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Aluminum (Al) concentration was assessed in deciduous teeth in relation to sex, year of birth, tooth type, and the presence of caries and roots. Three hundred and twenty-three deciduous teeth from children born during the period 1952 93 in a county in southeast Sweden were sampled, and the Al content determined by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The arithmetic mean of the Al concentration was 0.58 +/- 0.64 ppm dry weight (mean +/- standard deviation) and differed significantly between incisors (1.05 +/- 1.04 ppm) and canines (0.48 +/- 0.50 ppm) and between incisors and molars (0.53 +/- 0.55 ppm). A significant difference was found between teeth with and without caries. No significant differences were found between sexes. The Al concentration correlated significantly with tooth weight for incisors (r = -0.47) and canines (r = -0.45) but not for molars (r = 0.03). No significant change in Al concentration was found over time. Caries-free deciduous molars are suggested as the most useful teeth for biological monitoring of aluminum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new analytical method gas chromatography combined with UV spectrophotometry was used to measure isoprene and acetone in expired breath collected from four different groups of children: 1) healthy newborn babies, 2) healthy preschool children, 3) healthy school children, and 4) diabetic children in different metabolic states. Both isoprene and acetone could readily be determined in one single analysis of a 250-mL air sample. Newborn babies during the first postnatal week had undetectable or very low levels of isoprene in their expired air irrespective of catabolic or anabolic state. Breath isoprene increased with age, and healthy school children had higher levels than did healthy preschool children. No significant differences in breath isoprene were found between healthy and diabetic children. Breath acetone was found to correlate with metabolic state both in newborn babies and in diabetic children. These findings illustrate the potential use of a new technique for breath analysis in children with metabolic disturbances.