Accurate non-ceruloplasmin bound copper: a new biomarker for the assessment and monitoring of Wilson disease patients using HPLC coupled to ICP-MS/MS.

Objectives: Assessment of Wilson disease is complicated, with neither ceruloplasmin, nor serum or urine copper, being reliable. Two new indices, accurate non-ceruloplasmin copper (ANCC) and relative ANCC were developed and applied to a cohort of 71 patients, as part of a Wilson Disease Registry Study.

Methods: Elemental copper-protein speciation was developed for holo-ceruloplasmin quantitation using strong anion exchange chromatography coupled to triple quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.

Biomedical copper speciation in relation to Wilson's disease using strong anion exchange chromatography coupled to triple quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.

Biomedical analytical methods often rely on indirect measurements, such as immunoassays, which can lack effective metrological traceability. In the nephelometric determination of ceruloplasmin (Cp), an important protein whose circulating level is altered in Wilson's disease (WD), the anti-Cp antibody used is not specific for the biologically active holoprotein so the assay can overestimate the concentration of Cp due to the presence of the apoprotein. By providing quantitation using elemental standards, the use of strong anion exchange chromatography (SAX) coupled to triple quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS-MS) can overcome the drawbacks of methods for the measurement of metalloproteins reliant on immunoassays.

Time-varying analysis of electrodermal activity during exercise.

The electrodermal activity (EDA) is a useful tool for assessing skin sympathetic nervous activity. Using spectral analysis of EDA data at rest, we have previously found that the spectral band which is the most sensitive to central sympathetic control is largely confined to 0.045 to 0.

Dietary acrylamide exposure estimates for the United Kingdom and Ireland: comparison between semiprobabilistic and probabilistic exposure models.

Since the discovery of acrylamide in foods, there have been many calculations of dietary exposure. Total diet studies have been commonly used to estimate consumer exposure of acrylamide; however, these often fall short in evaluating true exposure levels because of limitations in small occurrence data sets. Dietary exposure to acrylamide can also be estimated by use of modeling packages.

Use of chloroflurocarbons as internal standards for the measurement of atmospheric non-methane volatile organic compounds sampled onto solid adsorbent cartridges.

Solid adsorbents have proven useful for determining the vertical profiles of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) using sampling platforms such as balloons, kites, and light aircraft, and those profiles provide valuable information about the sources, sinks, transformations, and transport of atmospheric VOCs. One of the largest contributions to error in VOC concentrations is the estimation of the volume of air sampled on the adsorbent cartridge. These errors arise from different sources, such as variations in pumping flow rates from changes in ambient temperature and pressure with altitude, and decrease in the sampling pump battery power.

Minimization of water vapor interference in the analysis of non-methane volatile organic compounds by solid adsorbent sampling.

Water vapor can be a significant interference in the analysis of air for non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) using solid-adsorbent sampling techniques. The adsorbent materials used in sampling cartridges have different hydrophobic characteristics, and it is therefore necessary to characterize solid-adsorbent cartridges over a wide range of humidity. Controlled humidity experiments were performed to assess the extent of water vapor interference when samples are collected onto AirToxics solid-adsorbent cartridges.