Urinary tract infections and reduced risk of bladder cancer in Los Angeles

We investigated the association between urinary tract infections (UTIs) and transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder in a population-based case–control study in Los Angeles covering 1586 cases and age-, gender-, and race-matched neighbourhood controls. A history of bladder infection was associated with a reduced risk of bladder cancer among women (odds ratio (OR), 0.66; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.46–0.96). No effect was found in men, perhaps due to power limitations. A greater reduction in bladder cancer risk was observed among women with multiple infections (OR, 0.37; 95% CI, 0.18–0.78). Exclusion of subjects with a history of diabetes, kidney or bladder stones did not change the inverse association. A history of kidney infections was not associated with bladder cancer risk, but there was a weak association between a history of other UTIs and slightly increased risk among men. Our results suggest that a history of bladder infection is associated with a reduced risk of bladder cancer among women. Cytotoxicity from antibiotics commonly used to treat bladder infections is proposed as one possible explanation

International safety assessment of pesticides: Dithiocarbamate pesticides, ETU, and PTU - A review and update

For the last 30 years the Joint FAO/WHO Meeting on Pesticide Residues (JMPR) has carried out toxicological evaluations and safety assessments of dithiocarbamate pesticides, continuously adjusting previous appraisals in the light of new data and advances in the understanding of the principles and mechanisms of toxic action of these compounds. The historical narrative of the evaluative process is followed by an account of the present international safety assessment status of the dithiocarbamate pesticides so far examined by the JMPR. They are ferbam, mancozeb, maneb, metiram, nabam, propineb, thiram, zineb, ziram, and the associated substances, ethylenethiourea (ETU) and propylenethiourea (PTU). (C) 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.15631333

The influence of storage on the “chemical age” of red wines

The quality of any wine produced by a winery should fulfil certain legal requirements and comply with the winemaker standards. From the winery to the consumer many factors can influence the wine quality, especially the storage conditions and duration. Optimum temperature and humidity conditions may improve wine quality through ageing, while incorrect or excessively long storage leads to negative results. In order to evaluate the global effects of storage on red wine composition, 20 Sangiovese wines were stored in two different conditions (cellar or domestic) for a period of 2 years. Untargeted LC-MS analysis showed various putative markers for the type and length of conservation, while targeted LC-MS confirmed and expanded these results within specific metabolic groups. Wines stored under typical domestic condition showed an accelerated (up to 4 times faster) and negative development, while wines stored under the optimum cellar conditions had a slow and positive ageing. The formation of several monosulfonated flavanols during the domestic ageing provided the first evidence in wine of a reaction between wine tannins and the exogenous antioxidant bisulfite. Moreover, ageing under domestic conditions appeared to induce an accelerated decrease of wine pigments, while specifically promoting the formation of the pinotin A-like pigments. Finally, this study pointed out the capability of untargeted metabolomics to provide a larger and more complete coverage of the global chemical changes, to detect even small and unexpected changes in complex samples, to expand our understanding of wine chemistry, and to explore better known and novel oenological problem