Biomonitoring of Phthalates, Bisphenols and Parabens in Children: Exposure, Predictors and Risk Assessment.

Exposure to emerging contaminants, such as phthalates, bisphenols and parabens in children has been associated with possible neurodevelopment and endocrine alterations. In the present study, the biomonitoring of biomarkers in children (5-12 years old) from the Valencia Region (Spain) have been implemented using urines from the BIOVAL program. More than 75% of the children studied ( = 562) were internally exposed (>LOQ) to bisphenols and parabens, and the whole population assessed ( = 557) were exposed to at least one phthalate.

European multicenter analytical evaluation of the Abbott ARCHITECT STAT high sensitive troponin I immunoassay.

Background: International recommendations highlight the superior value of cardiac troponins (cTns) for early diagnosis of myocardial infarction along with analytical requirements of improved precision and detectability. In this multicenter study, we investigated the analytical performance of a new high sensitive cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI) assay and its 99th percentile upper reference limit (URL).

Methods: Laboratories from nine European countries evaluated the ARCHITECT STAT high sensitive troponin I (hs-TnI) immunoassay on the ARCHITECT i2000SR/i1000SR immunoanalyzers.

Retinol-binding protein 4 levels are associated with measures of liver and renal function and oxidant/antioxidant status in obese children.

Serum retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4) has been proposed as a metabolic risk factor in obesity. We found that RBP4 levels also were associated with liver enzymes and cystatin C. Oxidant stress is a significant feature in obese children with greater values of RBP4 that can mediate the development of comorbidities.