Rapid through-container detection of fake spirits and methanol quantification with handheld Raman spectroscopy.

The spirits drinks industry is of significant global economic importance and a major employer worldwide, and the ability to ensure product authenticity and maintain consumer confidence in these high-value products is absolutely essential. Spirit drinks counterfeiting is a worldwide problem, with counterfeiting and adulteration of spirit drinks taking many forms, such as substitution, stretching with lower-grade products, or creation of counterfeits with industrial, surrogate, or locally produced alcohols. Methanol for example, which has been used as a substitute alcohol for ethanol, has a high toxicity in humans. The counterfeiting of spirit drinks is consequently one of the few leading reported types of food fraud which can be directly and unequivocally linked to food safety and health concerns. Here, for the first time, we use handheld Raman spectroscopy with excitation in the near IR (1064 nm) for the through-container differentiation of multiple spirit drinks, detection of multiple chemical markers of counterfeit alcohol, and for the quantification of methanol. We established the limits of detection (LOD) of methanol in the analysed samples from four different spirit types (between 0.23-0.39%), which were considerably lower than a quoted maximum tolerable concentration (MTC) of 2% (v/v) methanol for humans in a 40% alcohol by volume (ABV) spirit drink, and even lower than the general EU limit for naturally occurring methanol in fruit spirits of 0.5% v/v (10 g methanol per L ethanol). We believe that Raman spectroscopy has considerable practicable potential for the rapid in situ through-container detection of counterfeit spirits drinks, as well as for the analysis and protection of other beverages and liquid samples.

Evaluating telemedicine in an accident and emergency setting.

This paper outlines the methodology of an evaluation of telemedicine in an Accident and Emergency (A&E) setting. Telemedicine technology consisting of ISDN 2 based videoconferencing and 'store & forward' software has been installed and is currently being evaluated in two minor injury units (MIUs) and a District General Hospital (DGH) A&E department in Lincolnshire. A cost-benefit analysis will be conducted using a pragmatic prospective case-control study with both a concurrent and retrospective control group. Any differences in resource use (including direct and indirect costs) between the intervention (Telemedicine) and the control (No Telemedicine) groups will be identified from both a patient and NHS perspective. A variety of health and non-health outcome measures will be recorded including staff and patient acceptability of the new technology.

Evaluating telemedicine for minor injuries units.

Low-cost telemedicine equipment consisting of ISDN videoconferencing units and a store-and-forward system was installed in two minor injuries units (MIUs) and a hospital accident and emergency department in Lincolnshire. Over six months, 45 patients were treated using telemedicine in one MIU and 26 in another. Anecdotally, there were no reported radiograph discrepancies or missed diagnoses. Data collected during teleconsultations by both referring and consulting clinicians suggested that in some cases teleconsultation had helped to avoid transfer or onward referral. There were some changes in diagnosis and treatment after using telemedicine, indicating some decision-making value for the remote practitioners. In the context of minor injuries telemedicine, videoconferencing in realtime may prove to be more valuable than store-and-forward interactions. A cost-benefit analysis is being conducted using a pragmatic prospective case-control study.

Long-term intraindividual variability of serum lipids in patients with type I and type II diabetes.

The objective of this study was to estimate the long-term intraindividual variability of lipid levels in adult type I and type II diabetic patients. Total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and hemoglobin A1c were measured every 3-6 months in 135 patients attending the Austin Hospital diabetes clinic. Analysis was performed on 60 diabetic patients (33 type I and 27 type II) who had not been treated with lipid lowering drugs and who met the inclusion criteria of at least five measurements [mean +/- standard error of the mean (SEM), 9.5 +/- 0.4; range, 5-17] collected over a minimum of 4 years (5.1 +/- 0.1; 4-6.5 years). Total variability, expressed as coefficient of variation, was 8.8 +/- 0.4% for total cholesterol, 23.9 +/- 1.5% for triglycerides, 10.2 +/- 0.5% for HDL cholesterol, and 12.0 +/- 0.5% for LDL cholesterol. Biological variability, derived from total and analytical variability, was higher than previous estimates in nondiabetic subjects for total cholesterol and HDL cholesterol but similar for triglycerides and LDL cholesterol. No relationship was observed between total lipid variability and diabetes type, age, baseline or mean lipid levels, duration of follow-up, or the number of samples per patient. Men demonstrated greater variability than women for total cholesterol (men 9.5 +/- 0.5%, n = 34, women 7.9 +/- 0.5%, n = 26, p < 0.01) and triglycerides (men 26.5 +/- 2.2%, women 20.4 +/- 1.4%, p = 0.03). Total lipid variability was also unrelated to baseline or mean hemoglobin A1c or to the change in hemoglobin A1c during the study as a whole. However, the change in hemoglobin A1c was associated with the change in total cholesterol (r = 0.30, p < 0.03) and the change in LDL cholesterol (r = 0.27, p < 0.05). In conclusion, long-term intraindividual lipid variability in adult diabetic subjects is higher for total and HDL cholesterol than previously published values in nondiabetic subjects. Variability of triglycerides is at least double that of total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. Biological variability, not measurement error, accounts for the greatest proportion of total variability for all lipid parameters. Confidence levels calculated from these data have implications for the initiation of lipid lowering therapy and in monitoring the effects of intervention.

Interlaboratory variation of GHb assays in Victoria, Australia.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the extent of interlaboratory variation and accuracy in the measurement of glycated hemoglobin (GHb). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: All laboratories that measure glycated hemoglobin in the State of Victoria, Australia, were invited to participate, and positive responses were received from 27 to 30 laboratories. An aliquot of blood drawn from three patients with diabetes and varied glycemia and from one nondiabetic subject was sent to each participating laboratory. Distribution of results was analyzed according to the reported results and their variance from an assigned reference value and were expressed as differing from this latter value as percentage bias and in absolute terms. A bias > or = 10% or an absolute difference of > or = 1% HbA1c from the reference value was considered significant. RESULTS: Reported results for the same blood sample ranged from 4.1 to 5.8%, 5.1 to 8.2%, 6.7 to 9.3%, and 10.1 to 14.7% for the specimens from the nondiabetic subject and the diabetic patients with good, moderate, and poor glycemic control, respectively. The proportion of laboratories with results that differed by > or = 10% bias from the reference value were 39% (12 of 30), 29% (9 of 30), 16% (5 of 30), and 32% (10 of 30), and the proportion reporting results that differed by > or = 1% HbA1c in absolute terms from the reference values were 3% (1 of 30), 6% (2 of 30), 16% (5 of 30), and 23% (7 of 30) for the specimens from the nondiabetic subject and the diabetic patients with good, moderate, and poor glycemic control, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: A substantial degree of interlaboratory variation for GHb measurement exists in Victoria, Australia. This may lead to difficulties in interpretation when GHb is assayed by different laboratories in the same patient over time. Interlaboratory standardization may be achievable by calibration to a standard assigned by a reference laboratory and distributed to all laboratories measuring GHb.

Long-term glycemic control and the rate of progression of early diabetic kidney disease.

In this prospective study of 11.9 years duration (range 9 to 14), we examined the progression of albuminuria prior to and after the onset of microalbuminuria [albumin excretion rate (AER): 20 to 200 micrograms/minute]. Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1), AER and blood pressure were measured every six months. Twenty-two (13 type I, 9 type II) patients were identified in whom AER increased progressively (progressors). These patients were compared with 22 others matched for age, duration and type of diabetes in whom AER did not change significantly during the study period (non-progressors). In the progressors, the rate of increase in AER correlated with mean HbA1 for the study period in patients with type I (r = 0.68, P < 0.01) and type II diabetes (r = 0.71, P < 0.05). Furthermore, AER began increasing well before the conventional 20 micrograms/minute threshold of microalbuminuria had been reached and within the first five years of diagnosis of type I diabetes. We conclude that in predisposed diabetic patients, long-term glycemic control is correlated with the rate of development of early renal abnormalities. Repeated measurements of AER from the time of diagnosis may be useful in the early detection of patients who will develop microalbuminuria and ultimately overt diabetic nephropathy.

Hyperlipidaemia increases albuminuria in hypertensive and normotensive rats.

1. The effects of a high cholesterol diet on urinary albumin excretion were examined in spontaneously hypertensive (SHR) and Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats over 36 weeks. 2. Cholesterol feeding resulted in an increase in total-cholesterol and a decrease in HDL-cholesterol without influencing triglyceride levels in both strains. 3. Urinary albumin excretion was significantly elevated in cholesterol-fed SHR and WKY rats. 4. These results suggest that hyperlipidaemia may be important in acceleration of experimental nephropathy.