The Toxicity of Acetaminophen, Caffeine and Carbendazim in Earthworms (Eisenia fetida)

There has been a need for the assessment of ground water contamination risk on terrestrial organisms. One terrestrial organism, Eisenia fetida, was chosen as a test species and exposed to three common pharmaceutical and/or pesticide related contaminants: acetaminophen (CAS#103-90-2), caffeine (CAS#58-08-2) and carbendazim (CAS#10605-21-7), respectively. Levels of contamination varied from grams per liter to micrograms per liter (ppb) using distilled water as the solvent. Eisenia fetida was examined through a 28 day range/index toxicity test. A Benchmark Dose (BMD) dichotomous probit analysis, using a 95% confidence interval, was calculated for all three contaminants. All three contaminants were found to have Benchmark Dose Lower 95 % Confidence Intervals (BMDL\u27s) well below levels of full saturation (BMD/BMDL of Acetaminophen: 160ppm/100pm; Caffeine: 120ppm/50ppm; Carbendazim: 71ppb/41ppb), with hazard quotients of 3.8 x 10-e, 2.6 x 10-5 and 2.9 x 10-3, respectively. These three contaminants showed that despite low levels of ground water contamination found currently in the United States several terrestrial organisms and ecosystems could be severely impacted

The Toxicity of Acetaminophen, Caffeine and Carbendazim in Earthworms (Eisenia fetida)

There has been a need for the assessment of ground water contamination risk on terrestrial organisms. One terrestrial organism, Eisenia fetida, was chosen as a test species and exposed to three common pharmaceutical and/or pesticide related contaminants: acetaminophen (CAS#103-90-2), caffeine (CAS#58-08-2) and carbendazim (CAS#10605-21-7), respectively. Levels of contamination varied from grams per liter to micrograms per liter (ppb) using distilled water as the solvent. Eisenia fetida was examined through a 28 day range/index toxicity test. A Benchmark Dose (BMD) dichotomous probit analysis, using a 95% confidence interval, was calculated for all three contaminants. All three contaminants were found to have Benchmark Dose Lower 95 % Confidence Intervals (BMDL\u27s) well below levels of full saturation (BMD/BMDL of Acetaminophen: 160ppm/100pm; Caffeine: 120ppm/50ppm; Carbendazim: 71ppb/41ppb), with hazard quotients of 3.8 x 10-e, 2.6 x 10-5 and 2.9 x 10-3, respectively. These three contaminants showed that despite low levels of ground water contamination found currently in the United States several terrestrial organisms and ecosystems could be severely impacted

An international effort towards developing standards for best practices in analysis, interpretation and reporting of clinical genome sequencing results in the CLARITY Challenge

There is tremendous potential for genome sequencing to improve clinical diagnosis and care once it becomes routinely accessible, but this will require formalizing research methods into clinical best practices in the areas of sequence data generation, analysis, interpretation and reporting. The CLARITY Challenge was designed to spur convergence in methods for diagnosing genetic disease starting from clinical case history and genome sequencing data. DNA samples were obtained from three families with heritable genetic disorders and genomic sequence data were donated by sequencing platform vendors. The challenge was to analyze and interpret these data with the goals of identifying disease-causing variants and reporting the findings in a clinically useful format. Participating contestant groups were solicited broadly, and an independent panel of judges evaluated their performance. RESULTS: A total of 30 international groups were engaged. The entries reveal a general convergence of practices on most elements of the analysis and interpretation process. However, even given this commonality of approach, only two groups identified the consensus candidate variants in all disease cases, demonstrating a need for consistent fine-tuning of the generally accepted methods. There was greater diversity of the final clinical report content and in the patient consenting process, demonstrating that these areas require additional exploration and standardization. CONCLUSIONS: The CLARITY Challenge provides a comprehensive assessment of current practices for using genome sequencing to diagnose and report genetic diseases. There is remarkable convergence in bioinformatic techniques, but medical interpretation and reporting are areas that require further development by many groups

The desymmetrisation of resorcinol: The synthesis of resorcinol monoalkyl ethers

The desymmetrisation of resorcinol to give 3-alkoxyresorcinol derivatives can be achieved in excellent yields either from resorcinol monobenzoate and alcohols using Mitsunobu reactions followed by hydrolysis using a strong base or by using 3-iodophenylbenzyl ether as a resorcinol monobenzyl ether equivalent in reactions with alcohols catalysed by copper(I)-9,10-phenanthroline followed by ammonium formate-palladium catalysed hydrogenolysis