Portable X-ray fluorescence of zinc and selenium with nail clippings - visit 3 of the Mother and Infant Nutrition Investigation (MINI).

Introduction: Recent advances in portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) have opened up the possibility of a rapid and cost-effective method for measuring elemental content in nail clippings. Two elements of particular interest for intake assessment through nail clipping measurement are zinc and selenium. The New Zealand-based Mother and Infant Nutrition Investigation (MINI) provides an ideal testing ground for the application of portable XRF in the measurement of zinc and selenium.

A mouse model of inherited choline kinase β-deficiency presents with specific cardiac abnormalities and a predisposition to arrhythmia.

The CHKB gene encodes choline kinase β, which catalyzes the first step in the biosynthetic pathway for the major phospholipid phosphatidylcholine. Homozygous loss-of-function variants in human CHKB are associated with a congenital muscular dystrophy. Dilated cardiomyopathy is present in some CHKB patients and can cause heart failure and death.

Synthesis and tandem mass spectrometry of chlorinated triacylglycerols.

The incorporation of 9,10-dichlorooctadecanoyl groups using enzyme-catalyzed acylation and protecting group strategies yielded specific regioisomers of di- and tetrachlorinated triacylglycerols. Hexachloro- and hexabromotriacylglycerols were synthesized by addition of chlorine or bromine to tri-(cis-9-octadecenoyl)glycerol. Upon electrospray ionization and tandem mass spectrometry, the sodium adduct ions of all compounds containing a 9,10-dichlorooctadecanoyl group readily lost two molecules of HCl when subjected to collision-induced dissociation.