13C NMR analysis of biologically produced pyrene residues by Mycobacterium sp. KMS in the presence of humic acid.

Cultures of the pyrene degrading Mycobacterium sp. KMS were incubated with [4-13C]pyrene or [4,5,9,10-14C]pyrene with and without a soil humic acid standard to characterize the chemical nature of the produced residues and evaluate the potential for bonding reactions with humic acid. Cultures were subjected to a "humic acid/ humin" separation at acidic pH, a duplicate separation followed by solvent extraction of the humic acid/humin fraction, and a high pH separation. 13C NMR analysis was conducted on the resulting solid extracts. Results indicated that the activity associated with solid extracts did not depend on pH and that approximately 10% of the added activity was not removed from the solid humic acid/humin fraction by solvent extraction. 13C NMR analysis supported the conclusion that the majority of pyrene metabolites were incorporated into cellular material. Some evidence wasfound for metabolite reaction with the added humic material, but this did not appear to be a primary fate mechanism.

Mechanical responses and integrin associated protein expression by human ankle chondrocytes.

Metabolic, biochemical and biomechanical differences between ankle and knee joint cartilage and chondrocytes including resistance to the effects of catabolic cytokines and fibronectin fragments may be relevant to differences in prevalence of OA in these joints. Although there is increasing information available on how chondrocytes from knee and hip joint cartilage recognise and respond to mechanical stimuli, knowledge of mechanotransduction in ankle joint chondrocytes is limited. This study was undertaken to (i) establish whether the response of normal ankle joint derived chondrocytes to mechanical stimulation in vitro was similar to that of normal and osteoarthritic knee joint derived chondrocytes and (ii) to investigate whether these chondrocytes showed differences in expression of integrin associated regulatory and signalling molecules. Unlike normal knee joint chondrocytes, ankle joint chondrocytes did not show an increase in relative levels of aggrecan mRNA when mechanically stimulated. No obvious change in protein tyrosine phosphorylation was seen in ankle chondrocytes subsequent to mechanical stimulation but these cells expressed elevated levels of tyrosine phosphorylated proteins at rest when compared to normal knee joint chondrocytes. Ankle joint chondrocytes showed an increase in protein kinase B phosphorylation following 1 min 0.33 Hz stimulation which was inhibited by the presence of antibodies to alpha5beta1 integrin. Ankle joint chondrocytes appeared to show significant differences in levels of the integrin-associated proteins CD98, CD147 and galectin 3, PKCgamma and differences in responses to glutamate were seen. Chondrocytes from ankle and knee joint cartilage respond differently to 0.33 Hz mechanical stimulation. This may be related to modified integrin-dependent mechanotransduction as a result of changes in expression of integrin regulatory molecules such as CD98 or differential expression and function of downstream components of the mechanotransduction pathway such as PKC or NMDA receptors.

Humic acid toxicity in biologically treated soil contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and pentachlorophenol.

Contaminated soil from a land treatment unit at the Libby Groundwater Superfund Site in Libby, MT, was amended with 14C pyrene and incubated for 396 days to promote biodegradation and the formation of soil-associated bound residues. Humic and fulvic acids were extracted from the treated soil microcosms and analyzed for the presence of pyrene residues. Biologic activity promoted 14C association with the fulvic acid fraction, but humic acid-associated 14C did not increase with biologic activity. The Aboatox flash toxicity assay was used to assess the toxicity of humic and fulvic acid fractions. The fulvic acid gave no toxic response, but the humic acid showed significant toxicity. The observed toxicity was likely associated with pentachlorophenol, a known contaminant of the soil that was removed by solvent extraction of the humic acid and that correlated well with toxicity reduction.

Beneficial reuse and sustainability: the fate of organic compounds in land-applied waste.

Land application systems, also referred to as beneficial reuse systems, are engineered systems that have defined and permitted application areas based on site and waste characteristics to determine the land area size requirement. These terrestrial systems have orders of magnitude greater microbial capability and residence time to achieve decomposition and assimilation compared with aquatic systems. In this paper we focus on current information and information needs related to terrestrial fate pathways in land treatment systems. Attention is given to conventional organic chemicals as well as new estrogenic and pharmaceutical chemicals of commerce. Specific terrestrial fate pathways addressed include: decomposition, bound residue formation, leaching, runoff, and crop uptake. Molecular decomposition and formation of bound residues provide the basis for the design and regulation of land treatment systems. These mechanisms allow for assimilation of wastes and nondegradation of the environment and accomplish the goal of sustainable land use. Bound residues that are biologically produced are relatively immobile, degrade at rates similar to natural soil materials, and should present a significantly reduced risk to the environment as opposed to parent contaminants. With regard to leaching and runoff pathways, no comprehensive summary or mathematical model of organic chemical migration from land treatment systems has been developed. For the crop uptake pathway, a critical need exists to develop information for nonagricultural chemicals and to address full-scale performance and monitoring at more land application sites. The limited technology choices for treatment of biosolids, liquids, and other wastes implies that acceptance of some risks and occurrence of some benefits will continue to characterize land application practices that contribute directly to the goal of beneficial reuse and sustainability.

Novel bacterial ratio for predicting faecal age.

This study presents an extension of ongoing research into the utility of the ratio of colonies isolated on membrane filters during the total coliform test using m-Endo broth media. Investigations into the relative shifts in concentrations of indicator bacterial populations over time, in laboratory-based survival studies conducted with filtered river water, were undertaken. Also, analysis of Kentucky River water quality data collected from the inlet of a local water treatment plant was carried out. Survival studies found that the ratio between the raw concentrations of atypical colonies (AC) and total coliform colonies (TC) was directly related to the amount of time coliform spiked river water had been held in open jars in the laboratory. The AC/TC ratio in the jars would rise from < 1 at the time of coliform spiking to > 200 within 4d. The rise in AC/TC ratio with time in river water was confirmed in the analysis of two years of Kentucky River water quality data where the average AC/TC ratio during months with high river flow (rain) was 3.37 and rose to an average of 27.58 during months with low flow. The average AC/TC ratio during high flow months compared to that of raw human sewage (3.9) and the ratio increased to values associated with animal impacted urban runoff (18.9) during low flow months.

Fate of pyrene in contaminated soil amended with alternate electron acceptors.

Creosote-contaminated soil samples from the Libby Ground Water Contamination Superfund Site in Libby, MT, were amended with the potential alternate electron acceptors (AEA) nitrate (KNO3), manganese oxide (MnO2), and amorphous iron oxyhydroxide (FeOOH) and incubated at low oxygen tensions (0-6% O2). The fate of 14C-pyrene was evaluated with respect to the different soil amendments. The fate of 14C from the radiolabeled pyrene with regard to mineralization and bound residue formation within soil humic fractions was not significantly different from controls for the iron and manganese amended soils. Nitrate amendments appeared to stimulate 14C-pyrene mineralization at a level of 170 mg NO3-N kg(-1), and inhibit mineralization at 340 mg NO3-N kg(-1). The stimulatory effect did not appear to be the result of nitrate serving as an electron acceptor. Although AEA amendments did not significantly affect the rate or extent of 14C-pyrene mineralization, results of oxygen-deprived incubations (purged with N2) indicate that AEA may be utilized by the microbial community in the unsaturated contaminated soil system.

Enantioselective synthesis of the pyrroloquinoline core of the martinellines.

[equation--see text] The first enantioselective synthesis of the martinelline core (-)-3 is reported. The synthesis of (-)-3 from N-allyl-N-(benzyloxycarbonyl)-2-iodoaniline (12) proceeded in seven steps and 23% overall yield. In addition, the preparation of a carbocyclic model system is described.

Accuracy of diagnosis of pancreatic cancer decreases with increasing age.

Pancreatic cancer is common in the elderly and often is diagnosed clinically without pathologic confirmation. We compared age distribution and survival of 240 elderly patients with clinically diagnosed pancreatic cancer and 712 elderly patients with pathologically confirmed adeno- and ductal pancreatic carcinoma. All patients were registered by the Kansas state cancer registry from 1975-1984. The percentage of clinical diagnoses increased significantly from 12% in those aged in their 60s to 59% for those in their 90s (P less than .005). Observed 5-year survival for all of the clinically diagnosed patients was 8.4% compared with 0.6% for those pathologically confirmed. When locally confined disease only was considered, 5-year survival was 27% for patients clinically diagnosed and 4% for those pathologically confirmed. Given the fact that long survival from pancreatic carcinoma is a rare event, these findings suggest that in many elderly patients clinical diagnoses of pancreatic cancer are wrong. The findings have implications for the statistics on increasing incidence of pancreatic cancer (particularly in the elderly) and in discussion of prognosis with elderly patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer without pathologic confirmation.

Semi-xylenol orange and its purification by high-pressure liquid chromatography.

By Mannich condensation of o-Cresol Red, iminodiacetic acid and formaldehyde, Semi-Xylenol Orange (SXO) has been prepared in a 10-hr batch-procedure with a yield of about 30%. From the crude product SXO has been isolated by reversed-phase HPLC with perchloric acid-acetone mixtures as the mobile phase and C(18)-bonded silica as the stationary phase. The SXO fraction was freed from accompanying perchloric acid by a second separation on the same column, with water as eluent. After elution with acetone, the SXO was crystallized by evaporation.

Readability of self-care instructional pamphlets for diabetic patients.

The readability of written instructional materials for diabetic patients is an important consideration in their use. We assessed the readability of six commonly used patient teaching guides on diabetic self-care. In addition, two pamphlets developed by our program for diabetic patients with fifth to tenth grade reading ability were also studied as controls. The difficulty of reading each pamphlet was estimated by a novel computer program which simultaneously measures readability by seven accepted formulas. The scores derived by each formula are expressed individually, in terms of grade level difficulty, and then computed to obtain a composite mean score for each text. The composite mean scores obtained are highly reliable (a = 0.95). The six commercial pamphlets were estimated to have reading difficulty levels ranging from 5.3 to 14.1 grades. A primary factor that contributed to reading difficulty was the frequent use of polysyllabic words, including technical words. Certain individual test scores, not judged to be out of range, deviated from the mean composite scores by as much as 41.2%. The two pamphlets designed by the Kentucky Diabetes Program had composite reading difficulties of 7.5 and 8.2 grade levels, respectively. These data suggest that the use of systematic readability analysis should be carried out and reported for patient instructional material. This assessment should be carried out by multiple formulas to produce a more representative index of reading difficulty than the application of a single test.

Assessment of a prosthodontic course for dental hygienists using self-instructional learning modules.

Self-instructional learning modules were used to teach the skill portion of a continuing education course in prosthodontics for dental hygienists. Short- and long-term results obtained from course evaluations and a follow-up survey indicate that dental hygienists are willing and able to extend their traditionally preventive role to include prosthodontic care. The reaction of the course participants to the self-instructional learning modules suggests topics for development of additional learning modules for prosthodontic training beyond the basic dental hygiene curriculum as well as for continuing education.