The surface area of the peritoneal membrane in contact with dialysate is an important determinant of solute transport across the peritoneum. Yet there is no method for its estimation in peritoneal dialysis patients. In this study, stereologic methods were applied to computerized tomography (CT) imaging of the peritoneal membrane to estimate the peritoneal membrane surface area. The method was f...

UNLABELLED It is important for patients that treatments for diabetes not increase cardiovascular (CV) risk. The objective of this analysis was to examine retrospectively the CV safety of exenatide BID, a GLP-1 receptor agonist approved for treating hyperglycemia in patients with type 2 diabetes not adequately controlled with diet and exercise. Individual participant data was pooled to assess th...

BACKGROUND Point of Care testing (POCT) provides on-site, rapid, accessible results. With current South African anti-retroviral treatment guidelines, up to 4 fingersticks /patient/clinic visit could be required if utilizing POC. We determined the feasibility and accuracy of a nurse performing multiple POCT on multiple fingersticks followed by simplification of the process by performance of mult...

Using computer-generated data calculated with set amounts of random error (E = 1, 5 & 10%) associated with calculated qPCR cycle number (C ) at four jth 1:10 DNA dilutions, we found that the “efficiency” (ε) associated with each population distribution of n = 10,000 measurements varied from 0.95 to 1.05 for E = 1% (ε average = 1.00 ± 0.0132; ε coefficient of variation or CV ~ 1%), 0.85 to 1.2 f...

BACKGROUND GPs need accurate tools for cardiovascular (CV) risk assessment. Abnormalities in resting electrocardiograms (ECGs) relate to increased CV risk. AIM To determine whether measurement of ECG abnormalities on top of established risk estimation (SCORE) improves CV risk classification in a primary care population. DESIGN AND SETTING A cohort study of patients enlisted with academic ge...

The focus of attention in preventing and treating cardiovascular (CV) disease today is shifting toward the arterial wall. Evidence has been accumulating for several years that protecting the endothelium is key to reducing CV risk. Endothelial dysfunction results in reduced compliance, or increased arterial stiffness, particularly in the smaller arteries. This abnormality is characteristic of pa...

We report a method, based on isotope dilution--mass spectrometry, for determining cortisol in a pooled specimen of human serum. Isotopically labeled cortisol is added to 5.0 mL of serum so that the molar concentrations of labeled cortisol and unlabeled cortisol are approximately equal. The specimen and two calibration standards are extracted with dichloromethane, and the extracted cortisol is c...

Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) are spherical membrane nanoparticles released by Gram-negative bacteria. OMVs can be quantified in complex matrices by nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA). NTA can be performed in static mode or with continuous sample flow that results in analysis of more particles in a smaller time-frame. Flow measurements must be performed manually despite the availability of a...

One hundred eleven laboratories, using 21 different methods based on five different principles, determined glycohemoglobin (GHb) percentages in two identical series of six lyophilized hemolysates and three similarly processed calibrators, distributed 3 months apart. To assign GHb percentages to calibrators, we used HbA1c results from nine participants who used the Bio-Rad Diamat high-performanc...