Fireflies in the coalmine: luciferase technologies in next-generation toxicity testing

Whole-animal studies have been the mainstay of toxicity testing for decades. These approaches are too expensive and laborious to effectively characterize all of the chemicals currently in commercial use. In addition, there are social and ethical pressures to reduce, refine and replace animal testing in toxicology. The National Research Council (NRC) has outlined a new strategy to transition from animal-based tests to high throughput, cell-based assays and computational modeling approaches to characterize chemical toxicants. Critical to this vision, assays that measure toxicity pathways associated with adverse health effects must be developed. Bioluminescent assays are particularly well suited to the demands of next-generation toxicity testing because they measure a wide range of biological activities in a quantitative and high throughput manner. This review describes the limitations of traditional, animal-based toxicity testing and discusses the current and developing uses of bioluminescent technologies in next-generation testing based on three general assay formats: luciferase-limited assays, ATP-limited assays and luciferin-limited assays.     

Preparation of C-3,5-acyl furanoses via highly selective intramolecular acyl migration

A practical synthesis of C-3,5-acyl furanose via a base-catalyzed, highly selective intramolecular acyl migration in alcohol solvents is reported.     

Fabrication and optimization of properties of polymer laminated nanoreinforced automobile glasses: Experiments and modeling

This paper describes the fabrication process for the thin cast-in-place laminate glazing systems to be used in cars of the future to achieve the weight reduction goals of FreedomCAR. The primary objective of the project is to reduce vehicle weight, improve fuel economy, and reduce vehicle emissions through the use of structurally reliable, high acoustic performance, and lightweight glazing systems with low manufacturing costs. Energy savings come from reducing weight by using thinner glazing: prior studies at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have demonstrated a potential of 30% weight reductions compared with standard glazing system. Energy savings will also come from reducing interior heat loads; that, in turn, will reduce the demand for air conditioning. The evaluation of alternative glazing concepts seeks to improve acoustical performance such that reduced interior noise levels can be achieved while maintaining glazing at minimal thickness and weight levels. The most important factor in utilizing laminated glazing systems as vehicle side glass is its advantage in cost savings for material and manufacturing processes. Published in Russian in Vysokomolekulyarnye Soedineniya, Ser. A, 2008, Vol. 50, No. 5, pp. 862–867. This article was submitted by the authors in English.     

A decomposition theory for complete modular meet-continuous lattices

Motivated by a technique from ring theory, I describe a way of decomposing intervals of a certain kind of complete lattice into an independent union of small intervals. After developing the general lattice theoretic technique, I apply the method to geo-lattices, a certain kind of complemented complete lattice.     

Measurement techniques in high-enthalpy hypersonic facilities

Interest in hypersonic aerodynamic braking and aerospace planes has led to the development of new high-enthalpy hypersonic test facilities. This paper describes available techniques and future developments for making measurements in these facilities. Emphasis is on instrumentation for use with short-duration flows in free-piston shock tunnels. Issues of free-stream calibration, surface measurements on models, flow visualization, laser diagnostics, and accuracy are addressed, with references made to representative experimental studies. The paper concludes with a summary of future research needs.