| 1. |
- Beal, Jacob, et al.
(författare)
-
Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Communications Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2399-3642. ; 3:1
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data.
|
|
| 2. |
- Casanueva, Felipe F., et al.
(författare)
-
Criteria for the definition of Pituitary Tumor Centers of Excellence (PTCOE): A Pituitary Society Statement
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Pituitary. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1386-341X .- 1573-7403. ; 20, s. 489-498
-
Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- © 2017, The Author(s). Introduction: With the goal of generate uniform criteria among centers dealing with pituitary tumors and to enhance patient care, the Pituitary Society decided to generate criteria for developing Pituitary Tumors Centers of Excellence (PTCOE). Methods: To develop that task, a group of ten experts served as a Task Force and through two years of iterative work an initial draft was elaborated. This draft was discussed, modified and finally approved by the Board of Directors of the Pituitary Society. Such document was presented and debated at a specific session of the Congress of the Pituitary Society, Orlando 2017, and suggestions were incorporated. Finally the document was distributed to a large group of global experts that introduced further modifications with final endorsement. Results: After five years of iterative work a document with the ideal criteria for a PTCOE is presented. Conclusions: Acknowledging that very few centers in the world, if any, likely fulfill the requirements here presented, the document may be a tool to guide improvements of care delivery to patients with pituitary disorders. All these criteria must be accommodated to the regulations and organization of Health of a given country.
|
|
| 3. |
- Arrillaga-Romany, Isabel, et al.
(författare)
-
Performance of a Hospital Pathway for Patients With a New Single Brain Mass
- 2019
-
Ingår i: JOURNAL OF ONCOLOGY PRACTICE. - : American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). - 1554-7477. ; 15:3, s. e211-e218
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- WHAT WE FOUND:Length of stay and time to surgery were significantly reduced after implementation of this admission pathway. Readmission rate was not adversely affected by this change. The protocol also significantly reduced the number of unnecessary body computed tomography imaging studies obtained in this patient population.CONFOUNDING FACTORS/REAL-LIFE IMPLICATIONS:The results of this study should be interpreted with their retrospective nature in mind. Further, analysis of this admission pathway did not take into consideration patient perspective or cost implications. Finally, the authors recognize that the resources for such an operational shift may only be found in large, tertiary, referral centers.Optimized specialized care for patients with new single brain masses promotes improved health care outcomes. It may also predictively reduce health care costs and improve patient satisfaction. More research is needed in this field. Limitations to our study included the inherent limitations of a retrospective pre-post design that can make it difficult to separate the effect of a specific intervention from other factors that change over time. In addition, assessment of patient satisfaction, use of diagnostic tests beyond body imaging, and advanced cost analysis could have strengthened this study. Lastly, it should be noted that the applicability of our approach may be limited to major tertiary centers with enough resources to implement such a pathway.Purpose:To reduce care variation and improve the management of patients with newly identified single brain masses and no history of cancer, we implemented a dedicated admission protocol.Methods:We reviewed records of 206 patients who presented to our emergency department between January 2010 and May 2016 with a new single brain mass but no history of cancer. Patients admitted before the protocol implementation were designated the pre-implementation group (PRE), and those admitted after implementation were designated the post-implementation group (POST).Results:Ninety-six patients were in the PRE group and 110 in the POST group. Length of stay for POST patients was significantly shorter than for PRE patients (6 v 7 days, respectively; P = .042), and this effect was more robust after excluding the 66 patients who were discharged to rehabilitation, skilled nursing, or hospice facilities (5 v 7 days, respectively; P = .001). Additional comparison of POST with PRE patients showed that time to surgery was significantly reduced (2.7 v 3.5 days, respectively; P = .006) and that computed tomography scans of the chest, abdomen, and pelvis were reduced (12% v 47%, respectively; P < .001). No difference was found in the 30-day readmission rates. For patients with GBM, there also was no significant difference in time to initiation of chemoradiation or in median overall survival.Conclusion:Implementation of a specialized admission pathway for patients with a new single brain mass decreased average length of hospital stay and time to surgery and reduced unnecessary diagnostic imaging tests in patients with primary brain tumors.
|
|
