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The energy-rich stomach oils of the seagoing petrels, which are produced by partial digestion of their prey, accumulate chlorinated pollutants which are transferred to their chicks upon feeding, say Canadian scientists. The oils represent an important medium for dietary exposure and marine biomonitoring.

Infestations of tomato plants in a commercial greenhouse by caterpillar larvae can be detected and monitored by GC of emitted stress compounds, say researchers in Canada, which would replace the need for manual inspection.

Three lacquer samples taken from a four-eared pottery container, excavated from 16-17th century ruins of Kyoto City, were analyzed by pyrolysis-GC/MS and IR spectroscopy to determine the source of the lacquer.

The first reported GC/MS method for the measurement of carbonate by GC/MS has been reported by scientists in Germany, who used a novel derivatisation reaction to produce an acetal which was detected in NICI mode.

The volatile composition of marine salt collected in salt pans is far more complex than previously thought, say Portuguese and Australian researchers, who used 2D GC to reveal more than 150 compounds, many for the first time.

The enantiomeric fraction of the pyrethroid pesticide <em>cis</em>-bifenthrin in Chinese teas, determined by GC/ECD, is close to 0.5 but that of cypermethrin varies from tea to tea, revealing a variable risk of exposure.

Nitrite in biological fluids can be determined by GC/MS using in-injector derivatisation with ethyl acetate, to eliminate the conventional external derivatisation step.

The profiles of volatile compounds emitted from chronic leg ulcers, sampled non-invasively and identified by GC/MS, were different to those from healthy skin. The procedure may lead to the identification of biomarkers that can track wound infection and healing and identify specific bacterial infections, with the ultimate aim of a hand-held, bedside analysis.

The fatty acid distributions in three different bacteria - <em>Escherichia coli</em>, <em>Francisella novicida</em> and <em>Bacillus subtilis</em> - were studied by gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

The contribution of the honeycomb and the bees to the volatile composition of honey has been isolated by Croatian scientists, so that they can be eliminated from consideration as biomarkers in honey authentication.

Hydrocarbon biomarkers down a peat core from northern Spain are acting as climatic indicators. They revealed the relative contribution of different types of vegetation to the peat profile over 1800 years, indicating which periods experienced wetter weather conditions.

The heavy oil characteristics of biodegradation and the oil-oil correlation according to the biomarker data and the delta-<sup>13</sup>C signature were determined for oil samples from T block Oriente Basin, Ecuador.

The acute exposure of volunteers to VOCs during clean up of the coastline in South Korea following an oil spill has been estimated by urinary profiling of the metabolites using GC/MS.

Several new compounds contributing to the taint of grape juice contaminated with lady beetles have been identified by scientists in the US, suggesting that the previously recognised pyrazine derivatives are not solely responsible.

A sensitive GC-based screening/confirmation method was proposed for the determination of the most toxic <em>N</em>-nitrosamines that can be found in water samples.

A number of fragrance allergens banned under EU legislation have been detected in scented toys using a new SPME-GC/MS method developed by researchers in Germany. These allergens can be released in the play environment and subsequently inhaled by children.

A GC/MS study of the volatile compounds released from Baltic and Romanian amber under heating allowed the two closely related materials to be differentiated, following principal components analysis.

The developmental pattern of urinary bile acid profiles in ten infants born at gestational ages from 25 to 33 weeks were measured by GC/MS and compared with previous data from full-term infants from birth to about 7 months of age.

Exposure to certain semi-volatile organic compounds in residential accommodation has been associated with the symptoms of sick house syndrome, say Japanese researchers, with phosphate esters highly correlated.

An ionic liquid stationary phase has been applied to the GC separation of fatty acid methyl esters in biodiesel blends, using conventional and fast separations. The high polarity of the column eliminates the need for multidimensional techniques and complex sample preparation.