Dietary intake estimate for perfluorooctanesulphonic acid (PFOS) and other perfluorocompounds (PFCs) in UK retail foods following determination using standard addition LC-MS/MS.

The analysis of 252 food samples (UK-produced and imported) purchased from a variety of retail outlets in the UK was undertaken for the presence of perfluorooctanesulphonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and nine other perfluorocompounds (PFCs). A limit of quantification (LOQ) of 1 microg/kg was achieved for all target analytes, in all samples. Standard addition was used for quantification of PFC levels. All 11 of the targeted PFCs were detected in 75 individual food items. In 70% of the samples, including all meat other than offal, none of the analytes were present above the LOD. The highest levels found were 59 microg/kg perfluorooctanesulphonic acid (PFOS) and 63 microg/kg total PFCs (SigmaPFCs) in an eel sample, and 40 microg/kg PFOS (62 microg/kg SigmaPFCs) in a whitebait sample. The highest level in an offal sample was 10 microg/kg, in a wild roe deer liver. There were six samples with SigmaPFCs >15 microg/kg (fish, shellfish, crustaceans), a further seven samples with SigmaPFCs ranging 11-15 microg/kg (including a liver), nine with SigmaPFCs ranging 6-10 microg/kg (fish and livers), 31 with SigmaPFCs in the range 2-5 microg/kg (including kidneys, popcorn and processed peas) and a further 22 with SigmaPFCs close to the LOD of 1 microg/kg (including eggs and potatoes). These concentrations indicate that UK consumers are being exposed to a low level of PFC contamination from food. The estimated upper bound dietary intake of 10 ng/kg bodyweight (bw)/day of PFOS for average adult consumers is well below the 0.15 microg (150 ng)/kg bw tolerable daily intake (TDI) set by the European Food Safety Authority. The lower bound adult dietary intake estimate of 1 ng/kg bw/day is similar to estimates undertaken and reported in countries such as Canada, Germany and Spain.

Recent advances in analytical construct resins.

The area of solid-phase synthesis has witnessed exponential growth in the last fifteen years, but difficulties associated with the monitoring and analysis of resin-bound reactions and products have been apparent due to a limited number of analytical methods available. With the substrate tethered to an insoluble support traditional chromatographic monitoring is only possible after cleavage. In order to address this 'analytical bottleneck' Geysen, in 1996 elaborated Merrifield's initial dual linker strategy by incorporating an encoding system between two in-line linkers. These analytical construct resins represented a new approach for both the quality control of solid-phase combinatorial libraries and for the development of new synthetic sequences on solid-support. This review will summarize the development and application of analytical construct resins focusing on recent applications of the technology.

Brachypodium distachyon. A new model system for functional genomics in grasses.

A new model for grass functional genomics is described based on Brachypodium distachyon, which in the evolution of the Pooideae diverged just prior to the clade of "core pooid" genera that contain the majority of important temperate cereals and forage grasses. Diploid ecotypes of B. distachyon (2n = 10) have five easily distinguishable chromosomes that display high levels of chiasma formation at meiosis. The B. distachyon nuclear genome was indistinguishable in size from that of Arabidopsis, making it the simplest genome described in grasses to date. B. distachyon is a self-fertile, inbreeding annual with a life cycle of less than 4 months. These features, coupled with its small size (approximately 20 cm at maturity), lack of seed-head shatter, and undemanding growth requirements should make it amenable to high-throughput genetics and mutant screens. Immature embryos exhibited a high capacity for plant regeneration via somatic embryogenesis. Regenerated plants display very low levels of albinism and have normal fertility. A simple transformation system has been developed based on microprojectile bombardment of embryogenic callus and hygromycin selection. Selected B. distachyon ecotypes were resistant to all tested cereal-adapted Blumeria graminis species and cereal brown rusts (Puccinia reconditia). In contrast, different ecotypes displayed resistance or disease symptoms following challenge with the rice blast pathogen (Magnaporthe grisea) and wheat/barley yellow stripe rusts (Puccinia striformis). Despite its small stature, B. distachyon has large seeds that should prove useful for studies on grain filling. Such biological characteristics represent important traits for study in temperate cereals.

Surface stability of granular systems under horizontal and vertical vibration: the applicability of a coefficient of friction

We investigate the conditions under which the surface of a granular pile becomes unstable to vibrations. Three stability boundaries are identified, which depend upon the relative phase of the driving forces and the angle of the prepared slope. The experimental findings can be interpreted within the context of a Coulomb friction model and used to define an effective coefficient of friction. For up-hill motion we find that the coefficient of friction depends strongly on the slope angle and that, in general, it requires less vibration to transport grains uphill than would be otherwise expected.

The glycosidic precursor of (Z)-5-ethylidene-2(5H)-furanone in Halocarpus biformis juvenile foliage.

A new glycosidic lactone, (5R,6R)-5-(1-hydroxyethyl)-2(5H)-furanone beta-D-glucopyranoside, has been identified as the principal precursor of (Z)-5-ethylidene-2(5H)-furanone in juvenile foliage of the New Zealand tree Halocarpus biformis. Three related lactone glycosides were isolated in smaller amounts, together with the known phenolic glycosides pyroside, arbutin and picein. The principal lactone glycoside underwent facile elimination of glucose, in neutral or basic conditions, to yield (Z)-5-ethylidene-2(5H)-furanone and its E-isomer. This lactone glycoside was also detected in foliage of H. bidwillii and H. kirkii.

Identification and estimation of cell types in mixed primary cell cultures of early and term human placenta.

Placental villi of early and term human placentae were dissociated with trypsin and mixed cell cultures were established. The different cell types were identified and estimated over a 14-day culture period using antibodies to keratin and vimentin filaments and their capacity to phagocytose yeast. The three main cell types were found to be epithelial-, macrophage- and fibroblast-like cells. The epithelial-like cells can be further divided into the multinucleated and the small- and medium-sized round cells, and these are most likely to be derived from the trophoblast. The cellular composition of cultures were different for early and term placentae and also varied characteristically over the 14-day cultures period.

The effect of type and dose of oestrogen on the blood pressure of post-menopausal women.

Evidence from two groups of post-menopausal women who were randomly allocated to be treated with either conjugated equine oestrogens or piperazine oestrone sulphate demonstrates that the two oestrogens produce markedly different effects on blood pressure. The conjugated equine oestrogens appear to produce no significant change in either systolic or diastolic blood pressure whereas piperazine oestrone sulphate produced a significant fall in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. This finding is discussed in relationship to the known causes for a change in cardiovascular response to oestrogen and several hypotheses are put forward.