Identifying Toxicologically Significant Compounds in Urban Wildfire Ash Using Bioassays and High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry.

Urban wildfires may generate numerous unidentified chemicals of toxicity concern. Ash samples were collected from burned residences and from an undeveloped upwind reference site, following the Tubbs fire in Sonoma County, California. The solvent extracts of ash samples were analyzed using GC- and LC-high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) and using a suite of bioassays for their bioactivity toward nuclear receptors [aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), estrogen receptor (ER), and androgen receptor (AR)], their influence on the expression of genetic markers of stress and inflammation [interleukin-8 (IL-8) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2)], and xenobiotic metabolism [cytochrome P4501A1 (CYP1A1)].

Mevalonate Pathway Promiscuity Enables Noncanonical Terpene Production.

Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) make the six-carbon compounds homoisopentenyl pyrophosphate (HIPP) and homodimethylallyl pyrophosphate (HDMAPP) that are incorporated into 16, 17, and 18 carbon farnesyl pyrophosphate (FPP) analogues. In this work we heterologously expressed the lepidopteran modified mevalonate pathway, a propionyl-CoA ligase, and terpene cyclases in to produce several novel terpenes containing 16 carbons. Changing the terpene cyclase generated different novel terpene product profiles.

A Comprehensive Plasma Metabolomics Dataset for a Cohort of Mouse Knockouts within the International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium.

Mouse knockouts facilitate the study ofgene functions. Often, multiple abnormal phenotypes are induced when a gene is inactivated. The International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium (IMPC) has generated thousands of mouse knockouts and catalogued their phenotype data.

Alternative outlets for sustaining photosynthetic electron transport during dark-to-light transitions.

Environmental stresses dramatically impact the balance between the production of photosynthetically derived energetic electrons and Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle (CBBC) activity; an imbalance promotes accumulation of reactive oxygen species and causes cell damage. Hence, photosynthetic organisms have developed several strategies to route electrons toward alternative outlets that allow for storage or harmless dissipation of their energy. In this work, we explore the activities of three essential outlets associated with photosynthetic electron transport: () reduction of O to HO through flavodiiron proteins (FLVs) and () plastid terminal oxidases (PTOX) and () the synthesis of starch.

An amphetamine isomer whose efficacy and safety in humans has never been studied, β-methylphenylethylamine (BMPEA), is found in multiple dietary supplements.

The amphetamine isomer β-methylphenylethylamine (BMPEA) was first synthesized in the early 1930s, but its efficacy and safety in humans has not been studied. Recently, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) detected BMPEA in dietary supplements labelled as containing Acacia rigidula. Over a year after the FDA reported its findings, we analyzed Acacia rigidula dietary supplements to determine if BMPEA had been removed.