H2S biosynthesis and catabolism: new insights from molecular studies

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) has profound biological effects within living organisms and is now increasingly being considered alongside other gaseous signalling molecules, such as nitric oxide (NO) and carbon monoxide (CO). Conventional use of pharmacological and molecular approaches has spawned a rapidly growing research field that has identified H2S as playing a functional role in cell-signalling and post-translational modifications. Recently, a number of laboratories have reported the use of siRNA methodologies and genetic mouse models to mimic the loss of function of genes involved in the biosynthesis and degradation of H2S within tissues. Studies utilising these systems are revealing new insights into the biology of H2S within the cardiovascular system, inflammatory disease, and in cell signalling. In light of this work, the current review will describe recent advances in H2S research made possible by the use of molecular approaches and genetic mouse models with perturbed capacities to generate or detoxify physiological levels of H2S gas within tissue

Preparation and Performance of a Novel Water Gel Explosive Containing Expired Propellant Grains

Novel water gel explosives containing expired single base and double base propellant grains were prepared by using a new gelling agent and a simple process. The shock wave overpressures and underwater output energies of the explosives were measured. The detonation performances of the explosives were also investigated. As the particle size of the propellant was increased, the detonation velocity, peak overpressure and underwater energy of the explosive containing single base propellant (NCP) were gradually reduced. Double base propellant (DBP) had low detonation sensitivity due to its thermoplasticity. When it was mixed with the appropriate quantity of NCP, DBP could also be reused. NCP acted as the sensitizer and energy source in the explosive containing both DBP and NCP. So the detonation velocity, peak overpressure and underwater energy of the explosive increased with the increase in ωNCP. With excellent detonation performance, these two kinds of water gel explosives can be used as opencast blasting agents