Method-specific Certification of Free Sugars and Starch/Glucose in Two Artificial Food Materials - BCR-644, BCR-645.

Abstract not availableJRC.D-Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (Geel

Factors for Hematopoietic Toxicity of Carboplatin: Refining the Targeting of Carboplatin Systemic Exposure

Purpose Area under the curve (AUC) dosing is routinely carried out for carboplatin, but the chosen target AUC values remain largely empirical. This multicenter pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic (PK-PD) study was performed to determine the covariates involved in the interindividual variability of carboplatin hematotoxicity that should be considered when choosing individual target AUCs.Patients and Methods Three hundred eighty-three patients received carboplatin as part of established regimens. A semi-physiologic population PK-PD model was applied to describe separately the time course of absolute neutrophil and platelet counts using NONMEM software. The plasma ultrafiltrable carboplatin concentration (CCarbo) was assumed to inhibit the proliferation of blood cell precursors through a linear model: drug effect = slope × CCarbo. The slope corresponds to the patients\u27 sensitivity to carboplatin hematotoxicity. The relationships between the patients\u27 sensitivity to the neutropenic or thrombopenic effects of carboplatin and various covariates, including associated chemotherapies, demographic, biologic, and pharmacogenetic data, were studied. Results The sensitivity of carboplatin-induced thrombocytopenia decreased in the case of concomitant paclitaxel chemotherapy (slope decreased by 24%), whereas it increased with coadministration of etoposide and gemcitabine (slope increased by 45% and 133%, respectively). For neutropenia, the sensitivity increased when carboplatin was combined with other cytotoxics (slope increased by 76%). Conclusion This study provides useful information to clinicians to better estimate the hematopoietic toxicity of carboplatin and thus choose more rationally carboplatin target AUCs as a function of pretreatment or concomitantly administered chemotherapies. For example, an AUC of 5 mg/mL · min is associated with a risk of grade 3 or 4 thrombocytopenia of 2% in combination with paclitaxel versus 38% with gemcitabine in a non-pretreated patient

Polyamide-Scorpion Cyclam Lexitropsins Selectively Bind AT-Rich DNA Independently of the Nature of the Coordinated Metal

Cyclam was attached to 1-, 2- and 3-pyrrole lexitropsins for the first time through a synthetically facile copper-catalyzed “click” reaction. The corresponding copper and zinc complexes were synthesized and characterized. The ligand and its complexes bound AT-rich DNA selectively over GC-rich DNA, and the thermodynamic profile of the binding was evaluated by isothermal titration calorimetry. The metal, encapsulated in a scorpion azamacrocyclic complex, did not affect the binding, which was dominated by the organic tail

Rat bite fever caused by Streptobacillus moniliformis in a child: human infection and rat carriage diagnosed by PCR

A child owning pet rats developed an eruptive fever with blisters, polyarthritis, and spectacular desquamation of the hands. Streptobacillus moniliformis was identified after culture of the child’s blister fluid and was detected in rat samples by molecular methods. Such detection in the pet of a human victim of rat bite fever has not been reported previously

Novel diamidino-substituted derivatives of phenyl benzothiazolyl and dibenzothiazolyl furans and thiophenes: synthesis, antiproliferative and DNA binding properties.

A series of new diamidino-, diisopropylamidino-, and diimidazolinyl-substituted derivatives of phenyl benzothiazolyl and dibenzothiazolyl furans and thiophenes were successfully prepared and evaluated for their antiproliferative activity on tumor cell lines in vitro, DNA binding propensity, and sequence selectivity as well as cellular distribution. A strong antiproliferative effect of the tested compounds was observed on all tested cell lines in a concentration-dependent response pattern. In general, imidazolinyl-substituted derivatives and/or the thiophene core were in correlation with increased antiproliferative activity. Two compounds (2b and 3b) were chosen for biological studies due to their differential antiproliferative properties. The DNA binding properties of this new series of compounds were assessed and evidenced their efficient minor groove binding properties with preferential interaction at AT-rich sites. Both compounds also present nuclear subcellular localization, suggesting that their cellular mode of action implies localization in the DNA compartment and direct inhibition of DNA replication and induction of apoptosis