Crab shell amendments enhance the abundance and diversity of key microbial groups in sulfate-reducing columns treating acid mine drainage.

Substrate amendments composed of crab shell (CS) waste materials have been shown to significantly improve the longevity and performance of acid mine drainage (AMD) treatment systems containing spent mushroom compost (SMC), yet the development of key microbial populations within these systems has not been investigated. To better understand the effects of CS on microbial dynamics in these systems, clone libraries and real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) were performed on materials from a laboratory-scale AMD treatment system containing SMC and 0 to 100% CS substrate after receiving a continuous flow of AMD for 148 days (428 pore volumes). The proportion of CS in the substrate positively correlated with the diversity of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) and archaeal clones, but negatively correlated with fungal diversity.

The prionlike domain of FUS is multiphosphorylated following DNA damage without altering nuclear localization.

FUS (fused in sarcoma) is an abundant, predominantly nuclear protein involved in RNA processing. Under various conditions, FUS functionally associates with RNA and other macromolecules to form distinct, reversible phase-separated liquid structures. Persistence of the phase-separated state and increased cytoplasmic localization are both hypothesized to predispose FUS to irreversible aggregation, which is a pathological hallmark of subtypes of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia.

Comprehensive analysis of lipophilic arsenic species in a brown alga (Saccharina latissima).

Approaches for the unambiguous identification of lipophilic arsenic species in Saccharina latissima (sugar kelp) have been studied. Parallel use of high resolution ICPMS and electrospray ionization (ESI)-MS after separation revealed that Saccharina latissima contained three distinct classes of lipophilic As-species, a family of arsenic containing phospholipids (AsPL), all including As in the form of As-sugar-PO4, As-containing hydrocarbons (AsHC), and As-containing polyunsaturated fatty acids (AsFA). For detailed identification, the use of phospholipases, in particular phospholipase A2, was essential to define the fatty acid composition (determination of regioisomers) of the lipids without purification of the sample, while fragmentation of the molecules by MS(2) measurements alone did not supply this information.

Identification and quantification of arsenolipids using reversed-phase HPLC coupled simultaneously to high-resolution ICPMS and high-resolution electrospray MS without species-specific standards.

Although it has been known for decades that arsenic forms fat-soluble arsenic compounds, only recent attempts to identify the compounds have been successful by using a combination of fractionation and elemental and molecular mass spectrometry. Here we show that arsenolipids can directly be identified and quantified in biological extracts using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) simultaneously online-coupled to high-resolution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS) and high-resolution electrospray mass spectrometry (ES-MS) without having a lipophilic arsenic standard available. Using a methanol gradient for the separation made it necessary to use a gradient-dependent arsenic response factor for the quantification of the fat-soluble arsenic species in the extract.

Accumulation or production of arsenobetaine in humans?

Arsenobetaine has always been referred to as a non-toxic but readily bioavailable compound and the available data would suggest that it is neither metabolised by nor accumulated in humans. Here this study investigates the urine of five volunteers on an arsenobetaine exclusive diet for twelve days and shows that arsenobetaine was consistently excreted by three of the five volunteers. From the expected elimination pattern of arsenobetaine in rodents, no significant amount of arsenobetaine should have been detectable after 5 days of the trial period.

Towards a classification of organic enrichment in marine sediments based on biogeochemical indicators.

A nomogram is developed to show that pH, redox potentials (Eh(NHE)) and measures of dissolved sulfides (H2S + HS(-) + S(2-))(total free S(2-)) can be used to classify organic enrichment impacts in marine sediments. The biogeochemical cycle of sulfur in marine sediments is described to show that changes in macrobenthic infauna community structure associated with high levels of organic matter supply result from stress due to oxygen deficiency (hypoxia and anoxia) and toxic effects of S(2-). The changes reflect enhancement of microbial sulfate reduction under conditions of high organic matter sedimentation and the progressive formation of hypoxic-anoxic conditions measured by decreased Eh NHE and increased concentrations of S(2-).

Antibody production: polyclonal-derived biotherapeutics.

Antibody based therapies using monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies are emerging as an important therapeutic approach for the treatment of a number of diseases. With increasing emphasis on new technologies associated with monoclonal antibody expression and purification, the clinical need of polyclonal therapeutics for treatment of a variety of specific illnesses and infections is often overlooked. Despite being largely abandoned in the early twentieth century due to the development of antibiotics, polyclonal antibody therapeutics are today widely used in medicine for viral and toxin neutralization and for replacement therapy in patients with immunoglobulin deficiencies.

Attention in direct and indirect memory tasks with short- and long-term probes.

In two experiments, college students verified the answers to addition problems as their primary task while simultaneously viewing a word or nonword. The degree of attention allocated to the verbal stimulus varied depending on the difficulty of the problem and the instructions given. After each problem, a test probe assessed either a direct test of recognition memory or an indirect test of repetition priming in lexical decision at lags of 0, 1, or 8 intervening trials.

Effects of 4 beta-adrenoceptor blocking drugs on blood pressure and exercise heart rate in hypertension.

The effects of 4 beta-adrenoceptor blocking drugs on blood pressure and on exercise tachycardia were compared in a within-patient study of patients with uncomplicated essential hypertension. Twelve patients were treated with propranolol, practolol and atenolol and 7 of the same patients also received oxprenolol. Each patient received each drug separately, withdrawing each drug before starting the next, and each patient was titrated to the lowest attainable blood pressure and heart rate with each compound.