Natural occurrence of ochratoxin A in musts, wines and grape vine fruits from grapes harvested in Argentina

In this study, ochratoxin A (OTA) occurrence in Argentinean musts, wines and dried vine fruits was evaluated, alongside with the performance of OchraStar(TM) columns for OTA extraction. In all the three matrices analyzed, the OchraStar(TM) columns showed good performance. The analysis of natural occurrence of OTA in the red must and the red wine samples showed low incidence with low levels of mean OTA contamination (0.12 ng/mL and 0.37 ng/mL, respectively), while 60% of the dried vine fruit samples were contaminated with OTA, in levels ranging from 0.26 to 20.28 ng/g.     

甘草干姜汤加味治疗小儿遗尿症28例

目的：观察甘草干姜汤加味治疗小儿遗尿症的临床效果。方法：28例用甘草干姜汤加味治疗。结果：随访1年,治愈19例,显效8例,无效1例。结论：甘草干姜汤加味治疗小儿遗尿症临床疗效显著。     

Simultaneous detection of 19 drugs of abuse on dried urine spot by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

Background

The lack of specificity of immunoassays for drugs of abuse testing (DAT), and concerns over its cost in conjunction with reflex confirmatory tests prompted us to investigate the combinatorial use of dried urine spot (DUS) and LC–MS/MS as an alternative.

Methods

The method development and validation were performed in accordance with the guidelines published by FDA and CLSI.

Results

In this study we established and validated the precision, accuracy, and linearity of our DUS–LC–MS/MS method, and assessed the recovery, interference, and carryover as well. The linearity check for all 19 analytes demonstrated slopes between 0.94 and 1.04, and R² always greater than 0.99. Between-batch CV for QC at 4 difference levels ranged from 1.1% to 10%, where CV of LLOQ ranged from 1.2% to 12.8% and CV of ULOQ ranged from 0.8% to 5.1%. A concordance study with patient specimens between our method and GC–MS demonstrated 80.8% to 100% agreement. Stability of DUS specimens was assessed up to 30 days and the measured concentrations ranged from 94% to 114% of the 100 ng/mL urine calibrator used for this assessment.

Conclusions

We established and validated a DUS–LC–MS/MS method for DAT that conforms to the guidelines dictated by FDA, CLSI, and SAMHSA. While our method with high sensitivity and specificity provides an alternative diagnostic utility to EMIT immunoassays, it also offers superior solutions in specimen transportation, preservation, and storage. The benefits of our method are apparent in reducing turnaround time and test costs that result in better patient care.     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in raw cane sugar (rapadura) in Brazil

Rapadura is the commercial name for unrefined dehydrated sugarcane juice. Rapadura is produced in 25 countries, for an estimated total of 13 million tons per year. It is considered a basic food for the School Meals Program (PNAE) in Brazil, which serves 37 million meals to schoolchildren each day. During the production of rapadura, carcinogenic compounds including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) may enter this food. A simple and rapid method was optimized and validated for the determination of 16 PAHs in commercial rapadura by high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (HPLC-FL). PAHs were measured in 80% of the samples (n = 21) at levels ranging from 0.07 to 4.03 μg kg⁻¹. These data reveal a wide variability in PAH concentrations in the samples, indicated that sugar-cane burning and/or production are important for introduction of these contaminants into rapadura. In Brazil, there are no maximum acceptable PAH levels in this food.     

Viability evaluation of freeze dried and suspension anthrax spore vaccine formulations stored at different temperatures

Anthrax is endemic in Ethiopia with sporadic outbreaks despite the regular vaccination of domestic livestock. This has raised concerns on the effectiveness of the vaccination strategy which may be associated with breaches in the vaccine cold chain maintenance. This study was aimed at demonstrating the tolerance of anthrax vaccine to cold chain breaches through evaluation of viable spore counts expressed as colony forming units per mL (CFU/mL) of freeze-dried and suspension anthrax vaccines stored at 5 °C, 20 °C and 37 °C for up to 6 months. Both vaccine formulations maintained above the recommended minimum required titre (2 × 10⁶ culturable spores per dose for cattle, buffaloes and horses, and not <1 × 10⁶ for sheep and goats) for up to 6 months at 5 °C storage. In storage at 20 °C, the viability of freeze-dried anthrax vaccine maintained the minimum required titre up to 6 months while up to 90 days in case of the suspension formulation. Both types of vaccine formulations maintained the minimum titre per dose for up to 30 days at 37 °C storage. Generally, both vaccine formulations showed similar trends in titre fall in all of the three storage temperatures (5 °C, 20 °C and 37 °C) as observed in the almost linearly overlapping 95% confidence intervals (CI) up to day 90 at 5 °C and 20 °C storages while up to day 30 at 37 °C storage. However, a significant (P < 0.05) drop in titre was observed after day 90 for storages at 5 °C and 20 °C, and after day 30 for 37 °C storage as observed in the non overlapping 95% CI from the average titres of previous time points. This study showed that if temperature excursion occurs above the recommended temperature range (4–8 °C) during storage or transport, the vaccine should remain effective and can still be used in vaccination programs.     

Analysis of six different homologues of phosphatidylethanol from dried blood spots using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

Phosphatidylethanol (PEth) is a direct biomarker for alcohol consumption consisting of a fraction of different ethanol-modified, homologue phospholipids. The aim of this study was to validate an ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method to quantitate six different homologues of PEth (16:0/18:1, 16:0/18:2, 16:0/20:4, 18:0/18:1, 18:0/18:2, and 18:1/18:1) from dried blood spots (DBSs). DBSs were prepared volumetrically (20 μL of whole blood) and extracted with 1 mL of methanol (0.02 ng/μL internal standards). PEth homologues were separated on a BEH C18 column (2.1 × 150 mm, 1.7 μm) using methanol and ammonium acetate buffer (25 mM) in a 7 min isocratic run. Multiple reaction monitoring mode was used for the detection of PEth and the internal standards. Calibrators (10–1000 ng/mL) and quality controls (40, 400, and 700 ng/mL) were prepared from spiked whole blood; external control samples were obtained from proficiency testing schemes. After a comprehensive validation of the method, quantitative patterns of the different homologues were investigated in PEth positive samples (n = 57) from patients in a transplant setting. Satisfactory chromatographic separation, sensitive detection, and reliable quantification of the PEth homologues in DBSs can be achieved using the liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) procedure. Validation results, including accuracy, linearity, recovery, matrix effects, and in-process stability, complied with international standards, and the analytical performance of the procedure was not affected by the hematocrit of the blood samples. Different quantitative patterns of the investigated PEth homologues were observed in authentic samples from liver transplant patients. This method will enable the study of the kinetics of six PEth homologues simultaneously and investigate the meaning of the homologues' distribution in individuals.     

Dried fruit and dental health – how strong is the evidence?

Children's dental health in England has shown improvement in recent decades. However, 24.7% of 5 year‐olds have obvious decay, with the average number of affected teeth being 3.4, and tooth decay is the most common reason for hospital admissions in 5–9 year‐olds. Public Health England advises that foods and drinks containing free sugars are limited because of the increased risk of dental caries associated with frequent intakes. Although dried fruit contains more sugars than fresh fruit by weight due to the dehydration process, the portion size of dried fruit is 30 g compared with 80 g for fresh fruit. Additionally, these sugars are not defined as ‘free’ according to the current UK definition. However, unlike other sources of natural sugars, dried fruit is recommended to be eaten with meals only rather than as a snack because there is a supposition that it ‘sticks’ to teeth. A comprehensive review of the evidence published last year found a lack of good quality studies to support this advice. In the absence of data from intervention and cohort studies for effects of dried fruit on dental caries endpoints, studies of proxy measures of tooth demineralisation show inconsistent effects on plaque pH and acidogenicity. Measurement of net demineralisation, following consumption of raisins seven times a day for 10 days, showed comparable effects with fresh fruit and vegetables under similar conditions. Oral retention (‘sticking’) has been investigated in few subjects. The results do not demonstrate that dried fruit is worse in terms of oral clearance than alternative snack foods. More robust research with validated methods is needed before firm conclusions can be drawn about the retention of dried fruit, and hence its potential for adverse effects on teeth. This is important because eating traditional dried fruits can help towards the achievement of a number of dietary recommendations, including contributing to the 5 A DAY target and increasing fibre intake.     

玫瑰干花精油提取方法比较研究

目的 对比研究玫瑰精油3种提取方法,探讨所得玫瑰干花精油化学成分的变化。方法 料液比为1∶8,加5%氯化钠溶液静置4 h,蒸馏时间为3 h,分别用蒸馏萃取同步法、溶剂萃取分离法、二次蒸馏法得到玫瑰干花精油,应用GC-MS定性分析其化学成分。结果 蒸馏萃取同步法和二次蒸馏法各鉴定出22种化合物,溶剂萃取分离法鉴定出5种化合物,三者的化学成分中既有共同组分,也存在一定的差异性。结论 先加正己烷的蒸馏萃取同步法可以克服油水分离困难,有利于提升水蒸气法的精油回收。     

儿童常用注射用冻干粉空瓶体积及负压与产气体积相关性研究

摘 要 目的：研究儿童医院门急诊输液药房常用的注射用冻干粉针空瓶体积及负压与产气体积相关性,为药品生产提供参考。方法: 利用20 ml注射针筒测量30种儿童医院门急诊输液药房常用的注射用冻干粉针空瓶体积,具有负压的药品瓶内负压体积,溶解后产生气体的药品产气体积,比较各体积与药品理论溶解体积及实际溶解体积之间的关系,提出药品生产时的注意事项。结果: 30种药品中,实际溶解体积为理论溶解体积1/2的共计6种,瓶内具有负压的药品共计8种,溶解后产生气体的药品共计3种。药品的空瓶体积大于药品理论溶解体积4 ml以上为宜。药品的负压体积略大于药品的理论溶解体积为宜。产气的药品需在溶解后仍保持瓶内负压为宜。结论: 现有部分注射用冻干粉针在出厂设计时存在缺陷,造成一定的药品冲配困难。