Reagents for determinations of trace impurities in water—phase II

Determinations of trace impurities, pollutants, in water are often complicated by a large number of factors which consume a great deal of time. Thus, ideal reagents--sensitive, specific, stable, water-soluble reagents--are needed for rapid, spectrophotometric determinations of trace impurities in water. A new method for the determination of nitrate in water is described which uses zinc 1-naphthol-4-sulfonate, an easily prepared, readily purified, stable, water-soluble reagent; the reagent is much better than 1-naphthol-4-sulfonic acid, for the determination of nitrate proposed earlier by another worker and subsequently found in this laboratory to be satisfactory only under very carefully controlled conditions. The same reagent, zinc 1-naphthol-4-sulfonate, also has been proposed for the rapid, specific, sensitive determination of nitrite in natural waters. Nitrite readily can be determined at ppm levels in the presence of several thousand fold excess of nitrate. Full development of water resources, and the control of pollutants returned to natural-water systems, are dependent upon methods of determining trace constituents; significant contributions toward meeting those needs have been accomplished in this work. The methods can readily be applied to such diverse systems as lakes where agricultural fertilizer run-off may be significant, to effluents from plants in the food-preparation industry, and to natural-water systems in highly mineralized areas. Effective new research areas are readily identified as an extension of the work reported here, particularly the study of systems which contain ppm-levels of nitrite in the presence of significant concentrations of nitrate.U.S. Department of the InteriorU.S. Geological SurveyOpe

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms

Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals: An Endocrine Society Scientific Statement

There is growing interest in the possible health threat posed by endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), which are substances in our environment, food, and consumer products that interfere with hormone biosynthesis, metabolism, or action resulting in a deviation from normal homeostatic control or reproduction. In this first Scientific Statement of The Endocrine Society, we present the evidence that endocrine disruptors have effects on male and female reproduction, breast development and cancer, prostate cancer, neuroendocrinology, thyroid, metabolism and obesity, and cardiovascular endocrinology. Results from animal models, human clinical observations, and epidemiological studies converge to implicate EDCs as a significant concern to public health. The mechanisms of EDCs involve divergent pathways including (but not limited to) estrogenic, antiandrogenic, thyroid, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ, retinoid, and actions through other nuclear receptors; steroidogenic enzymes; neurotransmitter receptors and systems; and many other pathways that are highly conserved in wildlife and humans, and which can be modeled in laboratory in vitro and in vivo models. Furthermore, EDCs represent a broad class of molecules such as organochlorinated pesticides and industrial chemicals, plastics and plasticizers, fuels, and many other chemicals that are present in the environment or are in widespread use. We make a number of recommendations to increase understanding of effects of EDCs, including enhancing increased basic and clinical research, invoking the precautionary principle, and advocating involvement of individual and scientific society stakeholders in communicating and implementing changes in public policy and awareness