Determination of Earthy-musty Odorous Compounds in Drinking Water by Vortex Assisted Dispersive Liquid-Liquid Microextraction Combined with Gas Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry.

A new method was developed for the determination of eight earthy-musty compounds in drinking water by gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) combined with dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME). In this work, the type and volume of extraction solvent and dispersion agent, and the amount of NaCl were optimized; the linearity, detection limit, recovery and precision of method were investigated. The results indicated that the target analytes were in the range of 0.2 - 100 µg/L with correlation coefficient (r) ranging from 0.9991 to 0.9999, the limit of detection (LOD, S/N = 3) of the analytes ranged from 0.2 to 1.0 ng/L with the enrichment factor of 320. The mean recoveries for drinking water at three spiked concentrations levels of 0.6 - 32 ng/L were in the range of 91.3 to 103%, the precision ranged from 3.1 to 7.5% (n = 6), and the inter-day precision was from 6.1 to 11.1% (n = 5). Only one of 15 selected real samples tested positive for GSM, and the concentration was 3 ng/L. This method was confirmed to be simple, fast, efficient, and accurate for the determination of earthy-musty compounds in aqueous samples.

Study on bioavailability difference between clopidogrel bisulfate form I and form II using liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry.

The bioavailability of clopidogrel bisulfate (CAS 135046-48-9) form I was compared with that of clopidogrel bisulfate form II in 12 male Sprague-Dawley rats. The rats, randomly divided into two groups, received a single oral dose of 8 mg/kg clopidogrel (CP) bisulfate form I and form II, respectively, under fasting condition. The plasma concentrations of CP and its inactive carboxylic acid metabolite (CAS 144457-28-3, IM) were simultaneously determined by a sensitive, specific LC-MS/MS method. The pharmacokinetic parameters included C(max), T(max), t1/2, AUC(0-t), AUC(0-infinity). The AUC(0-infinity) of CP was 13.78 +/- 0.67 and 11.46 +/- 1.98 ng/ mL x h for CP form I and form II, respectively. The AUC(0-infinity) of IM was 33.08 +/- 5.76 and 21.67 +/- 8.95 microg/mL x h for CP form I and form II, respectively. The maximum plasma concentration (C(max)) of CP was 3.81 +/- 0.54 ng/mL for CP form I and 3.18 +/- 0.31 ng/mL for CP form II, the C(max) of IM was 3.42 +/- 0.41 and 2.08 +/- 0.68 microg/ mL for the CP form I and form II, respectively. There was an obvious difference between form I and form II for C(max) and the area under the plasma concentration time curve for both CP and IM after a t-test. This study shows that CP form I has better bioavailability in rats than CP form II.

[The role of 18F-FDG SPECT-CT in detecting recurrence and metastases in breast cancer patients with elevated tumor markers].

OBJECTIVE: To compare retrospectively the role of (18)F-FDG SPECT-CT and conventional imaging in the detection of recurrence and metastases in postoperative breast cancer patients with elevated level of tumor markers, and to evaluate the impact of (18)F-FDG SPECT-CT on the management of breast cancer patients. METHODS: (18)F-FDG SPECT-CT was performed in 35 breast cancer patients with suspected recurrence based on elevated level of serum tumor markers. Chest, abdomen and pelvic CT were performed in all patients and whole-body bone scan was performed in only 21 patients. The final diagnosis of recurrent breast cancer was confirmed by either pathology or observation by imaging during the follow-up for more than 1 year. RESULTS: Among the 35 patients, the final diagnosis of recurrence or metastasis was established in 19 patients. Of the 114 sites of increased FDG uptake, 93 were interpreted as malignant and 21 as benign. On site-based analysis, the sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive and negative predictive values were 93.1%, 55.6%, 84.2%, 87.1% and 71.4%, respectively, for (18)F-FDG SPECT-CT, and 80.5%, 60.5%, 75.6%, 80.2% and 65.1%, respectively, for conventional imaging. On the patient-based analysis, the sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive and negative predictive values were 84.2%, 62.5%, 74.3%, 72.7% and 76.9%, respectively, for (18)F-FDG SPECT-CT, and 74.1%, 67.6%, 70.6%, 68.3% and 73.9%, respectively, for conventional imaging. The results of (18)F-FDG SPECT-CT led to changes in the subsequent clinical management of 40.0% of these patients. CONCLUSION: In postoperative breast cancer patients with elevated level of tumor markers during the follow-up, (18)F-FDG SPECT-CT is more sensitive for detecting recurrence and metastases than conventional imaging.

[Expression of sexual hormon receptors in prostatic cancer tissues].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between the androgen receptor (AR), oestrogen receptor( ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) by assaying the distributions of these three receptors in the both benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) and prostatic cancer (PCa) tissues, then to explore the difference of the effects of hormonal treatment between the AR positive and AR negative in PCa patients. METHODS: To observe AR, PR and ER expressions in 30 cases of BPH and 32 cases of PCa tissues by DAKO Envision methods. RESULTS: There were 22 AR positive, 10 ER positive and 6 PR positive cases in 30 BPH patients, and there were 18 AR positive, 14 ER positive and 2 PR positive in 32 PCa patients. There was no significant difference between the two groups. The survival time was 6.41 and 4.28 years for the AR positive and AR negative respectively in 30 PCa patients. The AR positive patients lived longer than the AR negative (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: These three receptors cant result in PCa and the effects of hormonal treatment on AR negative PCa patients is not certain.

Preliminary study on treatment of partial androgen deficiency in aging males with Jingui Shenqi Pill.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the efficacy and safety of Jingui Shengqi Pill in treating partial androgen deficiency in aging males (PADAM), and to explore the new approach in improving the quality of life in PADAM patients. METHODS: Forty patients with PADAM were treated with JSP, the efficacy was evaluated with international index of erectile function (IIEF) scoring, PADAM questionnaire scoring, hormone, prostatic specific antigen (PSA), etc., and the data before treatment were compared with those after treatment in the same group. RESULTS: After 3 months of treatment, PADAM scoring and IIEF scoring were all significantly improved. Symptoms regarding physical ability, vasomotion, and psychical and mental condition all got improved more markedly than symptoms regarding sexual hypofunction. The serum level of testosterone was 3.85 +/- 0.36 before treatment and 5.02 +/- 0.83 after treatment (P < 0.05); luteinizing hormone of 7.33 +/- 2.14 and 4.84 +/- 1.43 (P < 0.01), follicle-stimulating hormone of 10.22 +/- 4.48 and 6.47 +/- 3.28 (P < 0.01), respectively. The level of PSA failed to change significantly (1.94 +/- 0.55 and 2.06 +/- 0.47, P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: JSP is effective and safe in treating PADAM, the mechanism of it is different from supplementing extrinsic androgen. It may have produced the effect by means of favorably regulating the condition of sex hormone to improve the balance of pituitary-sex gland axis, so it has more extensive clinical application.