INDUCTION OF SKIN TUMORS IN HAIRLESS MICE BY A SINGLE EXPOSURE TO UV RADIATION*

Abstract— Skin tumors were induced in hairless mutant mice following a single exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UV). Tumors were first noted as early as 7 weeks following irradiation. The UV, emitted by FS20/40T12 fluorescent lamps, was principally in the 280–320 nm spectral region with a peak at 313 nm. Single (skin surface) doses of 3 times 10⁴ J/m² to 24 times 10⁴ J/m² were delivered in 3 h or less. The higher doses resulted in more severe acute damage as well as greater tumor yield. Most of the tumors were benign hyperplastic epithelial papillomas; 4 out of 96 tumors examined histologically proved to be squamous cell carcinomas. This appears to be the first report of experimental carcinogenesis due to a single UV exposure, not requiring exogenous chemical promotion.     

Characterization of N-terminal processing of group VIA phospholipase A<Subscript>2</Subscript> and of potential cleavage sites of amyloid precursor protein constructs by automated identification of signature peptides in LC/MS/MS analyses of proteolytic digests

Dysregulation of proteolytic processing of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) contributes to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's Disease, and the Group VIA phospholipase A(2) (iPLA(2)beta) is the dominant PLA(2) enzyme in the central nervous system and is subject to regulatory proteolytic processing. We have identified novel N-terminal variants of iPLA(2)beta and previously unrecognized proteolysis sites in APP constructs with a C-terminal 6-myc tag by automated identification of signature peptides in LC/MS/MS analyses of proteolytic digests. We have developed a Signature-Discovery (SD) program to characterize protein isoforms by identifying signature peptides that arise from proteolytic processing in vivo. This program analyzes MS/MS data from LC analyses of proteolytic digests of protein mixtures that can include incompletely resolved components in biological samples. This reduces requirements for purification and thereby minimizes artifactual modifications during sample processing. A new algorithm to generate the theoretical signature peptide set and to calculate similarity scores between predicted and observed mass spectra has been tested and optimized with model proteins. The program has been applied to the identification of variants of proteins of biological interest, including APP cleavage products and iPLA(2)beta, and such applications demonstrate the utility of this approach.     

Electrophoresis in a non-Newtonian fluid: sphere in a spherical cavity

The electrophoretic behavior of a sphere in a non-Newtonian fluid is investigated theoretically by analyzing the phenomenon that occurs in a spherical cavity under the condition of a weak applied electrical field. Non-Newtonian behavior in the liquid phase may be due to, for example, the addition of polymer to a colloidal dispersion to improve its stability. It may also arise from the increase in the volume fraction of the dispersed phase such as the slurry used in chemical mechanical polishing. A Carreau model is adopted to characterize the shear-thinning behavior of the liquid phase. We show that the difference between the mobility of the particle based on the present model and that based on the corresponding Newtonian fluid increases with the decrease in the thickness of a double layer. The shear-thinning nature of the liquid phase has the effect of increasing the mobility.     

Charge-driven fragmentation processes in diacyl glycerophosphatidic acids upon low-energy collisional activation. A mechanistic proposal

A mechanistic study of diacyl glycerophosphatidic acid (GPA) under low energy collisionally activated decomposition (CAD) with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry is reported. The fragmentation pathways leading to the formation of carboxylate anions [RxCO2-], (x = 1, 2) and the formation of the ions representing neutral loss of fatty acid ([M-H-RxCO2H] ) and neutral loss of ketene ([M-H-R'xCH-C=O] ) (Rx=R'xCH2) are charge-driven processes that are governed by the gas-phase basicity and the steric configuration of the molecules. The preferential formation of the ions of [M-H-R2CO2H]- > [M-H-R1CO2H]- and [M-H-R'2CH=C=O]- > [M-H-R'1CH=C=O]- are attributed to the fact that loss of fatty acid and loss of ketene are sterically more favorable at sn-2. While the observation of the abundance of [M-H-RxCO2H]- > [M-H-R'xCH=C=O]- is attributed to the acidity of the gas phase ion of GPA, which undergoes a more facile neutral loss of acid than loss of ketene. The major pathway leading to the formation of RxCO2- ion under low energy CAD arises from further fragmentation of the [M-H-RxCO2H]- ions by neutral loss of 136, resulting in an abundance of R1CO2- > R2CO2-. The differential formation of the carboxylate anions permits accurate assignment of the regiospecificity of the fatty acid substituents of GPA molecules by tandem mass spectrometry.     

Determination of trace scandium by ion-exchanger phase spectrophotometry withp-nitrochlorophosphonazo

Ion-exchanger phase Spectrophotometry withp-nitrochlorophosphonazo (CPApN) has been developed for the determination of scandium. The linear range is 1–8 g of scandium in 50 ml of solution, using 0.8 g of resin, with an apparent molar absorptivity of 2.76 × 10⁵ 1 mol^–1 cm^–1. Aluminum and rare earth elements in reasonable amounts do not interfere. The method has been applied successfully to the determination of scandium in alloys, with relative standard deviations of 2–4%.     

Nanostructuring, compositional fluctuations, and atomic ordering in the thermoelectric materials AgPb(m)SbTe(2+m). The myth of solid solutions

The nature of the thermoelectric materials Ag(1-x)Pb(m)SbTe(m+2) or LAST-m materials (LAST for Lead Antimony Silver Tellurium) with different m values at the atomic as well as nanoscale was studied with powder/single-crystal X-ray diffraction, electron diffraction, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Powder diffraction patterns of different members (m = 0, 6, 12, 18, infinity) are consistent with pure phases crystallizing in the NaCl-structure-type (Fmm) and the proposition that the LAST family behaved as solid solutions between the PbTe and AgSbTe2 compounds. However, electron diffraction and high resolution transmission electron microscopy studies suggest the LAST phases are inhomogeneous at the nanoscale with at least two coexisting sets of well-defined phases. The minority phase which is richer in Ag and Sb is on the nanosized length scale, and it is endotaxially embedded in the majority phase which is poorer in Ag and Sb. Moreover, within each nanodomain we observe extensive long range ordering of Ag, Pb, and Sb atoms. The long range ordering can be confirmed by single crystal X-ray diffraction studies. Indeed, data collections of five different single crystals were successfully refined in space groups of lower symmetry than Fmm including P4/mmm and Rm. The results reported here provide experimental evidence for a conceptual basis that could be employed when designing high performance thermoelectric materials and dispel the decades long belief that the systems (AgSbTe2)(1-x)(PbTe)x are solid solutions.     

A selective voltammetric method for uric acid detection at Nafion(R)-coated carbon paste electrodes

A square-wave voltammetric method together with Nafion®-coated carbon paste electrodes were used for the selective determination of uric acid in the presence of a high concentration of ascorbic acid. Since the oxidation potential of uric acid is about 200 mV more positive than that of ascorbic acid at the Nafion®-coated carbon paste electrode, the selectivity can be greatly improved simply by applying an electrolysis potential of +0.4 V vs. Ag/AgCl where only ascorbic acid is oxidised. The acceptable tolerance of ascorbic acid concentration for the determination of uric acid is as high as 1.5 mM. With 30 s of electrolysis time, a linear calibration curve is obtained over the 0–50 μM range in 0.05 M citrate buffer solution, pH 4.0, with slope (μA/μM) and correlation coefficient of 0.34 and 0.9984, respectively. The detection limit (3σ) is 0.25 μM. The practical analytical utility is illustrated by selective measurements of uric acid in human urine without any preliminary treatment.     

Synthesis and Mesogenic Properties of Liquid Crystals Containing Terminal Cyclohexylmethanol,Cyclopentylmethanol, Cyclobutylmethanol and Cyclopropylmethanol Moiety

Four series of compounds 11?50 containing terminal alicyclic rings such as cyclohexylmethyl, cyclopentylmethyl, cyclobutylmethyl, and cyclopropylmethyl rings were synthesized and their liquid crystal behavior studied. The ring size and the length of flexible alkoxy chain influence the phase formation in different ways. While the smaller ring and the shorter alkoxy chain tend to favor the formation of the N phase, the larger ring and the longer alkoxy chain tend to favor the formation of the SmC phase. All the compounds except 11 and 21 exhibit SmA phases. The widest temperature range of the N, SmA, and SmC phases are found in the compounds 41 , 46 , and 20 , respectively, which are 75 °C for 41 , 115 °C for 46 , and 100 °C for 20 .