Retention of plutonium and americium by rock

The relative migration ratio of plutonium in various rocks is approximately 100 micrometers per meter of waterflow; the corresponding migration ratio for americium is about 500 micrometers per meter of water flow. Under these conditions radioactive decay will have taken place to such an extent that little plutonium and americium can reach the external environment from a well-designed and isolated geological repository site.     

Deuterium: natural variations used as a biological tracer

The suggestion is made that isotope tracing be carried out by monitoring the natural variations in deuterium concentrations. As an example, the natural variations in deuterium concentrations between food and water collected in Illinois and food and water collected in Colorado were used to determine the residence time of water in the blood and urine of rats. We observed not only a 5(1/2)-day turnover time of water in the blood and urine, but also evidence for the influx of water vapor from the atmosphere through the lungs into the blood.     

Trehalose regulation of glucose-6-phosphate hydrolysis in blowfly extracts

The presence of trehalose enhances the rate of glucose-6-phosphate hydrolysis in extracts of fat body and other tissues of adult Phormia regina Meigen. The activation appears to be specific, and increasing the concentration of trehalose changes both V(max) and K(m) for glucose-6-phosphate. There is, however, no easily recognizable phosphotransferase in the extract.     

Ordered and dynamic assembly of single spliceosomes

The spliceosome is the complex macromolecular machine responsible for removing introns from precursors to messenger RNAs (pre-mRNAs). We combined yeast genetic engineering, chemical biology, and multiwavelength fluorescence microscopy to follow assembly of single spliceosomes in real time in whole-cell extracts. We find that individual spliceosomal subcomplexes associate with pre-mRNA sequentially via an ordered pathway to yield functional spliceosomes and that association of every subcomplex is reversible. Further, early subcomplex binding events do not fully commit a pre-mRNA to splicing; rather, commitment increases as assembly proceeds. These findings have important implications for the regulation of alternative splicing. This experimental strategy should prove widely useful for mechanistic analysis of other macromolecular machines in environments approaching the complexity of living cells.     

Design and use of a collector for the in situ isolation of particulate trace organic species in precipitation

Extracts of particulate organic matter were examined for discrete rainfall events from metropolitan Los Angeles, California, using an in situ filtration technique. Filtration efficiency was 98 % for the collection of extractable organic C associated with particles having nominal diameters greater than 0m22 μm Organic background levels of less than 260 ng per sample were determined. Rainwater particle samples were extracted with repeated hexane and benzene: isopropanol (2: 1) solvent additions using ultrasonic agitation. Extract mixtures were quantified by high-resolution gas chromatography (HRGC) and were adjusted for component losses with perdeuterated recovery standards. Yields for the neutral fractions ranged from 130 to 669 μg with flux rates corresponding to 371 to 1097μg m^?2 day^?1. Aliquots of the neutral solvent extracts were derivatized with diazomethane to convert acidic hydroxy and carboxylic acid groups to the respective methyl ether and methyl ester analogs. This step produced increased yields of 8 to 188 %, and resulted in yields for the acid +neutral extracts that ranged from 374 to 8681μg with flux rates of 591 to 2343 μg m^?2 day^?1. Source identification was conducted by high-resolution gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (HRGC/MS) analyses. Molecular analyses indicated major anthropogenic contributions from petroleum and combustion sources, and for some samples, the significant input of microbial lipid components as well. Minor amounts of vascular plant waxes were also present in most cases. These mixed inputs of both anthropogenic and biogenic materials compared closely with previous source determinations for carbonaceous aerosol particles in the Los Angeles air basin.     

Chemistry, biochemistry, and safety of acrylamide. A review

Acrylamide (CH2=CH-CONH2), an industrially produced alpha,beta-unsaturated (conjugated) reactive molecule, is used worldwide to synthesize polyacrylamide. Polyacrylamide has found numerous applications as a soil conditioner, in wastewater treatment, in the cosmetic, paper, and textile industries, and in the laboratory as a solid support for the separation of proteins by electrophoresis. Because of the potential of exposure to acrylamide, effects of acrylamide in cells, tissues, animals, and humans have been extensively studied. Reports that acrylamide is present in foods formed during their processing under conditions that also induce the formation of Maillard browning products heightened interest in the chemistry, biochemistry, and safety of this vinyl compound. Because exposure of humans to acrylamide can come from both external sources and the diet, a need exists to develop a better understanding of its formation and distribution in food and its role in human health. To contribute to this effort, this integrated review presents data on the chemistry, analysis, metabolism, pharmacology, and toxicology of acrylamide. Specifically covered are the following aspects: nonfood and food sources; exposure from the environment and the diet; mechanism of formation in food from asparagine and glucose; asparagine-asparaginase relationships; Maillard browning-acrylamide relationships; quenching of protein fluorescence; biological alkylation of amino acids, peptides, proteins, and DNA by acrylamide and its epoxide metabolite glycidamide; risk assessment; neurotoxicity, reproductive toxicity, and carcinogenicity; protection against adverse effects; and possible approaches to reducing levels in food. Further research needs in each of these areas are suggested. Neurotoxicity appears to be the only documented effect of acrylamide in human epidemiological studies; reproductive toxicity, genotoxicity/clastogenicity, and carcinogenicity are potential human health risks on the basis of only animal studies. A better understanding of the chemistry and biology of pure acrylamide in general and its impact in a food matrix in particular can lead to the development of improved food processes to decrease the acrylamide content of the diet.