Modification and Single-Laboratory Validation of AOAC Official Method 977.13 for Histamine in Seafood to Improve Sample Throughput.

Histamine is the main causative agent in scombrotoxin fish poisoning, the most frequently reported illness related to fish consumption. The AOAC official method for histamine determination in fish is the fluorometric method AOAC 977.13, which is sensitive and reproducible but somewhat labor intensive and time consuming.

Screening for petrochemical contamination in seafood by headspace solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

A headspace solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SPME GC-MS) method is described, to screen seafood for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) associated with petrochemical taint. VOCs are extracted from the headspace of heated sample homogenates by adsorption onto a SPME fiber and desorbed for analysis by GC-MS. Targeted compounds are determined semi-quantitatively using representative calibration standards for the various classes (alkanes, alkylbenzenes, indanes/tetralins, and naphthalenes) of VOCs analyzed.

Propylene glycol accumulation associated with continuous infusion of lorazepam in pediatric intensive care patients.

Objective: To determine if propylene glycol accumulates in children receiving continuous lorazepam infusion and, if accumulation occurs, to determine if it is associated with significant laboratory abnormalities.

Design: Prospective study.

Setting: A tertiary care pediatric intensive care unit.

Elevated plasma gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels in autistic youngsters: stimulus for a GABA hypothesis of autism.

Background: Autistic Disorder is an early-onset developmental disorder with severe lifelong impact on social functioning, communication, and behavior. There is currently no marker or cure. The pathophysiology and etiology are obscure.

Preparation of irreversibly sickled cell beta-actin from normal red blood cell beta-actin.

We have previously demonstrated that an oxidative change, the formation of a disulfide bridge between two cysteine residues, in the membrane protein beta-actin is primarily responsible for locking the irreversibly sickled red blood cells (ISCs) of sickle cell anemic patients into the sickle shape. To support studies on biological and chemical characterization of the oxidized beta-actin and pharmacological research toward the reversal of the oxidation, we attempted to prepare oxidized beta-actin from normal red blood cell (RBC) beta-actin by a chemical reaction, expecting a product equivalent to that found in ISCs. 5,5'-Dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB, or Ellman's reagent) was used for the oxidation.