Pre-school children's attitudes to fat and normal male and female stimulus figures.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate gender differences in attitudes to obesity in pre-school children. DESIGN: Evaluation of gender differences in judgements of stimulus figures varying in body shape and gender. SUBJECTS: Twenty-five children aged 2-5 y, 12 boys and 13 girls. MEASURES: Forced-choice ascriptions of personal, social and behavioural traits to normal and obese male and female dolls. RESULTS: Children ascribed more negative characteristics than positive ones to fat figures than to normal figures, and more to fat female than to fat male figures. CONCLUSION: Children can demonstrate prejudiced behaviour towards obesity at earlier ages than previously thought.

Fragmentation pattern of mucins in normal and diseased gastric mucosae: a glycoprotein fractionates with gastric mucins purified from mucosal scrapings of cancer and peptic ulcer patients.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Gastric cancer, a fatal malignancy, is prevalent in the Western Cape region of South Africa. The aim of this study was a biochemical characterisation of gastric mucins in this disease, compared with gastric ulceration and controls from transplant donors. METHODS: Mucins were extracted in a denaturing medium (to prevent endogenous proteolysis) and purified by caesium chloride density gradient ultracentrifugation. Analysis of mucin was by gel filtration, SDS-PAGE and Western blotting methods. RESULTS: All samples of mucin when analysed by gel filtration were found to contain polymeric glycoprotein together with varying amounts of lower-molecular-weight glycoprotein. SDS-PAGE and Western blot analysis showed that diseased stomachs had glycopeptides of a wider range in size and antigenicity with a greater number of smaller fragments immunoreactive to monoclonal antibodies 2-12M1 and 9-13M1. We identified by SDS-PAGE a glycoprotein which co-fractionates in a caesium chloride density gradient with mucins isolated from gastrectomy specimens resected for carcinoma and peptic ulceration and which was absent from mucins of the transplant donor control group. This neuraminidase-sensitive glycoprotein resisted dissociation from mucin during purification in a 3.5 M CsCl density gradient but was partially separable by Sepharose 2B gel chromatography and heat treatment (100 degrees C, 2.0 min) in SDS. Chemical analysis of the glycoprotein by HPLC favours it being an N-linked glycoprotein. Its non-ideal electrophoretic properties make its exact size estimation difficult and we ascribe to it a broad size range of Mr approximately 55-65 kD. CONCLUSION: We conclude that mucins from diseased stomachs were more degraded than those from donors and that the diseased mucosa reproducibly secretes a Mr approximately 55-65 kD glycoprotein, the role of which needs to be established.

Chlorinated compounds in tissues of chickens raised on pentachlorophenol-contaminated litter.

Broiler chickens were raised on commercial wood shavings containing 134 p.p.m. pentachlorophenol and on control litter consisting of corn-cob chips. Initial analysis of the wood-shaving litter showed the presence of hepta-, octa- and nonachlorinated diphenyl ethers, octa- and nonachlorinated 2-phenoxyphenols, and hepta- and octachlorinated dibenzodioxins. Analysis of liver, fat, and muscle tissue after nine weeks indicated the assimilation of these compounds with pentachlorophenol being present in the highest concentration. Chlorinated diphenyl ethers were detectable only in fat, while octa- and nonachlorinated 2-phenoxyphenols were found in all three tissues examined. While liver and fat contained hepta- and octachlorinated dibenzodioxins, no hexachlorinated congener was detected nor were significant amounts of dioxin found in muscle tissue. Although gross pathological examination of the birds did not indicate abnormalities, a mixed type of hepatic enzyme induction was observed in those birds raised on wood shavings.

Detection of goitrin and its heptafluorobutyryl derivative by gas-liquid chromatography with electron capture, electrolytic conductivity and sulfur detectors.

The separation of goitrin by two gas-liquid chromatographic columns, the response of different detectors and the use of the heptafluorobutyric (HFB) anhydride derivative of goitrin to improve sensitivity was investigated. The non-polar 3% OV-1 and the intermediate 4% SE-30/6% SP-2401 on 80-100 mesh Chromosorb W HP gave comparable results and were considered interchangeable. The sensitivities of the electron capture, sulfur 394 nm emission, chlorine and nitrogen Coulson electrolytic conductivity detectors were inadequate for goitrin per se. Chromatography and sensitivity of all detectors to goitrin were greatly improved by using by using the HFB derivative. It was possible to detect 1 to 60 ng of goitrin-HFB in standard solutions. Application of the technique to goitrin-spiked (2 ppm) milk, cleaned up by high-performance liquid chromatography, encountered no problems and was considered satisfactory for all four detectors.

Detection of carbofuran and metabolites directly or as their heptafluorobutyryl derivatives using gas-liquid or high-pressure liquid chromatography with different detectors.

The gas chromatography of the heptafluorobutyryl derivatives of carbofuran, 3-ketocarbofuran and 3-hydroxycarbofuran is examined with electrolytic conductivity detection (halogen mode). The reaction consists of heating the compounds with heptafluorobutyric anhydride in the presence of trimethylamine catalyst. Although as little as 200 pg of carbofuran, 400 pg of 3-ketocarbofuran and 100 pg of 3-hydroxycarbofuran can be detected by electrolytic conductivity, the minimum detectable quantities by electron capture are about 20-fold less for each derivative. Application to the analysis of carbofuran and 3-ketocarbofuran in corn, potato, turnip and wheat is carried out. This technique is compared to direct gas chromatography in the nitrogen mode and to direct high-pressure liquid chromatography with UV detection at 254 nm using extracts of field-treated turnips.

Evaluation of electrolytic conductivity detection for gas-liquid chromatographic screening of some organonitrogen herbicides and fungicides in foods.

Electrolytic conductivity detection for the gas-liquid chromatographic (GLC) screening of 15 organonitrogen herbicides and fungicides was investigated. Spiked samples of crop material was extracted with acetone and the filtered sample extracts were partitioned with methylene chloride-petroleum ether (1+1) followed by second and third extractions with methylene chloride. The combined organic extracts were evaporated to dryness and the residues were dissolved in hexane for cleanup on a 2% deactivated Florisil column. The pesticide fractions were determined directly by GLC. All pesticides could be detected at 0.1 ppm in the foods studied.

Gas-liquid chromatographic analysis and chemical confirmation of azodrin (monocrotophos) residues in strawberries.

A gas-liquid chromatographic (GLC) method is described for the analysis and confirmation of azodrin (monocrotophos, 3-(dimethoxyphosphinyl)-N-methyl-cis-crotonamide) residues in strawberrires. The strawberries are extracted with acetone, and the filtrate is partioned with a mixture of methylene chloride and petroleum ether followed by further extraction with methylene chloride. The organic phases are combined, dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate, and concentrated to a small volume for GLC analysis on a 3% OV-210 column with flame photometric detection. Identity of the compound is confirmed by chromatography on the same column after trifluoroacetylation of an aliquot of the strawberry extract. The detection limit is about 2 ppb. The types of strawberry samples analyzed were fresh, frozen, pureed, and jam.

Systems for automated multiple pesticide residue analysis.

This article reviews the development and current status of automated multiple pesticide residue analysis. Various configurations of equipment that perform specific steps in a method of analysis are described. These include the use of Technicon modules, automatic injectors for gas chromatography, specially designed units and data processing systems.