The potential use of wetlands to reduce phosphorus export from agricultural catchments

Natural and artificial wetlands have the potential to reduce phosphorus (P) loads from dispersed agricultural runoff and from point sources in the Peel-Harvey catchment, Western Australia. Small experimental systems containing wetland plants and substrate have shown significant removal of P from inflowing water, the proportion of P removed being dependent on P concentration and flow rate of water through the system. The use of artificial wetlands to treat diffuse agricultural runoff is limited by the highly seasonal runoff typical of this Mediterranean climate, while use at point sources has so far been unsuccessful because compounds from the effluent clog the wetland filters. Treatment at point sources may well be feasible after further research.Natural wetlands in the catchment absorb P received in runoff from farmland and, in the absence of any outflow channels to the drainage system, confine this P within the boundaries of the wetland. Disturbance to wetlands may reduce their efficiency in absorbing nutrients and may release P stored in the vegetation and sediment to the water. The conservation of natural wetlands is recommended to maximise nutrient retention in the catchment.     

Terpolymers. II. Mechanical properties and transition temperatures of terpolymers of vinyl stearate,vinyl acetate,and vinyl chloride

Vinyl stearate was studied as a major internal plasticizer in terpolymers containing vinyl acetate and vinyl chloride. The terpolymers were prepared by systematically replacing vinyl acetate by close increments of vinyl stearate starting with combinations of vinyl acetate and vinyl chloride, in increments, over all compositions. For comparison of properties, a complete range of copolymers of vinyl stearate and vinyl chloride, as well as mixtures of poly(vinyl chloride) and di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DOP) were also made. The external plasticizer was more efficient in reducing the glass temperature than was vinyl stearate. The decline in T_g with weight fraction of plasticizer was linear for the copolymers and terpolymers but concave downward with the liquid diluent. The linear decline was shown to involve mere additivity of the free volume contributed by each side-chain methylene (or methyl) group in both vinyl esters to reducing T_g. The mechanism of the diluent system was more complex. However, the magnitude of the reduction of tensile modulus at a given weight fraction of DOP could be equaled or exceeded by the same amount of vinyl stearate, by increasing the vinyl acetate content of the base copolymer to 40 mole-% or more. Unfortunately, the ultimate strengths and elongations of internally plasticized systems were reduced more than those of the mixtures at comparable compositions. Vinyl stearate was found to markedly retard photolytic degradation compared to both vinyl acetate and the external plasticizer in unstabilized samples having nearly the same thermal treatment. The effect was greater than could be ascribed to dilution by the long alkyl group. The production of a stearoyl radical more stable than the radicals initiating dehydrochlorination is suggested as a possible mechanism.     

Mechanical properties and transition temperatures of copolymers of N-n-alkylacrylamides and vinylidene chloride

Mechanical and solution properties, melting transitions, torsional stiffness temperatures, T_f, and selected modulus-temperature curves are presented for copolymers of the N-n-alkylacrylamides with vinylidene chloride. Copolymers were prepared at 60°C across the range of compositions, using as comonomers N-n-butyl-, octyl-, dodecyl- and oleyl-acrylamide, which have amorphous side-chains, and N-n-octadecyl acrylamide and n-octadecyl acrylate whose side-chains are crystalline. The mechanical properties reflected the effect of the decline in backbone crystallinity and the simultaneous development of strong intermolecular interactions in the amorphous stage. Copolymers were stiff or showed brittle failure across the compositional range except when intermolecular forces were reduced (with n-octadrcyl acrylate) and side-chain crystallization eliminated (with N-oleylacrylamide). These systems and the n-dodecylacrylamide copolymers had yield strengths less than brittle strengths and substantial elongations. Backbone crystallinity was eliminated at about 15 mole % amide and side-chain crystallinity vanished at less than 10 mole % of the amide in the N-n-octadecylacrylamide series. No depression in side-chain melting point occurred with dilution by segments of vinylidene chloride. Over-all decline in the flex-temperature was the normal monotonic function of composition except that values increased in magnitude at high vinylidene chloride contents, the effect presumably being caused by the presence of crystallinity. An empirical equation was developed which permitted the calculation of T_f for any N-n-alkylacrylamide composition with any number of carbon atoms in the side-chain, above 3.     

Viscosity index. I. Evaluation of selected copolymers incorporating n-octadecyl acrylate as viscosity index improvers

Compositionally and structurally varied copolymers all containing n-octadecyl acrylate were prepared and evaluated as viscosity index improvers in a common base oil under conditions of low shear. Systems evaluated over a range of copolymer and blend composition were: copolymers of n-octadecyl acrylate with, respectively, methyl methacrylate, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, and n-dodecyl acrylate; and homopolymers of poly(n-octadecyl acrylate), prepared with a wide range of molecular weights. Properties were compared with those of blends of commercial methacrylate copolymers (acryloids) which had been freed of their entraining liquid. Mixtures of base oil with copolymers of n-octadecyl acrylate and methyl methacrylate, compared at fixed SAE viscosities, were the most efficient of all blends studied. They had the smallest rate of change of viscosity with temperature (as measured by their ASTM slopes), particularly in the composition region of incipient polymer precipitation at room temperature. Efficiency of certain of these composition was somewhat greater than that of the acryloids. A parameter that related concentration and weight-average molecular weight was used to correlate all of the data for ASTM slope and viscosity. Empirical relations developed by using this parameter enabled rheological data to be estimated that agree within 6% of experimental values for the case of thermodynamically good base oil solvents. These data demonstrated the relatively small contributions of copolymer structure to viscosity index improvement.     

The L467F-F508del Complex Allele Hampers Pharmacological Rescue of Mutant CFTR by Elexacaftor/Tezacaftor/Ivacaftor in Cystic Fibrosis Patients: The Value of the Ex Vivo Nasal Epithelial Model to Address Non-Responders to CFTR-Modulating Drugs

Loss-of-function mutations of the CFTR gene cause cystic fibrosis (CF) through a variety of molecular mechanisms involving altered expression, trafficking, and/or activity of the CFTR chloride channel. The most frequent mutation among CF patients, F508del, causes multiple defects that can be, however, overcome by a combination of three pharmacological agents that improve CFTR channel trafficking and gating, namely, elexacaftor, tezacaftor, and ivacaftor. This study was prompted by the evidence of two CF patients, compound heterozygous for F508del and a minimal function variant, who failed to obtain any beneficial effects following treatment with the triple drug combination. Functional studies on nasal epithelia generated in vitro from these patients confirmed the lack of response to pharmacological treatment. Molecular characterization highlighted the presence of an additional amino acid substitution, L467F, in cis with the F508del variant, demonstrating that both patients were carriers of a complex allele. Functional and biochemical assays in heterologous expression systems demonstrated that the double mutant L467F-F508del has a severely reduced activity, with negligible rescue by CFTR modulators. While further studies are needed to investigate the actual prevalence of the L467F-F508del allele, our results suggest that this complex allele should be taken into consideration as plausible cause in CF patients not responding to CFTR modulators.     

Preparation and etherification reaction of fatty dichlorocyclopropanes

Dichlorocarbene was added tocis-9-octadecene, methyl oleate, methyl elaidate, and methyl linoleate to form the corresponding mono- or bis-dichlorocyclopropanes in yields of 75–88%. The dichlorocyclopropanes underwent ring-opening substitution on heating with alcohols (or water) to form β-chlorallylic ethers (or alcohols). The ethers were obtained in yields of 46 to 84%. Tetraethylene glycol and methyl lactate, as hydroxyl compounds, gave a polyethenoxy ester and an ether-linked diester, respectively. Presented at AOCS meeting, Toronto, October, 1962. F. Utiliz. Res. & Dev. Div. ARS, U.S.D.A.     

Electrocatalysis of oxygen reduction by quinones adsorbed on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite electrodes

The reduction of oxygen in alkaline solution has been studied on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) electrodes modified with various quinones using a rotating disk electrode (RDE). The electrode surface was modified by adsorption of quinones from a 0.1 M KOH solution. The oxygen reduction activity of these electrodes was considerably higher than that for unmodified HOPG and characteristic current maxima for oxygen reduction was observed. All quinones studied catalysed the two-electron reduction of oxygen to hydrogen peroxide. The peak potentials for oxygen reduction were in good correlation with the redox potentials of the quinones that were found from the cyclic voltammograms in oxygen-free solutions. The results obtained give further evidence that oxygen reduction is catalysed by the semiquinone radical and that the redox potential of the quinone is the most important factor determining its electrocatalytic activity for oxygen reduction.     

2-(4-Aminophenyl)benzothiazoles: novel agents with selective profiles of in vitro anti-tumour activity

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the results of cervical cytology screening in the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program and to compare the findings with results from other screening programs. METHODS: We analyzed data on 312,858 women aged 18 years and older who received one or more Papanicolaou smears, and follow-up if indicated, from October 1991 through June 1995 at screening sites across the United States providing comprehensive National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program services. RESULTS: Of the women screened, more than half were 40 years or older; slightly less than half (44%) were of racial and ethnic minorities. During the first screening cycle, 3.8% of Papanicolaou tests were reported as abnormal (squamous intraepithelial lesion [SIL] or squamous cell cancer); proportions of abnormals decreased with increasing age. The age-adjusted rate of biopsy-confirmed cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) II or worse among women screened was 7.4 per 1000 Papanicolaou tests; rates of CIN were highest among young women, but cancer rates peaked among women in their 50s and 60s. The percentages of first screening cycle-Papanicolaou tests interpreted as high-grade SIL and squamous cell carcinoma associated with biopsy-confirmed CIN II or worse (the positive predictive value) were 56.0% for CIN II/III and 3.7% for invasive cancer. Of the 150 invasive cancers diagnosed, 54.0% were classified as local disease. CONCLUSION: Observed results emphasize the duality of cervical neoplasia-CIN in younger women and invasive cancer in older women. This finding points to the importance of reaching both younger and older women for cervical cancer screening.     

Small colloidal gold conjugated to fab fragments or to immunoglobulin g as high-resolution labels for electron microscopy: A technical overview

Fab-colloidal gold labelling in conjunction with negative staining and high-resolution electron microscopy was used for targeting single protein units in regular arrays. These were bacteriophage T4 polyheads with Fab-Au_2.5, and a specific antibody binding site on the haemagglutinin polypeptide of influenza virus with Fab-Au₃, Fab-Au_2.5, and Fab-Au_1-2. For the latter, IgG-Au₃ was also used. Experimental details are summarized to provide generally applicable methods for the preparation of small gold colloids Fab-Au and of labelling. The putative mechanism of protein-gold complex formation and adsorption to preferred sites on Fab and IgG, most probably to sulphur-rich regions, is discussed. The influence of pH during complex formation was found to be of minor importance in the samples investigated. Reported experimental details and our own experiences suggest that the importance of a protein's pI relative to its optimum gold complexing pH critically depends on the nature of the protein in question rather than being of general importance for protein-gold complex stability.