses, both A (H3N2) and (H1N1) subtypes, as well as influenza B strains were detected in Italy in a period, between 1984-1987, characterized by a moderate degree of influenza activity. Each year the evaluation, by SRH technique, of antibodies, in the population, to currently circulating viruses, has confirmed the extent of infection and often the prevalent virus.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Hospital acquired infections surveillance and control in intensive care services. Results of an incidence study.

Hospital acquired infections (HAI) continue to constitute a major health problem for hospital patients. Such a problem is particularly relevant in Intensive Care Wards. Here infections appear to be directly or indirectly related to the patients' death, and the patients, of course, represent a selected group of the most susceptible hosts in the whole hospital due to their immunosuppressed states, underlying diseases and the numerous and highly invasive diagnostic and therapeutic procedures to which they are submitted. This paper reports the results of a one-year surveillance incidence study carried out in four Intensive Care Wards at Padua Hospital by means of a daily visits to the wards and careful collection of the patients' data in a computerized sheet. Two-hundred-thirty-one of the 859 patients considered developed one or more HAI (HAI percentage 26.9%) for a total of 382 HAIs (Infections ratio 44.5%). Nosocomial pneumonias were the most frequent infections detected, whereas urinary tract infections, bacteremias and wound infections were less common in such patients. The study also confirmed the importance of invasive procedures and surgical operations in the predisposition to HAIs. In particular, the importance of the urinary catheter and of tracheal intubation was outlined. In addition, HAI appeared to be related to the duration of hospitalization and to the severity of the patients' illness. HAIs (especially nosocomial pneumonias) were also closely related to the patients' death. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, S. aureus, Acinetobacter and Streptococcus D were the most frequently isolated agents in the infected patients. Gram-negative agents accounted for 57% of all agents isolated and were particularly frequent in both pneumonias and urinary tract infections.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Acinetobacter↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Comparison between manual and automatic coding of medical record statistical cards at a university hospital.

The coding error rate of systems for medical record statistical cards (MRSCs) throughout health services is about 30%. A program using automatic coding has been developed at the Institute of Clinical Surgery II, Padua University Hospital, with a view to reducing this percentage. Out of an overall sample of 4776 MRSCs from all departments of the hospital, 54 were automatically coded at our institute. Categories of discrepancy between the discharge diagnosis codes of the 4722 manually coded MRSCs and the other 54 MRSCs were classified as follows: types I-III, diagnosis assigned to an erroneous under-class, class or heading (ICD-9) respectively; type IV, incorrect diagnosis formulation precluding code assignment; type V, two or more discrepancies on MRSC; and type VI, secondary diagnosis not coded. Discrepancy rates were as follows: 22.3% and 0.0% for type I; 21.3% and 0.0% for type II; 17.6% and 0.0% for type III; 1.9% and 0.0% for type IV; 5.8% and 0.0% for type V; 31% and 1.9% for type VI. Code discrepancy rates for surgical procedures, which were also compared, ranged from 7.0 to 12.5% for manual coding, while no discrepancy was observed in automatically-coded MRSCs. The results clearly demonstrate the utility of the system reported on, and it is suggested that it should be used in a modified form in other hospital departments.

Abstracting and Indexing↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[The hygiene-sanitary report].

The main contents of a Hygienic-Sanitary report are listed below, once a few premises on the definition and objectives of hygiene, and on the normative pertaining Hygienic-Sanitary reports in the context of sanitary constructions planning are set. A hospital is a complex organism, and it must be planned as an "organized system" in which the various activities are disposed in the functional spaces according to a well-defined layout. In a Hygienic-Sanitary report, one should always remember that the correct approach to a hospital construction or restructuring project must be first urbanistic, with a precise diagram of fluxes and functions, and only then architectonic, with the consequent hospital typology. Different organizational models of the functional zones and of the relative traffic fluxes correspond in fact to different architectonical typologies.

Hospital Design and Construction↗