Mapping the OH + CO-->HOCO reaction pathway through IR spectroscopy of the OH-CO reactant complex.

A hydrogen-bonded complex composed of the OH and CO reactants has been identified along the OH + CO-->HOCO reaction pathway. IR action spectroscopy in the OH overtone region has been used to examine the vibrational modes of the linear OH-CO complex, including intermolecular bending modes that probe portions of the reaction path leading to HOCO. The spectroscopic measurements have accessed highly excited intermolecular levels, with energies up to 250 cm-1 above the zero-point level, which lie in close proximity to the transition state for reaction. The OH-CO binding energy, D0 < or = 430 cm-1, has also been established from the quantum state distribution of the OH fragments following vibrational predissociation of the OH-CO complex. Complementary electronic structure calculations have been performed to characterize the OH-CO and OH-OC complexes, the transition state for HOCO formation, and the direct reaction path that connects the experimentally observed OH-CO complex to the HOCO intermediate.

Apolipoprotein screening in Australian children: feasibility and the effect of age, sex, and ethnicity.

OBJECTIVE: (i) To evaluate the feasibility of detecting adverse lipid profiles in schoolchildren by measuring capillary dried blood spot apolipoprotein levels, and (ii) to assess the effect of age, sex and ethnicity on apolipoprotein levels. DESIGN: We measured capillary dried blood spot apolipoproteins B and A-I (apo B and apo A-I); assessed levels in relation to age, sex and ethnicity; and recalled children with elevated levels for a full lipid profile measurement. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: 6992 children (3501 boys and 3491 girls), aged 5-13 years, from schools in eastern Sydney, 1991-1995. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Capillary blood levels of apolipoproteins B and A-I, and serum total cholesterol level. RESULTS: Of the 6951 children who provided an adequate fingerprick blood sample, we recalled 1465 children (21.1%) (640 boys [43.7%] and 825 girls [56.3%]) with elevated apo B levels and/or apo B:apo A-I ratios for further testing, either by us or by their family doctor (overall estimated compliance rate up to 70%). Among the 458 children who returned to us, there was a 90% positive predictive value for a total cholesterol level of over 4.5 mmol/L in those with both elevated apo B levels and high apo B:apo A-I ratios. Girls had higher apo B levels and apo B:apo A-I ratios than boys (P < 0.00001 for both), and in both sexes there was a trend downwards for apo B and upwards for apo B:apo A-I ratio over the age range tested, but levels were relatively stable between the ages of 6 and 10 years. Indian children (1.5% of the screened population) had the highest apo B levels, followed by white children (71.1%); Asian children (9.2%) had the lowest (P < 0.00001 compared with Indian and white children). CONCLUSIONS: The high positive predictive value of capillary blood apolipoprotein levels for an adverse lipid profile in children suggests that measuring apolipoprotein levels by this method is a useful initial approach to cardiovascular risk assessment.

Relevance of body weight to apolipoprotein levels in Australian children.

OBJECTIVES: To assess weight and apolipoprotein profiles in a representative sample of primary school children. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: 1543 children (936 girls and 607 boys) aged 6-11 years from schools in the Eastern Sydney Area Health Service region in 1994. METHODS: We measured body mass index (BMI) and capillary blood apolipoprotein (apo) B and A-I levels (the carrier proteins for low and high density lipoprotein cholesterol, respectively) as well as lipoprotein (Lp) (a). We related BMI levels to those documented in the 1985 Australian Council on Health, Physical Education and Recreation (ACHPER) survey of school children. RESULTS: Compared with the ACHPER distribution, BMI was increased in the boys but not in the girls; 16.8% of boys were above the 90th percentile of the ACHPER distribution (P = 0.003) and only 6.5% were below the 10th percentile (P = 0.046). There were 45 boys (7.4%) and 53 girls (5.7%) with BMIs above the 95th percentile who were, by definition, obese. They had highly significant increases in apo B (P = 0.003) and apo B: apo A-I ratio (P = 0.0001) compared with children in the normal BMI range (10th-90th percentiles); and 20% of the population, including the obese group, also had Lp(a) levels greater than 300 mg/L. The results in children aged 10 and 11 years were not different from those of the whole group, consistent with an absence of possible confounding effects due to early puberty or smoking. CONCLUSIONS: There was an increase in weight relative to height in boys aged 6-11 years in eastern Sydney, compared with the 1985 ACHPER survey. In both boys and girls with the highest BMI category, levels of apo B and the apo B: apo A-I ratio were significantly increased. As these apolipoprotein changes are correlated closely with early onset atherogenesis and are correctable, their identification offers prospects for prevention.

Are reference intervals for carboxyhemoglobin appropriate? A survey of Boston area laboratories.

CO is a leading cause of poisoning deaths in the US today. Treating physicians use the carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) % saturation to guide the diagnosis and treatment of CO intoxication. We conducted a telephone survey of hospitals and laboratories in the Boston area, focusing on methodology for COHb determination and accompanying COHb reference intervals. Among 130 facilities, 23 (18%) provide COHb analysis. All facilities that perform the COHb test utilize dedicated multiwave-length photometry. Reference intervals for COHb varied widely among facilities. Eight of 21 (38%) facilities give unacceptably high "normal intervals" for nonsmokers when compared with values available in the literature. Thirteen of 20 (65%) use reference intervals for smokers that are too low, and 3 of 20 (15%) use values that are too high. These reference values provided by the testing facilities may be misleading to the ordering physicians unfamiliar with background COHb saturations. This may lead to misdiagnoses, false reassurances, and perhaps less aggressive treatment than might be warranted. The results of this study argue for wider adoption of COHb reference intervals supported by the current literature.