Melamine Impairs Renal and Vascular Function in Rats.

Melamine incident, linked to nephrotoxicity and kidney stone in infants previously exposed to melamine-contaminated milk products, was unprecedentedly grave in China in 2008 as little was known about the mechanistic process leading to renal dysfunction in affected children. This study investigates whether neonatal ingestion of melamine leads to renal and vascular dysfunction in adulthood; and whether ingestion of melamine in pregnant rats leads to renal dysfunction in their offspring. A combination of approaches employed includes functional studies in rat renal arteries, renal blood flow measurement by functional magnetic resonance imaging, assay for pro-inflammatory and fibrotic biomarkers, immunohistochemistry, and detection of plasma and renal melamine.

S1 certification of alpha-endosulfan, beta-endosulfan, and endosulfan sulfate in a candidate certified reference material (organochlorine pesticides in tea) by isotope dilution gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

This paper presents the certification of alpha-endosulfan, beta-endosulfan, and endosulfan sulfate in a candidate tea certified reference material (code: GLHK-11-03) according to the requirements of the ISO Guide 30 series. Certification of GLHK-11-03 was based on an analytical method purposely developed for the accurate measurement of the mass fraction of the target analytes in the material. An isotope dilution mass spectrometry (IDMS) method involving determination by (i) gas chromatography-negative chemical ionization-mass spectrometry (GC-NCI-MS) and (ii) gas chromatography-electron ionization-high-resolution mass spectrometry (GC-EI-HRMS) techniques was employed.

Development of a candidate certified reference material of cypermethrin in green tea.

This paper presents the preparation of a candidate certified reference material (CRM) of cypermethrin in green tea, GLHK-11-01a according to the requirements of ISO Guide 34 and 35. Certification of the material was performed using a newly developed isotope dilution mass spectrometry (IDMS) approach, with gas chromatography high resolution mass spectrometry (GC-HRMS) and gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). Statistical analysis (one-way ANOVA) showed excellent agreement of the analytical data sets generated from the two mass spectrometric detections.

Molecular identification of Lodoicea maldivica (coco de mer) seeds.

Background: The edible endosperm of Lodoicea maldivica with the common name of coco de mer is used in Chinese medicine for treating cough. Native to Seychelles, Lodoicea maldivica seeds have commanded high prices for centuries due to its scarcity. This study aims to develop a molecular identification method for the authentication of Lodoicea maldivica seeds.