Thiocyanate Concentration Research Articles

Thiocyanate Accumulation in Critically Ill Patients Receiving Nitroprusside Infusions.

This study evaluated thiocyanate concentrations and factors associated with thiocyanate accumulation in intensive care unit patients receiving nitroprusside with and without sodium thiosulfate coadministration. This retrospective study evaluated critically ill adults who received nitroprusside infusions and had at least one thiocyanate concentration. Patients with thiocyanate accumulation (concentrations ≥30 µg/mL) were compared to patients without accumulation. Factors associated with accumulation were determined by Spearman correlation and multivariate regression. Thiocyanate concentrations (n = 192) were obtained from 87 patients. Fourteen of the 87 (16%) patients experienced thiocyanate accumulation with a mean (SD) thiocyanate concentration of 44 ± 11 µg/mL. Patients with accumulation had received greater cumulative nitroprusside doses (28 vs 8.2 mg/kg, P < .01), greater cumulative sodium thiosulfate doses (16.8 vs 10.1 mg/kg, P < .01), and longer infusion durations (10.9 vs 6.0 days, P < .01), compared to patients without accumulation. Sodium thiosulfate coadministration resulted in greater thiocyanate concentrations (22.8 ± 16.7 vs 16.8 ± 14.9 μg/mL, P = .01), despite utilization of lower cumulative nitroprusside doses (10.2 vs 14.6 mg/kg, P = .03). Cumulative nitroprusside dose ( r2 .44, P < .001) and cumulative sodium thiosulfate dose ( r2 .32, P < .001) demonstrated a significant correlation with measured thiocyanate concentrations. Thiocyanate accumulation was independently associated with cumulative nitroprusside dose in mg/kg (regression coefficient 0.75, 95% CI 0.63-0.89; P < .01). No clinically significant adverse effects of cyanide or thiocyanate toxicity were observed. Cumulative nitroprusside dose was independently associated with thiocyanate accumulation. Despite elevated thiocyanate levels in 16% of patients, there was no clinical evidence of cyanide or thiocyanate toxicity. Routine monitoring of thiocyanate concentrations appears most warranted in patients receiving higher cumulative doses of nitroprusside.

Development of a PBPK model of thiocyanate in rats with an extrapolation to humans: A computational study to quantify the mechanism of action of thiocyanate kinetics in thyroid

Thyroid homeostasis can be disturbed due to thiocyanate exposure from the diet or tobacco smoke. Thiocyanate inhibits both thyroidal uptake of iodide, via the sodium-iodide symporter (NIS), and thyroid hormone (TH) synthesis in the thyroid, via thyroid peroxidase (TPO), but the mode of action of thiocyanate is poorly quantified in the literature. The characterization of the link between intra-thyroidal thiocyanate concentrations and dose of exposure is crucial for assessing the risk of thyroid perturbations due to thiocyanate exposure. We developed a PBPK model for thiocyanate that describes its kinetics in the whole-body up to daily doses of 0.15mmol/kg, with a mechanistic description of the thyroidal kinetics including NIS, passive diffusion, and TPO. The model was calibrated in a Bayesian framework using published studies in rats. Goodness-of-fit was satisfactory, especially for intra-thyroidal thiocyanate concentrations. Thiocyanate kinetic processes were quantified in vivo, including the metabolic clearance by TPO. The passive diffusion rate was found to be greater than NIS-mediated uptake rate. The model captured the dose-dependent kinetics of thiocyanate after acute and chronic exposures. Model behavior was evaluated using a Morris screening test. The distribution of thiocyanate into the thyroid was found to be determined primarily by the partition coefficient, followed by NIS and passive diffusion; the impact of the latter two mechanisms appears to increase at very low doses. Extrapolation to humans resulted in good predictions of thiocyanate kinetics during chronic exposure. The developed PBPK model can be used in risk assessment to quantify dose-response effects of thiocyanate on TH.

New insights into thiocyanate oxidation by human myeloperoxidase

Human myeloperoxidase (MPO) uses chloride and thiocyanate as physiological substrates at neutral pH. Oxidation of thiocyanate to hypothiocyanite mediated by the redox intermediate Compound I rapidly restores the ferric state of MPO. At low thiocyanate concentration and in the presence of hydrogen peroxide the observed reaction sequence is Compound I→ferric MPO→Compound II→MPO-cyanide complex, whereas at high thiocyanate concentrations and in the absence of H2O2 the only observed transition is Compound I→ferric MPO. The reaction of ferric MPO with hypothiocyanite directly forms the MPO-cyanide complex, whereas a transient product derived from the reaction between hypothiocyanite and hydrogen peroxide is demonstrated to mediate the conversion of ferric MPO to Compound II. Mechanisms for those reactions are discussed and proposed.

Lower sulfurtransferase detoxification rates of cyanide in konzo—A tropical spastic paralysis linked to cassava cyanogenic poisoning

Using a matched case-control design, we sought to determine whether the odds of konzo, a distinct spastic paraparesis associated with food (cassava) cyanogenic exposure in the tropics, were associated with lower cyanide detoxification rates (CDR) and malnutrition. Children with konzo (N=122, 5–17 years of age) were age- and sex-matched with presumably healthy controls (N=87) and assessed for motor and cognition performances, cyanogenic exposure, nutritional status, and cyanide detoxification rates (CDR). Cyanogenic exposure was ascertained by thiocyanate (SCN) concentrations in plasma (P-SCN) and urine (U-SCN). Children with a height-for-age z-score (HAZNCHS)<-2 were classified as nutritionally stunted. CDR was measured as time required to convert cyanide to SCN, and expressed as ms/μmol SCN/mg protein or as mmolSCN/ml plasma/min. Mean (SD) U-SCN in children with konzo was 521.9 (353.6) μmol/l and was, significantly higher than 384.6 (223.7) μmol/l in those without konzo. Conditional regression analysis of data for age- and sex- matched case-control pairs showed that konzo was associated with stunting (OR: 5.8; 95% CI: 2.7–12.8; p<0.01; N=83 paired groups) and higher U-SCN (OR: 1.1; 95% CI: 1.02–1.20 per 50-μmol increase in U-SCN; p=0.02; N=47 paired groups). After adjusting for stunting and U-SCN, the odds of developing konzo was reduced by 63% (95% CI: 11–85%, p=0.03; N=41 paired groups) for each 5mmol SCN/(ml plasma/min)-increase in CDR. Linear regression analysis indicated a significant association between BOT-2 or KABC-II scores and both the HAZNCHS z-score and the U-SCN concentration, but not the CDR. Our findings provide evidence in support of interventions to remove cyanogenic compounds from cassava prior to human consumption or, peharps, enhance the detoxification of cyanide in those relying on the cassava as the main source of food.

Growth performance, serum thiocyanate and haematological indices of pigs fed whole cassava chips supplemented with brewer's yeast

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the growth performance, serum thiocyanate and haematological indices of pigs fed Whole Cassava Chips (WCC) supplemented with brewer's yeast as substitute to maize in a twelve weeks feeding trial. Forty-eight crossbred growing pigs of Landrace and Hampshire breeds averaging 21.14kg liveweight and approximately 12 wk old were allotted to three dietary treatments with four replicates each of four pigs per replicate. The dietary treatments are Diet 1 which is a maize based Positive control(MB), Diet 2 was a Whole Cassava chips based diet without supplementation Negative control(WCC) while Diet 3 contained whole cassava chips with brewer' s yeast respectively(WCC x BY).Results revealed a significant Average Feed Intake (AFI) ranged from (2.17 to 2.48kg/day). The Pigs fed WCC meal without brewer' s yeast (diet 2) had the highest AFI while pigs fed Diet 1 had the least intake. Daily weight gain increased with brewer' s yeast supplementation (0.400 to 0.463kg). The feed to gain ratio was significantly (p<0.05) affected by the dietary treatments with values ranging from 4.92to 5.90 and best value obtained with pigs fed WCC meal with brewer' s yeast (WCC x BY). The haematological indices such as Packed Cell Volume (PCV), Haemoglobin Concentration (Hb), White Blood Cell (WBC), and Red Blood Cell (RBC) counts obtained for the pigs fed MB and those on diet WCC x BY were significantly (p<0.05) better than those on WCC diet. Serum thiocyanate concentration of pigs fed diet 3 (WCC with brewer' s yeast) increased significantly (0.00 to 1.79mg/100ml). Results showed that supplementing whole cassava chips with 10% brewer' s yeast had a beneficial effect as an additive in diets of growing pigs. Keywords: Blood, Cyanogens, Growth, Nutritional effect.

Electronic tongue for simultaneous determination of cyanide, thiocyanate and iodide

Five cross selective electrodes comprising cyanide, thiocyanate, and iodide coated graphite electrodes CGEs were used as sensing parts of an electronic tongue for simultaneous determination of cyanide, thiocyanate, and iodide ions in the presence and the absence of chloride ion as a coexisting ion. The CGEs were constructed using poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), o-nitrophenyl octyl ether (o-NPOE), cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), and metal–porphyrin complexes as ionophores. The constructed electrodes were characterized to obtain their calibration curve, response time, and repeatability.A programmed switching system combined with an array of the five potentiometric coated graphite electrodes (i.e., ion-selective or cross-selective electrodes) were connected directly to a pH/potentiometer and a computer to sequentially acquire the potential corresponding to water sample mixtures. The acquired potentials were recorded and saved on the computer and were used as input variables for an artificial neural network to simultaneously yield the concentrations of cyanide, thiocyanate and iodide ions in simple and complex mixtures. A feed-forward, back propagation network with a Levenburg–Maquart algorithm was employed to optimize the network parameters.

Concentrations of thiocyanate and goitrin in human plasma, their precursor concentrations in brassica vegetables, and associated potential risk for hypothyroidism

Brassica vegetables are common components of the diet and have beneficial as well as potentially adverse health effects. Following enzymatic breakdown, some glucosinolates in brassica vegetables produce sulforaphane, phenethyl, and indolylic isothiocyanates that possess anticarcinogenic activity. In contrast, progoitrin and indolylic glucosinolates degrade to goitrin and thiocyanate, respectively, and may decrease thyroid hormone production. Radioiodine uptake to the thyroid is inhibited by 194 μmol of goitrin, but not by 77 μmol of goitrin. Collards, Brussels sprouts, and some Russian kale (Brassica napus) contain sufficient goitrin to potentially decrease iodine uptake by the thyroid. However, turnip tops, commercial broccoli, broccoli rabe, and kale belonging to Brassica oleracae contain less than 10 μmol of goitrin per 100-g serving and can be considered of minimal risk. Using sulforaphane plasma levels following glucoraphanin ingestion as a surrogate for thiocyanate plasma concentrations after indole glucosinolate ingestion, the maximum thiocyanate contribution from indole glucosinolate degradation is estimated to be 10 μM, which is significantly lower than background plasma thiocyanate concentrations (40-69 μM). Thiocyanate generated from consumption of indole glucosinolate can be assumed to have minimal adverse risks for thyroid health.

A new approach to the equilibrium study of iron(III) thiocyanates which accounts for the kinetic instability of the complexes particularly observable under high thiocyanate concentrations

The kinetic instability of iron(III) thiocyanate complexes in aqueous solution, evidenced by the loss of solution colour with time, has made it difficult to determine reliable equilibrium data. A technique, which measures the absorbance of these solutions as a function of time within milliseconds of mixing Fe3+ with SCN− and which extrapolates to an initial spectrum at time zero, has been designed to overcome these difficulties and is described in this paper. Two complexes, Fe(SCN)2+ and Fe(SCN)2+, have been identified upon analysing the absorbance data for thiocyanate concentrations up to 0.25M at 25°C and an ionic strength of 0.5M. Equilibrium constants, K1=(98±1)/M-1 and K2=(7±1)/M-1 have been determined and comparisons made with the literature.

Urinary concentrations of PAH and VOC metabolites in marijuana users

BackgroundMarijuana is seeing increased therapeutic use, and is the world's third most-popular recreational drug following alcohol and tobacco. This widening use poses increased exposure to potentially toxic combustion by-products from marijuana smoke and the potential for public health concerns. ObjectivesTo compare urinary metabolites of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) among self-reported recent marijuana users and nonusers, while accounting for tobacco smoke exposure. MethodsMeasurements of PAH and VOC metabolites in urine samples were combined with questionnaire data collected from participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) from 2005 to 2012 in order to categorize participants (≥18years) into exclusive recent marijuana users and nonusers. Adjusted geometric means (GMs) of urinary concentrations were computed for these groups using multiple regression analyses to adjust for potential confounders. ResultsAdjusted GMs of many individual monohydroxy PAHs (OH-PAHs) were significantly higher in recent marijuana users than in nonusers (p<0.05). Urinary thiocyanate (p<0.001) and urinary concentrations of many VOC metabolites, including metabolites of acrylonitrile (p<0.001) and acrylamide (p<0.001), were significantly higher in recent marijuana users than in nonusers. ConclusionsWe found elevated levels of biomarkers for potentially harmful chemicals among self-identified, recent marijuana users compared with nonusers. These findings suggest that further studies are needed to evaluate the potential health risks to humans from the exposure to these agents when smoking marijuana.

Disulfiram inhibition of cyanide formation after acetonitrile poisoning

Context Cyanide poisoning may be caused by acetonitrile, a common industrial organic solvent and laboratory agent. Objective To describe the potential use of disulfiram in treating acetonitrile poisoning in a human clinical case and to further study its effect in human liver microsomes in vitro. Case details A 30-year-old man initially presented with a cholinergic toxic syndrome following ingestion of aldicarb. Toxicological analysis revealed coingestion of ethanol. He subsequently developed severe metabolic acidosis caused by the cyanogenic compound acetonitrile which was erroneously interpreted as acetone in the chromatogram. After three treatments with hydroxocobalamin (5 g i.v.) and sodium thiosulfate (12.5 g i.v.) on days 2, 3, and 5, he had transient improvement but recurrent lactic acidosis. Treatment with disulfiram was associated on day 7 with resolution of metabolic acidosis and slowing of the decrease in acetonitrile concentration. He recovered from acetonitrile toxicity completely. The time course of acetonitrile, thiocyanate, and cyanide concentrations suggested that disulfiram inhibited cyanide formation. Results In vitro experiments with human liver microsomes showed the cyanide concentration was significantly lower after incubation with acetonitrile and disulfiram than acetonitrile alone (a mean 60% reduction in cyanide level). Discussion Although disulfiram was given late in the course of the poisoning it is possible that it contributed to the recovery.

Electrochemical hydrogen permeation tests under galvanostatic hydrogen charging conditions conventionally used for hydrogen embrittlement study

AbstractElectrochemical hydrogen permeation tests using pure Fe sheet specimens were performed under various galvanostatic hydrogen charging conditions commonly applied to tensile test specimens used for evaluation of hydrogen embrittlement property to obtain a guideline for efficient hydrogen charging method for a wide range of hydrogen content. Aqueous NaCl solutions containing varied concentrations of ammonium thiocyanate and a 0.1-m NaOH solution were used as electrolytes for relatively high and low hydrogen content, respectively. Addition of ammonium thiocyanate changes the mechanism of hydrogen evolution reaction and enhances hydrogen entry. By changing the concentration of ammonium thiocyanate and by changing cathodic current density, a wide range of hydrogen content can be covered. The hydrogen content in an AISI 4135 steel estimated from hydrogen permeation current density obtained for a pure Fe specimen was in good agreement with the hydrogen content experimentally measured by hydrogen thermal desorption analysis for the AISI 4135 steel. The hydrogen permeation current density data in various hydrogen charging conditions can be used as a reference for hydrogen charging of specimens.

Surfactant‐Assisted Dispersive Liquid–Liquid Microextraction for Sensitive Spectrophotometric Determination of Iron in Food and Water Samples and Comparison with Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

AbstractA technique of selective and sensitive surfactant‐assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction combined with spectrophotometry was developed for determination of iron in water and food samples. This method involves the formation of a red‐colored iron‐thiocyanate complex in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as cationic surfactant. The use of CTAB assisted in color formation and effective extraction of the complex into the organic solvent through micelle formation prior to spectrophotometric and flame atomic absorption spectrometry measurement. Optimum absorbance and extraction of the iron complex was obtained with concentrations of ammonium thiocyanate, N‐phenylbenzimidoyl thiourea, CTAB and sodium chloride of 0.30 M, 3.0 × 10−3 M, 0.40 × 10−3 M and 1.0 %, respectively. The calibration curve was linear over a range of 20–350 ng mL−1 iron with correlation of estimation (R2) of 0.997. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of iron in food (cereal, fruit and vegetable) and water samples.

Urinary heavy metals, phthalates, perchlorate, nitrate, thiocyanate, hydrocarbons, and polyfluorinated compounds are associated with adult hearing disturbance: USA NHANES, 2011–2012.

Links between environmental chemicals and human health have emerged, but the effects on hearing were less studied. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the relationships of different sets of environmental chemicals and the hearing conditions in a national and population-based setting. Data was retrieved from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, 2011-2012 including demographics, serum measurements, lifestyle factors, self-reported hearing conditions, and urinary environmental chemical concentrations. Chi-square test, t test, and survey-weighted logistic regression models were performed. Among the American adults aged 20-69 (n=5560), 462 (8.3 %) people reported their hearing condition as moderate trouble to deaf. They had higher levels of urinary hydrocarbons and polyfluorinated compounds but not heavy metals, phthalates, arsenic, pesticides, phenols, parabens, perchlorate, nitrate, and thiocyanate concentrations. Also, 466 (10.0 %) people had hearing difficulties during conversation. They had higher levels of urinary cobalt (odds ratio (OR) 1.27, 95 % confidence interval (95%CI) 1.00-1.63), molybdemum (OR 1.45, 95%CI 1.04-2.02), strontium (OR 1.56, 95%CI 1.10-2.21), phthalates, perchlorate (OR 1.27, 95%CI 1.05-1.54), nitrate (OR 1.60, 1.03-2.49) and thiocyanate (OR 1.22, 95%CI 1.01-1.48) concentrations but not arsenic, pesticides, phenols, parabens, hydrocarbons, and polyfluorinated compounds. Moreover, people who reported difficulties in following conversation with background noise had higher levels of urinary tin concentrations (OR 1.17, 1.00-1.36). Urinary heavy metals, phthalates, perchlorate, nitrate, thiocyanate, hydrocarbons, and polyfluorinated compounds were associated with the adult hearing disturbance, although the causality cannot be established. Elimination of these environmental chemicals might need to be considered in future environmental health policy and health intervention programs.

Thyroid Hormones and Moderate Exposure to Perchlorate during Pregnancy in Women in Southern California.

Background:Findings from national surveys suggest that everyone in the United States is exposed to perchlorate. At high doses, perchlorate, thiocyanate, and nitrate inhibit iodide uptake into the thyroid and decrease thyroid hormone production. Small changes in thyroid hormones during pregnancy, including changes within normal reference ranges, have been linked to cognitive function declines in the offspring.Objectives:We evaluated the potential effects of low environmental exposures to perchlorate on thyroid function.Methods:Serum thyroid hormones and anti-thyroid antibodies and urinary perchlorate, thiocyanate, nitrate, and iodide concentrations were measured in 1,880 pregnant women from San Diego County, California, during 2000–2003, a period when much of the area’s water supply was contaminated from an industrial plant with perchlorate at levels near the 2007 California regulatory standard of 6 μg/L. Linear regression was used to evaluate associations between urinary perchlorate and serum thyroid hormone concentrations in models adjusted for urinary creatinine and thiocyanate, maternal age and education, ethnicity, and gestational age at serum collection.Results:The median urinary perchlorate concentration was 6.5 μg/L, about two times higher than in the general U.S. population. Adjusted associations were identified between increasing log10 perchlorate and decreasing total thyroxine (T4) [regression coefficient (β) = –0.70; 95% CI: –1.06, –0.34], decreasing free thyroxine (fT4) (β = –0.053; 95% CI: –0.092, –0.013), and increasing log10 thyroid-stimulating hormone (β = 0.071; 95% CI: 0.008, 0.133).Conclusions:These results suggest that environmental perchlorate exposures may affect thyroid hormone production during pregnancy. This could have implications for public health given widespread perchlorate exposure and the importance of thyroid hormone in fetal neurodevelopment.Citation:Steinmaus C, Pearl M, Kharrazi M, Blount BC, Miller MD, Pearce EN, Valentin-Blasini L, DeLorenze G, Hoofnagle AN, Liaw J. 2016. Thyroid hormones and moderate exposure to perchlorate during pregnancy in women in Southern California. Environ Health Perspect 124:861–867; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1409614

CO-occurring exposure to perchlorate, nitrate and thiocyanate alters thyroid function in healthy pregnant women

BackgroundAdequate maternal thyroid function during pregnancy is necessary for normal fetal brain development, making pregnancy a critical window of vulnerability to thyroid disrupting insults. Sodium/iodide symporter (NIS) inhibitors, namely perchlorate, nitrate, and thiocyanate, have been shown individually to competitively inhibit uptake of iodine by the thyroid. Several epidemiologic studies examined the association between these individual exposures and thyroid function. Few studies have examined the effect of this chemical mixture on thyroid function during pregnancy ObjectivesWe examined the cross sectional association between urinary perchlorate, thiocyanate and nitrate concentrations and thyroid function among healthy pregnant women living in New York City using weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression. MethodsWe measured thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and free thyroxine (FreeT4) in blood samples; perchlorate, thiocyanate, nitrate and iodide in urine samples collected from 284 pregnant women at 12 (±2.8) weeks gestation. We examined associations between urinary analyte concentrations and TSH or FreeT4 using linear regression or WQS adjusting for gestational age, urinary iodide and creatinine. ResultsIndividual analyte concentrations in urine were significantly correlated (Spearman's r 0.4–0.5, p<0.001). Linear regression analyses did not suggest associations between individual concentrations and thyroid function. The WQS revealed a significant positive association between the weighted sum of urinary concentrations of the three analytes and increased TSH. Perchlorate had the largest weight in the index, indicating the largest contribution to the WQS. ConclusionsCo-exposure to perchlorate, nitrate and thiocyanate may alter maternal thyroid function, specifically TSH, during pregnancy.

Degradation of thiocyanate in aqueous solution by persulfate activated ferric ion

Thiocyanate formation from cyanidation of gold bearing ores is becoming a more common problem during gold processing. In this work, the application of an advanced oxidation process based on the use of persulfate (S2O82−) as an environmentally friendly oxidant in the presence of ferric ion for destruction of a persistent and non-volatile inorganic contaminant, such as thiocyanate, in aqueous solutions is reported for the first time. The influence of various reaction parameters like ferric ion and persulfate dosage, initial thiocyanate concentration and the influence of radical scavenger are examined. An accelerated reaction using S2O82− to destroy thiocyanate can be achieved via chemical activation with Fe3+ to generate highly reactive sulfate anion-radicals (SO4−). The results showed that degradation efficiency was negligible when persulfate was used alone, ferric ions significantly improved the degradation efficiency of thiocyanate at ambient temperature. Under the optimum molar ratios ([S2O82−]:[SCN−]=5:1 and [S2O82−]:[Fe3+]=1:0.2), 99% of thiocyanate present in aqueous solution at the initial concentration range of 1.72–17.2mM was degraded within 60min of reaction time. To evaluate the contribution of reactive free radicals generated through Fe(III)-mediated activation of persulfate to thiocyanate degradation, quenching experiments using methanol as the radical quenching agent were carried out. The obvious decrease in thiocyanate oxidation efficiency in the presence of methanol confirmed that the radical-based pathway was the dominant mechanism in Fe3+/S2O82− system. The degradation of thiocyanate was accompanied by the formation of cyanide as the main final product of the reaction. Thus the catalytic oxidation of thiocyanate makes it possible to return NaCN into the production process for leaching of precious metals. The work presents an efficient and environmentally acceptable wastewater treatment process applicable in mining facilities utilizing cyanidation of sulfide ores and/or concentrates.

Association of prenatal perchlorate, thiocyanate, and nitrate exposure with neonatal size and gestational age.

Perchlorate and similar anions compete with iodine for uptake into the thyroid by the sodium iodide symporter (NIS). This may restrict fetal growth via impaired thyroid hormone production. We collected urine samples from 107 pregnant women and used linear regression to estimate differences in newborn size and gestational age associated with increases in perchlorate, thiocyanate, nitrate, and perchlorate equivalence concentrations (PEC; measure of total NIS inhibitor exposure). NIS inhibitor concentrations were not associated with newborn weight, length, or gestational age. Each 2.62ng/μg creatinine increase in perchlorate was associated with smaller head circumference (0.32cm; 95% CI: -0.66, 0.01), but each 3.38ng/μg increase in PEC was associated with larger head circumference (0.48cm; -0.01, 0.97). These anions may have effects on fetal development (e.g. neurocognitive) that are not reflected in gross measures. Future research should focus on other abnormalities in neonates exposed to NIS inhibitors.

A Review of Thiocyanate Hydrometallurgy for the Recovery of Gold

Over the past century, numbers of hydrometallurgical processing technologies have been conducted for gold leaching in mining and second resource, such as cyanidation, being with high toxicity and low reaction rate, and non-cyanide---thiosulphate leaching and thiourea leaching, etc, having relatively high reagent consumption. Recently, ammonium thiocyanate was selected as leaching reagent in the laboratory study. Just as some papers shown, thiocyanate can be complexed tightly with Au+ or Au3+ to form water-soluble complexes according to the dynamic and thermodynamic system of thiocyanate gold and regenerated or obtained as a by-product in technological processes. And the extraction process is affected by many factors, such as thiocyanate concentration, oxidant concentration, liquid-solid ratio, temperature, and reaction time, especially pH and the category of oxidants, which can be chosen properly to make the method extensively applied in industrialization. Recent studies have shown that the gold leaching with thiocyanate under alkaline conditions is also viable using oxygen as oxidant. Then this article compares and analyzes the use of different oxidants in acid or alkali environment reaching a 96% leaching efficiency and the techniques of gold recycle from thiocyanate gold solutions. However, as the restriction for post-processing cost of thiocyanate and the strict requirement for the equipment in the acidic conditions or high pressure conditions, additional research should be directed towards making incorporation with other extraction methods perfectly. Two development tendencies are presented in this paper: (1) as additive; (2) as the lixiviant under alkaline or neutral conditions.

High-mobility group box 1 protein levels in serum of subjects after exposure to fire smoke--short communication.

Fire smoke inhalation a recognized etiologic factor of airway injuries. The objective of this study was evaluation of serum high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) protein concentration in subjects exposed to fire smoke (SEFS). The study group consisted of 40 consecutive patients admitted to the Toxicology Unit, Lodz, Poland after exposure to fire smoke. Serum HMGB1 concentrations were measured upon admission to hospital and rechecked on the 2nd and on the day of discharge. Patients also underwent routine toxicological diagnostic procedures applied in case of those exposures, such as carboxyhaemoglobin (COHb) levels and urinary thiocyanate concentrations. The same diagnostic tests were performed in 10 healthy volunteers not exposed to smoke of the control group. The average serum SEFS concentration of HMGB1 protein was not significantly higher on admission in comparison with the respective values recorded on the 2nd day and on the day of discharge. The mean serum level of HMGB1 protein of exposed group was higher than that one in the control group, however the difference was not statistically significant. The highest concentration of HMGB1 protein was noted in serum of 28 subjects exposed to fire smoke reporting at least one symptom and the difference was statistically significant in a comparison with the control group. As indicated, an acute exposure to smoke may lead to transient increase of HMGB1 in serum in exposed subjects. Further studies are necessary in order to confirm the importance of this protein in pathogenesis of acute airway injury due to exposure to fire smoke.

Anion-specific effects on the behavior of pH-sensitive polybasic brushes.

The anion-specific solvation and conformational behavior of weakly basic poly(2-dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (poly(DMA)), poly(2-diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (poly(DEA)), and poly(2-diisopropylamino)ethyl methacrylate (poly(DPA)) brushes, with correspondingly increasing inherent hydrophobicity, have been investigated using in situ ellipsometric and quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) measurements. In the osmotic brush regime, as the initial low concentration of salt is increased, the brushes osmotically swell by the uptake of solvent as they become charged and the attractive hydrophobic inter- and intrachain interactions are overcome. With increased ionic strength, the brushes move into the salted brush regime where they desolvate and collapse as their electrostatic charge is screened. Here, as the brushes collapse, they transition to more uniform and rigid conformations, which dissipate less energy, than similarly solvated brushes at lower ionic strength. Significantly, in these distinct regimes brush behavior is not only ionic strength dependent but is also influenced by the nature of the added salt based on its position in the well-known Hofmeister or lyotropic series, with potassium acetate, nitrate, and thiocyanate investigated. The strongly kosmotropic acetate anions display low affinity for the hydrophobic polymers, and largely unscreened electrosteric repulsions allow the brushes to remain highly solvated at higher acetate concentrations. The mildly chaotropic nitrate and strongly chaotropic thiocyanate anions exhibit a polymer hydrophobicity-dependent affinity for the brushes. Increasing thiocyanate concentration causes the brushes to collapse at lower ionic strength than for the other two anions. This study of weak polybasic brushes demonstrates the importance of all ion, solvent, and polymer interactions.