High Levels of 25-OH-Vitamin D and Copper in Pregnant Women with Abnormal Glucose Challenge Test.

Several hormones and elements are involved in the homeostasis of glucose metabolism during pregnancy. This present study determined the differences among the factors involved in glucose regulation for pregnant women with and without an abnormal glucose challenge test (GCT), but without gestational diabetes mellitus, during the second trimester of gestation and the postpartum period. One hundred and six pregnant women who had received routine prenatal and postpartum examinations at our hospital were recruited. Sugar-related tests and the levels of pregnancy-associated hormones and 25-OH-vitamin D were performed using a clinical autoanalyzer; six elements were assessed using graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry or inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The women in the abnormal GCT group (n = 27) featured significantly higher levels of 25-OH-vitamin D (p = 0.006) and copper (p < 0.001) than those in the normal GCT group (n = 79). After adjusting for possible pregnancy factors, abnormal GCT remained the significant contributing factor for the elevated levels of 25-OH-vitamin D and copper during gestation (p = 0.046 and 0.002, respectively). Furthermore, significant positive correlations existed between 25-OH-vitamin D and glucose after a 50-g GCT (p = 0.001), 25-OH-vitamin D and HbA1C (p = 0.004), serum copper and glucose after a 50-g GCT (p = 0.003), and serum copper and HbA1C (p < 0.001). We conclude that blood 25-OH-vitamin D and copper are strongly correlated with glucose levels during gestation; these two factors are potential clinical predictors for maternal impaired glucose tolerance and, indirectly, for reducing perinatal risks and neonatal complications.

Using ambient mass spectrometry and LC-MS/MS for the rapid detection and identification of multiple illicit street drugs.

In this study the recently developed technique of thermal desorption electrospray ionization/mass spectrometry (TD-ESI/MS) was applied to the rapid analysis of multiple controlled substances. With the reallocation of mass spectral resources [from a standard ESI source coupled with liquid chromatography (LC) to an ambient TD-ESI source], this direct-analysis technique allows the identification of a wider range of illicit drugs through a dual-working mode (pretreatment-free qualitative screening/conventional quantitative confirmation). Through 60-MRM (multiple reaction monitoring) analysis-in which the MS/MS process was programmed to sequentially scan 60 precursor ion/product ion transitions and, thereby, identify 30 compounds (two precursor/product ion transitions per compound)-of a four-component (drug) standard, the signal intensity ratios of each drug transition were comparable with those obtained through 8-MRM analysis, demonstrating the selectivity of TD-ESI/MS for the detection of multiple drugs. The consecutive analyses of tablets containing different active components occurred with no cross-contamination or interference from sample to sample, demonstrating the reliability of the TD-ESI/MS technique for rapid sampling (two samples min-1). The active ingredients in seized drug materials could be detected even when they represented less than 2 mg g-1 of the total sample weight, demonstrating the sensitivity of TD-ESI/MS. Combining the ability to rapidly identify multiple drugs with the "plug-and-play" design of the interchangeable ion source, TD-ESI/MS has great potential for use as a pretreatment-free qualitative screening tool for laboratories currently using LC-MS/MS techniques to analyze illicit drugs.

Microfluidic desorption-free magnetic solid phase extraction of Hg2+ from biological samples using cysteine-coated gold-magnetite core-shell nanoparticles prior to its quantitation by ICP-MS.

The authors describe a microfluidic method for desorption-free magnetic solid phase extraction (MSPE) of Hg2+ ions prior to their determination through ICP-MS. Nanoparticles comprising a gold core and an iron oxide (Fe3O4) shell were functionalized with l-cysteine and then used to extract trace amounts of Hg2+. In contrast to typical solid phase extraction processes, this approach is rapid and does not require a desorption step. The working pH, amount of adsorbent, sample volume, adsorption selectivity, adsorption capacity, and adsorption flow rate were optimized. Under the optimized conditions, the method was validated through determination of a certified reference material (NIST 1641d; mercury in water); the results were in good agreement. The method was applied to the analysis of (spiked) tap water and gave recoveries ranging from 101.5% to 109.3%. It was also applied to the analysis of biosamples available in limited volumes only, including cerebrospinal fluid and microdialysates.

A comparative study of three fecal occult blood tests in upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance characteristics of three fecal occult blood tests (FOBTs): the chemical o-toluidine test, the immunochemical OC-Hemodia test, and the immunochromatographic Quick Chaser Occult Blood (QCOB) test, which detect human hemoglobin and transferrin simultaneously in cases of upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding. Included were 48 FOBT specimens in 48 consecutive admission cases of upper GI bleeding (endoscopy confirmed). We excluded those fecal specimens with an obvious tarry and bloody appearance. The QCOB test revealed the highest positive rates of 33/48 (68.8%), and significantly higher positive rates than that of the OC-Hemodia test and o-toluidine test (p < 0.025 and < 0.01, respectively). In the patient group with upper GI bleeding due to gastric and duodenal ulcers, the QCOB test had higher positive rates (68.6%) than did the o-toluidine test (34.3%) (p < 0.01). There was no fecal specimen that was positive for the o-toluidine test or OC-Hemodia test and was negative for the QCOB test. Our results reveal that the QCOB test has significantly higher positive rates of fecal occult blood than either the OC-Hemodia test or o-toluidine test. The QCOB test is better than the other two tests for detecting occult blood in patients with upper GI bleeding.