Prenatal vitamin D deficiency does not exacerbate behavioural impairments associated with prenatal ethanol exposure in juvenile male mice.

There is a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and exposure to low levels of ethanol in pregnant women. However, there are a paucity of studies that have addressed the impact of both vitamin D deficiency and ethanol exposure on the offspring's vulnerability to neurodevelopmental disorders later in life. The aim of this study was to examine whether the absence of vitamin D during gestation in mice would alter the effects of prenatal exposure to low dose ethanol on the behaviour and dopaminergic gene expression patterns of juvenile mice. Four-week old female C57BL/6J mice were placed on a prenatal vitamin D deficient (PVD) or standard diet for 6 weeks and mated at 10 weeks of age. Females were exposed to either 10%(v/v) ethanol or water between gestational days 0-8 and all were offered water thereafter. We found that blood ethanol concentration in the dams was not affected by maternal diet. Behavioural analyses of the offspring included ultrasonic vocalizations (USV) at postnatal day (P) 7, locomotion and social interaction at P21. The main findings were increased USV calling rate and impaired social interaction in males with prenatal ethanol exposure (PrEE). Gene expression analysis of transcripts involved in dopamine regulation revealed a main effect of ethanol exposure on dopamine- and cyclic adenosine monophosphate- regulated neuronal phosphoprotein (Darpp-32), a main effect of vitamin D diet on Dopamine 2 Receptors (D2R) and a main effect of Sex on Tyrosine Hydroxylase (TH) expression. The combination of PVD-PrEE did not exacerbate the alterations resulting from PVD or PrEE. Despite the limited evidence to support the interaction of PVD and PrEE during the postnatal period, males were more vulnerable than female offspring to the detrimental effects of PrEE. Therefore, based on these studies in mice we suggest that maintenance of optimal vitamin D levels and abstinence from ethanol during pregnancy would reduce risk of later disruption to brain function and behaviour in the offspring.

Activation of two C-H bonds of NHC N-methyl groups on triosmium and triruthenium carbonyl clusters.

The thermolysis of the NHC triosmium cluster [Os3(Me2Im)(CO)11] (1a; Me2Im = 1,3-dimethylimidazol-2-ylidene) in toluene at reflux temperature sequentially affords the edge-bridged cluster [Os3(micro-H)(micro-kappa2-MeImCH2)(CO)10] () and the face-capped derivative [Os3(micro-H)2(micro3-kappa2-MeImCH)(CO)9] (3a). These products result from the sequential oxidative addition of one (2a) and two (3a) N-methyl C-H bonds of the original NHC ligand. The related face-capped triruthenium cluster [Ru3(micro-H)2(micro3-kappa2-MeImCH)(CO)9] (3b) has been prepared by heating the NHC triruthenium cluster [Ru3(Me2Im)(CO)11] (1b) in THF at reflux temperature. In this case, the pentanuclear derivatives [Ru5(Me2Im)(micro4-kappa2-CO)(CO)14] (4b) and [Ru5(Me2Im)2(micro4-kappa2-CO)(CO)13] (5b) are minor reaction products, but a ruthenium cluster analogous to has not been obtained. The face-capped oxazole-derived NHC triruthenium cluster [Ru3(micro-H)2(micro3-kappa2-OxCH)(CO)9] (3c; MeOx = N-methyloxazol-2-ylidene) is the only isolated product of the thermolysis of [Ru3(MeOx)(CO)11] (1c) in THF at reflux temperature.

Triruthenium and triosmium carbonyl clusters containing chiral bidentate NHC-thiolate ligands derived from levamisole.

The trinuclear complexes [M3(mu-Cl)(mu-S approximately CH)(CO)9] (M=Ru, Os; S approximately CH=1-ethylenethiolate-3-H-4-(S)-phenylimidazolin-2-ylidene) and [M3(mu-H)(mu-S approximately CMe)(CO)9] (M=Ru, Os; S approximately CMe=1-ethylenethiolate-3-methyl-4-(S)-phenylimidazolin-2-ylidene) have been prepared by treating [Ru3(CO)12] and [Os3(CO)10(MeCN)2] with levamisolium chloride or [M3(mu-H)(CO)11]- with methyl levamisolium triflate, respectively. The chiral N-heterocyclic carbene-thiolate ligands S approximately CH and S approximately CMe arise from the oxidative addition of the C-S bond of levamisolium or methyl levamisolium cations to anionic trinuclear clusters.

Easy activation of two C-H bonds of an N-heterocyclic carbene N-methyl group.

The first trinuclear clusters containing NHC ligands are described; the compound [Ru3(Me2Im)(CO)11](Me2Im=1,3-dimethylimidazol-2-ylidene) is easily converted into [Ru3(mu-H)2(mu3-MeImCH)(CO)9] by a process involving the activation of two C-H bonds of a methyl group that is an example of degradation of a metal-coordinated NHC ligand under mild conditions.

High precision measurement of the superallowed 0+ --> 0+ beta decay of 22Mg.

The half-life, 3.8755(12) s, and superallowed branching ratio, 0.5315(12), for 22Mg beta decay have been measured with high precision. The latter depended on gamma-ray intensities being measured with an HPGe detector calibrated for relative efficiencies to an unprecedented 0.15%. Previous precise measurements of 0+ --> 0+ transitions have been restricted to the nine that populate stable daughter nuclei. No more such cases exist, and any improvement in a critical Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa unitarity test must depend on precise measurements of more exotic nuclei. With this branching-ratio measurement, we show those to be possible for T(z)=-1 parents. We obtain a corrected Ft value of 3071(9) s, in good agreement with expectations.

Production of Co-60 sources for high-accuracy efficiency calibrations of gamma-ray spectrometers.

Activity determination by gamma-ray spectrometry is a valuable aid which is widely used where radioactive sources are applied. For the construction of an efficiency curve vs. energy in a standard geometry, the accuracy is limited not only by the uncertainty of peak area determination and the knowledge of the relevant emission probabilities but also by the uncertainties of the activity values applied to efficiency calibration with standard sources. Recently, a method to determine a relative efficiency function using selected radionuclides with gamma cascades of well known emission probabilities has been developed which yields very accurate efficiency values. Such a curve has to be converted into an absolute efficiency curve by calibration of the detector system with at least one source of very well known activity. Especially for this purpose, a set of Co-60 gamma-ray spectrometer sources was produced at the PTB. The activity values (10-45 kBq) were measured by the 4pi beta-gamma coincidence technique with a standard uncertainty of less than 0.1%. Production and measurement of these sources are described in the present paper. Special care was taken to include all contributions to the standard uncertainty of the activity value when establishing the uncertainty budget for the activity of each of these sources. The activity ratio of two of these sources, as obtained by the absolute measurements, was checked by independent gamma-ray counting at two other laboratories, where the precision achieved was less than 0.2%. The procedure described is considered to be a step towards more accurately determined efficiency functions in gamma-ray spectrometry.

Precise efficiency calibration of an HPGe detector: source measurements and Monte Carlo calculations with sub-percent precision.

With the goal of measuring precise gamma-ray intensities for short-lived (< 5 s) accelerator-produced activities, we have calibrated the efficiency of an HPGe detector between 53 and 1836keV to sub-percent precision with a combination of source measurements and Monte Carlo calculations. Using known or independently measured detector dimensions, we have achieved both relative and absolute agreement (the latter, to 0.1%) between the calculated and measured efficiencies with only two adjustable detector parameters, the thicknesses of the contact dead layers.