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Measurement Range (measurement + range)
Selected AbstractsDevelopment of a Novel Immunoradiometric Assay Exclusively for Biologically Active Whole Parathyroid Hormone 1,84: Implications for Improvement of Accurate Assessment of Parathyroid FunctionJOURNAL OF BONE AND MINERAL RESEARCH, Issue 4 2001Ping Gao Abstract We developed a novel immunoradiometric assay (IRMA; whole parathyroid hormone [PTH] IRMA) for PTH, which specifically measures biologically active whole PTH(1,84). The assay is based on a solid phase coated with anti-PTH(39,84) antibody, a tracer of125I-labeled antibody with a unique specificity to the first N-terminal amino acid of PTH(1,84), and calibrators of diluted synthetic PTH(1,84). In contrast to the Nichols intact PTH IRMA, this new assay does not detect PTH(7,84) fragments and only detects one immunoreactive peak in chromatographically fractionated patient samples. The assay was shown to have an analytical sensitivity of 1.0 pg/ml with a linear measurement range up to 2300 pg/ml. With this assay, we further identified that the previously described non-(1,84)PTH fragments are aminoterminally truncated with similar hydrophobicity as PTH(7,84), and these PTH fragments are present not only in patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism (2° -HPT) of uremia, but also in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (1° -HPT) and normal persons. The plasma normal range of the whole PTH(1,84) was 7,36 pg/ml (mean ± SD: 22.7 ± 7.2 pg/ml, n = 135), whereas over 93.9% (155/165) of patients with 1° -HPT had whole PTH(1,84) values above the normal cut-off. The percentage of biologically active whole PTH(1,84) (pB%) in the pool of total immunoreactive "intact" PTH is higher in the normal population (median: 67.3%; SD: 15.8%; n = 56) than in uremic patients (median:53.8%; SD: 15.5%; n = 318; p < 0.001), although the whole PTH(1,84) values from uremic patients displayed a more significant heterogeneous distribution when compared with that of 1° -HPT patients and normals. Moreover, the pB% displayed a nearly Gaussian distribution pattern from 20% to over 90% in patients with either 1° -HPT or uremia. The specificity of this newly developed whole PTH(1,84) IRMA is the assurance, for the first time, of being able to measure only the biologically active whole PTH(1,84) without cross-reaction to the high concentrations of the aminoterminally truncated PTH fragments found in both normal subjects and patients. Because of the significant variations of pB% in patients, it is necessary to use the whole PTH assay to determine biologically active PTH levels clinically and, thus, to avoid overestimating the concentration of the true biologically active hormone. This new assay could provide a more meaningful standardization of future PTH measurements with improved accuracy in the clinical assessment of parathyroid function. [source] An improved microalbumin method (µALB_2) with extended analytical measurement range evaluated on the ADVIA® chemistry systemsJOURNAL OF CLINICAL LABORATORY ANALYSIS, Issue 5 2009Pradip Datta Abstract Quantitative determination of albumin (ALB) in human urine is important to assess kidney functions in a variety of diseases. Recently, Siemens released an improved Microalbumin assay (µALB_2) to measure urinary ALB on the automated, random access ADVIA 1650/1800, ADVIA 2400, and ADVIA 1200 Chemistry Systems. We evaluated analytical performances of this new method. All ADVIA Chemistry Systems use the same microalbumin reagent packs, µALB_2 calibrators, and commercial controls. The within-run and total CVs of the improved method with two-level BioRad Liquichek Urine Chemistry controls (,2 and 9,mg/dl ALB) and a urine pool (,29,mg/dl ALB) on all ADVIA Chemistry systems were <4.1 and <6.1%, respectively (40 replicates per sample). The analytical range/linearity of the method (all ADVIA systems) was from 0.3,mg/dl to theALB concentration in the highest level of calibrator (,38,42,mg/dl). The improved method (µALB_2) on the ADVIA 1650/1800 (y) correlated well with both the Beckman DXC 800 Microalbumin and the old microalbumin method on the ADVIA 1650/1800 analyzers. The improved method showed <10% interference with 16 chemicals from acetaminophen to uric acid that may be present in urine. The improved method has a minimum of 60 days' on-system stability on all systems with the calibration frequencies of (with/without a Reagent Container insert) 20/30 days (ADVIA1200), 50/60 days (ADVIA1650/1800), and 20/60 days (ADVIA2400). No prozone was observed with the method on any platform up to the highest ALB concentration tested in a sample (4,000,mg/dl). J. Clin. Lab. Anal. 23:314,318, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] The evaporation method: Extending the measurement range of soil hydraulic properties using the air-entry pressure of the ceramic cupJOURNAL OF PLANT NUTRITION AND SOIL SCIENCE, Issue 4 2010Uwe Schindler Abstract Knowledge of hydraulic functions is required for various hydrological and plant-physiological studies. The evaporation method is frequently used for the simultaneous determination of hydraulic functions of unsaturated soil samples, i.e., the water-retention curve and hydraulic-conductivity function. All methodic variants of the evaporation method suffer from the limitation that the hydraulic functions can only be determined to a mean tension of , 60 kPa. This is caused by the limited measurement range of the tensiometers of typically 80 kPa on the dry end. We present a new, cost- and time-saving approach which overcomes this restriction. Using the air-entry pressure of the tensiometer's porous ceramic cup as additional defined tension value allows the quantification of hydraulic functions up to close to the wilting point. The procedure is described, uncertainties are discussed, and measured as well as simulated test results are presented for soil samples of various origins, different textures (sand, loam, silt, clay, and peat) and variable dry bulk density. The experimental setup followed the system HYPROP which is a commercial device with vertically aligned tensiometers that is optimized to perform evaporation measurements. During the experiment leaked water from the tensiometer interior wets the surrounding soil of the tensiometer cup and can lead to a tension retardation as shown by simulation results. This effect is negligible when the tensiometers are embedded vertically. For coarsely textured soils and horizontal tensiometer alignment, however, the retardation must be considered for data evaluation. [source] Processing Conditions and Aging Effect on the Morphology of PZT Electrospun Nanofibers, and Dielectric Properties of the Resulting 3,3 PZT/Polymer CompositeJOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CERAMIC SOCIETY, Issue 11 2009Ebru Mensur Alkoy Lead zirconate titanate (PZT) nanofibers are obtained by electrospinning a sol,gel based solution and polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) polymer, and by subsequent sintering of the electrospun precursor fibers. The average diameter of the precursor PZT/PVP green fibers has increased with the aging of the precursor solution along with an increase in the viscosity. Bead-free uniform green PZT/PVP fibers were collected at about an ,230 nm average fiber diameter using a 28 wt% PVP ratio solution with a viscosity of 290 mPa. Shrinkage of 40% was recorded on the fiber diameter after sintering. The X-ray diffraction pattern of the annealed PZT fibers exhibits no preferred orientation and a perovskite phase. Preparation of 3,3 nanocomposites by the infusion of polyvinylester into the nanofiber mat facilitates successful handling of the fragile mats and enables measurements of the dielectric properties. The dielectric constant of the PZT/polyvinylester nanocomposite of about 10% fiber volume fraction was found to be fairly stable and vary from 72 to 62 within the measurement range. The dielectric loss of the composite is below 0.08 at low frequencies and reaches a stable value of 0.04 for most of the measured frequencies. [source] Optimization of chromatic dispersion measurement technique using relative power of two beating frequenciesMICROWAVE AND OPTICAL TECHNOLOGY LETTERS, Issue 11 2006H. A. Abdul-Rashid Abstract Optimization study of the Chromatic Dispersion measurement technique using relative power of two beating frequencies is presented in this paper. The performance of the CD measurement technique is studied in terms of the measurement range and sensitivity as the wavelength separation is varied. Based on the mathematical model and experimental results the technique sensitivity increases with wavelength separation. However, this increase in sensitivity is traded off with narrower measurement range. The measurement technique is optimized at 5.0 GHz wavelength separation with sensitivity of 0.009 (dB/ps/nm) and measurement range of 2500 (ps/nm). © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 48: 2154,2156, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.21893 [source] Optical characterization of concentrated dispersions: applications to laboratory analyses and on-line process monitoring and control,POLYMER INTERNATIONAL, Issue 9 2004H Buron Abstract Light scattering methods are often used to study the stability of suspensions or emulsions and to estimate the dispersed phase properties such as particle size and volume fraction. However, such optical methods often require a previous dilution of the dispersion because of a limited measurement range, and are then unable to give information about the real physical state of dense heterogeneous media. A new technology based on multiple light scattering analysis and called Turbiscan has been recently developed by a French company, Formulaction, to fill this gap and to characterize both diluted and concentrated dispersions. In the first part, we review the physical concepts of multiple light scattering by dispersions. In relation to the optical analyser Turbiscan, we present physical and statistical models for the radiative transfer in dense suspensions. In the second part, we investigate the influence of particle volume fraction and particle size (polystyrene latex bead suspensions) on the backscattered and transmitted light fluxes measured by Turbiscan. The experimental data are compared with results from the physical models. In the last section, we use the optical analyser Turbiscan Lab to detect and characterize various concentrated dispersions destabilization (coalescence, flocculation, creaming and sedimentation), and then the Turbiscan On Line to monitor and characterize an emulsification process under ultrasonic agitation. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry [source] | |||||||||||||