85 research outputs found
Toxicity and genotoxicity of wastewater from gasoline stations
The toxicity and genotoxicity of wastewater from eight gasoline stations in BrasÃlia, Brazil's capital city, was studied by assessing chromosomal aberrations, chromosomal malsegregation and the mitotic index in Alliumcepa root cells, and the occurrence of micronucleus and nuclear abnormalities in peripheral erythrocytes of tilapia fish (Oreochromis niloticus). The content of gasoline station effluents was also analyzed based on several physico-chemical parameters. None of the wastewater samples was genotoxic to A. cepa root cells, although cell proliferation was significantly inhibited, especially at the highest concentrations. Likewise, no micronuclei were observed in O. niloticus peripheral erythrocytes, even after exposure to high concentrations, but there was an increase in the number of nuclear abnormalities and fish mortality. These results show that although the effluent from gasoline stations is processed by an oil/water separation system before being discharged into the main sewage system, the wastewater still contains toxic compounds
Generation of twenty four induced pluripotent stem cell lines from twenty four members of the Lothian 4 Birth Cohort 1936
Cognitive decline is among the most feared aspects of ageing. We have generated induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from 24 people from the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936, whose cognitive ability was tested in childhood and in older age. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were reprogrammed using non-integrating oriP/EBNA1 backbone plasmids expressing six iPSC reprogramming factors (OCT3/4 (POU5F1), SOX2, KLF4, L-Myc, shp53, Lin28, SV40LT). All lines demonstrated STR matched karyotype and pluripotency was validated by multiple methods. These iPSC lines are a valuable resource to study molecular mechanisms underlying individual differences in cognitive ageing and resilience to age-related neurodegenerative diseases
Effects of Benzopyrene-7,8-Diol-9,10-Epoxide (BPDE) In Vitro and of Maternal Smoking In Vivo on Micronuclei Frequencies in Fetal Cord Blood
Up to 20% of pregnant women smoke and there is indirect evidence that certain
tobacco-specific metabolites can cross the placental barrier and are genotoxic to
the fetus. The presence of micronuclei results from chromosome damage and
reflects the degree of underlying genetic instability. Fetal blood was obtained
from the cord blood of 143 newborns (102 from nonsmoking mothers and 41 from
mothers smoking >10 cigarettes/d during pregnancy). The micronucleus assay was
performed following the guidelines established by the Human MicroNucleus project
with modifications. To test the micronucleus assay, we evaluated the effect of a
range of benzopyrene-7,8-diol-9,10-epoxide concentrations (from 3.125 nM to 4
microM) on cord blood from nonsmoking mothers. This validation showed that the
number of micronuclei and apoptotic cells increased with
benzopyrene-7,8-diol-9,10-epoxide dose (p < 0.0001 and p = 0.001, respectively);
the minimal detectable effect was induced by 12.5 nM
benzopyrene-7,8-diol-9,10-epoxide. In our sample, the number of MN was
significantly higher in the 41 cord blood samples from mothers who smoked during
pregnancy [smokers: 4 (1; 10.5); nonsmokers: 3 (0; 8); p = 0.016]. Therefore, the
data reported herein support the hypothesis that tobacco compounds are able to
induce chromosomal losses and breaks that are detectable as an increased number
of micronuclei
Reconfigurable matching networks for wireless transmitters
In this paper a reconfigurable input matching network (IMN) for power amplifiers (PA) is designed and simulated. An IMN is realized as T-section, where reconfigurability is achieved by switch element (PIN diode switch). When PIN diode switch is ON the PA operates at 3.45 GHz. In PIN diode switch OFF state the PA operates at 3.75 GHz. The S-parameters and power added efficiency (PAE), of about 45% and 50% at 3.45 GHz and 3.75 GHz respectively, are presented
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