The effect of extremely high glucose concentrations on 21 routine chemistry and thyroid Abbott assays: interference study

Introduction

Extremely high glucose concentrations have been shown to interfere with creatinine assays especially with Jaffe method in peritoneal dialysate. Because diabetes is the fastest growing chronic disease in the world, laboratories study with varying glucose concentrations. We investigated whether different levels of glucose spiked in serum interfere with 21 routine chemistry and thyroid assays at glucose concentrations between 17-51 mmol/L.

Materials and methods

Baseline (group I) serum pool with glucose concentration of 5.55 (5.44-5.61) mmol/L was prepared from patient sera. Spiking with 20% dextrose solution, sample groups were obtained with glucose concentrations: 17.09, 34.52, and 50.95 mmol/L (group II, III, IV, respectively). Total of 21 biochemistry analytes and thyroid tests were studied on Abbott c8000 and i2000sr with commercial reagents. Bias from baseline value was checked statistically and clinically.

Results

Creatinine increased significantly by 8.74%, 31.66%, 55.31% at groups II, III, IV, respectively with P values of < 0.001. At the median glucose concentration of 50.95 mmol/L, calcium, albumin, chloride and FT4 biased significantly clinically (-0.85%, 1.63%, 0.65%, 7.4% with P values 0.138, 0.214, 0.004, < 0.001, respectively). Remaining assays were free of interference.

Conclusion

Among the numerous biochemical parameters studied, only a few parameters are affected by dramatically increased glucose concentration. The creatinine measurements obtained in human sera with the Jaffe alkaline method at high glucose concentrations should be interpreted with caution. Other tests that were affected with extremely high glucose concentrations were calcium, albumin, chloride and FT4, hence results should be taken into consideration in patients with poor diabetic control.Key words: assay interference, glucose interference, preanalytical phase, creatinine, Jaffe kinetic assay, thyroid function tests     

Stability studies of common biochemical analytes in serum separator tubes with or without gel barrier subjected to various storage conditions

Introduction

The collected and shipped blood samples are exposed to a various extra-analytical factors prior to analysis. The aim of the study was to determine the stability of analytes in serum gel tubes and plain tubes exposed to a range of storage temperatures and times after centrifugation.

Materials and methods:

Fifteen healthy volunteers were recruited and venous blood was collected into four tubes, two with and two without gel separator. Analyzing the baseline samples in 30 min, all were stored at 4ºC or 24ºC for 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 48 and 72 hours and 1 week. Sixteen biochemical anaytes were measured on each sample. Variations remained under the desirable bias considered as clinically insignificant.

Results:

On day three, most analytes remained stable including albumin, protein, creatinine, cholesterol, triglycerides, gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LD) regardless of tube types. Glucose concentration decreased markedly (P = 0.001) beginning from the first hours of storage in plain serum. The stability maximized for the analytes including glucose, total bilirubin, urea nitrogen (BUN), uric acid stored at 4 ºC in gel tubes. Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activity increased significantly (P = 0.002) up to 48-h, however bias was not significant clinically. High density lipoprotein (HDL) concentration was stable in gel tubes at 24 ºC, in plain tubes at 4 ºC stored up to 36-h.

Conclusion:

Serum gel or non-gel tubes might be used interchangeably for 11 analytes chilled or at 24 ºC, whereas some restrictions must be applied for glucose, AST, BUN, HDL, and uric acid.     

Travelling policies and contextual considerations: on threshold criteria

Educational policy borrowing has become rather common in our globalised world. However, the literature lacks contextual criteria that may be employed by researchers and policy makers to assess the correspondence of a particular policy to the local context of a borrowing system. Based on a secondary analysis of documents and research reports, this paper describes the process of policy borrowing in the Israeli and Turkish educational systems. Discrepancies were found between the basic qualities of the borrowed policies and the contextual features and processes that characterise each educational system. The lack of congruency appears to be even deeper in centralised structures where the act of policy setting is done by top-level policy makers who are isolated from local school circumstances. Threshold criteria referring to fundamental considerations during decision making are offered and their theoretical and practical implications for centralised structures are discussed.     

Turkish children’s human figure drawings: can we borrow norms?

The present study was undertaken to provide preliminary data on norms for the Human Drawings test for children ages 5–11, in Turkey. Four hundred and thirty children from two different schools, in two different socio‐economic levels, were given the Human Figure Drawings. One was a private school in an affluent part of the city, and the other one was a public school in an economically deprived part of the city. There were 208 boys and 222 girls between the ages of five years and 11 years. Koppitz’s Scoring System was utilised. As expected, the results indicated that as children got older they produced more details in their drawings. There were significant differences in the total number of details produced in terms of sex and socio‐economic level. When compared with Koppitz norms it was seen that Turkish children at some age levels produced more details and that the application of Koppitz’s ‘Expected’ and ‘Exceptional’ items tables would not be appropriate to estimate cognitive ability for this group. The need for developing local norms for tests that are supposed to be culture free was discussed. Further research in terms of validity of the test for this sample is also recommended.     

Faculty perspectives on programme curricular assessment: individual and institutional characteristics that influence participation engagement

Driven by issues of accountability, the assessment movement in higher education has gained significant momentum in recent years. However, successful implementation of assessment processes varies radically across institutions. A key issue is faculty engagement. This qualitative inquiry explored factors that impact faculty participation in a professional school assessment initiative in North America. Findings indicate that faculty knowledge, beliefs and attitudes toward assessment, and their perception of leadership, resources and work environment, interact with their decision to engage. Moreover, goal congruence between faculty and educational organisation affects behaviour regarding degree of engagement in programme and curricular assessment. Recommendations for creating a culture of assessment are highlighted.     

Investigation of Students＇ ICT Skills in Terms of Different Variables in a Technical and Vocational High School for Girls

This study aims to measure girls＇ technical and vocational high school students＇ information and communication technology （ICT） skills and to investigate these in terms of different variables. The singular and relational survey model was used in this study. The sample composed of 119 technical and vocational high school students. The data were collected through a paper-based survey composed of two parts. In the first part of the survey, there are 15 items about personal information and demographic information about the participating students. In the second part, there is a scale about ICT skills. The data were analyzed by Statistical Package for Social Sciences （SPSS） Version 21.0 by means of percent, frequency, mean, mode, median, Mann-Whitney U, and Kruskall-Wallis test. The results showed that there were no significant differences in the technical and vocational high school students＇ ICT skills with respect to gender, class level, experience in the use of computers, frequency of using the Internet, working style, learning style, and motivation style. As for the ＂number of aim using the Internet＂ variable, a significant difference in the ICT skills scale was observed.     

The effect of concept cartoon-embedded worksheets on grade 9 students’ conceptual understanding of Newton’s Laws of Motion

Background: A substantial review study of concept cartoons reports that few studies have indicated their functions. For this reason, the present study illuminates the extent to which concept cartoon-embedded worksheets (through constructivist context) accomplish these functions in conceptual learning.

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to determine the effect of the concept cartoon-embedded worksheets on grade 9 students’ conceptual understanding of Newton’s Laws of Motion.

Sample: Within a quasi-experimental research design with control group, the sample consisted of 102 grade 9 students (aged 15–16 years) enrolled in an Anatolian High School. They were randomly assigned to control (52 students) and experimental groups (50 students).

Design and methods: While the control group followed the existing physics instruction, the experimental one was exposed to the concept cartoon-embedded worksheets. To collect data, two scales (Newton’s Laws of Motion Test –NLMT– and Interview about Instances –IAI) were employed.

Results: The results indicated that the experimental group performed better than did the control group.

Conclusions: It can be deduced that the concept cartoon-embedded worksheets are effective in improving grade 9 students’ conceptual understanding and in replacing their alternative conceptions with scientific ones.     

Preschool Movement Education in Turkey: Perceptions of Preschool Administrators and Parents

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of preschool administrators and parents about preschool movement education and movement practices in preschools. Participants were 8 preschool administrators and 21 parents from 8 randomly selected private preschools in one of the municipalities in Ankara, Turkey. Semi-structured interviews, field visits, and observations were conducted, and written documents were collected. The findings indicate that preschool administrators and parents have limited content knowledge in movement education. Movement education practices were not aligned with physical-education goals for these schools. Children’s participation in organized sport activities is valued more as an extracurricular activity by administrators and parents. Limited indoor/outdoor spaces for movement activities seem to be among the limiting factors for movement education practices. To conclude, there is an immediate need to improve preschool administrators’ and parents’ knowledge of movement education and to enhance preschool facilities to ensure quality movement education.     

Students’ opinions on blended learning and its implementation in terms of their learning styles

The purpose of this article is to examine students’ views on the blended learning method and its use in relation to the students’ individual learning style. The study was conducted with 31 senior students. Web based media together with face to face classroom settings were used in the blended learning framework. A scale of Students’ Views on Blended Learning and its implementation, Kolb’s Learning Style Inventory, Pre-Information Form and open ended questions were used to gather data. The majority of the students’ fell into assimilators, accommodators and convergers learning styles. Results revealed that students’ views on blended learning method and its use are quite positive.