Solubilities of Selected Metals in Mercury: Hermex Process

The solubilities of uraninm, thorium, gadelinium, sama rinm, and neodymium in mereury were determined from room temperatare to 356 deg C. Equations of the form log of solubility (wt.%) = a + b/T were developed for these metals. Integral heats of solution were calculated for each. The solubilities of ruthenium, palladium, zirconium, and molybdenum in mercury in the presence of excess uranium were determined; the low solubility of zirconium and molybdenum gave solutions with a concentration below the limit of detection in the analytical method used. Their values are reported as an upper solubility limit. Uranium solubility in a 0.1 wt.% magnesium amAlgam was approximately 1.2 to 1.5 times greater than in mercury alone. When uranium and thorium were present in the same mercury solution, their solubilities were mutually depressed. (auth

PROCESSING OF HIGH-FIRED URANIUM DIOXIDE FUELS BY A REDUCTION-MERCURY EXTRACTION-OXIDATION PROCESS

A preliminary flowsheet for the purification of uranium dioxide fuels by a magnesium reduction-- mercury extraction-- steam oxidation process is proposed. Feasibility was indicated by laboratory-scale scouting experiments. Data evaluation indicated 100% reduction of uranium dioxide by magnesium although this figure was not demonstrated, chiefly because of poor choice of materials and design of equipment. Steam oxidation of uranlum tetramercuride produced an oxide with an O/U ratio of 2.43. This ratio was decreased to 2.09 by heating the oxide in a hydrogen atmosphere at 900 deg C for 1 hr. The final product had a surface area of 3.5 m/sup 2//g, and 18% of the panticles were < 1 mu diam. A pellet of the oxide sintered at 1750 deg C had a density of 9.76 g/cc, 89% of theoretical. Decontamination factors demonstrated for ruthenium, cesium, and samarium, when present originally in amounts equivalent to 30,000 Mwd/ton fuel burnup and 60 days' decay, wer

Genomic organization, sequence analysis and expression of all five genes encoding the small subunit of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase from tomato

We have cloned and sequenced all five members of the gene family for the small subunit (rbcS) of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase from tomato, Lycopersicon esculentum cv. VFNT LA 1221 cherry line. Two of the five genes, designated Rbcs-1 and Rbcs-2 , are present as single genes at individual loci. Three genes, designated Rbcs-3A, Rbcs-3B and Rbcs-3C , are organized in a tandem array within 10 kb at a third independent locus. The Rbcs-2 gene contains three introns; all the other members of the tomato gene family contain two introns. The coding sequence of Rbcs-1 differs by 14.0% from that of Rbcs-2 and by 13.3% from that of Rbcs-3 genes. Rbcs-2 shows 10.4% divergence from Rbcs-3 . The exon and intron sequences of Rbcs-3A are identical to those of Rbcs-3C , and differ by 1.9% from those of Rbcs-3B . Nucleotide sequence analysis suggests that the five rbcS genes encode four different precursors, and three different mature polypeptides. S 1 nuclease mapping of the 5′ end of rbcS mRNAs revealed that the mRNA leader sequences vary in length from 8 to 75 nucleotides. Northern analysis using gene-specific oligonucleotide probes from the 3′ non-coding region of each gene reveals a four to five-fold difference among the five genes in maximal steady-state mRNA levels in leaves.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/47566/1/438_2004_Article_BF00329650.pd

Complete remission of locally adComplete remission of locally advanced penile squamous cell carcinoma after multimodality treatment

Treatment of locally advanced penile squamous cell carcinoma (pSCC) remains highly controversial secondary to disease rarity and lack of prospective randomized controlled trials. The current mainstays of care are multimodality treatment with neoadjuvant chemotherapy and surgery. However, clinicians often have difficulty making recommendations for patients unable to tolerate chemotherapy or surgery due to scarcity of data to guide clinical decision-making. We report two cases of locally advanced pSCC that achieved complete remission after treatment with cisplatin-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy and surgery in one case, and concurrent cisplatin chemoradiation in a second, supporting the use of chemotherapy as part of first-line multimodal therapy. We also discuss additional treatment options for patients unable to tolerate traditional chemotherapy regimens

Valproic acid decreases urothelial cancer cell proliferation and induces thrombospondin-1 expression

Abstract Background Prevention of bladder cancer recurrence is a central challenge in the management of this highly prevalent disease. The histone deacetylase inhibitor valproic acid (sodium valproate) has anti-angiogenic properties and has been shown to decrease bladder cancer growth in model systems. We have previously shown reduced expression of thrombospondin-1 in a mouse model and in human bladder cancer relative to normal urothelium. We speculated that inhibition of angiogenesis by valproate might be mediated by this anti-angiogenic protein. Methods Bladder cancer cell lines UMUC3 and T24 were treated with valproate or another histone deacetylase inhibitor, vorinostat, in culture for a period of three days. Proliferation was assessed by alamar blue reduction. Gene expression was evaluated by reverse transcription of RNA and quantitative PCR. Results Proliferation assays showed treatment with valproate or vorinostat decreased proliferation in both cell lines. Histone deacetylase inhibition also increased relative expression of thrombospondin-1 up to 8 fold at 5 mM valproate. Conclusions Histone deacetylase inhibitors warrant further study for the prevention or treatment of bladder cancer.</p

Real-Time Biosensor Platform: Fully Integrated Device for Impedimetric Assays

An impedimetric biosensor platform for bio-affinity assays was developed based on real-time, label-free electrochemical detection performed via direct interface to electronic digital data processing. The sensor array consists of 15 gold microelectrode pairs enclosed in three reaction chambers and bio-functionalized with specific DNA probes. The impedance change caused by specific target analyte binding to the functionalized electrode surface is recorded in real time. The detector is capable of continuous and simultaneous stimulation and recording of all array electrodes. A corresponding mathematical algorithm, and a software package for data analysis were developed and used to quantify both the rate of target to probe binding, and target to probe affinity. The biosensor was capable of distinguishing between closely-related bacterial strains. This fullyintegrated sensor array platform can be used for detection of a wide range of analytes of practical significance, and has potential for further integration with amplification (i.e. PCR) and sample preparation modules