Topological and non-topological solitons of nonlinear Klein-Gordon equations by He's semi-inverse variational principle

This paper studies the topological as well as the non-topological solitons due to the nonlinear Klein-Gordon equations, in presence of perturbation terms. There are five forms of nonlinearity that will be considered. The He's semi-inverse variational principle will be used to carry out the integration.     

Application of the G/G-expansion method for nonlinear diffusion equations with nonlinear source

The generalized diffusion equations, with nonlinear source terms which encompasses the Fisher, Newell-Whitehead, FitzHugh-Nagumo and Allen-Cahn equations as particular forms are solved by the G^′/G-expansion method. The exact solutions are in terms of hyperbolic, trigonometric and rational functions with external parameters. This paper concludes with the stationary topological soliton solution of the FitzHugh-Nagumo equation that is obtained by the Ansatz method.     

Broken CP symmetry and the Physics Nobel Prize 2008

Kobayashi and Maskawa shared half the Physics Nobel Prize for 2008 for their work which incorporated CP violation in the standard model using three generations of quarks. We give an elementary discussion of this work and its importance in our understanding of the fundamental physical laws of nature.     

Estimation of plasma haemoglobin by a modified kinetic method using o-tolidine

Measurement of plasma hemoglobin is useful in variety of clinical conditions. In the present study we have developed a kinetic method to estimate plasma haemoglobin by using o-tolidine. This method is sensitive, rapid, economical, simple and less influenced by interfering substances. It measures plasma haemoglobin in the range of 6 to 400 mg/L (normal range < 50 mg/L) in less than two minutes and can be easily automated.     

Development of a rapid and inexpensive plasma glucose estimation by two-point kinetic method based on glucose oxidase-peroxidase enzymes

A rapid and inexpensive plasma glucose estimation by two-point kinetic method based on glucose oxidase and peroxidase enzymes has been developed it takes only 11/2 minutes of time and validity of the method has been discussed.     

Unnecessary repeated total cholesterol tests in biochemistry laboratory

Introduction

We aimed to determine the number of repeated cholesterol (RC) tests and the ratio of unnecessary-repeated cholesterol (URC) tests among patients admitted to Pamukkale University Hospital (Denizli, Turkey) and provide solutions to avoid URC testing.

Materials and methods

Total cholesterol (T-cholesterol) tests (N = 86,817) between June 2014 and May 2015 were evaluated. The tests performed more than once per patient were determined as RC test (N = 28,811). RC test with an interval shorter than 4 weeks were determined as URC test (N = 3968) according to the shortest retest interval stated in ACC/AHA blood cholesterol guideline. RC testing included internal medicine, surgery and paediatric outpatients and inpatients. Reference change value (RCV) of total cholesterol was calculated.

Results

The 33.1% of the T-cholesterol tests were RC tests (N = 28,811), 13.7% of them were URC tests (N = 3968). Our RCV value was 25%. The percentage change between consecutive tests was less than RCV in 86.1% (N = 3418) of URC tests. URC tests were performed more frequently in patients with desirable total cholesterol value (P < 0.001).

Conclusion

There is a significant part of repeated T-cholesterol tests requested in our hospital. URC test requests can be evaluated by laboratories and the obtained data should be shared with clinicians. Laboratories can calculate RCV for the tests they performed and report this value with the test result. To prevent from URC tests, a warning plug-in can be added to hospital information software in accordance with guidelines to prevent from URC test requests.Key words: unnecessary repeated cholesterol test, cholesterol retest interval, reference change value, laboratory costs, preanalytical phase, test requesting     

The rise in preanalytical errors during COVID-19 pandemic

IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic has posed several challenges to clinical laboratories across the globe. Amidst the outbreak, errors occurring in the preanalytical phase of sample collection, transport and processing, can further lead to undesirable clinical consequences. Thus, this study was designed with the following objectives: (i) to determine and compare the blood specimen rejection rate of a clinical laboratory and (ii) to characterise and compare the types of preanalytical errors between the pre-pandemic and the pandemic phases.Materials and methodsThis retrospective study was carried out in a trauma-care hospital, presently converted to COVID-19 care centre. Data was collected from (i) pre-pandemic phase: 1^st October 2019 to 23^rd March 2020 and (ii) pandemic phase: 24^th March to 31^st October 2020. Blood specimen rejection rate was calculated as the proportion of blood collection tubes with preanalytical errors out of the total number received, expressed as percentage.ResultsTotal of 107,716 blood specimens were screened of which 43,396 (40.3%) were received during the pandemic. The blood specimen rejection rate during the pandemic was significantly higher than the pre-pandemic phase (3.0% versus 1.1%; P < 0.001). Clotted samples were the commonest source of preanalytical errors in both phases. There was a significant increase in the improperly labelled samples (P < 0.001) and samples with insufficient volume (P < 0.001), whereas, a significant decline in samples with inadequate sample-anticoagulant ratio and haemolysed samples (P < 0.001).ConclusionIn the ongoing pandemic, preanalytical errors and resultant blood specimen rejection rate in the clinical laboratory have significantly increased due to changed logistics. The study highlights the need for corrective steps at various levels to reduce preanalytical errors in order to optimise patient care and resource utilisation.