OBJECTIVE: To determine the chlorpyrifos in human blood by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and to validate its application in poisoning cases. METHODS: The samples were extracted by a simple one-step protein precipitation procedure. Chromatography was performed on a Capcell Pack C18 MGII column (250 mm x 2.0 mm, 5 μm) using an isocratic elution of solvent A (0.1% formic acid-water with 2 mmol/L ammonium acetate) and solvent B (methanol with 2 mmol/L ammonium acetate) at 5:95 V:V). RESULTS: The linear ranged from 5 to 500 ng/mL (r = 0.998 7). The limit of detection (LOD) and the lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) were 2 ng/mL and 4 ng/mL, respectively. For this method, the precision and accuracy of intra-day and inter-day were < 10% and 97.44%-101.10%, respectively. The results in stability test of long-term frozen were satisfied. The matrix effect, recovery and process efficiency were 64.97%-86.81%, 76.70%-85.52%, and 55.57%-66.58%, respectively. CONCLUSION This method can provide a rapid approach to chlorpyrifos extraction and determination in toxicological analysis of forensic and clinical treatment.
Chlorpyrifos/blood* ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid/methods* ; Chromatography, Liquid/methods* ; Humans ; Limit of Detection ; Poisoning ; Reproducibility of Results ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry/methods*

Heterotrimeric G proteins are classes of signal-transducing proteins that bind to guanine nucleotides and possess GTP hydrolase activity. G proteins are composed of three subunits α, β, and γ, and are considered as the "molecular switch" in the GPCR signaling pathway. The abnormal activation of G protein is strongly related to diseases such as uveal melanoma, asthma, et al., making directly targeting G protein as an promising strategy for combating diseases. In this review, the classification and physiological functions of G protein are briefly described, and the research progress of G proteins in diseases, G protein modulators are reviewed.

AlM: To explore the different ages of congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction in infants, take different treatment methods at different times.
METHODS:The 87 cases of 102 children were divided into three different age groups: the first group of 25d-3mo of age 21 cases 26 eyes; The second group >3mo-7mo 31 cases 36 eyes;The third group >7-24mo of age 35 cases 40 eyes. For the first group of infants, the implementation of the lacrimal sac nasolacrimal duct massage + eye drops; for the second group of infants, carry lacrimal pressure washing treatment; for the third group of infants, the implementation of the nasolacrimal duct probing treatment.
RESULTS: The first group of children through the nasolacrimal duct sac massage + drops tobramycin eye drops treatment unobstructed 12, the cure rate was 46. 2%;The second group of children through pressurized irrigation treatment lacrimal patency by 33, the cure rate was 91. 7%; The third group of children through the nasolacrimal duct probing unobstructed 36 treatment, the cure rate was 90. 0%. The second and third group were better than the first group (χ2=15. 71, P<0. 01;χ2=15. 27, P<0. 01);the treatment effect of the second and third groups was no significant difference (χ2=0. 02, P>0. 05).
CONCLUSlON:lnfants with congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction should distinguish between ages, taking different treatments, in order to obtain a better therapeutic effect, and lacrimal pressure washing is the preferred way of treating infants with congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction.

OBJECTIVE: Screen seventeen benzodizepines and their metabolitesin urine by GC/ECD and GC/MS. METHODS: They were GC (GC/ECD, GC/MS) assay of benzodizepines and GC (GC/ECD, GC/MS) assay of benzophenones of acid-hydrolytic products of 1,4-benzodizepines. RESULTS: The methods were simple and sensitive. The recoverys were 60% to 90% of most benzodizepines, linear calibration curves were 20 ng/ml-200 ng/ml (r > 0.99), and detection limits were 0.5 ng/ml-10 ng/ml. CONCLUSION They methods were evaluated with human urine samples.
Anti-Anxiety Agents/urine* ; Benzodiazepines/urine* ; Benzophenones/urine* ; Chromatography, Gas ; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry ; Humans

Ethyl glucuronide is a specific metabolite of ethanol. There have been plenty of articles referring its pharmacokinetics, detection and application as a specific bio-marker of alcohol intake. This article reviews various analytical methods of EtG, relationship between EtG quantification and ethanol intake, and criteria for determining chronic alcohol abuse, and origin of ethanol found in the cadavers by EtG analysis. EtG has its potential application in forensic toxicology.
Alcoholism/metabolism* ; Forensic Toxicology/methods* ; Glucuronates/urine* ; Hair/chemistry* ; Humans

OBJECTIVE: To establish the electricity plate digestion and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) method for determination of 33 inorganic elements in human hair. METHODS: Lithium (6Li), Germanium (72Ge), Yttrium (89Y), Indium (115In), and Terbium (159Tb) were used as internal standards. The electric heating board digestion in a mixture of nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide was used as the pre-treatment of the hair. Thirty-three inorganic elements in human hair were analyzed by ICP-MS method. RESULTS: The detection limit of ICP-MS was 0.0001 microg/g(Th)-10.9 microg/g (Ca) and the limit of quantitation was 0.0005 microg/g (Th)-25 microg/g (Ca). The recovery rate of this method was 86%-113%. The RSD for the intra-day and inter-day were less than 9.2%. The method was not statistically different from microwave digestion method. CONCLUSION This method is highly efficient and accurate. It can be used for analysis of 33 inorganic elements in human hair.
Electricity ; Hair/chemistry* ; Humans ; Limit of Detection ; Mass Spectrometry/methods* ; Microwaves ; Reference Standards ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Trace Elements/analysis*

OBJECTIVE: To determine the normal range of the 33 elements (Li, Be, B, Mg, Al, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, As, Se, Rb, Sr, Zr, Mo, Ag, Cd, Sb, Cs, Ba Au, Hg, Tl, Pb, Th and U) in human whole blood of general population in Hunan province. METHODS: Blood samples were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to determine the normal range. The influences of district, gender and age to the element content in blood samples were also observed. RESULTS: The normal range of 33 elements in blood samples from general population in Hunan province were obtained. Gender was shown to statistically influence the concentrations of B, Mg, Ca, Ti, Mn, Fe, Co, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Rb, Sr, Ag, Cd, Cs, Hg and Pb (P < 0.05), while age was shown to influence the concentrations of Co, Ni, Cs and Hg in women (P < 0.05) as well as Cu, Se and Hg in men (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION Although there are variables in different districts, the normal ranges of trace element in blood of the four cities in Hunan province are established.
Age Factors ; Asian People/ethnology* ; China ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Mass Spectrometry/methods* ; Reference Standards ; Reference Values ; Residence Characteristics ; Sex Factors ; Trace Elements/blood*

OBJECTIVE: To determine the normal reference values of 33 elements, Ag, Al, As, Au, B, Ba, Be, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Fe, Ga, Hg, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Rb, Sb, Se, Sr, Th, Ti, Tl, U, V, Zn and Zr, in the blood and urine samples from the general population in Sanmen County of Zhejiang province, a typical coastal area of eastern China. METHODS: The 33 elements in 272 blood and 300 urine samples were determined by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The normality test of data was conducted using SPSS 17.0 Statistics. The data was compared with other reports. RESULTS: The normal reference values of the 33 elements in the blood and urine samples from the general population in Sanmen County were obtained, which of some elements were found to be similar with other reports, such as Co, Cu, Mn and Sr, while As, Cd, Hg and Pb were generally found to be higher than those previously reported. There was a wide variation between the reports from different countries in blood Ba. CONCLUSION The normal reference values of the 33 elements in the blood and urine samples from the general population in Sanmen County are established, and successfully applied to two poisoning cases.
Blood Chemical Analysis ; China ; Elements ; Environmental Monitoring ; Humans ; Urinalysis

Melittin exhibits high antibacterial potency against drug-resistant bacteria. However, the clinical utility of melittin is limited by its serious hemolytic activity. Thus, the need for developing novel melittin analogues with high antimicrobial activity and low hemolytic activity has grown. We designed, synthesized, and evaluated 20 novel melittin analogues with varying hydrophobic, polar or positively charged amino acids. The results showed that 8 compounds had antimicrobial activity (MIC: 1-4 μg·mL^-1) against gram-positive pathogens equal to or better than that of melittin, and 16 compounds had low hemolytic activity (HC₅₀ ≥ 11.9 μg·mL^-1). Compounds 13 (MIC: 2-4 μg·mL^-1) and 15 (MIC: 1-2 μg·mL^-1) showed equal or better antimicrobial activity against both susceptible and resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecium compared to melittin (MIC: 4 μg·mL^-1). Compound 13 (HC₅₀: 24.0 ± 4.3 μg·mL^-1) displayed noticeably decreased hemolytic activity compared to melittin (HC₅₀: 5.3 ± 0.4 μg·mL^-1). This work established a base for further study on the structure-activity relationships and structure-toxicity relationships of melittin.

Octapeptin has strong antibacterial activity against Gram-negative bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Acinetobacter baumannii, while it also has activity against some Gram-positive bacteria. This study used natural octapeptin A3 and B3 as lead compounds for structural modification. Twenty-one peptide derivatives (including A3 and B3) containing eight amino acid residues were prepared by solid-phase synthesis, and evaluated for antibacterial activity and renal cytotoxicity. Among them, three compounds 6, 7 and 17 exhibited broad-spectrum antibacterial activity and significantly enhanced the activity for Gram-positive bacteria while maintaining the activity of Gram-negative bacteria. Several compounds improved the activity for Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Compound 7 was active against all test strains and had relatively low renal cytotoxicity. The results provide a basis for the further development of novel polypeptide antibiotics.