Multiplatform metabolomic interlaboratory study of a whole human stool candidate reference material from omnivore and vegan donors.

Introduction: Human metabolomics has made significant strides in understanding metabolic changes and their implications for human health, with promising applications in diagnostics and treatment, particularly regarding the gut microbiome. However, progress is hampered by issues with data comparability and reproducibility across studies, limiting the translation of these discoveries into practical applications.

Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the fit-for-purpose of a suite of human stool samples as potential candidate reference materials (RMs) and assess the state of the field regarding harmonizing gut metabolomics measurements.

Transcriptional networks underlying a primary ovarian insufficiency disorder in alligators naturally exposed to EDCs.

Interactions between the endocrine system and environmental contaminants are responsible for impairing reproductive development and function. Despite the taxonomic diversity of affected species and attendant complexity inherent to natural systems, the underlying signaling pathways and cellular consequences are mostly studied in lab models. To resolve the genetic and endocrine pathways that mediate affected ovarian function in organisms exposed to endocrine disrupting contaminants in their natural environments, we assessed broad-scale transcriptional and steroidogenic responses to exogenous gonadotropin stimulation in juvenile alligators (Alligator missippiensis) originating from a lake with well-documented pollution (Lake Apopka, FL) and a nearby reference site (Lake Woodruff, FL).

Intrinsic and extrinsic factors interact during development to influence telomere length in a long-lived reptile.

The mechanisms connecting environmental conditions to plasticity in biological aging trajectories are fundamental to understanding individual variation in functional traits and life history. Recent findings suggest that telomere biology is especially dynamic during early life stages and has long-term consequences for subsequent reproduction and survival. However, our current understanding is mostly derived from studies investigating ecological and anthropogenic factors separately, leaving the effects of complex environmental interactions unresolved.

Decentralised, small-scale coagulation-membrane treatment of wastewater from metal recycling villages - a case study from Vietnam.

Effective treatment of wastewaters laden with heavy metals is critical to the sustainable social and economic growth of metal recycling villages in Vietnam. Currently, most wastewaters from metal recycling villages in Vietnam are directly discharged, posing great threats to the environment and human health. In this study, a small-scale combined coagulation-membrane filtration treatment of wastewater collected from a metal recycling village in Vietnam was experimentally investigated.

Standardized LC-MS/MS based steroid hormone profile-analysis.

In order to overcome many limitations of immunoassays, high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) has the potential to find its place in the clinical laboratory medicine for quantification of steroid hormones. A prerequisite for the application of a new analytical procedure in clinical diagnostics is standardization to minimize analytical intra- and interlaboratory variability and inaccuracy. We evaluate a newly standardized HPLC-MS/MS assay in kit-format, developed for routine determination of 16 steroid hormones in human serum samples.

Management and outcomes of primary coloduodenal fistulas.

Purpose: Primary coloduodenal fistula (CDF) is a rare entity. We review our experience with the management and outcomes of CDF.

Methods: This is a retrospective review from 1975 to 2005 of patients with primary CDF.

Use of a microporous polytetrafluoroethylene catheter balloon to treat refractory esophageal stricture: a novel technique for delivery of mitomycin C.

Purpose: Endoluminal application of mitomycin C shows promise as a nonsurgical approach to treating recalcitrant stricture but requires precise delivery to prevent mitomycin-mediated injury to adjacent normal mucosa. We describe a novel technique that uses a microporous polytetrafluoroethylene catheter balloon to endoluminally deliver mitomycin C to the target tissue while minimizing nontarget drug application.

Materials And Methods: A newborn infant with proximal tracheoesophageal fistula and distal atresia underwent an uncomplicated repair.

Liver transplantation for pulmonary vascular complications of pediatric end-stage liver disease.

Purpose: Hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) and portopulmonary hypertension (PPH) are poorly understood pulmonary complications of end-stage liver disease (ESLD). We present a case series of children with HPS and PPH.

Methods: After institutional review board approval, query of our medical database identified children 0 to 18 years of age with ESLD diagnosed with HPS or PPH.

Minimally invasive repair for pectus excavatum in adults.

Background: The purpose of this study is to review the minimally invasive pectus excavatum repair in adults to determine the safety and effectiveness.

Methods: An Institutional Review Board approved chart review identified patients 17 years or older who underwent minimally invasive pectus excavatum repair (MIPER) between January 1999 and January 2004.

Results: Nineteen patients underwent MIPER.

Pediatric endoscopic injuries: incidence, management, and outcomes.

Background: Endoscopy has assumed a significant role in the management of gastrointestinal disorders. However, endoscopic-related injuries are poorly reported.

Methods: Review of our surgical database (1980-2006) identified all patients age 18 years or younger with an endoscopic-related injury managed at our institution.

Outcome of adrenocortical tumors in children.

Purpose: This study reviews adrenocortical tumors in children to determine factors that significantly affect outcome.

Methods: An institutional review board-approved retrospective review from 1976 to 2005 identified 23 patients younger than 19 years old with histologic confirmation of adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) and adenomas.

Results: The mean age of the 23 children was 9.

Long-term outcome of 254 complex incisional hernia repairs using the modified Rives-Stoppa technique.

Background: Repair of complex incisional hernias poses a major challenge.

Aim: The aim of this study was to review the outcomes of the modified Rives-Stoppa repair of complex incisional hernias using a synthetic prosthesis.

Methods: We reviewed patients undergoing a modified Rives-Stoppa repair of complex incisional hernias from 1990 to 2003.

Outcomes of primary liver cancer in children: an appraisal of experience.

Introduction: Hepatoblastoma (HB) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are the most common primary liver cancers in children. Recent advances in management of pediatric liver cancer have improved disease-specific survival (DSS). This is a review of our experience with childhood liver malignancy over the past 3 decades.

Retroperitoneal sarcomas in children: outcomes from an institution.

Background: Retroperitoneal sarcomas are uncommon in children and tend to present as large tumors with advanced locoregional involvement of abdominopelvic structures. Surgical control of these tumors remains to be a management challenge. We reviewed our institutional experience with retroperitoneal sarcomas in children.

Pancreatic pseudocyst in children: the impact of management strategies on outcome.

Introduction: Persistent pancreatic pseudocysts (PPs) are rare in childhood and management tends to be individualized. The purpose of this review is to determine the impact of different management strategies and to analyze their effects on patient outcomes.

Methods: An institutional review board-approved retrospective chart review was performed on children younger than 18 years who had PP diagnosed between January 1976 and December 2003.

Pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma in children: a review of medical and surgical management at a tertiary care center.

Objective: The aim of this study was to review our institutional experience managing pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas in children.

Methods: A retrospective chart review of the Mayo Clinic database from 1975 to 2005 identified 30 patients < 18 years of age with histologically confirmed pheochromocytoma or paraganglioma.

Results: There were 12 patients with pheochromocytomas and 18 with paragangliomas.

Bilateral staged versus bilateral simultaneous thoracotomy in the pediatric population.

Aim: The aim of the study was to evaluate the safety and outcomes of simultaneous bilateral thoracotomy in pediatric patients compared with traditional bilateral staged thoracotomy.

Methods: This is a retrospective review of 30 consecutive patients 18 years or younger undergoing either bilateral staged or bilateral simultaneous thoracotomy between March 1994 and July 2004. Follow-up (mean, 47 months) was available for all patients.

Surgical and chemotherapy treatment outcomes of goblet cell carcinoid: a tertiary cancer center experience.

Background: Goblet cell carcinoid (GCC) is a rare malignant tumor with distinct histological and clinical features. Our goals were to review the surgical and chemotherapy outcomes of patients with GCC.

Methods: We performed a retrospective review of the Mayo Clinic database from 1984 to 2004 with a prospective follow-up of 57 patients with GCC.

Sensitivity and utility of parathyroid scintigraphy in patients with primary versus secondary and tertiary hyperparathyroidism.

Introduction: Parathyroid scintigraphy (PS) may be used to localize hyperactive parathyroid glands preoperatively. Performance of PS in the setting of secondary and tertiary hyperparathyroidism (HPT) is not well quantified. The performance of PS in secondary/tertiary HPT versus primary HPT may reflect physiologic as well as radiopharmaceutical kinetic differences between multigland hyperplasia versus adenoma.

Temporal trend of bis(4-chlorophenyl) sulfone, methylsulfonyl-DDE and -PCBs in Baltic guillemot (Uria aalge) egg 1971-2001--a comparison to 4,4'-DDE and PCB trends.

The dynamics of organohalogen contaminants and their metabolites are best studied over time by analysis of biota at high trophic levels. In this study, time trends, 1971-2001, of bis(4-chlorophenyl) sulfone (BCPS) and of methylsulfonyl-substituted metabolites of PCBs and 4,4'-DDE, were investigated in eggs of guillemot (Uria aalge) hatching in the Baltic Proper. Temporal trends of PCBs, trans-nonachlor, beta-HCH, 4,4'-DDT, and 4,4'-DDE were also assessed.

Enantioselective semipreparative HPLC separation of PCB metabolites and their absolute structure elucidation using electronic and vibrational circular dichroism.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) remain one of the most important groups of environmental contaminants. The fate (transformation) as well as the toxicological implications of the different metabolism steps are subject to considerable debate. The aim of this study is to start a comprehensive investigation of atropisomeric PCB metabolites, i.

Method development in high-performance liquid chromatography for high-throughput profiling and metabonomic studies of biofluid samples.

"Metabonomics" has in the past decade demonstrated enormous potential in furthering the understanding of, for example, disease processes, toxicological mechanisms, and biomarker discovery. The same principles can also provide a systematic and comprehensive approach to the study of food ingredient impact on consumer health. However, "metabonomic" methodology requires the development of rapid, advanced analytical tools to comprehensively profile biofluid metabolites within consumers.

Noninvasive monitoring of hemodynamic stress using quantitative near-infrared frequency-domain photon migration spectroscopy.

Hemorrhagic hypovolemia and inotropic agent administration were used to manipulate cardiac output (CO) and oxygen delivery in rabbits to investigate the correlation between noninvasive frequency domain photon migration (FDPM) spectroscopy and invasive hemodynamic monitoring parameters. Frequency-domain photon migration provides quantitative measurements of light absorption and reduced scattering (mu(a) and mu(s)(prime prime or minute), respectively) in tissue. Wavelength dependent mu(a) values were used to calculate in vivo tissue concentration of deoxyhemoglobin [Hb], oxyhemoglobin [HbO(2)], total hemoglobin [TotHb], and water [H(2)O] as well as mixed arterial-venous oxygen saturation (S(t)O(2)) in tissue.

Critical aspects for the reliable headspace analysis of plants cultivated in vitro.

Various factors controlling the recoveries of volatile organic compounds in vitro headspace analysis of tomato plants (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. 'Moneymaker'), sampled using solid phase micro-extraction, were evaluated and optimised. The variations in composition of the headspaces were determined as a function of time, and following in vitro wounding of the plant.