On the use of the fluorescence, ultraviolet-visible and near infrared spectroscopy with chemometrics for the discrimination between plum brandies of different varietal origins.

This paper investigates the use of synchronous fluorescence, UV-Vis and near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy coupled with chemometric methods to discriminate samples of high-quality plum brandies (Slivovica) of different varietal origins (Prunus domestica L.). Synchronous fluorescence spectra (SFS) for wavelength differences in the range of 70-100nm, NIR spectra in the wavenumber range of 4000-7500cm-1 and UV-Vis spectra in the wavelength interval of 220-320nm were compared. The best discrimination models were created by linear discriminant analysis based on principal component analysis applied to SFS recorded with wavelength difference either 80nm or 100nm, allowing the classification of plum brandy according to harvest time as early (summer) and late (autumn) plum varieties; the total correct classifications were 96% and 100% for the calibration and prediction steps, respectively.

Near-infrared spectroscopy for rapid classification of fruit spirits.

Multivariate analysis combined with near-infrared (NIR) spectral analysis was evaluated to classify fruit spirits. A total of 67 fruit spirits (12 apple, 18 apricot, 19 pear and 18 plum spirits) were analyzed. NIR spectra were collected in the wavenumber range of 4000-10,000 cm(-1). Linear discriminant analysis based on principal component analysis (PCA-LDA) and general discriminant analysis (GDA) based directly on NIR spectral data were used to classify the samples. The prediction performance of models in different wavenumber ranges was also investigated. The best PCA-LDA and GDA models gave a 100 % classification of spirits of the four fruit kinds in the wavenumber range from 5500 to 6050 cm(-1) corresponding to either the C-H stretch of the first overtones of CH3 and CH2 groups, or to compounds containing O-H aromatic groups. The results demonstrated that NIR spectroscopy could be used as a rapid method for classification of fruit spirits.

Titin antibodies in "seronegative" myasthenia gravis--A new role for an old antigen.

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disease caused by antibodies targeting the neuromuscular junction of skeletal muscles. Triple-seronegative MG (tSN-MG, without detectable AChR, MuSK and LRP4 antibodies), which accounts for ~10% of MG patients, presents a serious gap in MG diagnosis and complicates differential diagnosis of similar disorders. Several AChR antibody positive patients (AChR-MG) also have antibodies against titin, usually detected by ELISA. We have developed a very sensitive radioimmunoprecipitation assay (RIPA) for titin antibodies, by which many previously negative samples were found positive, including several from tSN-MG patients. The validity of the RIPA results was confirmed by western blots. Using this RIPA we screened 667 MG sera from 13 countries; as expected, AChR-MG patients had the highest frequency of titin antibodies (40.9%), while MuSK-MG and LRP4-MG patients were positive in 14.6% and 16.4% respectively. Most importantly, 13.4% (50/372) of the tSN-MG patients were also titin antibody positive. None of the 121 healthy controls or the 90 myopathy patients, and only 3.6% (7/193) of other neurological disease patients were positive. We thus propose that the present titin antibody RIPA is a useful tool for serological MG diagnosis of tSN patients.

Classification of plum spirit drinks by synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy.

Synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy was used in combination with principal component analysis (PCA) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) for the differentiation of plum spirits according to their geographical origin. A total of 14 Czech, 12 Hungarian and 18 Slovak plum spirit samples were used. The samples were divided in two categories: colorless (22 samples) and colored (22 samples). Synchronous fluorescence spectra (SFS) obtained at a wavelength difference of 60 nm provided the best results. Considering the PCA-LDA applied to the SFS of all samples, Czech, Hungarian and Slovak colorless samples were properly classified in both the calibration and prediction sets. 100% of correct classification was also obtained for Czech and Hungarian colored samples. However, one group of Slovak colored samples was classified as belonging to the Hungarian group in the calibration set. Thus, the total correct classifications obtained were 94% and 100% for the calibration and prediction steps, respectively. The results were compared with those obtained using near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy. Applying PCA-LDA to NIR spectra (5500-6000 cm(-1)), the total correct classifications were 91% and 92% for the calibration and prediction steps, respectively, which were slightly lower than those obtained using SFS.

MuSK autoantibodies in myasthenia gravis detected by cell based assay--A multinational study.

Seronegative myasthenia gravis (MG) presents a serious gap in MG diagnosis and understanding. We applied a cell based assay (CBA) for the detection of muscle specific kinase (MuSK) antibodies undetectable by radioimmunoassay. We tested 633 triple-seronegative MG patients' sera from 13 countries, detecting 13% as positive. MuSK antibodies were found, at significantly lower frequencies, in 1.9% of healthy controls and 5.1% of other neuroimmune disease patients, including multiple sclerosis and neuromyelitis optica. The clinical data of the newly diagnosed MuSK-MG patients are presented. 27% of ocular seronegative patients were MuSK antibody positive. Moreover, 23% had thymic hyperplasia suggesting that thymic abnormalities are more common than believed.