Chronoamperometric magneto immunosensor for myeloperoxidase detection in human plasma based on a magnetic switch produced by 3D laser sintering.

In this work, an amperometric immunosensor for detection of myeloperoxidase (MPO) in human plasma is reported. Detection is based on the immobilization of anti-MPO antibodies onto magnetic beads (MBs). Following MPO immunocapture and washing steps, MBs are transferred to a customized modular detector device produced by 3D laser sintering. This tool integrates electrodes, electrical connectors, and a novel magnetic switch, whose functioning is founded on the vertical displacement of a permanent magnet. In this way, magnetic switching makes possible the confinement of MBs over the working electrode for electrochemical detection, followed by the release of MBs for electrode washing and reutilization. Notably, electrochemical detection is based on the endogenous MPO activity, which reduces reagent consumption and assay time compared to sandwich assays using enzyme-labeled antibodies. After optimization, the assay could be completed in 45 min and displayed a linear response between 0.9 and 60 ng mL(-1) for MPO and a limit of detection of 0.4 ng mL(-1). The real applicability of this approach is demonstrated by the ability to carry out the successful analysis of MPO in human plasma samples. Furthermore, the results allowed the classification of patients into three groups at risk of suffering cardiac events (i.e., low, medium, or high) and correlated well with data provided by a commercially available standardized method.

[Psychological interventions in hospital during the first-wave of CoViD-19: an overview of the experiences of the Units of Clinical Psychology in Lombardy, Italy.] / Interventi psicologici in ospedale ai tempi della CoViD-19: una panoramica delle realtà proposte dalle Unità Operative di Psicologia (UOPSI) della Lombardia.

The current CoViD-19 pandemic threatens both physical and psychological well-being. According to the bio-psycho-social model, Units of Clinical Psychology of the Hospitals in Lombardy (Italy) reacted to this risk, offering diversified interventions, described in the present contribution. The medical staff operated on the front line during the emergency: psychologists addressed their needs through individual clinical work, sessions of decompression and debriefing. At the same time, Units of Clinical Psychology supported the hospitalized positive patients by conducting psychological consultations, either on the ward or through devices. Moreover, some hospitals activated helplines to address the needs of the population and family members, who were particularly vulnerable during the relative's illness and after the mourning.

Dual chronoamperometric detection of enzymatic biomarkers using magnetic beads and a low-cost flow cell.

In this work we report on the production of a low cost microfluidic device for the multiplexed electrochemical detection of magneto bioassays. As a proof of concept, the device has been used to detect myeloperoxidase (MPO), a cardiovascular biomarker. With this purpose, two bioassays have been optimized in parallel onto magnetic beads (MBs) for the simultaneous detection of MPO endogenous peroxidase activity and quantification of total MPO. Since the two bioassays produced signals of different magnitude for each concentration of MPO tested, two detection strategies have been compared, which entailed registering steady state currents (Iss) under substrate flow, and measuring the peak currents (Ip) produced in a stopped flow approach. As it will be shown, appropriate tuning of the detection and flow conditions can provide extremely sensitive detection, but also allow simultaneous detection of assays or parameters that would produce signals of different orders of magnitude when measured by a single detection strategy. In order to demonstrate the feasibility of the detection strategy reported, a dual MPO mass and activity assay has been finally applied to the study of 10 real plasma samples, allowing patient classification according to the risk of suffering a cardiovascular event.

Sequencing of diverse mandarin, pummelo and orange genomes reveals complex history of admixture during citrus domestication.

Cultivated citrus are selections from, or hybrids of, wild progenitor species whose identities and contributions to citrus domestication remain controversial. Here we sequence and compare citrus genomes--a high-quality reference haploid clementine genome and mandarin, pummelo, sweet-orange and sour-orange genomes--and show that cultivated types derive from two progenitor species. Although cultivated pummelos represent selections from one progenitor species, Citrus maxima, cultivated mandarins are introgressions of C. maxima into the ancestral mandarin species Citrus reticulata. The most widely cultivated citrus, sweet orange, is the offspring of previously admixed individuals, but sour orange is an F1 hybrid of pure C. maxima and C. reticulata parents, thus implying that wild mandarins were part of the early breeding germplasm. A Chinese wild 'mandarin' diverges substantially from C. reticulata, thus suggesting the possibility of other unrecognized wild citrus species. Understanding citrus phylogeny through genome analysis clarifies taxonomic relationships and facilitates sequence-directed genetic improvement.