Effects of parabens on apoptosis induced by serum-free medium

Alkyl esters of p-hydroxybenzoic acids (parabens), an endocrine disrupter, are used as preservatives in cosmetics and foods. In this study, to understand the relationship between parabens and differentiation in infants, the effects of parabens on apoptosis induced by serum deprivation in PC12 cells were investigated. In addition, apoptosis-related factors were assayed. As results, a tendency toward enhancement of apoptosis was observed in the cells cultured in the serum-free medium with methylparaben, and this tendency was suggested to be related to the contents of BAD, a pro-apoptotic protein. Butylparaben did not show any tendency to enhance apoptosis.     

Characterization of metal concentration,heavy metal elution,and desalination behavior of municipal solid waste incineration bottom and grate sifting deposition ash based on particle size

Resource and environmental safety protocols of incineration residues were evaluated by analyzing the metal concentration, heavy metal elution, desalination behavior, and chlorine removal ratio owing to particle size differences between bottom ash (BA) and grate sifting deposition ash (GA). In the total content test, Cl, Zn, and Cr in the incinerator BA exceeded the cement acceptance standard (Cl: 1000 mg/kg; Zn: 1700 mg/kg, and Cr: 170 mg/kg) at almost all of the particle sizes, while Au, Ag, Pd, and Zn had high contents in the GA. When using BA as a construction material, heavy metal elution values and contents are restricted as per the product quality standards based on the Japanese soil pollution control law. Lead within the BA and GA exceeded the standard values for most particle sizes. We predicted that there would be a limit on the elution of K by only washing with water. The removal ratio of total chlorine by particle size was approximately 20–70%, where the effect of the particle size on the removal ratio was small, suggesting that the elution of chlorine was complete in approximately 6 hours. These results contribute to information on the recycling of BA and GA.

     

Emissions Scenarios Database and Review of Scenarios

This paper reviews and analyzes more than 400 scenarios of global and regional greenhouse gas emissions and their main driving forces - population, economy, energy intensity, and carbon intensity - drawn from an extensive literature survey and summarized in a database. This new and growing database is available online, which makes summary statistics on these scenarios widely available. The scenarios in the database were collected from almost 200 different literature sources and other scenario evaluation activities. The ultimate objective of the database is to include all relevant global and regional emissions scenarios. This paper shows how the database can be utilized for the analysis of greenhouse gas emissions ranges across the scenarios in the literature and for the analysis of their main driving forces. The scenarios in the database display a large range of future greenhouse gas emissions. Part of the range can be attributed to the different methods and models used to formulate the scenarios, which include simple spreadsheet models, macroeconomic models and systems-engineering models. However, most of the range is due to differences in the input assumptions for the scenarios, in particular of the main scenario driving forces. Special emphasis is given to an analysis of medians and ranges of scenario distributions and the distributions of the main scenario driving forces in the database. The analysis shows that the range for projected population increase in the world, across the scenarios in the database, is the smallest of all main driving forces (about a factor of 3 in 2100). The range of economic growth, measured by the gross world product, and the range of primary energy consumption vary by a factor of 10 in 2100. Carbon intensity of energy, an indicator of the degree of technological change, varies by nearly two orders of magnitude in the year 2100. In addition, this paper presents the first attempt to analyze the relationships among the main scenario driving forces. Subsequent papers in this special issue give further analyses of the relationships among the main scenario driving forces and their other relevant characteristics.     

Verification of lipofuscin-based crustacean ageing: seasonality of lipofuscin accumulation in the stomatopod Oratosquilla oratoria in relation to water temperature

To verify the lipofuscin-based age estimation of crustaceans of unknown age from wild populations, we conducted a modal analysis of lipofuscin-concentration histograms in the stomatopod Oratosquilla oratoria seasonally collected from Tokyo Bay, Japan. Confocal microscopy and subsequent image analysis were used to quantify lipofuscin concentrations in the protocerebral bridge cell mass in the brain. Conventional body length frequency analysis failed to detect modes corresponding to ≥1 year old. In contrast, four or five distinct modes were found in the lipofuscin-concentration histograms, in which modes could be readily traced across months, suggesting that each mode represented an independent age group. The lipofuscin accumulation rate fluctuated seasonally: it was high in summer (June–July) and low in winter (December–January). Cross-correlation analysis showed that the highest instantaneous lipofuscin accumulation rate was achieved in early summer before maximum bottom temperatures were reached and when the temperature was increasing most rapidly. Our findings support the usefulness of lipofuscin concentration analysis in age estimation in wild crustacean populations.     

Starvation-induced barotolerance as a survival mechanism of a psychrophilic marine vibrio in the waters of the Antarctic convergence

Ant-300, a psychrophilic marine vibrio isolated from the Antarctic convergence, was tested for survival under conditions simulating those expected in situ for this organism. In particular, the organism's response to increased hydrostatic pressure was examined. Under a hydrostatic pressure of 250 atm, the viability of Ant-300 was reduced over 755 in growth media and under starvation conditions after 3 and 2 days, respectively. However, if the cells were starved for 1 week prior to pressurization of the starving suspension, 100% viability was maintained for over 6 weeks at the same pressure. After 10 weeks, the viability of a population of cells suspended for 1 week in natural or artificial seawater at a density of 10³ cells ml^–1 prior to pressurization of the suspension was 2 to 3 times greater than 1 atm controls. The data indicate that starvation conditions are a contributory if not the primary factor for the barotolerance of this organism in Antarctic waters. The data also indicate that under certain conditions, not unlike those expected in situ, hydrostatic pressure actually increases the survival of this organism under low nutrient conditions.Technical Paper No. 4907, Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station.     

Levels of 3,3′,4,4′-tetrachloroazobenzene in herbicides and bulk reagents

The contamination levels of different commercial herbicides and bulk reagents with the carcinogen 3,3′,4,4′-tetrachloroazobenzene (TCAB) were determined by high resolution mass spectrometry. The concentrations vary from 0.00071 to 2.8 ug/g (ppm) for the herbicides and from 0.085 to 14 ug/g for the bulk reagents. They are thus lower than those of other reports.