Pharmacokinetics of levonorgestrel and etonogestrel in rat or minipig following intravenous, subcutaneous, or intradermal administration.

The objective of these studies was to determine the pharmacokinetics of levonorgestrel and etonogestrel in Sprague-Dawley rat or Göttingen minipig following various administration routes.Four sequential crossover studies were conducted: Study 1 administered levonorgestrel 30 µg intravenously and intradermally in four minipigs; Study 2 administered levonorgestrel 30 µg intravenously in 12 rats; Study 3 administered levonorgestrel 60 µg intravenously and subcutaneously in 12 rats; and Study 4 administered etonogestrel 30 µg intravenously in 12 rats. Samples were quantified using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and pharmacokinetic parameters were estimated via noncompartmental analysis.

Reported electronic cigarette use among adolescents in the Niagara region of Ontario.

Background: Use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) among adolescents has not been fully described, in particular their motivations for using them and factors associated with use. We sought to evaluate the frequency, motivations and associated factors for e-cigarette use among adolescents in Ontario.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study in the Niagara region of Ontario, Canada, involving universal screening of students enrolled in grade 9 in co-operation with the Heart Niagara Inc.

Universal screening for cardiovascular disease risk factors in adolescents to identify high-risk families: a population-based cross-sectional study.

Background: Universal screening of children for dyslipidemia and other cardiovascular risk factors has been recommended. Given the clustering of cardiovascular risk factors within families, one benefit of screening adolescents may be to identify "at-risk" families in which adult members might also be at elevated risk and potentially benefit from medical evaluation.

Methods: Cross-sectional study of grade 9 students evaluating adiposity, lipids and blood pressure.

Lower socioeconomic status, adiposity and negative health behaviours in youth: a cross-sectional observational study.

Objective: Understanding obesity and its modifiable risk factors in youth is key to addressing the burden of cardiovascular disease later in life. Our aim was to examine the associations among adiposity, negative health behaviours and socioeconomic status in youth from the Niagara Region.

Design, Setting And Participants: Cross-sectional observational study of 3467 grade 9 students during their mandatory health and physical education class to investigate the association between socioeconomic status (postal code), self-reported health behaviour and adiposity in the Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada.

Physical activity interacts with adiposity in determining cardiometabolic risk in adolescents.

Background: Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) has been negatively associated with cardiometabolic risk. We sought to determine if MVPA interacts with body-mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) in determining cardiometabolic risk in adolescents.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included cardiometabolic risk (blood pressure [BP], nonfasting lipids) screening and a 7-day recall physical activity questionnaire in 4,104 adolescents (51% male; mean age: 14.

Sleep disturbance and cardiovascular risk in adolescents.

Background: Evidence suggests that inadequate or disturbed sleep is associated with increased cardiovascular risk in adults. There are limited data on sleep quality and associated cardiovascular risk in children.

Methods: We obtained data on adolescents from the 2009/10 cycle of the Healthy Heart Schools' Program, a population-based cross-sectional study in the Niagara region of Ontario.

Role of waist measures in characterizing the lipid and blood pressure assessment of adolescents classified by body mass index.

Objective: To determine if the interaction of waist circumference percentile and waist to height ratio(WHtR) with body mass index (BMI) may serve to provide further risk specification in the lipid and blood pressure assessment of adolescents beyond BMI classification.

Design: Population-based, cross-sectional study. Data collected during the 2009-2010 academic school year.

Population trends toward increasing cardiovascular risk factors in Canadian adolescents.

Objective: To determine prevalence and cross-sectional trends over time for cardiovascular risk factors in Canadian adolescents.

Study Design: Cross-sectional trends in cardiovascular risk and lifestyle factors were gathered annually in 14- to 15-year-old students in the Niagara region, Ontario, Canada.

Results: A total of 20 719 adolescents were screened between 2002 and 2008.

A new hexaaminomacrocycle for ditopic binding of bromide.

A hexaaminomacrocycle L, containing four secondary and two tertiary amines has been synthesized and crystallized with hydrobromic acid. Structural analysis of the bromide complex suggests that the ligand in its tetrtaprotonated form, is involved in coordinating two bromides from both sides via hydrogen bonding interactions with N…Br(-) distance of 3,351 Å, forming a ditopic complex. The other two bromides are outside the cavity, and singly bonded to the macrocycle.

Charge-assisted encapsulation of two chlorides by a hexaprotonated azamacrocycle.

A chloride complex of a hexaprotonated azamacrocycle has been isolated, and its structure has been determined by X-ray crystallography showing two encapsulated chloride anions in the cavity. The two internal guests are coordinated at two binding sites on the opposite side of the macrocycle through trigonal recognition by hydrogen-bonding interactions. The other four chlorides are located outside the cavity, each with a single hydrogen bond from secondary amines.

Magnetic nanoparticles: inner ear targeted molecule delivery and middle ear implant.

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SNP) composed of magnetite (Fe(3)O(4)) were studied preliminarily as vehicles for therapeutic molecule delivery to the inner ear and as a middle ear implant capable of producing biomechanically relevant forces for auditory function. Magnetite SNP were synthesized, then encapsulated in either silica or poly (D,L,-Lactide-co-glycolide) or obtained commercially with coatings of oleic acid or dextran. Permanent magnetic fields generated forces sufficient to pull them across tissue in several round window membrane models (in vitrocell culture, in vivo rat and guinea pig, and human temporal bone) or to embed them in middle ear epithelia.

Evaluation of 18F-annexin V as a PET imaging agent in an animal model of apoptosis.

Unlabelled: Annexin V is a 36-kDa protein that binds with high affinity to phosphatidylserine lipids in the cell membrane. Because one of the earliest measurable events in apoptosis is the eversion of phosphatidylserine from the inner membrane leaflet to the outer cell surface, annexin V has proven useful for detecting the earliest stages of apoptosis.

Methods: Annexin V was radiolabeled with 18F using N-succinimidyl-4-18F-fluorobenzoic acid chemistry, to a specific activity of 555-925 kBq/mug of protein.

Production of [F-18]fluoroannexin for imaging apoptosis with PET.

Recombinant human-annexin-V was conjugated with 4-[F-18]fluorobenzoic acid (FBA) via its reaction with the N-hydroxysuccinimidyl ester (FBA-OSu) at pH 8.5. A series of reactions using varying amounts of annexin-V, unlabeled FBA-OSu, and time produced products with different conjugation levels.