At elevated levels, homocysteine (Hcy, 1) is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, Alzheimer's disease, neural tube defects, and osteoporosis. Both 1 and cysteine (Cys, 3) are linked to neurotoxicity. The biochemical mechanisms by which 1 and 3 are involved in disease states are relatively unclear. Herein, we describe simple methods for detecting either Hcy or Cys in the visible spectral region with the highest selectivity reported to date without using biochemical techniques or preparative separations. Simple methods and readily available reagents allow for the detection of Cys and Hcy in the range of their physiologically relevant levels. New HPLC postcolumn detection methods for biological thiols are reported. The potential biomedical relevance of the chemical mechanisms involved in the detection of 1 is described.

On the basis of the response of solvatochromic probes [Reichardt's betaine dye, pyrene, and 1,3-bis(1-pyrenyl)propane], we have investigated the aggregation behavior of common anionic, cationic, and nonionic surfactants when solubilized within a low-viscosity room-temperature ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (emimTf2N). We observed possible aggregate formation by all nonionic surfactants included in the study (Brij-35, Brij-700, Tween-20, and Triton X-100), while no aggregation was observed for the cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide. The anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate does not appear to solubilize within emimTf2N at ambient conditions.

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Singly, all three neonatal hearing screening tests resulted in low refer rates, especially if referrals for follow-up were made only for the cases in which stopping criteria were not met in both ears. Following a protocol similar to that recommended in the National Institutes of Health (1993) Consensus Conference report resulted in refer rates that were less than 4%. TEOAEs at 80 dB pSPL, DPOAE at L1 = 65, L2 = 50 dB SPL and ABR at 30 dB nHL measured during the neonatal period, and as implemented in the current study, performed similarly at predicting behavioral hearing status at 8 to 12