Elimination of lipaemic interference by high-speed centrifugation

IntroductionIn order to deliver high quality results, detection and elimination of possible analytical interferences, such as lipaemia, is crucial. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of high-speed centrifugation in eliminating lipaemic interference and to define own lipaemic index (LI) for the studied biochemical analytes.Materials and methodsEvaluated analytes were: albumin, alkaline phosphatase, alanine-aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate-aminotransferase (AST), calcium, creatinine, gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT), glucose, phosphates, total proteins, urea and total bilirubin. Those analytes and LIs have been analysed in duplicate in the Roche Diagnostics-c8000 analyser in samples centrifuged at 3000 rpm/10 minutes in the SL16 (Thermo Scientific, Waltham, USA) centrifuge and according to an own high-speed centrifugation protocol (12,900 rpm/15 minutes) in the MicroCL17R (Thermo Scientific, Waltham, USA) centrifuge. Lipaemia has been measured in each sample. The efficiency of high-speed centrifugation is verified by the Wilcoxon test (P < 0.05). In cases where significant differences are observed, our own LI is calculated. For ALT and AST, it is verified by McNemar test (P < 0.05). For creatinine, both Wilcoxon and McNemar test were applied.ResultsThere were statistically significant differences in analyte concentration before and after high-speed centrifugation for: albumin, creatinine, GGT, glucose, phosphates, urea and total bilirrubin. Own LI is calculated. McNemar test shows statistically significant diferences in the proportion of delivered results before and after high-speed centrifugation in ALT, AST and creatinine.ConclusionsThis study confirms the efficacy of high-speed centrifugation protocol for all the considered analytes, excepting calcium, alkaline phosphatase and total proteins.     

Poorism and taking the waters: a praxeological analysis of educational work in the context of tourism in the spa town of Tsqaltubo,Georgia

ABSTRACT

This study focuses on the spa town of Tsqaltubo in western Georgia. Since 2010, Tsqaltubo has been seeing a gradual rise in tourism. The town’s history as a spa resort in the Soviet period has given it a repository of tourist experience to fall back on. An ongoing complication in this development arises from the occupation of the now-decaying Soviet-era former sanatoria by internally displaced Georgians. From its past as a site of state-driven collective educational practices aiming at the production of the ‘new Soviet man’, Tsqaltubo has evolved into the present-day location of conflict around the interpretation of that past between IDPs, tourists and tourism industry stakeholders. This article’s principal focus in exploring these instances of conflict is educational processes in the context of life experience, within which subjects engage and interact with Tsqaltubo’s materiality.     

Inclusive education in Georgia: current trends and challenges

This article presents the first comprehensive study of the Georgian inclusive education system launched nationwide in 2006. An internationally recognised tool, the ‘Pathway to Inclusion – Barometer of Inclusive Education’, was applied within the country to highlight the current position of inclusive education in Georgia. The collected data were analysed against results from other countries. The comparison shows that Georgia has made progress towards inclusion; however, considerable work is still required to address drawbacks in policy and its implementation. The development of a monitoring system is advised as an effective means of advancement towards increased inclusion in the education system.