Anaerobic Transformation Kinetics and Mechanism of Steroid Estrogenic Hormones in Dairy Lagoon Water

Dairy products are a staple of the American diet. The main ingredient of the dairy industry, milk, has a byproduct even before it reaches the pasteurizing factory. For cows to produce milk, they need to have given birth recently. Pregnancy and lactation hormones include estrogen compounds. These hormones are excreted through urine and feces. Liquid manure and wastewater from precipitation and washing processes of the herd end up in a series of dairy farm lagoons designed to remove solids from the water. What happens to the estrogen compounds? How can we prevent hormones from contaminating the environment and causing detrimental effects in aquatic species? One research query is to determine if the lagoons have long enough retention times for hormones to degrade. Results appear in Wei Zheng, Xiaolin Li, Scott R. Yates, and Scott A. Bradford (2012). Environmental Science & Technology 46(10), 5471-5478. DOI: 10.1021/es301551hOpe

Transformation Kinetics and Mechanism of the Sulfonylurea Herbicides Pyrazosulfuron Ethyl and Halosulfuron Methyl in Aqueous Solutions

Little is known about how popular herbicides react and degrade in soil or aquatic environments. Two of these herbicides include Pyrazosulfuron Ethyl (PE) and Halosulfuron Methyl (HM), which are part of the sulfonylurea herbicide category. Both are post-emergence herbicides and are so highly effective that they need to be applied only at rates of grams per hector. Because these herbicides inhibit the key enzyme that participates in protein synthesis in plants, they can have a major effect on sensitive agricultural areas such as legumes or pastures for grazing. Typically these types of herbicides only degrade because of microbial influences or chemical hydrolysis. To understand the pathway and conditions for chemical hydrolysis degradation, ISTC’s Wei Zheng collaborated with researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture to conduct several laboratory experiments. Full results reported in Zheng, Wei et al (2008). "Transformation Kinetics and Mechanism of the Sulfonylurea Herbicides Pyrazosulfuron Ethyl and Halosulfuron Methyl in Aqueous Solutions." Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 56(16), 7367-7372. https://doi.org/10.1021/jf800899eOpe

Fate and Transport of Steroid Hormones and Veterinary Antibiotics Derived from Cattle Farms

Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) have been identified as one of the most important sources for the release of animal hormones and veterinary antibiotics into the aquatic environment. Funded by a USDA research grant, Dr. Wei Zheng set out to identify and quantify the environmental fate and transport of several commonly-occurring steroid hormones, veterinary antibiotics, and their metabolites. Findings were published in the following papers: Xiaolin Li, Wei Zheng, Michael L. Machesky, Scott R. Yates, and Michael Katterhenry (2011). Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 2011 59 (18), 10176-10181 DOI: 10.1021/jf202325c Wei Zheng, Xiaolin Li, Scott R. Yates, and Scott A. Bradford (2012). Environmental Science & Technology 46 (10), 5471-5478. DOI: 10.1021/es301551h Xiaolin Li, Wei Zheng, Walton R. Kelly (2013). Science of the Total Environment 445-446, 22-28. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.12.035 Wei Zheng, Yonghong Zou, Xiaolin Li, Michael L. Machesky (2013). Journal of Hazardous Materials 258-259, 109-115. DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2013.04.038 Yonghong Zou and Wei Zheng Environmental Science & Technology 2013 47 (10), 5185-5192 DOI: 10.1021/es400624w.U.S. Department of AgricultureOpe

Degradation Kinetics and Mechanism of Antibiotic Ceftiofur in Recycled Water Derived from a Beef Farm

ISTC’s senior research scientist Wei Zheng collaborated with researchers from the Illinois State Water Survey, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the University of Illinois to determine the degradation kinetics of ceftiofur in liquid manure. Results were published in Xiaolin Li, Wei Zheng, Michael L. Machesky, Scott R. Yates, and Michael Katterhenry (2011). Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 59(18), 10176-10181. DOI: 10.1021/jf202325c.Ope

The potential for circular dichroism as an additional facile and sensitive method of monitoring low-molecular-weight heparins and heparinoids

The ultraviolet circular dichroism (CD) spectra of commercial low-molecular-weight heparins, heparinoids and other anticoagulant preparations have been recorded between 180 and 260 nm. Principal component analysis of the spectra allowed their differentiation into a number of groups related to the means of their production reflecting the structural changes introduced by each process. The findings suggest that CD provides a complementary technique for the rapid analysis of heparin preparations

Architecture of the budding yeast kinetochore reveals a conserved molecular core

How kinetochore proteins are organized to connect chromosomes to spindle microtubules, and whether any structural and organizational themes are common to kinetochores from distantly related organisms, are key unanswered questions. Here, we used affinity chromatography and mass spectrometry to generate a map of kinetochore protein interactions. The budding yeast CENP-C homologue Mif2p specifically copurified with histones H2A, H2B, and H4, and with the histone H3-like CENP-A homologue Cse4p, strongly suggesting that Cse4p replaces histone H3 in a specialized centromeric nucleosome. A novel four-protein Mtw1 complex, the Nnf1p subunit of which has homology to the vertebrate kinetochore protein CENP-H, also copurified with Mif2p and a variety of central kinetochore proteins. We show that Mif2 is a critical in vivo target of the Aurora kinase Ipl1p. Chromatin immunoprecipitation studies demonstrated the biological relevance of these associations. We propose that a molecular core consisting of CENP-A, -C, -H, and Ndc80/HEC has been conserved from yeast to humans to link centromeres to spindle microtubules

Two rapid assays for screening of patulin biodegradation

Artículo sobre distintos ensayos para comprobar la biodegradación de la patulinaThe mycotoxin patulin is produced by the blue mould pathogen Penicillium expansum in rotting apples during postharvest storage. Patulin is toxic to a wide range of organisms, including humans, animals, fungi and bacteria. Wash water from apple packing and processing houses often harbours patulin and fungal spores, which can contaminate the environment. Ubiquitous epiphytic yeasts, such as Rhodosporidium kratochvilovae strain LS11 which is a biocontrol agent of P. expansum in apples, have the capacity to resist the toxicity of patulin and to biodegrade it. Two non-toxic products are formed. One is desoxypatulinic acid. The aim of the work was to develop rapid, high-throughput bioassays for monitoring patulin degradation in multiple samples. Escherichia coli was highly sensitive to patulin, but insensitive to desoxypatulinic acid. This was utilized to develop a detection test for patulin, replacing time-consuming thin layer chromatography or high-performance liquid chromatography. Two assays for patulin degradation were developed, one in liquid medium and the other in semi-solid medium. Both assays allow the contemporary screening of a large number of samples. The liquid medium assay utilizes 96-well microtiter plates and was optimized for using a minimum of patulin. The semisolid medium assay has the added advantage of slowing down the biodegradation, which allows the study and isolation of transient degradation products. The two assays are complementary and have several areas of utilization, from screening a bank of microorganisms for biodegradation ability to the study of biodegradation pathways

Parental mental illness: incidence, assessment and practice

The file attached to this record is the authors peer reviewed version. The publisher's version of fact can be found here: http://journals.rcni.com/journal/mhpBackground: Parental Mental Illness (PMI) increases risk of mental illness and other negative outcomes in children. Work on the family impacts of PMI can protect children’s mental health, but little is known about current assessment and practice. Methods: An audit of mental health service case notes was undertaken in one NHS Trust. A template was designed to code information on family mental health, assessment and referral for comparative analysis. Results: 60% CAMHS cases with data were children of parents with mental illness and 40% AMHS cases were parents of dependent children. Presence of PMI was poorly assessed: 32% CAMHS cases, 38% AMHS cases and 44% LD cases showed no evidence of assessment. Assessment of impacts of PMI on children and rates of referral to support services were very low. Conclusions: Mental health services should review practice in assessing, recording and treating cases where PMI might impact children’s mental health