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Sample records for microgel electrophoresis comet

  1. Detecting irradiation of seeds using microgel electrophoresis (a collaborative trial)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cerda, H.; Haine, H.E.; Jones, J.L.

    1995-06-01

    Preservation of certain foods by irradiation is permitted in the United Kingdom. However, all irradiated foods must be labelled as such, to ensure consumer choice. To help enforce labelling, a variety of methods have been developed for distinguishing between irradiated and non-irradiated foods. In preliminary trials, microgel electrophoresis -a simple method of assessing DNA damage - has shown considerable promise in this respect. This report describes microgel electrophoresis, and details results obtained in a blind trial carried out in collaboration with the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Microgel electrophoresis facilitates analysis of the leakage of DNA from cells extracted from food material. In irradiated samples, the DNA is fragmented and will leak from cells in an electric current. This leakage can be seen as a 'comet' when the stained gel is viewed with a microscope. The size and shape of the comet can be used to estimate the irradiation dose administered to the sample. In non-irradiated samples the DNA is less fragmented, will tend not to leak from the cells and will not form a comet. (author)

  2. Single-cell microgel electrophoresis: an in vitro assay of radiosensitivity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deeley, J.O.T.; Moore, J.L.

    1993-01-01

    The results obtained by a microgel electrophoresis are comparable to conventional gel electrophoresis and elution techniques (Singh et al, 1989), DNA precipitation, alkali unwinding and cell clonogenicity assays (Olive et al, 1990). Since single cells are assessed, microgel electrophoresis is particularly appropriate for end-points such as the intercell variation in response. The simplicity, low cost and rapidity of microgel electrophoresis compared with other assays makes it particularly attractive for assessing the effects on DNA of radiation and other genotoxic agents on the general population. (Author)

  3. Modifications of alkaline microgel electrophoresis for sensitive detection of DNA damage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, N.P.; Stephens, R.E.; Schneider, E.L.

    1994-01-01

    The alkaline microgel electrophoresis technique was modified to achieve a substantial increase in sensitivity for the detection of radiation-induced DNA damage in human lymphocytes. This increased sensitivity was achieved through: (1) the addition of free radical scavengers to the electrophoresis solution to reduce DNA damage generated during alkaline unwinding and electrophoresis; (2) the modification of the electrophoresis unit to achieve a more uniform electric field; (3) the use of YOYO-1, a DNA dye, producing fluorescence 500-fold more intense than ethidium bromide; and (4) the introduction of an image analysis system for the quantitation of DNA migration. In human lymphocytes, these modifications have resulted in an increased sensitivity of several fold, allowing the detection of DNA damage in the range of 50 mGy. (author)

  4. Detection of irradiation treatment of foods using DNA 'comet assay'

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khan, Hasan M.; Delincee, Henry

    1998-01-01

    Microgel electrophoresis of single cells (DNA comet assay) has been investigated to detect irradiation treatment of some food samples. These samples of fresh and frozen rainbow trout, red lentil, gram and sliced almonds were irradiated to 1 or 2 kGy using 10 MeV electron beam from a linear accelerator. Rainbow trout samples yielded good results with samples irradiated to 1 or 2 kGy showing fragmentation of DNA and, therefore, longer comets with no intact cells. Unirradiated samples showed shorter comets with a significant number of intact cells. For rainbow trout stored in a freezer for 11 days the irradiated samples can still be discerned by electrophoresis from unirradiated samples, however, the unirradiated trouts also showed some longer comets besides some intact cells. Radiation treatment of red lentils can also be detected by this method, i.e. no intact cells in 1 or 2 kGy irradiated samples and shorter comets and some intact cells in unirradiated samples. However, the results for gram and sliced almond samples were not satisfactory since some intact DNA cells were observed in irradiated samples as well. Probably, incomplete lysis has led to these deviating results

  5. Detection of irradiation treatment of foods using DNA 'comet assay'

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Khan, Hasan M.; Delincee, Henry

    1998-06-01

    Microgel electrophoresis of single cells (DNA comet assay) has been investigated to detect irradiation treatment of some food samples. These samples of fresh and frozen rainbow trout, red lentil, gram and sliced almonds were irradiated to 1 or 2 kGy using 10 MeV electron beam from a linear accelerator. Rainbow trout samples yielded good results with samples irradiated to 1 or 2 kGy showing fragmentation of DNA and, therefore, longer comets with no intact cells. Unirradiated samples showed shorter comets with a significant number of intact cells. For rainbow trout stored in a freezer for 11 days the irradiated samples can still be discerned by electrophoresis from unirradiated samples, however, the unirradiated trouts also showed some longer comets besides some intact cells. Radiation treatment of red lentils can also be detected by this method, i.e. no intact cells in 1 or 2 kGy irradiated samples and shorter comets and some intact cells in unirradiated samples. However, the results for gram and sliced almond samples were not satisfactory since some intact DNA cells were observed in irradiated samples as well. Probably, incomplete lysis has led to these deviating results.

  6. Standardizing electrophoresis conditions: how to eliminate a major source of error in the comet assay.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gunnar Brunborg

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available In the alkaline comet assay, cells are embedded in agarose, lysed, and then subjected to further processing including electrophoresis at high pH (>13. We observed very large variations of mean comet tail lengths of cell samples from the same population when spread on a glass or plastic substrate and subjected to electrophoresis. These variations might be cancelled out if comets are scored randomly over a large surface, or if all the comets are scored. The mean tail length may then be representative of the population, although its standard error is large. However, the scoring process often involves selection of 50 – 100 comets in areas selected in an unsystematic way from a large gel on a glass slide. When using our 96-sample minigel format (1, neighbouring sample variations are easily detected. We have used this system to study the cause of the comet assay variations during electrophoresis and we have defined experimental conditions which reduce the variations to a minimum. We studied the importance of various physical parameters during electrophoresis: (i voltage; (ii duration of electrophoresis; (iii electric current; (iv temperature; and (v agarose concentration. We observed that the voltage (V/cm varied substantially during electrophoresis, even within a few millimetres of distance between gel samples. Not unexpectedly, both the potential ( V/cm and the time were linearly related to the mean comet tail, whereas the current was not. By measuring the local voltage with microelectrodes a few millimetres apart, we observed substantial local variations in V/cm, and they increased with time. This explains the large variations in neighbouring sample comet tails of 25% or more. By introducing simple technology (circulation of the solution during electrophoresis, and temperature control, these variations in mean comet tail were largely abolished, as were the V/cm variations. Circulation was shown to be particularly important and optimal conditions

  7. Irradiation detection of food by DNA Comet Assay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khan, A.A.; Delincee, H.

    1999-01-01

    Microgel electrophoresis of single cells or nuclei (DNA Comet Assay) has been investigated to detect irradiation treatment of more than 50 food commodities e.g. meats, seafood, cereals, pulses, nuts, fruits and vegetables, and spices. The foodstuffs have been exposed to radiation doses covering the range of potential commercial irradiation for inactivation of pathogenic and spoilage micro-organisms, for insect disinfestation and for shelf-life extension. The Comet Assay is based on detection of DNA fragments presumptive to irradiation. For most of the food items investigated, the assay can be applied successfully for irradiation detection by working out different conditions of the assay. However, with some of the foods difficulties arose due to - lack of discrimination between the irradiated and unirradiated food samples due to the presence of the same kinds of comets in both cases and the total absence of the typical intact cells in unirradiated samples. - Sufficient DNA material was not available from some of the foods. - Insufficient lysis of the cell walls in case of some plant foods. In conclusion, the DNA Comet Assay can help to detect the irradiation treatment of several varieties of foods using low-cost equipment in a short time of analysis. (orig.)

  8. Detection of DNA damage in mussels and sea urchins exposed to crude oil using comet assay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Taban, I.C.; Bechmann, R.K.; Torgrimsen, S.; Baussant, T.; Sanni, S.

    2004-01-01

    The single-cell microgel electrophoresis assay or the comet assay was used to evaluate DNA damage of dispersed crude oil on sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis) and mussels (Mytilus edulis L.). Sea urchins were exposed to 0.06 and 0.25 mg/L dispersed crude oil in a continuous flow system, while the mussels were exposed to 0.015, 0.06 and 0.25 mg/L dispersed crude oil. Sea urchin coelomocytes and mussel haemocytes were sampled after 4 and 5 weeks exposure, respectively. In the sea urchin coelomocytes, there was a significant concentration-related increase in the percentage of DNA in comet tail. In mussel haemocytes, there was a significantly higher percentage of DNA in comet tail for all treatments compared to the control. The responses were concentration-related up to 0.06 mg/L oil. The two highest exposure concentrations of mussels were not significantly different from each other. These results indicate that the comet assay can be used for biomonitoring of DNA damage in marine invertebrates following oil contamination. (author)

  9. DNA Comet Assay. A simple screening technique for identification of some irradiated foods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khan, A.A.; Khan, H.M.

    2008-01-01

    DNA Comet Assay method was carried out to detect irradiation treatment of some foods like meat, spices, beans and lentils. The fresh meat of cow and duck were irradiated up to radiation doses of 3 kGy, the spices (cardamoms and cumin black) were irradiated to radiation doses of 5, 10, 15 and 20 kGy while the beans (black beans and white beans) and lentils (red and green lentils) were irradiated to 0.5 and 1 kGy. All the foods were then analyzed for radiation treatment using simple microgel electrophoresis of single cells or nuclei (DNA Comet Assay). Sedimentation, lysis and staining times were adjusted to get optimized conditions for correct and easy analysis of each food. Using these optimized conditions, it was found out that radiation damaged DNA showed comets in case of irradiated food samples, whereas in non-treated food samples, round or conical spots of stained DNA were visible. Shape, length and intensity of these comets were also radiation dose dependent. Screening of unirradiated and irradiated samples by Comet Assay was successful in the case of all the foods under consideration under the optimized conditions of assay. Therefore, for different kinds of irradiated foods studied in the present study, the DNA Comet Assay can be used as a rapid, simple and inexpensive screening test. (author)

  10. DNA Comet Assay and Changes in Microflora Load as Screening Methods to Detect Irradiated Food in Egypt

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hammad, A.A.; Abo El Nour, S.A.; Ibrahim, H.M.; Osman, M.E.; Abo El- Nasr, A.

    2014-01-01

    In the present study the microgel electrophoresis of single cells (DNA Comet Assay), and changes in microflora load were applied to detect irradiation treatment of strawberries and fresh-deboned chicken produced in Egypt. Strawberry samples were irradiated at 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0 kGy, stored at 4 degree C±1 and analyzed at 0 and 7 days post.-irradiation. Fresh- deboned chicken meat samples were exposed to 2.0, 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0 kGy, stored at 4 degree C±1 and analyzed at 0, 7, 14 and 21 days post-irradiation. After electrophoresis performance, the accridine orange stain slides were seen under fluorescent microscope and the DNA comets were evaluated by photographic and image analysis. Changes in microflora load of irradiated samples were also evaluated. In all irradiated samples, the DNA fragments stretched or migrated out of the cells towards the anode of the agrose gel and appeared as a “comets” with tail. Whereas, DNA comets of all non-irradiated samples were almost intact, round without tail or had very short tail. Values of DNA % in tails and the tail length increased with increasing irradiation dose and storage times. The DNA comet assay could successfully be used to detect radiation treatment of strawberry and deboned-chicken meat samples up to 7 and 21 days post-irradiation, respectively. The absence of gram-negative bacteria and enterobacteriaceae group as well as the very low count of fungi (mostly yeasts) might be considered another evidence of radiation treatment of strawberries and fresh-deboned chicken.

  11. ASTRO Research Fellow Presentation - A comparison of the comet assay and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis as a predictive assay for radiosensitivity in human fibroblasts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sarkaria, Jann N.; Eady, John J.; Peacock, John H.; Steel, G. Gordon

    1996-01-01

    Purpose/Objective: To determine whether neutral lysis single-cell gel electrophoresis (comet assay) or pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) can be used as a predictive assay for tissue response to radiotherapy as an alternative to clonogenic survival measurements. Materials and Methods: The comet assay has been widely used to measure DNA double strand breaks (dsb) in individual cells, and it has been suggested that it could be used as an alternative to clonogenic assays to measure radiosensitivity. Previous studies in this lab have demonstrated the ability of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, which also measures DNA dsb, to accurately predict the radiosensitivity of a panel of fibroblasts based on determination of residual DNA dsb. As part of an ongoing study examining the relationship between fibroblast radiosensitivity and normal-tissue radiation reactions, we have compared the sensitivity and accuracy of the comet assay and PFGE on a different panel of non-transformed fibroblasts derived from breast cancer patients who developed severe radiation late effects and from case-matched controls. For the measurement of initial damage, cells were suspended in PBS and irradiated on ice for the comet assay and irradiated in agarose plugs on ice for pFGE. Residual damage was measured following irradiation of confluent cultures at 37 degree sign C and subsequent incubation for four hours prior to preparation of agarose slides and plugs. All irradiations were performed with a 59 TBq 60 Co source at a dose rate of 1.7 Gy/min. Electrophoresis was performed following neutral pH cell lysis. Comet images were captured and analyzed using Optimas software with DNA damage quantitated by the comet moment. PFGE gels were analyzed using a phosphor-image analysis system and damage was quantitated based on the percent of activity released from the well. Results: The comet assay was able to detect initial DNA damage at a threshold of 5 Gy and exhibited a linear dose

  12. Alginate microgels loaded with temperature sensitive liposomes for magnetic resonance imageable drug release and microgel visualization

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van Elk, Merel; Lorenzato, Cyril; Ozbakir, Burcin; Oerlemans, Chris; Storm, Gert; Nijsen, Frank; Deckers, Roel; Vermonden, Tina; Hennink, Wim E.

    2015-01-01

    The objective of this study was to prepare and characterize alginate microgels loaded with temperature sensitive liposomes, which release their payload after mild hyperthermia. It is further aimed that by using these microgels both the drug release and the microgel deposition can be visualized by

  13. Temperature-Invariant Aqueous Microgels as Hosts for Biomacromolecules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mastour Tehrani, Sepehr; Lu, Yijie; Guerin, Gerald; Soleimani, Mohsen; Pichugin, Dmitry; Winnik, Mitchell A

    2015-10-12

    Immobilization of enzymes on solid supports has been widely used to improve enzyme recycling, enzyme stability, and performance. We are interested in using aqueous microgels (colloidal hydrogels) as carriers for enzymes used in high-temperature reactions. These microgels should maintain their volume and colloidal stability in aqueous media up to 100 °C to serve as thermo-stable supports for enzymes. For this purpose, we prepared poly(N-hydroxyethyl acrylamide) (PHEAA) microgels via a two-step synthesis. First, we used precipitation polymerization in water to synthesize colloidal poly(diethylene glycol-ethyl ether acrylate) (PDEGAC) particles as a precursor. PDEGAC forms solvent swollen microgels in organic solvents such as methanol and dioxane and in water at temperatures below 15 °C. In the second step, these PDEGAC particles were transformed to PHEAA microgels through aminolysis in dioxane with ethanolamine and a small amount of ethylenediamine. Dynamic laser scattering studies confirmed that the colloidal stability of microgels was maintained during the aminolysis in dioxane and subsequent transfer to water. Characterization of the PHEAA microgels indicated about 9 mol % of primary amino groups. These provide functionality for bioconjugation. As proof-of-concept experiments, we attached the enzyme horseradish peroxidase (HRP) to these aqueous microgels through (i) N-(3-(dimethylamino)propyl)-N'-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) coupling to the carboxylated microgels or (ii) bis-aryl hydrazone (BAH) coupling to microgels functionalized with 6-hydrazinonicotinate acetone (PHEAA-HyNic). Our results showed that HRP maintained its catalytic activity after covalent attachment (87% for EDC coupling, 96% for BAH coupling). The microgel enhanced the stability of the enzyme to thermal denaturation. For example, the residual activity of the microgel-supported enzyme was 76% after 330 min of annealing at 50 °C, compared to only 20% for the free enzyme under these

  14. Microgel mechanics in biomaterial design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saxena, Shalini; Hansen, Caroline E; Lyon, L Andrew

    2014-08-19

    The field of polymeric biomaterials has received much attention in recent years due to its potential for enhancing the biocompatibility of systems and devices applied to drug delivery and tissue engineering. Such applications continually push the definition of biocompatibility from relatively straightforward issues such as cytotoxicity to significantly more complex processes such as reducing foreign body responses or even promoting/recapitulating natural body functions. Hydrogels and their colloidal analogues, microgels, have been and continue to be heavily investigated as viable materials for biological applications because they offer numerous, facile avenues in tailoring chemical and physical properties to approach biologically harmonious integration. Mechanical properties in particular are recently coming into focus as an important manner in which biological responses can be altered. In this Account, we trace how mechanical properties of microgels have moved into the spotlight of research efforts with the realization of their potential impact in biologically integrative systems. We discuss early experiments in our lab and in others focused on synthetic modulation of particle structure at a rudimentary level for fundamental drug delivery studies. These experiments elucidated that microgel mechanics are a consequence of polymer network distribution, which can be controlled by chemical composition or particle architecture. The degree of deformability designed into the microgel allows for a defined response to an imposed external force. We have studied deformation in packed colloidal phases and in translocation events through confined pores; in all circumstances, microgels exhibit impressive deformability in response to their environmental constraints. Microgels further translate their mechanical properties when assembled in films to the properties of the bulk material. In particular, microgel films have been a large focus in our lab as building blocks for self

  15. Microgel polymer composite fibres

    OpenAIRE

    Kehren, Dominic

    2014-01-01

    In this thesis some novel ideas and advancements in the field of polymer composite fibres, specifically microgel-based polymer composite fibres have been achieved. The main task was to investigate and understand the electrospinning process of microgels and polymers and the interplay of parameter influences, in order to fabricate reproducible and continuously homogenous composite fibres. The main aim was to fabricate a composite material which combines the special properties of polymer fibres ...

  16. Effective Interactions between Multilayered Ionic Microgels

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Clemens Hanel

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Using a one-component reduction formalism, we calculate the effective interactions and the counterion density profiles for microgels that feature a multilayered shell structure. We follow a strategy that involves second order perturbation theory and obtain analytical expressions for the effective interactions by modeling the layers of the particles as linear superpostion of homogeneously charged spheres. The general method is applied to the important case of core–shell microgels and compared with the well-known results for a microgel that can be approximated by a macroscopic, and homogeneously charged, spherical macroion.

  17. Novel method for the high-throughput processing of slides for the comet assay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karbaschi, Mahsa; Cooke, Marcus S

    2014-11-26

    Single cell gel electrophoresis (the comet assay), continues to gain popularity as a means of assessing DNA damage. However, the assay's low sample throughput and laborious sample workup procedure are limiting factors to its application. "Scoring", or individually determining DNA damage levels in 50 cells per treatment, is time-consuming, but with the advent of high-throughput scoring, the limitation is now the ability to process significant numbers of comet slides. We have developed a novel method by which multiple slides may be manipulated, and undergo electrophoresis, in batches of 25 rather than individually and, importantly, retains the use of standard microscope comet slides, which are the assay convention. This decreases assay time by 60%, and benefits from an electrophoresis tank with a substantially smaller footprint, and more uniform orientation of gels during electrophoresis. Our high-throughput variant of the comet assay greatly increases the number of samples analysed, decreases assay time, number of individual slide manipulations, reagent requirements and risk of damage to slides. The compact nature of the electrophoresis tank is of particular benefit to laboratories where bench space is at a premium. This novel approach is a significant advance on the current comet assay procedure.

  18. Spontaneous deswelling of pNIPAM microgels at high concentrations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gasser, Urs; Scotti, Andrea; Herman, Emily S.; Pelaez-Fernandez, Miguel; Han, Jun; Menzel, Andreas; Lyon, L. Andrew; Fernandez-Nieves, Alberto

    Polydisperse suspensions of pNIPAM microgel particles show a unique, spontaneous particle deswelling behavior. Beyond a critical concentration, the largest microgels deswell and thereby reduce the polydispersity of the suspension. We have recently unraveled the mechanism of this spontaneous, selective deswelling. pNIPAM microgels carry charged sulfate groups originating from the ammonium persulfate starter used in particle synthesis. Most of the ammonium counterions are trapped close to the microgel surface, but a fraction of them escapes the electrostatic attraction and contributes to the osmotic pressure of the suspension. The counterion clouds of neighboring particles progressively overlap with increasing volume fraction, leading to an increase of free counterions and the osmotic pressure outside but not inside the microgel particles. We find particles to deswell when the resulting osmotic pressure difference between the inside and the outside becomes larger their bulk modulus. For pNIPAM microgels synthesized with the same protocol, the largest particles are the softest and deswell first.

  19. Injectable and microporous scaffold of densely-packed, growth factor-encapsulating chitosan microgels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riederer, Michael S; Requist, Brennan D; Payne, Karin A; Way, J Douglas; Krebs, Melissa D

    2016-11-05

    In this work, an emulsion crosslinking method was developed to produce chitosan-genipin microgels which acted as an injectable and microporous scaffold. Chitosan was characterized with respect to pH by light scattering and aqueous titration. Microgels were characterized with swelling, light scattering, and rheometry of densely-packed microgel solutions. The results suggest that as chitosan becomes increasingly deprotonated above the pKa, repulsive forces diminish and intermolecular attractions cause pH-responsive chain aggregation; leading to microgel-microgel aggregation as well. The microgels with the most chitosan and least cross-linker showed the highest yield stress and a storage modulus of 16kPa when condensed as a microgel paste at pH 7.4. Two oppositely-charged growth factors could be encapsulated into the microgels and endothelial cells were able to proliferate into the 3D microgel scaffold. This work motivates further research on the applications of the chitosan microgel scaffold as an injectable and microporous scaffold in regenerative medicine. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Structure of Microgels with Debye–Hückel Interactions

    OpenAIRE

    Hideki Kobayashi; Roland G. Winkler

    2014-01-01

    The structural properties of model microgel particles are investigated by molecular dynamics simulations applying a coarse-grained model. A microgel is comprised of a regular network of polymers internally connected by tetra-functional cross-links and with dangling ends at its surface. The self-avoiding polymers are modeled as bead-spring linear chains. Electrostatic interactions are taken into account by the Debye–Hückel potential. The microgels exhibit a quite uniform density under bad solv...

  1. Counterion-induced swelling of ionic microgels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Denton, Alan R.; Tang, Qiyun

    2016-10-01

    Ionic microgel particles, when dispersed in a solvent, swell to equilibrium sizes that are governed by a balance between electrostatic and elastic forces. Tuning of particle size by varying external stimuli, such as pH, salt concentration, and temperature, has relevance for drug delivery, microfluidics, and filtration. To model swelling of ionic microgels, we derive a statistical mechanical theorem, which proves exact within the cell model, for the electrostatic contribution to the osmotic pressure inside a permeable colloidal macroion. Applying the theorem, we demonstrate how the distribution of counterions within an ionic microgel determines the internal osmotic pressure. By combining the electrostatic pressure, which we compute via both Poisson-Boltzmann theory and molecular dynamics simulation, with the elastic pressure, modeled via the Flory-Rehner theory of swollen polymer networks, we show how deswelling of ionic microgels with increasing concentration of particles can result from a redistribution of counterions that reduces electrostatic pressure. A linearized approximation for the electrostatic pressure, which proves remarkably accurate, provides physical insight and greatly eases numerical calculations for practical applications. Comparing with experiments, we explain why soft particles in deionized suspensions deswell upon increasing concentration and why this effect may be suppressed at higher ionic strength. The failure of the uniform ideal-gas approximation to adequately account for counterion-induced deswelling below close packing of microgels is attributed to neglect of spatial variation of the counterion density profile and the electrostatic pressure of incompletely neutralized macroions.

  2. Polyelectrolyte Complex Inclusive Biohybrid Microgels for Tailoring Delivery of Copigmented Anthocyanins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Chen; B Celli, Giovana; Lee, Michelle; Licker, Jonathan; Abbaspourrad, Alireza

    2018-05-14

    This study fabricated a novel biohybrid microgel containing polysaccharide-based polyelectrolyte complexes (PECs) for anthocyanins. Herein, anthocyanins were encapsulated into PECs composed of chondroitin sulfate and chitosan, followed by incorporation into alginate microgels using emulsification/internal gelation method. We demonstrated that PECs incorporation strongly affected the properties of microgels, dependent on the polysaccharide concentration and pH in which they were fabricated. The dense internal network surrounded by an alginate shell was clearly visualized in cross-sectioned PECs-microgels. Stability studies carried out under varying ionic strength and pH conditions demonstrated the stimuli-responsiveness of the PECs-microgels. Additionally, the presence of PECs conferred microgels with high rigidity during freeze-drying and excellent reconstitution capacity upon rehydration. These observations were attributed to the modulation of electrostatic and hydrogen-bonding cross-linking between PECs and the alginate gel matrix and suggest the PECs inclusive microgels hold promise as delivery vehicles for the controlled release of hydrophilic bioactive compounds.

  3. Magnetic microgels for drug targeting applications: Physical–chemical properties and cytotoxicity evaluation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Turcu, Rodica, E-mail: rodica.turcu@itim-cj.ro [National Institute for Research and Development of Isotopic and Molecular Technologies, 65-103 Donath Street, 400293 Cluj-Napoca (Romania); Craciunescu, Izabell [National Institute for Research and Development of Isotopic and Molecular Technologies, 65-103 Donath Street, 400293 Cluj-Napoca (Romania); Garamus, Vasil M. [Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, Zentrum für Material- und Küstenforschung GmbH, 21502 Geesthacht (Germany); Janko, Christina; Lyer, Stefan; Tietze, Rainer; Alexiou, Christoph [ENT-Department, Else Kröner-Fresenius Stiftung-Professorship, Section for Experimental Oncology and Nanomedicine (SEON), University Hospital Erlangen (Germany); Vekas, Ladislau, E-mail: vekas@acad-tim.tm.edu.ro [Romanian Academy-Timisoara Branch, CFATR, Laboratory of Magnetic Fluids, Mihai Viteazul Street 24, 300223 Timisoara (Romania)

    2015-04-15

    Magnetoresponsive microgels with high saturation magnetization values have been obtained by a strategy based on the miniemulsion method using high colloidal stability organic carrier ferrofluid as primary material. Hydrophobic nanoparticles Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}/oleic acid are densely packed into well-defined spherical nanoparticle clusters coated with polymers with sizes in the range 40–350 nm. Physical–chemical characteristics of magnetic microgels were investigated by TEM, SAXS, XPS and VSM measurements with the focus on the structure–properties relationship. The impact of magnetic microgels loaded with anticancer drug mitoxantrone (MTO) on the non-adherent human T cell leukemia line Jurkat was investigated in multiparameter flow cytometry. We showed that both MTO and microgel-loaded MTO penetrate into cells and both induce apoptosis and later secondary necrosis in a time- and dose dependent manner. In contrast, microgels without MTO are not cytotoxic in the corresponding concentrations. Our results show that MTO-loaded microgels are promising structures for application in magnetic drug targeting. - Highlights: • Densely packed spherical clusters of magnetic nanoparticles were obtained. • High magnetization microgels with superparamagnetic behavior are reported. • The facile and reproducible synthesis procedure applied is easy to be up-scaled. • The toxicity tests show that magnetic microgels are not cytotoxic. • We show that mitoxantrone loaded microgels induce death of Jurkat cells.

  4. Comprehensive Study of Microgel Electrode for On-Chip Electrophoretic Cell Sorting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hattori, Akihiro; Yasuda, Kenji

    2010-06-01

    We have developed an on-chip cell sorting system and microgel electrode for applying electrostatic force in microfluidic pathways in the chip. The advantages of agarose electrodes are 1) current-driven electrostatic force generation, 2) stability against pH change and chemicals, and 3) no bubble formation caused by electrolysis. We examined the carrier ion type and concentration dependence of microgel electrode impedance, and found that CoCl2 has less than 1/10 of the impedance from NaCl, and the reduction of the impedance of NaCl gel electrode was plateaued at 0.5 M. The structure control of the microgel electrode exploiting the surface tension of sol-state agarose was also introduced. The addition of 1% (w/v) trehalose into the microgel electrode allowed the frozen storage of the microgel electrode chip. The experimental results demonstrate the potential of our system and microgel electrode for practical applications in microfluidic chips.

  5. Structure of Microgels with Debye–Hückel Interactions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hideki Kobayashi

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available The structural properties of model microgel particles are investigated by molecular dynamics simulations applying a coarse-grained model. A microgel is comprised of a regular network of polymers internally connected by tetra-functional cross-links and with dangling ends at its surface. The self-avoiding polymers are modeled as bead-spring linear chains. Electrostatic interactions are taken into account by the Debye–Hückel potential. The microgels exhibit a quite uniform density under bad solvent conditions with a rather sharp surface. With increasing Debye length, structural inhomogeneities appear, their surface becomes fuzzy and, at very large Debye lengths, well defined again. Similarly, the polymer conformations change from a self-avoiding walk to a rod-like behavior. Thereby, the average polymer radius of gyration follows a scaling curve in terms of polymer length and persistence length, with an asymptotic rod-like behavior for swollen microgels and self-avoiding walk behavior for weakly swollen gel particles.

  6. Evaluation of genotoxicity of the acute gamma radiation on earthworm Eisenia fetida using single cell gel electrophoresis technique (Comet assay).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sowmithra, K; Shetty, N J; Jha, S K; Chaubey, R C

    2015-12-01

    Earthworms (Eisenia fetida) most suitable biological indicators of radioactive pollution. Radiation-induced lesions in DNA can be considered to be molecular markers for early effects of ionizing radiation. Gamma radiation produces a wide spectrum of DNA. Some of these lesions, i.e., DNA strand breaks and alkali labile sites can be detected by the single-cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE) or comet assay by measuring the migration of DNA from immobilized nuclear DNA. E. fetida were exposed to different doses of gamma radiation, i.e., 1, 5, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50Gy, and comet assay was performed for all the doses along with control at 1, 3 and 5h post irradiation to evaluate the genotoxicity of gamma radiation in this organism. The DNA damage was measured as percentage of comet tail DNA. A significant increase in DNA damage was observed in samples exposed to 5Gy and above, and the increase in DNA damage was dose dependent i.e., DNA damage was increased with increased doses of radiation. The highest DNA damage was noticed at 1h post irradiation and gradually decreased with time, i.e., at 3 and 5h post irradiation. The present study reveals that gamma radiation induces DNA damage in E. fetida and the comet assay is a sensitive and rapid method for its detection to detect genotoxicity of gamma radiation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Modelling pH-Optimized Degradation of Microgel-Functionalized Polyesters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lisa Bürgermeister

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available We establish a novel mathematical model to describe and analyze pH levels in the vicinity of poly(N-vinylcaprolactam-co-acetoacetoxyethyl methacrylate-co-N-vinylimidazole (VCL/AAEM/VIm microgel-functionalized polymers during biodegradation. Biodegradable polymers, especially aliphatic polyesters (polylactide/polyglycolide/polycaprolactone homo- and copolymers, have a large range of medical applications including delivery systems, scaffolds, or stents for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Most of those applications are limited by the inherent drop of pH level during the degradation process. The combination of polymers with VCL/AAEM/VIm-microgels, which aims at stabilizing pH levels, is innovative and requires new mathematical models for the prediction of pH level evaluation. The mathematical model consists of a diffusion-reaction PDE system for the degradation including reaction rate equations and diffusion of acidic degradation products into the vicinity. A system of algebraic equations is coupled to the degradation model in order to describe the buffering action of the microgel. The model is validated against the experimental pH-monitored biodegradation of microgel-functionalized polymer foils and is available for the design of microgel-functionalized polymer components.

  8. Conformational Aspects of High Content Packing of Antimicrobial Peptides in Polymer Microgels

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Singh, Shalini; Datta, Aritreyee; Borro, Bruno C

    2017-01-01

    Successful use of microgels as delivery systems of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) requires control of factors determining peptide loading and release to/from the microgels as well as of membrane interactions of both microgel particles and released peptides. Addressing these, we here investigate ef...

  9. Controlled Synthesis and Fluorescence Tracking of Highly Uniform Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) Microgels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Virtanen, Otto L J; Purohit, Ashvini; Brugnoni, Monia; Wöll, Dominik; Richtering, Walter

    2016-09-08

    Stimuli-sensitive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) microgels have various prospective practical applications and uses in fundamental research. In this work, we use single particle tracking of fluorescently labeled PNIPAM microgels as a showcase for tuning microgel size by a rapid non-stirred precipitation polymerization procedure. This approach is well suited for prototyping new reaction compositions and conditions or for applications that do not require large amounts of product. Microgel synthesis, particle size and structure determination by dynamic and static light scattering are detailed in the protocol. It is shown that the addition of functional comonomers can have a large influence on the particle nucleation and structure. Single particle tracking by wide-field fluorescence microscopy allows for an investigation of the diffusion of labeled tracer microgels in a concentrated matrix of non-labeled microgels, a system not easily investigated by other methods such as dynamic light scattering.

  10. Glucose-mediated catalysis of Au nanoparticles in microgels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Qingshi; Cheng, Han; Chang, Aiping; Xu, Wenting; Lu, Fan; Wu, Weitai

    2015-11-18

    The catalytic activity of Au nanoparticles in phenylboronic acid-containing polymer microgels can be tuned through the swelling-deswelling transition of the microgels in response to changes in glucose concentration. Upon adding glucose, the model catalytic reduction of hydrophilic 4-nitrophenol is accelerated, while the reduction of relatively more hydrophobic nitrobenzene slows down.

  11. Comet assay optimization for assessment of DNA damage due to radiation exposure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dwi Ramadhani; Devita Tetriana; Viria Agesti Suvifan

    2016-01-01

    Comet assay can be used to measure the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) damage level caused by ionizing radiation exposure in peripheral blood lymphocytes. The principle of the comet assay is based on the amount of denatured DNA fragments that migrated out of the cell nucleus during electrophoresis. There are several aspects that must be concerned when doing the comet assay. For example the agarose concentration, duration of alkaline incubation, electrophoresis conditions (time, temperature, and voltage gradient), and the measurement parameters that used in analyze the comet. Percentage of DNA in the comet tail (% tail DNA) is strongly recommended as a parameter when analyze the comet because it can be converted to lesions per 106 base pairs (bp) using calibration curve that show relationship between the dose of ionizing radiation and % tail DNA. To obtain an accurate result, the calibration curve must be made and comet should be analyzing using image processing analysis software since it can be increase the precision and reduce the subjectivity of the measurement process. (author)

  12. Designing biopolymer microgels to encapsulate, protect and deliver bioactive components: Physicochemical aspects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McClements, David Julian

    2017-02-01

    Biopolymer microgels have considerable potential for their ability to encapsulate, protect, and release bioactive components. Biopolymer microgels are small particles (typically 100nm to 1000μm) whose interior consists of a three-dimensional network of cross-linked biopolymer molecules that traps a considerable amount of solvent. This type of particle is also sometimes referred to as a nanogel, hydrogel bead, biopolymer particles, or microsphere. Biopolymer microgels are typically prepared using a two-step process involving particle formation and particle gelation. This article reviews the major constituents and fabrication methods that can be used to prepare microgels, highlighting their advantages and disadvantages. It then provides an overview of the most important characteristics of microgel particles (such as size, shape, structure, composition, and electrical properties), and describes how these parameters can be manipulated to control the physicochemical properties and functional attributes of microgel suspensions (such as appearance, stability, rheology, and release profiles). Finally, recent examples of the utilization of biopolymer microgels to encapsulate, protect, or release bioactive agents, such as pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, enzymes, flavors, and probiotics is given. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. The single-cell gel electrophoresis assay to determine apoptosis ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    When the frequency of appearance of apoptotic cells following was observed over a period of time, there was a significant increase in appearance of apoptosis when using single cell gel electrophoresis assay. The present report demonstrates that the characteristic pattern of apoptotic comets detected by the comet assay ...

  14. Optimization Strategies for Responsivity Control of Microgel Assisted Lab-On-Fiber Optrodes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martino Giaquinto

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Integrating multi-responsive polymers such as microgels onto optical fiber tips, in a controlled fashion, enables unprecedented functionalities to Lab-on-fiber optrodes. The creation of a uniform microgel monolayer with a specific coverage factor is crucial for enhancing the probes responsivity to a pre-defined target parameter. Here we report a reliable fabrication strategy, based on the dip coating technique, for the controlled realization of microgel monolayer onto unconventional substrates, such as the optical fiber tip. The latter was previously covered by a plasmonic nanostructure to make it sensitive to superficial environment changes. Microgels have been prepared using specific Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-based monomers that enable bulky size changes in response to both temperature and pH variations. The formation of the microgel monolayer is efficiently controlled through the selection of suitable operating pH, temperature and concentration of particle dispersions used during the dipping procedure. The effect of each parameter has been evaluated, and the validity of our procedure is confirmed by means of both morphological and optical characterizations. We demonstrate that when the coverage factor exceeds 90%, the probe responsivity to microgels swelling/collapsing is significantly improved. Our study opens new paradigms for the development of engineered microgels assisted Lab-on-Fiber probes for biochemical applications.

  15. Tuning the bridging attraction between large hard particles by the softness of small microgels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Junhua; Yuan, Guangcui; Han, Charles C

    2016-09-20

    In this study, the attraction between large hard polystyrene (PS) spheres is studied by using three types of small microgels as bridging agents. One is a purely soft poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) microgel, the other two have a non-deformable PS hard core surrounded by a soft PNIPAM shell but are different in the core-shell ratio. The affinity for bridging the large PS spheres is provided and thus affected by the PNIPAM constituent in the microgels. The bridging effects caused by the microgels can be indirectly incorporated into their influence on the effective attraction interaction between the large hard spheres, since the size of the microgels is very small in comparison to the size of the PS hard spheres. At a given volume fraction of large PS spheres, they behave essentially as hard spheres in the absence of small microgels. By gradually adding the microgels, the large spheres are connected to each other through the bridging of small particles until the attraction strength reaches a maximum value, after which adding more small particles slowly decreases the effective attraction strength and eventually the large particles disperse individually when saturated adsorption is achieved. The aggregation and gelation behaviors triggered by these three types of small microgels are compared and discussed. A way to tune the strength and range of the short-range attractive potential via changing the softness of bridging microgels (which can be achieved either by using core-shell microgels or by changing the temperature) is proposed.

  16. Evaluation of radio-induced DNA damage and their repair in human lymphocytes by comet assay or single cell gel electrophoresis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nascimento, Patricia A. do; Suzuki, Miriam F.; Okazaki, Kayo

    1997-01-01

    The comet assay, also called single cell gel electrophoresis technique, permits to evaluate quantitatively DNA breakage induced by chemical and physical agents at the level of the single cell. The present paper refers to the construction of dose-response curves to DNA damage and repair studies in human peripheral lymphocytes, utilizing the comet assay for the radiosensitivity analysis. So, the blood samples were obtained from healthy donors (40-50 year old), irradiated in a 60 Co source (GAMMACEL 220) with doses of 0.17, 0.25, 0.57, 1.10, 2.12 and 4.22 Gy (0.59 Gy/min.) and processed 1 and 24 hours after the exposition. Results obtained showed a increase in the total lenght of comet (DNA migration) as a function of radiation dose in samples processed 1 and 24 hours after the treatment. The DNA lesion in irradiated lymphocytes with 4.22 Gy (means value of 101.4 μm) were 3.4 times higher than in the untreated lymphocytes (mean value of 30 μm) instead of 24 hours after the irradiation were 1.5 times higher (mean value of 46.3 μm). This reduction on DNA repair occurred in these cells. It was also possible visualized the presence of subpopulations of the cells with different sensitivity and repair capacity to ionizing radiation in these donors. (author). 8 refs., 3 figs

  17. Preparation and ion sensing property of the self-assembled microgels by QCM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cao Zheng

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The polyanion polystyrene sulfonate (PSS, the polycation poly (allylamine hydrochloride (PAH, and the anionic poly (N-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylic acid [P(NIPAM-co-AA] microgels were self-assembled onto the polyethylene imine (PEI adsorbed gold surfaces of quartz crystal microbalance (QCM because of the electrostatic attractions. The interactions of various metal particles including Ca2+, Bi3+, Cu2+, Zn2+, Ni2+, Sn2+, Co2+, and Cd2+ with the obtained PEI/PSS/PAH/microgel layer in aqueous solutions were evaluated by QCM. The PEI/PSS/PAH/Microgel covered QCM sensor demonstrates the lowest detection limit of 0.1 ppm in aqueous solutions and the obviously linear connection between the frequency response and Ni2+ concentration from 0.1 to 20 ppm, which is due to the complexation of Ni2+ with the carboxyl groups of microgels. Atomic force microscopy (AFM was used to reveal the morphology and stability of the self-assembled polyelectrolyte/microgel layer before and after adsorbing heavy metal ions. These self-assembled materials of polyelectrolyte/microgel layer will be helpful for manufacturing ion-selective materials for separation and identification purposes.

  18. Characterization of different substituted carboxymethyl starch microgels and their interactions with lysozyme.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bao Zhang

    Full Text Available A carboxymethyl starch (CMS microgel system was prepared for the control of uptaking and releasing proteins (lysozyme. The physicochemical properties of microgels in various degrees of substitution (DS were determined by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA, swelling degree, and rheological analysis. The microgel particle size mostly ranged from 25 µm to 45 µm. The result obtained from the TGA studies indicated that carboxymethylation decreased the thermal stability of starch, but crosslinking increased the thermal stability of CMS. The CMS microgels showed typical pH sensitivity, and the swelling degree of microgel increased with the increasing of DS and pH, because of the large amounts of carboxyl group ionization. The samples (2.25% could behave as viscoelastic solids since the storage modulus was larger than the loss modulus over the entire frequency range. The protein uptake increased with increasing pH and DS at low salt concentration. The optimal pH shifted to lower pH with increasing ionic strength. The saturated protein uptake decreased with increasing ionic strength at each pH. The protein was easily released from the microgel with high pH and high salt concentration.

  19. Swelling, Structure, and Phase Stability of Soft, Compressible Microgels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Denton, Alan R.; Urich, Matthew

    Microgels are soft colloidal particles that swell when dispersed in a solvent. The equilibrium particle size is governed by a delicate balance of osmotic pressures, which can be tuned by varying single-particle properties and externally controlled conditions, such as temperature, pH, ionic strength, and concentration. Because of their tunable size and ability to encapsulate dye or drug molecules, microgels have practical relevance for biosensing, drug delivery, carbon capture, and filtration. Using Monte Carlo simulation, we model suspensions of microgels that interact via Hertzian elastic interparticle forces and can expand or contract via trial size changes governed by the Flory-Rehner free energy of cross-linked polymer gels. We analyze the influence of particle compressibility and size fluctuations on bulk structural and thermal properties by computing swelling ratios, radial distribution functions, static structure factors, osmotic pressures, and freezing densities. With increasing density, microgels progressively deswell and their intrinsic polydispersity broadens, while compressibility acts to forestall crystallization. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. DMR- 1106331.

  20. Three-Dimensional Cell Behavior in Microgels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhattacharjee, Tapomoy; Palmer, Glyn; Ghivizzani, Steven; Keselowsky, Benjamin; Sawyer, W. Gregory; Angelini, Thomas

    The number of dimensions in which particles can freely move strongly influences the collective behavior that emerges from their individual fluctuations. Thus, in 2D systems of cells in petri-dishes, our growing understanding of collective migration may be insufficient to explain cell behavior in 3D tissues. To study cell behavior in 3D, polymer scaffolds are used. Contemporary designs of 3D cell growth scaffolds enable cell migration and proliferative expansion by incorporating of degradable motifs. Matrix degradation creates space for cells to move and proliferate. However, different cell types and experimental conditions require the design of different scaffolds to optimize degradation with specific cell behaviors. By contrast, liquid like solids made from packed microgels can yield under cell generated stresses, allowing for cell motion without the need for scaffold degradation. Moreover, the use of microgels as 3D culture media allows arranging cells in arbitrary structures, harvesting cells, and delivering drugs and nutrients. Preliminary data describing cell behavior in 3D microgel culture will be presented. This material is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. DMR-1352043.

  1. Applications in the oil sands industry for Particlear{sup R} silica microgel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moffett, B. [DuPont Chemical Solutions Enterprise, Wilmington, DE (United States)

    2009-07-01

    This presentation demonstrated the use of Particlear{sup R} silica microgel in the oil sands industry. The silica-based coagulant is an amorphous silicon dioxide microgel solution. The surface area of a football field can be obtained using 2.7 grams of the substance. The coagulation mechanism is achieved by charge neutralization and inter-particle bridging. The microgel is manufactured at the point of use from commodity chemicals, water, and carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}). Applications for the microgel include potable water treatment, paper retention, and animal processing wastewater. In the oil sands industry, Particlear{sup R} can be used in tailings flocculation, thickened tailings drying, steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) water treatment, and enhanced bitumen recovery. It was concluded that the microgel can be used in many oil sands processing and liquid-solid separation processes in order to remove dissolved solids and organics and increase the rate of solids dewatering. tabs., figs.

  2. Investigation on the structure of temperature-responsive N-isopropylacrylamide microgels containing a new hydrophobic crosslinker

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. Roshan Deen

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Temperature-responsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide microgels crosslinked with a new hydrophobic chemical crosslinker was prepared by surfactant-mediated precipitation emulsion polymerization. The temperature-responsive property of the microgel and the influence of the crosslinker on the swelling behaviour was studied systematically by light scattering and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS. The radius of gyration (Rg and the hydrodynamic radius (Rh of the microgels decreased with increase in temperature due to the volume-phase transition from a swollen to a collapsed state. The ratio of Rg/Rh below the transition temperature was lower than that of hard-spheres due to the lower crosslinking density of the microgels. The SAXS data were analysed by a model in which the microgels were modelled as core-shell particles with a graded interface. The model at intermediate temperatures included a central core and a more diffuse outer layer describing pending polymer chains with a low crosslinking density. In the fully swollen state, the microgels were modelled with a single component with a broad graded surface. In the collapsed state, they were modelled as homogeneous and relatively compact particles. The polymer volume fraction inside the microgel was also derived based on the model and was found to increase with increase in the temperature as a result of collapse of the microgel to compact particles. The polymer volume fraction in the core of the microgel in the collapsed state was about 60% which is higher than that of similar microgels crosslinked with hydrophilic and flexible crosslinkers.

  3. Swelling of radiation crosslinked acrylamide-based microgels and their potential applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Abd El-Rehim, H.A. [National Center for Radiation Research and Technology, Atomic Energy Authority, P.O. Box 29 Nasr City, Cairo (Egypt)]. E-mail: ha_rehim@hotmail.com

    2005-10-01

    Crosslinked polyacrylamide PAAm and acrylamide-Na-acrylate P(AAm-Na-AAc) microgels were prepared by electron beam irradiation. It was found that the dose required for crosslinking depends on the polymer moisture content, so that the dose to obtain PAAm of maximum gel fraction was over 40 and 20 kGy for dry and moist PAAm, respectively. The structural changes in irradiated PAAm were investigated using FTIR and SEM. The swelling property of such microgels in distilled water and real urine solution was determined and crosslinked polymers reached their equilibrium swelling state in a few minutes. As the gel content and crosslinking density decrease, the swelling of the microgels increases. The ability of the microgels to absorb and retain large amount of solutions suggested their possible uses in horticulture and in hygienic products such as disposable diapers.

  4. Swelling of radiation crosslinked acrylamide-based microgels and their potential applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abd El-Rehim, H.A.

    2005-01-01

    Crosslinked polyacrylamide PAAm and acrylamide-Na-acrylate P(AAm-Na-AAc) microgels were prepared by electron beam irradiation. It was found that the dose required for crosslinking depends on the polymer moisture content, so that the dose to obtain PAAm of maximum gel fraction was over 40 and 20 kGy for dry and moist PAAm, respectively. The structural changes in irradiated PAAm were investigated using FTIR and SEM. The swelling property of such microgels in distilled water and real urine solution was determined and crosslinked polymers reached their equilibrium swelling state in a few minutes. As the gel content and crosslinking density decrease, the swelling of the microgels increases. The ability of the microgels to absorb and retain large amount of solutions suggested their possible uses in horticulture and in hygienic products such as disposable diapers

  5. Tuning smart microgel swelling and responsive behavior through strong and weak polyelectrolyte pair assembly.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Costa, Eunice; Lloyd, Margaret M; Chopko, Caroline; Aguiar-Ricardo, Ana; Hammond, Paula T

    2012-07-03

    The layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly of polyelectrolyte pairs on temperature and pH-sensitive cross-linked poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-co-(methacrylic acid), poly(NIPAAm-co-MAA), microgels enabled a fine-tuning of the gel swelling and responsive behavior according to the mobility of the assembled polyelectrolyte (PE) pair and the composition of the outermost layer. Microbeads with well-defined morphology were initially prepared by synthesis in supercritical carbon dioxide. Upon LbL assembly of polyelectrolytes, interactions between the multilayers and the soft porous microgel led to differences in swelling and thermoresponsive behavior. For the weak PE pairs, namely poly(L-lysine)/poly(L-glutamic acid) and poly(allylamine hydrochloride)/poly(acrylic acid), polycation-terminated microgels were less swollen and more thermoresponsive than native microgel, whereas polyanion-terminated microgels were more swollen and not significantly responsive to temperature, in a quasi-reversible process with consecutive PE assembly. For the strong PE pair, poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride)/poly(sodium styrene sulfonate), the differences among polycation and polyanion-terminated microgels are not sustained after the first PE bilayer due to extensive ionic cross-linking between the polyelectrolytes. The tendencies across the explored systems became less noteworthy in solutions with larger ionic strength due to overall charge shielding of the polyelectrolytes and microgel. ATR FT-IR studies correlated the swelling and responsive behavior after LbL assembly on the microgels with the extent of H-bonding and alternating charge distribution within the gel. Thus, the proposed LbL strategy may be a simple and flexible way to engineer smart microgels in terms of size, surface chemistry, overall charge and permeability.

  6. Assessment and reduction of comet assay variation in relation to DNA damage: studies from the European Comet Assay Validation Group

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Møller, Peter; Möller, Lennart; Godschalk, Roger W L

    2010-01-01

    The alkaline single cell gel electrophoresis (comet) assay has become a widely used method for the detection of DNA damage and repair in cells and tissues. Still, it has been difficult to compare results from different investigators because of differences in assay conditions and because the data...... are reported in different units. The European Comet Assay Validation Group (ECVAG) was established for the purpose of validation of the comet assay with respect to measures of DNA damage formation and its repair. The results from this inter-laboratory validation trail showed a large variation in measured level...... reliability for the measurement of DNA damage by the comet assay but there is still a need for further validation to reduce both assay and inter-laboratory variation....

  7. Effective electrostatic interactions among charged thermo-responsive microgels immersed in a simple electrolyte

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    González-Mozuelos, P. [Departamento de Física, Cinvestav del I. P. N., Av. Instituto Politécnico Nacional 2508, Mexico, Distrito Federal, C. P. 07360 (Mexico)

    2016-02-07

    This work explores the nature and thermodynamic behavior of the effective electrostatic interactions among charged microgels immersed in a simple electrolyte, taking special interest in the effects due to the thermally induced variation of the microgel size while the remaining parameters (microgel charge and concentration, plus the amount of added salt) are kept constant. To this end, the rigorous approach obtained from applying the precise methodology of the dressed ion theory to the proper definition of the effective direct correlation functions, which emerge from tracing-out the degrees of freedom of the microscopic ions, is employed to provide an exact description of the parameters characterizing such interactions: screening length, effective permittivity, and renormalized charges. A model solution with three components is assumed: large permeable anionic spheres for the microgels, plus small charged hard spheres of equal size for the monovalent cations and anions. The two-body correlations among the components of this model suspension, used as the input for the determination of the effective interaction parameters, are here calculated by using the hyper-netted chain approximation. It is then found that at finite microgel concentrations the values of these parameters change as the microgel size increases, even though the ionic strength of the supporting electrolyte and the bare charge of the microgels remain fixed during this process. The variation of the screening length, as well as that of the effective permittivity, is rather small, but still interesting in view of the fact that the corresponding Debye length stays constant. The renormalized charges, in contrast, increase markedly as the microgels swell. The ratio of the renormalized charge to the corresponding analytic result obtained in the context of an extended linear response theory allows us to introduce an effective charge that accounts for the non-linear effects induced by the short

  8. Internal structure and swelling behaviour of in silico microgel particles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rovigatti, Lorenzo; Gnan, Nicoletta; Zaccarelli, Emanuela

    2018-01-01

    Microgels are soft colloids that, by virtue of their polymeric nature, can react to external stimuli such as temperature or pH by changing their size. The resulting swelling/deswelling transition can be exploited in fundamental research as well as for many diverse practical applications, ranging from art restoration to medicine. Such an extraordinary versatility stems from the complex internal structure of the individual microgels, each of which is a crosslinked polymer network. Here we employ a recently-introduced computational method to generate realistic microgel configurations and look at their structural properties, both in real and Fourier space, for several temperatures across the volume phase transition as a function of the crosslinker concentration and of the confining radius employed during the ‘in-silico’ synthesis. We find that the chain-length distribution of the resulting networks can be analytically predicted by a simple theoretical argument. In addition, we find that our results are well-fitted to the fuzzy-sphere model, which correctly reproduces the density profile of the microgels under study.

  9. Microgels for long-term storage of vitamins for extended spaceflight

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schroeder, R.

    2018-02-01

    Biocompatible materials that can encapsulate large amounts of nutrients while protecting them from degrading environmental influences are highly desired for extended manned spaceflight. In this study, alkaline-degradable microgels based on poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) (PVCL) were prepared and analysed with their regard to stabilise retinol which acts as a model vitamin (vitamin A1). It was investigated whether the secondary crosslinking of the particles with a polyphenol can prevent the isomerisation of biologically active all-trans retinol to biologically inactive cis-trans retinol. Both loading with retinol and secondary crosslinking of the particles was performed at room temperature to prevent an early degradation of the vitamin. This study showed that PVCL microgels drastically improve the water solubility of hydrophobic retinol. Additionally, it is demonstrated that the highly crosslinked microgel particles in aqueous solution can be utilised to greatly retard the light- and temperature-induced isomerisation process of retinol by a factor of almost 100 compared to pure retinol stored in ethanol. The use of microgels offers various advantages over other drug delivery systems as they exhibit enhanced biocompatibility and superior aqueous solubility.

  10. Carbohydrate polymer based pH-sensitive IPN microgels: Synthesis, characterization and drug release characteristics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Eswaramma, S. [Polymer Biomaterial Design and Synthesis Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Yogi Vemana University, Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh, 516003 (India); Reddy, N. Sivagangi [Advanced Nanomaterials Lab, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan, 46241 (Korea, Republic of); Rao, K.S.V. Krishna, E-mail: ksvkr@yogivemanauniversity.ac.in [Polymer Biomaterial Design and Synthesis Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Yogi Vemana University, Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh, 516003 (India)

    2017-07-01

    pH-sensitive interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) microgels of chitosan (CS) and guargum-g-poly((2-dimethylamino)ethylmethacrylate) (GG-g-PDMAEMA) were developed by emulsion crosslinking method using glutaraldehyde as a crosslinker. In this regard, primarily guargum (GG) is grafted with (2-dimethylamino)ethylmethacrylate (DMAEMA) followed by blended with CS to prepare various microgel formulations. These microgels were treated as responsive drug carriers for an anticancer agent, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). The maximum % encapsulation efficiency was found to be 81. Fourier transform infrared analysis was used to investigate the formation of graft copolymer (GG-g-PDMAEMA), chemical structure of microgels as well as the chemical interactions of drug molecules with the polymer matrix. The surface morphological studies and average particle size were examined by scanning electron microscopy. The average size of microgels is 130 ± 20 μm. Thermal behavior and molecular distribution of 5-FU within the polymer matrix were confirmed from thermogravimetric analysis and X-ray diffraction experiments. The pH-sensitive swelling behavior of IPN microgels was investigated in different pH solutions. To study the release profile of 5-FU, in vitro release profiles were performed in both pH 1.2 and 7.4. The release kinetics showed pH- dependent drug release and IPN microgels exhibited an excellent controlled release pattern for 5-FU over a period of more than 24 h. The release mechanism was analyzed by evaluating the release data using different empirical equations. - Highlights: • poly((2-dimethylamino)ethylmethacrylate) was grafted on to guargum backbone. • pH-responsive IPN microgels were developed from chitosan and graft copolymer. • Microgels were treated as responsive drug carriers for an anticancer agent, 5-fluorouracil. • Swelling and drug release studies were greatly dependent on pH.

  11. Carbohydrate polymer based pH-sensitive IPN microgels: Synthesis, characterization and drug release characteristics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eswaramma, S.; Reddy, N. Sivagangi; Rao, K.S.V. Krishna

    2017-01-01

    pH-sensitive interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) microgels of chitosan (CS) and guargum-g-poly((2-dimethylamino)ethylmethacrylate) (GG-g-PDMAEMA) were developed by emulsion crosslinking method using glutaraldehyde as a crosslinker. In this regard, primarily guargum (GG) is grafted with (2-dimethylamino)ethylmethacrylate (DMAEMA) followed by blended with CS to prepare various microgel formulations. These microgels were treated as responsive drug carriers for an anticancer agent, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). The maximum % encapsulation efficiency was found to be 81. Fourier transform infrared analysis was used to investigate the formation of graft copolymer (GG-g-PDMAEMA), chemical structure of microgels as well as the chemical interactions of drug molecules with the polymer matrix. The surface morphological studies and average particle size were examined by scanning electron microscopy. The average size of microgels is 130 ± 20 μm. Thermal behavior and molecular distribution of 5-FU within the polymer matrix were confirmed from thermogravimetric analysis and X-ray diffraction experiments. The pH-sensitive swelling behavior of IPN microgels was investigated in different pH solutions. To study the release profile of 5-FU, in vitro release profiles were performed in both pH 1.2 and 7.4. The release kinetics showed pH- dependent drug release and IPN microgels exhibited an excellent controlled release pattern for 5-FU over a period of more than 24 h. The release mechanism was analyzed by evaluating the release data using different empirical equations. - Highlights: • poly((2-dimethylamino)ethylmethacrylate) was grafted on to guargum backbone. • pH-responsive IPN microgels were developed from chitosan and graft copolymer. • Microgels were treated as responsive drug carriers for an anticancer agent, 5-fluorouracil. • Swelling and drug release studies were greatly dependent on pH.

  12. In Situ Cross-Linking of Stimuli-Responsive Hemicellulose Microgels during Spray Drying

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-01-01

    Chemical cross-linking during spray drying offers the potential for green fabrication of microgels with a rapid stimuli response and good blood compatibility and provides a platform for stimuli-responsive hemicellulose microgels (SRHMGs). The cross-linking reaction occurs rapidly in situ at elevated temperature during spray drying, enabling the production of microgels in a large scale within a few minutes. The SRHMGs with an average size range of ∼1–4 μm contain O-acetyl-galactoglucomannan as a matrix and poly(acrylic acid), aniline pentamer (AP), and iron as functional additives, which are responsive to external changes in pH, electrochemical stimuli, magnetic field, or dual-stimuli. The surface morphologies, chemical compositions, charge, pH, and mechanical properties of these smart microgels were evaluated using scanning electron microscopy, IR, zeta potential measurements, pH evaluation, and quantitative nanomechanical mapping, respectively. Different oxidation states were observed when AP was introduced, as confirmed by UV spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. Systematic blood compatibility evaluations revealed that the SRHMGs have good blood compatibility. This bottom-up strategy to synthesize SRHMGs enables a new route to the production of smart microgels for biomedical applications. PMID:25630464

  13. In situ cross-linking of stimuli-responsive hemicellulose microgels during spray drying.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Weifeng; Nugroho, Robertus Wahyu N; Odelius, Karin; Edlund, Ulrica; Zhao, Changsheng; Albertsson, Ann-Christine

    2015-02-25

    Chemical cross-linking during spray drying offers the potential for green fabrication of microgels with a rapid stimuli response and good blood compatibility and provides a platform for stimuli-responsive hemicellulose microgels (SRHMGs). The cross-linking reaction occurs rapidly in situ at elevated temperature during spray drying, enabling the production of microgels in a large scale within a few minutes. The SRHMGs with an average size range of ∼ 1-4 μm contain O-acetyl-galactoglucomannan as a matrix and poly(acrylic acid), aniline pentamer (AP), and iron as functional additives, which are responsive to external changes in pH, electrochemical stimuli, magnetic field, or dual-stimuli. The surface morphologies, chemical compositions, charge, pH, and mechanical properties of these smart microgels were evaluated using scanning electron microscopy, IR, zeta potential measurements, pH evaluation, and quantitative nanomechanical mapping, respectively. Different oxidation states were observed when AP was introduced, as confirmed by UV spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. Systematic blood compatibility evaluations revealed that the SRHMGs have good blood compatibility. This bottom-up strategy to synthesize SRHMGs enables a new route to the production of smart microgels for biomedical applications.

  14. Irradiation influence on the detection of genetic-modified soybeans

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Villavicencio, A.L.C.H.; Araujo, M.M.; Baldasso, J.G.; Aquino, S.; Konietzny, U.; Greiner, R.

    2004-01-01

    Three soybean varieties were analyzed to evaluate the irradiation influence on the detection of genetic modification. Samples were treated in a 60 Co facility at dose levels of 0, 500, 800, and 1000 Gy. The seeds were at first analyzed by Comet Assay as a rapid screening irradiation detection method. Secondly, germination test was performed to detect the viability of irradiated soybeans. Finally, because of its high sensitivity, its specificity and rapidity the polimerase chain reaction was the method applied for genetic modified organism detection. The analysis of DNA by the single technique of microgel electrophoresis of single cells (DNA Comet Assay) showed that DNA damage increased with increasing radiation doses. No negative influence of irradiation on the genetic modification detection was found

  15. Silver nanoparticles containing hybrid polymer microgels with tunable surface plasmon resonance and catalytic activity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ajmal, Muhammad; Siddiq, Mohammad [Quaid-I-Azam University, Islamabad (Pakistan); Farooqi, Zahoor Hussain [University of the Punjab, Lahore (Pakistan)

    2013-11-15

    Multi-responsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-methacrylic acid-acrylamide) [P(NIPAM-MAA-AAm)] copolymer microgel was prepared by free radical emulsion polymerization. Silver nanoparticles were fabricated inside the microgel network by in-situ reduction of silver nitrate. Swelling and deswelling behavior of the pure microgels was studied under various conditions of pH and temperature using dynamic light scattering. A red shift was observed in surface plasmon resonance wavelength of Ag nanoparticles with pH induced swelling of hybrid microgel. The catalytic activity of the hybrid system was investigated by monitoring the reduction of p-nitrophenol under different conditions of temperature and amount of catalysts. For this catalytic reaction a time delay of 8 to 10min was observed at room temperature, which was reduced to 2 min at high temperature due to swelling of microgels, which facilitated diffusion of reactants to catalyst surface and increased rate of reaction.

  16. Antimicrobial lysozyme-containing starch microgel to target and inhibit amylase-producing microorganisms

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Li, Y.; Kadam, S.; Abee, T.; Slaghek, T.M.; Timmermans, J.W.; Cohen Stuart, M.A.; Norde, W.; Kleijn, M.J.

    2012-01-01

    The aim of this study is to determine the release of lysozyme from oxidized starch microgels and subsequently test its antimicrobial activity. The gels are made of oxidized potato starch polymers, which are chemically cross-linked by sodium trimetaphosphate (STMP). The microgel is negatively charged

  17. The synthesis of desired functional groups on PEI microgel particles for biomedical and environmental applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sahiner, Nurettin; Demirci, Sahin; Sahiner, Mehtap; Al-Lohedan, Hamad

    2015-11-01

    Polyethyleneimine (PEI) microgels were synthesized by micro emulsion polymerization technique and converted to positively charged forms by chemical treatments with various modifying agents with different functional groups, such as 2-bromoethanol (-OH), 4-bromobutyronitrile (-CN), 2-bromoethylamine hydrobromide (-NH2), and glycidol (-OH). The functionalization of PEI microgels was confirmed by FT-IR, TGA and zeta potential measurements. Furthermore, a second modification of the modified PEI microgels was induced on 4-bromo butyronitrile-modified PEI microgels (PEI-CN) by amidoximation, to generate new functional groups on the modified PEI microgels. The PEI and modified PEI microgels were also tested for their antimicrobial effects against various bacteria such as Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633, Escherichia coli ATCC 8739 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25323. Moreover, the PEI-based particles were used for removal of organic dyes such as methyl orange (MO) and congo red (CR). The absorption capacity of PEI-based microgels increased with modification from 101.8 mg/g to 218.8 mg/g with 2-bromoethylamine, 216.2 m/g with 1-bromoethanol, and 224.5 mg/g with 4-bromobutyronitrile for MO. The increase in absorption for CR dyes was from 347.3 mg/g to 390.4 mg/g with 1-bromoethanol, 399.6 mg/g with glycidol, and 349.9 mg/g with 4-bromobutyronitrile.

  18. Microbial Activation of Bacillus subtilis-Immobilized Microgel Particles for Enhanced Oil Recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Son, Han Am; Choi, Sang Koo; Jeong, Eun Sook; Kim, Bohyun; Kim, Hyun Tae; Sung, Won Mo; Kim, Jin Woong

    2016-09-06

    Microbially enhanced oil recovery involves the use of microorganisms to extract oil remaining in reservoirs. Here, we report fabrication of microgel particles with immobilized Bacillus subtilis for application to microbially enhanced oil recovery. Using B. subtilis isolated from oil-contaminated soils in Myanmar, we evaluated the ability of this microbe to reduce the interfacial tension at the oil-water interface via production of biosurfactant molecules, eventually yielding excellent emulsification across a broad range of the medium pH and ionic strength. To safely deliver B. subtilis into a permeable porous medium, in this study, these bacteria were physically immobilized in a hydrogel mesh of microgel particles. In a core flooding experiment, in which the microgel particles were injected into a column packed with silica beads, we found that these particles significantly increased oil recovery in a concentration-dependent manner. This result shows that a mesh of microgel particles encapsulating biosurfactant-producing microorganisms holds promise for recovery of oil from porous media.

  19. Microgels produced using microfluidic on-chip polymer blending for controlled released of VEGF encoding lentivectors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Madrigal, Justin L; Sharma, Shonit N; Campbell, Kevin T; Stilhano, Roberta S; Gijsbers, Rik; Silva, Eduardo A

    2018-03-15

    Alginate hydrogels are widely used as delivery vehicles due to their ability to encapsulate and release a wide range of cargos in a gentle and biocompatible manner. The release of encapsulated therapeutic cargos can be promoted or stunted by adjusting the hydrogel physiochemical properties. However, the release from such systems is often skewed towards burst-release or lengthy retention. To address this, we hypothesized that the overall magnitude of burst release could be adjusted by combining microgels with distinct properties and release behavior. Microgel suspensions were generated using a process we have termed on-chip polymer blending to yield composite suspensions of a range of microgel formulations. In this manner, we studied how alginate percentage and degradation relate to the release of lentivectors. Whereas changes in alginate percentage had a minimal impact on lentivector release, microgel degradation led to a 3-fold increase, and near complete release, over 10 days. Furthermore, by controlling the amount of degradable alginate present within microgels the relative rate of release can be adjusted. A degradable formulation of microgels was used to deliver vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-encoding lentivectors in the chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay and yielded a proangiogenic response in comparison to the same lentivectors delivered in suspension. The utility of blended microgel suspensions may provide an especially appealing platform for the delivery of lentivectors or similarly sized therapeutics. Genetic therapeutics hold considerable potential for the treatment of diseases and disorders including ischemic cardiovascular diseases. To realize this potential, genetic vectors must be precisely and efficiently delivered to targeted regions of the body. However, conventional methods of delivery do not provide sufficient spatial and temporal control. Here, we demonstrate how alginate microgels provide a basis for developing systems for

  20. Silver nanoparticles fabricated hybrid microgels for optical and catalytic study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Siddiq, M.; Shah, L.A.; Ambreen, J.; Sayed, M.

    2016-01-01

    In this work different compositions of smart poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-vinylacetic acid-acrylamide) poly(NIPAM-VAA-AAm) microgels with different vinyl acetic acid (VAA) contents have been synthesized successfully by conventional free radical emulsion polymerization. Silver metal nanoparticles (NPs) were fabricated inside the microgels network by insitu reduction method using sodium borohydride (NaBH/sub 4/) as reducing agent. The confirmation of polymerization and entrapment of metal NPs were carried out by FT-IR spectroscopy. Dynamic laser light scattering (DLLS) technique was used for calculating average hydrodynamic diameter of microgel particles. The optical properties of silver NPs were studied by UV-Visible spectroscopy at various conditions of pH and temperature. The hybrid microgels show red shift and increase in intensity of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) band with the increase in temperature and decrease in pH of the medium. The synthesized materials were used as catalysts in the reduction process and it was found that the catalyst composed of high amount of VAA shows enhanced catalytic activity. The apparent rate constant (k/sub app/) for catalyst composed of 12 percent VAA was doubled (5.6*10/sup -3/ sec/sup -1/) as compared to 4 percent VAA containing catalyst (2.8*10/sup -3/ sec/sup -1/). (author)

  1. Evaluation through comet assay of DNA damage induced in human lymphocytes by alpha particles. Comparison with protons and Co-60 gamma rays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Di Giorgio, M.; Kreiner, A. J.; Schuff, J. A.; Vallerga, M. B.; Taja, M. R.; Lopez, F. O.; Alvarez, D. E.; Saint Martin, G.; Burton, A.; Debray, M. E.; Kesque, J. M.; Somacal, H.; Stoliar, P.; Valda, A.; Davidson, J.; Davidson, M.; Ozafran, M. J.; Vazquez, M. E.

    2004-01-01

    Several techniques with different sensitivity to single-strand breaks and/or double strand breaks were applied to detect DNA breaks generated by high LET particles. Tests that assess DNA damage in single cells might be the appropriate tool to estimate damage induced by particles, facilitating the assessment of heterogeneity of damage in a cell population. The microgel electrophoresis (comet) assay is a sensitive method for measuring DNA damage in single cells. The objective of this work was to evaluate the proficiency of comet assay to assess the effect of high LET radiation on peripheral blood lymphocytes, compared to protons and Co-60 gamma rays. Materials and methods: Irradiations of blood samples were performed at TANDAR laboratory (Argentina). Thin samples of human peripheral blood were irradiated with different doses (0-2.5 Gy) of 20.2 MeV helium-4 particles in the track segment mode, at nearly constant LET. Data obtained were compared with the effect induced by a MeV protons and Co-60 gamma rays. Alkaline comet assay was applied. Comets were quantified by the Olive tail moment. Distribution of the helium-4 particle and protons were evaluated considering Poisson distribution in lymphocyte nuclei. The mean dose per nucleus per particle result 0.053 Gy for protons and 0.178 Gy for helium-4 particles. When cells are exposed to a dose of 0.1 Gy, the hit probability model predicts that 43% of the nuclei should have experienced and alpha traversal while with protons, 85% of the nuclei should be hit. The experimental results show a biphasic response for helium-4 particles (0.1 Gy), indicating the existence of two subpopulations: unhit and hit. Distributions of tail moment as a function of fluence and experimental dose for comets induced by helium-4 particles, protons and Co-60 gamma rays were analyzed. With helium-4 irradiations, lymphocyte nuclei show an Olive tail moment distribution flattened to higher tail moments a dose increase. However, for irradiations with

  2. High throughput generation and trapping of individual agarose microgel using microfluidic approach

    KAUST Repository

    Shi, Yang

    2013-02-28

    Microgel is a kind of biocompatible polymeric material, which has been widely used as micro-carriers in materials synthesis, drug delivery and cell biology applications. However, high-throughput generation of individual microgel for on-site analysis in a microdevice still remains a challenge. Here, we presented a simple and stable droplet microfluidic system to realize high-throughput generation and trapping of individual agarose microgels based on the synergetic effect of surface tension and hydrodynamic forces in microchannels and used it for 3-D cell culture in real-time. The established system was mainly composed of droplet generators with flow focusing T-junction and a series of array individual trap structures. The whole process including the independent agarose microgel formation, immobilization in trapping array and gelation in situ via temperature cooling could be realized on the integrated microdevice completely. The performance of this system was demonstrated by successfully encapsulating and culturing adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACCM) cells in the gelated agarose microgels. This established approach is simple, easy to operate, which can not only generate the micro-carriers with different components in parallel, but also monitor the cell behavior in 3D matrix in real-time. It can also be extended for applications in the area of material synthesis and tissue engineering. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

  3. High throughput generation and trapping of individual agarose microgel using microfluidic approach

    KAUST Repository

    Shi, Yang; Gao, Xinghua; Chen, Longqing; Zhang, Min; Ma, Jingyun; Zhang, Xixiang; Qin, Jianhua

    2013-01-01

    Microgel is a kind of biocompatible polymeric material, which has been widely used as micro-carriers in materials synthesis, drug delivery and cell biology applications. However, high-throughput generation of individual microgel for on-site analysis in a microdevice still remains a challenge. Here, we presented a simple and stable droplet microfluidic system to realize high-throughput generation and trapping of individual agarose microgels based on the synergetic effect of surface tension and hydrodynamic forces in microchannels and used it for 3-D cell culture in real-time. The established system was mainly composed of droplet generators with flow focusing T-junction and a series of array individual trap structures. The whole process including the independent agarose microgel formation, immobilization in trapping array and gelation in situ via temperature cooling could be realized on the integrated microdevice completely. The performance of this system was demonstrated by successfully encapsulating and culturing adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACCM) cells in the gelated agarose microgels. This established approach is simple, easy to operate, which can not only generate the micro-carriers with different components in parallel, but also monitor the cell behavior in 3D matrix in real-time. It can also be extended for applications in the area of material synthesis and tissue engineering. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

  4. Effect of low dose tritium on mouse lymphocyte DNA estimated by comet assay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ichimasa, Yusuke; Otsuka, Kensuke; Maruyama, Satoko; Tauchi, Hiroshi; Ichimasa, Michiko; Uda, Tatsuhiko

    2003-01-01

    This paper deals with low dose effect of HTO on mouse lymphocytes DNA (in vitro irradiation) estimated by the comet assay using ICR male mouse of 20 to 23 weeks old. Lymphocytes were isolated by centrifugation of whole blood sample on Ficoll-Paque solution and embedded in agarose gel just after mixed with HTO. After lymphocytes were exposed to 17-50 mGy of HTO, the agarose gel slides were washed to remove HTO and cell lysis treatment on the slides was conducted before electrophoresis. The individual comets on stained slides after electrophoresis were analyzed using imaging software. No significant DNA damages were observed. (author)

  5. Effect of Extreme Cold Treatment on Morphology and Behavior of Hydrogels and Microgels (Poster Session)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-08-20

    capable of better managing a soldier’s comfort by regulating moisture and thermal properties • Hydrogel or microgel textile coatings are of interest...to understand the effect of cold temperature ( down to -80 ° C) on hydrogel and microgel particles properties and response to thermal stimuli • We...determine water uptake post freezing Sweat EFFECTS ON WATER UPTAKE PRELIMINARY MICROGEL THERMAL STUDIES MORPHOLOGY POST FREEZING PAA PEG PNIPAAm BEFORE AFTER

  6. Highly stable and degradable multifunctional microgel for self-regulated insulin delivery under physiological conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xinjie; Lü, Shaoyu; Gao, Chunmei; Chen, Chen; Zhang, Xuan; Liu, Mingzhu

    2013-06-01

    The response to glucose, pH and temperature, high drug loading capacity, self-regulated drug delivery and degradation in vivo are simultaneously probable by applying a multifunctional microgel under a rational design in a colloid chemistry method. Such multifunctional microgels are fabricated with N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm), (2-dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) and 3-acrylamidephenylboronic acid (AAPBA) through a precipitation emulsion method and cross-linked by reductive degradable N,N'-bis(arcyloyl)cystamine (BAC). This novel kind of microgel with a narrow size distribution (~250 nm) is suitable for diabetes because it can adapt to the surrounding medium of different glucose concentrations over a clinically relevant range (0-20 mM), control the release of preloaded insulin and is highly stable under physiological conditions (pH 7.4, 0.15 M NaCl, 37 °C). When synthesized multifunctional microgels regulate drug delivery, they gradually degrade as time passes and, as a result, show enhanced biocompatibility. This exhibits a new proof-of-concept for diabetes treatment that takes advantage of the properties of each building block from a multifunctional micro-object. These highly stable and versatile multifunctional microgels have the potential to be used for self-regulated therapy and monitoring of the response to treatment, or even simultaneous diagnosis as nanobiosensors.The response to glucose, pH and temperature, high drug loading capacity, self-regulated drug delivery and degradation in vivo are simultaneously probable by applying a multifunctional microgel under a rational design in a colloid chemistry method. Such multifunctional microgels are fabricated with N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm), (2-dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) and 3-acrylamidephenylboronic acid (AAPBA) through a precipitation emulsion method and cross-linked by reductive degradable N,N'-bis(arcyloyl)cystamine (BAC). This novel kind of microgel with a narrow size

  7. Fabrication of antibody-loaded microgels using microfluidics and thiol-ene photoclick chemistry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gregoritza, Manuel; Abstiens, Kathrin; Graf, Moritz; Goepferich, Achim M

    2018-06-01

    Reducing burst effects, providing controlled release, and safeguarding biologics against degradation are a few of several highly attractive applications for microgels in the field of controlled release. However, the incorporation of proteins into microgels without impairing stability is highly challenging. In this proof of concept study, the combination of microfluidics and thiol-ene photoclick chemistry was evaluated for the fabrication of antibody-loaded microgels with narrow size distribution. Norbornene-modified eight-armed poly(ethylene glycol) with an average molecular mass of 10,000 Da, 20,000 Da, or 40,000 Da were prepared as macromonomers for microgel formation. For functionalization, either hydrolytically cleavable ester or stable amide bonds were used. A microfluidic system was employed to generate precursor solution droplets containing macromonomers, the cross-linker dithiothreitol and the initiator Eosin-Y. Irradiation with visible light was used to trigger thiol-ene reactions which covalently cross-linked the droplets. For all bond-types, molecular masses, and concentrations gelation was very rapid (<20 s) and a plateau for the complex shear modulus was reached after only 5 min. The generated microgels had a rod-like shape and did not show considerable cellular toxicity. Stress conditions during the fabrication process were simulated and it could be shown that fabrication did not impair the activity of the model proteins lysozyme and bevacizumab. It was confirmed that the average hydrogel network mesh size was similar or smaller than the hydrodynamic diameter of bevacizumab which is a crucial factor for restricting diffusion and delaying release. Finally, microgels were loaded with bevacizumab and a sustained release over a period of 30 ± 4 and 47 ± 7 days could be achieved in vitro. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Role of microgel formation in scavenging of chromophoric dissolved organic matter and heavy metals in a river-sea system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shiu, Ruei-Feng; Lee, Chon-Lin

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Different types of DOC polymers forming microgel were compared. • The assembly effectiveness of marine DOC was much higher than riverine DOC. • Types and sources of DOC polymers may control the aquatic microgel abundance. • An alternative route for CDOM and heavy metals removal is presented. • Ecological risk and fate assessments of pollutants may consider the microgel phase. - Abstract: We use riverine and marine dissolved organic carbon (DOC) polymers to examine their aggregation behavior, and to evaluate the roles of microgel formation in scavenging of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) and heavy metals in a river-sea system. Our results indicate that riverine and marine microgels did not exhibit very much difference in size and self-assembly curve; however, the assembly effectiveness ([microgel]/DOC) of marine samples was much higher than riverine. Instead of concentration of DOC, other factors such as types and sources of DOC polymers may control the microgel abundance in aquatic environments. After filtering water samples (microgels removed), the CDOM and selected metals (Cu, Ni, Mn) in the filtrate were quantified. CDOM and metals were concurrently removed to an extent via DOC polymer re-aggregation, which also suggested that the microgels had sequestering capability in CDOM and metals. This finding provides an alternative route for CDOM and heavy metals removal from the water column. As such the process of re-aggregation into microgels should then be considered besides traditional phase partitioning in the assessment of the ecological risk and fate of hazardous materials.

  9. Role of microgel formation in scavenging of chromophoric dissolved organic matter and heavy metals in a river-sea system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shiu, Ruei-Feng [Department of Marine Environment and Engineering, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan (China); Lee, Chon-Lin, E-mail: linnohc@fac.nsysu.edu.tw [Department of Marine Environment and Engineering, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan (China); Department of Public Health, College of Health Science, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan (China); Asia-Pacific Ocean Research Center, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan (China); Research Center for Environmental Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan (China)

    2017-04-15

    Highlights: • Different types of DOC polymers forming microgel were compared. • The assembly effectiveness of marine DOC was much higher than riverine DOC. • Types and sources of DOC polymers may control the aquatic microgel abundance. • An alternative route for CDOM and heavy metals removal is presented. • Ecological risk and fate assessments of pollutants may consider the microgel phase. - Abstract: We use riverine and marine dissolved organic carbon (DOC) polymers to examine their aggregation behavior, and to evaluate the roles of microgel formation in scavenging of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) and heavy metals in a river-sea system. Our results indicate that riverine and marine microgels did not exhibit very much difference in size and self-assembly curve; however, the assembly effectiveness ([microgel]/DOC) of marine samples was much higher than riverine. Instead of concentration of DOC, other factors such as types and sources of DOC polymers may control the microgel abundance in aquatic environments. After filtering water samples (microgels removed), the CDOM and selected metals (Cu, Ni, Mn) in the filtrate were quantified. CDOM and metals were concurrently removed to an extent via DOC polymer re-aggregation, which also suggested that the microgels had sequestering capability in CDOM and metals. This finding provides an alternative route for CDOM and heavy metals removal from the water column. As such the process of re-aggregation into microgels should then be considered besides traditional phase partitioning in the assessment of the ecological risk and fate of hazardous materials.

  10. Evidence of a low temperature dynamical transition in concentrated PNIPAM microgels

    OpenAIRE

    Zanatta, Marco; Tavagnacco, Letizia; Buratti, Elena; Bertoldo, Monica; Natali, Francesca; Chiessi, Ester; Orecchini, Andrea; Zaccarelli, Emanuela

    2018-01-01

    The occurrence of a dynamical transition at low temperature has been reported in a large number of different proteins. Here we provide the first observation of a "protein-like" dynamical transition in a non-biological aqueous environment. To this aim we exploit the popular colloidal system of poly-N-isopropylacrylamide (PNIPAM) microgels, extending their investigation to unprecedentedly high concentrations. Thanks to the heterogeneous polymeric architecture of the microgels, water crystalliza...

  11. Detection of radiation-induced apoptosis using the comet assay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wada, Seiichi; Kobayashi, Yasuhiko; Funayama, Tomoo; Yamamoto, Kazuo; Khoa, Tran Van; Natsuhori, Masahiro; Ito, Nobuhiko

    2003-01-01

    The electrophoresis pattern of apoptotic cells detected by the comet assay has a characteristic small head and spread tail. This image has been referred to as an apoptotic comet, but it has not been previously proven to be apoptotic cells by any direct method. In order to identify this image obtained by the comet assay as corresponding to an apoptotic cell, the frequency of appearance of apoptosis was examined using CHO-K1 and L5178Y cells which were exposed to gamma irradiation. As a method for detecting apoptosis, the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay was used. When the frequency of appearance of apoptotic cells following gamma irradiation was observed over a period of time, there was a significant increase in appearance of apoptosis when using the TUNEL assay. However, there was only a slight increase when using the comet assay. In order to verify the low frequency of appearance of apoptosis when using the comet assay, we attempted to use the TUNEL assay to satin the apoptotic comets detected in the comet assay. The apoptotic comets were TUNEL positive and the normal comets were TUNEL negative. This indicates that the apoptotic comets were formed from DNA fragments with 3'-hydroxy ends that are generated as cells undergo apoptosis. Therefore, it was understood that the characteristic pattern of apoptotic comets detected by the comet assay corresponds to cells undergoing apoptosis. (author)

  12. Soft microgel particles at fluid interfaces

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Deshmukh, Omkar

    2015-01-01

    We investigate the use of soft microgel particles based on a thermosensitive poly- mer, poly-N-isopropylacrylamide (PNIPAM) to stabilize a fluid interface. We also study the effect of temperature on the adsorption kinetics and the interfacial behaviour of these particles on air-water and oil-water

  13. Removal of Chromophoric Dissolved Organic Matter and Heavy Metals in a River-Sea System: Role of Aquatic Microgel Formation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shiu, R. F.; Lee, C. L.

    2016-12-01

    Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) polymers are complex and poorly understood mixture of organic macromolecules in environment system. Portions of these polymers spontaneously form microgels that play key roles in many biogeochemical reactions, including mediating aggregation processes, element cycling, and pollutant mobility. However, the detailed interaction of microgels-heterogeneous materials in aquatic systems is still lacking. Insight into the interaction between surrounding materials and microgels from different types of aquatic DOC polymers are extremely important, as it is crucial in determining the fate and transport of these materials. Here, we use riverine and marine DOC polymers to examine their aggregation behavior, and to evaluate the roles of microgel formation in scavenging of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) and heavy metals in a river-sea system. Our results indicate that riverine and marine microgels did not exhibit too much difference in size ( 3-5 μm) and self-assembly curve; however, the assembly effectiveness ([microgel]/DOC) of marine samples was much higher than riverine. Instead of concentration of DOC, other factors such as types and sources of DOC polymers may control the microgel abundance in aquatic environments. After filtering water samples (microgels removed), the CDOM and selected metals (Cu, Ni, Mn) in the filtrate were quantified. CDOM and metals were concurrently removed to an extent via DOC polymer re-aggregation, which also suggested that the microgels had the sequestering capability in CDOM and metals. This finding provides an alternative route for CDOM and heavy metals removal from the water column. As such the process of re-aggregation into microgels should then be considered besides traditional phase partitioning in the assessment of the ecological risk and fate of pollutant.

  14. Synthesis, characterization and fabrication of copper nanoparticles in N-isopropylacrylamide based co-polymer microgels for degradation of p-nitrophenol

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Farooqi Zahoor H.

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylic acid [P(NIPAM-co-AAc] microgels were synthesized by precipitation polymerization. Copper nanoparticles were successfully fabricated inside the microgels by in-situ reduction of copper ions in an aqueous medium. The microgels were characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR and Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS. Hydrodynamic radius of P(NIPAM-co-AAc microgel particles increased with an increase in pH in aqueous medium at 25 °C. Copper-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylic acid [Cu-P(NIPAM-co-AAc] hybrid microgels were used as a catalyst for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP. Effect of temperature, concentration of sodium borohydride (NaBH4 and catalyst dosage on the value of apparent rate constant (kapp for catalytic reduction of 4-NP in the presence of Cu-P(NIPAM-co-AAc hybrid microgels were investigated by UV-Vis spectrophotometry. It was found that the value of kapp for catalytic reduction of 4-NP in the presence of Cu-P(NIPAM-co-AAc hybrid microgel catalyst increased with an increase in catalyst dosage, temperature and concentration of NaBH4 in aqueous medium. The results were discussed in terms of diffusion of reactants towards catalyst surface and swelling-deswelling of hybrid microgels.

  15. An ECVAG trial on assessment of oxidative damage to DNA measured by the comet assay

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Johansson, Clara; Møller, Peter; Forchhammer, Lykke

    2010-01-01

    The increasing use of single cell gel electrophoresis (the comet assay) highlights its popularity as a method for detecting DNA damage, including the use of enzymes for assessment of oxidatively damaged DNA. However, comparison of DNA damage levels between laboratories can be difficult due...... to differences in assay protocols (e.g. lysis conditions, enzyme treatment, the duration of the alkaline treatment and electrophoresis) and in the end points used for reporting results (e.g. %DNA in tail, arbitrary units, tail moment and tail length). One way to facilitate comparisons is to convert primary comet...... assay end points to number of lesions/10(6) bp by calibration with ionizing radiation. The aim of this study was to investigate the inter-laboratory variation in assessment of oxidatively damaged DNA by the comet assay in terms of oxidized purines converted to strand breaks with formamidopyrimidine DNA...

  16. Click hydrogels, microgels and nanogels: emerging platforms for drug delivery and tissue engineering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Yanjiao; Chen, Jing; Deng, Chao; Suuronen, Erik J; Zhong, Zhiyuan

    2014-06-01

    Hydrogels, microgels and nanogels have emerged as versatile and viable platforms for sustained protein release, targeted drug delivery, and tissue engineering due to excellent biocompatibility, a microporous structure with tunable porosity and pore size, and dimensions spanning from human organs, cells to viruses. In the past decade, remarkable advances in hydrogels, microgels and nanogels have been achieved with click chemistry. It is a most promising strategy to prepare gels with varying dimensions owing to its high reactivity, superb selectivity, and mild reaction conditions. In particular, the recent development of copper-free click chemistry such as strain-promoted azide-alkyne cycloaddition, radical mediated thiol-ene chemistry, Diels-Alder reaction, tetrazole-alkene photo-click chemistry, and oxime reaction renders it possible to form hydrogels, microgels and nanogels without the use of potentially toxic catalysts or immunogenic enzymes that are commonly required. Notably, unlike other chemical approaches, click chemistry owing to its unique bioorthogonal feature does not interfere with encapsulated bioactives such as living cells, proteins and drugs and furthermore allows versatile preparation of micropatterned biomimetic hydrogels, functional microgels and nanogels. In this review, recent exciting developments in click hydrogels, microgels and nanogels, as well as their biomedical applications such as controlled protein and drug release, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine are presented and discussed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Comet Assay: A Method to Evaluate Genotoxicity of Nano-Drug Delivery System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vandghanooni, Somayeh; Eskandani, Morteza

    2011-01-01

    Introduction Drug delivery systems could induce cellular toxicity as side effect of nanomaterials. The mechanism of toxicity usually involves DNA damage. The comet assay or single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE) is a sensitive method for detecting strand damages in the DNA of a cell with applications in genotoxicity testing and molecular epidemiology as well as fundamental research in DNA damage and repair. Methods In the current study, we reviewed recent drug delivery researches related to SCGE. Results We found that one preference for choosing the assay is that comet images may result from apoptosis-mediated nuclear fragmentation. This method has been widely used over the last decade in several different areas. Overall cells, such as cultured cells are embedded in agarose on a microscope slide, lysed with detergent, and treated with high salt. Nucleoids are supercoiled DNA form. When the slide is faced to alkaline electrophoresis any breakages present in the DNA cause the supercoiling to relax locally and loops of DNA extend toward the anode as a ‘‘comet tail’’. Conclusion This article provides a relatively comprehensive review upon potentiality of the comet assay for assessment of DNA damage and accordingly it can be used as an informative platform in genotoxicity studies of drug delivery systems. PMID:23678412

  18. Role of microgel formation in scavenging of chromophoric dissolved organic matter and heavy metals in a river-sea system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shiu, Ruei-Feng; Lee, Chon-Lin

    2017-04-15

    We use riverine and marine dissolved organic carbon (DOC) polymers to examine their aggregation behavior, and to evaluate the roles of microgel formation in scavenging of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) and heavy metals in a river-sea system. Our results indicate that riverine and marine microgels did not exhibit very much difference in size and self-assembly curve; however, the assembly effectiveness ([microgel]/DOC) of marine samples was much higher than riverine. Instead of concentration of DOC, other factors such as types and sources of DOC polymers may control the microgel abundance in aquatic environments. After filtering water samples (microgels removed), the CDOM and selected metals (Cu, Ni, Mn) in the filtrate were quantified. CDOM and metals were concurrently removed to an extent via DOC polymer re-aggregation, which also suggested that the microgels had sequestering capability in CDOM and metals. This finding provides an alternative route for CDOM and heavy metals removal from the water column. As such the process of re-aggregation into microgels should then be considered besides traditional phase partitioning in the assessment of the ecological risk and fate of hazardous materials. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Evaluation of radio-induced DNA damage and their repair in human lymphocytes by comet assay or single cell gel electrophoresis; Avaliacao do dano radioinduzido no DNA e reparo em linfocitos humanos pelo metodo do cometa (single cell gel electrophoresis)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nascimento, Patricia A. do; Suzuki, Miriam F.; Okazaki, Kayo [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)

    1997-12-01

    The comet assay, also called single cell gel electrophoresis technique, permits to evaluate quantitatively DNA breakage induced by chemical and physical agents at the level of the single cell. The present paper refers to the construction of dose-response curves to DNA damage and repair studies in human peripheral lymphocytes, utilizing the comet assay for the radiosensitivity analysis. So, the blood samples were obtained from healthy donors (40-50 year old), irradiated in a {sup 60} Co source (GAMMACEL 220) with doses of 0.17, 0.25, 0.57, 1.10, 2.12 and 4.22 Gy (0.59 Gy/min.) and processed 1 and 24 hours after the exposition. Results obtained showed a increase in the total lenght of comet (DNA migration) as a function of radiation dose in samples processed 1 and 24 hours after the treatment. The DNA lesion in irradiated lymphocytes with 4.22 Gy (means value of 101.4 {mu}m) were 3.4 times higher than in the untreated lymphocytes (mean value of 30 {mu}m) instead of 24 hours after the irradiation were 1.5 times higher (mean value of 46.3 {mu}m). This reduction on DNA repair occurred in these cells. It was also possible visualized the presence of subpopulations of the cells with different sensitivity and repair capacity to ionizing radiation in these donors. (author). 8 refs., 3 figs.

  20. Evaluation of irradiation in foods using DNA comet assay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khawar, Affaf; Bhatti, Ijaz Ahmad; Khan, Q.M.; Ali, T.; Khan, A.I.; Asi, M.R.

    2011-01-01

    Comet assay is a rapid, inexpensive and sensitive biological technique to detect DNA damage in food stuffs by irradiation. In this study the Comet assay is applied on foods of plant and animal origins. Samples were irradiated by using 60 Co gamma-radiation source. The applied doses were 2, 6 and 10 kGy for food of plant origin and 0.5, 1 and 2 kGy for meat items. The un-irradiated and irradiated samples were clearly differentiated on the basis of DNA fragmentation. During the electrophoresis study, it was found that in un-irradiated cells DNA remained intact and appeared as Comets without tail whereas in irradiated cells Comets with tails were visible due to stretching of fragmented DNA. Moreover, it was also revealed that the DNA tail length was dose dependent. Dry food stuffs (seeds) showed good results as compared to moist foods (meat, fruits and vegetables) due to the absence of background damage. (author)

  1. Hairy polyelectrolyte brushes-grafted thermosensitive microgels as artificial synovial fluid for simultaneous biomimetic lubrication and arthritis treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Guoqiang; Liu, Zhilu; Li, Na; Wang, Xiaolong; Zhou, Feng; Liu, Weimin

    2014-11-26

    We report the fabrication of poly(3-sulfopropyl methacrylate potassium salt) (PSPMK) brushes grafted poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) microgels and their potential as artificial synovial fluid for biomimetic aqueous lubrication and arthritis treatment. The negatively charged PSPMK brushes and thermosensitive PNIPAAm microgels play water-based hydration lubrication and temperature-triggered drug release, respectively. Under soft friction pairs, an ultralow coefficient of friction was achieved, while the hairy thermosensitive microgels showed a desirable temperature-triggered drugs release performance. Such a soft charged hairy microgel offers great possibility for designing intelligent synovial fluid. What is more, the combination of lubrication and drug loading capabilities enables the large clinical potential of novel soft hairy nanoparticles as synthetic joint lubricant fluid in arthritis treatment.

  2. Novel lipid-based dermal microgels of Neobacin

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Frank

    2015-03-18

    Mar 18, 2015 ... phobic character to the freely water soluble neomycin sulphate to enhance its permeation through the skin for better drug release. To improve adhesivity, convenience and moist-driven wound healing devoid of scabbing, we therefore, encapsulated the SMSLMs into Carbopol 940® hydrogels (microgels).

  3. Ultrasensitive microchip based on smart microgel for real-time online detection of trace threat analytes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Shuo; Wang, Wei; Ju, Xiao-Jie; Xie, Rui; Liu, Zhuang; Yu, Hai-Rong; Zhang, Chuan; Chu, Liang-Yin

    2016-02-23

    Real-time online detection of trace threat analytes is critical for global sustainability, whereas the key challenge is how to efficiently convert and amplify analyte signals into simple readouts. Here we report an ultrasensitive microfluidic platform incorporated with smart microgel for real-time online detection of trace threat analytes. The microgel can swell responding to specific stimulus in flowing solution, resulting in efficient conversion of the stimulus signal into significantly amplified signal of flow-rate change; thus highly sensitive, fast, and selective detection can be achieved. We demonstrate this by incorporating ion-recognizable microgel for detecting trace Pb(2+), and connecting our platform with pipelines of tap water and wastewater for real-time online Pb(2+) detection to achieve timely pollution warning and terminating. This work provides a generalizable platform for incorporating myriad stimuli-responsive microgels to achieve ever-better performance for real-time online detection of various trace threat molecules, and may expand the scope of applications of detection techniques.

  4. Study on dose-effect relationship of radiation-induced DNA damage using single cell gel electrophoresis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Qiang; Jiang Enhai; Li Jin; Tang Weisheng; Wang Zhiquan; Zhao Yongcheng; Fan Feiyue

    2006-01-01

    Objective: To explore a new, simple and quick radiation biodosimeter, which can be applied to estimate biological dose in case of radiation accident. Methods: DNA double-strand break were detected using neutral single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE), and all the indexes of comet assay including HDNA%, TDNA%, CL, TL, TM, and OTM were analyzed by CASP (Comet Assay Software Project). The curve of dose-effect was fitted using SPSS 12.0 software. Results: Statistically significant dose-effect relationships were observed in all the indexes of comet assay, OTM was superior to other indexes. Conclusions: Application of neutral comet assay combined with CASP analysis could serve as a new radiation biodosimeter. (authors)

  5. Application of the DNA comet assay for detection of irradiated meat

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kruszewski, M.; Iwanenko, T.; Wojewodzka, M.; Malec-Czechowska, K.; Dancewicz, A. M.; Szot, Z.

    1998-01-01

    Radiation induces damage to the DNA. This damage (fragmentation) can be assessed in the irradiated food using Single Cell Gel Electrophoresis (SCGE), known as DNA comet assay. Fragmentation of DNA may also be caused by improper storage of meat and repeated freezing and thawing. This makes identification of irradiated meat by this assay not reliable enough. In order to know the scale of the processes imitating radiation effects in DNA of the comets, their shape and lengths were examined in both irradiated and unirradiated fresh meat (D = 1.5 or 3.0 kGy) stored at 4 o C or frozen (-21 o ) up to 5 months. Comets formed upon SCGE were stained with DAPI or silver and examined in fluorescent or light microscope. They were divided arbitrarily into 4 classes. Comets of IV class were found quite often in fresh meat stored at 4 o C. In meat samples that were irradiated and stored frozen, comets of class I, II and III were observed. The negative comet test is univocal. Positive comet test, however, needs confirmation. The meat should be subjected to further analysis with other validated methods. (author)

  6. Structural and interaction parameters of thermosensitive native α-elastin biohybrid microgel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balaceanu, Andreea; Singh, Smriti; Demco, Dan E.; Möller, Martin

    2014-09-01

    The structural and water interaction parameters for native, α-elastin biohybrid microgel crosslinked with hydrophilic and hydrophobic crosslinkers are obtained from the volume phase transition temperature behaviour, 1H high-resolution magic-angle sample spinning transverse magnetization relaxation NMR, and modified Flory-Rehner swelling theory. Firstly, considering a homogeneous morphology the number of subchains in the biohybrid microgel, the residual water in deswollen state as a function of crosslink density and the temperature dependence of the Flory biopolymer-water interaction parameters are reported for the biohybrid microgels prepared with hydrophilic (PEG-DGE) and hydrophobic (BS3) crosslinkers. The Flory-Rehner classical approach is subsequently modified taking into account the heterogeneities observed by NMR transverse relaxation measurements. Two differently mobile regions are determined, a hydrophobic domain and a crosslinking domain with relative reduced mobility. For the first time, the influence of chain mobility on the Flory interaction parameter is investigated through a modified Flory state equation. The contributions of amino-acids located in the hydrophobic and crosslinking domains in the polypeptide sequence are separated while analyzing the biopolymer-water interaction.

  7. Polymer Conformations in Ionic Microgels in the Presence of Salt: Theoretical and Mesoscale Simulation Results

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hideki Kobayashi

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available We investigate the conformational properties of polymers in ionic microgels in the presence of salt ions by molecular dynamics simulations and analytical theory. A microgel particle consists of coarse-grained linear polymers, which are tetra-functionally crosslinked. Counterions and salt ions are taken into account explicitly, and charge-charge interactions are described by the Coulomb potential. By varying the charge interaction strength and salt concentration, we characterize the swelling of the polyelectrolytes and the charge distribution. In particular, we determine the amount of trapped mobile charges inside the microgel and the Debye screening length. Moreover, we analyze the polymer extension theoretically in terms of the tension blob model taking into account counterions and salt ions implicitly by the Debye–Hückel model. Our studies reveal a strong dependence of the amount of ions absorbed in the interior of the microgel on the electrostatic interaction strength, which is related to the degree of the gel swelling. This implies a dependence of the inverse Debye screening length κ on the ion concentration; we find a power-law increase of κ with the Coulomb interaction strength with the exponent 3 / 5 for a salt-free microgel and an exponent 1 / 2 for moderate salt concentrations. Additionally, the radial dependence of polymer conformations and ion distributions is addressed.

  8. Capability for identification of gamma-irradiated bovine liver by new high sensitivity comet assay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miyahara, Makoto; Toyoda, Masatake; Saito, Akiko; Ito, Hitoshi

    2000-01-01

    DNA in food will sustain damage by gamma radiation. The detection capability of the high sensitivity comet assay was studied using fluorescence-microscopy. Beef liver was irradiated at a range of 1 Gy to 8 kGy. Single cells were obtained from the irradiated liver, then analyzed by agaros-gel electrophoresis. The pH of the buffer for electrophoresis was pH 13, which is generally utilized for sensitive detection of DNA damage. The pattern formed by DNA was visualized by staining with ethidium bromide. The resulting comets were evaluated with a scale we developed, and Influence Scores were calculated based on the Tice method. It is possible to detect irradiation damage to beef liver at 10 Gy. Together with Influence Score, histogram of comet type is used for detection of irradiation. We elucidated those histograms were useful for distinguishing damage caused by irradiation from that of others. DNA damage can be caused not only by irradiation, but also by the other treatments. Therefore, the respective influences of freezing, preservation, irradiating temperature, atmosphere of irradiation, cooking, and homogenizing devices were also examined. This new comet assay will be a useful method of detecting DNA damage to identify irradiated foods. (author)

  9. Alkaline Comet Assay for Assessing DNA Damage in Individual Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pu, Xinzhu; Wang, Zemin; Klaunig, James E

    2015-08-06

    Single-cell gel electrophoresis, commonly called a comet assay, is a simple and sensitive method for assessing DNA damage at the single-cell level. It is an important technique in genetic toxicological studies. The comet assay performed under alkaline conditions (pH >13) is considered the optimal version for identifying agents with genotoxic activity. The alkaline comet assay is capable of detecting DNA double-strand breaks, single-strand breaks, alkali-labile sites, DNA-DNA/DNA-protein cross-linking, and incomplete excision repair sites. The inclusion of digestion of lesion-specific DNA repair enzymes in the procedure allows the detection of various DNA base alterations, such as oxidative base damage. This unit describes alkaline comet assay procedures for assessing DNA strand breaks and oxidative base alterations. These methods can be applied in a variety of cells from in vitro and in vivo experiments, as well as human studies. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

  10. Multi-responsive ionic liquid emulsions stabilized by microgels

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Monteillet, H.; Workamp, M.; Li, X.; Schuur, Boelo; Kleijn, J.M.; Leermakers, F.; Sprakel, J.

    2014-01-01

    We present a complete toolbox to use responsive ionic liquid (IL) emulsions for extraction purposes. IL emulsions stabilized by responsive microgels are shown to allow rapid extraction and reversible breaking and re-emulsification. Moreover, by using a paramagnetic ionic liquid, droplets can be

  11. Hyaluronan microgel as a potential carrier for protein sustained delivery by tailoring the crosslink network

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Luo, Chunhong [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Science and Engineering, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632 (China); Zhao, Jianhao, E-mail: jhzhao@jnu.edu.cn [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Science and Engineering, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632 (China); Engineering Research Center of Artificial Organs and Materials, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou 510632 (China); Tu, Mei; Zeng, Rong; Rong, Jianhua [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Science and Engineering, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632 (China); Engineering Research Center of Artificial Organs and Materials, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou 510632 (China)

    2014-03-01

    Hyaluronan (HA) microgels with different crosslink network, i.e. HGPs-1, HGPs-1.5, HGPs-3, HGPs-6 and HGPs-15, were synthesized using divinyl sulfone (DVS) as the crosslinker in an inverse microemulsion system for controlling the sustained delivery of bovine serum albumin (BSA). With increasing the crosslinker content, the average particle size slightly increased from 1.9 ± 0.3 μm to 3.6 ± 0.5 μm by dynamic laser scattering analysis. However, the crosslinker content had no significant effect on the morphology of HA microgels by scanning and transmission electron microscopes. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and elemental analysis proved more sulfur participated in the crosslink reaction when raising the crosslinker amount. The water swelling test confirmed the increasing crosslink density with the crosslinker content by calculating the average molecular weight between two crosslink points to be 8.25 ± 2.51 × 10{sup 5}, 1.26 ± 0.43 × 10{sup 5}, 0.96 ± 0.09 × 10{sup 5}, 0.64 ± 0.03 × 10{sup 5}, and 0.11 ± 0.01 × 10{sup 5} respectively. The degradation of HA microgels by hyaluronidase slowed down by enhancing the crosslink density, only about 5% of HGPs-15 was degraded as opposed to over 90% for HGPs-1. BSA loading had no obvious influence on the surface morphology of HA microgels but seemed to induce their aggregation. The increase of crosslink density decreased the BSA loading capacity but facilitated its long-term sustained delivery. When the molar ratio of DVS to repeating unit of HA reached 3 or higher, similar delivery profiles were obtained. Among all these HA microgels, HGPs-3 was the optimal carrier for BSA sustained delivery in this system because it possessed both high BSA loading capacity and long-term delivery profile simultaneously. - Highlights: • HA microgels with different crosslink densities were prepared. • The crosslinker content had little effect on the morphology and size of HA microgels. • The crosslink density

  12. Genotoxicity of cadmium in marine diatom Chaetoceros tenuissimus using the alkaline Comet assay

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Desai, S.R.; Verlecar, X.N.; Nagarajappa; Goswami, U.

    of Cd increased growth of the diatom decreased. Alkaline single-cell gel electrophoresis (Comet assay) method, which is highly sensitive in detection of DNA damage in eukaryotic cells, was used to observe genomic changes in marine diatom cells. DNA...

  13. Non-Covalent Microgel Particles Containing Functional Payloads: Coacervation of PEG-Based Triblocks via Microfluidics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Cynthia X; Utech, Stefanie; Gopez, Jeffrey D; Mabesoone, Mathijs F J; Hawker, Craig J; Klinger, Daniel

    2016-07-06

    Well-defined microgel particles were prepared by combining coacervate-driven cross-linking of ionic triblock copolymers with the ability to control particle size and encapsulate functional cargos inherent in microfluidic devices. In this approach, the efficient assembly of PEO-based triblock copolymers with oppositely charged end-blocks allows for bioinspired cross-linking under mild conditions in dispersed aqueous droplets. This strategy enables the integration of charged cargos into the coacervate domains (e.g., the loading of anionic model compounds through electrostatic association with cationic end-blocks). Distinct release profiles can be realized by systematically varying the chemical nature of the payload and the microgel dimensions. This mild and noncovalent assembly method represents a promising new approach to tunable microgels as scaffolds for colloidal biomaterials in therapeutics and regenerative medicine.

  14. Evaluating In Vitro DNA Damage Using Comet Assay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Yanxin; Liu, Yang; Yang, Chunzhang

    2017-10-11

    DNA damage is a common phenomenon for each cell during its lifespan, and is defined as an alteration of the chemical structure of genomic DNA. Cancer therapies, such as radio- and chemotherapy, introduce enormous amount of additional DNA damage, leading to cell cycle arrest and apoptosis to limit cancer progression. Quantitative assessment of DNA damage during experimental cancer therapy is a key step to justify the effectiveness of a genotoxic agent. In this study, we focus on a single cell electrophoresis assay, also known as the comet assay, which can quantify single and double-strand DNA breaks in vitro. The comet assay is a DNA damage quantification method that is efficient and easy to perform, and has low time/budget demands and high reproducibility. Here, we highlight the utility of the comet assay for a preclinical study by evaluating the genotoxic effect of olaparib/temozolomide combination therapy to U251 glioma cells.

  15. Mobility of lysozyme inside oxidized starch polymer microgels

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Li, Y.; Kleijn, J.M.; Cohen Stuart, M.A.; Slaghek, T.; Timmermans, J.; Norde, W.

    2011-01-01

    The aim of this paper is to determine the mobility of protein molecules inside oxidized potato starch polymer (OPSP) microgel particles (spherical, 10-20 m in diameter). This provides relevant information for controlled uptake and release applications of such systems. The mobility of Alexa-488

  16. The effect of different methods and image analyzers on the results of the in vivo comet assay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kyoya, Takahiro; Iwamoto, Rika; Shimanura, Yuko; Terada, Megumi; Masuda, Shuichi

    2018-01-01

    The in vivo comet assay is a widely used genotoxicity test that can detect DNA damage in a range of organs. It is included in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Guidelines for the Testing of Chemicals. However, various protocols are still used for this assay, and several different image analyzers are used routinely to evaluate the results. Here, we verified a protocol that largely contributes to the equivalence of results, and we assessed the effect on the results when slides made from the same sample were analyzed using two different image analyzers (Comet Assay IV vs Comet Analyzer). Standardizing the agarose concentrations and DNA unwinding and electrophoresis times had a large impact on the equivalence of the results between the different methods used for the in vivo comet assay. In addition, there was some variation in the sensitivity of the two different image analyzers tested; however this variation was considered to be minor and became negligible when the test conditions were standardized between the two different methods. By standardizing the concentrations of low melting agarose and DNA unwinding and electrophoresis times between both methods used in the current study, the sensitivity to detect the genotoxicity of a positive control substance in the in vivo comet assay became generally comparable, independently of the image analyzer used. However, there may still be the possibility that other conditions, except for the three described here, could affect the reproducibility of the in vivo comet assay.

  17. Stability of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylic acid polymer microgels under various conditions of temperature, pH and salt concentration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zahoor H. Farooqi

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available This research article describes the colloidal stability of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylic acid [P(NIPAM-co-AAc] polymer microgels with different acrylic acid contents in aqueous medium under various conditions of temperature, pH and sodium chloride concentrations. Three samples of multi-responsive P(NIPAM-co-AAc polymer microgels were synthesized using different amounts of acrylic acid by free radical emulsion polymerization. Dynamic laser light scattering was used to investigate the responsive behavior and stability of the prepared microgels under various conditions of pH, temperature and ionic strength. The microgels were found to be stable at all pH values above the pKa value of acrylic acid moiety in the temperature range from 15 to 60 °C in the presence and absence of sodium chloride. Increase in temperature, salt concentration and decrease in pH causes aggregation and decreases the stability of microgels due to the decrease in hydrophilicity.

  18. Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-methacrylic acid microgel stabilized copper nanoparticles for catalytic reduction of nitrobenzene

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Farooqi Zahoor H.

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-methacrylic acid microgels [p(NIPAM-co-MAAc] were synthesized by precipitation polymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide and methacrylic acid in aqueous medium. These microgels were characterized by dynamic light scattering and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. These microgels were used as micro-reactors for in situ synthesis of copper nanoparticles using sodium borohydride (NaBH4 as reducing agent. The hybrid microgels were used as catalysts for the reduction of nitrobenzene in aqueous media. The reaction was performed with different concentrations of cat­alyst and reducing agent. A linear relationship was found between apparent rate constant (kapp and amount of catalyst. When the amount of catalyst was increased from 0.13 to 0.76 mg/mL then kapp was increased from 0.03 to 0.14 min-1. Activation parameters were also determined by performing reaction at two different temperatures. The catalytic process has been discussed in terms of energy of activation, enthalpy of activation and entropy of activation. The synthesized particles were found to be stable even after 14 weeks and showed catalytic activity for the reduction of nitrobenzene.

  19. Applications of UV/Vis Spectroscopy in Characterization and Catalytic Activity of Noble Metal Nanoparticles Fabricated in Responsive Polymer Microgels: A Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Begum, Robina; Farooqi, Zahoor H; Naseem, Khalida; Ali, Faisal; Batool, Madeeha; Xiao, Jianliang; Irfan, Ahmad

    2018-11-02

    Noble metal nanoparticles loaded smart polymer microgels have gained much attention due to fascinating combination of their properties in a single system. These hybrid systems have been extensively used in biomedicines, photonics, and catalysis. Hybrid microgels are characterized by using various techniques but UV/Vis spectroscopy is an easily available technique for characterization of noble metal nanoparticles loaded microgels. This technique is widely used for determination of size and shape of metal nanoparticles. The tuning of optical properties of noble metal nanoparticles under various stimuli can be studied using UV/Vis spectroscopic method. Time course UV/Vis spectroscopy can also be used to monitor the kinetics of swelling and deswelling of microgels and hybrid microgels. Growth of metal nanoparticles in polymeric network or growth of polymeric network around metal nanoparticle core can be studied by using UV/Vis spectroscopy. This technique can also be used for investigation of various applications of hybrid materials in catalysis, photonics, and sensing. This tutorial review describes the uses of UV/Vis spectroscopy in characterization and catalytic applications of responsive hybrid microgels with respect to recent research progress in this area.

  20. A novel pulsed drug-delivery system: polyelectrolyte layer-by-layer coating of chitosan–alginate microgels

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhou GC

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Guichen Zhou,1,2,* Ying Lu,1,* He Zhang,1,* Yan Chen,1 Yuan Yu,1 Jing Gao,1 Duxin Sun,3 Guoqing Zhang,2 Hao Zou,1 Yanqiang Zhong1 1Department of Pharmaceutical Science, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China; 2Department of Pharmacy, East Hospital of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Shanghai, People's Republic of China; 3Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA*These authors contributed equally to this workPurpose: The aim of this report was to introduce a novel “core-membrane” microgel drug-delivery device for spontaneously pulsed release without any external trigger.Methods: The microgel core was prepared with alginate and chitosan. The semipermeable membrane outside the microgel was made of polyelectrolytes including polycation poly(allylamine hydrochloride and sodium polystyrene sulfonate. The drug release of this novel system was governed by the swelling pressure of the core and the rupture of the outer membrane.Results: The size of the core-membrane microgel drug-delivery device was 452.90 ± 2.71 µm. The surface charge depended on the layer-by-layer coating of polyelectrolytes, with zeta potential of 38.6 ± 1.4 mV. The confocal microscope exhibited the layer-by-layer outer membrane and inner core. The in vitro release profile showed that the content release remained low during the first 2.67 hours. After this lag time, the cumulative release increased to 80% in the next 0.95 hours, which suggested a pulsed drug release. The in vivo drug release in mice showed that the outer membrane was ruptured at approximately 3 to 4 hours, as drug was explosively released.Conclusion: These data suggest that the encapsulated substance in the core-membrane microgel delivery device can achieve a massive drug release after outer membrane rupture. This device was an effective system for pulsed drug delivery.Keywords: polyelectrolyte, chitosan–alginate, microgels, layer-by-layer, pulsed

  1. A high sensitivity, high throughput, automated single-cell gel electrophoresis ('Comet') DNA damage assay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vojnovic, B.; Barber, P.R.; Johnston, P.J.; Gregory, H.C.; Locke, R.J.

    2003-01-01

    A fully automated microscopy machine vision image capture and analysis system for the collection of data from slides of 'comets' has been developed. The novel image processing algorithms employed in delineating the 'comet head' from the 'comet tail' allow us to determine accurately very low levels of damage. In conjunction with calibrated and automated image capture methods, we are able to eliminate operator subjectivity and analyse large numbers of cells (>2500) in a short time (<1 hour). The image processing algorithm is designed to handle particularly difficult nuclei containing a high degree of structure, due to DNA clumping. We also present techniques used to extend the assay's dynamic range by removing interfering background fluorescence and to define a region of interest. If subtle biological variations are to be quantified (e.g. cell cycle dependant damage), then the use of large cell populations is dictated. Under those circumstances, the use of a fully automated system is particularly advantageous providing that the manner in which data is extracted does not introduce any inadvertent bias. In practice, it is essential that the image processing steps are geared towards the correct recognition of an acceptable cell nucleus, i.e. comet 'head'. We acknowledge the financial support of CRUK, Programme Grant C133/A1812 - SP 2195-01/02 and the US Department of Energy Low Dose Radiation Research Program grant DE-FG07-99ER62878

  2. On prilled Nanotubes-in-Microgel Oral Systems for protein delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Kruif, Jan Kendall; Ledergerber, Gisela; Garofalo, Carla; Fasler-Kan, Elizaveta; Kuentz, Martin

    2016-04-01

    Newly discovered active macromolecules are highly promising for therapy, but poor bioavailability hinders their oral use. Microencapsulation approaches, such as protein prilling into microspheres, may enable protection from gastrointestinal (GI) enzymatic degradation. This would increase bioavailability mainly for local delivery to GI lumen or mucosa. This work's purpose was to design a novel architecture, namely a Nanotubes-in-Microgel Oral System, by prilling for protein delivery. Halloysite nanotubes (HNT) were selected as orally acceptable clay particles and their lumen was enlarged by alkaline etching. This chemical modification increased the luminal volume to a mean of 216.3 μL g(-1) (+40.8%). After loading albumin as model drug, the HNT were entrapped in microgels by prilling. The formation of Nanoparticles-in-Microsphere Oral System (NiMOS) yielded entrapment efficiencies up to 63.2%. NiMOS shape was spherical to toroidal, with a diameter smaller than 320 μm. Release profiles depended largely on the employed system and HNT type. Protein stability was determined throughout prilling and after in vitro enzymatic degradation. Prilling did not harm protein structure, and NiMOS demonstrated higher enzymatic protection than pure nanotubes or microgels, since up to 82% of BSA remained unscathed after in vitro digestion. Therefore, prilled NiMOS was shown to be a promising and flexible multi-compartment system for oral (local) macromolecular delivery. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Application of the comet assay in studies of programmed cell death (PCD in plants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Charzyńska

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Programmed cell death (PCD in plants is an intensively investigated process. One of the main characteristics of PCD in both animal and plant organisms is the non-random, internucleosomal fragmentation of nuclear DNA, usually analysed using total DNA gel electrophoresis or TUNEL method. In this paper we present application of the "comet assay" (Single Cell Gel Electrophoresis for detection of nDNA degradation in studies of PCD during plant life cycle. We analyzed three types of tissue: anther tapetum, endosperm and mesophyll which were prepared in different ways to obtain a suspension of viable cells (without cell walls. The comet assay gives a possibility of examination of the nDNA degradation in individual cell. This method is significant for studies of the plant tissue differentiation and senescence especially in the cases when it is not possible to isolate large number of cells at the same developmental stage.

  4. Assessment of Genotoxicity of Ionizing radiation using Tradescantia-Comet assay

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Han, Min; Ryu, Tae Ho; Hyun, Kyung Man; Kim, Jin Kyu [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Jeongeup (Korea, Republic of); Wilhelmova, Nad [Institute of Experimental Botany, Prague (Czech Republic)

    2010-05-15

    Over the last two decades, several new methodologies for the detection of DNA damage have been developed. The comet assay is currently used in different areas of biological sciences to detect DNA damage. The comet assay, also called the single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE) was first introduced by Ostling and Johanson as a microelectrophoretic technique for the direct visualization of DNA damage in individual cells. The comet assay, due to its simplicity, sensitivity and need of a few cells, is ideal as a short-term genotoxicity test. The comet assay can theoretically be applied to every type of eukaryotic cell, including plant cells. Plants are very useful as monitors of genetic effects caused by pollution in the atmosphere, water and soil. Although the genotoxic effects detected by Tradescantia tests cannot be associated with mutagenesis or even carcinogenesis in humans, these bioassays are very useful tools for screening the mutagenic potential in the environment. Experiments were conducted to study the genotoxic effects of ionizing radiations on the genome integrity, particularly of Tradescantia. The increasingly frequent use of Tradescantia as a sensitive environmental bioindicator of genotoxic effects. This study was designed to assess the genotoxicity of ionizing radiation using Tradescnatia-comet assay

  5. The development and validation of EpiComet-Chip, a modified high-throughput comet assay for the assessment of DNA methylation status.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Townsend, Todd A; Parrish, Marcus C; Engelward, Bevin P; Manjanatha, Mugimane G

    2017-08-01

    DNA damage and alterations in global DNA methylation status are associated with multiple human diseases and are frequently correlated with clinically relevant information. Therefore, assessing DNA damage and epigenetic modifications, including DNA methylation, is critical for predicting human exposure risk of pharmacological and biological agents. We previously developed a higher-throughput platform for the single cell gel electrophoresis (comet) assay, CometChip, to assess DNA damage and genotoxic potential. Here, we utilized the methylation-dependent endonuclease, McrBC, to develop a modified alkaline comet assay, "EpiComet," which allows single platform evaluation of genotoxicity and global DNA methylation [5-methylcytosine (5-mC)] status of single-cell populations under user-defined conditions. Further, we leveraged the CometChip platform to create an EpiComet-Chip system capable of performing quantification across simultaneous exposure protocols to enable unprecedented speed and simplicity. This system detected global methylation alterations in response to exposures which included chemotherapeutic and environmental agents. Using EpiComet-Chip on 63 matched samples, we correctly identified single-sample hypermethylation (≥1.5-fold) at 87% (20/23), hypomethylation (≥1.25-fold) at 100% (9/9), with a 4% (2/54) false-negative rate (FNR), and 10% (4/40) false-positive rate (FPR). Using a more stringent threshold to define hypermethylation (≥1.75-fold) allowed us to correctly identify 94% of hypermethylation (17/18), but increased our FPR to 16% (7/45). The successful application of this novel technology will aid hazard identification and risk characterization of FDA-regulated products, while providing utility for investigating epigenetic modes of action of agents in target organs, as the assay is amenable to cultured cells or nucleated cells from any tissue. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 58:508-521, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  6. Structure and osmotic pressure of ionic microgel dispersions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hedrick, Mary M. [Department of Physics, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota 58108-6050 (United States); Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota 58108-6050 (United States); Chung, Jun Kyung; Denton, Alan R., E-mail: alan.denton@ndsu.edu [Department of Physics, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota 58108-6050 (United States)

    2015-01-21

    We investigate structural and thermodynamic properties of aqueous dispersions of ionic microgels—soft colloidal gel particles that exhibit unusual phase behavior. Starting from a coarse-grained model of microgel macroions as charged spheres that are permeable to microions, we perform simulations and theoretical calculations using two complementary implementations of Poisson-Boltzmann (PB) theory. Within a one-component model, based on a linear-screening approximation for effective electrostatic pair interactions, we perform molecular dynamics simulations to compute macroion-macroion radial distribution functions, static structure factors, and macroion contributions to the osmotic pressure. For the same model, using a variational approximation for the free energy, we compute both macroion and microion contributions to the osmotic pressure. Within a spherical cell model, which neglects macroion correlations, we solve the nonlinear PB equation to compute microion distributions and osmotic pressures. By comparing the one-component and cell model implementations of PB theory, we demonstrate that the linear-screening approximation is valid for moderately charged microgels. By further comparing cell model predictions with simulation data for osmotic pressure, we chart the cell model’s limits in predicting osmotic pressures of salty dispersions.

  7. Structure and osmotic pressure of ionic microgel dispersions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hedrick, Mary M.; Chung, Jun Kyung; Denton, Alan R.

    2015-01-01

    We investigate structural and thermodynamic properties of aqueous dispersions of ionic microgels—soft colloidal gel particles that exhibit unusual phase behavior. Starting from a coarse-grained model of microgel macroions as charged spheres that are permeable to microions, we perform simulations and theoretical calculations using two complementary implementations of Poisson-Boltzmann (PB) theory. Within a one-component model, based on a linear-screening approximation for effective electrostatic pair interactions, we perform molecular dynamics simulations to compute macroion-macroion radial distribution functions, static structure factors, and macroion contributions to the osmotic pressure. For the same model, using a variational approximation for the free energy, we compute both macroion and microion contributions to the osmotic pressure. Within a spherical cell model, which neglects macroion correlations, we solve the nonlinear PB equation to compute microion distributions and osmotic pressures. By comparing the one-component and cell model implementations of PB theory, we demonstrate that the linear-screening approximation is valid for moderately charged microgels. By further comparing cell model predictions with simulation data for osmotic pressure, we chart the cell model’s limits in predicting osmotic pressures of salty dispersions

  8. Isothermal titration calorimetric studies of the acid-base properties of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-4-vinylpyridine) cationic polyelectrolyte colloidal microgels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seidel, J.; Pinkrah, V.T.; Mitchell, J.C.; Chowdhry, B.Z.; Snowden, M.J.

    2004-01-01

    Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) and potentiometric titration were used to study the protonation properties of the 4-vinylpyridine (4-VP) moiety in cationic poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-4-vinylpyridine) colloidal microgels [poly(NIPAM-co-4-VP)]. Calorimetric pH titrations were performed using microgels of different 4-VP content and the influence of ionic strength and counter ions have been examined. The calorimetric titration output consists of several thermal contributions reflecting the complex nature of the interactions in the aqueous microgel dispersions. In contrast to the potentiometric results, the calorimetric titration data could not be completely described by a theoretical model solely taking into account protonation equilibria. Deviations from the proposed model correlate with swelling or shrinking of the gel particles. The calorimetric results also reveal a pronounced counter-ion effect of perchlorate compared to chloride ions. In the presence of perchlorate ions, small secondary thermal effects accompany protonation of the 4-VP moiety due, in part, to kinetically limited conformational changes in the co-polymer microgel

  9. Ecogenotoxicity testing of aquatic environment by comet assay in plants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anita Mukherjee

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available One of the goals of environmental monitoring is the detection of potentially hazardous compounds in water. We have set up a standard method to apply the Comet assay in aquatic plants that could be of great interest to evaluate cytotoxicity, genotoxicity and oxidative stress on the same species regarded as most sensitive to environmental pollutants. The aim of the present study was to set up of standardized procedure to evaluate genotoxicity in aquatic plants- Ceratophyllum demersum one that is submerged free floating and the other is Lemna minor - a fresh water floating plant by Comet assay. Electrophoresis and unwinding times were adapted to obtain minimum DNA migration evaluated as tail intensity % or tail moment in the control group and, at the same time maximum sensitivity for DNA damage with known genotoxicants. We further investigated the cytotoxicity and oxidative stress induced in the same species. Based on the repeatability of results obtained we suggest that Ceratophyllum, Lemna can serve as model species and Comet assay could be adopted to monitor the eco-genotoxicity of water pollutants.

  10. DNA comet assay for rice seeds treated with low energy electrons ('soft-electrons')

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Todoriki, Setsuko; Hayashi, Toru

    1999-01-01

    As rice seeds are sometimes contaminated with phytopathogenic organisms such as blast disease fungi and nematodes, a novel non-chemical disinfection method for rice seeds is highly required. In order to develop a disinfection method, the effect of low energy electron ('soft-electrons') on seed DNA was examined by using the neutral comet assay. Rice seeds (whole grain) were treated with electrons of different acceleration voltages (180 kV to 1 MV) at a dose of 5 kGy. Nucleus suspensions were prepared from whole brown rice and subjected to electrophoresis. DNA from un-irradiated (control) seeds relaxed and produced comets with a short tail, most of the comets distributed within the range of comet length between 30 μm to 70 μm. In the case of seeds treated with electrons at acceleration voltages up to 190 kV, cells without seed coats were not damaged and the frequency histograms of comet length showed almost the same pattern as that for control. At acceleration voltages higher than 200 kV, the cells were distributed into two categories; DNA comets with a short tail (with little DNA damages, less than 70 μm in the comet length) and DNA comets with long tails (with sever strand breaks, more than 130 μm in the comet length). The ratios of damaged cells increased with increasing acceleration voltage. The growths of rice seedlings were not affected by the treatment with electrons at up to 200 kV. On the contrary, the cells of gamma-irradiated seed showed small variations in the comet length, and which were depending on radiation dose. The individual cells of gamma-irradiated seeds at 1 kGy showed shorter comet than the damaged cells with soft electron, seed treated with gamma rays (1-5 kGy) did not shoot nor root. (author)

  11. The application of single cell gel electrophoresis or comet assay to human monitoring studies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valverde Mahara

    1999-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective. In the search of new human genotoxic biomarkers, the single cell gel electrophoresis assay has been proposed as a sensible alternative. Material and methods. This technique detects principally single strand breaks as well as alkali-labile and repair-retarded sites. Results. Herein we present our experience using the single cell gel electrophoresis assay in human population studies, both occupationally and environmentally exposed. Conclusions. We discuss the assay feasibility as a genotoxic biomarker.

  12. Variation in assessment of oxidatively damaged DNA in mononuclear blood cells by the comet assay with visual scoring

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Forchhammer, Lykke; Bräuner, Elvira Vaclavik; Folkmann, Janne Kjaersgaard

    2008-01-01

    The comet assay is popular for assessments of genotoxicity, but the comparison of results between studies is challenging because of differences in experimental procedures and reports of DNA damage in different units. We investigated the variation of DNA damage in mononuclear blood cells (MNBCs......) measured by the comet assay with focus on the variation related to alkaline unwinding and electrophoresis time, number of cells scored, as well as the putative benefits of transforming the primary end points to common units by the use of reference standards and calibration curves. Eight experienced......, our results indicate that inter-investigator difference in scoring is a strong determinant of DNA damage levels measured by the comet assay....

  13. CO2-Switchable Membranes Prepared by Immobilization of CO2-Breathing Microgels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Qi; Wang, Zhenwu; Lei, Lei; Tang, Jun; Wang, Jianli; Zhu, Shiping

    2017-12-20

    Herein, we report the development of a novel CO 2 -responsive membrane system through immobilization of CO 2 -responsive microgels into commercially available microfiltration membranes using a method of dynamic adsorption. The microgels, prepared from soap-free emulsion polymerization of CO 2 -responsive monomer 2-(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (DEA), can be reversibly expanded and shrunken upon CO 2 /N 2 alternation. When incorporated into the membranes, this switching behavior was preserved and further led to transformation between microfiltration and ultrafiltration membranes, as indicated from the dramatic changes on water flux and BSA rejection results. This CO 2 -regulated performance switching of membranes was caused by the changes of water transportation channel, as revealed from the dynamic water contact angle tests and SEM observation. This work represents a simple yet versatile strategy for making CO 2 -responsive membranes.

  14. Observing comets

    CERN Document Server

    James, Nick

    2003-01-01

    Since comet Shoemaker-Levy collided with the planet Jupiter with stupendous force in 1994 there has been an upsurge of amateur interest in comets Most comets are first discovered by amateur astronomers because there are so many amateurs looking for them, and techniques and instruments have improved dramatically in the past few years After a short but detailed introduction to the comets themselves Nick James and Gerald North describe comet hunting, photographing and imaging comets, and digital image processing The use of computers for orbital calculations and even helping to discover new comets is given a full chapter, as are advanced techniques including comet photometry and spectroscopy This comprehensive book has an accompanying CD-ROM and is at once a "primer" for comet hunters and a reference text for more advanced amateur astronomers

  15. Glass transition and aging in dense suspensions of thermosensitive microgel particles

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Purnomo, E.H; van den Ende, Henricus T.M.; Vanapalli Veera, V.S.A.R.; Vanapalli, Srinivas; Mugele, Friedrich Gunther

    2008-01-01

    We report a thermosensitive microgel suspension that can be tuned reversibly between the glass state at low temperature and the liquid state at high temperature. Unlike hard spheres, we find that the glass transition for these suspensions is governed by both the volume fraction and the softness of

  16. Benzene-induced genotoxicity in mice in vivo detected by the alkaline comet assay

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tuo, J; Loft, S; Thomsen, M S

    1996-01-01

    was further increased to 5.4-fold and 6.6-fold of the control values, respectively (p propylene glycol (5 microliters/g b.wt., twice with a 60-min interval), a selective CYP2E1 inhibitor, reduced the increase in the tail length by about half at all doses in both cell types (p ...The myelotoxic and genotoxic effects of benzene have been related to oxidative DNA damage after metabolism by CYP2E1. Single cell gel electrophoresis (alkaline comet assay) detects DNA damage and may thus be a convenient method for the study of benzene genotoxicity. Benzene exposure to NMRI mice.......01). By comparing our data with those from genotoxicity studies on benzene using other methods, we conclude that the 'alkaline comet assay' is a sensitive method to detect DNA damage induced by benzene. We also infer that CYP2E1 contributes, at least partly, to the formation of the 'comet'-inducing metabolites...

  17. Effects of Culture Substrate Made of Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylic acid Microgels on Osteogenic Differentiation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhuojun Dai

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide (PNIPAM-based polymers and gels are widely known and studied for their thermoresponsive property. In the biomaterials category, they are regarded as a potential cell culture substrate, not only because of their biocompatibility, but also their special character of allowing controlled detachment of cells via temperature stimulus. Previous research about PNIPAM-based substrates mostly concentrated on their effects in cell adhesion and proliferation. In this study, however, we investigate the influence of the PNIPAM-based substrate on the differentiation capacity of stem cells. Especially, we choose P(NIPAM-AA microgels as a culture dish coating and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs are cultured on top of the microgels. Interestingly, we find that the morphology of MSCs changes remarkably on a microgel-coated surface, from the original spindle form to a more stretched and elongated cell shape. Accompanied by the alternation in morphology, the expression of several osteogenesis-related genes is elevated even without inducing factors. In the presence of full osteogenic medium, MSCs on a microgel substrate show an enhancement in the expression level of osteopontin and alizarin red staining signals, indicating the physical property of substrate has a direct effect on MSCs differentiation.

  18. Theory of the Thermal Diffusion of Microgel Particles in Highly Compressed Suspensions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sokoloff, Jeffrey; Maloney, Craig; Ciamarra, Massimo; Bi, Dapeng

    One amazing property of microgel colloids is the ability of the particles to thermally diffuse, even when they are compressed to a volume well below their swollen state volume, despite the fact that they are surrounded by and pressed against other particles. A glass transition is expected to occur when the colloid is sufficiently compressed for diffusion to cease. It is proposed that the diffusion is due to the ability of the highly compressed particles to change shape with little cost in free energy. It will be shown that most of the free energy required to compress microgel particles is due to osmotic pressure resulting from either counterions or monomers inside of the gel, which depends on the particle's volume. There is still, however, a cost in free energy due to polymer elasticity when particles undergo the distortions necessary for them to move around each other as they diffuse through the compressed colloid, even if it occurs at constant volume. Using a scaling theory based on simple models for the linking of polymers belonging to the microgel particles, we examine the conditions under which the cost in free energy needed for a particle to diffuse is smaller than or comparable to thermal energy, which is a necessary condition for particle diffusion. Based on our scaling theory, we predict that thermally activated diffusion should be possible when the mean number of links along the axis along which a distortion occurs is much larger than N 1 / 5, where Nis the mean number of monomers in a polymer chain connecting two links in the gel.

  19. Utilization of DNA comet assay and half embryo test to identify irradiated lentil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Romanelli, Maria Fernanda; Villavicencio, Anna Lucia C.H.

    2001-01-01

    Full text: Legumes make an important contribution to human nutrition on a worldwide basis. Insect infestation cause extensive damage to stored grains. Over the last few decades some countries adopted food irradiation as a safe food process. Radiation's processing on foods improves hygienic quality and extends their shelf life. The use of radiation treatment to reduce the microbial population and thereby extend the shelf life in legumes has been reported in many papers. Irradiation has been shown to be an effective pest control method for these commodities and a good alternative to prohibited methyl bromide. Radiation disinfestation can facilitate trade in foods that often harbor insect pests of quarantine importance. Although the wholesomeness of irradiated food is no longer a question there is a need for irradiation control in the international trade of foods, in order to enhance the consumer confidence in the regulation. As a screening methods to identify irradiated lentils, processed by e-beam as a food treatment to disinfestation, the DNA Comet Assay and Half Embryo tests were performed. The methodologies used in this work are based upon biological changes that occur in Brazilian lentils. The samples were irradiated in an electron beam accelerator facility of Radiation Dynamics Inc., USA (E=1,5 MeV, l=25 mA). The irradiation doses were 0,7; 1,4 and 3,0 kGy at dry conditions. The thickness of samples was less than 0,5 cm. A sensitive technique to detect DNA fragmentation is the microgel electrophoresis of single cells or nuclei, also called 'comet assay'. Since the large molecule of DNA is an easy target for ionizing radiation, changes in DNA offer potential as a detection method. It is restricted to foods that have not been subjected to heat or other treatments, which also cause DNA fragmentation. Lentil samples were crushed with a mortar and pestle and was transferred to 3ml ice-cold PBS. This suspension was stirred for 5 minutes and filtered. 100μl cell

  20. Microgel-based surface modifying system for stimuli-responsive functional finishing of cotton

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kulkarni, A.N.; Tourrette, A.; Warmoeskerken, Marinus; Jocic, D.

    2010-01-01

    An innovative strategy for functional finishing of textile materials is based on the incorporation of a thin layer of surface modifying systems (SMS) in the form of stimuli-sensitive microgels or hydrogels. Since the copolymerization of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) with an ionizable polymer, such as

  1. The Comet assay in insects--Status, prospects and benefits for science.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Augustyniak, Maria; Gladysz, Marcin; Dziewięcka, Marta

    2016-01-01

    The Comet assay has been recently adapted to investigate DNA damage in insects. The first reports of its use in Drosophila melanogaster appeared in 2002. Since then, the interest in the application of the Comet assay to studies of insects has been rapidly increasing. Many authors see substantial potential in the use of the Comet assay in D. melanogaster for medical toxicology studies. This application could allow the testing of drugs and result in an understanding of the mechanisms of action of toxins, which could significantly influence the limited research that has been performed on vertebrates. The possible perspectives and benefits for science are considered in this review. In the last decade, the use of the Comet assay has been described in insects other than D. melanogaster. Specifically, methods to prepare a cell suspension from insect tissues, which is a difficult task, were analyzed and compared in detail. Furthermore, attention was paid to any differences and modifications in the research protocols, such as the buffer composition and electrophoresis conditions. Various scientific fields in addition to toxicological and ecotoxicological research were considered. We expect the Comet assay to be used in environmental risk assessments and to improve our understanding of many important phenomena of insect life, such as metamorphosis, molting, diapause and quiescence. The use of this method to study species that are of key importance to humans, such as pests and beneficial insects, appears to be highly probable and very promising. The use of the Comet assay for DNA stability testing in insects will most likely rapidly increase in the future. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Application of the Single Cell Gel Electrophoresis (SCGE) Assay to Genotoxicity Evaluation in Plants and Animals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Jin Kyu

    2007-10-01

    Application of the Single Cell Gel Electrophoresis (SCGE) Assay to Genotoxicity Evaluation in Plants and Animals. Recently, the importance of ionizing radiation and chemicals has been recognized since radio- and chemical therapy is directly related to the control of various diseases such as cancer. Radiation and the chemicals can cause biological damages while they have great applicability. It is of necessity to analyze rapidly, easily and accurately the biological effects, especially DNA damage due to those factors. Recently SCGE (single cell gel electrophoresis assay, alias comet assay) has been developed for the efficient evaluation of DNA damage. In this report, the comprehensive review will be given on the rationale, the technical applications and the advantages and shortcomings of SCGE assay. This method can be directly applied to study on toxicity, cancer, and aging in terms of the evaluation of DNA damages due to radiation and chemicals on human cellular level. It is also suggested that comet assay be used for testing genotoxicity of suspected substances, detecting irradiated foods, screening radioprotective candidates, and studying DNA repair process in various biological systems

  3. Application of the Single Cell Gel Electrophoresis (SCGE) Assay to Genotoxicity Evaluation in Plants and Animals

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Jin Kyu

    2007-10-15

    Application of the Single Cell Gel Electrophoresis (SCGE) Assay to Genotoxicity Evaluation in Plants and Animals. Recently, the importance of ionizing radiation and chemicals has been recognized since radio- and chemical therapy is directly related to the control of various diseases such as cancer. Radiation and the chemicals can cause biological damages while they have great applicability. It is of necessity to analyze rapidly, easily and accurately the biological effects, especially DNA damage due to those factors. Recently SCGE (single cell gel electrophoresis assay, alias comet assay) has been developed for the efficient evaluation of DNA damage. In this report, the comprehensive review will be given on the rationale, the technical applications and the advantages and shortcomings of SCGE assay. This method can be directly applied to study on toxicity, cancer, and aging in terms of the evaluation of DNA damages due to radiation and chemicals on human cellular level. It is also suggested that comet assay be used for testing genotoxicity of suspected substances, detecting irradiated foods, screening radioprotective candidates, and studying DNA repair process in various biological systems.

  4. Radiolytic Syntheses of Nanoparticles and Inorganic-Polymer Hybrid Microgels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Q.; Shi, J.; Zhao, R.; Shen, X.

    2010-01-01

    In the second year of the project, we have gotten progress mainly in two directions. Firstly, for the first time, Prussian blue (PB) nanoparticles (NPs) were successfully synthesized by the partly radiolytic reduction of Fe3+ and Fe(CN)63 in the presence of poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidine) (PVP) under N2 atmospheres at room temperature. With the increase of the concentration of PVP, the size and the size distribution of the synthesized quasi-spherical PB NPs decreased obviously, leading to a hypsochromic shift on their peak position of the characteristic absorption. In the experiment, we further found that the smaller ones have a larger capacity to Cs+, suggesting that the application of PB NPs in curing thallotoxicosis may decrease the usage of PB for the patient to great extent. Secondly, through a series of preliminary experiments, we got a clear picture about the one-step radiolytic preparation of inorganic-poly(methacrylic acid-co-methyl methacrylate) hybrid microgels by surfactant-free emulsion polymerization. Besides, unpurified N-carbamothioylmethacrylamide was synthesized via the methacrylation of thiourea. These created favorable conditions for the one-step synthesis of metal sulfide-poly(methacrylic acid-co-methyl methacrylate) hybrid microgels by -irradiation and surfactant-free emulsion polymerization. (author)

  5. Radiolytic Syntheses of Nanoparticles and Inorganic-Polymer Hybrid Microgels

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen, Q.; Shi, J.; Zhao, R.; Shen, X., E-mail: qdchen@pku.edu.cn [Department of Applied Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, No. 5, Yiheyuan Load, Haidian District Beijing 100871 (China)

    2010-07-01

    In the second year of the project, we have gotten progress mainly in two directions. Firstly, for the first time, Prussian blue (PB) nanoparticles (NPs) were successfully synthesized by the partly radiolytic reduction of Fe3+ and Fe(CN)63 in the presence of poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidine) (PVP) under N2 atmospheres at room temperature. With the increase of the concentration of PVP, the size and the size distribution of the synthesized quasi-spherical PB NPs decreased obviously, leading to a hypsochromic shift on their peak position of the characteristic absorption. In the experiment, we further found that the smaller ones have a larger capacity to Cs+, suggesting that the application of PB NPs in curing thallotoxicosis may decrease the usage of PB for the patient to great extent. Secondly, through a series of preliminary experiments, we got a clear picture about the one-step radiolytic preparation of inorganic-poly(methacrylic acid-co-methyl methacrylate) hybrid microgels by surfactant-free emulsion polymerization. Besides, unpurified N-carbamothioylmethacrylamide was synthesized via the methacrylation of thiourea. These created favorable conditions for the one-step synthesis of metal sulfide-poly(methacrylic acid-co-methyl methacrylate) hybrid microgels by -irradiation and surfactant-free emulsion polymerization. (author)

  6. Micropatterned comet assay enables high throughput and sensitive DNA damage quantification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ge, Jing; Chow, Danielle N; Fessler, Jessica L; Weingeist, David M; Wood, David K; Engelward, Bevin P

    2015-01-01

    The single cell gel electrophoresis assay, also known as the comet assay, is a versatile method for measuring many classes of DNA damage, including base damage, abasic sites, single strand breaks and double strand breaks. However, limited throughput and difficulties with reproducibility have limited its utility, particularly for clinical and epidemiological studies. To address these limitations, we created a microarray comet assay. The use of a micrometer scale array of cells increases the number of analysable comets per square centimetre and enables automated imaging and analysis. In addition, the platform is compatible with standard 24- and 96-well plate formats. Here, we have assessed the consistency and sensitivity of the microarray comet assay. We showed that the linear detection range for H2O2-induced DNA damage in human lymphoblastoid cells is between 30 and 100 μM, and that within this range, inter-sample coefficient of variance was between 5 and 10%. Importantly, only 20 comets were required to detect a statistically significant induction of DNA damage for doses within the linear range. We also evaluated sample-to-sample and experiment-to-experiment variation and found that for both conditions, the coefficient of variation was lower than what has been reported for the traditional comet assay. Finally, we also show that the assay can be performed using a 4× objective (rather than the standard 10× objective for the traditional assay). This adjustment combined with the microarray format makes it possible to capture more than 50 analysable comets in a single image, which can then be automatically analysed using in-house software. Overall, throughput is increased more than 100-fold compared to the traditional assay. Together, the results presented here demonstrate key advances in comet assay technology that improve the throughput, sensitivity, and robustness, thus enabling larger scale clinical and epidemiological studies. © The Author 2014. Published by

  7. Poly (N-isopropylacrylamide Microgel-Based Optical Devices for Sensing and Biosensing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Molla R. Islam

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Responsive polymer-based materials have found numerous applications due to their ease of synthesis and the variety of stimuli that they can be made responsive to. In this review, we highlight the group’s efforts utilizing thermoresponsive poly (N-isopropylacrylamide (pNIPAm microgel-based optical devices for various sensing and biosensing applications.

  8. Super-resolution optical microscopy resolves network morphology of smart colloidal microgels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bergmann, Stephan; Wrede, Oliver; Huser, Thomas; Hellweg, Thomas

    2018-02-14

    We present a new method to resolve the network morphology of colloidal particles in an aqueous environment via super-resolution microscopy. By localization of freely diffusing fluorophores inside the particle network we can resolve the three dimensional structure of one species of colloidal particles (thermoresponsive microgels) without altering their chemical composition through copolymerization with fluorescent monomers. Our approach utilizes the interaction of the fluorescent dye rhodamine 6G with the polymer network to achieve an indirect labeling. We calculate the 3D structure from the 2D images and compare the structure to previously published models for the microgel morphology, e.g. the fuzzy sphere model. To describe the differences in the data an extension of this model is suggested. Our method enables the tailor-made fabrication of colloidal particles which are used in various applications, such as paints or cosmetics, and are promising candidates for drug delivery, smart surface coatings, and nanocatalysis. With the precise knowledge of the particle morphology an understanding of the underlying structure-property relationships for various colloidal systems is possible.

  9. Tacticity-Dependent Interchain Interactions of Poly(N-Isopropylacrylamide in Water: Toward the Molecular Dynamics Simulation of a Thermoresponsive Microgel

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gaio Paradossi

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available The discovery that the lower critical solution temperature (LCST of poly(N-Isopropylacrylamide (PNIPAM in water is affected by the tacticity opens the perspective to tune the volume phase transition temperature of PNIPAM microgels by changing the content of meso dyads in the polymer network. The increased hydrophobicity of isotactic-rich PNIPAM originates from self-assembly processes in aqueous solutions also below the LCST. The present work aims to detect the characteristics of the pair interaction between polymer chains, occurring in a concentration regime close to the chain overlap concentration, by comparing atactic and isotactic-rich PNIPAM solutions. Using atomistic molecular dynamics simulations, we successfully modelled the increased association ability of the meso-dyad-rich polymer in water below the LCST, and gain information on the features of the interchain junctions as a function of tacticity. Simulations carried out above the LCST display the PNIPAM transition to the insoluble state and do not detect a relevant influence of stereochemistry on the structure of the polymer ensemble. The results obtained at 323 K provide an estimate of the swelling ratio of non-stereocontrolled PNIPAM microgels which is in agreement with experimental findings for microgels prepared with low cross-linker/monomer feed ratios. This study represents the first step toward the atomistic modelling of PNIPAM microgels with a controlled tacticity.

  10. Small-Angle Neutron Scattering Study of Structural Changes in Temperature-Sensitive Microgel Colloids

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Stieger, M.A.; Richtering, W.; Pedersen, J.S.; Lindner, P.

    2004-01-01

    The structure of temperature-sensitive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) microgels in dilute suspension was investigated by means of small-angle neutron scattering. A direct modeling expression for the scattering intensity distribution was derived which describes very well the experimental data at all

  11. A neutral glyoxal gel electrophoresis method for the detection and semi-quantitation of DNA single-strand breaks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pachkowski, Brian; Nakamura, Jun

    2013-01-01

    Single-strand breaks are among the most prevalent lesions found in DNA. Traditional electrophoretic methods (e.g., the Comet assay) used for investigating these lesions rely on alkaline conditions to denature DNA prior to electrophoresis. However, the presence of alkali-labile sites in DNA can result in the introduction of additional single-strand breaks upon alkali treatment during DNA sample processing. Herein, we describe a neutral glyoxal gel electrophoresis assay which is based on alkali-free DNA denaturation and is suitable for qualitative and semi-quantitative analyses of single-strand breaks in DNA isolated from different organisms.

  12. Surface-bound microgels - From physicochemical properties to biomedical applications

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nyström, Lina; Malmsten, Martin

    2016-01-01

    Microgels offer robust and facile approaches for surface modification, as well as opportunities to introduce biological functionality by loading such structures with bioactive agents, e.g., in the context of drug delivery, functional biomaterials, and biosensors. As such, they provide a versatile...... and covalent grafting in dilute systems, to directed self-assembly, multilayer structures, and composites, as well as loading an release of drugs and other cargo molecules into/from such systems, and biomedical applications of these....

  13. Comets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hughes, D.W.

    1982-01-01

    Comets are objects of considerable fascination and this paper reviews the present knowledge of the physical structure of the cometary nucleus, coma and tail, the orbits of comets in the Solar System, the proposed mechanisms of cometary origin, the decay processes suffered by comets, and the ways in which they can be observed from Earth and by spacecraft. (author)

  14. ILC (ionic liquid colloids) based on p(4-VP) (poly(4-vinyl pyridine)) microgels: Synthesis, characterization and use in hydrogen production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sahiner, Nurettin; Turhan, Tugce; Lyon, L. Andrew

    2014-01-01

    In this study for the first time p(4-VP) (poly(4-vinyl pyridine)) colloidal ionic liquid particles derived from 4-VP (4-vinyl pyridine) are reported, used in the preparation of a catalyst system by loading metal salts such as CoCl 2 and NiCl 2 from ethyl alcohol solutions into the modified p(4-VP) particles, and used for hydrogen generation from NaOH-free hydrolysis of NaBH 4 . Colloidal ionic liquids containing 0.054 mmol Co and Ni were used in NaOH-free hydrolysis of 0.30 g NaBH 4 in 50 mL water at 40 °C and 1000 rpm mixing rate. The reaction rates relating to hydrolysis of NaBH 4 were 3148 (mL H 2 ) (min) −1 (g of Co) −1 for Co, and 1803 (mL H 2 ) (min) −1 (g of Ni) −1 for Ni. The effect of metal loading time, NaBH 4 concentration, temperature, and kinetic parameters were also investigated. The activation energy, enthalpy, and activation entropy for the reaction of NaBH 4 in the presence of the colloidal dicationic catalyst system were calculated as 43.98 kJ/mol, 40.38 kJ/mol, and −178.22 J/mol.K, respectively. - Highlights: • Microgel Ionic liquid colloid reactors for H 2 production. • P(4-VP) microgel ILC (ionic liquid colloid). • Modified microgel for green energy. • Ionic liquid microgel embedding metals salts NaBH 4 hydrolysis. • Ionic liquid microgel catalyst systems

  15. Thermosensitive microgels of poly-n-isopropylacrylamide for drug carriers - practical approach to synthesis

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Musial, W.; Pluta, J.; Michálek, Jiří

    2015-01-01

    Roč. 72, č. 3 (2015), s. 409-422 ISSN 0001-6837 Institutional support: RVO:61389013 Keywords : microgel * N-isopropylacrylamide * emulsion polymerization Subject RIV: CD - Macromolecular Chemistry Impact factor: 0.877, year: 2015 http://www.ptfarm.pl/pub/File/Acta_Poloniae/2015/3/409.pdf

  16. Photochemistry of comets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huebner, W.F.

    1985-01-01

    The classification of comets, chemically rich mixtures of volatile materials and refractory grains, is described. The developments of coma and tails, and the composition and structure of coma, plasma tails, dust, and nucleus are examined. The differences between comets and planetary atmospheres are investigated. Three hypotheses on the origin of comets are proposed; one states that comets formed in the region of the giant planets, the second theory has the development of comets occuring in the outer parts of the solar nebula, and the third states that comets formed in a companion fragment of the nebula. The use of radar, photometric, spectral, and laboratory measurements for modeling comets is discussed. The physics and main photolytic and chemical reaction processes of a collision-dominated coma are analyzed; the influence of the solar wind on the coma is studied. A comparison of the model with observed data is presented; good correlation of data is observed. The features of Halley's Comet and other comets with distinctive characteristics are examined. Future comet exploration missions and the need to improve comet models are discussed. 31 references

  17. Visually observing comets

    CERN Document Server

    Seargent, David A J

    2017-01-01

    In these days of computers and CCD cameras, visual comet observers can still contribute scientifically useful data with the help of this handy reference for use in the field. Comets are one of the principal areas for productive pro-amateur collaboration in astronomy, but finding comets requires a different approach than the observing of more predictable targets. Principally directed toward amateur astronomers who prefer visual observing or who are interested in discovering a new comet or visually monitoring the behavior of known comets, it includes all the advice needed to thrive as a comet observer. After presenting a brief overview of the nature of comets and how we came to the modern understanding of comets, this book details the various types of observations that can usefully be carried out at the eyepiece of a telescope. Subjects range from how to search for new comets to visually estimating the brightness of comets and the length and orientation of tails, in addition to what to look for in comet heads a...

  18. OpenComet: An automated tool for comet assay image analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Benjamin M. Gyori

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Reactive species such as free radicals are constantly generated in vivo and DNA is the most important target of oxidative stress. Oxidative DNA damage is used as a predictive biomarker to monitor the risk of development of many diseases. The comet assay is widely used for measuring oxidative DNA damage at a single cell level. The analysis of comet assay output images, however, poses considerable challenges. Commercial software is costly and restrictive, while free software generally requires laborious manual tagging of cells. This paper presents OpenComet, an open-source software tool providing automated analysis of comet assay images. It uses a novel and robust method for finding comets based on geometric shape attributes and segmenting the comet heads through image intensity profile analysis. Due to automation, OpenComet is more accurate, less prone to human bias, and faster than manual analysis. A live analysis functionality also allows users to analyze images captured directly from a microscope. We have validated OpenComet on both alkaline and neutral comet assay images as well as sample images from existing software packages. Our results show that OpenComet achieves high accuracy with significantly reduced analysis time.

  19. Assessment of radiation induced cytogenetic damage in human keratinocytes by comet assay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Joseph, Praveen; Sanjeev Ganesh; Narayana, Y.; Puthali, Abhay; Bhat, N.N.

    2010-01-01

    In the present study the effect of gamma radiation on normal human keratinocytes (HaCaT) cells has been analyzed using alkaline comet assay and a comparative study over the sensitivity of different comet parameters such as tail length (TL), olive tail moment (OTM) and percentage tail DNA (TDNA) has also been made. Human keratinocytes (HaCaT) cells were grown in Dulbecco's modified essential medium (DMEM) (10% FCS) at 37 °C in a humidified atmosphere containing 5% CO 2 . Cultured cells were harvested with 0.025 % trypsin EDTA. The sample (2 X 10 cells/ml) was exposed to gamma radiation of different dose using a 60 Co gamma source at dose rate of 2 Gy min -1 and the dosimetry has been carried out using Fricke and FBX dosimeters. After irradiation, to quantify the DNA damage the comet assay (single cell gel electrophoresis) was carried out under alkaline conditions, by the methods outlined by Singh et al. The quantification of the DNA strand breaks in each cells were performed using CASP software. The DNA damage quantification can be accomplished by measuring those comet parameters which exhibit a linear dependence on the amount of DNA damage. In the present study, comet parameters such as OTM, TL and TDNA were recorded and the variation of these parameters and their correlation coefficients for different doses of gamma radiation is plotted. The OTM value is normalized with control value and control for TL and TDNA is adjusted to zero to avoid initial variations in different experiments

  20. Alkaline gel electrophoresis assay to detect DNA strand breaks and repair mechanisms in Escherichia coli

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mattos, Jose Carlos Pelielo de; Motta, Ellen Serri da; Oliveira, Marcia Betania Nunes de; Dantas, Flavio Jose da Silva; Araujo, Adriano Caldeira de

    2008-01-01

    Reactive oxygen species (ROS) can induce lesions in different cellular targets, including DNA. Stannous chloride (SnCl 2 ) is a ROS generator, leading to lethality in Escherichia coli (E. coli), with the base excision repair (BER) mechanism playing a role in this process. Many techniques have been developed to detect genotoxicity, as comet assay, in eukaryotic cells, and plasmid DNA agarose gel electrophoresis. In this study, an adaptation of the alkaline gel electrophoresis method was carried out to ascertain the induction of strand breaks by SnCl 2 in bacterial DNA, from E. coli BER mutants, and its repair pathway. Results obtained show that SnCl 2 was able to induce DNA strand breaks in all strains tested. Moreover, endonuclease IV and exonuclease III play a role in DNA repair. On the whole, data has shown that the alkaline gel electrophoresis assay could be used both for studying DNA strand breaks induction and for associated repair mechanisms. (author)

  1. Alkaline gel electrophoresis assay to detect DNA strand breaks and repair mechanisms in Escherichia coli

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mattos, Jose Carlos Pelielo de; Motta, Ellen Serri da; Oliveira, Marcia Betania Nunes de; Dantas, Flavio Jose da Silva; Araujo, Adriano Caldeira de [Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), RJ (Brazil). Dept. de Biofisica e Biometria. Lab. de Radio e Fotobiologia]. E-mail: jcmattos@uerj.br

    2008-12-15

    Reactive oxygen species (ROS) can induce lesions in different cellular targets, including DNA. Stannous chloride (SnCl{sub 2}) is a ROS generator, leading to lethality in Escherichia coli (E. coli), with the base excision repair (BER) mechanism playing a role in this process. Many techniques have been developed to detect genotoxicity, as comet assay, in eukaryotic cells, and plasmid DNA agarose gel electrophoresis. In this study, an adaptation of the alkaline gel electrophoresis method was carried out to ascertain the induction of strand breaks by SnCl{sub 2} in bacterial DNA, from E. coli BER mutants, and its repair pathway. Results obtained show that SnCl{sub 2} was able to induce DNA strand breaks in all strains tested. Moreover, endonuclease IV and exonuclease III play a role in DNA repair. On the whole, data has shown that the alkaline gel electrophoresis assay could be used both for studying DNA strand breaks induction and for associated repair mechanisms. (author)

  2. Primary DNA damage in chrome-plating workers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gambelunghe, A; Piccinini, R; Ambrogi, M; Villarini, M; Moretti, M; Marchetti, C; Abbritti, G; Muzi, G

    2003-06-30

    In order to evaluate the primary DNA damage due to occupational exposure to chromium (VI), DNA strand-breaks and apoptosis in peripheral lymphocytes were measured in a group of 19 chrome-plating workers. DNA strand-breaks was assessed by alkaline (pH>13) single-cell microgel electrophoresis ('comet') assay, while apoptosis was measured by flow-cytometry after propidium iodide staining of the cells. Concentrations of chromium in urine, erythrocytes and lymphocytes were investigated as biological indicators of exposure. A group of 18 hospital workers (control group I) and another 20 university personnel (control group II) without exposure to chromium were also studied as controls. The results of the study show that chrome-plating workers have higher levels of chromium in urine, erythrocytes and lymphocytes than unexposed workers. Comet tail moment values, assumed as index of DNA damage, are increased in chromium-exposed workers and results are significantly correlated to chromium lymphocyte concentrations. No difference emerged in the percentage of apoptotic nuclei in exposed and unexposed workers. The study confirms that measurements of chromium in erythrocytes and lymphocytes may provide useful information about recent and past exposure to hexavalent chromium at the workplace. The increase in DNA strand-breaks measured by comet assay suggests this test is valid for the biological monitoring of workers exposed to genotoxic compounds such as chromium (VI).

  3. Influence of experimental conditions on data variability in the liver comet assay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guérard, M; Marchand, C; Plappert-Helbig, U

    2014-03-01

    The in vivo comet assay has increasingly been used for regulatory genotoxicity testing in recent years. While it has been demonstrated that the experimental execution of the assay, for example, electrophoresis or scoring, can have a strong impact on the results; little is known on how initial steps, that is, from tissue sampling during necropsy up to slide preparation, can influence the comet assay results. Therefore, we investigated which of the multitude of steps in processing the liver for the comet assay are most critical. All together eight parameters were assessed by using liver samples of untreated animals. In addition, two of those parameters (temperature and storage time of liver before embedding into agarose) were further investigated in animals given a single oral dose of ethyl methanesulfonate at dose levels of 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg, 3 hr prior to necropsy. The results showed that sample cooling emerged as the predominant influence factor, whereas variations in other elements of the procedure (e.g., size of the liver piece sampled, time needed to process the liver tissue post-mortem, agarose temperature, or time of lysis) seem to be of little relevance. Storing of liver samples of up to 6 hr under cooled conditions did not cause an increase in tail intensity. In contrast, storing the tissue at room temperature, resulted in a considerable time-dependent increase in comet parameters. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  4. Measuring oxidative damage to DNA and its repair with the comet assay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Collins, Andrew R

    2014-02-01

    Single cell gel electrophoresis, or the comet assay, was devised as a sensitive method for detecting DNA strand breaks, at the level of individual cells. A simple modification, incorporating a digestion of DNA with a lesion-specific endonuclease, makes it possible to measure oxidised bases. With the inclusion of formamidopyrimidine DNA glycosylase to recognise oxidised purines, or Nth (endonuclease III) to detect oxidised pyrimidines, the comet assay has been used extensively in human biomonitoring to monitor oxidative stress, usually in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. There is evidence to suggest that the enzymic approach is more accurate than chromatographic methods, when applied to low background levels of base oxidation. However, there are potential problems of over-estimation (because the enzymes are not completely specific) or under-estimation (failure to detect lesions that are close together). Attempts have been made to improve the inter-laboratory reproducibility of the comet assay. In addition to measuring DNA damage, the assay can be used to monitor the cellular or in vitro repair of strand breaks or oxidised bases. It also has applications in assessing the antioxidant status of cells. In its various forms, the comet assay is now an invaluable tool in human biomonitoring and genotoxicity testing. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Current methods to study reactive oxygen species - pros and cons and biophysics of membrane proteins. Guest Editor: Christine Winterbourn. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Synthesis and characterization of magnetite nanoparticles encapsulated in a bovine hemoglobin microgel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mody, Puja J.

    This study shows the successful synthesis and characterization of a novel material that is composed of iron oxide particles within a protein gel. During the synthesis, bovine hemoglobin surrounds the forming Fe 3O4 nanoparticles, resulting in a biocompatible hydrogel, which has the potential to be used as a targeted drug delivery vehicle and as an MRI contrast agent. The structure, size, and thermal stability of these hydrogel complexes were analyzed using a range of techniques. Powder x-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy indicated the presence of Fe3O 4 and hemoglobin without significant interactions between particles in the solid state. Microscopy analysis determined the average size of these microgel complexes to be 4-9 mum2 in area (˜2-3 mum in diameter), and DSC analysis indicated that none of the microgels exhibited a denaturing or unfolding transition below 54°C regardless of the iron: hemoglobin ratio. Initial testing has been performed on the ability of these materials to act as magnetically activated drug delivery vehicles. Other pertinent tests (for magnetic properties and MRI applicability) are currently proceeding at external labs.

  6. Mystery of comets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Whipple, F.L.

    1985-01-01

    An account is given of the growth of human understanding of comets with emphasis initially placed on theories developed before the twentieth century and subsequently on information regarding the nature of comets, their origin and possible relation to life on earth. Special consideration is given to a description of how the author arrived at his own model of the origin and nature of comets, the dirty snowball theory. The significance of comets (i.e. the hazards they may represent) is assessed and space missions to Halley's comet together with the first landing on a comet (tentatively planned for 1995) are described. It is noted that this growth of cometary understanding is presented as an integral part of the growth of science and technology. 14 references

  7. Investigation on accordance of DNA double-strand break of blood between in vivo and in vitro irradiation using single cell gel electrophoresis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Qiang; Jiang Enhai; Li Jin; Tang Weisheng; Wang Zhiquan; Zhao Yongcheng; Fan Feiyue

    2006-01-01

    Objective: To observe the consistency of DNA double-strand break between in vivo and in vitro irradiation, as a prophase study in radiation biodosimetry using single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE). Methods: Detect DNA double-strand break after whole-body and in vitro radiation in mice lymphocytes using neutral single cell gel electrophoresis. The comet images were processed by CASP software and all the data were analysed by SPSS12.0. Results: There is no difference between in vivo and in vitro irradiation group in HDNA%, TDNA%, CL, TL, TM and OTM. Conclusion: The result of neutral single cell gel electrophoresis shortly after in vitro irradiation can precisely reflect the DNA double-strand break of lymphocytes in whole-body irradiation. (authors)

  8. Shear-Induced Phase Separation in Aqueous Polymer Solutions: Temperature-Sensitive Microgels and Linear Polymer Chains

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Stieger, M.A.; Richtering, W.

    2003-01-01

    The influence of shear flow on the phase separation of aqueous poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNiPAM) microgel suspensions was investigated by means of rheo-turbidity and rheo-small angle neutron scattering (rheo-SANS) and compared to the behavior of linear PNiPAM macromolecules. The rheological

  9. Physics of comets

    CERN Document Server

    Krishna Swamy, K S

    1997-01-01

    The study of Comet Halley in 1986 was a tremendous success for cometary science. In March of that year, six spacecrafts passed through Comet Halley as close as 600 km from the nucleus and made the in situ measurements of various kinds. These space missions to Comet Halley and that of the ICE spacecraft to Comet Giacobini-Zinner combined with studies, both ground-based and above the atmosphere, have increased our knowledge of cometary science in a dramatic way.This new edition of Physics of Comets incorporates these new and exciting findings. The emphasis of the book is on the physical processe

  10. Preparation and characterization of oxidized starch polymer microgels for encapsulation and controlled release of functional ingredients

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Li, Y.; Vries, R. de; Slaghek, T.; Timmermans, J.; Cohen Stuart, M.A.; Norde, W.

    2009-01-01

    A novel biocompatible and biodegradable microgel system has been developed for controlled uptake and release of especially proteins. It contains TEMPO-oxidized potato starch polymers, which are chemically cross-linked by sodium trimetaphosphate (STMP). Physical chemical properties have been

  11. Comets and their origin the tools to decipher a comet

    CERN Document Server

    Meierhenrich, Uwe

    2014-01-01

    Divided into two parts, the first four chapters of Comets and their Origin refer to comets and their formation in general, describing cometary missions, comet remote observations, astrochemistry, artificial comets, and the chirality phenomenon.The second part covers the cometary Rosetta mission, its launch, journey, scientific objectives, and instrumentations, as well as the landing scenario on a cometary nucleus. Along the way, the author presents general questions concerning the origin of terrestrial water and the molecular beginnings of lifeon Earth, as well as how the instruments used on

  12. Near-Infrared-Light-Responsive Magnetic DNA Microgels for Photon- and Magneto-Manipulated Cancer Therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yitong; Wang, Ling; Yan, Miaomiao; Dong, Shuli; Hao, Jingcheng

    2017-08-30

    Functional DNA molecules have been introduced into polymer-based nanocarrier systems to incorporate chemotherapy drugs for cancer therapy. Here is the first report of dual-responsive microgels composed of a core of Au nanorods and a shell of magnetic ionic liquid and DNA moieties in the cross-linking network simultaneously, as effective drug delivery vectors. TEM images indicated a magnetic polymer shell has an analogous "doughnut" shape which loosely surround the AuNRs core. When irradiated with a near-infrared-light (near-IR) laser, Au nanorods are the motors which convert the light to heat, leading to the release of the encapsulated payloads with high controllability. DNA acts not only as a cross-linker agent, but also as a gatekeeper to regulate the release of drugs. The internalization study and MTT assay confirm that these core-shell DNA microgels are excellent candidates which can enhance the cytotoxicity of cancer cells controlled by near-IR laser and shield the high toxicity of chemotherapeutic agents to improve the killing efficacy of chemotherapeutic agents efficiently in due course.

  13. Comet Giacobini-Zinner - a normal comet?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cochran, A.L.; Barker, E.S.

    1987-01-01

    Observations of Comet Giacobini-Zinner were obtained during its 1985 apparition using an IDS spectrograph at McDonald Observatory. Column densities and production rates were computed. The production rates were compared to observations of other normal comets. Giacobini-Zinner is shown to be depleted in C2 and C3 relative to CN. These production rates are down by a factor of 5. 12 references

  14. Origin and development of comets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kresak, L.

    1989-01-01

    The comets are the most primitive and probably also the oldest members of the solar system. Comet cores are brittle bodies of an irregular shape and of a size of 1 to 10 km whose main component is ice. Around 130 comets move along short-period paths whose aphelia are concentrated in the area of Jupiter. They are in the last stage of development. About 20 comets have periods of 20 to 200 years and feature higher motion stability. Roughly 180 comets have elliptical orbits of a period exceeding 200 years, 200 comets have parabolic and 120 comets have hyperbolic orbits. The most distant comets form the Oort cloud around the solar system consisting of about one billion comets. Comets originated roughly 4.6 thousand million years ago together with planets, probably inside the Oort cloud. (M.D.). 11 figs

  15. Genotoxicity determinations of coriander drop and extract of Coriander Sativum cultured fibroblast of rat embryo by comet assay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heibatullah, K.; Marzieh, P.; Arefeh, I.; Ebrahim, M.

    2008-01-01

    The single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE) or comet assay is a quick, simple and sensitive technique for measuring DNA damage in cell nucleus. It is well known that medicinal herbs play an important role in the life of human beings, thus it is essential to determine their safety as public health is concerned. In this study the genotoxicity of Coriander drop, herbal pharmaceutical product, and the extract of Coriander sativum were examined in cultured fibroblast of rat embryo using comet assay. The thirteen to fifteen days old rat embryos were lysed with tripsin and after certain steps it was centrifuged and then cultured. After three to five passages, different concentrations of each product were applied to the fibroblasts. Lysing, electrophoresis, neutralization and staining were carried out. Finally the slides were analyzed with fluorescence microscope. In the test groups the results indicated that coriander drop at different doses showed some fragmentation of DNA but this damage as a result was deemed to be not significant. However, in the case of Coriander sativum extract the results showed no mutagenic effects in comparison with the positive control group (p<0.05). In conclusion, these herbal products did not show any magnetic effect according to our test, but further genotoxicity assays are recommended. (author)

  16. Spectrophotometry of 25 comets - Post-Halley updates for 17 comets plus new observations for eight additional comets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newburn, Ray L., Jr.; Spinrad, Hyron

    1989-01-01

    The best possible production figures within the current post-Halley framework and available observations are given for H2O, O(1D), CN, C3, C2 and dust in 25 comets. Of these, the three objects with the smallest mixing ratios of all minor species have moderate to little or no dust and appear 'old'. Comets with large amounts of CN are very dusty, and there is a clear correlation of CN with dust, although comets with little or no dust still have some CN. Thus, CN appears to have at least two sources, dust and one or more parent gases. Also, the C2/CN production ratio changes continuously with heliocentric distance in every comet considered, suggesting that C2 production may be a function of coma density as well as parental abundance. Dust production ranges from essentially zero in Comet Sugano-Saigusa-Fujikawa up to 67,000 kg/s for Halley on March 14, 1986.

  17. Spectrophotometry of 25 comets - Post-Halley updates for 17 comets plus new observations for eight additional comets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Newburn, R.L. Jr.; Spinrad, H.

    1989-01-01

    The best possible production figures within the current post-Halley framework and available observations are given for H2O, O(1D), CN, C3, C2 and dust in 25 comets. Of these, the three objects with the smallest mixing ratios of all minor species have moderate to little or no dust and appear 'old'. Comets with large amounts of CN are very dusty, and there is a clear correlation of CN with dust, although comets with little or no dust still have some CN. Thus, CN appears to have at least two sources, dust and one or more parent gases. Also, the C2/CN production ratio changes continuously with heliocentric distance in every comet considered, suggesting that C2 production may be a function of coma density as well as parental abundance. Dust production ranges from essentially zero in Comet Sugano-Saigusa-Fujikawa up to 67,000 kg/s for Halley on March 14, 1986. 61 references

  18. Polyester textile functionalization through incorporation of pH/thermo-responsive microgels. Part II: polyester functionalization and characterization

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Glampedaki, P.; Calvimontes, A.; Dutschk, Victoria; Warmoeskerken, Marinus

    2012-01-01

    A new approach to functionalize the surface of polyester textiles is described in this study. Functionalization was achieved by incorporating pH/temperature-responsive polyelectrolyte microgels into the textile surface layer using UV irradiation. The aim of functionalization was to regulate

  19. Numerical simulations of comets - predictions for Comet Giacobini-Zinner

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fedder, J.A.; Lyon, J.G.; Giuliani, J.L. Jr.

    1986-01-01

    Simulations of Comet Giacobini-Zinner's interaction with solar wind are described and results are presented. The simulations are carried out via the numerical solution of the ideal MHD equations as an initial value problem in a uniform solar wind. The calculations are performed on a Cartesian mesh centered at the comet. Results reveal that the first significant modifications of the solar wind along the ISEE/ICE trajectory will occur 100,000 km from the solar wind comet axis. 6 references

  20. Mission to the comets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hughes, D.

    1980-01-01

    The plans of space agencies in the United States and Europe for an exploratory comet mission including a one year rendezvous with comet Temple-2 and a fast fly-by of comet Halley are discussed. The mission provides an opportunity to make comparative measurements on the two different types of comets and also satisfies the three major scientific objectives of cometary missions namely: (1) To determine the chemical nature and the physical structure of cometary nuclei, and the changes that occur with time and orbital position. (2) To study the chemical and physical nature of the atmospheres and ionospheres of comets, the processes that occur in them, and their development with time and orbital position. (3) To determine the nature of the tails of comets and the processes by which they are formed, and to characterise the interaction of comets with solar wind. (UK)

  1. Ammonia abundances in comets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wyckoff, S.; Tegler, S.; Engel, L.

    The emission band strengths of the NH2 bands of Comets Halley, Hartley-Good, Thiele, and Borrelly were measured to determine the NH2 column densities for the comets. Production rates obtained using the Haser and vectorial models are in agreement within the observational errors, suggesting that a simple two-step decay model may be used to approximate the NH2 distribution in a comet's coma. Ammonia-to-water abundance ratios from 0.01 to 0.4 percent were found for the four comets. The ratio in Comet Halley is found to be Q(NH3)/Q(H2O) = 0.002 + or - 0.001. No significant difference in the ammonia abundance was found before or after perihelion in Comet Halley.

  2. Protein adsorption and cell adhesion on nanoscale bioactive coatings formed from poly(ethylene glycol) and albumin microgels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scott, Evan A.; Nichols, Michael D.; Cordova, Lee H.; George, Brandon J.; Jun, Young-Shin; Elbert, Donald L.

    2008-01-01

    Late-term thrombosis on drug-eluting stents is an emerging problem that might be addressed using extremely thin, biologically-active hydrogel coatings. We report a dip-coating strategy to covalently link poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) to substrates, producing coatings with crosslinked microgels and deviation from Flory-Stockmayer theory. Before macrogelation, the reacting solutions were diluted and incubated with nucleophile-functionalized surfaces. Using optical waveguide lightmode spectroscopy (OWLS) and quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D), we identified a highly hydrated, protein-resistant layer with a thickness of approximately 75 nm. Atomic force microscopy in buffered water revealed the presence of coalesced spheres of various sizes but with diameters less than about 100 nm. Microgel-coated glass or poly(ethylene terephthalate) exhibited reduced protein adsorption and cell adhesion. Cellular interactions with the surface could be controlled by using different proteins to cap unreacted vinylsulfone groups within the coating. PMID:18771802

  3. Comets in Australian Aboriginal Astronomy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamacher, Duane W.; Norris, Ray P.

    2011-03-01

    We present 25 accounts of comets from 40 Australian Aboriginal communities, citing both supernatural perceptions of comets and historical accounts of historically bright comets. Historical and ethnographic descriptions include the Great Comets of 1843, 1861, 1901, 1910, and 1927. We describe the perceptions of comets in Aboriginal societies and show that they are typically associated with fear, death, omens, malevolent spirits, and evil magic, consistent with many cultures around the world. We also provide a list of words for comets in 16 different Aboriginal languages.

  4. Comet showers and the steady-state infall of comets from the Oort cloud

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hills, J.G.

    1981-01-01

    The appearance of an inner edge to the Oort comet cloud at a semimajor axis of a = (1--2) x 10 4 AU is an observational artifact. Stellar perturbations are frequent enough and strong enough to assure that a constant fraction of the comets with semimajor axes greater than this are in orbits which bring them within the planetary region. Only infrequent, close stellar encounters are able to repopulate the planet-crossing orbits of comets with smaller semimajor axes. Owing to their relatively short orbital periods which return them frequently to the planetary system, the comets in these more tightly bound orbits will be deflected by Jupiter into drastically different orbits or be destroyed by solar heating before another close stellar passage repopulates their numbers. Comets with semimajor axes less than 2 x 10 4 AU appear in the inner solar system only in intense bursts or showers which last for a few orbital periods after the close passage of a star to the Sun. This is followed by a much longer span of time during which only comets with a>2 x 10 4 AU enter the planetary system. The theoretically determined location of the boundary between the semimajor axes of those comets which enter the planetary system only in bursts or showers and those which arrive in a steady stream is very abrupt and falls at the observed inner edge of the Oort cloud. We propose that the comets formed in the outer parts of the collapsing protosun, which had a radius of less than 5 x 10 3 AU. If this produced a first-generation comet cloud with a radius of 10 3 AU or greater, the coupled dynamical perturbations of passing stars and Jupiter will, of necessity, lead to the formation of a comet cloud similar that of the observed Oort comet cloud

  5. Ammonia abundances in four comets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wickoff, S.; Tegler, S.C.; Engel, L.

    1991-01-01

    NH2 emission band strengths were measured in four comets and the NH2 column densities were determined in order to measure the ammonia content of the comets. The mean ammonia/water abundance ratio derived for the four comets is found to be 0.13 + or - 0.06 percent, with no significant variation among the comets. The uniformity of this abundance attests to a remarkable degree of chemical homogeneity over large scales in the comet-forming region of the primordial solar nebula, and contrasts with the CO abundance variations found previously in comets. The N2 and NH3 abundances indicate a condensation temperature in the range 20-160 K, consistent with virtually all comet formation hypotheses. 64 refs

  6. Design of asymmetric particles containing a charged interior and a neutral surface charge: comparative study on in vivo circulation of polyelectrolyte microgels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Kai; Xu, Jing; Luft, J Christopher; Tian, Shaomin; Raval, Jay S; DeSimone, Joseph M

    2014-07-16

    Lowering the modulus of hydrogel particles could enable them to bypass in vivo physical barriers that would otherwise filter particles with similar size but higher modulus. Incorporation of electrolyte moieties into the polymer network of hydrogel particles to increase the swelling ratio is a straightforward and quite efficient way to decrease the modulus. In addition, charged groups in hydrogel particles can also help secure cargoes. However, the distribution of charged groups on the surface of a particle can accelerate the clearance of particles. Herein, we developed a method to synthesize highly swollen microgels of precise size with near-neutral surface charge while retaining interior charged groups. A strategy was employed to enable a particle to be highly cross-linked with very small mesh size, and subsequently PEGylated to quench the exterior amines only without affecting the internal amines. Acidic degradation of the cross-linker allows for swelling of the particles to microgels with a desired size and deformability. The microgels fabricated demonstrated extended circulation in vivo compared to their counterparts with a charged surface, and could potentially be utilized in in vivo applications including as oxygen carriers or nucleic acid scavengers.

  7. Realm of the comets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weissman, P.R.

    1987-01-01

    Studies of Jovian perturbations of the orbits of long-period comets led to the concept of the Oort cloud of 180 billion comets at 50,000-150,000 AU from the sun. Several comets are induced to move toward the sun every million years by the passage of a star at a distance of a few light years. The location of the cloud has since been revised to 20,000-100,000 AU, and comets are now accepted as remnant material fron the proto-solar system epoch. The galactic disk and random, close-passing stars may also cause rare, large perturbations in the orbits of the cloud comets, sending large numbers of comets through the inner solar system. The resulting cometary storm is a candidate cause for the wholesale extinction of dinosaurs in the Cretaceous-Terniary transition due to large number of planetesimals, or one large comet, striking the earth, in a short period of time. The IRAS instruments have detected similar clouds of material around other stars

  8. Comet thermal modeling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weissman, P.R.; Kieffer, H.H.

    1987-01-01

    The past year was one of tremendous activity because of the appearance of Halley's Comet. Observations of the comet were collected from a number of sources and compared with the detailed predictions of the comet thermal modeling program. Spacecraft observations of key physical parameters for cometary nucleus were incorporated into the thermal model and new cases run. These results have led to a much better understanding of physical processes on the nucleus and have pointed the way for further improvements to the modeling program. A model for the large-scale structure of cometary nuclei was proposed in which comets were envisioned as loosely bound agglomerations of smaller icy planetesimals, essentially a rubble pile of primordial dirty snowballs. In addition, a study of the physical history of comets was begun, concentrating on processes during formation and in the Oort cloud which would alter the volatile and nonvolatile materials in cometary nuclei from their pristine state before formation

  9. Estimates of DNA strand breakage in bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus leukocytes measured with the Comet and DNA diffusion assays

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adriana Díaz

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available The analysis of DNA damage by mean of Comet or single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE assay has been commonly used to assess genotoxic impact in aquatic animals being able to detect exposure to low concentrations of contaminants in a wide range of species. The aims of this work were 1 to evaluate the usefulness of the Comet to detect DNA strand breakage in dolphin leukocytes, 2 to use the DNA diffusion assay to determine the amount of DNA strand breakage associated with apoptosis or necrosis, and 3 to determine the proportion of DNA strand breakage that was unrelated to apoptosis and necrosis. Significant intra-individual variation was observed in all of the estimates of DNA damage. DNA strand breakage was overestimated because a considerable amount (~29% of the DNA damage was derived from apoptosis and necrosis. The remaining DNA damage in dolphin leukocytes was caused by factors unrelated to apoptosis and necrosis. These results indicate that the DNA diffusion assay is a complementary tool that can be used together with the Comet assay to assess DNA damage in bottlenose dolphins.

  10. Optimization of Neutral Comet Assay for studying DNA double-strand breaks in pea and wheat

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivelina Nikolova

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available This study describes an adaptation of the Comet assay under neutral conditions for mono- and dicotyledonous plants pea (Pisum sativum L. and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.. Modifications concern lysis and electrophoresis steps, respectively. Electrophoresis was carried out varying the intensity of the electric field. A linear relationship between the percentages of DNA in the tail from control background with alteration of intensity was found. Trypan blue dye exclusion test was used in order to determine the intactness of nuclear membrane of the isolated nuclei from both plant model systems. Assessment was conducted on non-irradiated and irradiated nuclei on a monolayer with three doses of UVC. It was found that the share of intact nuclei (trypan blue negative ones is about 95% in controls. Gradual dose-related increase of damaged nuclei was observed in both species, reaching statistical significance only at the higher dose applied.

  11. The McDonald Observatory Faint Comet Survey - Gas production in 17 comets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cochran, Anita L.; Barker, Edwin S.; Ramseyer, Tod F.; Storrs, Alex D.

    1992-01-01

    The complete Intensified Dissector Scanner data set on 17 comets is presented, and production rates are derived and analyzed. It is shown that there is a strong degree of homogenization in the production rate ratios of many comets. It also appears that the ratio of the production rates of the various species has no heliocentric distance dependence, except for the case of NH2. When speaking of the gas in the coma of a comet, it appears that comets must have been formed under remarkably uniform conditions, and that they must have evolved and formed their comae in a similar manner. The data presented here constitute strong evidence that the minor species must be bound up in a lattice and that the interior of a comet must be reasonably uniform.

  12. Disintegration of comet nuclei

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ksanfomality, Leonid V

    2012-01-01

    The breaking up of comets into separate pieces, each with its own tail, was seen many times by astronomers of the past. The phenomenon was in sharp contrast to the idea of the eternal and unchangeable celestial firmament and was commonly believed to be an omen of impending disaster, especially for comets with tails stretching across half the sky. It is only now that we have efficient enough space exploration tools to see comet nuclei and even - in the particular case of small comet Hartley-2 in 2010 - to watch their disintegration stage. There are also other suspected candidates for disintegration in the vast family of comet nuclei and other Solar System bodies. (physics of our days)

  13. Disintegration of comet nuclei

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ksanfomality, Leonid V.

    2012-02-01

    The breaking up of comets into separate pieces, each with its own tail, was seen many times by astronomers of the past. The phenomenon was in sharp contrast to the idea of the eternal and unchangeable celestial firmament and was commonly believed to be an omen of impending disaster, especially for comets with tails stretching across half the sky. It is only now that we have efficient enough space exploration tools to see comet nuclei and even - in the particular case of small comet Hartley-2 in 2010 - to watch their disintegration stage. There are also other suspected candidates for disintegration in the vast family of comet nuclei and other Solar System bodies.

  14. Optical observation of comets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tanabe, Hiroyoshi

    1974-01-01

    The observation of comets is proposed to study the state of interplanetary space. The behavior of the tails of comets shows the state of solar wind. On July 4, 1964, large bending was seen in the tail of the Tomita-Gerber-Handa comet. Then, on July 7, 1964, geomagnetic disturbance was observed. Disturbance in the tail of Kohoutek comet was seen on Jan. 19, 1974, and Ksub(p)--5 on the ground on Jan. 25. The effort for the quantitative measurement of the parameters of solar wind has been continued in various countries. Recently, the large scale observation of the Kohoutek comet was carried out in the world. Preliminary report is presented in this paper. Waving in the type 1 tail of the comet was seen, and this phenomenon may show some instability due to the interaction between the tail and the solar wind. Periodic variation of the direction of the tail has been reported. The present result also confirmed this report. In case of small comets, flare-up occurs and original luminous intensity is regained after several days. Measurement of the spectrum at the time of flare-up may show information concerning temporary variation of the state of interplanetary space. For the tracking of time variation of comets, cooperation of a number of stations at different positions is required. (Kato, T.)

  15. Assessment of DNA damage in radiation workers by using single cell gel electrophoresis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jia Lili; Zhang Tao; Yang Yonghua; Wang Yan; Du Liqing; Cao Jia; Wang Hong; Liu Qiang; Fan Feiyue

    2010-01-01

    Objective: To assess the DNA damage of radiation workers in different grade hospitals, and to explore the correlation between the types of work or work time and the levels of DNA damage. Methods: DNA single strand break were detected by using alkaline single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE), and the comet was analyzed with CASP (Comet Assay Software Project). TDNA%, TL, TM and OTM were calculated. Results: The parameters of SCGE in the radiation group were higher than those of control group (F=3.93, P<0.01). The significant difference was found not only among the different types of work or different work time, but also among the different grade hospitals (F=1.83, 1.91, P<0.05). Conclusions: Various levels of DNA damage could be detected in the radiation workers of the two hospitals. DNA damage of radiation workers is less serious in the higher-grade hospital than the lower grade one. Different types of work or work time might affect the DNA damage level. (authors)

  16. Disappearance and disintegration of comets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sekanina, Z.

    1984-01-01

    The present investigation has the objective to provide a summary of the existing evidence on the disappearance of comets and to draw conclusions regarding the physical processes involved in the disappearance. Information concerning the classification of evidence and the causes of apparent disappearance of comets is presented in a table. Attention is given to the dissipating comets, the headless sungrazing comet 1887 I, and the physical behavior of the dissipating comets and the related phenomena. It is found that all comets confined to the planetary region of the solar system decay on astronomically short time scales. However, only some of them appear to perish catastrophically. Some of the observed phenomena could be successfully interpreted. But little insight has been obtained into the character of the processes which the dissipating comets experience.

  17. Physical processes in comets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Newburn, R.L. Jr.

    1988-01-01

    When this program began in 1975 only limited photometry had been carried out on comets at any wavelength. Program goals were to observe many comets, including faint periodic comets, at a range of heliocentric distances in order to begin to understand the range of behavior among comets and in a given comet during its approach and departure from the sun. Then a study of the continuum of scattered light from dust was added. More recently the value of joint team observations in visible and infrared light has been recognized and utilized as often as possible. All 1978 to 1982 data was reanalyzed and 1983 to 1986 data analyzed in the framwork of the post-Halley paradigm, covering 25 comets in all. Four observing runs (June, July, Sept., and Jan.) with Hanner produced excellent results on Wilson, Bradfield, P/Klemola, and P/Borrelly and lesser data on other objects, including the last reported IR photometry of P/Halley. The Wilson and Halley data have been reduced

  18. Aqueous Lubrication, Structure and Rheological Properties of Whey Protein Microgel Particles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarkar, Anwesha; Kanti, Farah; Gulotta, Alessandro; Murray, Brent S; Zhang, Shuying

    2017-12-26

    Aqueous lubrication has emerged as an active research area in recent years due to its prevalence in nature in biotribological contacts and its enormous technological soft-matter applications. In this study, we designed aqueous dispersions of biocompatible whey-protein microgel particles (WPM) (10-80 vol %) cross-linked via disulfide bonding and focused on understanding their rheological, structural and biotribological properties (smooth polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) contacts, R a ball bearings", the latter supported by negligible change in size and microstructure of the WPM particles after tribology. An ultralow boundary friction coefficient, μ ≤ 0.03 was achieved using WPM between O 2 plasma-treated hydrophilic PDMS contacts coated with bovine submaxillary mucin (water contact angle 47°), and electron micrographs revealed that the WPM particles spread effectively as a layer of particles even at low ϕ∼ 10%, forming a lubricating load-bearing film that prevented the two surfaces from true adhesive contact. However, above an optimum volume fraction, μ increased in HL+BSM surfaces due to the interpenetration of particles that possibly impeded effective rolling, explaining the slight increase in friction. These effects are reflected in the highly shear thinning nature of the WPM dispersions themselves plus the tendency for the apparent viscosity to fall as dispersions are forced to very high volume fractions. The present work demonstrates a novel approach for providing ultralow friction in soft polymeric surfaces using proteinaceous microgel particles that satisfy both load bearing and kinematic requirements. These findings hold great potential for designing biocompatible particles for aqueous lubrication in numerous soft matter applications.

  19. CO2 Orbital Trends in Comets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelley, Michael; Feaga, Lori; Bodewits, Dennis; McKay, Adam; Snodgrass, Colin; Wooden, Diane

    2014-12-01

    Spacecraft missions to comets return a treasure trove of details of their targets, e.g., the Rosetta mission to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, the Deep Impact experiment at comet 9P/Tempel 1, or even the flyby of C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring) at Mars. Yet, missions are rare, the diversity of comets is large, few comets are easily accessible, and comet flybys essentially return snapshots of their target nuclei. Thus, telescopic observations are necessary to place the mission data within the context of each comet's long-term behavior, and to further connect mission results to the comet population as a whole. We propose a large Cycle 11 project to study the long-term activity of past and potential future mission targets, and select bright Oort cloud comets to infer comet nucleus properties, which would otherwise require flyby missions. In the classical comet model, cometary mass loss is driven by the sublimation of water ice. However, recent discoveries suggest that the more volatile CO and CO2 ices are the likely drivers of some comet active regions. Surprisingly, CO2 drove most of the activity of comet Hartley 2 at only 1 AU from the Sun where vigorous water ice sublimation would be expected to dominate. Currently, little is known about the role of CO2 in comet activity because telluric absorptions prohibit monitoring from the ground. In our Cycle 11 project, we will study the CO2 activity of our targets through IRAC photometry. In conjunction with prior observations of CO2 and CO, as well as future data sets (JWST) and ongoing Earth-based projects led by members of our team, we will investigate both long-term activity trends in our target comets, with a particular goal to ascertain the connections between each comet's coma and nucleus.

  20. Comet assay for rapid detection of base damage in foods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Al-Zubaidi, I. A.; Abdullah, T. S.; Qasim, S. R.

    2012-12-01

    Single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE) or comet assay technique a sensitive, reliable and rapid method for DNA double and single strand break, alkali- labile site and delayed repair site detection in individual cells. In recent years, this method has been widely used for studies of DNA repair, genetic toxicology, and environmental biomontoring, however, this technique serves as an important tool for detection of DNA damage in living organism and is increasing being used in genetic testing of industrial chemicals, environmental agent's contaminations. This research paper helps to evaluate the oxidant agent's effects of exposure to organic pollutants by using comet assay techniques. This study used five samples of each food sample (Meat, Chicken, Rice, Fruits, Vegetables and Tea) to evaluate the genotoxic effects of exposure, to environmental agent's pollutants. The experimental data suggest that the DNA damage parameters ( Tail length, Tail width 1 ) were found higher value in exposed population when compared with the ratio of the length to width that cells exhibiting no migration having a ratio of 1. The percentage and distribution of cells in exposed population of cells also increases with the increase in values. This study demonstrates that, using sensitive techniques, it is possible to detect environmental agent's risks at an early stage. (Author)

  1. Centering Single Cells in Microgels via Delayed Crosslinking Supports Long-Term 3D Culture by Preventing Cell Escape

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kamperman, Tom; Henke, Sieger; Visser, Claas Willem; Karperien, Marcel; Leijten, Jeroen

    2017-01-01

    Single-cell-laden microgels support physiological 3D culture conditions while enabling straightforward handling and high-resolution readouts of individual cells. However, their widespread adoption for long-term cultures is limited by cell escape. In this work, it is demonstrated that cell escape is

  2. Detection of irradiated onion by means of the comet assay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moreno Alvarez, Damaris L.; Prieto Miranda, Enrique Fco.; Carro Palacio, Sandra; Iglesia Enriquez, Isora

    2007-01-01

    The ionizing radiations are used as a harmless alternative treatment that it substitutes the employment of chemical treatments, which after their application in the food products can remain residuals not desired that they come to be carcinogenic. With the food irradiation is eliminated microorganisms and the storage time is prolonged, which produces benefits for the Food Industry and the consumers. In many countries the search of sensitive detecting methods of irradiated foods is promoted by the necessity of the assurance of the consumption of foods with nutritional quality and to test directly the radiation processing, for which several techniques have been developed, these are based on the changes that induce the ionizing radiations in the food products. A recommended method is the Comet Assay of DNA, it is approved by the European Committee of Standardization (EN 13784). The DNA molecule is very sensitive to gamma radiations even at low radiation dose, where the modifications produced in the molecule can be monitored for this analytical technique well-known as Comet Assay of DNA or Single Cell Gel Electrophoresis. The objective of the present paper was to evaluate the modifications of the DNA molecule of irradiated onions with the Comet Assay for several dose values, the onions were conserved at environment and refrigeration temperatures. The samples were irradiated in a self-shielding irradiator with 60 Co source, dose rate of 20.45 Gy/min and absorbed dose values of 0.5; 0.6; 0.8 and 1.0 kGy. This detection method demonstrates to be one sensitive and quick technique for the qualitative detection of irradiated onions. (author)

  3. HT-COMET: a novel automated approach for high throughput assessment of human sperm chromatin quality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albert, Océane; Reintsch, Wolfgang E.; Chan, Peter; Robaire, Bernard

    2016-01-01

    STUDY QUESTION Can we make the comet assay (single-cell gel electrophoresis) for human sperm a more accurate and informative high throughput assay? SUMMARY ANSWER We developed a standardized automated high throughput comet (HT-COMET) assay for human sperm that improves its accuracy and efficiency, and could be of prognostic value to patients in the fertility clinic. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY The comet assay involves the collection of data on sperm DNA damage at the level of the single cell, allowing the use of samples from severe oligozoospermic patients. However, this makes comet scoring a low throughput procedure that renders large cohort analyses tedious. Furthermore, the comet assay comes with an inherent vulnerability to variability. Our objective is to develop an automated high throughput comet assay for human sperm that will increase both its accuracy and efficiency. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION The study comprised two distinct components: a HT-COMET technical optimization section based on control versus DNAse treatment analyses (n = 3–5), and a cross-sectional study on 123 men presenting to a reproductive center with sperm concentrations categorized as severe oligozoospermia, oligozoospermia or normozoospermia. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS Sperm chromatin quality was measured using the comet assay: on classic 2-well slides for software comparison; on 96-well slides for HT-COMET optimization; after exposure to various concentrations of a damage-inducing agent, DNAse, using HT-COMET; on 123 subjects with different sperm concentrations using HT-COMET. Data from the 123 subjects were correlated to classic semen quality parameters and plotted as single-cell data in individual DNA damage profiles. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE We have developed a standard automated HT-COMET procedure for human sperm. It includes automated scoring of comets by a fully integrated high content screening setup that compares well with the most commonly used semi

  4. Inhibition of nucleotide excision repair by fludarabine in normal lymphocytes in vitro, measured by the alkaline single cell gel electrophoresis (comet) assay

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yamauchi, Takahiro; Kawai, Yasukazu; Ueda, Takanori [Fukui Medical Univ., Matsuoka (Japan)

    2002-05-01

    Alkylating agents or platinum analogues initiate several excision repair mechanisms, which involve incision of the DNA strand, excision of the damaged nucleotide, gap filling by DNA resynthesis, and rejoining by ligation. The previous study described that nucleotide excision repair permitted incorporation of fludarabine nucleoside (F-area-A) into the repair patch, thereby inhibiting the DNA resynthesis. In the present study, to clarify the repair kinetics in view of the inhibition by F-ara-A, normal lymphocytes were stimulated to undergo nucleotide excision repair by ultraviolet C (UV) irradiation in the presence or absence of F-ara-A. The repair kinetics were determined as DNA single strand breaks resulting from the incision and the rejoining using the alkaline single cell gel electrophoresis (comet) assay. DNA resynthesis was evaluated in terms of the uptake of tritiated thymidine into DNA. The lymphocytes initiated the incision step maximally at 1 h, and completed the rejoining process within 4 h after UV exposure. UV also initiated thymidine uptake, which increased time-dependently and reached a plateau at 4 h. A 2-h pre-incubation with F-ara-A inhibited the repair in a concentration-dependent manner, with the maximal inhibition by 5 {mu}M. This inhibitory effect was demonstrated by the reduction of the thymidine uptake and by the inhibition of the rejoining. A DNA polymerase inhibitor, aphidicolin, and a ribonucleotide reductase inhibitor, hydroxyurea, were not so inhibitory to the repair process as F-ara-A at equimolar concentrations. The present findings suggest that inhibition of nucleotide excision repair may represent a novel therapeutic strategy against cancer, especially in the context of resistant cells with an increased repair capacity. (author)

  5. Cometography a catalog of comets

    CERN Document Server

    Kronk, Gary W; Seargent, David A J

    2017-01-01

    Cometography is a multi-volume catalog of every comet observed from ancient times up to the 1990s, when the internet took off as a medium of scientific record. It uses the most reliable orbits known to determine the distances from the Earth and Sun at the time of discovery and last observation, as well as the largest and smallest angular distance to the Sun, most northerly and southerly declination, closest distance to the Earth, and other details, to enable the reader to understand each comet's physical appearance. Volume 6, the final volume in the catalog, covers the observations and pertinent calculations for every comet seen between 1983 and 1993. The comets are listed in chronological order, with complete references to publications relating to each comet and physical descriptions of each comet's development throughout its apparition. Cometography is the definitive reference on comets through the ages, for astronomers and historians of science.

  6. Detecting active comets with SDSS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Solontoi, Michael; Ivezic, Zeljko; /Washington U., Seattle, Astron. Dept.; West, Andrew A.; /MIT, MKI; Claire, Mark; /Washington U., Seattle, Astron. Dept.; Juric, Mario; /Princeton U. Observ.; Becker, Andrew; Jones, Lynne; /Washington U., Seattle, Astron. Dept.; Hall, Patrick B.; /York U., Canada; Kent, Steve; /Fermilab; Lupton, Robert H.; /Princeton U. Observ.; Quinn, Tom; /Washington U., Seattle, Astron. Dept. /Princeton U. Observ.

    2010-12-01

    Using a sample of serendipitously discovered active comets in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), we develop well-controlled selection criteria for greatly increasing the efficiency of comet identification in the SDSS catalogs. After follow-up visual inspection of images to reject remaining false positives, the total sample of SDSS comets presented here contains 19 objects, roughly one comet per 10 million other SDSS objects. The good understanding of selection effects allows a study of the population statistics, and we estimate the apparent magnitude distribution to r {approx} 18, the ecliptic latitude distribution, and the comet distribution in SDSS color space. The most surprising results are the extremely narrow range of colors for comets in our sample (e.g. root-mean-square scatter of only {approx}0.06 mag for the g-r color), and the similarity of comet colors to those of jovian Trojans. We discuss the relevance of our results for upcoming deep multi-epoch optical surveys such as the Dark Energy Survey, Pan-STARRS, and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), and estimate that LSST may produce a sample of about 10,000 comets over its 10-year lifetime.

  7. Postencounter view of comets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mendis, D.A.

    1988-01-01

    Ground-based and space observations of Comet Halley during its 1986 perihelion passage are reviewed, with an emphasis on their implications for theoretical models. Consideration is given to the shape, surface morphology, and composition of the comet nucleus; the shape, dynamics, and composition of the dust tail; neutral and ionic gas species in the head and plasma tail; and the comet/solar-wind interaction. Extensive diagrams, graphs, and sample images are provided, and the potential value of the new kinds of data to be obtained with the NASA Comet-Rendezvous/Asteroid-Flyby spacecraft is discussed. 139 references

  8. Controlling variation in the comet assay

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrew Richard Collins

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Variability of the comet assay is a serious issue, whether it occurs from experiment to experiment in the same laboratory, or between different laboratories analysing identical samples. Do we have to live with high variability, just because the comet assay is a biological assay rather than analytical chemistry? Numerous attempts have been made to limit variability by standardising the assay protocol, and the critical steps in the assay have been identified; agarose concentration, duration of alkaline incubation, and electrophoresis conditions (time, temperature and voltage gradient are particularly important. Even when these are controlled, variation seems to be inevitable. It is helpful to include in experiments reference standards, i.e. cells with a known amount of specific damage to the DNA. They can be aliquots frozen from a single large batch of cells, either untreated (negative controls or treated with, for example, H2O2 or X-rays to induce strand breaks (positive control for the basic assay, or photosensitiser plus light to oxidise guanine (positive control for Fpg- or OGG1-sensitive sites. Reference standards are especially valuable when performing a series of experiments over a long period - for example, analysing samples of white blood cells from a large human biomonitoring trial - to check that the assay is performing consistently, and to identify anomalous results necessitating a repeat experiment. The reference values of tail intensity can also be used to iron out small variations occurring from day to day. We present examples of the use of reference standards in human trials, both within one laboratory and between different laboratories, and describe procedures that can be used to control variation.

  9. CometQ: An automated tool for the detection and quantification of DNA damage using comet assay image analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ganapathy, Sreelatha; Muraleedharan, Aparna; Sathidevi, Puthumangalathu Savithri; Chand, Parkash; Rajkumar, Ravi Philip

    2016-09-01

    DNA damage analysis plays an important role in determining the approaches for treatment and prevention of various diseases like cancer, schizophrenia and other heritable diseases. Comet assay is a sensitive and versatile method for DNA damage analysis. The main objective of this work is to implement a fully automated tool for the detection and quantification of DNA damage by analysing comet assay images. The comet assay image analysis consists of four stages: (1) classifier (2) comet segmentation (3) comet partitioning and (4) comet quantification. Main features of the proposed software are the design and development of four comet segmentation methods, and the automatic routing of the input comet assay image to the most suitable one among these methods depending on the type of the image (silver stained or fluorescent stained) as well as the level of DNA damage (heavily damaged or lightly/moderately damaged). A classifier stage, based on support vector machine (SVM) is designed and implemented at the front end, to categorise the input image into one of the above four groups to ensure proper routing. Comet segmentation is followed by comet partitioning which is implemented using a novel technique coined as modified fuzzy clustering. Comet parameters are calculated in the comet quantification stage and are saved in an excel file. Our dataset consists of 600 silver stained images obtained from 40 Schizophrenia patients with different levels of severity, admitted to a tertiary hospital in South India and 56 fluorescent stained images obtained from different internet sources. The performance of "CometQ", the proposed standalone application for automated analysis of comet assay images, is evaluated by a clinical expert and is also compared with that of a most recent and related software-OpenComet. CometQ gave 90.26% positive predictive value (PPV) and 93.34% sensitivity which are much higher than those of OpenComet, especially in the case of silver stained images. The

  10. Composition of faint comets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brown, L.W.

    1986-01-01

    The study uses an emission line, differential imaging camera built by the Science Operations Branch. This instrument allows photometric data to be obtained over a large area of a comet in a large number of resolution elements. The detector is a 100x100 Reticon array which with interchangeable optics can give resolutions from 2'' to 30'' over a field of 1' to 15'. The camera through its controlling computer can simultaneously take images in on-line and continuum filters and through computer subtraction and calibration present a photometric image of the comet produced by only the emission of the molecule under study. Initial work has shown two significant problems. First the auxiliary equipment of the telescope has not allowed the unambiguous location of faint comets so that systematic observations could be made, and secondly initial data has not shown much molecular emission from the faint comets which were located. Work last year on a software and hardware display system and this year on additional guide motors on the 36-inch telescope has allowed the differential camera to act as its own finder and guide scope. Comet IRAS was observed in C2 and CO+, as well as an occultation by the comet of SAO029103. The perodic comet Giacobini-Zinner was also observed in C2

  11. Application of the CometChip platform to assess DNA damage in field-collected blood samples from turtles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sykora, Peter; Chiari, Ylenia; Heaton, Andrew; Moreno, Nickolas; Glaberman, Scott; Sobol, Robert W

    2018-05-01

    DNA damage has been linked to genomic instability and the progressive breakdown of cellular and organismal homeostasis, leading to the onset of disease and reduced longevity. Insults to DNA from endogenous sources include base deamination, base hydrolysis, base alkylation, and metabolism-induced oxidative damage that can lead to single-strand and double-strand DNA breaks. Alternatively, exposure to environmental pollutants, radiation or ultra-violet light, can also contribute to exogenously derived DNA damage. We previously validated a novel, high through-put approach to measure levels of DNA damage in cultured mammalian cells. This new CometChip Platform builds on the classical single cell gel electrophoresis or comet methodology used extensively in environmental toxicology and molecular biology. We asked whether the CometChip Platform could be used to measure DNA damage in samples derived from environmental field studies. To this end, we determined that nucleated erythrocytes from multiple species of turtle could be successfully evaluated in the CometChip Platform to quantify levels of DNA damage. In total, we compared levels of DNA damage in 40 animals from two species: the box turtle (Terrapene carolina) and the red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans). Endogenous levels of DNA damage were identical between the two species, yet we did discover some sex-linked differences and changes in DNA damage accumulation. Based on these results, we confirm that the CometChip Platform allows for the measurement of DNA damage in a large number of samples quickly and accurately, and is particularly adaptable to environmental studies using field-collected samples. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 59:322-333, 2018. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  12. ISO's analysis of Comet Hale-Bopp

    Science.gov (United States)

    1997-03-01

    The European Space Agency's Infrared Space Observatory ISO inspected Comet Hall-Bopp during the spring and autumn of 1996. The need to keep ISO's telescope extremely cold restricts the spacecraft's pointing in relation to the Sun and the Earth and it ruled out observations at other times. The analyses of the 1996 observations are not yet complete, but already they give new insight into the nature of comets. Comet Hale-Bopp is believed to be a large comet with a nucleus up to 40 kilometres wide. It was discovered in July 1995 by two American astronomers working independently, Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp. At that time, the comet was a billion kilometres away from the Sun, but 200 times brighter than Halley's Comet was, when at a comparable distance. Comet Hale-Bopp will make its closest approach to the Earth on 22 March, and its closest approach to the Sun (perihelion) on 1 April 1997. Some scientific results from ISO The discovery of Comet Hale-Bopp occurred before ISO's launch in November 1995. When first observed by ISO in March and April 1996, the comet was still 700 million kilometres from the Sun, and almost as far from the Earth and ISO. With its privileged view of infrared wavebands inaccessible from the Earth's surface, ISO's photometer ISOPHOT discovered that carbon dioxide was an important constituent of the comet's emissions of vapour.ISOPHOT measured the temperature of the dust cloud around Comet Hale-Bopp. In March 1996, when the comet was still more than 700 million kilometres from the Sun, the dust cloud was at minus 120 degrees C. When ISOPHOT made similar observations in October 1996, the comet was 420 million kilometres from the Sun, and the dust cloud had warmed to about minus 50 degrees C. Intensive observations of Comet Hale-Bopp were also made by ISO's Short-Wave Spectrometer SWS, the Long-Wave Spectrometer LWS, and the ISOPHOT spectrometer PHOT-S. Results are due for publication at the end of March. They will give details about the composition

  13. Physics of comets

    CERN Document Server

    Krishna Swamy, K S

    2010-01-01

    This revised edition places a unique emphasis on all the new results from ground-based, satellites and space missions - detection of molecule H2 and prompt emission lines of OH for the first time; discovery of X-rays in comets; observed diversity in chemical composition among comets; the puzzle of the constancy of spin temperature; the well-established mineralogy of cometary dust; extensive theoretical modeling carried out for understanding the observed effects; and, the similarity in the mineralogy of dust in circumstellar shell of stars, comets, meteorites, asteroids and IDPs, thus indicatin

  14. Comets in UV

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shustov, B.; Sachkov, M.; Gómez de Castro, A. I.; Vallejo, J. C.; Kanev, E.; Dorofeeva, V.

    2018-04-01

    Comets are important "eyewitnesses" of Solar System formation and evolution. Important tests to determine the chemical composition and to study the physical processes in cometary nuclei and coma need data in the UV range of the electromagnetic spectrum. Comprehensive and complete studies require additional ground-based observations and in situ experiments. We briefly review observations of comets in the ultraviolet (UV) and discuss the prospects of UV observations of comets and exocomets with space-borne instruments. A special reference is made to the World Space Observatory-Ultraviolet (WSO-UV) project.

  15. Comet radar explorer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farnham, Tony; Asphaug, Erik; Barucci, Antonella; Belton, Mike; Bockelee-Morvan, Dominique; Brownlee, Donald; Capria, Maria Teresa; Carter, Lynn; Chesley, Steve; Farnham, Tony; Gaskell, Robert; Gim, Young; Heggy, Essam; Herique, Alain; Klaasen, Ken; Kofman, Wlodek; Kreslavsky, Misha; Lisse, Casey; Orosei, Roberto; Plaut, Jeff; Scheeres, Dan

    The Comet Radar Explorer (CORE) is designed to perform a comprehensive and detailed exploration of the interior, surface, and inner coma structures of a scientifically impor-tant Jupiter family comet. These structures will be used to investigate the origins of cometary nuclei, their physical and geological evolution, and the mechanisms driving their spectacular activity. CORE is a high heritage spacecraft, injected by solar electric propulsion into orbit around a comet. It is capable of coherent deep radar imaging at decameter wavelengths, high resolution stereo color imaging, and near-IR imaging spectroscopy. Its primary objective is to obtain a high-resolution map of the interior structure of a comet nucleus at a resolution of ¿100 elements across the diameter. This structure shall be related to the surface geology and morphology, and to the structural details of the coma proximal to the nucleus. This is an ideal complement to the science from recent comet missions, providing insight into how comets work. Knowing the structure of the interior of a comet-what's inside-and how cometary activity works, is required before we can understand the requirements for a cryogenic sample return mission. But more than that, CORE is fundamental to understanding the origin of comets and their evolution in time. The mission is made feasible at low cost by the use of now-standard MARSIS-SHARAD reflec-tion radar imaging hardware and data processing, together with proven flight heritage of solar electric propulsion. Radar flight heritage has been demonstrated by the MARSIS radar on Mars Express (Picardi et al., Science 2005; Plaut et al., Science 2007), the SHARAD radar onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (Seu et al., JGR 2007), and the LRS radar onboard Kaguya (Ono et al, EPS 2007). These instruments have discovered detailed subsurface structure to depths of several kilometers in a variety of terrains on Mars and the Moon. A reflection radar deployed in orbit about a comet

  16. Periodic Comet Machholz and its idiosyncrasies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sekanina, Z.

    1990-01-01

    The dynamics and physical characteristics of Comet P/Machholz are analyzed. The discovery of the comet (Machholz, 1986) is discussed, including the observational conditions and the theory that the comet is inactive over extensive periods of time. Consideration is given to observations of the two tails of Comet P/Machholz (Emerson, 1986), the brightness variations and light curve of the comet, and nuclear photometry of the comet (Green, 1987). It is suggested that the increase in activity beginning one day after perihelion was triggered by a discrete source within 15 deg of the rotation pole that became sunlit after perihelion. Also, the possibility that Comet P/Machholz is associated with a meteor stream is examined. 45 refs

  17. Radiobiological study on DNA strand breaks and repair using single cell gel electrophoresis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ikushima, Takaji

    1994-01-01

    Single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE) provides a novel method to measure DNA damage in individual cells and more importantly, to assess heterogeneity in response within a mixed population of cells. Cells embedded in agarose are lysed, subjected to electrophoresis, stained with a fluorescent DNA-specific dye, and viewed under a fluorescence microscope. Damaged cells display 'comets', broken DNA migrating farther to the anode in the electric field. We have previously used this technique to quantify DNA damage induced by moderate doses of low and high LET radiations in cultured Chinese hamster cells. The assay has been optimized in terms of lysing and electrophoresis conditions, and applied to analyse the DNA strand breaks, their repair kinetics and heterogeneity in response in individual Chinese hamster cells exposed to gamma-rays, and to KUR thermal neutrons with and without 10 B or to KEK PF monochromatic soft X-rays as well as to a radio-mimetic agent, neocarzinostatin. The DNA double-strand breaks induced by boron-neutron captured reactions were repaired at a slower rate, but a heterogeneity in response might not contribute to the difference. The neocarzinostatin-induced DNA damage were efficiently repaired in a dose-dependent fashion. The initial amount of gamma-ray induced DNA double-strand breaks was not significantly altered in cells pre-exposed to very low adapting dose. (author)

  18. Localization of specific sequences and DNA single-strand breaks in individual UV-A-irradiated human lymphocytes by COMET FISH

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bock, Claudia; Rapp, Alexander; Dittmar, Heike; Monajembashi, Shamci; Greulich, Karl-Otto

    1999-01-01

    The COMET assay, a single cell electrophoresis technique which allows to separate electrophoretically fractionated DNA according to size has been combined with fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) which allows to localize specific genes or gene regions. This combination (COMET FISH) allows the detection of DNA single strand breaks in specific regions of the genome of human lymphocytes at the single cell level. Various types of DNA probes, e.g. centromere-, (alpha) - satellite-, telomere-, whole chromosome-, single copy- and region specific DNA probes have been used to investigate whether the UV-A induced DNA single strand breaks are distributed randomly all over the human genome or induced at specific sites ('hot spots'). In the investigated human peripheral blood lymphocytes all but one centromere reveal low sensitivity for UV-A irradiation (500 kJ/m2), while telomeres are randomly distributed over COMET heads and tails. The human chromosome 1 is fractionated by irradiation, but remains in the COMET head, indicating an only moderate degree of fractionation. Among three tested single copy probes, c- myc, p53 and p58, the p53 gene located on chromosome 17p13.1 and the p58 gene (1p36) appear to be located in UV-A stable regions of the human genome in 95% of 65 investigated lymphocytes. In contrast, the c-myc proto-oncogene (8q24) is found in the COMET tail in 90% of the 27 investigated lymphocytes and thus appears to be more sensitive to UV-A irradiation.

  19. Engineering complex tissue-like microgel arrays for evaluating stem cell differentiation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Guermani, Enrico; Shaki, Hossein; Mohanty, Soumyaranjan

    2016-01-01

    Development of tissue engineering scaffolds with native-like biology and microarchitectures is a prerequisite for stem cell mediated generation of off-the-shelf-tissues. So far, the field of tissue engineering has not full-filled its grand potential of engineering such combinatorial scaffolds...... for engineering functional tissues. This is primarily due to the many challenges associated with finding the right microarchitectures and ECM compositions for optimal tissue regeneration. Here, we have developed a new microgel array to address this grand challenge through robotic printing of complex stem cell...... platform will be used for high-throughput identification of combinatorial and native-like scaffolds for tissue engineering of functional organs....

  20. Molecular ions in comet tails

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wyckoff, S.; Wehinger, P.A.

    1976-01-01

    Band intensities of the molecular ions CH + , CO + , N 2 + , and H 2 O + have been determined on an absolute scale from tail spectra of comet Kohoutek (1973f) and comet Bradfield (1974b). Photoionization and photodissociation rates have been computed for CH, CO, and N 2 . Also emission rate excitation g-factors for (1) photoionization plus excitation and (2) resonance fluorescence have been computed for the observed ions. It is shown that resonance fluorescence is the dominant excitation mechanism for observed comet tail ions at rapprox. =1 AU. Band system luminosities and molecular ion abundances within a projected nuclear distance rho 4 km have been determined for CH + , CO + , N 2 + , and H 2 O + in comet Kohoutek, and for H 2 O + in comet Bradfield. Estimates are also given for column densities of all observed ions at rhoapprox. =10 4 km on the tailward side of the coma. The observed H 2 O + column densities were found to be roughly the same in comet Kohoutek and comet Bradfield et equal heliocentric distances, while CO + was found to be approximately 100 times more abundant than H 2 O + , N 2 + , and CH + at rhoapprox. =10 4 km in comet Kohoutek. Finally, the relative abundances of the observed ions and of the presumed parent neutral species are briefly discussed

  1. Comets and their composition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spinrad, H.

    1987-01-01

    Recent theoretical and observational studies of comets are reviewed, with an emphasis on in situ data from spacecraft encounters with P/Giacobini-Zinner (September 1985) and P/Halley (March 1986). Topics addressed include clues on the origin and permanence of the Oort cometary cloud, observations of cometary nuclei far from the sun, the Halley nucleus, compositional and physical data from comae studies, and the parent molecules in comet ices. Also discussed are quantitative analyses of coma production; special features in the tail of P/Giacobini-Zinner; and proposals for (1) observations to detect distant giant comets, (2) high-resolution spectroscopic studies of comae, and (3) additional spacecraft missions such as the NASA Comet Rendezvous and Asteroid Flyby. 121 references

  2. Reasonable threshold value used to segment the individual comet from the comet assay image

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yan Xuekun; Chen Ying; Du Jie; Zhang Xueqing; Luo Yisheng

    2009-01-01

    Reasonable segmentation of the individual comet contour from the Comet Assay (CA) images is the precondition for all of parameters analysis during the automatic analyzing for the CA. The Otsu method and several arithmetic operators for image segmentation, such as Sobel, Prewitt, Roberts and Canny were used to segment the comet contour, and characters of the CA images were analyzed firstly. And then the segmentation methods which had been adopted in the software for CA automatic analysis, such as the CASP, the TriTek CometScore TM , were put for-ward and compared. At last, a two-step procedure for threshold calculation based on image-content analysis is adopted to segment the individual comet from the CA images, and several principles for the segmentation are put forward too.(authors)

  3. DIRBE Comet Trails

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arendt, Richard G.

    2015-01-01

    Re-examination of the COBE DIRBE data reveals the thermal emission of several comet dust trails.The dust trails of 1P/Halley, 169P/NEAT, and 3200 Phaethon have not been previously reported.The known trails of 2P/Encke, and 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 are also seen. The dust trails have 12 and 25 microns surface brightnesses of trails are very difficult to see in any single daily image of the sky, but are evident as rapidly moving linear features in movies of the DIRBE data. Some trails are clearest when crossing through the orbital plane of the parent comet, but others are best seen at high ecliptic latitudes as the Earth passes over or under the dust trail. All these comets have known associations with meteor showers. This re-examination also reveals one additional comet and 13 additional asteroids that had not previously been recognized in the DIRBE data.

  4. Chromosomal aberrations and deoxyribonucleic acid single-strand breaks in adipose-derived stem cells during long-term expansion in vitro.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Froelich, Katrin; Mickler, Johannes; Steusloff, Gudrun; Technau, Antje; Ramos Tirado, Mario; Scherzed, Agmal; Hackenberg, Stephan; Radeloff, Andreas; Hagen, Rudolf; Kleinsasser, Norbert

    2013-07-01

    Adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) are a promising mesenchymal cell source for tissue engineering approaches. To obtain an adequate cell amount, in vitro expansion of the cells may be required in some cases. To monitor potential contraindications for therapeutic applications in humans, DNA strand breaks and chromosomal aberrations in ASCs during in vitro expansion were examined. After isolation of ASC from human lipoaspirates of seven patients, in vitro expansion over 10 passages was performed. Cells from passages 1, 2, 3, 5 and 10 were used for the alkaline single-cell microgel electrophoresis (comet) assay to detect DNA single-strand breaks and alkali labile as well as incomplete excision repair sites. Chromosomal changes were examined by means of the chromosomal aberration test. During in vitro expansion, ASC showed no DNA single-strand breaks in the comet assay. With the chromosomal aberration test, however, a significant increase in chromosomal aberrations were detected. The study showed that although no DNA fragmentation could be determined, the safety of ASC cannot be ensured with respect to chromosome stability during in vitro expansion. Thus, reliable analyses for detecting ASC populations, which accumulate chromosomal aberrations or even undergo malignant transformation during extensive in vitro expansion, must be implemented as part of the safety evaluation of these cells for stem cell-based therapy. Copyright © 2013 International Society for Cellular Therapy. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Singing comet changes its song

    Science.gov (United States)

    Volwerk, M.; Goetz, C.; Delva, M.; Richter, I.; Tsurutani, B. T.; Eriksson, A.; Odelstad, E.; Meier, P.; Nilsson, H.; Glassmeier, K.-H.

    2017-09-01

    The singing comet was discovered at the beginning of the Rosetta mission around comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Large amplitude compressional waves with frequencies between 10 and 100 mHz were observed. When the comet became more active this signal was no longer measured. During the so-called tail excursion, late in the mission after perihelion, with again a less active comet, the singing was observed again and interestingly, going from 26 March to 27 March 2016 the character of the singing changed.

  6. Nature and origin of comets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fernandez, J.A.; Jockers, K.

    1983-01-01

    The review examines basic history and morphology, motion, dynamic evolution, physical properties of neutral gaseous matter, vaporization of gases and outflow from the nucleus, chemistry of the coma gases, the comet nucleus, dust particles, solar wind-comet interactions and tail formation and the origin of comets. (U.K.)

  7. A New Orbit for Comet C/1865 B1 (Great Southern Comet of 1865)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Branham, Richard L., Jr.

    2018-04-01

    Comet C/1865 B1 (Great southern comet of 1865), observed only in the southern hemisphere, is one of a large number of comets with parabolic orbits. Given that there are 202 observations in right ascension and 165 in declination it proves possible to calculate a better orbit than that Körber published in 1887, the orbit used in various catalogs and data bases. C/1865 B1's orbit is hyperbolic and statistically distinguishable from a parabola. This object, therefore, cannot be considered an NEO. The comet has a small perihelion distance of 0.026 AU.

  8. Halley comet, implication on the origin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Festou, M.C.

    1990-01-01

    One will first give a rapid description of the different parts that compose a comet coma. Then one will describe the spectrum of comets from the UV to the IR regions with special emphasis on how information relative to the physico-chemistry of comet atmospheres can be retrieved. Our basic knowledge about the composition of comets before 1985 will be summarized and the input of the 1985-86 observing campaign of comet Halley will be shown (in situ, ground-based and space borne observations). One will see then that the chemical composition of comets appears as of today completely compatible with a formation from pre-solar matter that condensed inside the solar system [fr

  9. Application of single cell gel electrophoresis in post-evaluation of organism radiation damage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jiang Lin; Mu Wanjun; Liu Guoping; Xu Yunshu; Luo Shunzhong; Gao Qingxiang

    2009-01-01

    The transient irradiation-caused DNA damage in the human peripheral blood lymphocytes,mouse peripheral blood lymphocytes and alive mouse irradiated by α-ray and γ-ray was investigated, and the single cell gel electrophoresis(SCGE, Comet Assay) was used to detect the extent of DNA damage. On this basis, the dose-effect curve and the evaluating method for radiant after-effect were established, the absorbed dose of alive mouse A irradiated by γ-rays was computed. The results indicate that not only the dose-effect can be described by using SCGE, but also the dose-computed after organism irradiated by radiant rays is achieved with it, and SCGE may be used as a new biological dosimeter. (authors)

  10. Application of single cell gel electrophoresis in post-evaluation of organism radiation damage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jiang Lin; Mu Wanjun; Liu Guoping; Xu Yunshu; Gao Qingxiang

    2007-01-01

    The immediate irradiation-caused DNA damage in the human Peripheral Blood Lymphocytes, mouse Peripheral Blood Lymphocytes and alive mouse irradiated by α-Rays and γ-rays was investigated, and the single cell gel electrophoresis(SCGE, Comet Assay) was used to detect the extent of DNA damage. On this base, the dose-effect curve and the evaluating method for radiant aftereffect were established, the absorbed does of alive mouse A irradiated by γ-rays was computed. The results indicated that not only the does-effect could be described by using SCGE, but also the does-computed after organism irradiated by radiant rays was achieved with it, and SCGE might be used as a new biological dosimeter. (authors)

  11. Interpreting sperm DNA damage in a diverse range of mammalian sperm by means of the two-tailed comet assay

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cortés-Gutiérrez, Elva I.; López-Fernández, Carmen; Fernández, José Luis; Dávila-Rodríguez, Martha I.; Johnston, Stephen D.; Gosálvez, Jaime

    2014-01-01

    Key Concepts The two-dimensional Two-Tailed Comet assay (TT-comet) protocol is a valuable technique to differentiate between single-stranded (SSBs) and double-stranded DNA breaks (DSBs) on the same sperm cell.Protein lysis inherent with the TT-comet protocol accounts for differences in sperm protamine composition at a species-specific level to produce reliable visualization of sperm DNA damage.Alkaline treatment may break the sugar–phosphate backbone in abasic sites or at sites with deoxyribose damage, transforming these lesions into DNA breaks that are also converted into ssDNA. These lesions are known as Alkali Labile Sites “ALSs.”DBD–FISH permits the in situ visualization of DNA breaks, abasic sites or alkaline-sensitive DNA regions.The alkaline comet single assay reveals that all mammalian species display constitutive ALS related with the requirement of the sperm to undergo transient changes in DNA structure linked with chromatin packing.Sperm DNA damage is associated with fertilization failure, impaired pre-and post- embryo implantation and poor pregnancy outcome.The TT is a valuable tool for identifying SSBs or DSBs in sperm cells with DNA fragmentation and can be therefore used for the purposes of fertility assessment. Sperm DNA damage is associated with fertilization failure, impaired pre-and post- embryo implantation and poor pregnancy outcome. A series of methodologies to assess DNA damage in spermatozoa have been developed but most are unable to differentiate between single-stranded DNA breaks (SSBs) and double-stranded DNA breaks (DSBs) on the same sperm cell. The two-dimensional Two-Tailed Comet assay (TT-comet) protocol highlighted in this review overcomes this limitation and emphasizes the importance in accounting for the difference in sperm protamine composition at a species-specific level for the appropriate preparation of the assay. The TT-comet is a modification of the original comet assay that uses a two dimensional electrophoresis to

  12. A Comet Engulfs Mars: MAVEN Observations of Comet Siding Spring's Influence on the Martian Magnetosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Espley, Jared R.; Dibraccio, Gina A.; Connerney, John E. P.; Brain, David; Gruesbeck, Jacob; Soobiah, Yasir; Halekas, Jasper S.; Combi, Michael; Luhmann, Janet; Ma, Yingjuan

    2015-01-01

    The nucleus of comet C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring) passed within 141,000?km of Mars on 19 October 2014. Thus, the cometary coma and the plasma it produces washed over Mars for several hours producing significant effects in the Martian magnetosphere and upper atmosphere. We present observations from Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN's (MAVEN's) particles and field's instruments that show the Martian magnetosphere was severely distorted during the comet's passage. We note four specific major effects: (1) a variable induced magnetospheric boundary, (2) a strong rotation of the magnetic field as the comet approached, (3) severely distorted and disordered ionospheric magnetic fields during the comet's closest approach, and (4) unusually strong magnetosheath turbulence lasting hours after the comet left. We argue that the comet produced effects comparable to that of a large solar storm (in terms of incident energy) and that our results are therefore important for future studies of atmospheric escape, MAVEN's primary science objective.

  13. Disc electrophoresis and related techniques of polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Maurer, H. R

    1971-01-01

    ..., enzymes, antingens and radioactively labelled materials, and detailed treatments of micro disc electrophoresis, preparative polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and many other techniques for special problems...

  14. DRBE comet trails

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arendt, Richard G.

    2014-01-01

    Re-examination of the Cosmic Background Explorer Diffuse Infrared Background Experiment (DIRBE) data reveals the thermal emission of several comet dust trails. The dust trails of 1P/Halley, 169P/NEAT, and 3200 Phaethon have not been previously reported. The known trails of 2P/Encke and 73P/Schwassmann–Wachmann 3 are also seen. The dust trails have 12 and 25 μm surface brightnesses of <0.1 and <0.15 MJy sr −1 , respectively, which is <1% of the zodiacal light intensity. The trails are very difficult to see in any single daily image of the sky, but are evident as rapidly moving linear features in movies of the DIRBE data. Some trails are clearest when crossing through the orbital plane of the parent comet, but others are best seen at high ecliptic latitudes as the Earth passes over or under the dust trail. All these comets have known associations with meteor showers. This re-examination also reveals 1 additional comet and 13 additional asteroids that had not previously been recognized in the DIRBE data.

  15. DRBE comet trails

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Arendt, Richard G., E-mail: Richard.G.Arendt@nasa.gov [CREST/UMBC, Code 665, NASA/GSFC, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States)

    2014-12-01

    Re-examination of the Cosmic Background Explorer Diffuse Infrared Background Experiment (DIRBE) data reveals the thermal emission of several comet dust trails. The dust trails of 1P/Halley, 169P/NEAT, and 3200 Phaethon have not been previously reported. The known trails of 2P/Encke and 73P/Schwassmann–Wachmann 3 are also seen. The dust trails have 12 and 25 μm surface brightnesses of <0.1 and <0.15 MJy sr{sup −1}, respectively, which is <1% of the zodiacal light intensity. The trails are very difficult to see in any single daily image of the sky, but are evident as rapidly moving linear features in movies of the DIRBE data. Some trails are clearest when crossing through the orbital plane of the parent comet, but others are best seen at high ecliptic latitudes as the Earth passes over or under the dust trail. All these comets have known associations with meteor showers. This re-examination also reveals 1 additional comet and 13 additional asteroids that had not previously been recognized in the DIRBE data.

  16. Studying Short-Period Comets and Long-Period Comets Detected by WISE/NEOWISE

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kramer, Emily A.; Fernández, Yanga R.; Bauer, James M.; Stevenson, Rachel; Mainzer, Amy K.; Grav, Tommy; Masiero, Joseph; Walker, Russell G.; Lisse, Carey M.

    2014-11-01

    The Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission surveyed the sky in four infrared wavelength bands (3.4, 4.6, 12 and 22-micron) between January 2010 and February 2011 [1, 2]. During the mission, WISE serendipitously observed 160 comets, including 21 newly discovered objects. About 89 of the comets observed by WISE displayed a significant dust tail in the 12 and 22-micron (thermal emission) bands, showing a wide range of activity levels and dust morphology. Since the observed objects are a mix of both long-period comets (LPCs) and short-period comets (SPCs), differences in their activity can be used to better understand the thermal evolution that each of these populations has undergone. For the comets that displayed a significant dust tail, we have estimated the sizes and ages of the particles using dynamical models based on the Finson-Probstein method [3, 4]. For a selection of 40 comets, we have then compared these models to the data using a novel tail-fitting method that allows the best-fit model to be chosen analytically rather than subjectively. For comets that were observed multiple times by WISE, the dust tail particle properties were estimated separately, and then compared. We find that the dust tails of both LPCs and SPCs are primarily comprised of ~mm to cm sized particles, which were the result of emission that occurred several months to several years prior to the observations. The LPCs nearly all have strong dust emission close to the comet's perihelion distance, and the SPCs mostly have strong dust emission close to perihelion, but some have strong dust emission well before perihelion. Acknowledgments: This publication makes use of data products from (1) WISE, which is a joint project of UCLA and JPL/Caltech, funded by NASA; and (2) NEOWISE, which is a project of JPL/Caltech, funded by the Planetary Science Division of NASA. EK was supported by a NASA Earth and Space Sciences Fellowship. RS gratefully acknowledges support from the NASA

  17. Inside look at Halley's comet

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beatty, J.K.

    1986-01-01

    The 1985-1986 emergence of Halley's comet, the first since the advent of the space age, was explored by a variety of spacecraft. The Vega 1, launched by the USSR together with the Eastern-block alliance, passed 5523 miles from the comet's nucleus at 7:20:06 Universal time. It indicated that the comet was about 300 miles closer to the sun than had been predicted. The Japanese spacecraft, Suisei, was created to map the distribution of neutral hydrogen atoms outside Halley's visible coma. Its pictures indicated that the comet's output of water varied between 25 and 60 tons per second. Five days after the Vega 2's passage through the comet, the Giotto (sponsored by the European Space Agency) probe appeared. Giotto's close approach took place 3.1 minutes after midnight UT on March 14th; the craft had passed 376 miles from its target. Giotto's data indicated that the nucleus was bigger than expected, and that the comet was composed primarily of water, CO2 and N2. The Vegas and Giotto found that as the solar wind approaches Halley, it slows gradually and the solar magnetic lines embedded in the wind begin to pile up. Pick-up ions, from the comet's halo of neutral hydrogen, were found in this solar wind. Sensors on the Vega spacecraft found a variety of plasma waves propagating inside the bow wave. In order to synthesize all the results, a conference on the exploration of Halley's comet will be held this October

  18. Comet Mineralogy as Inferred from Infrared Spectra of Comets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wooden, Diane H.

    2006-01-01

    For most comets, infrared (IR) spectroscopy (remote sensing) is the method through which we diagnose the mineralogy and size distribution of dust in their comae. The shape and contrast of the IR spectral features depend on the particle size: optically active minerals (absorbing of visible and near-IR solar photons) and submicron solid grains or highly porous (> 90% vacuum) grains primarily contribute to the shapes of the observed resonances. Comet mineralogies typically are determined by fitting thermal emission models of ensembles of discrete mineral grains to observed IR spectral energy distributions. The absorptivities (Q-abs) and scattering efficiencies (Q-scat) of the discrete mineral grains are computed using Mie scattering, Maxwell-Garnet mixing, Discrete Dipole Approximation, and Multi-Layered Sphere codes. These techniques when applied to crystalline minerals, specifically olivine (Mg_x, Fe_1-x)2 Si04, x>0.9, require the use of ellipsoidal shaped particles with elongated axial ratios or hollow spheres to produce the shapes of the resonances observed both from comet comae and laboratory samples. The wavelength positions of the distinct resonances from submicron-radii crystalline silicates, as well as their thermal equilibrium temperatures, constrain the crystalline olivine to have a relatively high Mg-content (x>0.9, or Fo>90). Only resonances computed for submicron Mg-rich crystalline olivine and crystalline orthopyroxene match the observed IR spectral features. However, this has led to the interpretation that micron-radii and larger crystals are absent from comet comae. Furthermore, the mass fraction of silicate crystals is dependent upon whether just the submicron portion of the size distribution is being compared or the submicron crystals compare to the aggregates of porous amorphous silicates that are computationally tractable as porous spheres. We will discuss the Deep Impact results as examples of these challenges to interpreting mid-IR spectra of

  19. Comet Halley and interstellar chemistry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Snyder, L.E.

    1989-01-01

    How complex is the chemistry of the interstellar medium? How far does it evolve and how has it interacted with the chemistry of the solar system? Are the galactic chemical processes destroyed, preserved, or even enhanced in comets? Are biogenic molecules formed in space and have the formation mechanisms interacted in any way with prebiotic organic chemical processes on the early earth? Radio molecular studies of comets are important for probing deep into the coma and nuclear region and thus may help answer these questions. Comets are believed to be pristine samples of the debris left from the formation of the solar system and may have been the carrier between interstellar and terrestrial prebiotic chemistries. Recent observations of Comet Halley and subsequent comets have given the author an excellent opportunity to study the relationship between interstellar molecular chemistry and cometary chemistry

  20. Origin of Short-Perihelion Comets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guliyev, A. S.

    2011-01-01

    New regularities for short-perihelion comets are found. Distant nodes of cometary orbits of Kreutz family are concentrated in a plane with ascending node 76 and inclination 267 at the distance from 2 up to 3 a.u. and in a very narrow interval of longitudes. There is a correlation dependence between q and cos I concerning the found plane (coefficient of correlation 0.41). Similar results are received regarding to cometary families of Meyer, Kracht and Marsden. Distant nodes of these comets are concentrated close three planes (their parameters are discussed in the article) and at distances 1.4; 0.5; 6 a.u. accordingly. It is concluded that these comet groups were formed as a result of collision of parent bodies with meteoric streams. One more group, consisting of 7 comets is identified. 5 comet pairs are selected among sungrazers.

  1. X-rays from comets - a surprising discovery

    CERN Document Server

    CERN. Geneva

    2000-01-01

    Comets are kilometre-size aggregates of ice and dust, which remained from the formation of the solar system. It was not obvious to expect X-ray emission from such objects. Nevertheless, when comet Hyakutake (C/1996 B2) was observed with the ROSAT X-ray satellite during its close approach to Earth in March 1996, bright X-ray emission from this comet was discovered. This finding triggered a search in archival ROSAT data for comets, which might have accidentally crossed the field of view during observations of unrelated targets. To increase the surprise even more, X-ray emission was detected from four additional comets, which were optically 300 to 30 000 times fainter than Hyakutake. For one of them, comet Arai (C/1991 A2), X-ray emission was even found in data which were taken six weeks before the comet was optically discovered. These findings showed that comets represent a new class of celestial X-ray sources. The subsequent detection of X-ray emission from several other comets in dedicated observations confir...

  2. Localized irradiations, Evaluation through ''comet assay''

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Giorgio, M.D.; Taja, M.R.; Nasazzi, N.B.; Bustos, N.; Cavalieri, H.; Bolgiani, A.

    2000-01-01

    During the last 50 years various radiation accidents involving localized irradiations occurred, resulting mainly from improper handling of sealed sources Co 60 , Cs 137 or Ir 192 at workplaces for industrial gammagraphy. Severe skin reaction may develop at the contact sites. Such inhomogeneous irradiations lead to a differential exposure of lymphocytes in lymphatic tissues or other organs that may recirculate into the peripheral blood producing a mixed irradiated and unirradiated population of lymphocytes. Applying the mathematical models ''Contaminated Poisson'' of Dolphin and Qdr method of Sasaki, a mean dose in the irradiated body area and its size can be estimated from unstable chromosome aberration scoring. This give an indication of the proportion of haemopoietic stem cell compartment involved in the overexposure. There are also different biophysical techniques that can give responses in biological dosimetry. The ''Comet Assay'' (single cell gel electrophoresis) is a sensitive and rapid method for DNA strand break detection in individual cells. The advantages of the technique include: collection of data at the level of individual cell; the need for small numbers of cells per sample; its sensitivity for detecting DNA damage and that virtually any eukaryote cell population is amenable to analysis. The objective of this work is to apply ''Comet Assay'' method to evaluate the effect of radiation on skin and subcutaneous tissues, differentiating irradiated from unirradiated body areas. It could provide a useful tool to estimate the extension and the dose in the irradiated region, contributing with the current techniques. In this first study, we evaluate the alkaline comet assay as a method for detection of DNA radiation induced damage in keratinocytes from primary culture obtained from full thickness skin biopsies of patients requiring grafts. Skin and, particularly, keratinocytes were selected as an appropriate cellular system due to: Skin, the first barrier

  3. Radio response of human lymphocytes pretreated with boron and gadoliniums assessed by the, comet assay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, J. K.; Park, T. W.; Cebulska-Wasiewska, A.; Nili, M.

    2009-01-01

    Boron and gadolinium are among the nuclides that hold a unique property of being a neutron capture therapy agent. Neutron beams have often a considerable portion of gamma rays with fast neutrons. Gamma rays, as beam contaminants, can cause considerable damage to normal tissues even if such tissues do contain high boron concentrations. Materials and Methods: The modification of radio response in human lymphocytes pretreated with boron or gadolinium compound was studied by assessing the DNA damage using single cell gel electrophoresis, the comet assay. The lymphocytes from the human peripheral blood were irradiated with 0, 1, 2 and 4 Gy of gamma rays from a 60 Co isotopic source with or without pretreatment of boron or gadolinium compound for 10 minutes at 4 d egree C . Post-irradiation procedures included slide preparation, cell-lysing, unwinding and electrophoresis, neutralization, staining, and analytic steps, gel electrophoresis. Results: The results indicate that pretreatment with boron compound (50 n M or 250 n M of 10 B) is effective in reducing the radiosensitivity of the lymphocyte DNA. Conversely, pretreatment with gadolinium compound (50 n M) led to a dose-dependent increase in the radiosensitivity, most prominently with a dose of 4 Gy (P<0.001). Furthermore, when the lymphocytes were pretreated with a Combined mixture (1:1) of boron (250 n M) and gadolinium (50 n M) compounds, the reduced radiosensitivity was also observed.

  4. The Halley comet

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Encrenaz, T.; Festou, M.

    1985-01-01

    The conspicuous part of a comet, made of tenuous gas and dusts, represents only a tiny part of its mass. The main information is hidden in the central part: a solid nucleus, ice and rock blocks with a radius less than 10 km, completely invisible from the Earth. The knowledge of the nucleus structure and its composition could give the key of the planet creation mechanisms. That is a reason why it has been decided to send an automatic device to penetrate the Halley comet atmosphere and that two Soviet probes, Vega 1 and 2, one European probe Giotto, and two Japanese, Planet-A and MS-TS, will explore in-situ in March 1986, for the first time, a comet at atmosphere [fr

  5. Electrophoresis forum '80

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Radola, B.J.

    1980-01-01

    In this volume the contributions of the electrophoresis meeting are presented in a short term form. The main topics are gel-electrophoresis, ultra thin film isoelectric focusing, one- and two-dimensional electrophoresis, electrophoretical separation techniques, electric focusing (for phorensic studies), substrate free and substrate electrophoresis. In the poster session of this meeting subjects such as (ultra) thin film isoelectric focusing, identification of radioactive proteins, labelling of cell surfaces, autoradiography and 3 H-labelled proteins. Separate abstracts were prepared for 4 papers in this report. (HK) [de

  6. Comet prospects for 2004

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shanklin, J. D.

    2003-12-01

    2004 sees the return of 18 periodic comets. None are particularly bright and the best are likely to be 78P/Gehrels and 88P/Howell. Three new long period comets are likely to put on a good show: 2001 Q4 (NEAT) reaches perihelion in May, when it could make at least 3rd magnitude. Northern hemisphere observers will first pick it up just after perihelion as it rapidly moves north. 2002 T7 (LINEAR) could also reach 3rd magnitude at closest approach in May, however northern hemisphere observers will have lost it as a binocular object in mid-March. Observers at far southern latitudes may be able to see these two naked eye comets at the same time. 2003 K4 (LINEAR) could reach 6th magnitude as it brightens on its way to perihelion. Several other long period comets discovered in previous years are also still visible.

  7. Meteoroid Streams from Sunskirter Comet Breakup

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jenniskens, P. M.

    2012-12-01

    In its first year of operations, the CAMS project (Cameras for Allsky Meteor Surveillance) has measured 47,000 meteoroid orbits at Earth, including some that pass the Sun as close as 0.008 AU. The population density increases significantly above perihelion distance q = 0.037 AU. Meteoroid streams are known with q about 0.1 AU. The Sun has a profound effect on comets that pass at 0.04-0.16 AU distance, called the sunskirter comets. SOHO and STEREO see families of small comets called the Marsden and Kracht groups. Sunlight is efficiently scattered by small 10-m sized fragments, making those fragments visible even when far from Earth. These comet groups are associated with meteor showers on Earth, in particular the Daytime Arietids and Delta Aquariids. All are related to 96P/Machholz, a highly inclined short-period (5.2 year) Jupiter family comet that comes to within 0.12 AU from the Sun, the smallest perihelion distance known among numbered comets. The proximity of the Sun speeds up the disintegration process, providing us a unique window on this important decay mechanism of Jupiter family comets and creating meteoroid streams. These are not the only sunskirting comets, however. In this presentation, we will present CAMS observations of the complete low-q meteoroid population at Earth and review their association with known parent bodies.

  8. X-ray emission from comets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dennerl, Konrad

    1999-01-01

    When comet Hyakutake (C/1996 B2) encountered Earth in March 1996 at a minimum distance of only 15 million kilometers (40 times the distance of the moon), x-ray and extreme ultraviolet emission was discovered for the first time from a comet. The observations were performed with the astronomy satellites ROSAT and EUVE. A systematic search for x-rays from comets in archival data, obtained during the ROSAT all-sky survey in 1990/91, resulted in the discovery of x-ray emission from four additional comets. They were detected at seven occasions in total, when they were optically 300 to 30 000 times fainter than Hyakutake. These findings indicated that comets represent a new class of celestial x-ray sources. Subsequent detections of x-ray emission from additional comets with the satellites ROSAT, EUVE, and BeppoSAX confirmed this conclusion. The x-ray observations have obviously revealed the presence of a process in comets which had escaped attention until recently. This process is most likely charge exchange between highly charged heavy ions in the solar wind and cometary neutrals. The solar wind, a stream of particles continuously emitted from the sun with ≅ 400 km s -1 , consists predominantly of protons, electrons, and alpha particles, but contains also a small fraction (≅0.1%) of highly charged heavier ions, such as C 6+ ,O 6+ ,Ne 8+ ,Si 9+ ,Fe 11+ . When these ions capture electrons from the cometary gas, they attain highly excited states and radiate a large fraction of their excitation energy in the extreme ultraviolet and x-ray part of the spectrum. Charge exchange reproduces the intensity, the morphology and the spectrum of the observed x-ray emission from comets very well

  9. Comparison of non-electrophoresis grade with electrophoresis grade BIS in NIPAM polymer gel preparation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khodadadi, Roghayeh; Khajeali, Azim; Farajollahi, Ali Reza; Hajalioghli, Parisa; Raeisi, Noorallah

    2015-01-01

    Introduction:The main objective of this study was to investigate the possibility of replacing electrophoresis cross-linker with non-electrophoresis N, N′-methylenebisacrylamide (BIS) in N-isopropyl acrylamide (NIPAM) polymer gel and its possible effect on dose response. Methods: NIPAM polymer gel was prepared from non-electrophoresis grade BIS and the relaxation rate (R2) was measured by MR imaging after exposing the gel to gamma radiation from Co-60 source. To compare the response of this gel with the one that contains electrophoresis grade BIS, two sets of NIPAM gel were prepared using electrophoresis and non-electrophoresis BIS and irradiated to different gamma doses. Results: It was found that the dose–response of NIPAM gel made from the non-electrophoresis grade BIS is coincident with that of electrophoresis grade BIS. Conclusion:Taken all, it can be concluded that the non-electrophoresis grade BIS not only is a suitable alternative for the electrophoresis grade BIS but also reduces the cost of gel due to its lower price. PMID:26457250

  10. Development in electrophoresis: instrumentation for two-dimensional gel electrophoresis of protein separation and application of capillary electrophoresis in micro-bioanalysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xu, Aoshuang [Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA (United States)

    2008-01-01

    This dissertation begins with a general introduction of topics related to this work. The following chapters contain three scientific manuscripts, each presented in a separate chapter with accompanying tables, figures, and literature citations. The final chapter summarizes the work and provides some prospective on this work. This introduction starts with a brief treatment of the basic principles of electrophoresis separation, followed by a discussion of gel electrophoresis and particularly polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis for protein separation, a summary of common capillary electrophoresis separation modes, and a brief treatment of micro-bioanalysis application of capillary electrophoresis, and ends with an overview of protein conformation and dynamics.

  11. OpenComet: An automated tool for comet assay image analysis

    OpenAIRE

    Gyori, Benjamin M.; Venkatachalam, Gireedhar; Thiagarajan, P.S.; Hsu, David; Clement, Marie-Veronique

    2014-01-01

    Reactive species such as free radicals are constantly generated in vivo and DNA is the most important target of oxidative stress. Oxidative DNA damage is used as a predictive biomarker to monitor the risk of development of many diseases. The comet assay is widely used for measuring oxidative DNA damage at a single cell level. The analysis of comet assay output images, however, poses considerable challenges. Commercial software is costly and restrictive, while free software generally requires ...

  12. DNA-repair measurements by use of the modified comet assay

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Godschalk, Roger W L; Ersson, Clara; Riso, Patrizia

    2013-01-01

    The measurement of DNA-repair activity by extracts from cells or tissues by means of the single-cell gel electrophoresis (comet) assay has a high potential to become widely used in biomonitoring studies. We assessed the inter-laboratory variation in reported values of DNA-repair activity...... on substrate cells that had been incubated with Ro19-8022 plus light to generate oxidatively damaged DNA. Eight laboratories assessed the DNA-repair activity of three cell lines (i.e. one epithelial and two fibroblast cell lines), starting with cell pellets or with cell extracts provided by the coordinating...... laboratory. There was a large inter-laboratory variation, as evidenced by the range in the mean level of repair incisions between the laboratory with the lowest (0.002incisions/10(6)bp) and highest (0.988incisions/10(6)bp) incision activity. Nevertheless, six out of eight laboratories reported the same cell...

  13. Comets and How to Observe Them

    CERN Document Server

    Schmude, Richard

    2010-01-01

    Comets have inspired wonder, excitement and even fear ever since they were first observed. They contain material from early in the life of the Solar System, held in deep-freeze. This makes them key in our understanding of the formation and evolution of many Solar System bodies. Recent ground- and space-based observations have changed much in our understanding of comets. Comets and How to Observe Them gives a summary of our current knowledge and describes how amateur astronomers can contribute to the body of scientific knowledge of comets. This book contains many practical examples of how to construct comet light-curves, measure how fast a comet’s coma expands, and determine the rotation period of the nucleus. All these examples are illustrated with drawings and photographs.

  14. Affinity in electrophoresis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heegaard, Niels H H

    2009-06-01

    The journal Electrophoresis has greatly influenced my approaches to biomolecular affinity studies. The methods that I have chosen as my main tools to study interacting biomolecules--native gel and later capillary zone electrophoresis--have been the topic of numerous articles in Electrophoresis. Below, the role of the journal in the development and dissemination of these techniques and applications reviewed. Many exhaustive reviews on affinity electrophoresis and affinity CE have been published in the last few years and are not in any way replaced by the present deliberations that are focused on papers published by the journal.

  15. Astrobiology of Comets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoover, Richard B.; Wickramasinghe, Nalin C.; Wallis, Max K.; Sheldon, Robert B.

    2004-01-01

    We review the current state of knowledge concerning microbial extremophiles and comets and the potential significance of comets to Astrobiology. We model the thermal history of a cometary body, regarded as an assemblage of boulders, dust, ices and organics, as it approaches a perihelion distance of - IAU. The transfer of incident energy from sunlight into the interior leads to the melting of near surface ices, some under stable porous crust, providing possible habitats for a wide range of microorganisms. We provide data concerning new evidence for indigenous microfossils in CI meteorites, which may be the remains of extinct cometary cores. We discuss the dominant microbial communities of polar sea-ice, Antarctic ice sheet, and cryoconite environments as possible analogs for microbial ecosystems that may grow in sub-crustal pools or in ice/water films in comets.

  16. Stimuli-responsive poly(N-vinylcaprolactam-co-2-methoxyethyl acrylate) core–shell microgels: facile synthesis, modulation of surface properties and controlled internalisation into cells†

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Melle, A.; Balaceanu, A.; Kather, M.; Wu, Yaodong; Gau, E.; Sun, W.; Huang, Xiaobin; Shi, X; Karperien, Hermanus Bernardus Johannes; Pich, A.

    2016-01-01

    Herein we report the synthesis of biocompatible stimuli-responsive core–shell microgels consisting of a poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) (PVCL) core and a poly(2-methoxyethyl acrylate) (PMEA) corona via one-step surfactant-free precipitation copolymerization. The copolymerization process was investigated by

  17. COMET concept; COMET-Konzept

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Alsmeyer, H.; Tromm, W.

    1995-08-01

    Studies of the COMET core catcher concept developed for a future PWR have been continued. The concept is based on the spreading of a core melt on a sacrificial layer and its erosion, until a subsequent addition of water from below causes a fragmentation of the melt. A porous solidification of the melt would then admit a complete flooding within a short period. (orig.)

  18. A NASBA on microgel-tethered molecular-beacon microarray for real-time microbial molecular diagnostics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Y; Dai, X; Hong, T; Munk, G B; Libera, M

    2016-12-19

    Despite their many advantages and successes, molecular beacon (MB) hybridization probes have not been extensively used in microarray formats because of the complicating probe-substrate interactions that increase the background intensity. We have previously shown that tethering to surface-patterned microgels is an effective means for localizing MB probes to specific surface locations in a microarray format while simultaneously maintaining them in as water-like an environment as possible and minimizing probe-surface interactions. Here we extend this approach to include both real-time detection together with integrated NASBA amplification. We fabricate small (∼250 μm × 250 μm) simplex, duplex, and five-plex assays with microarray spots of controllable size (∼20 μm diameter), position, and shape to detect bacteria and fungi in a bloodstream-infection model. The targets, primers, and microgel-tethered probes can be combined in a single isothermal reaction chamber with no post-amplification labelling. We extract total RNA from clinical blood samples and differentiate between Gram-positive and Gram-negative bloodstream infection in a duplex assay to detect RNA- amplicons. The sensitivity based on our current protocols in a simplex assay to detect specific ribosomal RNA sequences within total RNA extracted from S. aureus and E. coli cultures corresponds to tens of bacteria per ml. We furthermore show that the platform can detect RNA- amplicons from synthetic target DNA with 1 fM sensitivity in sample volumes that contain about 12 000 DNA molecules. These experiments demonstrate an alternative approach that can enable rapid and real-time microarray-based molecular diagnostics.

  19. Comets in Indian Scriptures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Das Gupta, P.

    2016-01-01

    The Indo-Aryans of ancient India observed stars and constellations for ascertaining auspicious times in order to conduct sacrificial rites ordained by the Vedas. Naturally, they would have sighted comets and referred to them in the Vedic texts. In Rigveda (circa 1700-1500 BC) and Atharvaveda (circa 1150 BC), there are references to dhumaketus and ketus, which stand for comets in Sanskrit. Rigveda speaks of a fig tree whose aerial roots spread out in the sky (Parpola 2010). Had this imagery been inspired by the resemblance of a comet's tail with long and linear roots of a banyan tree (ficus benghalensis)? Varahamihira (AD 550) and Ballal Sena (circa AD 1100-1200) described a large number of comets recorded by ancient seers, such as Parashara, Vriddha Garga, Narada, and Garga, to name a few. In this article, we propose that an episode in Mahabharata in which a radiant king, Nahusha, who rules the heavens and later turns into a serpent after he kicked the seer Agastya (also the star Canopus), is a mythological retelling of a cometary event.

  20. Jupiter Laser Facility - COMET Laser

    Data.gov (United States)

    Federal Laboratory Consortium — COMET has 4 beam configurations with uncompressed pulse lengths from 500 ps to 6 ns, compressed pulses to 0.5 ps, and beam energies up to 20 J. COMET can fire every...

  1. Comet-Narval acquisition notice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Le Bris, J.; Sellem, R.; Artiges, J.C.; Clavelin, J.F.; Du, S.; Grave, X.; Hubert, O.; Sauvage, J.; Roussiere, B.

    2006-01-01

    The COMET cards (encoding and time marking) serve to determine the energies and the time correlations of radiations detected during a multiparameter experiment while avoiding any extra specific module like coincidence circuits or delays) to set this time correlation. For each detected radiation, the arrival time information as well as the amplitude of the detected signal, are encoded. The results of these amplitude and time coding are associated to create an event. In this way, each detector is an independent source which provides a building block of the general information obtained by all the detectors. The COMET cards are associated with a NARVAL data acquisition system. This document is the instruction booklet of the COMET-NARVAL acquisition system

  2. Comet: Multifunction VOEvent broker

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swinbank, John

    2014-04-01

    Comet is a Python implementation of the VOEvent Transport Protocol (VTP). VOEvent is the IVOA system for describing transient celestial events. Details of transients detected by many projects, including Fermi, Swift, and the Catalina Sky Survey, are currently made available as VOEvents, which is also the standard alert format by future facilities such as LSST and SKA. The core of Comet is a multifunction VOEvent broker, capable of receiving events either by subscribing to one or more remote brokers or by direct connection from authors; it can then both process those events locally and forward them to its own subscribers. In addition, Comet provides a tool for publishing VOEvents to the global VOEvent backbone.

  3. Comets in the space age

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Whipple, F.L.

    1989-01-01

    The historical development of the study of the nature of comets and their origin is discussed, emphasizing the use of aerospace technology in cometary science. The use of satellites to study the Comet Kohoutek 1973 XII, advances between Kohoutek and P/Halley, and studies of P/Halley during its 1986 return are examined. Consideration is given to data from ground, air, and space sensors, and from the Giotto and Vega spacecraft missions. Also, the physical structure of the nucleus of Comet Halley is described. 136 refs

  4. Identification of irradiated apples for phytosanitary purposes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Horak, Celina I.; Di Giorgio, Marina; Kairiyama, Eulogia

    2009-01-01

    The irradiation treatment of fresh fruits and vegetables for phytosanitary purposes is a satisfactory alternative method to others like fumigation and cold and hot treatments. Its use is increasing in several countries, and at present its approval is under revision by the National Regulatory Authorities. To verify the control process, apart from irradiation and dosimetry certificates, National Authorities require complementary evidence to show the efficacy of this treatment, especially when the documentation is not clear. The irradiation of fresh fruits produces single and double fragmentation in the DNA molecule, which can be measured using the microgel electrophoresis of individual cell (comet assay). The purpose of this work was to evaluate if it is possible to identify the irradiated apples for phytosanitary purposes from the others that were not treated. The possibility to estimate the absorbed dose was also evaluated. The methodology was carried out on the cell suspension obtained from irradiated seed cells with incremental doses (100, 200 and 300 Gy). The irradiation treatment for phytosanitary purposes to avoid emergency of codling moth (Cydia pomonella) is 200 Gy. The fragmentation produced in the irradiated samples was proportional with the incremental doses applied. These results show that with this methodology it can be determined if the apple was irradiated or not. This comet assay is a simple, economical and interesting method that can be used, in case of necessity, by the National Authorities.

  5. Identification of irradiated apples for phytosanitary purposes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Horak, Celina I. [Comision Nacional de Energia Atomica, Presb. Juan Gonzalez y Aragon No 15 B1802AYA, Ezeiza, Prov. Buenos Aires (Argentina)], E-mail: horak@cae.cnea.gov.ar; Di Giorgio, Marina [Autoridad Regulatoria Nuclear, Presb. Juan Gonzalez y Aragon No 15 B1802AYA, Ezeiza, Prov. Buenos Aires (Argentina); Kairiyama, Eulogia [Comision Nacional de Energia Atomica, Presb. Juan Gonzalez y Aragon No 15 B1802AYA, Ezeiza, Prov. Buenos Aires (Argentina)

    2009-07-15

    The irradiation treatment of fresh fruits and vegetables for phytosanitary purposes is a satisfactory alternative method to others like fumigation and cold and hot treatments. Its use is increasing in several countries, and at present its approval is under revision by the National Regulatory Authorities. To verify the control process, apart from irradiation and dosimetry certificates, National Authorities require complementary evidence to show the efficacy of this treatment, especially when the documentation is not clear. The irradiation of fresh fruits produces single and double fragmentation in the DNA molecule, which can be measured using the microgel electrophoresis of individual cell (comet assay). The purpose of this work was to evaluate if it is possible to identify the irradiated apples for phytosanitary purposes from the others that were not treated. The possibility to estimate the absorbed dose was also evaluated. The methodology was carried out on the cell suspension obtained from irradiated seed cells with incremental doses (100, 200 and 300 Gy). The irradiation treatment for phytosanitary purposes to avoid emergency of codling moth (Cydia pomonella) is 200 Gy. The fragmentation produced in the irradiated samples was proportional with the incremental doses applied. These results show that with this methodology it can be determined if the apple was irradiated or not. This comet assay is a simple, economical and interesting method that can be used, in case of necessity, by the National Authorities.

  6. Report of Some Comets: The Discovery of Uranus and Comets by William, Caroline, and John Herschel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pasachoff, Jay M.; Olson, R. J. M.

    2011-01-01

    We report on the discovery and drawings of comets by William, Caroline, and John Herschel. The first discovery, by William Herschel, in 1781 from Bath, published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society with the title "Report of a Comet," turned out to be Uranus, the first planet ever discovered, Mercury through Saturn having been known since antiquity. William's sister Caroline was given duties of sweeping the skies and turned out to be a discoverer of 8 comets in her own right, in addition to keeping William's notes. Caroline's comets were discovered from Slough between 1786 and 1797. In the process, we also discuss original documents from the archives of the Royal Society and of the Royal Astronomical Society. We conclude by showing comet drawings that we have recently attributed to John Herschel, including Halley's Comet from 1836, recently located in the Ransom Center of the University of Texas at Austin. Acknowledgments: Planetary astronomy at Williams College is supported in part by grant NNX08AO50G from NASA Planetary Astronomy. We thank Peter Hingley of the Royal Astronomical Society and Richard Oram of the Harry Ransom Center of The University of Texas at Austin for their assistance.

  7. Nucleus of Comet IRAS-Araki-Alcock (1983 VII)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sekanina, Z.

    1988-01-01

    Optical, radar, infrared, UV, and microwave-continuum observations of Comet IRAS-Araki-Alcok were obtained in May 1983, the week of the comet's close approach to earth. The comet has a nucleus dimension and a rotation period which are similar to those of Comet Halley, but a different morphological signature (a persisting sunward fan-shaped coma). Time variations are noted in the projected nucleus cross section. Results suggest significant limb-darkening effects in the relevant domains of radio waves, and that the comet's interior must be extremely cold. It is found that the thermal-infrared fluxes from the inner coma of the comet are dominated by the nucleus. 63 references

  8. EPOXI at comet Hartley 2.

    Science.gov (United States)

    A'Hearn, Michael F; Belton, Michael J S; Delamere, W Alan; Feaga, Lori M; Hampton, Donald; Kissel, Jochen; Klaasen, Kenneth P; McFadden, Lucy A; Meech, Karen J; Melosh, H Jay; Schultz, Peter H; Sunshine, Jessica M; Thomas, Peter C; Veverka, Joseph; Wellnitz, Dennis D; Yeomans, Donald K; Besse, Sebastien; Bodewits, Dennis; Bowling, Timothy J; Carcich, Brian T; Collins, Steven M; Farnham, Tony L; Groussin, Olivier; Hermalyn, Brendan; Kelley, Michael S; Kelley, Michael S; Li, Jian-Yang; Lindler, Don J; Lisse, Carey M; McLaughlin, Stephanie A; Merlin, Frédéric; Protopapa, Silvia; Richardson, James E; Williams, Jade L

    2011-06-17

    Understanding how comets work--what drives their activity--is crucial to the use of comets in studying the early solar system. EPOXI (Extrasolar Planet Observation and Deep Impact Extended Investigation) flew past comet 103P/Hartley 2, one with an unusually small but very active nucleus, taking both images and spectra. Unlike large, relatively inactive nuclei, this nucleus is outgassing primarily because of CO(2), which drags chunks of ice out of the nucleus. It also shows substantial differences in the relative abundance of volatiles from various parts of the nucleus.

  9. Localized irradiations, evaluation through 'Comet Assay'

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Di Giorgio, Marina; Taja, Maria R.; Nasazzi, Nora B.; Bustos, N.; Cavalieri, H.; Bolgiani, A.

    2000-01-01

    During the last 50 years various radiation accidents involving localized irradiations occurred, resulting mainly from improper handling of sealed sources of Cobalt 60, Cesium 137 or Iridium 192 at work placed for industrial gammagraphy and other radiation sources. Severe skin reaction may developed at the contact sites. Such inhomogeneous irradiations lead to a differential exposure of lymphocytes in lymphatic tissues or other organs that may recirculate into the peripheral blood producing a mixed irradiated and unirradiated population of lymphocytes. Applying the mathematical models 'Contaminated Poisson' of Dolphin and Qdr method of Sasaki, a mean dose in the irradiated body area and its size can be estimated from unstable chromosome aberration scoring. There are also different biophysical techniques that can give response in localized irradiations. Biological dosimetry is a necessary complement to physical and clinical dosimetries. Thus, there is increasing interest in the assessment of biological markers that permit the detection of radiation induced damage in the localized irradiations. The 'Comet Assay' (single cell gel electrophoresis) is a sensitive, rapid and relatively inexpensive method for measuring DNA damage in individual cells. Single cells are embedded in agarose on microscope slides, lysed to remove the majority of the proteins, electrophoresed, then stained with ethidium bromide in order to visualize the DNA. When visualized using a fluorescent microscope, DNA of undamaged cells appears as a spherical mass occupying the cavity formed by the lysed cell. Following radiation damage, the smaller the fragment size and the grater the number of fragments of DNA, the grater the percentage of DNA that it is able to migrate in an electric field, forming a comet image. The assay can be performed under alkaline conditions to examine DNA single strand breaks (SSBs), or in non denaturing (neutral) conditions to measure double strand breaks (DSBs) in individual

  10. Abundant Solar Nebula Solids in Comets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Messenger, S.; Keller, L. P.; Nakamura-Messenger, K.; Nguyen, A. N.; Clemett, S.

    2016-01-01

    Comets have been proposed to consist of unprocessed interstellar materials together with a variable amount of thermally annealed interstellar grains. Recent studies of cometary solids in the laboratory have shown that comets instead consist of a wide range of materials from across the protoplanetary disk, in addition to a minor complement of interstellar materials. These advances were made possible by the return of direct samples of comet 81P/Wild 2 coma dust by the NASA Stardust mission and recent advances in microscale analytical techniques. Isotopic studies of 'cometary' chondritic porous interplanetary dust particles (CP-IDPs) and comet 81P/Wild 2 Stardust samples show that preserved interstellar materials are more abundant in comets than in any class of meteorite. Identified interstellar materials include sub-micron-sized presolar silicates, oxides, and SiC dust grains and some fraction of the organic material that binds the samples together. Presolar grain abundances reach 1 weight percentage in the most stardust-rich CP-IDPs, 50 times greater than in meteorites. Yet, order of magnitude variations in presolar grain abundances among CP-IDPs suggest cometary solids experienced significant variations in the degree of processing in the solar nebula. Comets contain a surprisingly high abundance of nebular solids formed or altered at high temperatures. Comet 81P/Wild 2 samples include 10-40 micron-sized, refractory Ca- Al-rich inclusion (CAI)-, chondrule-, and ameboid olivine aggregate (AOA)-like materials. The O isotopic compositions of these refractory materials are remarkably similar to their meteoritic counterparts, ranging from 5 percent enrichments in (sup 16) O to near-terrestrial values. Comet 81P/Wild 2 and CP-IDPs also contain abundant Mg-Fe crystalline and amorphous silicates whose O isotopic compositions are also consistent with Solar System origins. Unlike meteorites, that are dominated by locally-produced materials, comets appear to be composed of

  11. Comet formation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blum, J.

    2014-07-01

    There has been vast progress in our understanding of planetesimal formation over the past decades, owing to a number of laboratory experiments as well as to refined models of dust and ice agglomeration in protoplanetary disks. Coagulation rapidly forms cm-sized ''pebbles'' by direct sticking in collisions at low velocities (Güttler et al. 2010; Zsom et al. 2010). For the further growth, two model approaches are currently being discussed: (1) Local concentration of pebbles in nebular instabilities until gravitational instability occurs (Johansen et al. 2007). (2) A competition between fragmentation and mass transfer in collisions among the dusty bodies, in which a few ''lucky winners'' make it to planetesimal sizes (Windmark et al. 2012a,b; Garaud et al. 2013). Predictions of the physical properties of the resulting bodies in both models allow a distinction of the two formation scenarios of planetesimals. In particular, the tensile strength (i.e, the inner cohesion) of the planetesimals differ widely between the two models (Skorov & Blum 2012; Blum et al. 2014). While model (1) predicts tensile strengths on the order of ˜ 1 Pa, model (2) results in rather compactified dusty bodies with tensile strengths in the kPa regime. If comets are km-sized survivors of the planetesimal-formation era, they should in principle hold the secret of their formation process. Water ice is the prime volatile responsible for the activity of comets. Thermophysical models of the heat and mass transport close to the comet-nucleus surface predict water-ice sublimation temperatures that relate to maximum sublimation pressures well below the kPa regime predicted for formation scenario (2). Model (1), however, is in agreement with the observed dust and gas activity of comets. Thus, a formation scenario for cometesimals involving gravitational instability is favored (Blum et al. 2014).

  12. Comet Halley Returns. A Teacher's Guide, 1985-1986.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chapman, Robert D.; Bondurant, R. Lynn, Jr.

    This booklet was designed as an aid for elementary and secondary school teachers. It is divided into two distinct parts. Part I is a brief tutorial which introduces some of the most important concepts about comets. Areas addressed include: the historical importance of Comet Halley; how comets are found and names; cometary orbits; what Comet Halley…

  13. Injectable perlecan domain 1-hyaluronan microgels potentiate the cartilage repair effect of BMP2 in a murine model of early osteoarthritis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Srinivasan, Padma P; McCoy, Sarah Y; Yang Weidong; Farach-Carson, Mary C; Kirn-Safran, Catherine B; Jha, Amit K; Jia Xinqiao

    2012-01-01

    The goal of this study was to use bioengineered injectable microgels to enhance the action of bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2) and stimulate cartilage matrix repair in a reversible animal model of osteoarthritis (OA). A module of perlecan (PlnD1) bearing heparan sulfate (HS) chains was covalently immobilized to hyaluronic acid (HA) microgels for the controlled release of BMP2 in vivo. Articular cartilage damage was induced in mice using a reversible model of experimental OA and was treated by intra-articular injection of PlnD1-HA particles with BMP2 bound to HS. Control injections consisted of BMP2-free PlnD1-HA particles, HA particles, free BMP2 or saline. Knees dissected following these injections were analyzed using histological, immunostaining and gene expression approaches. Our results show that knees treated with PlnD1-HA/BMP2 had lesser OA-like damage compared to control knees. In addition, the PlnD1-HA/BMP2-treated knees had higher mRNA levels encoding for type II collagen, proteoglycans and xylosyltransferase 1, a rate-limiting anabolic enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of glycosaminoglycan chains, relative to control knees (PlnD1-HA). This finding was paralleled by enhanced levels of aggrecan in the articular cartilage of PlnD1-HA/BMP2-treated knees. Additionally, decreases in the mRNA levels encoding for cartilage-degrading enzymes and type X collagen were seen relative to controls. In conclusion, PlnD1-HA microgels constitute a formulation improvement compared to HA for efficient in vivo delivery and stimulation of proteoglycan and cartilage matrix synthesis in mouse articular cartilage. Ultimately, PlnD1-HA/BMP2 may serve as an injectable therapeutic agent for slowing or inhibiting the onset of OA after knee injury.

  14. Comets and the origin and evolution of life

    CERN Document Server

    McKay, Christopher P

    2006-01-01

    Nine years after the publication of Comets and the Origin and Evolution of Life, one of the pioneering books in Astrobiology, this second edition revisits the role comets may have played in the origins and evolution of life. Recent analyses of Antarctic micrometeorites and ancient rocks in Australia and South Africa, the continuing progress in discovering complex organic macromolecules in comets, protostars and interstellar clouds, new insights into organic synthesis in comets, and numerical simulations of comet impacts on the Earth and other members of the solar system yield a spectacular wea

  15. Delivery of bioactive lipids from composite microgel-microsphere injectable scaffolds enhances stem cell recruitment and skeletal repair.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Das, Anusuya; Barker, Daniel A; Wang, Tiffany; Lau, Cheryl M; Lin, Yong; Botchwey, Edward A

    2014-01-01

    In this study, a microgel composed of chitosan and inorganic phosphates was used to deliver poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLAGA) microspheres loaded with sphingolipid growth factor FTY720 to critical size cranial defects in Sprague Dawley rats. We show that sustained release of FTY720 from injected microspheres used alone or in combination with recombinant human bone morphogenic protein-2 (rhBMP2) improves defect vascularization and bone formation in the presence and absence of rhBMP2 as evaluated by quantitative microCT and histological measurements. Moreover, sustained delivery of FTY720 from PLAGA and local targeting of sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) receptors reduces CD45+ inflammatory cell infiltration, promotes endogenous recruitment of CD29+CD90+ bone progenitor cells and enhances the efficacy of rhBMP2 from chitosan microgels. Companion in vitro studies suggest that selective activation of sphingosine receptor subtype-3 (S1P3) via FTY720 treatment induces smad-1 phosphorylation in bone-marrow stromal cells. Additionally, FTY720 enhances stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) mediated chemotaxis of CD90+CD11B-CD45- bone progenitor cells in vitro after stimulation with rhBMP2. We believe that use of such small molecule delivery formulations to recruit endogenous bone progenitors may be an attractive alternative to exogenous cell-based therapy.

  16. Delivery of bioactive lipids from composite microgel-microsphere injectable scaffolds enhances stem cell recruitment and skeletal repair.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anusuya Das

    Full Text Available In this study, a microgel composed of chitosan and inorganic phosphates was used to deliver poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLAGA microspheres loaded with sphingolipid growth factor FTY720 to critical size cranial defects in Sprague Dawley rats. We show that sustained release of FTY720 from injected microspheres used alone or in combination with recombinant human bone morphogenic protein-2 (rhBMP2 improves defect vascularization and bone formation in the presence and absence of rhBMP2 as evaluated by quantitative microCT and histological measurements. Moreover, sustained delivery of FTY720 from PLAGA and local targeting of sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P receptors reduces CD45+ inflammatory cell infiltration, promotes endogenous recruitment of CD29+CD90+ bone progenitor cells and enhances the efficacy of rhBMP2 from chitosan microgels. Companion in vitro studies suggest that selective activation of sphingosine receptor subtype-3 (S1P3 via FTY720 treatment induces smad-1 phosphorylation in bone-marrow stromal cells. Additionally, FTY720 enhances stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1 mediated chemotaxis of CD90+CD11B-CD45- bone progenitor cells in vitro after stimulation with rhBMP2. We believe that use of such small molecule delivery formulations to recruit endogenous bone progenitors may be an attractive alternative to exogenous cell-based therapy.

  17. Comets - cosmic 'snowballs'

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Luest, R.

    1979-01-01

    Non-periodic comets come from regions at the limit of our solar system and have conserved their original structure and composition since they have originated from a pre-solar nebuly together with the sun and the planets about 4.5 x 10 9 years ago. They are icy bodies of kilometer size whose structure and chemical composition is of great interest also with respect to the origin of the solar system. It is hoped to send a space craft to comet Halley in 1986 to get more detailed informations. (orig.) [de

  18. Nitrogen abundance in Comet Halley

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wyckoff, S.; Tegler, S.C.; Engel, L.

    1991-01-01

    Data on the nitrogen-containing compounds that observed spectroscopically in the coma of Comet Halley are summarized, and the elemental abundance of nitrogen in the Comet Halley nucleus is derived. It is found that 90 percent of elemental nitrogen is in the dust fraction of the coma, while in the gas fraction, most of the nitrogen is contained in NH3 and CN. The elemental nitrogen abundance in the ice component of the nucleus was found to be deficient by a factor of about 75, relative to the solar photosphere, indicating that the chemical partitioning of N2 into NH3 and other nitrogen compounds during the evolution of the solar nebula cannot account completely for the low abundance ratio N2/NH3 = 0.1, observed in the comet. It is suggested that the low N2/NH3 ratio in Comet Halley may be explained simply by physical fractionation and/or thermal diffusion. 88 refs

  19. Comet nuclei and Trojan asteroids - A new link and a possible mechanism for comet splittings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hartmann, W.K.; Tholen, D.J.

    1990-01-01

    Relatively elongated shapes, implied by recent evidence of a greater incidence of high amplitude lightcurves for comet nuclei and Trojan asteroids than for similarly scaled main belt asteroids, are suggested to have evolved among comet nuclei and Trojans due to volatile loss. It is further suggested that such an evolutionary course may account for observed comet splitting; rotational splitting may specifically occur as a result of evolution in the direction of an elongated shape through sublimation. Supporting these hypotheses, the few m/sec separation velocities projected for rotationally splitting elongated nuclei are precisely in the observed range. 40 refs

  20. Solar wind interaction with type-1 comet tails

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ershkovich, A.I.

    1977-01-01

    A comet tail is considered as a plasma cylinder separated by a tangential discontinuity surface from the solar wind. Under typical conditions a comet tail boundary is shown to undergo the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. With infinite amplitude the stabilizing effect of the magnetic field increases, and waves become stable. The proposed model supplies the detailed quantitative description of helical waves observed in type-1 comet tails. This theory enables the evaluation of the comet tail magnetic field by means of the observations of helical waves. The magnetic field in the comet tail turns out to be of the order of the interplanetary field. This conclusion seems to be in accordance with Alfven's idea that the magnetic field in type-1 comet tails is a captured interplanetary field. (Auth.)

  1. Where are the mini Kreutz-family comets?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ye, Quan-Zhi; Wiegert, Paul A.; Hui, Man-To; Kracht, Rainer

    2014-01-01

    The Kreutz family of sungrazing comets contains over 2000 known members, many of which are believed to be under ∼100 m sizes (mini comets) and have only been studied at small heliocentric distances (r H ) with space-based SOHO/STEREO spacecraft. To understand the brightening process of mini Kreutz comets, we conducted a survey using CFHT/MegaCam at moderate r H guided by SOHO/STEREO observations. We identify two comets that should be in our search area but are not detected, indicating that the comets have either followed a steeper brightening rate within the previously reported rapid brightening stage (the brightening burst), or the brightening burst starts earlier than expected. We present a composite analysis of the pre-perihelion light curves of five Kreutz comets that cover to ∼1 AU. We observe significant diversity in the light curves that can be used to grossly classify them into two types: C/Ikeya-Seki and C/SWAN follow the canonical r H −4 while the others follow r H −7 . In particular, C/SWAN seems to have undergone an outburst (Δm > 5 mag) or a rapid brightening (n ≳ 11) between r H = 1.06 AU and 0.52 AU, and shows hints of structural/compositional differences compared to other bright Kreutz comets. We also find evidence that the Kreutz comets as a population lose their mass less efficiently than the dynamically new comet, C/ISON, and are relatively devoid of species that drive C/ISON's activity at large r H . Concurrent observations of C/STEREO in different wavelengths also suggest that a blueward species such as CN may be the main driver for brightening bursts, instead of sodium as previously thought

  2. COLOR SYSTEMATICS OF COMETS AND RELATED BODIES

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jewitt, David, E-mail: jewitt@ucla.edu [Department of Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences, UCLA, 595 Charles Young Drive East, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1567 (United States)

    2015-12-15

    Most comets are volatile-rich bodies that have recently entered the inner solar system following long-term storage in the Kuiper belt and the Oort cloud reservoirs. These reservoirs feed several distinct, short-lived “small body” populations. Here, we present new measurements of the optical colors of cometary and comet-related bodies including long-period (Oort cloud) comets, Damocloids (probable inactive nuclei of long-period comets) and Centaurs (recent escapees from the Kuiper belt and precursors to the Jupiter family comets). We combine the new measurements with published data on short-period comets, Jovian Trojans and Kuiper belt objects to examine the color systematics of the comet-related populations. We find that the mean optical colors of the dust in short-period and long-period comets are identical within the uncertainties of measurement, as are the colors of the dust and of the underlying nuclei. These populations show no evidence for scattering by optically small particles or for compositional gradients, even at the largest distances from the Sun, and no evidence for ultrared matter. Consistent with earlier work, ultrared surfaces are common in the Kuiper belt and on the Centaurs, but not in other small body populations, suggesting that this material is hidden or destroyed upon entry to the inner solar system. The onset of activity in the Centaurs and the disappearance of the ultrared matter in this population begin at about the same perihelion distance (∼10 AU), suggesting that the two are related. Blanketing of primordial surface materials by the fallback of sub-orbital ejecta, for which we calculate a very short timescale, is the likely mechanism. The same process should operate on any mass-losing body, explaining the absence of ultrared surface material in the entire comet population.

  3. Theories of comets to the age of Laplace

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heidarzadeh, Tofigh

    Although the development of ideas about cometary motion has been investigated in several projects, a comprehensive and detailed survey of physical theories of comets has not been conducted. The available works either illustrate relatively short periods in the history of physical cometology or portray a landscape view without adequate details. The present study is an attempt to depict the details of the major physical theories of comets from Aristotle to the age of Laplace. The basic question from which this project originated was simple: how did natural philosophers and astronomers define the nature and place of a new category of celestial objects--the comets--after Brahe's estimation of cometary distances? However, a study starting merely from Brahe without covering classical and medieval thought about comets would be incomplete. Thus, based on the fundamental physical characteristics attributed to comets, the history of cometology may be divided into three periods: from Aristotle to Brahe, in which comets were assumed to be meteorological phenomena; from Brahe to Newton, when comets were admitted as celestial bodies but with unknown trajectories; and from Newton to Laplace, in which they were treated as members of the solar system having more or less the same properties of the planets. By estimating the mass of comets in the 1800s, Laplace diverted cometology into a different direction wherein they were considered among the smallest bodies in the solar system and deprived of the most important properties that had been used to explain their physical constitution during the previous two millennia. Ideas about the astrological aspects of comets are not considered in this study. Also, topics concerning the motion of comets are explained to the extent that is helpful in illustrating their physical properties. The main objective is to demonstrate the foundations of physical theories of comets, and the interaction between observational and mathematical astronomy, and

  4. Cutaneous radiation syndrome: applicability of comet assay for early assessment of irradiation consequences

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Di Giorgio, Marina; Taja, Maria R.; Bolgiani, A.; Bustos, N.; Cavalieri, H.

    2002-01-01

    Many accidental overexposures to ionizing radiation lead to an inhomogeneous irradiation of the body. Skin and mucous membranes resulted exposed to very high local radiation doses, which may be survivable because bone marrow is less severely exposed. Under these circumstances, the skin becomes an important organ in determining clinical prognosis, being dosimetric assessment a necessary requirement. There is increasing interest in the assessment of biological markers that permit the detection of radiation induced damage in the localized irradiations. The 'Comet Assay' (single cell gel electrophoresis) is a sensitive, rapid and relatively inexpensive method for measuring DNA damage in individual cells. Single cells are embedded in agarose on microscope slides, lysed to remove the majority of the proteins, electrophoreses, then stained with ethidium bromide in order to visualize the DNA. Following radiation damage, the smaller the fragment size and the grater the number of fragments of DNA, the grater the percentage of DNA that it is able to migrate in an electric field, forming a comet image. The assay can be performed under alkaline conditions to examine DNA single strand breaks (SSBs), or in non denaturing (neutral) conditions to measure double strand breaks (DSBs) in individual cells. In order to get information to be applied on the evaluation of skin biopsies without culture for an early assessment of irradiation consequences in locally irradiated individuals, we have evaluated the alkaline comet assay (for doses 5 Gy), neutral comet assay has been applied to keratinocytes from primary and secondary cultures and to a suspension of epidermal cells obtained from biopsies irradiated in vitro and afterwards processed to obtain the mentioned cellular suspension, in order to reproduce the closest condition to in vivo overexposure. Our results suggest that comet assay can be applied for the early assessment of gamma radiation induced damage in skin biopsies without

  5. THE PLASMA ENVIRONMENT IN COMETS OVER A WIDE RANGE OF HELIOCENTRIC DISTANCES: APPLICATION TO COMET C/2006 P1 (MCNAUGHT)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shou, Y.; Combi, M.; Gombosi, T.; Toth, G. [Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States); Jia, Y.-D. [IGPP, and EPSS, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 (United States); Rubin, M. [Physikalisches Institut, University of Bern, Sidlerstrasse. 5, CH-3012 Bern (Switzerland)

    2015-08-20

    On 2007 January 12, comet C/2006 P1 (McNaught) passed its perihelion at 0.17 AU. Abundant remote observations offer plenty of information on the neutral composition and neutral velocities within 1 million kilometers of the comet nucleus. In early February, the Ulysses spacecraft made an in situ measurement of the ion composition, plasma velocity, and magnetic field when passing through the distant ion tail and the ambient solar wind. The measurement by Ulysses was made when the comet was at around 0.8 AU. With the constraints provided by remote and in situ observations, we simulated the plasma environment of Comet C/2006 P1 (McNaught) using a multi-species comet MHD model over a wide range of heliocentric distances from 0.17 to 1.75 AU. The solar wind interaction of the comet at various locations is characterized and typical subsolar standoff distances of the bow shock and contact surface are presented and compared to analytic solutions. We find the variation in the bow shock standoff distances at different heliocentric distances is smaller than the contact surface. In addition, we modified the multi-species model for the case when the comet was at 0.7 AU and achieved comparable water group ion abundances, proton densities, plasma velocities, and plasma temperatures to the Ulysses/SWICS and SWOOPS observations. We discuss the dominating chemical reactions throughout the comet-solar wind interaction region and demonstrate the link between the ion composition near the comet and in the distant tail as measured by Ulysses.

  6. THE PLASMA ENVIRONMENT IN COMETS OVER A WIDE RANGE OF HELIOCENTRIC DISTANCES: APPLICATION TO COMET C/2006 P1 (MCNAUGHT)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shou, Y.; Combi, M.; Gombosi, T.; Toth, G.; Jia, Y.-D.; Rubin, M.

    2015-01-01

    On 2007 January 12, comet C/2006 P1 (McNaught) passed its perihelion at 0.17 AU. Abundant remote observations offer plenty of information on the neutral composition and neutral velocities within 1 million kilometers of the comet nucleus. In early February, the Ulysses spacecraft made an in situ measurement of the ion composition, plasma velocity, and magnetic field when passing through the distant ion tail and the ambient solar wind. The measurement by Ulysses was made when the comet was at around 0.8 AU. With the constraints provided by remote and in situ observations, we simulated the plasma environment of Comet C/2006 P1 (McNaught) using a multi-species comet MHD model over a wide range of heliocentric distances from 0.17 to 1.75 AU. The solar wind interaction of the comet at various locations is characterized and typical subsolar standoff distances of the bow shock and contact surface are presented and compared to analytic solutions. We find the variation in the bow shock standoff distances at different heliocentric distances is smaller than the contact surface. In addition, we modified the multi-species model for the case when the comet was at 0.7 AU and achieved comparable water group ion abundances, proton densities, plasma velocities, and plasma temperatures to the Ulysses/SWICS and SWOOPS observations. We discuss the dominating chemical reactions throughout the comet-solar wind interaction region and demonstrate the link between the ion composition near the comet and in the distant tail as measured by Ulysses

  7. To Catch A Comet...Learning From Halley's.

    Science.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, DC.

    Comet chronicles and stories extend back over thousands of years. A common theme has been that comets are a major cause of catastrophe and tragedy here on earth. In addition, both Aristotle and Ptolemy believed that comets were phenomena within the earth's atmosphere, and it wasn't until the 16th century, when Danish astronomer Tycho Brache…

  8. Autonomous Onboard Science Data Analysis for Comet Missions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, David R.; Tran, Daniel Q.; McLaren, David; Chien, Steve A.; Bergman, Larry; Castano, Rebecca; Doyle, Richard; Estlin, Tara; Lenda, Matthew

    2012-01-01

    Coming years will bring several comet rendezvous missions. The Rosetta spacecraft arrives at Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2014. Subsequent rendezvous might include a mission such as the proposed Comet Hopper with multiple surface landings, as well as Comet Nucleus Sample Return (CNSR) and Coma Rendezvous and Sample Return (CRSR). These encounters will begin to shed light on a population that, despite several previous flybys, remains mysterious and poorly understood. Scientists still have little direct knowledge of interactions between the nucleus and coma, their variation across different comets or their evolution over time. Activity may change on short timescales so it is challenging to characterize with scripted data acquisition. Here we investigate automatic onboard image analysis that could act faster than round-trip light time to capture unexpected outbursts and plume activity. We describe one edge-based method for detect comet nuclei and plumes, and test the approach on an existing catalog of comet images. Finally, we quantify benefits to specific measurement objectives by simulating a basic plume monitoring campaign.

  9. Reservoirs for Comets: Compositional Differences Based on Infrared Observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Disanti, Michael A.; Mumma, Michael J.

    Tracing measured compositions of comets to their origins continues to be of keen interest to cometary scientists and to dynamical modelers of Solar System formation and evolution. This requires building a taxonomy of comets from both present-day dynamical reservoirs: the Kuiper Belt (hereafter KB), sampled through observation of ecliptic comets (primarily Jupiter Family comets, or JFCs), and the Oort cloud (OC), represented observationally by the long-period comets and by Halley Family comets (HFCs). Because of their short orbital periods, JFCs are subjected to more frequent exposure to solar radiation compared with OC comets. The recent apparitions of the JFCs 9P/Tempel 1 and 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 permitted detailed observations of material issuing from below their surfaces—these comets added significantly to the compositional database on this dynamical class, which is under-represented in studies of cometary parent volatiles. This chapter reviews the latest techniques developed for analysis of high-resolution spectral observations from ˜2-5 μm, and compares measured abundances of native ices among comets. While no clear compositional delineation can be drawn along dynamical lines, interesting comparisons can be made. The sub-surface composition of comet 9P, as revealed by the Deep Impact ejecta, was similar to the majority of OC comets studied. Meanwhile, 73P was depleted in all native ices except HCN, similar to the disintegrated OC comet C/1999 S4 (LINEAR). These results suggest that 73P may have formed in the inner giant planets' region while 9P formed farther out or, alternatively, that both JFCs formed farther from the Sun but with 73P forming later in time.

  10. What's Causing the Activity on Comet 67P?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kohler, Susanna

    2015-09-01

    Comet 67P/ChuryumovGerasimenko made famous by the explorations of the Rosetta mission has been displaying puzzling activity as it hurtles toward the Sun. However, recent modeling of the comet by a group of scientists from the Cte dAzur University may now explain whats causing 67Ps activity.Shadowed ActivityA model of comet 67P, with the colors indicating the rate of change of the temperature on the comets surface. The most rapid temperature changes are seen at the comets neck, in the same locations as the early activity seen in the Rosetta images. [Al-Lagoa et al. 2015] Between June and September of 2014, Rosetta observed comet 67P displaying early activity in the form of jets of dust emitted from near the neck of the comet (its narrowest point). Such activity is usually driven by the sublimation of volatiles from the comets surface as a result of sun exposure. But the neck of the comet is frequently shadowed as the comet rotates, and it receives significantly less sunlight than the rest of the comet. So why would the early activity originate from the comets neck?The authors of a recent study, led by Victor Al-Lagoa, hypothesize that its precisely because the neck is receiving alternating sunlight/shadows that its displaying activity. They suggest that thermal cracking of the surface of the comet is happening faster in this region, due to the rapid changes in temperature that result from the shadows cast by the surrounding terrain. The cracking exposes subsurface ices in the neck faster than in other regions, and the ensuing sublimation of that ice is what creates the activity were seeing.Temperature Models: To test their hypothesis, the authors study the surface temperatures on comet 67P by means of a thermophysical model a model used to calculate the temperatures on an airless body, both on and below the surface. The model takes into account factors like thermal inertia (how quickly the bodys temperature responds to changes in the incident energy), shadowing, and

  11. Modeling Formaldehyde Emission in Comets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Disanti, M. A.; Reuter, D. C.; Bonev, B. P.; Mumma, M. J.; Villanueva, G. L.

    Modeling fluorescent emission from monomeric formaldehyde (H2CO) forms an integral part of our overall comprehensive program of measuring the volatile composition of comets through high-resolution (RP ~ 25,000) infrared spectroscopy using CSHELL at the IRTF and NIRSPEC at Keck II. The H2CO spectra contain lines from both the nu1 (symmetric CH2 stretch) and nu5 (asymmetric CH2 stretch) bands near 3.6 microns. We have acquired high-quality spectra of twelve Oort cloud comets, and at least six of these show clear emission from H2CO. We also detected H2CO with NIRSPEC in one Jupiter Family comet, 9P/Tempel 1, during Deep Impact observations. Our H2CO model, originally developed to interpret low-resolution spectra of comets Halley and Wilson (Reuter et al. 1989 Ap J 341:1045), predicts individual line intensities (g-factors) as a function of rotational temperature for approximately 1300 lines having energies up to approximately 400 cm^-1 above the ground state. Recently, it was validated through comparison with CSHELL spectra of C/2002 T7 (LINEAR), where newly developed analyses were applied to obtain robust determinations of both the rotational temperature and abundance of H2CO (DiSanti et al. 2006 Ap J 650:470). We are currently in the process of extending the model to higher rotational energy (i.e., higher rotational quantum number) in an attempt to improve the fit to high-J lines in our spectra of C/T7 and other comets. Results will be presented, and implications discussed.Modeling fluorescent emission from monomeric formaldehyde (H2CO) forms an integral part of our overall comprehensive program of measuring the volatile composition of comets through high-resolution (RP ~ 25,000) infrared spectroscopy using CSHELL at the IRTF and NIRSPEC at Keck II. The H2CO spectra contain lines from both the nu1 (symmetric CH2 stretch) and nu5 (asymmetric CH2 stretch) bands near 3.6 microns. We have acquired high-quality spectra of twelve Oort cloud comets, and at least six of

  12. Hemocytes of zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha are relevant cells for the monitoring of environmental genotoxicity by the comet assay.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marc Bonnard

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The measure of DNA integrity by the single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE or comet assay is especially recommended for its sensitivity and its capacity for detecting different types of damages. Therefore, it has been applied in environmental genotoxicity in a variety of organisms. It appears today necessary to define both reference and threshold levels of DNA damage, for their application in in situ biomonitoring. However, little is known about the influence of both biological (sex, reproduction status or external (temperature… confounding factors on the measure of DNA damage by the comet assay. These variables need to be taken into account if the robustness of the assay is to be established (Jha, 2008. In the zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha (recommended as a sentinel species in the evaluation of freshwater quality the measure of DNA damage by the comet assay is mainly performed on hemocytes, which are circulating cells involved in key physiological functions such as immunity, homeostasis, detoxication…. This communication will present and discuss results from an innovative study about the variability of the baseline level of DNA damage in hemocytes of mussels encaged for one year in the canal de l’Aisne à la Marne (Reims, according to their sex and their reproductive status. The sensitivity and the suitability of hemocytes in the evaluation of environmental genotoxicity will also be discussed, referring to observations during a 6 month-exposure of mussels in mesocosms to environmentally realistic concentrations of carbamazepine.

  13. The COMET Sleep Research Platform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nichols, Deborah A; DeSalvo, Steven; Miller, Richard A; Jónsson, Darrell; Griffin, Kara S; Hyde, Pamela R; Walsh, James K; Kushida, Clete A

    2014-01-01

    The Comparative Outcomes Management with Electronic Data Technology (COMET) platform is extensible and designed for facilitating multicenter electronic clinical research. Our research goals were the following: (1) to conduct a comparative effectiveness trial (CET) for two obstructive sleep apnea treatments-positive airway pressure versus oral appliance therapy; and (2) to establish a new electronic network infrastructure that would support this study and other clinical research studies. The COMET platform was created to satisfy the needs of CET with a focus on creating a platform that provides comprehensive toolsets, multisite collaboration, and end-to-end data management. The platform also provides medical researchers the ability to visualize and interpret data using business intelligence (BI) tools. COMET is a research platform that is scalable and extensible, and which, in a future version, can accommodate big data sets and enable efficient and effective research across multiple studies and medical specialties. The COMET platform components were designed for an eventual move to a cloud computing infrastructure that enhances sustainability, overall cost effectiveness, and return on investment.

  14. Comet Halley and its historic passages during the past millennium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Legrand, J.P.

    1986-01-01

    The March 12, 1759 return of Comet Halley verified Halley's hypothesis on the existence of periodic comets and supported Newton's principle of universal attraction. Comet Halley's appearances before the 16th century are traced and it is noted that the length of the comet's tail has varied greatly. The comet's rendezvous with ESA's satellite Giotto is discussed briefly

  15. The Comet Halley Handbook: An Observer's Guide. Second Edition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeomans, Donald K.

    This handbook contains information on: (1) the orbit of comet Halley; (2) the expected physical behavior of comet Halley in 1985-1986, considering brightness estimates, coma diameters, and tail lengths; (3) observing conditions for comet Halley in 1985-1986; and (4) observing conditions for the dust tail of comet Halley in 1985-1986. Additional…

  16. 67P, Singing Comet

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smirnova, Ekaterina

    2017-04-01

    I would like to propose to present a short science-art-music collaboration film called "67P, Singing Comet" (5:27 min). If time of the session will allow, prior to the film I would like to make a slide show introduction to this project, highlighting the inspiration - the mission Rosetta by the European Space Agency (ESA) - and the artistic collaboration that took place in creating this piece. Inspired by the ESA Rosetta mission to the comet 67P, Ekaterina Smirnova (artist and project director, New York), Lee Mottram (clarinetist, Wales), Takuto Fukuda (composer, Japan) and Brian Hekker (video editor, New York) collaborated to create a unique atmospheric piece. Water and the origins of life throughout the Universe (specifically the Earth) is an element of the mission and the focus of Ekaterina's artistic vision. Ekaterina literally and figuratively paints a sensory assemblage using a combination of synthetic and natural elements to shape this artistic creation. To paint her watercolor works she is using a replica of the water found on the comet and implementing her own heartbeat into the music to create a recognizable inward sound of life. The Electro-Acoustic composition by Takuto Fukuda features an electronically manipulated performance by clarinetist Lee Mottram. The piece ceremoniously begins with reverberant bursts of low-register atonal bells transporting the listener to their ethereal inner origins of body and mind. The imagination takes the experience to an unknown destination as it gains speed gliding through the visual and audible textures of space and time. The comet's water similarly reacts with an ebb and flow thawing ice to potentially give life a chance as it is thrust along an orbit around the Sun. Near then far from the heat the comet forms frozen particles from vapors as it reaches it's furthest stretches creating an aerodynamic tail of icicles that slowly dissipate in a cycle that repeats itself until the comet's ultimate collision with an

  17. Study of Comets Composition and Structure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khalaf, S. Z.; Selman, A. A.; Ali, H. S.

    2008-12-01

    The present paper focuses on the nature of the different interactions between cometary nucleus and tail with solar wind. The dynamics of the comet will impose many features that provide unique behavior of the comet when entering the solar system. These features are reviewed in this paper and few investigations are made. The calculations made in this work represent the analysis and interpretation of the different features of the comet, such as perihelion and eccentricity dependence on the gas production rate, and the dependence of the latter on the composition of the comet nucleus. The dependences of the heliocentric, bow shock, contact surface, and stand-off distances with gas production rate for many types of comets that cover linear and non-linear types are studied in this work. Important results are obtained which indicated the different physical interactions between cometary ions and solar wind. Furthermore, the important relation between mean molecular weight and gas production rate are analyzed and studied in this work and a conclusion is made that, as the gas production rate increases, the mean molecular weight will decrease exponentially. A detailed discussion for this unique relation is given.

  18. Comet assay on mice testicular cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anoop Kumar Sharma

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Heritable mutations may result in a variety of adverse outcomes including genetic disease in the offspring. In recent years the focus on germ cell mutagenicity has increased and the “Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS” has published classification criteria for germ cell mutagens (Speit et al., 2009. The in vivo Comet assay is considered a useful tool for investigating germ cell genotoxicity. In the present study DNA strand breaks in testicular cells of mice were investigated. Different classes of chemicals were tested in order to evaluate the sensitivity of the comet assay in testicular cells. The chemicals included environmentally relevant substances such as Bisphenol A, PFOS and Tetrabrombisphenol A. Statistical power calculations will be presented to aid in the design of future Comet assay studies on testicular cells. Power curves were provided with different fold changes in % tail DNA, different number of cells scored and different number of gels (Hansen et al., 2014. An example is shown in Figure 1. A high throughput version of the Comet assay was used. Samples were scored with a fully automatic comet assay scoring system that provided faster scoring of randomly selected cells.

  19. A GREAT search for Deuterium in Comets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mumma, Michael

    2013-10-01

    Comets are understood to be the most pristine bodies in the Solar System. Their compositions reflect the chemical state of materials at the very earliest evolutionary stages of the protosolar nebula and, as such, they provide detailed insight into the physical and chemical processes operating in planet-forming disks. Isotopic fractionation ratios of the molecular ices in the nucleus are regarded as signatures of formation processes. These ratios provide unique information on the natal heritage of those ices, and can also test the proposal that Earth's water and other volatiles were delivered by cometary bombardment. Measurement of deuterium fractionation ratios is thus a major goal in contemporary cometary science and the D/H ratio of water - the dominant volatile in comets - holds great promise for testing the formation history of cometary matter. The D/H ratio in cometary water has been measured in only eight comets. Seven were from the Oort Cloud reservoir and the D/H ratio was about twice that of the Earth's oceans. However, the recent Herschel measurement of HDO/H2O in 103P/Hartley-2 (the first from the Kuiper Belt) was consistent with exogenous delivery of Earth's water by comets. Outstanding questions remain: are cometary HDO/H2O ratios consistent with current theories of nebular chemical evolution or with an interstellar origin? Does the HDO/H2O ratio vary substantially among comet populations? Hartley-2 is the only Kuiper Belt comet with measured HDO/H2O, are there comets with similar ratios in the Oort cloud? These questions can only be addressed by measuring HDO/H2O ratios in many more suitable bright comets. We therefore propose to measure the D/H ratio in water in a suitable target-of-opportunity comet by performing observations of HDO and OH with the GREAT spectrometer on SOFIA. A multi-wavelength, ground-based observing campaign will also be conducted in support of the airborne observations.

  20. A quantitative comet infection assay for influenza virus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindsay, Stephen M.; Timm, Andrea; Yin, John

    2011-01-01

    Summary The virus comet assay is a cell-based virulence assay used to evaluate an antiviral drug or antibody against a target virus. The comet assay differs from the plaque assay in allowing spontaneous flows in 6-well plates to spread virus. When implemented quantitatively the comet assay has been shown to have an order-of-magnitude greater sensitivity to antivirals than the plaque assay. In this study, a quantitative comet assay for influenza virus is demonstrated, and is shown to have a 13-fold increase in sensitivity to ribavirin. AX4 cells (MDCK cells with increased surface concentration of α2–6 sialic acid, the influenza virus receptor) have reduced the comet size variability relative to MDCK cells, making them a better host cell for use in this assay. Because of enhanced antiviral sensitivity in flow-based assays, less drug is required, which could lead to lower reagent costs, reduced cytotoxicity, and fewer false-negative drug screen results. The comet assay also serves as a readout of flow conditions in the well. Observations from comets formed at varying humidity levels indicate a role for evaporation in the mechanism of spontaneous fluid flow in wells. PMID:22155578

  1. CLATHRATE HYDRATES FORMATION IN SHORT-PERIOD COMETS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marboeuf, Ulysse; Mousis, Olivier; Petit, Jean-Marc; Schmitt, Bernard

    2010-01-01

    The initial composition of current models of cometary nuclei is only based on two forms of ice: crystalline ice for long-period comets and amorphous ice for short-period comets. A third form of ice, i.e., clathrate hydrate, could exist within the short-period cometary nuclei, but the area of formation of this crystalline structure in these objects has never been studied. Here, we show that the thermodynamic conditions in the interior of short-period comets allow the existence of clathrate hydrates in Halley-type comets. We show that their existence is viable in the Jupiter family comets only when the equilibrium pressure of CO clathrate hydrate is at least 1 order of magnitude lower than the usually assumed theoretical value. We calculate that the amount of volatiles that could be trapped in the clathrate hydrate layer may be orders of magnitude greater than the daily amount of gas released at the surface of the nucleus at perihelion. The formation and the destruction of the clathrate hydrate cages could then explain the diversity of composition of volatiles observed in comets, as well as some pre-perihelion outbursts. We finally show that the potential clathrate hydrate layer in comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko would, unfortunately, be deep inside the nucleus, out of reach of the Rosetta lander. However, such a clathrate hydrate layer would show up by the gas composition of the coma.

  2. The "silent world" of Comet 15P/Finlay

    CERN Document Server

    Beech, M; Jones, J

    1999-01-01

    Comet 15P/Finlay is unusual in that, contrary to ab initio expectations, it demonstrates no apparent linkage to any known meteor shower. Using data contained within the Electronic Atlas of Dynamical Evolutions of Short-Period Comets, the authors evaluate theoretical shower radiants for Comet 15P/Finlay, but find no evidence to link it to any meteoric anomalies in recorded antiquity. This result, however, must be tempered by the fact that any Comet 15P/Finlay- derived meteoroids will have a low, 16 km s/sup -1/, encounter velocity with Earth's atmosphere. Typically, therefore, one would expect mostly faint meteors to be produced during an encounter with a Comet 15P/Finlay-derived meteoroid stream. they have conducted a D- criterion survey of meteoroid orbits derived from three southern hemisphere meteor radar surveys conducted during the 1960s, and again they find no evidence for any Comet 15P/Finlay-related activity. Numerical calculations following the orbital evolution of hypothetical meteoroids ejected fro...

  3. Stardust: Catching a Comet and Bringing it Home

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brownlee, Donald E.

    2007-01-01

    The NASA STARDUST mission collected thousands of particles from Comet Wild 2 that are now being studied by two hundred scientists around the world. The spacecraft captured the samples during a close flyby of the comet in 2004 and returned them to Earth with a dramatic entry into the atmosphere early in 2006. The precious cargo of comet dust is being studied to determine new information about the origin of the Sun and planets. The comet formed at the edge of the solar system, beyond the orbit of Neptune, and is a sample of the material from which the solar system was formed. One of the most dramatic early findings from the mission was that a comet that formed in the coldest place in the solar system contained minerals that formed in the hottest place in the solar system. The comet samples are telling stories of fire and ice and they providing fascinating and unexpected information about our origins.

  4. DNA alkylation lesions and their repair in human cells: modification of the comet assay with 3-methyladenine DNA glycosylase (AlkD).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hašplová, Katarína; Hudecová, Alexandra; Magdolénová, Zuzana; Bjøras, Magnar; Gálová, Eliška; Miadoková, Eva; Dušinská, Mária

    2012-01-05

    3-methyladenine DNA glycosylase (AlkD) belongs to a new family of DNA glycosylases; it initiates repair of cytotoxic and promutagenic alkylated bases (its main substrates being 3-methyladenine and 7-methylguanine). The modification of the comet assay (single cell gel electrophoresis) using AlkD enzyme thus allows assessment of specific DNA alkylation lesions. The resulting baseless sugars are alkali-labile, and under the conditions of the alkaline comet assay they appear as DNA strand breaks. The alkylating agent methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) was used to induce alkylation lesions and to optimize conditions for the modified comet assay method with AlkD on human lymphoblastoid (TK6) cells. We also studied cellular and in vitro DNA repair of alkylated bases in DNA in TK6 cells after treatment with MMS. Results from cellular repair indicate that 50% of DNA alkylation is repaired in the first 60 min. The in vitro repair assay shows that while AlkD recognises most alkylation lesions after 60 min, a cell extract from TK6 cells recognises most of the MMS-induced DNA adducts already in the first 15 min of incubation, with maximum detection of lesions after 60 min' incubation. Additionally, we tested the in vitro repair capacity of human lymphocyte extracts from 5 individuals and found them to be able to incise DNA alkylations in the same range as AlkD. The modification of the comet assay with AlkD can be useful for in vitro and in vivo genotoxicity studies to detect alkylation damage and repair and also for human biomonitoring and molecular epidemiology studies. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Comets, Asteroids, and the Origin of the Biosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoover, Richard B.

    2006-01-01

    During the past few decades, the role of comets in the delivery of water, organics, and prebiotic chemicals to the Biosphere of Earth during the Hadean (4.5-3.8 Ga) period of heavy bombardment has become more widely accepted. However comets are still largely regarded as frigid, pristine bodies of protosolar nebula material that are entirely devoid of liquid water and consequently unsuitable for life in any form. Complex organic compounds have been observed comets and on the water rich asteroid 1998 KY26, which has color and radar reflectivity similar to the carbonaceous meteorites. Near infrared observations have indicated the presence of crystalline water ice and ammonia hydrate on the large Kuiper Belt object (50000) Quaoar with resurfacing that may indicate cryovolcanic outgassing and the Cassini spacecraft has detected water-ice geysers on Saturn s moon Enceladus. Spacecraft observations of the chemical compositions and characteristics of the nuclei of several comets (Halley, Borrelly, Wild 2, and Tempel 1) have now firmly established that comets contain a suite of complex organic chemicals; water is the predominant volatile; and that extremely high temperatures (approx.350-400 K) can be reached on the surface of the very black (albedo-0.03) nuclei when the comets are with 1.5 AU from the Sun. Impact craters and pinnacles observed on comet Wild 2 suggest a thick crust and episodic outbursts and jets observed on the nuclei of several comets are interpreted as indications that localized regimes of liquid water and water vapor can periodically exist beneath the crust of some comets. The Deep Impact observations indicate that the temperature on the nucleus of of comet Tempel 1 at 1.5 AU varied from 330K on the sunlit side to a minimum of 280+/-8 K. It is interesting that even the coldest region of the comet surface was slightly above the ice/liquid water phase transition temperature. These results suggest that pools and films of liquid water can exist in a wide

  6. ACTIVITY OF 50 LONG-PERIOD COMETS BEYOND 5.2 au

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sárneczky, K.; Szabó, Gy. M.; Csák, B.; Kelemen, J.; Pál, A.; Szakáts, R.; Szegedi-Elek, E.; Vida, K.; Vinkó, J.; Kiss, L. L. [Konkoly Observatory, Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, H-1121 Budapest, Konkoly Thege Miklós út 15-17 (Hungary); Marschalkó, G. [Eötvös Loránd Tudományegyetem, H-1117 Pázmány Péter sétány 1/A, Budapest (Hungary); Szalai, T. [Department of Optics and Quantum Electronics, University of Szeged, H-6720 Szeged, Dóm tér 9 (Hungary); Székely, P. [Department of Experimental Physics, University of Szeged, Szeged H-6720, Dóm tér 9 (Hungary)

    2016-12-01

    Remote investigations of ancient matter in the solar system have traditionally been carried out through observations of long-period (LP) comets, which are less affected by solar irradiation than their short-period counterparts orbiting much closer to the Sun. Here we summarize the results of our decade-long survey of the distant activity of LP comets. We found that the most important separation in the data set is based on the dynamical nature of the objects. Dynamically new comets are characterized by a higher level of activity on average: the most active new comets in our sample can be characterized by Afρ values >3–4, higher than those for our most active returning comets. New comets develop more symmetric comae, suggesting a generally isotropic outflow. In contrast to this, the comae of recurrent comets can be less symmetrical, ocassionally exhibiting negative slope parameters, which suggest sudden variations in matter production. The morphological appearance of the observed comets is rather diverse. A surprisingly large fraction of the comets have long, tenuous tails, but the presence of impressive tails does not show a clear correlation with the brightness of the comets.

  7. ACTIVITY OF 50 LONG-PERIOD COMETS BEYOND 5.2 au

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sárneczky, K.; Szabó, Gy. M.; Csák, B.; Kelemen, J.; Pál, A.; Szakáts, R.; Szegedi-Elek, E.; Vida, K.; Vinkó, J.; Kiss, L. L.; Marschalkó, G.; Szalai, T.; Székely, P.

    2016-01-01

    Remote investigations of ancient matter in the solar system have traditionally been carried out through observations of long-period (LP) comets, which are less affected by solar irradiation than their short-period counterparts orbiting much closer to the Sun. Here we summarize the results of our decade-long survey of the distant activity of LP comets. We found that the most important separation in the data set is based on the dynamical nature of the objects. Dynamically new comets are characterized by a higher level of activity on average: the most active new comets in our sample can be characterized by Afρ values >3–4, higher than those for our most active returning comets. New comets develop more symmetric comae, suggesting a generally isotropic outflow. In contrast to this, the comae of recurrent comets can be less symmetrical, ocassionally exhibiting negative slope parameters, which suggest sudden variations in matter production. The morphological appearance of the observed comets is rather diverse. A surprisingly large fraction of the comets have long, tenuous tails, but the presence of impressive tails does not show a clear correlation with the brightness of the comets.

  8. Lectin affinity electrophoresis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kobayashi, Yuka

    2014-01-01

    An interaction or a binding event typically changes the electrophoretic properties of a molecule. Affinity electrophoresis methods detect changes in the electrophoretic pattern of molecules (mainly macromolecules) that occur as a result of biospecific interactions or complex formation. Lectin affinity electrophoresis is a very effective method for the detection and analysis of trace amounts of glycobiological substances. It is particularly useful for isolating and separating the glycoisomers of target molecules. Here, we describe a sensitive technique for the detection of glycoproteins separated by agarose gel-lectin affinity electrophoresis that uses antibody-affinity blotting. The technique is tested using α-fetoprotein with lectin (Lens culinaris agglutinin and Phaseolus vulgaris agglutinin)-agarose gels.

  9. ESA Unveils Its New Comet Chaser.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1999-07-01

    The objective is to study one of these primordial objects at close quarters by placing a lander on its surface and chasing, with an orbiter, the comet for millions of kilometres through space. Comets - among the oldest (4.6 billion years!) and last altered objects in the solar system - are regarded as the building blocks from which the planets formed. Thus the Rosetta's discoveries will allow the scientists to learn more about birth and evolution of the planets and about the origin of life on the Earth. The final design of the Rosetta orbiter will be revealed for the first time at the Royal Society in London on 1 July when a 1:4 scale model will be unveiled by ESA's Director of Science, Prof.. Roger Bonnet. (The full size version of the spacecraft is 32 metres across, so large that it would stretch the entire width of a football pitch. Almost 90 of this is accounted for by the giant solar panels which are needed to provide electrical power in the dark depths of the Solar System). "Rosetta is a mission of major scientific importance," said Prof. Bonnet. "It will build on the discoveries made by Giotto and confirm ESA's leading role in the exploration of the Solar System and the Universe as a whole." The timing of this event has been chosen to coincide with the London meeting of the Rosetta Science Working Team and the second Earth flyby of the now non-operational Giotto spacecraft. In addition, the opening of the British Museum's 'Cracking Codes' Exhibition, for which the Rosetta Stone is the centrepiece, is set to take place on 10 July. The Rosetta mission. Rosetta is the third Cornerstone in ESA's 'Horizon 2000' long-term scientific programme. It will be launched by Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou spaceport in French Guiana in January 2003. In order to gain sufficient speed to reach the distant comet, Rosetta will require gravity assists from the Earth (twice) and Mars. After swinging around Mars in May 2005, Rosetta will return to Earth's vicinity in October 2005 and

  10. Giacobini-Zinner comet: polarimetric and physical observations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martel, M.T.; Maines, P.; Grudzinska, S.; Stawikowski, A.

    1984-10-01

    The results of observations of the Giacobini-Zinner comet on 25 and 31 October 1959 are presented. The magnitude of the comet was measured photoelectrically in two spectral regions. The radius is on the order of one kilometer. The photoelectric measurements of comets 1959b and 1957c were used to measure the abundances of the CN and C2 radicals and of solid particles in the heads

  11. Constraints on Comet 332P/Ikeya-Murakami

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hui, Man-To; Ye, Quan-Zhi; Wiegert, Paul

    2017-01-01

    Encke-type comet 332P/Ikeya-Murakami is experiencing cascading fragmentation events during its 2016 apparition. It is likely the first splitting Encke-type comet ever observed. A nongravitational solution to the astrometry reveals a statistical detection of the radial and transverse nongravitational parameters, {A}1=(1.54+/- 0.39)× {10}-8 au day‑2 and {A}2=(7.19+/- 1.92)× {10}-9 au day‑2, respectively, which implies a nucleus erosion rate of (9.1+/- 1.7)‰ per orbital revolution. The mass-loss rate likely has to be supported by a much larger fraction of an active surface area than known cases of short-period comets; it may be relevant to the ongoing fragmentation. We failed to detect any serendipitous pre-discovery observations of the comet in archival data from major sky surveys, whereby we infer that 332P used to be largely inactive, and is perhaps among the few short-period comets that have been reactivated from weakly active or dormant states. We therefore constrain an upper limit to the nucleus size as 2.0 ± 0.2 km in radius. A search for small bodies in similar orbits to that of 332P reveals comet P/2010 B2 (WISE) to be the best candidate. From an empirical generalized Jupiter-family (Encke-type included) comet population model, we estimate the likelihood of a chance alignment of the 332P–P/2010 B2 pair to be 1 in 33, a small number indicative of a genetic linkage between the two comets on a statistical basis. The pair possibly originated from a common progenitor, which underwent a disintegration event well before the twentieth century.

  12. Electrophoresis technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Snyder, R. S.

    1985-01-01

    A new high resolution apparatus designed for space was built as a laboratory prototype. Using a moving wall with a low zeta potential coating, the major sources of flow distortion for an electrophoretic sample stream are removed. Highly resolved fractions, however, will only be produced in space because of the sensitivity of this chamber to buoyancy-induced convection in the laboratory. The second and third flights of the McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Corporation continuous flow electrophoresis system carried samples developed at MSFC intended to evaluate the broad capabilities of free flow electrophoresis in a reduced gravity environment. Biological model materials, hemoglobin and polystyrene latex microspheres, were selected because of their past use as electrophoresis standards and as visible markers for fluid flow due to electroosmosis, spacecraft acceleration or other factors. The dependence of the separation resolution on the properties of the sample and its suspension solution was assessed.

  13. On the origin of comets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mendis, A.; Alfven, H.

    1976-01-01

    Physico-chemical processes leading to the dynamic formation and physical evolution of comets are reviewed in relationship to the various theories that propose solar origins, protoplanetary origins, planetary origins and interstellar origins. Evidence points to the origins of comets by the growth and agglomeration of small particles from gas and dust at very low temperatures at undetermined regions in space.

  14. Planetary perturbations and the origins of short-period comets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Quinn, T.; Tremaine, S.; Duncan, M.

    1990-01-01

    To investigate the dynamical plausibility of possible sources for the short-period comets, a representative sample of comet orbits in the field of the sun and the giant planets was integrated, with the aim to determine whether the distribution of orbits from a proposed source that reach observable perihelia (q less than 2.5 AU) matches the observed distribution of short-period orbits. It is found that the majority of the short-period comets, those with orbital period P less than 20 yr (the Jupiter family), cannot arise from isotropic orbits with perihelia near Jupiter's orbit, because the resulting observable comet orbits have the wrong distribution in period, inclination, and argument of perihelion. The simulations also show that Jupiter-family comets cannot arise from isotropic orbits with perihelia in the Uranus-Neptune region. On the other hand, a source of low-inclination Neptune-crossing orbits yields a distribution of observable Jupiter-family comets that is consistent with the data in all respects. These results imply that the Jupiter-family comets arise from a disk source in the outer solar system rather than from the Oort comet cloud. 30 refs

  15. Comet Tempel 1 Went Back to Sleep

    Science.gov (United States)

    2005-07-01

    Astronomers Having Used ESO Telescopes Start Analysing Unique Dataset on the Comet Following the Deep Impact Mission Ten days after part of the Deep Impact spacecraft plunged onto Comet Tempel 1 with the aim to create a crater and expose pristine material from beneath the surface, astronomers are back in the ESO Offices in Santiago, after more than a week of observing at the ESO La Silla Paranal Observatory. In this unprecedented observing campaign - among the most ambitious ever conducted by a single observatory - the astronomers have collected a large amount of invaluable data on this comet. The astronomers have now started the lengthy process of data reduction and analysis. Being all together in a single place, and in close contacts with the space mission' scientific team, they will try to assemble a clear picture of the comet and of the impact. The ESO observations were part of a worldwide campaign to observe this unique experiment. During the campaign, ESO was connected by phone, email, and videoconference with colleagues in all major observatories worldwide, and data were freely exchanged between the different groups. This unique collaborative spirit provides astronomers with data taken almost around the clock during several days and this, with the largest variety of instruments, making the Deep Impact observing campaign one of the most successful of its kind, and thereby, ensuring the greatest scientific outcome. From the current analysis, it appears most likely that the impactor did not create a large new zone of activity and may have failed to liberate a large quantity of pristine material from beneath the surface. ESO PR Photo 22/05 ESO PR Photo 22/05 Evolution of Comet Tempel 1 (FORS2/VLT) [Preview - JPEG: 400 x 701 pix - 128k] [Normal - JPEG: 800 x 1401 pix - 357k] ESO PR Photo 22/05 Animated Gif Caption: ESO PR Photo 22/05 shows the evolution of Comet Tempel 1 as observed with the FORS2 instrument on Antu (VLT). The images obtained at the VLT show that

  16. [Correlation of single-cell gel electrophoresis and mitomycin C-induced chromosomal breakage for chromosomal instabiligy in children with Fanconi anemia].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Li; Liu, Qiang; Zou, Yao; Liu, Xiao-ming; Zhang, Jia-yuan; Wang, Shu-chun; Chen, Xiao-juan; Guo, Ye; Yang, Wen-yu; Ruan, Min; Liu, Tian-feng; Liu, Fang; Cai, Xiao-jin; Chen, Yu-mei; Zhu, Xiao-fan

    2013-02-01

    Fanconi anemia (FA) is characterized by bone marrow failure, congenital abnormalities and predisposition to neoplasia. Hypersensitivity of FA cells to the clastogenic effect of mitomycin C (MMC) provides a unique marker for the diagnosis before the beginning of hematological manifestations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between Single-Cell Gel Electrophoresis (SCGE) and mitomycin C-induced chromosomal breakage in children with FA. Between January 2007 and June 2011, 248 children (results of the two methods and compared with each other. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the parameters in SCGE. Seventeen patients were diagnosed as FA and 231 as non-FA. Chromosomal breakage was found to be significantly higher in FA patients [(32.2 ± 4.8)%] than non-FA [(19.9 ± 3.0)%] and controls[(21.6 ± 4.8)%] when induced by MMC 80 ng/ml. The parameters of SCGE were significantly different between FA patients and non-FA or controls. All the parameters were rectilinearly correlated with MMC (P = 0.000). The most closely correlated parameter was the rate of comet cell (r = 0.848, P = 0.000). The results of ROC curves suggested the comet cell rate (0.999) was more important. SCGE might be used to discriminate between FA and non-FA individuals. The relationship between SCGE and MMC-induced chromosomal breakage was significant. The rate of comet cell was the important parameter.

  17. Random, double- and single-strand DNA breaks can be differentiated in the method of Comet assay by the shape of the comet image.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Georgieva, Milena; Zagorchev, Plamen; Miloshev, George

    2015-10-01

    Comet assay is an invaluable tool in DNA research. It is widely used to detect DNA damage as an indicator of exposure to genotoxic stress. A canonical set of parameters and specialized software programs exist for Comet assay data quantification and analysis. None of them so far has proven its potential to employ a computer-based algorithm for assessment of the shape of the comet as an indicator of the exact mechanism by which the studied genotoxins cut in the molecule of DNA. Here, we present 14 unique measurements of the comet image based on the comet morphology. Their mathematical derivation and statistical analysis allowed precise description of the shape of the comet image which in turn discriminated the cause of genotoxic stress. This algorithm led to the development of the "CometShape" software which allowed easy discrimination among different genotoxins depending on the type of DNA damage they induce. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  18. A dynamical study on extrasolar comets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loibnegger, B.; Dvorak, R.

    2017-09-01

    Since the detection of absorption features in spectra of beta Pictoris varying on short time scales it is known that comets exist in other stellar systems. We investigate the dynamics of comets in two differently build systems (HD 10180 and HIP 14810). The outcomes of the scattering process, as there are collisions with the planets, captures and ejections from the systems are analysed statistically. Collisions and close encounters with the planets are investigated in more detail in order to conclude about transport of water and organic material. We will also investigate the possibility of detection of comets in other planetary systems.

  19. Radiosensitivity evaluation of Human tumor cell lines by single cell gel electrophoresis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Yipei; Cao Jia; Wang Yan; Du Liqing; Li Jin; Wang Qin; Fan Feiyue; Liu Qiang

    2011-01-01

    Objective: To explore the feasibility of determining radiosensitivity of human tumor cell lines in vitro using single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE). Methods: Three human tumor cell lines were selected in this study, HepG 2 , EC-9706 and MCF-7. The surviving fraction (SF) and DNA damage were detected by MTT assay, nested PCR technique and comet assay respectively. Results: MTT assay: The SF of HepG 2 and EC-9706 after irradiated by 2, 4 and 8 Gy was lower significantly than that of MCF-7, which showed that the radiosensitivity of HepG 2 and EC-9706 was higher than that of MCF-7. But there was no statistical difference of SF between HepG 2 and EC-9706. SCGE: The difference of radiosensitivity among these three tumor cell lines was significant after 8 Gy γ-ray irradiation. Conclusion: The multi-utilization of many biological parameter is hopeful to evaluate the radiosensitivity of tumor cells more objectively and exactly. (authors)

  20. Vaporization of comet nuclei: Light curves and life times

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cowan, J J [Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (USA). Center for Astrophysics; A' Hearn, M F [Maryland Univ., College Park (USA)

    1979-10-01

    The authors have examined the effects of vaporization from the nucleus of a comet and show that a latitude dependence of vaporization can, in some cases, explain asymmetries in commetary light curves. They also find that a non-uniform distribution of solar radiation over a comet can considerably shorten the vaporization lifetime compared to the results normally obtained by assuming that the nuclear surface is isothermal. Independent of any latitude effects, comets with CO/sub 2/-dominated nuclei and with periherlion distances less than 0.5 AU have vaporization lifetimes less than or comparable to their dynamical ejection times. This may explain the observed deficit of comets with small perihelion distances. Similarly comets with CO/sub 2/-dominated nuclei and perihelia near Jupiter's orbit have vaporization lifetimes that are shorter than the time for capture into short-period orbits. They suggest, therefore, that at least some new comets are composed in large part of CO/sub 2/, while only H/sub 2/O-dominated comets, with lower vaporization rates, can survive to be captured into short-period orbits.

  1. Catastrophic Disruption of Comet ISON

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keane, Jacqueline V.; Milam, Stefanie N.; Coulson, Iain M.; Kleyna, Jan T.; Sekanina, Zdenek; Kracht, Rainer; Riesen, Timm-Emmanuel; Meech, Karen J.; Charnley, Steven B.

    2016-01-01

    We report submillimeter 450 and 850 microns dust continuum observations for comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) obtained at heliocentric distances 0.31-0.08 au prior to perihelion on 2013 November 28 (rh?=?0.0125 au). These observations reveal a rapidly varying dust environment in which the dust emission was initially point-like. As ISON approached perihelion, the continuum emission became an elongated dust column spread out over as much as 60? (greater than 10(exp 5) km in the anti-solar direction. Deconvolution of the November 28.04 850 microns image reveals numerous distinct clumps consistent with the catastrophic disruption of comet ISON, producing approximately 5.2?×?10(exp 10) kg of submillimeter-sized dust. Orbital computations suggest that the SCUBA-2 emission peak coincides with the comet's residual nucleus.

  2. Hyakutake, Hale-Bopp and the chemistry of comets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bachiller, R.; Planesas, P.

    1997-01-01

    Comets can be regarded as messengers from the primitive solar system which can provide precious pieces of information on the composition of the protosolar nebula. Physical and chemical phenomena within comets (shock waves, photodissociation caused by solar radiation, some endothermic chemical reactions, etc) are of the highest interest and cannot be reproduced at terrestrial laboratories in many cases. The passage of Hyakutake in 1996 and that of Hale-Bopp in 1997 are allowing remarkable progress in the understanding of the physico-chemistry of comets. Observations of such comets can be crucial in the study of the origin of life on Earth. (Author)

  3. Optical Detection of Anomalous Nitrogen in Comets

    Science.gov (United States)

    2003-12-01

    VLT Opens New Window towards Our Origins Summary A team of European astronomers [1] has used the UVES spectrograph on the 8.2-m VLT KUEYEN telescope to perform a uniquely detailed study of Comet LINEAR (C/2000 WM1) . This is the first time that this powerful instrument has been employed to obtain high-resolution spectra of a comet. At the time of the observations in mid-March 2002, Comet LINEAR was about 180 million km from the Sun, moving outwards after its perihelion passage in January. As comets are believed to carry "pristine" material - left-overs from the formation of the solar system, about 4,600 million years ago - studies of these objects are important to obtain clues about the origins of the solar system and the Earth in particular. The high quality of the data obtained of this moving 9th-magnitude object has permitted a determination of the cometary abundance of various elements and their isotopes [2]. Of particular interest is the unambiguous detection and measurement of the nitrogen-15 isotope. The only other comet in which this isotope has been observed is famous Comet Hale-Bopp - this was during the passage in 1997, when it was much brighter than Comet LINEAR. Most interestingly, Comet LINEAR and Comet Hale-Bopp display the same isotopic abundance ratio, about 1 nitrogen-15 atom for each 140 nitrogen-14 atoms ( 14 N/ 15 N = 140 ± 30) . That is about half of the terrestrial value (272). It is also very different from the result obtained by means of radio measurements of Comet Hale-Bopp ( 14 N/ 15 N = 330 ± 75). Optical and radio measurements concern different molecules (CN and HCN, respectively), and this isotopic anomaly must be explained by some differentiation mechanism. The astronomers conclude that part of the cometary nitrogen is trapped in macromolecules attached to dust particles . The successful entry of UVES into cometary research now opens eagerly awaited opportunities for similiar observations in other, comparatively faint comets. These

  4. The spacecraft encounters of Comet Halley

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asoka Mendis, D.; Tsurutani, Bruce T.

    1986-01-01

    The characteristics of the Comet Halley spacecraft 'fleet' (VEGA 1 and VEGA 2, Giotto, Suisei, and Sakigake) are presented. The major aims of these missions were (1) to discover and characterize the nucleus, (2) to characterize the atmosphere and ionosphere, (3) to characterize the dust, and (4) to characterize the nature of the large-scale comet-solar wind interaction. While the VEGA and Giotto missions were designed to study all four areas, Suisei addressed the second and fourth. Sakigake was designed to study the solar wind conditions upstream of the comet. It is noted that NASA's Deep Space Network played an important role in spacecraft tracking.

  5. Ensemble Properties of Comets in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Solontoi, Michael; /Adler Planetarium, Chicago; Ivezic, Zeljko; /Washington U., Seattle, Astron. Dept.; Juric, Mario; /Harvard Coll. Observ.; Becker, Andrew C.; /Washington U., Seattle, Astron. Dept.; Jones, Lynne; /Washington U., Seattle, Astron. Dept.; West, Andrew A.; /Boston U.; Kent, Steve; /Fermilab; Lupton, Robert H.; /Princeton U. Observ.; Claire, Mark; /Washington U., Seattle, Astron. Dept.; Knapp, Gillian R.; /Princeton U. Observ.; Quinn, Tom; /Washington U., Seattle, Astron. Dept. /Princeton U. Observ.

    2012-02-01

    We present the ensemble properties of 31 comets (27 resolved and 4 unresolved) observed by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). This sample of comets represents about 1 comet per 10 million SDSS photometric objects. Five-band (u, g, r, i, z) photometry is used to determine the comets colors, sizes, surface brightness profiles, and rates of dust production in terms of the Afp formalism. We find that the cumulative luminosity function for the Jupiter Family Comets in our sample is well fit by a power law of the form N(comets. The resolved comets show an extremely narrow distribution of colors (0.57 {+-} 0.05 in g - r for example), which are statistically indistinguishable from that of the Jupiter Trojans. Further, there is no evidence of correlation between color and physical, dynamical, or observational parameters for the observed comets.

  6. Unveiling the formation and evolution of comets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lasue, J.; Levasseur-Regourd, A. C.; Botet, R.; Coradini, A.; Desanctis, M. C.; Kofman, W.

    2007-08-01

    Comet nuclei are considered as the most pristine bodies of the solar system and consequently their study sheds an important light on the processes occurring during the initial stages of the solar system formation. The analysis of the porosity and bulk density of such primordial bodies is especially important to understand their capacity to retain volatile components (organics and ices) present in the early solar nebula. Typical tensile strengths deduced for comet nuclei range from below 102N.m-2 from the Deep Impact mission [1] up to 104N.m-2 from the study of comet C/1999 S4 LINEAR breakup [2] and meteoroids [3]. A bulk density of about 350 kg/m3 has been obtained for 9P/Tempel 1 from the Deep Impact mission [4]. Moreover the properties of dust released from the comets strongly confirm such values. Instruments flying-by comet 1P/Halley had discovered the presence of organics, and pointed out the dust low albedo and extremely low density while analyses of Interplanetary Dust Particles collected in the stratosphere and remote spectroscopic observations have indicated that cometary dust consists of an un-equilibrated heterogeneous mixture of organic refractory materials and of amorphous and crystalline silicate minerals [5], as recently confirmed by Stardust [6]. Observations of the solar scattered light, together with elaborate simulations, give an estimation of the mass ratio between silicates and absorbing organics, the size distribution and the structure of the dust particles, suggesting that a fair amount consists in fluffy aggregates built up from submicronic grains [7,8], as recently confirmed by the analysis of dust craters and aerogel tracks on Stardust collector showing for some large particles (up to 100 μm) an extraordinary fluffy structure [9]. Simulations have been developed in our teams to describe the aspects of comet aggregation and evolution that have not been thoroughly explained yet. Particle aggregation simulations taking into account cohesive

  7. Comet 67P Through the Lens of Art

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smirnova, Ekaterina

    2017-04-01

    My proposal is to share my artistic exploration of a comet through the bodily senses, while finding inspiration in scientific data. I will present my artwork as a slideshow, showcasing: large scale paintings, ceramic sculptures, music and interactive augmented reality. The Rosetta mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) to comet 67P/ Churyumov-Gerasimenko is remarkable. The scientific investigation of the comet's composition, atmosphere, dust, vapor, surface and internal structure are crucial to help researchers understand the origin of the solar system and our own planet. Sight: Paintings Rosetta mission discovered that the water on the comet is different from the water on Earth; as measured with the ROSINA-DFMS instrument on Rosetta, water on 67P contains approximately 3 times more hydrogen­deuterium oxide - HDO, than found in Earth's oceans. In the art studio I re-create water that is close in composition to the water on the comet, by concentrating the level of HDO. With this water I paint large scale watermedia paintings, based on the photographs by Rosetta (OSIRIS, Nav. Cam.). Touch: Sculptures While exploring the comet's three-dimensional form, I focus more deeply on the composition of the comet. Stoneware clay and my choice of a glaze both include iron oxide, a common constituent of meteorites and comets. Hearing: Music An audio piece "A Singing Comet", by Manuel Senfft, based on the Rosetta Plasma Consortium data, inspired me to make a musical piece. In collaboration with clarinetist Lee Mottram (Wales) and composer Takuto Fukuda (Japan) we created an electro­acoustic composition in which we tell the story of comets visiting our Solar System, repeating their cycle, curving around the sun and releasing water, carrying away dust to form their tails. Smell In collaboration with The Open University, UK, postcards with a smell of the comet were created, introducing the chemical components of the comet. The smell was recreated by combining several molecules

  8. Migration of Interplanetary Dust and Comets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ipatov, S. I.; Mather, J. C.

    Our studies of migration of interplanetary dust and comets were based on the results of integration of the orbital evolution of 15,000 dust particles and 30,000 Jupiter-family comets (JFCs) [1-3]. For asteroidal and cometary particles, the values of the ratio β between the radiation pressure force and the gravitational force varied from 1000 and 1 microns. The probability of a collision of a dust particle started from an asteroid or JFC with the Earth during a lifetime of the particle was maximum at diameter d ˜100 microns. For particles started from asteroids and comet 10P, this maximum probability was ˜0.01. Different studies of migration of dust particles and small bodies testify that the fraction of cometary dust particles of the overall dust population inside Saturn's orbit is considerable and can be dominant: (1) Cometary dust particles produced both inside and outside Jupiter's orbit are needed to explain the observed constant number density of dust particles at 3-18 AU. The number density of migrating trans-Neptunian particles near Jupiter's orbit is smaller by a factor of several than that beyond Saturn's orbit. Only a small fraction of asteroidal particles can get outside Jupiter's orbit. (2) Some (less than 0.1%) JFCs can reach typical near-Earth object orbits and remain there for millions of years. Dynamical lifetimes of most of the former JFCs that have typical near-Earth object orbits are about 106 -109 yr, so during most of these times they were extinct comets. Such former comets could disintegrate and produce a lot of mini-comets and dust. (3) Comparison of the velocities of zodiacal dust particles (velocities of MgI line) based on the distributions of particles over their orbital elements obtained in our runs [3-4] with the velocities obtained at the WHAM observations shows that only asteroidal dust particles cannot explain these observations, and particles produced by comets, including high-eccentricity comets, are needed for such explanation

  9. On the existence of a comet belt beyond Neptune

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fernandez, J.A.

    1980-01-01

    The possible existence of a comet belt in connection with the origin of the short-period comets is analysed. It is noted that the current theory - that these comets originate as near-parabolic comets captured by Jupiter and the other giant planets - implies an excessive wastage of comets lost in hyperbolic orbits, which is avoided in the present model. The following picture is predicted. Solid conglomerates up to approximately 10 18 g were formed by gravitational instabilities in the belt region (about 35 to 50 AU). A further fragmentation-accretion process led to a power-law mass distribution similar to that observed in the asteroids. Since then, close encounters between members of the belt have provoked the diffusion of some of them with the effect that they have become subject to the strong perturbations of Neptune. Of these a small number pass from one planet to the next inside and end as short-period comets. By means of a Monte Carlo method, the influence of close encounters between belt comets is then studied in relation to the diffusion of their orbits. It is concluded that if such a belt contains members with masses equal to or greater than that of Ceres, the orbital diffusion could proceed fast enough to maintain the number of observed short-period comets in a steady state. (author)

  10. CATASTROPHIC DISRUPTION OF COMET ISON

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Keane, Jacqueline V.; Kleyna, Jan T.; Riesen, Timm-Emmanuel; Meech, Karen J. [Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States); Milam, Stefanie N.; Charnley, Steven B. [Astrochemistry Laboratory, NASA GSFC, MS 690, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Coulson, Iain M. [Joint Astronomy Center, 660 North Aohoku Place, Hilo, HI 96720 (United States); Sekanina, Zdenek [Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States); Kracht, Rainer, E-mail: keane@ifa.hawaii.edu [Ostlandring 53, D-25335 Elmshorn, Schleswig-Holstein (Germany)

    2016-11-10

    We report submillimeter 450 and 850 μ m dust continuum observations for comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) obtained at heliocentric distances 0.31–0.08 au prior to perihelion on 2013 November 28 ( r {sub h} = 0.0125 au). These observations reveal a rapidly varying dust environment in which the dust emission was initially point-like. As ISON approached perihelion, the continuum emission became an elongated dust column spread out over as much as 60″ (>10{sup 5} km) in the anti-solar direction. Deconvolution of the November 28.04 850 μ m image reveals numerous distinct clumps consistent with the catastrophic disruption of comet ISON, producing ∼5.2 × 10{sup 10} kg of submillimeter-sized dust. Orbital computations suggest that the SCUBA-2 emission peak coincides with the comet's residual nucleus.

  11. Evolution of comets into asteroids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weissman, P.R.; A'hearn, M.F.; Rickman, H.; Mcfadden, L.A.

    1989-01-01

    This paper presents observational evidence, together with recent theoretical developments, supporting the hypothesis that at least some asteroids might be extinct or dormant cometary nuclei. The observations include the discovery of a number of apparent asteroids in chaotic Jupiter-crossing orbits; the IRAS discovery of 1983 TB, an asteroid in the same orbit as the Geminid meteor shower; the apparent low activity levels determined for several short-period comet nuclei including Comet Halley; and observations of possible cometary activity in some earth-crossing asteroids. Theoretical developments include explorations of dynamical mechanisms capable of delivering main-belt asteroids into earth-crossing orbits, and an understanding of possible processes which may affect comets during their long residence in the Oort cloud and lead to the formation of nonvolatile crusts before and after they enter the planetary system. 143 refs

  12. Comet showers and Nemesis, the death star

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hills, J.G.

    1984-01-01

    The recently proposed hypothesis that the periodic extinctions of terrestrial species are the result of comet showers catalyzed by a hypothetical distant solar companion, Nemesis, a tale of global death by comet bombardment of the earth, is discussed

  13. Comments on comet shapes and aggregation processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hartmann, W.K.

    1989-01-01

    An important question for a comet mission is whether comet nuclei preserve information clarifying aggregation processes of planetary matter. New observational evidence shows that Trojan asteroids, as a group, display a higher fraction of highly-elongated objects than the belt. More recently evidence has accumulated that comet nuclei, as a group, also display highly-elongated shapes at macro-scale. This evidence comes from the several comets whose nuclear lightcurves or shapes have been well studied. Trojans and comet nuclei share other properties. Both groups have extremely low albedos and reddish-to neutral-black colors typical of asteroids of spectral class D, P, and C. Both groups may have had relatively low collision frequencies. An important problem to resolve with spacecraft imaging is whether these elongated shapes are primordial, or due to evolution of the objects. Two hypotheses that might be tested by a combination of global-scale and close-up imaging from various directions are: (1) The irregular shapes are primordial and related to the fact that these bodies have had lower collision frequencies than belt asteroids; or (2) The irregular shapes may be due to volatile loss

  14. COMET SHOWERS ARE NOT INDUCED BY INTERSTELLAR CLOUDS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Morris, D.E.

    1985-11-01

    Encounters with interstellar clouds (IC) have been proposed by Rampino and Stothers as a cause of quasi-periodic intense comet showers leading to earth impacts, in order to explain the periodicity in marine mass extinctions found by Raup and Sepkoski. The model was described further, criticized and defended. The debate has centered on the question of whether the scale height of the clouds is small enough (in comparison to the amplitude of the oscillation of the solar system about the plane of the Galaxy) to produce a modulation in the rate of encounters. We wish to point out another serious, we believe fatal, defect in this model - the tidal fields of ICs are not strong enough to produce intense comet showers leading to earth impacts by bringing comets of the postulated inner Oort cloud into earth crossing orbits, except possibly during very rare encounters with very dense clouds. We will show that encounters with abundant clouds of low density cannot produce comet showers; cloud density N > 10{sup 3} atoms cm{sup -3} is needed to produce an intense comet shower leading to earth impacts. Furthermore, the tidal field of a dense cloud during a distant encounter is too weak to produce such showers. As a consequence, comet showers induced by ICs will be far less frequent than showers caused by passing stars. This conclusion is independent of assumptions about the radial distribution of comets in the inner Oort cloud.

  15. Impaired DNA repair as assessed by the ``comet`` assay in patients developing thyroid carcinoma after radiotherapy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Leprat, F.; Sarasin, A.; Suarez, H.G. [Institut de Recherches sur le Cancer, 94 - Villesuif (France); Leprat, F.; Alapetite, C.; Rosselli, F.; Ridet, A.; Moustacch, E.; Alapetite, C. [Institut Curie, 75 - Paris (France); Schlumberger, M. [Institut Gustave Roussy, 94 - Villejuif (France)

    1997-03-01

    A defective cellular response to DNA lesions induced be genotoxic agents may be associated to an increased cancer proneness. This has been clearly identified in some rare but extensively studied genetic diseases such as xeroderma pigmentosum (XP), ataxia telangiectasia (AT) and Fanconi anemia (FA). In practical oncology, most patients receive genotoxic therapeutic agents and the presence of so far unidentified sensitive genotypes could account for an increased susceptibility to cancer in a subgroup of exposed patients. The thyroid gland of children is especially sensitive to the carcinogenic effect of ionizing radiation. Evidence for risk is reported even at doses as low as 0.1 Gy, and the excess relative risk to develop a thyroid tumor following a radiation dose of 1 Gy in childhood is of 7.7 [l]. In order to determine if a defect in repair of DNA strand breaks could be involved, as an early step, in the development of secondary thyroid tumors after radiotherapy, we examined, using the alkaline single cell gel electrophoresis assay (SCGE or `comet`), the response to in vitro {gamma}-rays exposure of lymphocytes of a small group of patients who developed thyroid carcinoma after radiotherapy for a primary tumor. Because of its practical advantages, the alkaline comet assay offers the opportunity to question the role of DNA strand beaks rejoining capacity of the individual in the radiation induced carcinogenesis of thyroid tumors. This preliminary study of a small group of patients with therapeutic irradiation at childhood for a primary tumor indicates that, at the time of blood sampling, lymphocytes of some of these patients demonstrated reduced rejoining capacity. These results suggest that the comet assay might help to distinguish a subgroup of individuals at risk for radiation induced genomic instability and encourage further investigation. (authors)

  16. New Application of the Comet Assay

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cortés-Gutiérrez, Elva I.; Dávila-Rodríguez, Martha I.; Fernández, José Luís; López-Fernández, Carmen; Gosálbez, Altea; Gosálvez, Jaime

    2011-01-01

    The comet assay is a well-established, simple, versatile, visual, rapid, and sensitive tool used extensively to assess DNA damage and DNA repair quantitatively and qualitatively in single cells. The comet assay is most frequently used to analyze white blood cells or lymphocytes in human biomonitoring studies, although other cell types have been examined, including buccal, nasal, epithelial, and placental cells and even spermatozoa. This study was conducted to design a protocol that can be used to generate comets in subnuclear units, such as chromosomes. The new technique is based on the chromosome isolation protocols currently used for whole chromosome mounting in electron microscopy, coupled to the alkaline variant of the comet assay, to detect DNA damage. The results show that migrant DNA fragments can be visualized in whole nuclei and isolated chromosomes and that they exhibit patterns of DNA migration that depend on the level of DNA damage produced. This protocol has great potential for the highly reproducible study of DNA damage and repair in specific chromosomal domains. PMID:21540337

  17. Microchip analysis of lithium in blood using moving boundary electrophoresis and zone electrophoresis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vrouwe, E.X.; Lüttge, Regina; Olthuis, Wouter; van den Berg, Albert

    The determination of inorganic cations in blood plasma is demonstrated using a combination of moving boundary electrophoresis (MBE) and zone electrophoresis. The sample loading performed under MBE conditions is studied with the focus on the quantitative analysis of lithium. A concentration

  18. Microchip analysis of lithium in blood using moving boundary electrophoresis and zone electrophoresis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vrouwe, E.X.; Luttge, R.; Olthuis, W.; Berg, van den A.

    2005-01-01

    The determination of inorganic cations in blood plasma is demonstrated using a combination of moving boundary electrophoresis (MBE) and zone electrophoresis. The sample loading performed under MBE conditions is studied with the focus on the quantitative analysis of lithium. A concentration

  19. Comet LINEAR C/1999 S4 - an absolutely well-behaved comet before breakup

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peschke, S. B.; Lisse, C. M.; Fernandez, Y. R.; Ressler, M.; Stickel, M.; Kaminski, C.; Golish, B.

    2000-10-01

    We present results from infrared imaging of comet LINEAR C/1999 S4 on June 17 - 19, 2000 (pre-breakup), using the near-IR camera NSFCAM and the mid-IR camera MIRLIN at the 3m NASA/IRTF. Images and multi-wavelength spectroscopy were obtained in the zJHK'L'MNQ bands, and were used to create a 1.0 - 25 μ m SED of the comet's dust and nucleus. The coma's contribution at each wavelength was modeled using spatial fitting (Fernandez 1999, PhD thesis; Lisse et al. 1999, Icarus 140, 189). The resulting comatic and nuclear SEDs were then modeled using modified Mie theory (Lisse et al. 1998, ApJ 496, 971) and the standard nuclear thermal models (Lebofsky and Spencer 1989, Asteroids II, 128), respectively. We report the resulting dust PSD, mass loss rate, and albedo, as well as the nuclear radius, and we compare these results to those obtained by others from optical data both before and after the comet's breakup in late July 2000.

  20. The shortage of long-period comets in elliptical orbits

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Everhart, E.

    1979-01-01

    Based on the number of 'new' comets seen on near-parabolic orbits, one can predict the number of comets that should be found on definitely elliptical orbits on their subsequent returns. The author shows that about three out of four of these returning comets are not observed. (Auth.)

  1. Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 meets Jupiter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levy, D. H.; Shoemaker, E. M.; Shoemaker, C. S.

    1995-08-01

    The impact of comet D/1993 F2 (Shoemaker-Levy 9) with Jupiter was unforgettable, an event probably not to be repeated for millennia to come. One year later the astronomers who first spotted the comet reflect on their discovery, on the anxious months of anticipation before the collision and on what has been learned since.

  2. Comet West: a view from the HELIOS zodiacal light photometers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Benensohn, R.M.; Jackson, B.V.

    1987-01-01

    Comet West passed through perihelion on February 25, 1976. The comet crossed the HELIOS A and B spacecraft zodiacal light photometer fields of view as the spacecraft orbited the Sun, allowing them to record the brightness, polarization, and color of the comet and its surrounding interplanetary medium. Data from the U, B, and V photometers across the tail shows a distinct bluing followed by a slight reddening corresponding to the ion and dust tails, respectively, entering the field of view. The non-Earth perspective of the HELIOS photometers allows a comparison of the tail with Earth observations at the same time. Precise location of the nucleus and tail allow the photometer data to be searched for evidence of the comet bow shock and orbital dust. A brightness bump present in the data before the comet reaches some photometer positions, can be shown to approximately form a parabolic shape Sunward and ahead of the orbital motion of the Comet West nucleus. If this is the comet bow shock or bow compression, then it corresponds to a density enhancement of the ambient medium by 1.5 to 2 times in the vicinity of the comet. The distance of the brightness increase from the nucleus by comparison with Comet Halley implies a neutral gas production rate of approximately 3 times that of Halley

  3. The Rosetta Mission to Comet 67P/ Churyumov-Gerasimenko

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buratti, Bonnie J.

    2017-06-01

    As remnant bodies left over from the formation of the Solar System, comets offer clues to the physical conditions and architecture of the protosolar nebula. The Rosetta spacecraft, which included an orbiter and a lander that were built and managed by the European Space Agency with NASA contributing four instruments and scientific expertise, was the first mission to orbit and study a comet through a perihelion passage. The targeted Jupiter-family comet 67P/ Churyumov-Gerasimenko, is seemingly two distinct planetesimals stuck together. The comet has not melted or been processed substantially, except for its outer layers, which consist of reaccreted dust and a crust of heated, devolatized, and annealed refractory materials and organics. The exceptionally low density (0.53 gm/cc) of 67P/ implies it is a rubble pile. The comet also appears to contain a hierarchy of building blocks: smaller spherically shaped meter-sized bodies can be seen in its interior, and even smaller cm-sized pebbles were imaged by the camera as the spacecraft made a soft crash landing on the comet’s surface on 30 September 2016. The unexpected discovery of molecular oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen imply that 67P/ was formed under cold conditions not exceeding 30K. The discovery of many organic compounds, including the amino acid glycine, lends support to the idea that comets, which originate in the Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud, brought the building blocks of life to Earth. More laboratory data on organic compounds would help to identify additional organic compounds on the comet. The differences between cometary and terrestrial D/H ratios suggest that comets are not the primary source of terrestrial water, although data on more comets is needed to confirm this result.Besides being primordial objects offering a window into the formation of solar systems, comets are astrophysical laboratories, ejecting dust and charged particles into the plasma comprising the solar wind. Several unusual phenomena

  4. The comet rendezvous asteroid flyby mission

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morrison, D.; Neugebauer, M.; Weissman, P.R.

    1989-01-01

    The Comet Rendezvous Asteroid Flyby (CRAF) mission is designed to answer the many questions raised by the Halley missions by exploring a cometary nucleus in detail, following it around its orbit and studying its changing activity as it moves closer to and then away from the Sun. In addition, on its way to rendezvous with the comet, CRAF will fly by a large, primitive class main belt asteroid and will return valuable data for comparison with the comet results. The selected asteroid is 449 Hamburga with a diameter of 88 km and a surface composition of carbonaceous chondrite meteorites. The expected flyby date is January, 1998. The CRAF spacecraft will continue to make measurements in orbit around the cometary nucleus as they both move closer to the Sun, until the dust and gas hazard becomes unsafe. At that point the spacecraft will move in and out between 50 and 2,500 kilometers to study the inner coma and the cometary ionosphere, and to collect dust and gas samples for onboard analysis. Following perihelion, the spacecraft will make a 50,000 km excursion down the comet's tail, further investigating the solar wind interaction with the cometary atmosphere. The spacecraft will return to the vicinity of the nucleus about four months after perihelion to observe the changes that have taken place. If the spacecraft remains healthy and adequate fuel is still onboard, an extended mission to follow the comet nucleus out to aphelion is anticipated

  5. Hummingbird Comet Nucleus Analysis Mission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kojiro, Daniel; Carle, Glenn C.; Lasher, Larry E.

    2000-01-01

    Hummingbird is a highly focused scientific mission, proposed to NASA s Discovery Program, designed to address the highest priority questions in cometary science-that of the chemical composition of the cometary nucleus. After rendezvous with the comet, Hummingbird would first methodically image and map the comet, then collect and analyze dust, ice and gases from the cometary atmosphere to enrich characterization of the comet and support landing site selection. Then, like its namesake, Hummingbird would carefully descend to a pre-selected surface site obtaining a high-resolution image, gather a surface material sample, acquire surface temperature and then immediately return to orbit for detailed chemical and elemental analyses followed by a high resolution post-sampling image of the site. Hummingbird s analytical laboratory contains instrumentation for a comprehensive molecular and elemental analysis of the cometary nucleus as well as an innovative surface sample acquisition device.

  6. Rocket Detection of Argon in Comet Hale-Bopp

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stern, S. A.; Festou, M. C.; Parker, J. Wm.; Slater, D. C.; Gladstone, G. R.; A'Hearn, M. F.

    1998-12-01

    The EUVS planetary sounding rocket spectrograph was flown on 30.2 March 1997 (UT) from White Sands, New Mexico to observe comet Hale-Bopp in the bandpass from 830--1120 A. At the time of launch the comet was near perihelion, 0.915 AU from the Sun, 1.340 AU from Earth, and traveling at a heliocentric radial velocity of +0.70 km/s. EUVS obtained its primary spectra of the comet at resolution near 12 A, collecting 9340 counts over approximately 330 seconds of integration time. To our knowledge, the resulting dataset is both the most sensitive and the highest spectral resolution probe of a comet in the UV below 1200 A as yet achieved, and contains signatures of both the 1048.2 A and 1066.7 A Ar I resonance lines. These features represent the first-ever detections of any noble gas in a comet. The spectrum also includes significant detections which we tentatively attribute to due to 834 A 0 II, 972 A Lyman gamma, 989 A O I, the 1026 A H I Lyman beta/O I. We will discuss the Ar features, retrieve the Ar column in the coma, and discuss the implications of the total Ar/O abundance ratio in Hale-Bopp for the comet's origin.

  7. 100 and counting : SOHO's score as the world's top comet finder

    Science.gov (United States)

    2000-02-01

    Like nearly all of SOHO's discoveries, the 100th comet showed up in images from the LASCO instrument. This is a set of coronagraphs that view the space around the Sun out to 20 million kilometres, while blotting out the bright solar disk with masks. Developed for SOHO by a multinational team led by the US Naval Research Laboratory, LASCO watches for mass ejections from the Sun that threaten to disturb the Earth's space environment. The comet discoveries are a big bonus. SOHO's experts spot many of the comets as soon as the images come in. But still pictures and movies from LASCO are freely available on the Internet to astronomers around the world, who can discover less obvious comets without leaving their desks. This was the case when Kazimieras Cernis of the Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astronomy in Vilnius, Lithuania, found SOHO-100. "On 4 February I saw the comet as a small speck of light in the previous day's LASCO images," Cernis explained. "It had no visible tail, but it was too fuzzy to be an asteroid. By the time I had seen the object moving steadily across the sky in six successive images, I was convinced it was a comet and I sent the details to the SOHO scientists for verification." The competition to find SOHO's 100th comet was keen. An amateur astronomer, Maik Meyer of Frauenstein, Germany, discovered SOHO-98 and 99. On 5 February, less than 24 hours after Cernis reported the candidate SOHO-100, Meyer found the candidate SOHO-101. On the same day and in the same LASCO images Douglas Biesecker, a member of the SOHO science team, spotted the candidate SOHO-102 travelling ahead of 101. Computations have now validated the orbits for all three candidates, and shown them to be bona fide comet discoveries. Other amateur astronomers have used the LASCO images to find comets. In the summer of 1999 Terry Lovejoy in Australia found five, and since September 1999 an amateur in England, Jonathan Shanklin, has spotted three more. "SOHO is a special chance for

  8. The use of comet assay to assess DNA integrity of boar spermatozoa following liquid preservation at 5 degrees C and 16 degrees C.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J Strzezek

    2004-03-01

    Full Text Available The comet assay, under neutral conditions, allows the assessment of DNA integrity influenced by sperm ageing, which is manifested in DNA double-strand breaks. Here, we attempted to use a modified neutral comet assay test (single-cell gel electrophoresis, to our knowledge for the first time, to assess DNA integrity of boar spermatozoa during liquid storage for 96 h at 5 degrees C and 16 degrees C. In this comet assay protocol we used 2% beta-mercaptoethanol prior to the lysis procedure, to aid in removing nuclear proteins. Ejaculates from 3 boars (designated A, C and G were diluted with a standard semen extender, Kortowo-3 (K-3, which was supplemented with lipoprotein fractions extracted from hen egg yolk (LPFh or ostrich egg yolk (LPFo. Irrespective of the extender type, the percentage of comet-detected spermatozoa with damaged DNA increased gradually during prolonged storage at 5 degrees C and 16 degrees C. Spermatozoa stored in K-3 extender exhibited elevated levels of DNA damage at both storage temperatures. Significant differences in DNA damage among the boars were more pronounced during storage in LPF-based extenders at 5 degrees C: spermatozoa of boars A and G were less susceptible to DNA damage. The percent of tail DNA in comets was lower in LPF-based extenders, and there were individual variations among the boars. We observed that changes in DNA integrity were dependent on the extender type and storage temperature. A higher level of DNA instability was observed in K-3 extended semen compared with K-3/LPFh or K-3/LPFo extended semen during storage at 5 degrees C. No significant difference in the level of DNA damage between K-3/LPFh and K-3/LPFo was observed. It seems that a long-term storage can affect genomic integrity of boar spermatozoa. The modified neutral comet assay can be used to detect low levels of DNA damage in boar spermatozoa during liquid preservation. Therefore, screening for sperm DNA damage may be used as an additional

  9. The use of comet assay to assess DNA integrity of boar spermatozoa following liquid preservation at 5 degrees C and 16 degrees C.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fraser, L; Strzezek, J

    2004-01-01

    The comet assay, under neutral conditions, allows the assessment of DNA integrity influenced by sperm ageing, which is manifested in DNA double-strand breaks. Here, we attempted to use a modified neutral comet assay test (single-cell gel electrophoresis), to our knowledge for the first time, to assess DNA integrity of boar spermatozoa during liquid storage for 96 h at 5 degrees C and 16 degrees C. In this comet assay protocol we used 2% beta-mercaptoethanol prior to the lysis procedure, to aid in removing nuclear proteins. Ejaculates from 3 boars (designated A, C and G) were diluted with a standard semen extender, Kortowo-3 (K-3), which was supplemented with lipoprotein fractions extracted from hen egg yolk (LPFh) or ostrich egg yolk (LPFo). Irrespective of the extender type, the percentage of comet-detected spermatozoa with damaged DNA increased gradually during prolonged storage at 5 degrees C and 16 degrees C. Spermatozoa stored in K-3 extender exhibited elevated levels of DNA damage at both storage temperatures. Significant differences in DNA damage among the boars were more pronounced during storage in LPF-based extenders at 5 degrees C: spermatozoa of boars A and G were less susceptible to DNA damage. The percent of tail DNA in comets was lower in LPF-based extenders, and there were individual variations among the boars. We observed that changes in DNA integrity were dependent on the extender type and storage temperature. A higher level of DNA instability was observed in K-3 extended semen compared with K-3/LPFh or K-3/LPFo extended semen during storage at 5 degrees C. No significant difference in the level of DNA damage between K-3/LPFh and K-3/LPFo was observed. It seems that a long-term storage can affect genomic integrity of boar spermatozoa. The modified neutral comet assay can be used to detect low levels of DNA damage in boar spermatozoa during liquid preservation. Therefore, screening for sperm DNA damage may be used as an additional test of sperm

  10. Rosetta - a comet ride to solve planetary mysteries

    Science.gov (United States)

    2003-01-01

    Comets are very interesting objects for scientists, since their composition reflects how the Solar System was when it was very young and still 'unfinished', more than 4600 million years ago. Comets have not changed much since then. By orbiting Comet Wirtanen and landing on it, Rosetta will collect essential information to understand the origin and evolution of our Solar System. It will also help discover whether comets contributed to the beginnings of life on Earth. In fact comets are carriers of complex organic molecules, that - delivered to Earth through impacts - perhaps played a role in the origin of living forms. Furthermore, “volatile” light elements carried by comets may have also played an important role in forming the Earth’s oceans and atmopshere. “Rosetta is one of the most challenging missions ever undertaken so far”, says Prof. David Southwood, ESA Director of Science, “No one before attempted a similar mission, unique for its scientific implications as well as for its complex and spectacular interplanetary space manoeuvres”. Before reaching its target in 2011, Rosetta will circle the Sun almost four times on wide loops in the inner Solar System. During its long trek, the spacecraft will have to endure some extreme thermal conditions. Once it is close to Comet Wirtanen, scientists will take it through a delicate braking manoeuvre; then the spacecraft will closely orbit the comet, and gently drop a lander on it. It will be like landing on a small, fast-moving cosmic bullet that still has - at present - an almost unknown 'geography'. An amazing 8-year interplanetary trek Rosetta is a 3-tonne box-type spacecraft about 3 metres high, with two 14-metre long solar panels. It consists of an orbiter and a lander. The lander is approximately 1 metre across and 80 centimetres high. It will be attached to the side of the Rosetta orbiter during the journey to Comet Wirtanen. Rosetta carries 21 experiments in total, 10 of them on the lander. They will

  11. Outbursting comet P/2010 V1 (Ikeya-Murakami): A miniature comet Holmes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ishiguro, Masateru [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Seoul National University, Gwanak, Seoul 151-742 (Korea, Republic of); Jewitt, David [Department of Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences, University of California at Los Angeles, 595 Charles Young Drive East, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1567 (United States); Hanayama, Hidekazu; Miyaji, Takeshi; Fukushima, Hideo; Watanabe, Jun-ichi [Ishigakijima Astronomical Observatory, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Ishigaki, Okinawa 907-0024 (Japan); Usui, Fumihiko [Department of Astronomy, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan); Sekiguchi, Tomohiko [Department of Teacher Training, Hokkaido University of Education, 9 Hokumon, Asahikawa 070-8621 (Japan); Yanagisawa, Kenshi; Kuroda, Daisuke [Okayama Astrophysical Observatory, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Asaguchi, Okayama 719-0232 (Japan); Yoshida, Michitoshi [Hiroshima Astrophysical Science Center, Hiroshima University, 1-3-1 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima 739-8526 (Japan); Ohta, Kouji [Department of Astronomy, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502 (Japan); Kawai, Nobuyuki [Department of Physics, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8551 (Japan)

    2014-05-20

    The short-period comet P/2010 V1 (Ikeya-Murakami, hereafter {sup V}1{sup )} was discovered visually by two amateur astronomers. The appearance of the comet was peculiar, consisting of an envelope, a spherical coma near the nucleus and a tail extending in the anti-solar direction. We investigated the brightness and the morphological development of the comet by taking optical images with ground-based telescopes. Our observations show that V1 experienced a large-scale explosion between UT 2010 October 31 and November 3. The color of the comet was consistent with the Sun (g' – R {sub C} = 0.61 ± 0.20, R {sub C} – I {sub C} = 0.20 ± 0.20, and B – R {sub C} = 0.93 ± 0.25), suggesting that dust particles were responsible for the brightening. We used a dynamical model to understand the peculiar morphology, and found that the envelope consisted of small grains (0.3-1 μm) expanding at a maximum speed of 500 ± 40 m s{sup –1}, while the tail and coma were composed of a wider range of dust particle sizes (0.4-570 μm) and expansion speeds 7-390 m s{sup –1}. The total mass of ejecta is ∼5 × 10{sup 8} kg and kinetic energy ∼5 × 10{sup 12} J. These values are much smaller than in the historic outburst of 17P/Holmes in 2007, but the energy per unit mass (1 × 10{sup 4} J kg{sup –1}) is comparable. The energy per unit mass is about 10% of the energy released during the crystallization of amorphous water ice suggesting that crystallization of buried amorphous ice can supply the mass and energy of the outburst ejecta.

  12. The Comet Assay: Tails of the (Unexpected. Use of the comet assay in pharmaceutical development.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bas-jan Van Der Leede

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available In genotoxicity testing of pharmaceuticals the rodent alkaline comet assay is being increasingly used as a second in vivo assay in addition to the in vivo micronucleus assay to mitigate in vitro positive results as recommended by regulatory guidance. In this presentation we want to give insight into the circumstances in vivo comet assay is deployed in a Genetic Toxicology Department of a pharmaceutical company. As the in vivo comet assay is a salvage assay, it means that some events have occurred in an in vitro assay and that the compound (or metabolite responsible for this signal is potentially deselected for further development. More than often the decision to perform an in vivo comet assay is at a very early stage in development and the first time that the compound will be tested in vivo at high/toxic dose levels. As almost no toxicokinetic data and tissue distribution data are available a careful design with maximizes the chances for successful mitigation is necessary. Decisions on acute or repeated dosing need to be made and arrangements for combining the in vivo comet assay with the in vivo micronucleus assay are to be considered. Often synthesis methods need to be scaled up fast to provide the required amount of compound and information on suitable formulations needs to be in place. As exposure data is crucial for interpretation of results, analytical methods need to be brought in place rapidly. An experienced multi skilled and communicative team needs to be available to deploy successfully this kind of assays at an early stage of development. We will present a few scenarios on study conduct and demonstrate how this assay can make a difference for the further development of a new drug.

  13. Time-dependent injection of Oort Cloud comets into earth-crossing orbits

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fernandez, J.A.; Ip, W.H.; Max-Planck-Institut fuer Aeronomie, Katlenburg-Lindau, West Germany)

    1987-01-01

    The present consideration of close stellar encounter-induced modulations of the influx rate of Oort Cloud comets notes that comet showers sufficiently intense for emergence in cratering statistics are produced at 80-Myr intervals, on the assumption of an Oort Cloud heavy comet core. Numerical simulations of the time evolution of comet showers or bursts indicate that a long tail of residual shower comets follows the major event with an intensity of about 0.01 of the peak rate after 20-30 Myr, thereby suggesting that residual comet showers are primarily clustered in certain areas of the sky, rendering them observable at virtually any time. 33 references

  14. Dynamical evolution and disintegration of comets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kresak, L.

    Current concepts of the origin and evolution of comets are reviewed. The place of their formation from which they have been delivered into the Oort reservoir is still an open problem, but the region of the outermost planets appears most probable. The interplay of stellar and planetary perturbations can be traced by model computations which reveal both the general trends and the variety of individual evolutionary paths. The present structure of the system of comets is controlled by the dynamical evolution of its individual members, limited by their physical aging by disintegration. Where the lifetimes are short, as in the Jupiter family of short-period comets, an equilibrium between elimination and replenishment is established. The role of different destructive processes and the resulting survival times are discussed.

  15. Observations of faint comets at McDonald Observatory: 1978-1980

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barker, E. S.; Cochran, A. L.; Rybski, P. M.

    1981-01-01

    Modern observational techniques, developed for spectroscopy and photometry of faint galaxies and quasars, successfully applied to faint comets on the 2.7 m telescope. The periodic comets Van Biesbrock, Ashbrook-Jackson, Schwassmann-Wachmann 1, Tempel 2, Encke, Forbes, Brooks 2, Stephan-Oterma and the new comets Bradfield (19791), Bowell (1980b), Chernis-Petrauskas (1980k) were observed. The comets ranged in magnitude from 10th to 20th magnitude. For comets fainter than 19th magnitude, reflectance spectra at 100A resolution and area photometry were obtained. On comets of 17th or 18th magnitude, spectrometric scans (6A resolution) of the nucleus or inner coma region. On those comets which are brighter than 16th magnitude spatial spectrophotometric (6A resolution) studies of the inner and extended comae were done. An extensive spatial study of the comae of P/Encke and P/Stephen-Oterma, correlated with heliocentric distance is taking place. The observing process used is described and examples of the results obtained to date are discussed.

  16. Comets, Asteroids, Meteorites, and the Origin of the Biosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoover, Richard B.

    2006-01-01

    During the past few decades, the delivery of water, organics, and prebiotic chemicals to the Biosphere of Earth during the Hadean (4.5-3.8 Ga) period of heavy bombardment by comets and asteroids has become more widely accepted. Comets are still largely regarded as frigid, pristine bodies of protosolar nebula material that are devoid of liquid water and therefore unsuitable for life. Complex organic compounds have been observed in comets and on the water-rich asteroid 1998 KY26 and near IR observations have indicated the presence of crystalline water ice and ammonia hydrate on the large Kuiper Belt object (50000) Quaoar that has resurfacing suggesting cryovolcanic outgassing. Spacecraft observations of the chemical compositions and characteristics of the nuclei of several comets (Halley, Borrelly, Wild 2, and Tempel 1) have shown that comets contain complex organic chemicals; that water is the predominant volatile; and that extremely high temperatures (approx. 350-400 K) can be reached on the surfae of the very black (albedo approx. 0.03) nuclei of comets when they approach the Sun. Impact craters and pinnacles observed on comet Wild 2 suggest a thick crust. Episodic outbursts and jets from the nuclei of several comets indicate that localized regimes of liquid water and water vapor can periodically exist beneath the comet crust. The Deep Impact mission found the temperature of the nucleus of comet Tempel 1 at 1.5 AU varied from a minimum of 280 plus or minus 8 K the 330K (57 C) on the sunlit side. In this paper it is argued that that pools and films of liquid water exist (within a wide range of temperatures) in cavities and voids just beneath the hot, black crust. The possibility of liquid water existing over a wide range of temperatures significantly enhances the possibility that comets might contain niches suitable for the growth of microbial communities and ecosystems. These regimes would be ideal for the growth of psychrophilic, mesophilic, and thermophilic

  17. The Composition of Comet C/2012 K1 (PanSTARRS) and the Distribution of Primary Volatile Abundances Among Comets

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Roth, Nathan X.; Gibb, Erika L. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Missouri-St. Louis, 503 Benton Hall, One University Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63121 (United States); Bonev, Boncho P.; DiSanti, Michael A.; Mumma, Michael J.; Villanueva, Geronimo L.; Paganini, Lucas, E-mail: nxrq67@mail.umsl.edu [Goddard Center for Astrobiology, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Mail Stop 690, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States)

    2017-04-01

    On 2014 May 22 and 24 we characterized the volatile composition of the dynamically new Oort cloud comet C/2012 K1 (PanSTARRS) using the long-slit, high resolution ( λ /Δ λ  ≈ 25,000) near-infrared echelle spectrograph (NIRSPEC) at the 10 m Keck II telescope on Maunakea, Hawaii. We detected fluorescent emission from six primary volatiles (H{sub 2}O, HCN, CH{sub 4}, C{sub 2}H{sub 6}, CH{sub 3}OH, and CO). Upper limits were derived for C{sub 2}H{sub 2}, NH{sub 3}, and H{sub 2}CO. We report rotational temperatures, production rates, and mixing ratios (relative to water). Compared with median abundance ratios for primary volatiles in other sampled Oort cloud comets, trace gas abundance ratios in C/2012 K1 (PanSTARRS) for CO and HCN are consistent, but CH{sub 3}OH and C{sub 2}H{sub 6} are enriched while H{sub 2}CO, CH{sub 4}, and possibly C{sub 2}H{sub 2} are depleted. When placed in context with comets observed in the near-infrared to date, the data suggest a continuous distribution of abundances of some organic volatiles (HCN, C{sub 2}H{sub 6}, CH{sub 3}OH, CH{sub 4}) among the comet population. The level of “enrichment” or “depletion” in a given comet does not necessarily correlate across all molecules sampled, suggesting that chemical diversity among comets may be more complex than the simple organics-enriched, organics-normal, and organics-depleted framework.

  18. DNA typing by capillary electrophoresis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, N.

    1997-10-08

    Capillary electrophoresis is becoming more and more important in nucleic acid analysis including DNA sequencing, typing and disease gene measurements. This work summarized the background of DNA typing. The recent development of capillary electrophoresis was also discussed. The second part of the thesis showed the principle of DNA typing based on using the allelic ladder as the absolute standard ladder in capillary electrophoresis system. Future work will be focused on demonstrating DNA typing on multiplex loci and examples of disease diagnosis in the on-line format of PCR-CE. Also capillary array electrophoresis system should allow high throughput, fast speed DNA typing. Only the introduction and conclusions for this report are available here. A reprint was removed for separate processing.

  19. Disintegration phenomena in Comet West

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sekanina, Z.

    1976-01-01

    Two peculiarities of Comet West, the multiple splitting of the nucleus as seen in telescope observations and the complex structure of the dust tail, are discussed. A method of analysis based on the premise that the observed rate of separation of a fragment from the principal nucleus is determined by the difference in effective solar attraction acting on the bodies is applied to investigate the motion of the four fragments that separated from the nucleus of Comet West. The predicted motion of the fragments is in good agreement with available observations. It is suggested that the 'synchronic' bands of the dust tail consist of tiny fragments from relatively large particles that burst after release from the comet. The unusual orientation of these bands and their high surface brightness relative to the diffuse tail are explained by a sudden increase in the particle acceleration and in the total scattering surface as the result of the disintegration of the larger particles.

  20. In vitro mutagenicity and genotoxicity study of 1,2-dichloroethylene, 1,1,2-trichloroethane, 1,3-dichloropropane, 1,2,3-trichloropropane and 1,1,3-trichloropropene, using the micronucleus test and the alkaline single cell gel electrophoresis technique (comet assay) in human lymphocytes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tafazoli, M; Kirsch-Volders, M

    1996-12-20

    The main objective of this study was to compare the cytotoxic genotoxic and mutagenic activity of a number of chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons, which are widely used as chemical intermediates, solvents, degreasing agents etc. in industry, and to establish the structure-toxicity relationship of the chemicals by using the most adequate determinants in estimating their toxicity. The mutagenicity and cytotoxicity of some of the candidate chemicals, namely 1,2-dichloroethylene, 1,1,2-trichloroethane, 1,3-dichloropropane, 1,2,3-trichloropropane and 1,1,3-trichloropropene were evaluated in an in vitro micronucleus assay. The cytokinesis-block methodology was applied on human lymphocytes in the presence or absence of an external metabolic activation system (S9-mix). In the micronucleus assay, all test substances, except 1,2,3-trichloropropane with and without S9-mix and 1,1,2-trichloroethane without S9-mix in the repeated experiment, exhibited a low but statistically significant mutagenic activity, compared to the concurrent control. However, none of the five chemicals was able to induce a clear and reproducible linear dose-dependent increase in micronucleus frequencies in this assay. Generally, mutagenic activity of the chemicals was found in the absence of severe cytotoxicity and/or cell cycle delay. The DNA breakage capacity and the cytotoxicity of these chemicals were also assessed in the alkaline single cell gel (SCG) electrophoresis test (comet assay) with and without S9-mix in isolated human lymphocytes. All chemical compounds induced DNA breakage, in the presence or absence of the metabolic activation system, at the doses tested. The data showed that the DNA reactivity of the chemicals increased with increasing degree of halogenation. The results of the present work suggested that the comet assay might be a more suitable and sensitive screening method than the micronucleus test for this particular class of compound. However, both assays do detect different

  1. Origin of comets - implications for planetary formation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weissman, P.R.; Arizona Univ., Tucson)

    1985-01-01

    Primordial and episodic theories for the origin of comets are discussed. The implications of the former type for the origin of the solar system are considered. Candidate sites for the formation of comets are compared. The possible existence of a massive inner Oort cloud is discussed

  2. Asteroid Family Associations of Main-Belt Comets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsieh, Henry H.; Novakovic, Bojan; Kim, Yoonyoung; Brasser, Ramon

    2016-10-01

    We present a population-level analysis of the asteroid family associations of known main-belt comets or main-belt comet candidates (which, to date, have largely just been analyzed on individual bases as they have been discovered). In addition to family associations that have already been reported in the literature, we have identified dynamical relationships between 324P/La Sagra and the Alauda family, P/2015 X6 (PANSTARRS) and the Aeolia family, and P/2016 G1 (PANSTARRS) and the Adeona family. We will discuss the overall implications of these family associations, particularly as they pertain to the hypothesis that members of primitive asteroid family members may be more susceptible to producing observable sublimation-driven dust emission activity, and thus becoming main-belt comets. We will also discuss the significance of other dynamical and physical properties of a family or sub-family as they relate to the likelihood of that family containing one or more currently active main-belt comets.

  3. Learned modesty and the first lady's comet: a commentary on Caroline Herschel (1787) 'An account of a new comet'.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Winterburn, Emily

    2015-04-13

    Long before women were allowed to become Fellows of the Royal Society, or obtain university degrees, one woman managed to get her voice heard, her discovery verified and her achievement celebrated. That woman was Caroline Herschel, who, as this paper will discuss, managed to find ways to fit comet discoveries into her domestic life, and present them in ways that were socially acceptable. Caroline lived in a time when strict rules dictated how women (and men) should behave and present themselves and their work. Caroline understood these rules, and used them carefully as she announced each discovery, starting with this comet which she found in 1786. Caroline discovered her comets at a time when astronomers were mainly concerned with position, identifying where things were and how they were moving. Since her discoveries, research has moved on, as astronomers, using techniques from other fields, and most recently sending experiments into space, have learned more about what comets are and what they can tell us about our solar system. Caroline's paper marks one small, early step in this much bigger journey to understand comets. This commentary was written to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.

  4. The C-12/C-13 abundance ratio in Comet Halley

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wyckoff, S.; Lindholm, E.; Wehinger, P.A.; Peterson, B.A.; Zucconi, J.M.

    1989-01-01

    The individual (C-13)N rotational lines in Comet Halley are resolved using high-resolution spectra of the CN B2Sigma(+)-X2Sigma(+) (0,0) band. The observe C-12/C-13 abundance ratio excludes a site of origin for the comet near Uranus and Neptune and suggests a condensation environment quite distinct from other solar system bodies. Two theories are presented for the origin of Comet Halley. One theory suggest that the comet originated 4.5 Gyr ago in an inner Oort cloud at a heliocentric distance greater than 100 AU where chemical fractionation led to the C-13 enrichment in the CN parent molecule prior to condensation of the comet nucleus. According to the other, more plausible theory, the comet nucleus condensed relatively recently from the interstellar medium which has become enriches in C-13 and was subsequently gravitationally captured by the solar system. 107 refs

  5. Classifying and Analyzing 3d Cell Motion in Jammed Microgels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhattacharjee, Tapomoy; Sawyer, W. Gregory; Angelini, Thomas

    Soft granular polyelectrolyte microgels swell in liquid cell growth media to form a continuous elastic solid that can easily transition between solid to fluid state under a low shear stress. Such Liquid-like solids (LLS) have recently been used to create 3D cellular constructs as well as to support, culture and harvest cells in 3D. Current understanding of cell migration mechanics in 3D was established from experiments performed in natural and synthetic polymer networks. Spatial variation in network structure and the transience of degradable gels limit their usefulness in quantitative cell mechanics studies. By contrast, LLS growth media approximates a homogeneous continuum, enabling tractable cell mechanics measurements to be performed in 3D. Here, we introduce a process to understand and classify cytotoxic T cell motion in 3D by studying cellular motility in LLS media. General classification of T cell motion can be achieved with a very traditional statistical approach: the cell's mean squared displacement (MSD) as a function of delay time. We will also use Langevin approaches combined with the constitutive equations of the LLS medium to predict the statistics of T cell motion. National Science Foundation under Grant No. DMR-1352043.

  6. On the nature of the Halley comet

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dobrovol'skij, O.V.; Ioffe, Z.M.

    1987-01-01

    The results of study of the Halley comet by means of the ''Vega'', ''Suisej'', ''Sakigaki'' and ''Jotton'' space probes are presented in the popular form. The form and composition of the comet nucleus, its atmosphere and processes ocurring when moving in the near-the-solar space are described

  7. The exploration of Halley's comet - An example of international cooperation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahe, Jurgen H.; Newburn, Ray L., Jr.

    1987-01-01

    The history of international cooperation in studies of comets started with observations in 1577 and 1680, when Tycho Brahe and Newton, respectively, collected position measurements made in different countries to determine the paths of the comets observed. In the fall of 1979, a worldwide Comet Halley watch was proposed. As a result of international cooperation, Comet Halley was explored during its recent appearance from the ground, earth orbit, Venus orbit, interplanetary space, and from within the comet itself. The various activities in space were coordinated by the ESA, the USSR Intercosmos, the Japanese ISAS, and NASA, through the Inter-Agency Consultative Group. The activities of the ground-based observers were coordinated by the International Halley Watch.

  8. Dynamical evolution and disintegration of comets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kresak, L.

    1982-01-01

    Current concepts of the origin and evolution of comets are reviewed. The place of their formation from which they have been delivered into the Oort reservoir is still an open problem, but the region of the outermost planets appears most probable. The interplay of stellar and planetary perturbations can be traced by model computations which reveal both the general trends and the variety of individual evolutionary paths. The present structure of the system of comets is controlled by the dynamical evolution of its individual members limited by their physical aging by disintegration. Where the lifetimes are short, as in the Jupiter family of short-period comets, an equilibrium between elimination and replenishment is established. The role of different destructive processes and the resulting survival times are discussed. (Auth.)

  9. AKARI NEAR-INFRARED SPECTROSCOPIC SURVEY FOR CO2 IN 18 COMETS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ootsubo, Takafumi; Kawakita, Hideyo; Hamada, Saki; Kobayashi, Hitomi; Yamaguchi, Mitsuru; Usui, Fumihiko; Nakagawa, Takao; Ueno, Munetaka; Ishiguro, Masateru; Sekiguchi, Tomohiko; Watanabe, Jun-ichi; Sakon, Itsuki; Shimonishi, Takashi; Onaka, Takashi

    2012-01-01

    We conducted a spectroscopic survey of cometary volatiles with the Infrared Camera on board the Japanese infrared satellite AKARI in the wavelength range from 2.5 to 5 μm. In our survey, 18 comets, including both the Oort cloud comets and the Jupiter-family comets, were observed in the period from 2008 June to 2010 January, most of which were observed at least twice. The prominent emission bands in the observed spectra are the fundamental vibrational bands of water (H 2 O) at 2.7 μm and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) at 4.3 μm. The fundamental vibrational band of carbon monoxide (CO) around 4.7 μm and the broad emission feature, probably related to carbon-hydrogen-bearing molecules, can also be recognized around the 3.3-3.5-μm region in some of the comets. With respect to H 2 O, gas production rate ratios of CO 2 have been derived in 17 comets, except for the comet 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1. Our data set provides the largest homogeneous database of CO 2 /H 2 O production rate ratios in comets obtained so far. The CO 2 /H 2 O production rate ratios are considered to reflect the composition of cometary ice when a comet is observed at a heliocentric distance within ∼2.5 AU, since H 2 O ice fully sublimates there. The CO 2 /H 2 O ratio in cometary ice spans from several to ∼30% among the comets observed at 2 in the comets seems to be smaller than unity based on our observations, although we only obtain upper limits for CO in most of the comets.

  10. Biomedical applications of capillary electrophoresis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kartsova, L A; Bessonova, E A

    2015-01-01

    The review deals with modern analytical approaches used in capillary electrophoresis for solving medical and biological problems: search for biomarkers of various diseases and rapid diagnosis based on characteristic profiles of biologically active compounds by capillary electrophoresis with mass spectrometric detection; monitoring of the residual drugs in biological fluids for evaluating the efficiency of drug therapy; testing of the enantiomeric purity of pharmaceutical products; the use of novel materials as components of stationary and pseudo-stationary phases in capillary electrophoresis and capillary electrochromatography to increase the selectivity of separation of components of complex matrices; and identification of various on-line preconcentration techniques to reduce the detection limits of biologically active analytes. A topical trend in capillary electrophoresis required in clinical practice, viz., the design of microfluidic systems, is discussed. The bibliography includes 173 references

  11. MOLECULAR OXYGEN IN OORT CLOUD COMET 1P/HALLEY

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rubin, M.; Altwegg, K. [Physikalisches Institut, University of Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, CH-3012 Bern (Switzerland); Dishoeck, E. F. van [Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9513, 2300 RA Leiden (Netherlands); Schwehm, G. [ESA (retired) Science Operations Department, ESTEC, Keplerlaan 1, 2201 AZ Noordwijk (Netherlands)

    2015-12-10

    Recently, the ROSINA mass spectrometer suite on board the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft discovered an abundant amount of molecular oxygen, O{sub 2}, in the coma of Jupiter family comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko of O{sub 2}/H{sub 2}O = 3.80 ± 0.85%. It could be shown that O{sub 2} is indeed a parent species and that the derived abundances point to a primordial origin. Crucial questions are whether the O{sub 2} abundance is peculiar to comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko or Jupiter family comets in general, and also whether Oort cloud comets such as comet 1P/Halley contain similar amounts of molecular oxygen. We investigated mass spectra obtained by the Neutral Mass Spectrometer instrument during the flyby by the European Space Agency's Giotto probe of comet 1P/Halley. Our investigation indicates that a production rate of O{sub 2} of 3.7 ± 1.7% with respect to water is indeed compatible with the obtained Halley data and therefore that O{sub 2} might be a rather common and abundant parent species.

  12. Supramolecular gel electrophoresis of large DNA fragments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tazawa, Shohei; Kobayashi, Kazuhiro; Oyoshi, Takanori; Yamanaka, Masamichi

    2017-10-01

    Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis is a frequent technique used to separate exceptionally large DNA fragments. In a typical continuous field electrophoresis, it is challenging to separate DNA fragments larger than 20 kbp because they migrate at a comparable rate. To overcome this challenge, it is necessary to develop a novel matrix for the electrophoresis. Here, we describe the electrophoresis of large DNA fragments up to 166 kbp using a supramolecular gel matrix and a typical continuous field electrophoresis system. C 3 -symmetric tris-urea self-assembled into a supramolecular hydrogel in tris-boric acid-EDTA buffer, a typical buffer for DNA electrophoresis, and the supramolecular hydrogel was used as a matrix for electrophoresis to separate large DNA fragments. Three types of DNA marker, the λ-Hind III digest (2 to 23 kbp), Lambda DNA-Mono Cut Mix (10 to 49 kbp), and Marker 7 GT (10 to 165 kbp), were analyzed in this study. Large DNA fragments of greater than 100 kbp showed distinct mobility using a typical continuous field electrophoresis system. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  13. The Cutting Edge of Affinity Electrophoresis Technology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kinoshita, Eiji; Kinoshita-Kikuta, Emiko; Koike, Tohru

    2015-03-18

    Affinity electrophoresis is an important technique that is widely used to separate and analyze biomolecules in the fields of biology and medicine. Both quantitative and qualitative information can be gained through affinity electrophoresis. Affinity electrophoresis can be applied through a variety of strategies, such as mobility shift electrophoresis, charge shift electrophoresis or capillary affinity electrophoresis. These strategies are based on changes in the electrophoretic patterns of biological macromolecules that result from interactions or complex-formation processes that induce changes in the size or total charge of the molecules. Nucleic acid fragments can be characterized through their affinity to other molecules, for example transcriptional factor proteins. Hydrophobic membrane proteins can be identified by means of a shift in the mobility induced by a charged detergent. The various strategies have also been used in the estimation of association/disassociation constants. Some of these strategies have similarities to affinity chromatography, in that they use a probe or ligand immobilized on a supported matrix for electrophoresis. Such methods have recently contributed to profiling of major posttranslational modifications of proteins, such as glycosylation or phosphorylation. Here, we describe advances in analytical techniques involving affinity electrophoresis that have appeared during the last five years.

  14. Trajectories for spacecraft encounters with Comet Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova in 1996

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dunham, David W.; Jen, Shao-Chiang; Farquhar, Robert W.

    1989-01-01

    Early in 1996, the relatively bright short-period Comet Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova (HMP) will pass only 0.17 astronomical unit from the earth, providing both an unusually favorable apparition for ground-based observers and an opportunity for a spacecraft to reach Comet HMP on relatively low-energy trajectories. The Japanense Institute of Space and Astronautical Sciences Sakigake spacecraft is expected to fly by Comet HMP on February 3, 1996, after utilizing four earth swingbys to modify its orbit. If the camera on the ESA Giotto spacecraft is inoperable, Giotto may also be sent to Comet HMP. In addition, 1-year earth-return trajectories to Comet HMP are described, along with some that can be extended to encounter Comet Giacobini-Zinner in 1998.

  15. On the observed excess of retrograde orbits among long-period comets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fernandez, J.A.

    1981-01-01

    The distribution of orbital inclinations of the observed long-period comets is analysed. An excess of retrograde orbits is found which increases with the perihelion distance, except for the range 1.1 10 3 A U) has the same behaviour as the total sample. It is thus suggested that the excess of retrograde orbits among long-period comets is related to an already existent excess among the incoming new comets (i.e. comets driven into the planetary region by stellar perturbations). Using theoretical considerations and a numerical model it is proposed that an important fraction of the so-called new comets are actually repeating passages through the planetary region. Nearly a half of the new comets with q > 2 A U may be repeating passages. An important consequence of the presence of comets repeating passages among the new ones is the production of an excess of retrograde orbits in the whole sample. (author)

  16. On the relationship between gas and dust in 15 comets: an application to Comet 103P/Hartley 2 target of the NASA EPOXI mission of opportunity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanzovo, G. C.; Sanzovo, D. Trevisan; de Almeida, A. A.

    After the success of Deep Impact mission to hit the nucleus of Comet 9P/Tempel 1 with an impactor, the concerns are turned now to the possible reutilization of this dormant flyby spacecraft in the study of another comet, for only about 10% of the cost of the original mission. Comet 103P/Hartley 2 on UT 2010 October 11 is the most attractive target in terms of available fuel at rendezvous and arrival time at the comet. In addition, the comet has a low inclination so that major orbital plane changes in the spacecraft trajectory are unnecessary. In an effort to provide information concerning the planning of this new NASA EPOXI space mission of opportunity, we use in this work, visual magnitudes measurements available from International Comet Quarterly (ICQ) to obtain, applying the Semi-Empirical Method of Visual Magnitudes - SEMVM (de Almeida, Singh, & Huebner 1997), the water production rates (in molecules/s) related to its perihelion passage of 1997. When associated to the water vaporization theory of Delsemme (1982), these rates allowed the acquisition of the minimum dimension for the effective nuclear radius of the comet. The water production rates were then converted into gas production rates (in g/s) so that, with the help of the strong correlation between gas and dust found for 12 periodic comets and 3 non-period comets (Trevisan Sanzovo 2006), we obtained the dust loss rates (in g/s), its behavior with the heliocentric distance and the dust-to-gas ratios in this physically attractive rendezvous target-comet to Deep Impact spacecraft at a closest approach of 700 km.

  17. Research on pre-staining gel electrophoresis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhong Ruibo; Liu Yushuang; Zhang Ping; Liu Jingran; Zhao Guofen; Zhang Feng

    2014-01-01

    Background: Gel electrophoresis is a powerful biochemical separation technique. Most biological molecules are completely transparent in the visible region of light, so it is necessary to use staining to show the results after gel electrophoresis, and the general steps of conventional staining methods are time-consuming. Purpose: We try to develop a novel approach to simplify the gel electrophoresis: Pre-Staining Gel Electrophoresis (PSGE), which can make the gel electrophoresis results monitored in real time. Methods: Pre-stain the protein samples with Coomassie Brilliant Blue (CBB) for 30 min before loading the sample into the gel well. Results and Conclusion: PSGE can be successfully used to analyze the binding efficiency of Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) and amphiphilic polymer via chemical coupling and physical absorption, and the double PSGE also shows a great potential in bio-analytical chemistry. (authors)

  18. Halley comet position in structure of the comet origin general scheme

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Davydov, V.D.

    1988-01-01

    Attempt to explain data on the Halley comet nucleus figure by photographes received from space probes in 1986 was undertaken. Peanut-like nucleus might be formed from two bodies former system under specific conditions. This hypothesis preliminary development is made; solution way for the problem about quantitative characteristics of collision and destruction is found. Quantitative assessments confirm retention possibility of two space icebergs original form after their ''docking'' within relative velocity range up to a few meters per second. Then complex with visible saddle point between two jointed fragments is formed. The hypothesis suggested is well inscribed in the origin general scheme of comets with nucleus different types, and from general scheme one may draw up the most important details to this hypothesis (for example, power mechanism of binary system formation and reasons of its destabilization)

  19. The comet assay: ready for 30 more years.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Møller, Peter

    2018-02-24

    During the last 30 years, the comet assay has become widely used for the measurement of DNA damage and repair in cells and tissues. A landmark achievement was reached in 2016 when the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development adopted a comet assay guideline for in vivo testing of DNA strand breaks in animals. However, the comet assay has much more to offer than being an assay for testing DNA strand breaks in animal organs. The use of repair enzymes increases the range of DNA lesions that can be detected with the assay. It can also be modified to measure DNA repair activity. Still, despite the long-term use of the assay, there is a need for studies that assess the impact of variation in specific steps of the procedure. This is particularly important for the on-going efforts to decrease the variation between experiments and laboratories. The articles in this Special Issue of Mutagenesis cover important technical issues of the comet assay procedure, nanogenotoxicity and ionising radiation sensitivity on plant cells. The included biomonitoring studies have assessed seasonal variation and certain predictors for the basal level of DNA damage in white blood cells. Lastly, the comet assay has been used in studies on genotoxicity of environmental and occupational exposures in human biomonitoring studies and animal models. Overall, the articles in this Special Issue demonstrate the versatility of the comet assay and they hold promise that the assay is ready for the next 30 years.

  20. Comet Kohoutek, 1973-1974, A Teachers' Guide with Student Activities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chapman, Robert D.

    This teacher's guide provides background information, curriculum source materials, and suggested class activities for class discussion and study. Information related to the discovery of the comet is presented as well as photographic and schematic pictures showing the sky through which the comet travels. Historical data regarding comets of the past…

  1. An analysis of the BVRI colors of 22 active comets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Betzler, A. S.; Almeida, R. S.; Cerqueira, W. J.; Araujo, L. A.; Prazeres, C. J. M.; Jesus, J. N.; Bispo, P. A. S.; Andrade, V. B.; Freitas, Y. A. S.; Betzler, L. B. S.

    2017-08-01

    Our aim was to analyze the variation of Johnson-Kron-Cousins BVRI color indexes of a sample with 22 active comets of various dynamic groups with the time, geometrical, observational and dynamical parameters. We performed photometric observations of 16 comets between 2010 and 2014, using robotic telescopes in three continents. In addition to the sample, we used data of six comets available in the literature. A statistical comparison between the distributions of color indexes was performed using the Kruskal-Wallis H-test. The color indexes of active comets can vary a few tenths up to a magnitude on time scales that range from hours to weeks. Using the B-V colors of the observed comets, we generated a relationship that correlates the cometary visual and CCD magnitudes. We did not identify any relationship between B-V and V-R colors with heliocentric distance and phase angle. The color B-V is correlated with the photometric aperture that can be described by a logarithmic function. We did not identify any differences in the distribution of B-V color among the comets analyzed at a confidence level equal to or greater than 95%. The mean color of active comets are B-R = 1.20 ± 0.24 , B-V = 0.76 ± 0.16 and V-R = 0.42 ± 0.16 . Active comets with V-R colors outside the three standard deviation interval can be considered objects with unusual physical characteristics.

  2. The Rotation Temperature of Methanol in Comet 103P/Hartley 2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chuang, Yo-Ling; Kuan, Yi-Jehng; Milam, Stefanie; Charnley, Steven B.; Coulson, Iain M.

    2012-01-01

    Considered to be relics from Solar System formation, comets may provide the vital information connecting Solar Nebula and its parent molecular cloud. Study of chemical and physical properties of comets is thus important for our better understanding of the formation of Solar System. In addition, observing organic molecules in comets may provide clues fundamental to our knowledge on the formation of prebiotically important organic molecules in interstellar space, hence, may shed light on the origin of life on the early Earth. Comet 103PIHartley 2 was fIrst discovered in 1986 and had gone through apparitions in 1991, 1997, and 2004 with an orbital period of about 6 years, before its latest return in 2010. 2010 was also a special year for Comet 103PIHartley 2 because of the NASA EPOXI comet-flyby mission.

  3. Silicate emission feature in the spectrum of comet Mueller 1993a

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanner, Martha S.; Hackwell, John A.; Russell, Ray W.; Lynch, David K.

    1994-01-01

    An 8- to 13-micron spectrum of comet Mueller 1993a, a dynamically new comet, was acquired when the comet was at R = 2 AU. Strong, structured silicate emission is present, closely resembling that seen in Comet P/Halley at smaller R. For the first time in a new comet, the 11.2-micron peak of crystalline olivine was detected, demonstrating that crystalline olivine particles were widespread in the solar nebula. Crystalline olivine particles could have formed in the inner protosolar nebula at temperatures greater than 1200 K; extensive radial mixing would have been required to transport these grains to the region of comet formation. Either there was more radial mixing in the solar nebula than some current theories predict or the olivine grains have a presolar origin.

  4. The persistent coma of Comet P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jewitt, D.

    1990-01-01

    Time-series photometry of Comet P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 in both 1987 and 1988 shows that this comet is continually active despite its large heliocentric distance. The observed activity, upon which the famous outbursts of this comet are superposed, may be driven by the sublimation of crystalline water ice at the nucleus surface. A simple model which accounts for both the continuous activity and the sporadic outbursts is suggested. 34 refs

  5. The mass disruption of Jupiter Family comets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Belton, Michael J. S.

    2015-01-01

    I show that the size-distribution of small scattered-disk trans-neptunian objects when derived from the observed size-distribution of Jupiter Family comets (JFCs) and other observational constraints implies that a large percentage (94-97%) of newly arrived active comets within a range of 0.2-15.4 km effective radius must physically disrupt, i.e., macroscopically disintegrate, within their median dynamical lifetime. Additional observational constraints include the numbers of dormant and active nuclei in the near-Earth object (NEO) population and the slope of their size distributions. I show that the cumulative power-law slope (-2.86 to -3.15) of the scattered-disk TNO hot population between 0.2 and 15.4 km effective radius is only weakly dependent on the size-dependence of the otherwise unknown disruption mechanism. Evidently, as JFC nuclei from the scattered disk evolve into the inner Solar System only a fraction achieve dormancy while the vast majority of small nuclei (e.g., primarily those with effective radius <2 km) break-up. The percentage disruption rate appears to be comparable with that of the dynamically distinct Oort cloud and Halley type comets (Levison, H.F., Morbidelli, A., Dones, L., Jedicke, R., Wiegert, P.A., Bottke Jr., W.F. [2002]. Science 296, 2212-2215) suggesting that all types of comet nuclei may have similar structural characteristics even though they may have different source regions and thermal histories. The typical disruption rate for a 1 km radius active nucleus is ∼5 × 10-5 disruptions/year and the dormancy rate is typically 3 times less. We also estimate that average fragmentation rates range from 0.01 to 0.04 events/year/comet, somewhat above the lower limit of 0.01 events/year/comet observed by Chen and Jewitt (Chen, J., Jewitt, D.C. [1994]. Icarus 108, 265-271).

  6. Comet P/Machholtz and the Quadrantid meteor stream

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mcintosh, B.A.

    1990-01-01

    Attention is drawn to the suggestive similarities between the calculated perturbation behavior of Comet P/Machholtz 1986 VIII, on the one hand, and on the other those of the Quadrantid, Delta Aquarid, and Arietid meteor streams. There appears to be adequate evidence for the formation by the Comets P/Machholtz and 1491-I, together with the three meteor streams, of a related complex controlled by Jupiter's gravitational perturbations; there is no comparably compelling information, however, bearing on the questions of parent-offspring or sibling relationships among these comets and meteor streams. 13 refs

  7. The Cutting Edge of Affinity Electrophoresis Technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kinoshita, Eiji; Kinoshita-Kikuta, Emiko; Koike, Tohru

    2015-01-01

    Affinity electrophoresis is an important technique that is widely used to separate and analyze biomolecules in the fields of biology and medicine. Both quantitative and qualitative information can be gained through affinity electrophoresis. Affinity electrophoresis can be applied through a variety of strategies, such as mobility shift electrophoresis, charge shift electrophoresis or capillary affinity electrophoresis. These strategies are based on changes in the electrophoretic patterns of biological macromolecules that result from interactions or complex-formation processes that induce changes in the size or total charge of the molecules. Nucleic acid fragments can be characterized through their affinity to other molecules, for example transcriptional factor proteins. Hydrophobic membrane proteins can be identified by means of a shift in the mobility induced by a charged detergent. The various strategies have also been used in the estimation of association/disassociation constants. Some of these strategies have similarities to affinity chromatography, in that they use a probe or ligand immobilized on a supported matrix for electrophoresis. Such methods have recently contributed to profiling of major posttranslational modifications of proteins, such as glycosylation or phosphorylation. Here, we describe advances in analytical techniques involving affinity electrophoresis that have appeared during the last five years. PMID:28248262

  8. Plasma Waves Associated with Mass-Loaded Comets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsurutani, Bruce; Glassmeier, Karl-Heinz

    2015-01-01

    Plasma waves and instabilities are integrally involved with the plasma "pickup" process and the mass loading of the solar wind (thus the formation of ion tails and the magnetic tails). Anisotropic plasmas generated by solar wind-comet interactions (the bow shock, magnetic field pileup) cause the generation of plasma waves which in turn "smooth out" these discontinuities. The plasma waves evolve and form plasma turbulence. Comets are perhaps the best "laboratories" to study waves and turbulence because over time (and distance) one can identify the waves and their evolution. We will argue that comets in some ways are better laboratories than magnetospheres, interplanetary space and fusion devices to study nonlinear waves and their evolution.

  9. New Image of Comet Halley in the Cold

    Science.gov (United States)

    2003-09-01

    VLT Observes Famous Traveller at Record Distance Summary Seventeen years after the last passage of Comet Halley , the ESO Very Large Telescope at Paranal (Chile) has captured a unique image of this famous object as it cruises through the outer solar system. It is completely inactive in this cold environment. No other comet has ever been observed this far - 4200 million km from the Sun - or that faint - nearly 1000 million times fainter than what can be perceived with the unaided eye. This observation is a byproduct of a dedicated search [1] for small Trans-Neptunian Objects, a population of icy bodies of which more than 600 have been found during the past decade. PR Photo 27a/03 : VLT image (cleaned) of Comet Halley PR Photo 27b/03 : Sky field in which Comet Halley was observed PR Photo 27c/03 : Combined VLT image with star trails and Comet Halley The Halley image ESO PR Photo 27a/03 ESO PR Photo 27a/03 [Preview - JPEG: 546 x 400 pix - 207k] [Normal - JPEG: 1092 x 800 pix - 614k] [FullRes - JPEG: 1502 x 1100 pix - 1.1M] Caption : PR Photo 27a/03 shows the faint, star-like image of Comet Halley (centre), observed with the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT) at the Paranal Observatory on March 6-8, 2003. 81 individual exposures from three of the four 8.2-m VLT telescopes with a total exposure time of about 9 hours were combined to show the magnitude 28.2 object. At this time, Comet Halley was about 4200 million km from the Sun (28.06 AU) and 4080 million km (27.26 AU) from the Earth. All images of stars and galaxies in the field were removed during the extensive image processing needed to produce this unique image. Due to the remaining, unavoidable "background noise", it is best to view the comet image from some distance. The field measures 60 x 40 arcsec 2 ; North is up and East is left. Remember Comet Halley - the famous "haired star" that has been observed with great regularity - about once every 76 years - during more than two millennia? Which was visited by an

  10. Conducting polymer electrodes for gel electrophoresis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katarina Bengtsson

    Full Text Available In nearly all cases, electrophoresis in gels is driven via the electrolysis of water at the electrodes, where the process consumes water and produces electrochemical by-products. We have previously demonstrated that π-conjugated polymers such as poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (PEDOT can be placed between traditional metal electrodes and an electrolyte to mitigate electrolysis in liquid (capillary electroosmosis/electrophoresis systems. In this report, we extend our previous result to gel electrophoresis, and show that electrodes containing PEDOT can be used with a commercial polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis system with minimal impact to the resulting gel image or the ionic transport measured during a separation.

  11. Conducting polymer electrodes for gel electrophoresis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bengtsson, Katarina; Nilsson, Sara; Robinson, Nathaniel D

    2014-01-01

    In nearly all cases, electrophoresis in gels is driven via the electrolysis of water at the electrodes, where the process consumes water and produces electrochemical by-products. We have previously demonstrated that π-conjugated polymers such as poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) can be placed between traditional metal electrodes and an electrolyte to mitigate electrolysis in liquid (capillary electroosmosis/electrophoresis) systems. In this report, we extend our previous result to gel electrophoresis, and show that electrodes containing PEDOT can be used with a commercial polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis system with minimal impact to the resulting gel image or the ionic transport measured during a separation.

  12. Results from the UMD physical properties of comets survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lisse, Carey M.; A'Hearn, Michael F.; Fernandez, Yanga R.

    2005-01-01

    We report on an ongoing statistical study of the emitted dust and exposed nuclei of a survey of the brightest near-Earth comets over the last 13 years. Combined thermal infrared and optical observations are analyzed using dynamical spectral and morphological coma models [123] to update and improve dust emission rates [4] and nucleus size estimates [5]. Using these results we show that 1) there is more than enough dust emitted from short period comets into bound solar system orbits to create and support the current interplanetary dust cloud (IPD); 2) that a population of dormant or extinct comets in the solar system is quite plausible; and 3) that the lifetime versus sublimation for the short period comets is much longer than their dynamical lifetime. [1] C.M. Lisse et al. (1998) Ap J 496 971. [2] C.M. Lisse et al. (1999) Icarus 140 189. [3] Y.R. Fernandez et al. (2000) Icarus 147 145 [4] L. Kresak and M. Kresakova (1987) in Symposium on Diversity and Similarity of Comets ESA SP-278 739 [5] D.C.Jewitt (1991) in Comets in the Post-Halley Era (R.L. Newburn M. Neugebauer and J. Rahe Eds.) Kluwer Academic Dordecht 19.

  13. Physical Mechanism of Comet Outbursts: The Movie

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hartmann, William K.

    2014-11-01

    During experiments conducted in 1976 at the NASA Ames Research Center’s Vertical Gun Facility (VGF), the author studied low velocity impacts into simulated regolith powders and gravels, in order to examine physics of low-velocity collisions during early solar system planetesimal formation. In one “accidental” experiment, the bucket of powder remained gas-charged during evacuation of the VGF vacuum chamber. The impactor, moving at 5.5 m/s, disturbed the surface, initiating eruptions of dust-charged gas, shooting in jets from multiple vents at speeds up to about 3 m/s, with sporadic venting until 17 seconds after the impact. This experiment was described in [1], which concluded that it simulated comet eruption phenomena. In this hypothesis, a comet nucleus develops a lag deposit of regolith in at least some regions. At a certain distance from the sun, the thermal wave penetrates to an ice-rich depth, causing sublimation. Gas rises into the regolith, collects in pore spaces, and creates a gas-charged powder, as in our experiment. Any surface disturbance, such as a meteoroid, may initiate a temporary eruption, or eventually the gas pressure becomes sufficient to blow off the overburden. Our observed ejection speed would be sufficient to launch dust off of a kilometer-scale comet nucleus.Film (100 frames/s) of the event was obtained, but was partially torn up in a projector. It has recently been reconstituted (Centric Photo Labs, Tucson) and dramatically illustrates various cometary phenomena. Parabolic curtains of erupted material resemble curtains of material photographed from earth in real comet comas, “falling back” under solar wind forces. In retrospect, the mechanism photographed here helps explain:*sporadic eruptions in Comet P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 (near-circular orbit at ~6 A.U., where repeated recharge may occur).*sporadic eruptions on “asteroid” 2060 Chiron (which stays beyond 8.5 A.U.). *the thicker dust curtain (and longer eruption?) than

  14. Competitive Memory Training (COMET) for OCD: a self-treatment approach to obsessions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Brooke C; Wittekind, Charlotte E; Talhof, Alina; Korrelboom, Kees; Moritz, Steffen

    2015-01-01

    Competitive Memory Training (COMET) is a cognitive intervention that aims to change the maladaptive cognitive-emotional networks underlying obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). COMET has not been previously tried as a self-help intervention. The present study tested the preliminary feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of COMET for OCD implemented as a self-help intervention. Sixty-five participants with OCD recruited through online OCD self-help fora completed an online baseline assessment including measures of OCD symptoms, self-esteem, and depression. Participants were randomly assigned to either COMET or a wait-list control group. All participants were approached 4 weeks later to complete an online post-assessment. There was no evidence for a greater decline of OCD symptoms or depression under COMET. When analyses were limited to only those participants who reported reading the entire manual at least once, self-esteem was higher at post-assessment in the COMET group. Although 78.1% of patients in the COMET group rated it as appropriate for self-administration, only 56.5% performed COMET exercises regularly and 26.4% read the entire manual at least once. The feasibility and effectiveness of COMET as a self-help internet intervention for OCD was not supported in this study. Further work is needed to better understand if modifications to our implementation of COMET may yield improved outcomes.

  15. Recommendations for safety testing with the in vivo comet assay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vasquez, Marie Z

    2012-08-30

    While the in vivo comet assay increases its role in regulatory safety testing, deliberations about the interpretation of comet data continue. Concerns can arise regarding comet assay publications with limited data from non-blind testing of positive control compounds and using protocols (e.g. dose concentrations, sample times, and tissues) known to give an expected effect. There may be a tendency towards bias when the validation or interpretation of comet assay data is based on results generated by widely accepted but non-validated assays. The greatest advantages of the comet assay are its sensitivity and its ability to detect genotoxicity in tissues and at sample times that could not previously be evaluated. Guidelines for its use and interpretation in safety testing should take these factors into account. Guidelines should be derived from objective review of data generated by blind testing of unknown compounds dosed at non-toxic concentrations and evaluated in a true safety-testing environment, where the experimental design and conclusions must be defensible. However, positive in vivo comet findings with such compounds are rarely submitted to regulatory agencies and this data is typically unavailable for publication due to its proprietary nature. To enhance the development of guidelines for safety testing with the comet assay, and with the permission of several sponsors, this paper presents and discusses relevant data from multiple GLP comet studies conducted blind, with unknown pharmaceuticals and consumer products. Based on these data and the lessons we have learned through the course of conducting these studies, I suggest significant adjustments to the current conventions, and I provide recommendations for interpreting in vivo comet assay results in situations where risk must be evaluated in the absence of carcinogenicity or clinical data. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Improved orbits of two periodic comets: Tsuchinshan 1 and Tsuchinshan 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Szutowicz, S.

    1986-01-01

    The observations made during four apparitions of two comets were collected and the orbits of the comets were improved; 86 observations of Comet Tsuchinshan 1 and 50 observations of Comet Tsuchinshan 2 made in the period 1965-1985 were used. The orbit of Comet Tsuchinshan 1 was improved taking into account nongravitational effects in its motion as well as a displacement of the photometric center from the center of mass. The following values of nongravitational parameters and of observational parameter D were obtained: A 1 = 0.75953 x 10 -8 , A 2 0.00375 x 10 -8 , D = 0.34698 x 10 -3 . To link all observations of Comet Tsuchinshan 2 by one system of elements it was sufficient to add observational effects as a displacement of the photometric center from the center of mass. The following value of parameter D was obtained: D = 1.00200 x 10 -3 . The equations of motion of both comets were integrated backwards and forwards till 1992. Ephemerides for their next returns were computed. 6 refs., 5 tabs. (author)

  17. Comets Nature, Dynamics, Origin, and their Cosmogonical Relevance

    CERN Document Server

    Fernández, Julio Angel

    2005-01-01

    The book covers the most recent ideas about the nature and dynamics of comets, including a thorough discussion on Oort cloud dynamics which has not received due attention in other books on the subject. It also discusses the most relevant aspects of the physics and chemistry of comet nuclei, highlighting their importance as relics of the protoplanetary disk and, perhaps, as carriers of water and organics that permitted the development of life on Earth. The book contains several tables with useful data, and an ample bibliography covering the most recent work as well as some historical key contributions to the subject. It may be suitable as a textbook for graduate students with some basic knowledge of celestial mechanics and astrophysics, as well as a consult book for comet researchers, or researchers from other related fields willing to start working on comets, or get an updated view of the subject.

  18. Electrostatic Self-Assembly of Au Nanoparticles onto Thermosensitive Magnetic Core-Shell Microgels for Thermally Tunable and Magnetically Recyclable Catalysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Guoqiang; Wang, Daoai; Zhou, Feng; Liu, Weimin

    2015-06-01

    A facile route to fabricate a nanocomposite of Fe3O4@poly[N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM)-co-2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA)]@Au (Fe3O4@PND@Au) is developed for magnetically recyclable and thermally tunable catalysis. The negatively charged Au nanoparticles with an average diameter of 10 nm are homogeneously loaded onto positively charged thermoresponsive magnetic core-shell microgels of Fe3O4@poly(NIPAM-co-DMAEMA) (Fe3O4@PND) through electrostatic self-assembly. This type of attachment offers perspectives for using charged polymeric shell on a broad variety of nanoparticles to immobilize the opposite-charged nanoparticles. The thermosensitive PND shell with swollen or collapsed properties can be as a retractable Au carrier, thereby tuning the aggregation or dispersion of Au nanoparticles, which leads to an increase or decrease of catalytic activity. Therefore, the catalytic activity of Fe3O4@PND@Au can be modulated by the volume transition of thermosensitive microgel shells. Importantly, the mode of tuning the aggregation or dispersion of Au nanoparticles using a thermosensitive carrier offers a novel strategy to adjust and control the catalytic activity, which is completely different with the traditional regulation mode of controlling the diffusion of reactants toward the catalytic Au core using the thermosensitive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) network as a nanogate. Concurrent with the thermally tunable catalysis, the magnetic susceptibility of magnetic cores enables the Fe3O4@PND@Au nanocomposites to be capable of serving as smart nanoreactors for thermally tunable and magnetically recyclable catalysis. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  19. AKARI NEAR-INFRARED SPECTROSCOPIC SURVEY FOR CO{sub 2} IN 18 COMETS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ootsubo, Takafumi [Astronomical Institute, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8578 (Japan); Kawakita, Hideyo; Hamada, Saki; Kobayashi, Hitomi; Yamaguchi, Mitsuru [Koyama Astronomical Observatory, Kyoto Sangyo University, Motoyama, Kamigamo, Kita-Ku, Kyoto 603-8555 (Japan); Usui, Fumihiko; Nakagawa, Takao; Ueno, Munetaka [Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, 3-1-1 Yoshinodai, Chuo-ku, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-5210 (Japan); Ishiguro, Masateru [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Seoul National University, 599 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 151-742 (Korea, Republic of); Sekiguchi, Tomohiko [Department of Teacher Training, Hokkaido University of Education, Asahikawa Campus, Hokumon 9, Asahikawa, Hokkaido 070-8621 (Japan); Watanabe, Jun-ichi [National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588 (Japan); Sakon, Itsuki; Shimonishi, Takashi; Onaka, Takashi, E-mail: ootsubo@astr.tohoku.ac.jp [Department of Astronomy, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan)

    2012-06-10

    We conducted a spectroscopic survey of cometary volatiles with the Infrared Camera on board the Japanese infrared satellite AKARI in the wavelength range from 2.5 to 5 {mu}m. In our survey, 18 comets, including both the Oort cloud comets and the Jupiter-family comets, were observed in the period from 2008 June to 2010 January, most of which were observed at least twice. The prominent emission bands in the observed spectra are the fundamental vibrational bands of water (H{sub 2}O) at 2.7 {mu}m and carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) at 4.3 {mu}m. The fundamental vibrational band of carbon monoxide (CO) around 4.7 {mu}m and the broad emission feature, probably related to carbon-hydrogen-bearing molecules, can also be recognized around the 3.3-3.5-{mu}m region in some of the comets. With respect to H{sub 2}O, gas production rate ratios of CO{sub 2} have been derived in 17 comets, except for the comet 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1. Our data set provides the largest homogeneous database of CO{sub 2}/H{sub 2}O production rate ratios in comets obtained so far. The CO{sub 2}/H{sub 2}O production rate ratios are considered to reflect the composition of cometary ice when a comet is observed at a heliocentric distance within {approx}2.5 AU, since H{sub 2}O ice fully sublimates there. The CO{sub 2}/H{sub 2}O ratio in cometary ice spans from several to {approx}30% among the comets observed at <2.5 AU (13 out of the 17 comets). Alternatively, the ratio of CO/CO{sub 2} in the comets seems to be smaller than unity based on our observations, although we only obtain upper limits for CO in most of the comets.

  20. CINE: Comet INfrared Excitation

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Val-Borro, Miguel; Cordiner, Martin A.; Milam, Stefanie N.; Charnley, Steven B.

    2017-08-01

    CINE calculates infrared pumping efficiencies that can be applied to the most common molecules found in cometary comae such as water, hydrogen cyanide or methanol. One of the main mechanisms for molecular excitation in comets is the fluorescence by the solar radiation followed by radiative decay to the ground vibrational state. This command-line tool calculates the effective pumping rates for rotational levels in the ground vibrational state scaled by the heliocentric distance of the comet. Fluorescence coefficients are useful for modeling rotational emission lines observed in cometary spectra at sub-millimeter wavelengths. Combined with computational methods to solve the radiative transfer equations based, e.g., on the Monte Carlo algorithm, this model can retrieve production rates and rotational temperatures from the observed emission spectrum.

  1. Spiral arms, comets and terrestrial catastrophism

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clube, S.V.M.; Napier, W.M.

    1982-01-01

    A review is presented of an hypothesis of terrestrial catastrophism in which comets grow in molecular clouds and are captured by the Sun as it passes through the spiral arms of the Galaxy. Assuming that comets are a major supplier of the Earth-crossing (Appollo) asteroid population, the latter fluctuates correspondingly and leads to episodes of terrestrial bombardment. Changes in the rotational momentum of core and mantle, generated by impacts, lead to episodes of magnetic field reversal and tectonic activity, while surface phenomena lead to ice-ages and mass extinctions. An episodic geophysical history with an interstellar connection is thus implied. If comets in spiral arms are necessary intermediaries in the process of star formation, the theory also has implications relating to early solar system history and galactic chemistry. These aspects are briefly discussed with special reference to the nature of spiral arms. (author)

  2. Mission to a comet that could save earth

    CERN Multimedia

    Utton, T

    2003-01-01

    Scientists are going to attempt to land a probe on the comet Wirtanen. The GBP640million unmanned craft will travel four billion miles before catching up with the comet Wirtanen and launching a robotic lander called Rosetta, on to its surface (1/2 page).

  3. Baseline values of micronuclei and comet assay in the lizard Tupinambis merianae (Teiidae, Squamata).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schaumburg, Laura G; Poletta, Gisela L; Siroski, Pablo A; Mudry, Marta D

    2012-10-01

    The Micronucleus test (MN) and Comet assay (CA) are currently the most widely used methods that allow the characterization of DNA damage induced by physical and chemical agents in wild species. The continuous expansion of the cultivated areas in Argentina, since the introduction of transgenic crops, mainly soy, in association with the increased use of pesticides, transformed deeply the natural environments where the lizard Tupinambis merianae (tegu lizard) occurs. Despite the fact that reptiles have shown to be excellent bioindicators of environmental contaminants, there is no record of genotoxicity studies in T. merianae. The aim of the present study was to adjust the MN test and CA protocols to be applied in erythrocytes of T. merianae, and determine the baseline values of DNA damage in this species. We used 20 adult lizards (10 males: 10 females) from Estación Zoológica Experimental "Granja La Esmeralda" (Santa Fe, Argentina). Peripheral blood samples were collected from all animals and the MN test and CA applied according to the protocols established for other reptilian species. We test critical parameters of CA protocol (cell density, unwinding and electrophoresis times) using increasing concentrations of H2O2 (10, 25 and 50 μM) as a known genotoxic agent to induce DNA damage. Based on this, we determined the most suitable conditions for the CA in this species: a cell density of 4×10(3) erythrocytes per slide, 10 min of unwinding and 15 min of electrophoresis at 0.90 V/cm approximately. The baseline frequency of micronuclei (BFMN=MN/1000 erythrocytes counted) determined for this species was 0.95±0.27 and the basal damage index (BDI: calculated from 100 comet images classified in arbitrary units)=103.85±0.97. No differences were observed between sexes in the BFMN or BDI (p>0.05), and no relation was found between baseline values and length or weight of the analyzed animals (p>0.05). These results demonstrated the sensitivity of both biomarkers of

  4. Terrestrial cometary tail and lunar corona induced by small comets: Predictions for Galileo

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dessler, A.J.; Sandel, B.R.; Vasyliunas, V.M.

    1990-01-01

    A search for small comets near 1 AU is an objective of the Galileo mission. If small comets are as numerous and behave as has been proposed, two near-Earth signatures of small comets should be observable by the UVS experiment on the Earth flybys of Galileo; (1) a comet-like tail of Earth created by small comets that come close to Earth, break up and vaporize, but just miss the atmosphere and proceed back into interplanetary space, and (2) a corona surrounding the Moon induced by lunar impact of small comets

  5. Infrared imaging and photometry of Comet Giacobini-Zinner

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Campins, H.

    1986-01-01

    Infrared images and photometry were obtained to determine the spatial distribution and physical characteristics (temperature, albedo, size distribution, total mass, etc.) of the grains in the coma of Comet GZ. A 10.8 m image of Comet GZ obtained on August 4 represents the first ground-based thermal-infrared image of a Comet. Among the most significant results are: (1) an estimate of the number of grains that the ICE spacecraft must have encountered, which led the plasma wave team to conclude that they could only detect impacts on the antennae and not on the whole body of the ICE spacecraft; (2) the discovery of a population of large grains (radius > 100 micrometer), not observed in most other comets, which formed a curved tail near the nucleus (within 80 arcsec or 34,000 km); and (3) the detection of structure in the spatial distribution in the coma of the particle albedo, which was tentatively attributed to the presence of very fluffy grains which are likely to have multiple internal scattering of incident sunlight. The albedo map of Comet GZ was obtained by combining the 10.8 micrometer image shown with a simultaneous image taken at 0.68 micrometer, a bandpass which isolates the scattered continuum

  6. Catastrophic disruptions as the origin of bilobate comets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwartz, Stephen R.; Michel, Patrick; Jutzi, Martin; Marchi, Simone; Zhang, Yun; Richardson, Derek C.

    2018-05-01

    Several comets observed at close range have bilobate shapes1, including comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P/C-G), which was imaged by the European Space Agency's Rosetta mission2,3. Bilobate comets are thought to be primordial because they are rich in supervolatiles (for example, N2 and CO) and have a low bulk density, which implies that their formation requires a very low-speed accretion of two bodies. However, slow accretion does not only occur during the primordial phase of the Solar System; it can also occur at later epochs as part of the reaccumulation process resulting from the collisional disruption of a larger body4, so this cannot directly constrain the age of bilobate comets. Here, we show by numerical simulation that 67P/C-G and other elongated or bilobate comets can be formed in the wake of catastrophic collisional disruptions of larger bodies while maintaining their volatiles and low density throughout the process. Since this process can occur at any epoch of our Solar System's history, from early on through to the present day5, there is no need for these objects to be formed primordially. These findings indicate that observed prominent geological features, such as pits and stratified surface layers4,5, may not be primordial.

  7. A buccal cell model comet assay: Development and evaluation for human biomonitoring and nutritional studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Szeto, Y.T.; Benzie, I.F.F.; Collins, A.R.; Choi, S.W.; Cheng, C.Y.; Yow, C.M.N.; Tse, M.M.Y.

    2005-01-01

    The comet assay is a widely used biomonitoring tool for DNA damage. The most commonly used cells in human studies are lymphocytes. There is an urgent need to find an alternative target human cell that can be collected from normal subjects with minimal invasion. There are some reports of buccal cells, collected easily from the inside of the mouth, being used in studies of DNA damage and repair, and these were of interest. However, our preliminary studies following the published protocol showed that buccal cells sustained massive damage and disintegrated at the high pH [O. Ostling, K.J. Johanson. Microelectrophoretic study of radiation-induced DNA damages in individual mammalian cells. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 123 (1984) 291-298] used, but that at lower pH were extremely resistant to lysis, an essential step in the comet assay. Therefore, the aims of this study were to develop a protocol than enabled buccal cell lysis and DNA damage testing in the comet assay, and to use the model to evaluate the potential use of the buccal cell model in human biomonitoring and nutritional study. Specifically, we aimed to investigate intra- and inter-individual differences in buccal cell DNA damage (as strand breaks), the effect of in vitro exposure to both a standard oxidant challenge and antioxidant treatment, as well as in situ exposure to an antioxidant-rich beverage and supplementation-related effects using a carotenoid-rich food. Successful lysis was achieved using 0.25% trypsin for 30 min followed by proteinase K (1 mg/ml) treatment for 60 min. When this procedure was performed on cells pre-embedded in agarose on a microscope slide, followed by electrophoresis (in 0.01 M NaOH, 1 mM EDTA, pH 9.1, 18 min at 12 V), a satisfactory comet image was obtained, though inter-individual variation was quite wide. Pre-lysis exposure of cells to a standard oxidant challenge (induced by H 2 O 2 ) increased DNA strand breaks in a dose related manner, and incubation of cells in Trolox

  8. A buccal cell model comet assay: Development and evaluation for human biomonitoring and nutritional studies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Szeto, Y.T. [Department of Health Technology and Informatics, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong (China); School of Health Sciences, Macao Polytechnic Institute, Macao (China); Benzie, I.F.F. [Department of Health Technology and Informatics, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong (China)]. E-mail: iris.benzie@inet.polyu.edu.hk; Collins, A.R. [Department of Nutrition, University of Oslo, Oslo (Norway); Choi, S.W. [Department of Health Technology and Informatics, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong (China); Cheng, C.Y. [Department of Health Technology and Informatics, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong (China); Yow, C.M.N. [Department of Health Technology and Informatics, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong (China); Tse, M.M.Y. [School of Nursing, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong (China)

    2005-10-15

    The comet assay is a widely used biomonitoring tool for DNA damage. The most commonly used cells in human studies are lymphocytes. There is an urgent need to find an alternative target human cell that can be collected from normal subjects with minimal invasion. There are some reports of buccal cells, collected easily from the inside of the mouth, being used in studies of DNA damage and repair, and these were of interest. However, our preliminary studies following the published protocol showed that buccal cells sustained massive damage and disintegrated at the high pH [O. Ostling, K.J. Johanson. Microelectrophoretic study of radiation-induced DNA damages in individual mammalian cells. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 123 (1984) 291-298] used, but that at lower pH were extremely resistant to lysis, an essential step in the comet assay. Therefore, the aims of this study were to develop a protocol than enabled buccal cell lysis and DNA damage testing in the comet assay, and to use the model to evaluate the potential use of the buccal cell model in human biomonitoring and nutritional study. Specifically, we aimed to investigate intra- and inter-individual differences in buccal cell DNA damage (as strand breaks), the effect of in vitro exposure to both a standard oxidant challenge and antioxidant treatment, as well as in situ exposure to an antioxidant-rich beverage and supplementation-related effects using a carotenoid-rich food. Successful lysis was achieved using 0.25% trypsin for 30 min followed by proteinase K (1 mg/ml) treatment for 60 min. When this procedure was performed on cells pre-embedded in agarose on a microscope slide, followed by electrophoresis (in 0.01 M NaOH, 1 mM EDTA, pH 9.1, 18 min at 12 V), a satisfactory comet image was obtained, though inter-individual variation was quite wide. Pre-lysis exposure of cells to a standard oxidant challenge (induced by H{sub 2}O{sub 2}) increased DNA strand breaks in a dose related manner, and incubation of cells in

  9. Comet mission hopes to uncover Earth's origins

    CERN Multimedia

    Henderson, M

    2004-01-01

    "A European spacecraft that will hunt down a comet in search of clues to the origin of life on Earth will blast off tomorrow from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana. The Rosetta probe will take 12 years to catch up with Churyumov-Gerasimenko before becoming the first spacecraft to make a soft, controlled landing on a comet's nucleus" (1 page).

  10. Dynamics of comets: their origin and evolution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carusi, A.; Valsecchi, G.B.

    1985-01-01

    Comets can be considered as remnants of the original population of planetesimals and the study of their origin and dynamical histories can provide insight into the accretion phenomena; the original mass, energy and angular momentum distribution across the solar system; the collisional fragmentation of minor bodies; the impact rates on planets and the nature of impacting bodies. The interaction of comets with other solar system bodies certainly provides one of the best possibilities for a deeper understanding of the dynamics of the whole system, and a challenging test for all theories of celestial mechanics dealing with the gravitational behaviour of multiple-body systems. Comets could also be considered as the last footprints left by the interaction of the protosun and its original galactic environment. (orig.)

  11. Comet Hyakutake to Approach the Earth in Late March 1996

    Science.gov (United States)

    1996-03-01

    Astronomers Prepare for a Rare Event In the early morning of January 31, 1996, Japanese amateur astronomer Yuji Hyakutake made his second comet discovery within five weeks. He found the new comet near the border between the southern constellations of Hydra (The Water-Snake) and Libra (The Scales), amazingly just three degrees from the position where he detected another comet on December 26, 1995. After two weeks of hectic activity among amateur and professional astronomers all over the world, much interesting information has now been gathered about the new comet which has been designated C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake) . In particular, it has been found to move in a near-parabolic orbit that will bring it unusually close to the Earth next month. It is then expected to become bright enough to be seen with the unaided eye and to remain so during several weeks thereafter. Preparations are now made to observe the celestial visitor with a large number of telescopes, on the ground and in space. This event offers a rare opportunity to study the immediate surroundings of a cometary nucleus in detail and the specialists intend to make the most of it. Discovery and orbit Yuji Hyakutake, of profession photoengraver and a well-known amateur astronomer, announced his new discovery without delay, and within 24 hours, it had been sighted by several other observers in Japan and Australia. Experienced comet-watchers described its appearance as `diffuse with central condensation and of magnitude 11-12', i.e. a little more than 100 times fainter than what can be seen with the unaided eye. This brightness is not unusual for a comet discovered by an amateur, although it would probably have been missed, had it been just a little fainter. In the present case, the decisive factors for Hyakutake's success were undoubtedly his very powerful equipment (25 x 150 binoculars) and the advantageous combination of the comet's southern position in the sky and his location in Kagoshima, the southernmost

  12. The Science of Sungrazers, Sunskirters, and Other Near-Sun Comets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Geraint H.; Knight, Matthew M.; Battams, Karl; Boice, Daniel C.; Brown, John; Giordano, Silvio; Raymond, John; Snodgrass, Colin; Steckloff, Jordan K.; Weissman, Paul; Fitzsimmons, Alan; Lisse, Carey; Opitom, Cyrielle; Birkett, Kimberley S.; Bzowski, Maciej; Decock, Alice; Mann, Ingrid; Ramanjooloo, Yudish; McCauley, Patrick

    2018-02-01

    This review addresses our current understanding of comets that venture close to the Sun, and are hence exposed to much more extreme conditions than comets that are typically studied from Earth. The extreme solar heating and plasma environments that these objects encounter change many aspects of their behaviour, thus yielding valuable information on both the comets themselves that complements other data we have on primitive solar system bodies, as well as on the near-solar environment which they traverse. We propose clear definitions for these comets: We use the term near-Sun comets to encompass all objects that pass sunward of the perihelion distance of planet Mercury (0.307 AU). Sunskirters are defined as objects that pass within 33 solar radii of the Sun's centre, equal to half of Mercury's perihelion distance, and the commonly-used phrase sungrazers to be objects that reach perihelion within 3.45 solar radii, i.e. the fluid Roche limit. Finally, comets with orbits that intersect the solar photosphere are termed sundivers. We summarize past studies of these objects, as well as the instruments and facilities used to study them, including space-based platforms that have led to a recent revolution in the quantity and quality of relevant observations. Relevant comet populations are described, including the Kreutz, Marsden, Kracht, and Meyer groups, near-Sun asteroids, and a brief discussion of their origins. The importance of light curves and the clues they provide on cometary composition are emphasized, together with what information has been gleaned about nucleus parameters, including the sizes and masses of objects and their families, and their tensile strengths. The physical processes occurring at these objects are considered in some detail, including the disruption of nuclei, sublimation, and ionisation, and we consider the mass, momentum, and energy loss of comets in the corona and those that venture to lower altitudes. The different components of comae and

  13. COMET concept

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alsmeyer, H.; Tromm, W.

    1995-01-01

    Studies of the COMET core catcher concept developed for a future PWR have been continued. The concept is based on the spreading of a core melt on a sacrificial layer and its erosion, until a subsequent addition of water from below causes a fragmentation of the melt. A porous solidification of the melt would then admit a complete flooding within a short period. (orig.)

  14. Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in type-1 comet tails and associated phenomena

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ershkovich, A.I.

    1980-01-01

    Selected problems of the solar wind - comet tail coupling that are currently accessible to quantitative analysis are reviewed. The model of a comet tail as a plasma cylinder separated by a tangential discontinuity surface from the solar wind is discussed in detail. This model is compatible with the well-known Alfven mechanism of formation of the comet tail. The stability problem of the comet tail boundary (considered as a discontinuity surface) is solved. Under typical conditions a comet tail boundary can undergo the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. With finite amplitude the stabilizing effect of the magnetic field increases, and waves become stabilized. This model supplies a detailed quantitative description of helical waves observed in type-1 comet tails. A more general model of the tail boundary as a transition layer with a continuous change of the plasma parameters within it is also considered. This theory, in principle, enables us to solve one of the fundamental problems of cometary physics: the magnetic field of the comet tail can be derived from the observations of helical waves. This field turns out to be of the order of the interplanetary field. Various other considerations, discussed in this review also support this conclusion. (orig.)

  15. On the formation of meteor showers of comet Halley

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Babadzhanov, P.B.; Obrubov, J.V.; Pushkarev, A.N.; Hajduk, A.

    1987-01-01

    The orbits of test particles ejected from the nucleus of Halley comet at its perihelion passage in 1910 with different velocities are studied for the next three passages of the comet up to 2134 taking into consideration perturbations from all planets. Some characteristics of the stream formation are presented. The calculations show that the return of the comet to its perihelion cannot produce an immediate influence on the activity of its meteor showers. (author). 2 figs., 1 tab., 13 refs

  16. Prediction of the return of Comet P/Grigg-Skjellerup in 1987

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sitarski, G.

    1986-01-01

    Using 82 observations made in the period 1966-1982 during the last four apparitions of the comet, the corrections of orbital elements were determined together with nongravitational parameters A 1 , A 2 and with a parameter D of a displacement of the photometric center from the center of mass of the comet. It was found that a value of the secular acceleration diminished in comparison with such a value before the close approach of the comet Jupiter in 1964; the nongravitational parameters of Style 2 in Marsden's notation now are: A 1 = +0.0371, A 2 = +0.008. To make the best prediction of the comet's return in 1987, the orbit was improved using 67 observations from the last two apparitions of the comet in 1977 and 1982, and taking the constant values of A 1 , A 2 as determined earlier; basing on the latter orbit the ephemeris of the comet for 1987 was computed. 3 refs., 2 tabs. (author)

  17. COMET Multimedia modules and objects in the digital library system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spangler, T. C.; Lamos, J. P.

    2003-12-01

    Over the past ten years of developing Web- and CD-ROM-based training materials, the Cooperative Program for Operational Meteorology, Education and Training (COMET) has created a unique archive of almost 10,000 multimedia objects and some 50 web based interactive multimedia modules on various aspects of weather and weather forecasting. These objects and modules, containing illustrations, photographs, animations,video sequences, audio files, are potentially a valuable resource for university faculty and students, forecasters, emergency managers, public school educators, and other individuals and groups needing such materials for educational use. The COMET Modules are available on the COMET educational web site http://www.meted.ucar.edu, and the COMET Multimedia Database (MMDB) makes a collection of the multimedia objects available in a searchable online database for viewing and download over the Internet. Some 3200 objects are already available at the MMDB Website: http://archive.comet.ucar.edu/moria/

  18. Characterizing Outbursts and Nucleus Properties of Comet 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernandez, Yanga

    2015-10-01

    Today's comets are remnant bodies leftover from the era of planet formation in our own Solar System. Therefore characterizing cometary structure and composition can give clues to the thermal, physical, and chemical environment of the protoplanetary disk. However before this long-term 'holy grail' of planetary astronomy can be achieved, we must understand cometary evolution so that we can know how comets have changed since their formation. The phenomenon of cometary activity, where a porous matrix of icy and rocky material turns into the gases and the dust grains we see in a comet's coma, remains a poorly-understood puzzle of short-term cometary evolution. We are in the midst of an ongoing project to understand cometary activity in a particular comet, 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1, by taking advantage of existing imaging datasets that show the comet in outburst. Outbursts are useful for constraining the nucleus's spin state and the location of active areas. We propose here to analyze archival WFPC2 images of comet 29P obtained in March 1996 (Cycle 5, Project 5829), spanning 21 hours, that show the comet in outburst. These data are the highest-resolution imaging of this comet ever obtained while it was in outburst. We will analyze the morphology of the comet's dust coma to constrain properties of the nucleus and of the dust grains themselves. Additionally, we will analyze images taken in May 2000 (Cycle 8, Project 8274) that show the comet at its steady-state level of activity but may also allow us to place further constraints on the nucleus's active regions.

  19. Comet or Asteroid?

    Science.gov (United States)

    1997-11-01

    When is a minor object in the solar system a comet? And when is it an asteroid? Until recently, there was little doubt. Any object that was found to display a tail or appeared diffuse was a comet of ice and dust grains, and any that didn't, was an asteroid of solid rock. Moreover, comets normally move in rather elongated orbits, while most asteroids follow near-circular orbits close to the main plane of the solar system in which the major planets move. However, astronomers have recently discovered some `intermediate' objects which seem to possess properties that are typical for both categories. For instance, a strange object (P/1996 N2 - Elst-Pizarro) was found last year at ESO ( ESO Press Photo 36/96 ) which showed a cometary tail, while moving in a typical asteroidal orbit. At about the same time, American scientists found another (1996 PW) that moved in a very elongated comet-type orbit but was completely devoid of a tail. Now, a group of European scientists, by means of observations carried out at the ESO La Silla observatory, have found yet another object that at first appeared to be one more comet/asteroid example. However, continued and more detailed observations aimed at revealing its true nature have shown that it is most probably a comet . Consequently, it has received the provisional cometary designation P/1997 T3 . The Uppsala-DLR Trojan Survey Some time ago, Claes-Ingvar Lagerkvist (Astronomical Observatory, Uppsala, Sweden), in collaboration with Gerhard Hahn, Stefano Mottola, Magnus Lundström and Uri Carsenty (DLR, Institute of Planetary Exploration, Berlin, Germany), started to study the distribution of asteroids near Jupiter. They were particularly interested in those that move in orbits similar to that of Jupiter and which are located `ahead' of Jupiter in the so-called `Jovian L4 Lagrangian point'. Together with those `behind' Jupiter, these asteroids have been given the names of Greek and Trojan Heroes who participated in the famous Trojan war

  20. Detection of garlic gamma-irradiated by assay comet

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moreno Alvarez, Damaris L.; Miranda, Enrique F. Prieto; Carro, Sandra; Iglesias Enrique, Isora; Matos, Wilberto

    2009-01-01

    The garlic samples were irradiated in a facility with 60 Co sources, at absorbed dose values of 0-0,15 kGy. The detection method utilized for the identification of the irradiated garlic was biological comet assay. The samples were classified post-irradiation several times. The irradiated samples showed high strand breaks of DNA exhibiting comets of several forms, while the not irradiated and lower dose samples showed a behavior like round shape and light comets. Significant differences were found for higher absorbed dose values at 0.06 kGy, this absorbed dose value is corresponding with the applied dose value at this food in order to avoid the germination. (author)

  1. DNA gel electrophoresis: the reptation model(s).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slater, Gary W

    2009-06-01

    DNA gel electrophoresis has been the most important experimental tool to separate DNA fragments for several decades. The introduction of PFGE in the 1980s and capillary gel electrophoresis in the 1990s made it possible to study, map and sequence entire genomes. Explaining how very large DNA molecules move in a gel and why PFGE is needed to separate them has been an active field of research ever since the launch of the journal Electrophoresis. This article presents a personal and historical overview of the development of the theory of gel electrophoresis, focusing on the reptation model, the band broadening mechanisms, and finally the factors that limit the read length and the resolution of electrophoresis-based sequencing systems. I conclude with a short discussion of some of the questions that remain unanswered.

  2. Comets As Objects of High Energy Astrophysics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ibadov, S.

    2000-10-01

    Strong soft X-ray emission from comet Hyakutake C/1996 B2 was discovered with ROSAT in March 27, 1996 (Lisse et al. 1996, Science 274, 205-209) and the results of a theoretical approach (Ibadov 1990, Icarus 86, 283-288) served as a motive for that observations (Dennerl, Lisse and Truemper 1998, Private Communications). It is now well established that comets emit EUV and X-rays regularly (Dennerl, Englhauser and Truemper 1997, Science 277, 1625-1630; Dennerl 1998, Proc. 16th Int. Conf. Atomic Physics, Windsor, Ontario, Canada). To explain this phenomenon different theoretical models were proposed (Krasnopolsky 1997, Icarus 128, 365-385; Ibadov 1998, Proc. First XMM Workshop, Noordwijk, The Netherlands, and references therein). In the paper the problem of identifying X-ray generation mechanisms in comets will be considered.

  3. Surface Charge Measurement of SonoVue, Definity and Optison: A Comparison of Laser Doppler Electrophoresis and Micro-Electrophoresis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ja'afar, Fairuzeta; Leow, Chee Hau; Garbin, Valeria; Sennoga, Charles A; Tang, Meng-Xing; Seddon, John M

    2015-11-01

    Microbubble (MB) contrast-enhanced ultrasonography is a promising tool for targeted molecular imaging. It is important to determine the MB surface charge accurately as it affects the MB interactions with cell membranes. In this article, we report the surface charge measurement of SonoVue, Definity and Optison. We compare the performance of the widely used laser Doppler electrophoresis with an in-house micro-electrophoresis system. By optically tracking MB electrophoretic velocity in a microchannel, we determined the zeta potentials of MB samples. Using micro-electrophoresis, we obtained zeta potential values for SonoVue, Definity and Optison of -28.3, -4.2 and -9.5 mV, with relative standard deviations of 5%, 48% and 8%, respectively. In comparison, laser Doppler electrophoresis gave -8.7, +0.7 and +15.8 mV with relative standard deviations of 330%, 29,000% and 130%, respectively. We found that the reliability of laser Doppler electrophoresis is compromised by MB buoyancy. Micro-electrophoresis determined zeta potential values with a 10-fold improvement in relative standard deviation. Copyright © 2015 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis of bacterial chromosomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mawer, Julia S P; Leach, David R F

    2013-01-01

    The separation of fragments of DNA by agarose gel electrophoresis is integral to laboratory life. Nevertheless, standard agarose gel electrophoresis cannot resolve fragments bigger than 50 kb. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis is a technique that has been developed to overcome the limitations of standard agarose gel electrophoresis. Entire linear eukaryotic chromosomes, or large fragments of a chromosome that have been generated by the action of rare-cutting restriction endonucleases, can be separated using this technique. As a result, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis has many applications, from karyotype analysis of microbial genomes, to the analysis of chromosomal strand breaks and their repair intermediates, to the study of DNA replication and the identification of origins of replication. This chapter presents a detailed protocol for the preparation of Escherichia coli chromosomal DNA that has been embedded in agarose plugs, digested with the rare-cutting endonuclease NotI, and separated by contour-clamped homogeneous field electrophoresis. The principles in this protocol can be applied to the separation of all fragments of DNA whose size range is between 40 kb and 1 Mb.

  5. Nonradioactive telomerase activity assay by microchip electrophoresis: privileges to the classical gel electrophoresis assay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhelev, Zhivko; Bakalova, Rumiana; Ewis, Ashraf; Ohba, Hideki; Ishikawa, Mitsuru; Baba, Yoshinobu

    2005-08-01

    The present study accents on the privileges of microchip-based electrophoresis to the conventional gel electrophoresis in separation of telomerase repeat amplification protocol/polymerase chain reaction (PCR) ladder products obtained in telomerase-catalyzed reaction in cancer cells. We try to clarify the interpretation of the results obtained by both electrophoretic procedures and to avoid misinterpretation as a result of PCR-dependent artefacts.

  6. Autonomous Navigation Performance During The Hartley 2 Comet Flyby

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abrahamson, Matthew J; Kennedy, Brian A.; Bhaskaran, Shyam

    2012-01-01

    On November 4, 2010, the EPOXI spacecraft performed a 700-km flyby of the comet Hartley 2 as follow-on to the successful 2005 Deep Impact prime mission. EPOXI, an extended mission for the Deep Impact Flyby spacecraft, returned a wealth of visual and infrared data from Hartley 2, marking the fifth time that high-resolution images of a cometary nucleus have been captured by a spacecraft. The highest resolution science return, captured at closest approach to the comet nucleus, was enabled by use of an onboard autonomous navigation system called AutoNav. AutoNav estimates the comet-relative spacecraft trajectory using optical measurements from the Medium Resolution Imager (MRI) and provides this relative position information to the Attitude Determination and Control System (ADCS) for maintaining instrument pointing on the comet. For the EPOXI mission, AutoNav was tasked to enable continuous tracking of a smaller, more active Hartley 2, as compared to Tempel 1, through the full encounter while traveling at a higher velocity. To meet the mission goal of capturing the comet in all MRI science images, position knowledge accuracies of +/- 3.5 km (3-?) cross track and +/- 0.3 seconds (3-?) time of flight were required. A flight-code-in-the-loop Monte Carlo simulation assessed AutoNav's statistical performance under the Hartley 2 flyby dynamics and determined optimal configuration. The AutoNav performance at Hartley 2 was successful, capturing the comet in all of the MRI images. The maximum residual between observed and predicted comet locations was 20 MRI pixels, primarily influenced by the center of brightness offset from the center of mass in the observations and attitude knowledge errors. This paper discusses the Monte Carlo-based analysis that led to the final AutoNav configuration and a comparison of the predicted performance with the flyby performance.

  7. Isotopic ratios in outbursting comet C/2015 ER61

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Bin; Hutsemékers, Damien; Shinnaka, Yoshiharu; Opitom, Cyrielle; Manfroid, Jean; Jehin, Emmanuël; Meech, Karen J.; Hainaut, Olivier R.; Keane, Jacqueline V.; Gillon, Michaël

    2018-02-01

    Isotopic ratios in comets are critical to understanding the origin of cometary material and the physical and chemical conditions in the early solar nebula. Comet C/2015 ER61 (PANSTARRS) underwent an outburst with a total brightness increase of 2 magnitudes on the night of 2017 April 4. The sharp increase in brightness offered a rare opportunity to measure the isotopic ratios of the light elements in the coma of this comet. We obtained two high-resolution spectra of C/2015 ER61 with UVES/VLT on the nights of 2017 April 13 and 17. At the time of our observations, the comet was fading gradually following the outburst. We measured the nitrogen and carbon isotopic ratios from the CN violet (0, 0) band and found that 12C/13C = 100 ± 15, 14N/15N = 130 ± 15. In addition, we determined the 14N/15N ratio from four pairs of NH2 isotopolog lines and measured 14N/15N = 140 ± 28. The measured isotopic ratios of C/2015 ER61 do not deviate significantly from those of other comets.

  8. Comet Halley - Chapter I in cometary exploration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Newburn, R.L. Jr.

    1986-01-01

    The information gained on the Comet Halley by the international probe studies is presented. The new information includes data on the true size and shape of the cometary nucleus and the mass of its dust grains, the chemical composition of the nucleus, and the characteristics of the bow wave of the comet. The requirements of future missions for solving the many questions that are still open are discussed

  9. THE NEOWISE-DISCOVERED COMET POPULATION AND THE CO + CO{sub 2} PRODUCTION RATES

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bauer, James M.; Stevenson, Rachel; Kramer, Emily; Mainzer, A. K.; Masiero, Joseph R.; Weissman, Paul R.; Nugent, Carrie R.; Sonnett, Sarah [Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, MS 183-401, Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States); Grav, Tommy [Planetary Science Institute, 1700 East Fort Lowell, Suite 106, Tucson, AZ 85719-2395 (United States); Fernández, Yan R. [Department of Physics, University of Central Florida, 4000 Central Florida Blvd., P.S. Building, Orlando, FL 32816-2385 (United States); Cutri, Roc M.; Dailey, John W.; Masci, Frank J.; Blair, Nathan; Lucas, Andrew [Infrared Processing and Analysis Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Meech, Karen J. [Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Dr., Manoa, HI 96822 (United States); Walker, Russel [Monterey Institute for Research in Astronomy, 200 Eighth Street, Marina, CA 93933 (United States); Lisse, C. M. [Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, 11100 Johns Hopkins Road Laurel, MD 20723-6099 (United States); McMillan, Robert S. [Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, 1629 East University Blvd., Kuiper Space Science Bldg. 92, Tucson, AZ 85721-0092 (United States); Wright, Edward L., E-mail: bauer@scn.jpl.nasa.gov [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, P.O. Box 91547, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1547 (United States); Collaboration: WISE and NEOWISE Teams

    2015-12-01

    The 163 comets observed during the WISE/NEOWISE prime mission represent the largest infrared survey to date of comets, providing constraints on dust, nucleus size, and CO + CO{sub 2} production. We present detailed analyses of the WISE/NEOWISE comet discoveries, and discuss observations of the active comets showing 4.6 μm band excess. We find a possible relation between dust and CO + CO{sub 2} production, as well as possible differences in the sizes of long and short period comet nuclei.

  10. The Meteoroid Fluence at Mars Due to Comet Siding Spring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moorhead, Althea V.

    2014-01-01

    Long-period comet C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring) is headed for a close encounter with Mars on 2014 Oct 19. A collision between the comet and the planet has been ruled out, but the comets coma may envelop Mars and its man-made satellites. We present an analytic model of the dust component of cometary comae that describes the spatial distribution of cometary dust and meteoroids and their size distribution. If the coma reaches Mars, we estimate a total incident particle fluence on the planet and its satellites of 0.01 particles per square meter. We compare our model with numerical simulations, data from past comet missions, and recent Siding Spring observations.

  11. Gel electrophoresis of inorganic cations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schoenhofer, F.; Grass, F.

    1978-01-01

    In order to be able to separate the largest possible amounts of substance, polyacryl amide gel (PAA) and silica gel are used as carrier for the electrophoresis. Milligramme quantities can easily be separated on PAA gel plates. Electrophoretic ion focussing considerably improves it. Separations of Sr/Y and lanthanoids were carried out. The behaviour of the readily soluble complexing agent acids on silica gel thin layers was minutely investigated and an interpretation of the focussing effect was derived. The conditions for separating radionuclides were optimized. A further improved separation can be achieved by a time sequence combination of normal electrophoresis and ion focussing. Selective isolation methods are advantageous to determine radionuclide traces in environmental samples. The selective adsorption on preformed deposits was transferred to electrophoresis. After pre-investigations on silica gel layers, strontium and barium could also be retained on PAA gel and radium on strontium sulphate in PAA, whereas the disturbing calcium can easily pass through. Cesium can also be retained by prussian blue in the electrophoresis. (orig.) [de

  12. Bioprocessing: Prospects for space electrophoresis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bier, M.

    1977-01-01

    The basic principles of electrophoresis are reviewed in light of its past contributions to biology and medicine. The near-zero gravity environment of orbiting spacecraft may present some unique advantages for a variety of processes, by abolishing the major source of convection in fluids. As the ground-based development of electrophoresis was heavily influenced by the need to circumvent the effects of gravity, this process should be a prime candidate for space operation. Nevertheless, while a space facility for electrophoresis may overcome the limitations imposed by gravity, it will not necessarily overcome all problems inherent in electrophoresis. These are, mainly, electroosmosis and the dissipation of the heat generated by the electric field. The NASA program has already led to excellent coatings to prevent electroosmosis, while the need for heat dissipation will continue to impose limits on the actual size of equipment. It is also not excluded that, once the dominant force of gravity is eliminated, disturbances in fluid stability may originate from weaker forces, such as surface tension.

  13. Comet 2001 Q2

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Pravec, Petr; Kušnirák, Peter; Bouma, R. J.; Raymundo, P. M.

    č. 7687 (2001), s. 1 ISSN 0081-0304 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA205/99/0255 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z1003909 Keywords : comet s * astrometry Subject RIV: BN - Astronomy, Celestial Mechanics, Astrophysics

  14. Weird comets and asteroids the strange little worlds of the sun's family

    CERN Document Server

    Seargent, David A J

    2017-01-01

    This book concentrates on some of the odd aspects of comets and asteroids. Strange behavior of comets, such as outbursts and schisms, and how asteroids can temporally act as comets are discussed, together with the possible threat of Centaurs-class objects like the Taurid complex. Recent years have seen the distinction between comets and asteroids become less prominent. Comets in "asteroid" orbits and vice versa have become almost commonplace and a clearer view of the role of small bodies in the formation of the Solar System and their effect on Earth has become apparent. Seargent covers this development in detail by including new data and information from space probes. .

  15. Properties of comet Halley derived from thermal models and astrometric data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hechler, F.W.; Morley, T.A.; Mahr, P.

    1986-01-01

    The motion of a comet nucleus is influenced by outgassing forces. The orbit determination from astrometric data of comet Halley using empiric force and observation bias models and the incorporation of thermal models developed at ESOC into the orbit determination allows to draw some conclusions on the comet Halley dynamics and physics. 21 references

  16. Encounters between degenerate stars and extrasolar comet clouds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pineault, S.; Poisson, E.

    1989-01-01

    Under the assumption that the presence of comet clouds around otherwise normal stars is a common occurrence in the Galaxy, the observational consequences of random penetration encounters between the general Galactic population of degenerate stars and these comet clouds is considered. The only case considered is where the compact stars is a single star. For this scenario, encounters involving neutron stars (NSs) result in impact rates 1000-10,000 times slower than in the model of Tremaine and Zytkow (1986). The rate for white dwarfs (WDs) is larger than the one for NSs by a factor of about 30 times the ratio of the degenerate star number densities. The mean impact rate is significantly increased if the number of comets in a cloud is nearly independent of the mass of the central star. It is concluded that some of the observed gamma-ray bursts may be caused by accretion of comets onto NSs and that this scenario, but with a WD as the accretor, probably contributes to the optical flash background rate. 38 refs

  17. Detectability of Sungrazing Comet Soft X-ray Irradiance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Su Yeon Oh

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available Originating from the Oort cloud, some comets disappear to impact against the Sun or to split up by strong gravitational force. Then they don't go back to the Oort cloud. They are called sungrazing comets. The comets are detected by sublimation of ices and ejection of gas and dust through solar heat close to the Sun. There exists the charge transfer from heavy ions in the solar wind to neutral atoms in the cometary atmosphere by interaction with the solar wind. Cometary atoms would be excited to high electronic levels and their de-excitation would result in X-ray emission, or it would be scattering of solar X-ray emission by very small cometary grains. We calculated the X-ray emission applying the model suggested by Mendis & Flammer (1984 and Cravens (1997. In our estimation, the sungrazing comet whose nucleus size is about 1 km in radius might be detectable within a distance of 3 solar radius from the sun on soft X-ray solar camera.

  18. Detection of garlic gamma-irradiated by assay comet

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moreno Alvarez, Damaris L.; Miranda, Enrique F. Prieto; Carro, Sandra; Iglesias Enrique, Isora; Matos, Wilberto [Centro de Aplicaciones Tecnologicas y Desarrollo Nuclear (CEADEN), Ciudad de La Habana (Cuba)], e-mail: damaris@ceaden.edu.cu

    2009-07-01

    The garlic samples were irradiated in a facility with {sup 60}Co sources, at absorbed dose values of 0-0,15 kGy. The detection method utilized for the identification of the irradiated garlic was biological comet assay. The samples were classified post-irradiation several times. The irradiated samples showed high strand breaks of DNA exhibiting comets of several forms, while the not irradiated and lower dose samples showed a behavior like round shape and light comets. Significant differences were found for higher absorbed dose values at 0.06 kGy, this absorbed dose value is corresponding with the applied dose value at this food in order to avoid the germination. (author)

  19. Results of the International Validation of the in vivo rodent alkaline comet assay for the detection of genotoxic carcinogens: Individual data for 1,2-dibromoethane, p-anisidine, and o-anthranilic acid in the 2nd step of the 4th phase Validation Study under the JaCVAM initiative.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takasawa, Hironao; Takashima, Rie; Narumi, Kazunori; Kawasako, Kazufumi; Hattori, Akiko; Kawabata, Masayoshi; Hamada, Shuichi

    2015-07-01

    As part of the Japanese Center for the Validation of Alternative Methods (JaCVAM)-initiative International Validation Study of an in vivo rat alkaline comet assay, we examined 1,2-dibromoethane (DBE), p-anisidine (ASD), and o-anthranilic acid (ANT) to investigate the effectiveness of the comet assay in detecting genotoxic carcinogens. Each of the three test chemicals was administered to 5 male Sprague-Dawley rats per group by oral gavage at 48, 24, and 3h before specimen preparation. Single cells were collected from the liver and glandular stomach at 3h after the final dosing, and the specimens prepared from these two organs were subjected to electrophoresis under alkaline conditions (pH>13). The percentage of DNA intensity in the comet tail was then assessed using an image analysis system. A micronucleus (MN) assay was also conducted using these three test chemicals with the bone marrow (BM) cells collected from the same animals simultaneously used in the comet assay, i.e., combination study of the comet assay and BM MN assay. A genotoxic (Ames positive) rodent carcinogen, DBE gave a positive result in the comet assay in the present study, while a genotoxic (Ames positive) non-carcinogen, ASD and a non-genotoxic (Ames negative) non-carcinogen, ANT showed negative results in the comet assay. All three chemicals produced negative results in the BM MN assay. While the comet assay findings in the present study were consistent with those obtained from the rodent carcinogenicity studies for the three test chemicals, we consider the positive result in the comet assay for DBE to be particularly meaningful, given that this chemical produced a negative result in the BM MN assay. Therefore, the combination study of the comet assay and BM MN assay is a useful method to detect genotoxic carcinogens that are undetectable with the BM MN assay alone. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Rationalization of Comet Halley's periods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Belton, Michael J. S.

    1990-01-01

    The sense of long axis orientation of Comet Halley during the Vega 1 encounter must be reversed from that deduced by Sagdeev et al. (1986) in order to harmonize the comet nucleus' Vega/Giotto-observed orientations with periodicities extracted from time-series brightness data. It is also demonstrated that Vega/Giotto observations can be satisfied by either a 2.2- or 3.7-day long-axis free precession period. A novel Fourier algorithm is used to reanalyze five independent data sets; strong evidence is adduced for periods harmonically related to a 7.4-day period. The preferred candidate models for Halley's nuclear rotation are characterized by a long-axis precession period of 3.7 days.

  1. Comet Assay in Cancer Chemoprevention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santoro, Raffaela; Ferraiuolo, Maria; Morgano, Gian Paolo; Muti, Paola; Strano, Sabrina

    2016-01-01

    The comet assay can be useful in monitoring DNA damage in single cells caused by exposure to genotoxic agents, such as those causing air, water, and soil pollution (e.g., pesticides, dioxins, electromagnetic fields) and chemo- and radiotherapy in cancer patients, or in the assessment of genoprotective effects of chemopreventive molecules. Therefore, it has particular importance in the fields of pharmacology and toxicology, and in both environmental and human biomonitoring. It allows the detection of single strand breaks as well as double-strand breaks and can be used in both normal and cancer cells. Here we describe the alkali method for comet assay, which allows to detect both single- and double-strand DNA breaks.

  2. Radar observations of Comet Halley

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Campbell, D.B.; Harmon, J.K.; Shapiro, I.I.

    1989-01-01

    Five nights of Arecibo radar observations of Comet Halley are reported which reveal a feature in the overall average spectrum which, though weak, seems consistent with being an echo from the comet. The large radar cross section and large bandwidth of the feature suggest that the echo is predominantly from large grains which have been ejected from the nucleus. Extrapolation of the dust particle size distribution to large grain sizes gives a sufficient number of grains to account for the echo. The lack of a detectable echo from the nucleus, combined with estimates of its size and rotation rate from spacecraft encounters and other data, indicate that the nucleus has a surface of relatively high porosity. 33 references

  3. Electrophoresis in space at zero gravity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bier, M.; Snyder, R. S.

    1974-01-01

    Early planning for manufacturing operations in space include the use of electrophoresis for purification and separation of biological materials. Greatly simplified electrophoresis apparatus have been flown in the Apollo 14 and 16 missions to test the possibility of stable liquid systems in orbit. Additionally, isoelectric focusing and isotachophoresis are of particular interest as they offer very high resolution and have self-sharpening boundaries. The value of possible space electrophoresis is substantial. For example, present technology permits large fractionation of only a few of blood proteins many fractions, and separated cell populations are needed for research.

  4. Epithelial cells as alternative human biomatrices for comet assay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rojas, Emilio; Lorenzo, Yolanda; Haug, Kristiane; Nicolaissen, Bjørn; Valverde, Mahara

    2014-01-01

    The comet assay is a valuable experimental tool aimed at mapping DNA damage in human cells in vivo for environmental and occupational monitoring, as well as for therapeutic purposes, such as storage prior to transplant, during tissue engineering, and in experimental ex vivo assays. Furthermore, due to its great versatility, the comet assay allows to explore the use of alternative cell types to assess DNA damage, such as epithelial cells. Epithelial cells, as specialized components of many organs, have the potential to serve as biomatrices that can be used to evaluate genotoxicity and may also serve as early effect biomarkers. Furthermore, 80% of solid cancers are of epithelial origin, which points to the importance of studying DNA damage in these tissues. Indeed, studies including comet assay in epithelial cells have either clear clinical applications (lens and corneal epithelial cells) or examine genotoxicity within human biomonitoring and in vitro studies. We here review improvements in determining DNA damage using the comet assay by employing lens, corneal, tear duct, buccal, and nasal epithelial cells. For some of these tissues invasive sampling procedures are needed. Desquamated epithelial cells must be obtained and dissociated prior to examination using the comet assay, and such procedures may induce varying amounts of DNA damage. Buccal epithelial cells require lysis enriched with proteinase K to obtain free nucleosomes. Over a 30 year period, the comet assay in epithelial cells has been little employed, however its use indicates that it could be an extraordinary tool not only for risk assessment, but also for diagnosis, prognosis of treatments and diseases.

  5. Comets: Role and importance to exobiology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delsemme, Armand H.

    1992-01-01

    The transfer of organic compounds from interstellar space to the outskirts of a protoplanetary disk, their accretion into cometary objects, and the transport of the latter into the inner solar system by orbital diffusion throw a new light on the central problem of exobiology. It suggests the existence of a cosmic mechanism, working everywhere, that can supply prebiotic compounds to ubiquitous rocky planets, in search of the proper environment to start life in many places in the Universe. Under the heading of chemistry of the cometary nucleus, the following topics are covered: radial homogeneity of the nucleus; the dust-to-ice ratio; nature of the dust grains; origin of the dust in comets; nature of the volatile fraction; the CO distribution in comet Halley; dust contribution to the volatile fraction; elemental balance sheet of comet Halley; quantitative molecular analysis of the volatile fraction; and isotopic ratios. Under the heading of exogenous origin of carbon on terrestrial planets the following topics are covered: evidence for a high-temperature phase; from planetesimals to planets; a veneer of volatile and organic material; and cometary contribution.

  6. Asteroids, meteorites, and comets

    CERN Document Server

    Elkins-Tanton, Linda T

    2010-01-01

    Asteroids, Comets, and Meteorites provides students, researchers, and general readers with the most up-to-date information on this fascinating field. From the days of the dinosaurs to our modern environment, this book explores all aspects of these cosmic invaders.

  7. Death of a comet

    CERN Multimedia

    Hawkes, N

    2000-01-01

    The comet Linear dissolved as it made its closest approach to the sun on July 25th. The first stages of its breakup had been witnessed by the Hubble telescope when it threw off a piece of its crust (3 paragraphs).

  8. Nonlinear low frequency (LF) waves - Comets and foreshock phenomena

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsurutani, Bruce T.

    1991-01-01

    A review is conducted of LF wave nonlinear properties at comets and in the earth's foreshock, engaging such compelling questions as why there are no cometary cyclotron waves, the physical mechanism responsible for 'dispersive whiskers', and the character of a general description of linear waves. Attention is given to the nonlinear properties of LF waves, whose development is illustrated by examples of waves and their features at different distances from the comet, as well as by computer simulation results. Also discussed is a curious wave mode detected from Comet Giacobini-Zinner, both at and upstream of the bow shock/wave.

  9. Measurement of plasma and energetic charged particles in the proximity of Halley's comet

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Erdoes, Geza; Gombosi, Tamas; Kecskemety, Karoly; Somogyi, Antal; Tatrallyay, Mariella; Varga, Andras

    1987-01-01

    The instrumentation aboard the space probe VEGA for the exploration of Halley's comet contained the particle analyzers PLAZMAG and TUENDE-M. PLAZMAG was used for the measurement of the interaction between the low-energy solar plasma and the heavy ions from the comet. From the energy spectra measured near the nucleus of the comet the density distribution of ion groups can also be determined. TUENDE-M recorded the distribution of energetic heavy ions from the comet. The properties of various plasma regions within the 10 million km range from the comet's nucleus are discussed in detail. (R.P.)

  10. COMETARY VOLATILES AND THE ORIGIN OF COMETS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    A'Hearn, Michael F.; Feaga, Lori M.; Sunshine, Jessica M.; Besse, Sebastien; Bodewits, Dennis; Farnham, Tony L.; Kelley, Michael S.; Keller, H. Uwe; Kawakita, Hideyo; Hampton, Donald L.; Kissel, Jochen; Klaasen, Kenneth P.; Yeomans, Donald K.; McFadden, Lucy A.; Meech, Karen J.; Schultz, Peter H.; Thomas, Peter C.; Veverka, Joseph; Groussin, Olivier; Lisse, Carey M.

    2012-01-01

    We describe recent results on the CO/CO 2 /H 2 O composition of comets together with a survey of older literature (primarily for CO/H 2 O) and compare these with models of the protoplanetary disk. Even with the currently small sample, there is a wide dispersion in abundance ratios and little if any systematic difference between Jupiter-family comets (JFCs) and long-period and Halley-type comets (LPCs and HTCs). We argue that the cometary observations require reactions on grain surfaces to convert CO to CO 2 and also require formation of all types of comets in largely, but not entirely, overlapping regions, probably between the CO and CO 2 snow lines. Any difference in the regions of formation is in the opposite direction from the classical picture with the JFCs having formed closer to the Sun than the LPCs. In the classical picture, the LPCs formed in the region of the giant planets and the JFCs formed in the Kuiper Belt. However, these data suggest, consistent with suggestions on dynamical grounds, that the JFCs and LPCs formed in largely overlapping regions where the giant planets are today and with JFCs on average forming slightly closer to the Sun than did the LPCs. Presumably at least the JFCs passed through the scattered disk on their way to their present dynamical family.

  11. COMETARY VOLATILES AND THE ORIGIN OF COMETS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    A' Hearn, Michael F.; Feaga, Lori M.; Sunshine, Jessica M.; Besse, Sebastien; Bodewits, Dennis; Farnham, Tony L.; Kelley, Michael S. [Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States); Keller, H. Uwe [Institute for Geophysics and Extraterrestrial Physics, Technische Universitaet Braunschweig, D-38106 Braunschweig (Germany); Kawakita, Hideyo [Department of Physics, Kyoto Sangyo University, Kamigamo JP Kita-ku, Kyoto 603-8555 (Japan); Hampton, Donald L. [Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 903 Koyukuk Drive, Fairbanks, AK 99775 (United States); Kissel, Jochen [Max-Planck-Institut for Solar System Research, Max-Planck-Strasse 2, D-37191 Katlenburg-Lindau (Germany); Klaasen, Kenneth P.; Yeomans, Donald K. [Jet Propulsion Laboratory/Caltech, Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States); McFadden, Lucy A. [NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Meech, Karen J. [Institute for Astronomy, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States); Schultz, Peter H. [Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912 (United States); Thomas, Peter C.; Veverka, Joseph [Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States); Groussin, Olivier [Laboratoire d' Astrophysique de Marseille, Universite d' Aix-Marseille and CNRS, UMR7326, 38 rue F. Joliot-Curie, F-13388 Marseille Cedex 13 (France); Lisse, Carey M., E-mail: ma@astro.umd.edu [Space Department, JHU-APL, 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, MD 20723 (United States); and others

    2012-10-10

    We describe recent results on the CO/CO{sub 2}/H{sub 2}O composition of comets together with a survey of older literature (primarily for CO/H{sub 2}O) and compare these with models of the protoplanetary disk. Even with the currently small sample, there is a wide dispersion in abundance ratios and little if any systematic difference between Jupiter-family comets (JFCs) and long-period and Halley-type comets (LPCs and HTCs). We argue that the cometary observations require reactions on grain surfaces to convert CO to CO{sub 2} and also require formation of all types of comets in largely, but not entirely, overlapping regions, probably between the CO and CO{sub 2} snow lines. Any difference in the regions of formation is in the opposite direction from the classical picture with the JFCs having formed closer to the Sun than the LPCs. In the classical picture, the LPCs formed in the region of the giant planets and the JFCs formed in the Kuiper Belt. However, these data suggest, consistent with suggestions on dynamical grounds, that the JFCs and LPCs formed in largely overlapping regions where the giant planets are today and with JFCs on average forming slightly closer to the Sun than did the LPCs. Presumably at least the JFCs passed through the scattered disk on their way to their present dynamical family.

  12. Asteroid-comet continuum objects in the solar system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsieh, Henry H

    2017-07-13

    In this review presented at the Royal Society meeting, 'Cometary science after Rosetta', I present an overview of studies of small solar system objects that exhibit properties of both asteroids and comets (with a focus on so-called active asteroids). Sometimes referred to as 'transition objects', these bodies are perhaps more appropriately described as 'continuum objects', to reflect the notion that rather than necessarily representing actual transitional evolutionary states between asteroids and comets, they simply belong to the general population of small solar system bodies that happen to exhibit a continuous range of observational, physical and dynamical properties. Continuum objects are intriguing because they possess many of the properties that make classical comets interesting to study (e.g. relatively primitive compositions, ejection of surface and subsurface material into space where it can be more easily studied, and orbital properties that allow us to sample material from distant parts of the solar system that would otherwise be inaccessible), while allowing us to study regions of the solar system that are not sampled by classical comets.This article is part of the themed issue 'Cometary science after Rosetta'. © 2017 The Author(s).

  13. Comet assay as a cold chain control tool

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Duarte, Renato Cesar

    2009-01-01

    Bearing in mind an ever more demanding market regarding the quality of food, it has been necessary to develop processes that meet the demands of consumers. Within the existing processes the cold chain and irradiation stand out. The cold chain comprises all the stages of conserving food from production, cooling, freezing, storing and transportation to the final consumer. Irradiation, as a means of conserving food, prolongs the shelf life, inhibits budding and reduces pathogenic contamination among other benefits. Is very important the identification of food degradation in function of failure on the processes which they were subjected. The comet assay is a screening test widely studied, considerate fast and with low cost. By the fact of the test identify breaks on the DNA, may be possible use the comet test on the control of cold chain failures that degrade de food. The labels and stamp, do not consider the previous food situation and indicate failures from the moment where they be placed in contact with the product. With the comet assay is possible to check the degradation that has occurred in liver chicken samples until the moment of comet's test realization. (author)

  14. Electrophoresis in strong electric fields.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barany, Sandor

    2009-01-01

    Two kinds of non-linear electrophoresis (ef) that can be detected in strong electric fields (several hundred V/cm) are considered. The first ("classical" non-linear ef) is due to the interaction of the outer field with field-induced ionic charges in the electric double layer (EDL) under conditions, when field-induced variations of electrolyte concentration remain to be small comparatively to its equilibrium value. According to the Shilov theory, the non-linear component of the electrophoretic velocity for dielectric particles is proportional to the cubic power of the applied field strength (cubic electrophoresis) and to the second power of the particles radius; it is independent of the zeta-potential but is determined by the surface conductivity of particles. The second one, the so-called "superfast electrophoresis" is connected with the interaction of a strong outer field with a secondary diffuse layer of counterions (space charge) that is induced outside the primary (classical) diffuse EDL by the external field itself because of concentration polarization. The Dukhin-Mishchuk theory of "superfast electrophoresis" predicts quadratic dependence of the electrophoretic velocity of unipolar (ionically or electronically) conducting particles on the external field gradient and linear dependence on the particle's size in strong electric fields. These are in sharp contrast to the laws of classical electrophoresis (no dependence of V(ef) on the particle's size and linear dependence on the electric field gradient). A new method to measure the ef velocity of particles in strong electric fields is developed that is based on separation of the effects of sedimentation and electrophoresis using videoimaging and a new flowcell and use of short electric pulses. To test the "classical" non-linear electrophoresis, we have measured the ef velocity of non-conducting polystyrene, aluminium-oxide and (semiconductor) graphite particles as well as Saccharomice cerevisiae yeast cells as a

  15. Comet Dust: The Diversity of Primitive Particles and Implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    John Bradley; Zolensky, Michael E.

    2016-01-01

    Comet dust is primitive and shows significant diversity. Our knowledge of the properties of primitive particles has expanded significantly through microscale investigations of cosmic dust samples (IDPs and AMMs) and of comet dust samples (Stardust and Rosetta's COSIMA), as well as through remote sensing (spectroscopy and imaging) via Spitzer and via spacecraft encounters with 103P/Hartley 2 and 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Microscale investigations show that comet dust and cosmic dust are particles of unequilibrated materials, including aggregates of materials unequilibrated at submicron scales. We call unequilibrated materials "primitive" and we deduce they were incorporated into ice-­-rich (H2O-, CO2-, and CO-ice) parent bodies that remained cold, i.e., into comets, because of the lack of aqueous or thermal alteration since particle aggregation; yet some Stardust olivines suggest mild thermal metamorphism. Primitive particles exhibit a diverse range of: structure and typology; size and size distribution of constituents; concentration and form of carbonaceous and organic matter; D-, N-, and O- isotopic enhancements over solar; Mg-, Fe-contentsof thesilicate minerals; the compositions and concentrations of sulfides, and of less abundant mineral species such as chondrules, CAIs and carbonates. The unifomity within a group of samples points to: aerodynamic sorting of particles and/or particle constituents; the inclusion of a limited range of oxygen fugacities; the inclusion or exclusion of chondrules; a selection of organics. The properites of primitive particles imply there were disk processes that resulted in different comets having particular selections of primitive materials. The diversity of primitive particles has implications for the diversity of materials in the protoplanetary disk present at the time and in the region where the comets formed.

  16. Disruption of microtubule network rescues aberrant actin comets in dynamin2-depleted cells.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuji Henmi

    Full Text Available A large GTPase dynamin, which is required for endocytic vesicle formation, regulates the actin cytoskeleton through its interaction with cortactin. Dynamin2 mutants impair the formation of actin comets, which are induced by Listeria monocytogenes or phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate 5-kinase. However, the role of dynamin2 in the regulation of the actin comet is still unclear. Here we show that aberrant actin comets in dynamin2-depleted cells were rescued by disrupting of microtubule networks. Depletion of dynamin2, but not cortactin, significantly reduced the length and the speed of actin comets induced by Listeria. This implies that dynamin2 may regulate the actin comet in a cortactin-independent manner. As dynamin regulates microtubules, we investigated whether perturbation of microtubules would rescue actin comet formation in dynamin2-depleted cells. Treatment with taxol or colchicine created a microtubule-free space in the cytoplasm, and made no difference between control and dynamin2 siRNA cells. This suggests that the alteration of microtubules by dynamin2 depletion reduced the length and the speed of the actin comet.

  17. Comet 81P/Wild 2 under a microscope

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brownlee, D; Tsou, P; Aleon, J; Alexander, C; Araki, T; Bajt, S; Baratta, G A; Bastien, R; Bland, P; Bleuet, P; Borg, J; Bradley, J P; Brearley, A; Brenker, F; Brennan, S; Bridges, J C; Browning, N; Brucato, J R; Bullock, E; Burchell, M J; Busemann, H; Butterworth, A; Chaussidon, M; Cheuvront, A; Chi, M; Cintala, M J; Clark, B C; Clemett, S J; Cody, G; Colangeli, L; Cooper, G; Cordier, P; Daghlian, C; Dai, Z R; D' Hendecourt, L; Djouadi, Z; Dominguez, G; Duxbury, T; Dworkin, J P; Ebel, D; Economou, T E; Fairey, S J; Fallon, S; Ferrini, G; Ferroir, T; Fleckenstein, H; Floss, C; Flynn, G; Franchi, I A; Fries, M; Gainsforth, Z; Gallien, J; Genge, M; Gilles, M K; Gillet, P; Gilmour, J; Glavin, D P; Gounelle, M; Grady, M M; Graham, G A; Grant, P G; Green, S F; Grossemy, F; Grossman, L; Grossman, J; Guan, Y; Hagiya, K; Harvey, R; Heck, P; Herzog, G F; Hoppe, P; Horz, F; Huth, J; Hutcheon, I D; Ishii, H; Ito, M; Jacob, D; Jacobsen, C; Jacobsen, S; Joswiak, D; Kearsley, A T; Keller, L; Khodja, H; Kilcoyne, A D; Kissel, J; Krot, A; Langenhorst, F; Lanzirotti, A; Le, L; Leshin, L; Leitner, J; Lemelle, L; Leroux, H; Liu, M; Luening, K; Lyon, I; MacPherson, G; Marcus, M A; Marhas, K; Matrajt, G; Meibom, A; Mennella, V; Messenger, K; Mikouchi, T; Mostefaoui, S; Nakamura, T; Nakano, T; Newville, M; Nittler, L R; Ohnishi, I; Ohsumi, K; Okudaira, K; Papanastassiou, D A; Palma, R; Palumbo, M E; Pepin, R O; Perkins, D; Perronnet, M; Pianetta, P; Rao, W; Rietmeijer, F; Robert, F; Rost, D; Rotundi, A; Ryan, R; Sandford, S A; Schwandt, C S; See, T H; Schlutter, D; Sheffield-Parker, J; Simionovici, A; Simon, S; Sitnitsky, I; Snead, C J; Spencer, M K; Stadermann, F J; Steele, A; Stephan, T; Stroud, R; Susini, J; Sutton, S R; Taheri, M; Taylor, S; Teslich, N; Tomeoka, K; Tomioka, N; Toppani, A; Trigo-Rodriguez, J M; Troadec, D; Tsuchiyama, A; Tuzolino, A J; Tyliszczak, T; Uesugi, K; Velbel, M; Vellenga, J; Vicenzi, E; Vincze, L; Warren, J; Weber, I; Weisberg, M; Westphal, A J; Wirick, S; Wooden, D; Wopenka, B; Wozniakiewicz, P; Wright, I; Yabuta, K; Yano, H; Young, E D; Zare, R N; Zega, T

    2006-10-12

    The Stardust spacecraft collected thousands of particles from comet 81P/Wild 2 and returned them to Earth for laboratory study. The preliminary examination of these samples shows that the nonvolatile portion of the comet is an unequilibrated assortment of materials that have both presolar and solar system origin. The comet contains an abundance of silicate grains that are much larger than predictions of interstellar grain models, and many of these are high-temperature minerals that appear to have formed in the inner regions of the solar nebula. Their presence in a comet proves that the formation of the solar system included mixing on the grandest scales. Stardust was the first mission to return solid samples from a specific astronomical body other than the Moon. The mission, part of the NASA Discovery program, retrieved samples from a comet that is believed to have formed at the outer fringe of the solar nebula, just beyond the most distant planet. The samples, isolated from the planetary region of the solar system for billions of years, provide new insight into the formation of the solar system. The samples provide unprecedented opportunities both to corroborate astronomical (remote sensing) and sample analysis information (ground truth) on a known primitive solar system body and to compare preserved building blocks from the edge of the planetary system with sample-derived and astronomical data for asteroids, small bodies that formed more than an order of magnitude closer to the Sun. The asteroids, parents of most meteorites, formed by accretion of solids in warmer, denser, more collisionally evolved inner regions of the solar nebula where violent nebular events were capable of flash-melting millimeter-sized rocks, whereas comets formed in the coldest, least dense region. The samples collected by Stardust are the first primitive materials from a known body, and as such they provide contextual insight for all primitive meteoritic samples. About 200 investigators

  18. Analytical biotechnology: Capillary electrophoresis and chromatography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Horvath, C.; Nikelly, J.G.

    1990-01-01

    The papers describe the separation, characterization, and equipment required for the electrophoresis or chromatography of cyclic nucleotides, pharmaceuticals, therapeutic proteins, recombinant DNA products, pheromones, peptides, and other biological materials. One paper, On-column radioisotope detection for capillary electrophoresis, has been indexed separately for inclusion on the data base

  19. Comet Dust: The Story of Planet Formation as Told by the Tiniest of Particles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wooden, D. H.

    2005-01-01

    Our planetary system formed out of a gas-rich disk-shaped nebula with the early Sun at its center. Many small icy bodies were consumed by the formation of the giant planets. However, many km-size icy bodies were tossed out of the giant-planet region to the cold, distant reaches of our solar system. Comets remained in their places of cold storage until perturbed into orbits that carry them into the inner solar system where they pass relatively close to the Sun. Comets are warmed by the Sun and shed material from their outer layers. The ices and gases shed by comets reveal simple and complex organic molecules were present at the time and in the region of the formation of the giant planets. Where the Earth was forming was too hot and had too intense sunlight for many of these ices and molecules to survive. The dust shed by comets tells us that some stardust survived unaltered but much of the dust was heated and crystallized before becoming part of the comet. Therefore, comet dust grains tell of large radial migrations from the cold outer reaches near Neptune into the hot regions near the forming Sun, and then back out to the cold regions where icy comets were accreting and forming. On 2005 July 4, the NASA Deep Impact Mission hit a comet and ejected primitive materials fiom its interior. These materials were not released into the comet s coma during normal activity. Despite the many passages of this comet close to the Sun, these primitive volatile gases and dust grains survived in its interior. Comet dust grains show that cold and hot materials were mixed into the same tiny particle very early in the formation of the solar system, and these aggregate dust grains never saw high temperatures again. The survival of primitive materials in comet nuclei suggests comets could have delivered organic molecules and primitive dust grains to early Earth.

  20. Infrared Spectroscopy of Parent Volatiles in Comets: Implications for Astrobiology

    Science.gov (United States)

    DiSanti, Michael A.

    2010-01-01

    Current cometary orbits provide information on their recent dynamical history. However, determining a given comet's formation region from its current dynamical state alone is complicated by radial migration in the proto-planetary disk and by dynamical interactions with the growing giant planets. Because comets reside for long periods of time in the outer Solar System, the ices contained in their nuclei (native ices) retain a relatively well-preserved footprint of when and where they formed, and this in turn can provide clues to conditions in the formation epoch. As a comet approaches the Sun, sublimation of its native ices releases parent volatiles into the coma where they can be measured spectroscopically. The past to - 15 years have seen the advent of infrared spectrometers with high sensitivity between about 2.8 and 5.0 micron, enabling a taxonomy among comets based on abundances of parent volatiles (e.g., H2O, CO, CH4, C2H6, HCN, CH30H, H2CO, NH3). Such molecules are of keen interest to Astrobiology, as they include important pre-biotic species that likely were required for the emergence of life on Earth and perhaps elsewhere. Approximately 20 comets have thus far been characterized, beginning with C/1996 82 (Hyakutake) in 1996. Molecular production rates are established through comparison of observed emission line intensities with those predicted by quantum mechanical fluorescence models. Abundances of parent volatiles (relative to H2O) vary among even the relatively small number of comets sampled, with the most volatile species (CO and CH4) displaying the largest variations. Techniques developed for measuring parent volatile abundances in comets will be discussed, as will possible implications for their formation.

  1. Extension of the comet method to 2-D hexagonal geometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Connolly, Kevin John; Rahnema, Farzad; Zhang, Dingkang

    2011-01-01

    The capability of the heterogeneous coarse mesh radiation transport (COMET) method developed at Georgia Tech has been expanded. COMET is now able to treat hexagonal geometry in two dimensions, allowing reactor problems to be solved for those next-generation reactors which utilize prismatic block structure and hexagonal lattice geometry in their designs. The COMET method is used to solve whole core reactor analysis problems without resorting to homogenization or low-order transport approximations. The eigenvalue and fission density distribution of the reactor are determined iteratively using response functions. The method has previously proven accurate in solving PWR, BWR, and CANDU eigenvalue problems. In this paper, three simple test cases inspired by high temperature test reactor material cross sections and fuel block geometry are presented. These cases are given not in an attempt to model realistic nuclear power systems, but in order to test the ability of the improved method. Solutions determined by the new hexagonal version of COMET, COMET-Hex, are compared with solutions determined by MCNP5, and the results show the accuracy and efficiency of the improved COMET-Hex method in calculating the eigenvalue and fuel pin fission density in sample full-core problems. COMETHex determines the eigenvalues of these simple problems to an order of within 50 pcm of the reference solutions and all pin fission densities to an average error of 0.2%, and it requires fewer than three minutes to produce these results. (author)

  2. A catalog of observed nuclear magnitudes of Jupiter family comets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tancredi, G.; Fernández, J. A.; Rickman, H.; Licandro, J.

    2000-10-01

    A catalog of a sample of 105 Jupiter family (JF) comets (defined as those with Tisserand constants T > 2 and orbital periods P International Comet Quarterly Archive of Cometary Photometric Data, the Minor Planet Center (MPC) data base, IAU Circulars, International Comet Quarterly, and a few papers devoted to some particular comets, together with our own observations. Photometric data previous to 1990 have mainly been taken from the Comet Light Curve Catalogue (CLICC) compiled by Kamél (\\cite{kamel}). We discuss the reliability of the reported nuclear magnitudes in relation to the inherent sources of errors and uncertainties, in particular the coma contamination often present even at large heliocentric distances. A large fraction of the JF comets of our sample indeed shows various degrees of activity at large heliocentric distances, which is correlated with recent downward jumps in their perihelion distances. The reliability of coma subtraction methods to compute the nuclear magnitude is also discussed. Most absolute nuclear magnitudes are found in the range 15 - 18, with no magnitudes fainter than H_N ~ 19.5. The catalog can be found at: http://www.fisica.edu.uy/ ~ gonzalo/catalog/. Table 2 and Appendix B are only available in electronic form at http://www.edpsciences.org Table 5 is also available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html

  3. Spectroscopic Profiles of Comets Garradd and McNaught

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harris, Ien; Pierce, Donna M.; Cochran, Anita L.

    2017-10-01

    We have used the integral-field unit spectrograph (the George and Cynthia Mitchell Spectrograph) on the 2.7m Harlan J. Smith telescope at McDonald Observatory to obtain spectroscopic images of the comae of several comets. The images were obtained for various radical species (C2, C3, CN, NH2). Radial and azimuthal average profiles of the radical species were created to enhance any observed cometary coma morphological features. We compare the observed coma features across the observed species and over the different observation periods in order to constrain possible rotational states of the observed comets, as well as determine possible source differences in the coma between the observed radical species. We will present results for several comets, including C/2009 P1 (Garradd) and 260P (McNaught).

  4. Dynamics of landslides on comets of irregular shape

    Science.gov (United States)

    Czechowski, Leszek

    2017-04-01

    Landslides were observed on a few comet's nuclei, e.g. [1], [2]. The mechanism of their origin is not obvious because of very low gravity. According to [2] fluidization and multiphase transport of cometary material could be an explanation. We investigate here motion of the mass on a comet of irregular shape. The mechanism responsible for the low friction is not considered here. In fact, mass motion often occurs without contact with the surface. The motion could be triggered by meteoroids impacts or by the tidal forces. Comets nuclei are believed to be built of soft materials like snow and dust. The landing of Philae on the comet 67P/Czuriumow-Gierasimienko indicates a different situation. According to [1]: "thermal probe did not fully penetrate the near-surface layers, suggesting a local resistance of the ground to penetration of >4 megapascals, equivalent to >2 megapascal uniaxial compressive strength". Here we assume that elastic properties of comet's nuclei could be similar to elastic properties of dry snow, namely Young modulus is assumed to be 1 - 100 MPa, see [3] and [4]. We consider nucleus of the shape of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko with density 470 kg/m3. The impact or tidal forces result in changing of rotation of the comet. In general, the vector of angular velocity will be a subject to nutation that results in changing of centrifugal force, and consequently could be a factor triggering landslides. Note that nucleus' shape does not resemble the shape of surface of constant value of gravitational potential (i.e. 'geoid'). Our numerical models indicate the parts of the nucleus where landslides start and other parts where landslides stop. Of course, the regolith from the first type of regions would be removed to the regions of the second class. The motion of the mass is often complicated because of complicated distribution of the gravity and complicated shape of the nucleus. Acknowledgement: The research is partly supported by Polish National Science Centre

  5. Remote comets and related bodies - VJHK colorimetry and surface materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hartmann, W. K.; Cruikshank, D. P.; Degewij, J.

    1982-01-01

    VJHK colors for a number of asteroids and eight comets at various solar distances and levels of activity were obtained, and the observations are interpreted in terms of a two-component mixing model in which outer solar system interplanetary bodies are viewed as mixtures of ice and dark carbonaceous-type (RD and C) dirt. It is inferred that the observed comets have comae, and perhaps surfaces, of dirty ice or ice dirt grains colored by an RD-dirt component. This inference is supported by systematics of an 'alpha index' based on VJHK colors and empirically correlated with albedo and ice/dirt ratio. Among comets the alpha index correlates with solar distance in a way that suggests comets emit dirty ice grains which are stable at large solar distance but from which the ice component sublimes and leaves dirt grains at small solar distance.

  6. Outbursts and diamagnetic cavities in comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

    Science.gov (United States)

    Voelzke, M. R.

    2018-03-01

    On 2014 August 06 the Rosetta spacecraft arrived at comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Since then, the spacecraft accompanied the comet on its journey around the Sun (Glassmeier et al. 2007), until the end of the mission on 2016 September 30. This work tries to understand the possible connections between the 665 reported diamagnetic regions (Goetz et al. 2016), detected from April 2015 to February 2016 around the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, with the fluxgate magnetometer of the Rosetta Plasma Consortium (RPC-MAG), when the heliocentric distance of the comet from the sun varied from 1.8 to 2.4 AU and the 34 reported outbursts (Vincent et al. 2016), detected from July to September 2015, with the Optical, Spectroscopic, and Infrared Remote Imaging System (OSIRIS) cameras, when the ESA's Rosetta spacecraft changed the cometocentric distance from 155 to 817 km.

  7. MULTI-WAVELENGTH OBSERVATIONS OF COMET C/2011 L4 (PAN-STARRS)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yang, Bin; Keane, Jacqueline; Meech, Karen [NASA Astrobiology Institute, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States); Owen, Tobias; Wainscoat, Richard, E-mail: yangbin@ifa.hawaii.edu [Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States)

    2014-04-01

    The dynamically new comet C/2011 L4 (Pan-STARRS) is one of the brightest comets observed since the great comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp). Here, we present our multi-wavelength observations of C/2011 L4 during its in-bound passage to the inner solar system. A strong absorption band of water ice at 2.0 μm was detected in the near-infrared spectra, obtained with the 8 m Gemini-North and 3 m Infrared Telescope Facility Telescopes. The companion 1.5 μm band of water ice, however, was not observed. Spectral modeling shows that the absence of the 1.5 μm feature can be explained by the presence of sub-micron-sized fine ice grains. No gas lines (i.e., CN, HCN, or CO) were observed pre-perihelion in either the optical or the submillimeter. We derived 3σ upper limits for the CN and CO production rates. The comet exhibited a very strong continuum in the optical and its slope seemed to become redder as the comet approached the Sun. Our observations suggest that C/2011 L4 is an unusually dust-rich comet with a dust-to-gas mass ratio >4.

  8. IUE observations of the evolution of Comet Wilson (1986l) - comparison with P/Halley

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roettger, E.E.; Feldman, P.D.; A'hearn, M.F.; Festou, M.C.; Mcfadden, L.A.

    1989-01-01

    IUE observations of Comet Wilson from September 1986 to November 1987, through perihelion, allow a comparison to be conducted between this 'new' comet and the highly evolved P/Halley, at comparable heliocentric distances. The temporal decreases of both OH and dust in Comet Wilson near perihelion were monotonic and slow, by contrast to Comet Halley's rapid fluctuations. Despite these differences, relative gas abundances were similar within a factor of about 2 for comparable heliocentric and geocentric distances; this indicates that P/Halley's in situ gas measurements may be typical of comets generally. 33 refs

  9. Agarose gel electrophoresis and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis for visualization of simple sequence repeats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, James; Wright, Drew; Meksem, Khalid

    2013-01-01

    In the modern age of genetic research there is a constant search for ways to improve the efficiency of plant selection. The most recent technology that can result in a highly efficient means of selection and still be done at a low cost is through plant selection directed by simple sequence repeats (SSRs or microsatellites). The molecular markers are used to select for certain desirable plant traits without relying on ambiguous phenotypic data. The best way to detect these is the use of gel electrophoresis. Gel electrophoresis is a common technique in laboratory settings which is used to separate deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA) by size. Loading DNA and RNA onto gels allows for visualization of the size of fragments through the separation of DNA and RNA fragments. This is achieved through the use of the charge in the particles. As the fragments separate, they form into distinct bands at set sizes. We describe the ability to visualize SSRs on slab gels of agarose and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.

  10. I. T. - R. O. C. K. S. Comet Nuclei Sample Return Mission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dalcher, N.

    2009-04-01

    Ices, organics and minerals recording the chemical evolution of the outer regions of the early solar nebula are the main constituents of comets. Because comets maintain the nearly pristine nature of the cloud where they formed, the analyses of their composition, structure, thermodynamics and isotope ratios will increase our understanding of the processes that occurred in the early phases of the solar system as well as the Interstellar Medium (ISM) Cloud that predated the formation of the solar nebula [1]. While the deep impact mission aimed at determining the internal structure of comet Temple1's nuclei [e.g. 3], the stardust mission sample return has dramatically increased our understanding of comets. Its first implications indicated that some of the comet material originated in the inner solar system and was later transported outward beyond the freezing line [4]. A wide range of organic compounds identified within different grains of the aerogel collectors has demonstrated the heterogeneity in their assemblages [5]. This suggests either many histories associated with these material or possibly analytical constraints imposed by capture heating of Wild2 material in silica aerogel. The current mission ROSETTA, will further expand our knowledge about comets considerably through rigorous in situ analyses of a Jupiter Family Comet (JFC). As the next generation of comet research post ROSETTA, we present the comet nuclei sample return mission IT - ROCKS (International Team - Return Of Comet's Key Samples) to return several minimally altered samples from various locations of comet 88P/Howell, a typical JFC. The mission scenario includes remote sensing of the comet's nucleus with onboard instruments similar to the ROSETTA instruments [6, 7, 8] (VIS, IR, Thermal IR, X-Ray, Radar) and gas/dust composition measurements including a plasma science package. Additionally two microprobes [9] will further investigate the physical properties of the comet's surface. Retrieving of the

  11. Comet Dust: The Diversity of "Primitive" Particles and Implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wooden, Diane H.; Ishii, Hope A.; Bradley, John P.; Zolensky, Michael E.

    2016-01-01

    Comet dust is primitive and shows significant diversity. Our knowledge of the properties of primitive particles has expanded significantly through microscale investigations of cosmic dust samples ( IDP's(Interplanetary Dust Particles) and AMM's (Antarctic Micrometeorites)) and of comet dust samples (Stardust and Rosetta's COSIMA), as well as through remote sensing (spectroscopy and imaging) via Spitzer and via spacecraft encounters with 103P/Hartley 2 and 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Microscale investigations show that comet dust and cosmic dust are particles of unequilibrated materials, including aggregates of materials unequilibrated at submicron scales. We call unequilibrated materials "primitive" and we deduce they were incorporated into ice-rich (H2O-, CO2-, and CO-ice) parent bodies that remained cold, i.e., into comets, because of the lack of aqueous or thermal alteration since particle aggregation; yet some Stardust olivines suggest mild thermal metamorphism. Primitive particles exhibit a diverse range of: structure and typology; size and size distribution of constituents; concentration and form of carbonaceous and organic matter; D-, N-, and O- isotopic enhancements over solar; Mg-, Fe-contents of the silicate minerals; the compositions and concentrations of sulfides, and of less abundant mineral species such as chondrules, CAIs and carbonates. The uniformity within a group of samples points to: aerodynamic sorting of particles and/or particle constituents; the inclusion of a limited range of oxygen fugacities; the inclusion or exclusion of chondrules; a selection of organics. The properties of primitive particles imply there were disk processes that resulted in different comets having particular selections of primitive materials. The diversity of primitive particles has implications for the diversity of materials in the protoplanetary disk present at the time and in the region where the comets formed.

  12. Spectrophotometry of Dust in Comet Hale-Bopp

    Science.gov (United States)

    Witteborn, Fred C. (Technical Monitor)

    1997-01-01

    Comets, such as Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1), are frozen reservoirs of primitive solar nebula dust grains and ices. Analysis of the composition of cometary dust grains from infrared spectroscopic techniques permits an estimation of the types of organic and inorganic materials that constituted the early primitive solar nebula. In addition, the cometary bombardment of the Earth (approximately 3.5 Gy ago) supplied the water for the oceans and brought organic materials to Earth which may have been biogenic. Spectroscopic observations of comet Hale-Bopp suggest the possible presence of organic hydrocarbon species, silicate and olivine dust grains, and water ice. Spectroscopy near 3 microns obtained in Nov 1996 r=2.393 AU, delta=3.034 AU) shows a feature which we attribute to PAH emission. The spatial morphology of the 3.28 microns PAH feature is also presented. Optical and infrared spectrophotometric observations of comets convey valuable information about the spatial distribution and properties of dust and gas within the inner coma. In the optical and NIR shortward of 2 microns, the observed light is primarily scattered sunlight from the dust grains. At longer wavelengths, particularly in the 10 gm window, thermal emission from these grains dominates the radiation allowing an accurate estimate of grain sizes and chemical composition. Here we present an initial analysis of spectra taken with the NASA HIFOGS at 7-14 microns as part of a multiwavelength temporal study of the "comet of the century".

  13. Use of statistical analysis to validate ecogenotoxicology findings arising from various comet assay components.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hussain, Bilal; Sultana, Tayyaba; Sultana, Salma; Al-Ghanim, Khalid Abdullah; Masoud, Muhammad Shahreef; Mahboob, Shahid

    2018-04-01

    Cirrhinus mrigala, Labeo rohita, and Catla catla are economically important fish for human consumption in Pakistan, but industrial and sewage pollution has drastically reduced their population in the River Chenab. Statistics are an important tool to analyze and interpret comet assay results. The specific aims of the study were to determine the DNA damage in Cirrhinus mrigala, Labeo rohita, and Catla catla due to chemical pollution and to assess the validity of statistical analyses to determine the viability of the comet assay for a possible use with these freshwater fish species as a good indicator of pollution load and habitat degradation. Comet assay results indicated a significant (P comet head diameter, comet tail length, and % DNA damage. Regression analysis and correlation matrices conducted among the parameters of the comet assay affirmed the precision and the legitimacy of the results. The present study, therefore, strongly recommends that genotoxicological studies conduct appropriate analysis of the various components of comet assays to offer better interpretation of the assay data.

  14. Direct imaging and spectrophotometry of Comet P/Tempel 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boehnhardt, H.; Beisser, K.; Vanysek, V.; Mueller, B.E.A.; Weiss, M.

    1990-01-01

    Both direct imaging and spectrophotometry of Comet P/Tempel 2 during May-November 1988 have led to a nuclear diameter determination of the order of about 10 km. Sekanina's (1987) spin-vector model for this comet is judged capable of qualitatively accounting for both the visual light curve of the comet during this period, which exhibited a steep increase perihelion despite the normal, moderate-decrease perihelion, and an asymmetric extension of the fanlike coma in the solar direction. The late activity onset, the possible constant visual brightness immediately afterward, and the deviation of the fan axis orientation from the predicted value in May 1988, may all furnish additional constraints for P/Tempel 2 nucleus modeling. 24 refs

  15. Blazing a ghostly trail ISON and great comets of the past and future

    CERN Document Server

    Grego, Peter

    2014-01-01

    A special celestial event climaxes towards the end of 2013, the arrival, fresh from the Oort Cloud, of Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON). By all predictions, this comet was set to be one of the most dazzling comets seen in modern history.   Sky watchers will have already been primed for C/2012 (ISON) earlier in 2013 with the apparition of another naked-eye comet, C/2011 L4 (PanSTARRS), and following C/2012 S1 (ISON) there is the prospect of 2012 K1 (PanSTARRS) reaching naked-eye visibility in August 2014. And there will be other bright cometary prospects in the near future, if we take into account the latest predictions.   This book sets the scene for the arrival of Comet C/2012 S1 and those comets following it over the next few years. It explains how sky watchers and amateur astronomers can practically follow comets, observe them, and record them. This is also a guide on how to keep abreast of the latest cometary discoveries and how to use publications, websites, programs, and apps to visualize and plan observations....

  16. Triple F - A Comet Nucleus Sample Return Mission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kueppers, Michael; Keller, Horst Uwe; Kuhrt, Ekkehard; A'Hearn, Michael; Altwegg, Kathrin; Betrand, Regis; Busemann, Henner; Capria, Maria Teresa; Colangeli, Luigi

    2008-01-01

    The Triple F (Fresh From the Fridge) mission, a Comet Nucleus Sample Return, has been proposed to ESA s Cosmic Vision program. A sample return from a comet enables us to reach the ultimate goal of cometary research. Since comets are the least processed bodies in the solar system, the proposal goes far beyond cometary science topics (like the explanation of cometary activity) and delivers invaluable information about the formation of the solar system and the interstellar molecular cloud from which it formed. The proposed mission would extract three samples of the upper 50 cm from three locations on a cometary nucleus and return them cooled to Earth for analysis in the laboratory. The simple mission concept with a touch-and-go sampling by a single spacecraft was proposed as an M-class mission in collaboration with the Russian space agency ROSCOSMOS.

  17. Physical activity of the selected nearly isotropic comets with perihelia at large heliocentric distance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kulyk, I.; Rousselot, P.; Korsun, P. P.; Afanasiev, V. L.; Sergeev, A. V.; Velichko, S. F.

    2018-03-01

    Context. The systematic investigation of comets in a wide range of heliocentric distances can contribute to a better understanding of the physical mechanisms that trigger activity at large distances from the Sun and reveals possible differences in the composition of outer solar system bodies belonging to various dynamical groups. Aims: We seek to analyze the dust environment of the selected nearly isotropic comets with a perihelion distance between 4.5 and 9.1 au, where sublimation of water ice is considered to be negligible. Methods: We present results of multicolor broadband photometric observations for 14 distant active objects conducted between 2008 and 2015 with various telescopes. Images obtained with broadband filters were used to investigate optical colors of the cometary comae and to quantify physical activity of the comet nuclei. Results: The activity level was estimated with Afρ parameters ranging between 95 ± 10 cm and 9600 ± 300 cm. Three returning comets were less active than the dynamically new comets. Dust production rates of the comet nuclei were estimated between 1 and 100 kg s-1 based on some assumptions about the physical properties of dust particles populating comae. The measured colors point out reddening of the continuum for all the comets. The mean values of a normalized reflectivity gradient within the group of the comets amount to 14 ± 2% per 1000 Å and 3 ± 2% per 1000 Å in the BV and VR spectral domains, respectively. The comae of the dynamically new comets, which were observed on their inbound legs, may be slightly redder in the blue spectral interval than comae of the comets observed after the perihelion passages. The dynamically new comets observed both pre- and post-perihelion, seem to have higher production rates post-perihelion than pre-perihelion for similar heliocentric distances.

  18. Protein electrophoresis - serum

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... this page: //medlineplus.gov/ency/article/003540.htm Protein electrophoresis - serum To use the sharing features on ... JavaScript. This lab test measures the types of protein in the fluid (serum) part of a blood ...

  19. Comet C/2001 J1

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Pravec, Petr; Helin, E.; Lawrence, K.; Kotková, Lenka; Tichá, J.; Tichý, M.

    č. 7623 (2001), s. 1 ISSN 0081-0304 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA205/99/0255 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z1003909 Keywords : comet s * astrometry Subject RIV: BN - Astronomy, Celestial Mechanics, Astrophysics

  20. COMET- co-ordination and implementation of a pan-European instrument for radioecology - COMET- co-ordination and implementation of a pan-European project for radioecology

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vandenhove, Hildegarde [SCK.CEN, Belgian Nuclear Research Centre, Boeretang 200, 2400 Mol (Belgium); Muikku, Maarit [STUK, Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, P.O. Box 14, FI-00881 Helsinki (Finland); Liland, Astrid [NRPA, Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority, Grini Naeringspark 13, Oesteraas, 1332 (Norway); Adam-Guillermin, Christelle [IRSN-Institut de Radioprotection et de Surete Nucleaire, 31, Avenue de la Division Leclerc, 92260 Fontenay-Aux-Roses (France); Howard, Brenda [NERC Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Lancaster Environment Centre, Library Av., Bailrigg, Lancaster, LA1 4AP (United Kingdom)

    2014-07-01

    The EC-FP7 project COMET (June 2013 - May 2017) intends to strengthen the pan-European research initiative on the impact of radiation on man and the environment by facilitating the integration of 'radioecological' research. The COMET consortium currently has thirteen partners; eight from EU member states, two from Norway, two from Ukraine and one from Japan. COMET operates in close association with the FP7-STAR Network of Excellence[1]and the Radioecology Alliance[2], COMET will develop initiatives to encourage organisations from the European (and larger) radioecological research community to join the Radioecology Alliance to help address the priorities identified in the Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) for radioecological research. Capacity, competence and skills in radioecology will thus be strengthened at a pan-European level. Mechanisms for knowledge exchange, dissemination and training will be established to enhance and maintain European capacity, competence and skills in radioecology, partially through an open access web site, topical workshops and training activities. COMET will develop innovative mechanisms for joint programming and implementation of radioecological research. Mechanisms for planning and carrying out joint research activities in radioecology will be developed based on the scientific requirements identified in the SRA and via interaction with a wide range of stakeholders. COMET will strengthen the bridge with other radiation protection and ecological communities. A roadmap and associated implementation plan is being developed in collaboration with the Radioecology Alliance and the allied platforms on low dose risk research (MELODI[3]), and emergency management research (NERIS[4]) and the radioecology community at large who is invited to become associated to the development of roadmap and implementation plan. COMET will initiate innovative research on key needs identified by the radioecology community, the (post) emergency management

  1. 21 CFR 862.2485 - Electrophoresis apparatus for clinical use.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Electrophoresis apparatus for clinical use. 862.2485 Section 862.2485 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN... Instruments § 862.2485 Electrophoresis apparatus for clinical use. (a) Identification. An electrophoresis...

  2. Halley's Comet: A Bibliography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freitag, Ruth S., Comp.

    Included in this bibliography are over 3,200 references to publications on Halley's Comet, its history, orbital motion, and physical characteristics, meteor streams associated with it, preparations for space missions to study it in 1986, and popular reaction to its appearances. Also cited are a few papers that, although they devote little…

  3. The comet assay: assessment of in vitro and in vivo DNA damage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bajpayee, Mahima; Kumar, Ashutosh; Dhawan, Alok

    2013-01-01

    Rapid industrialization and pursuance of a better life have led to an increase in the amount of chemicals in the environment, which are deleterious to human health. Pesticides, automobile exhausts, and new chemical entities all add to air pollution and have an adverse effect on all living organisms including humans. Sensitive test systems are thus required for accurate hazard identification and risk assessment. The Comet assay has been used widely as a simple, rapid, and sensitive tool for assessment of DNA damage in single cells from both in vitro and in vivo sources as well as in humans. Already, the in vivo comet assay has gained importance as the preferred test for assessing DNA damage in animals for some international regulatory guidelines. The advantages of the in vivo comet assay are its ability to detect DNA damage in any tissue, despite having non-proliferating cells, and its sensitivity to detect genotoxicity. The recommendations from the international workshops held for the comet assay have resulted in establishment of guidelines. The in vitro comet assay conducted in cultured cells and cell lines can be used for screening large number of compounds and at very low concentrations. The in vitro assay has also been automated to provide a high-throughput screening method for new chemical entities, as well as environmental samples. This chapter details the in vitro comet assay using the 96-well plate and in vivo comet assay in multiple organs of the mouse.

  4. Can the comet assay be used reliably to detect nanoparticle-induced genotoxicity?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karlsson, Hanna L; Di Bucchianico, Sebastiano; Collins, Andrew R; Dusinska, Maria

    2015-03-01

    The comet assay is a sensitive method to detect DNA strand breaks as well as oxidatively damaged DNA at the level of single cells. Today the assay is commonly used in nano-genotoxicology. In this review we critically discuss possible interactions between nanoparticles (NPs) and the comet assay. Concerns for such interactions have arisen from the occasional observation of NPs in the "comet head", which implies that NPs may be present while the assay is being performed. This could give rise to false positive or false negative results, depending on the type of comet assay endpoint and NP. For most NPs, an interaction that substantially impacts the comet assay results is unlikely. For photocatalytically active NPs such as TiO2 , on the other hand, exposure to light containing UV can lead to increased DNA damage. Samples should therefore not be exposed to such light. By comparing studies in which both the comet assay and the micronucleus assay have been used, a good consistency between the assays was found in general (69%); consistency was even higher when excluding studies on TiO2 NPs (81%). The strong consistency between the comet and micronucleus assays for a range of different NPs-even though the two tests measure different endpoints-implies that both can be trusted in assessing the genotoxicity of NPs, and that both could be useful in a standard battery of test methods. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  5. The Disruption and Demise of Periodic Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asphaug, Erik; Benz, Willy; Cuzzi, Jeffrey (Technical Monitor)

    1994-01-01

    The impact of the fragmented comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 (SL9) into Jupiter this July promises to change our understanding of the outer solar system. More than twenty mountain-sized conglomerates of ice and rock will hit the atmosphere at approx. 50 km/s over the course of a week beginning July 16, releasing approx. 10(exp 4) to 10(exp8) megatons of energy per burst, and providing unique and perhaps pivotal clues to the properties of comets and the physics of massive atmospheres. Because the fragments will strike the far side of Jupiter, data acquisition, analysis and interpretation will be quite sensitive to the actual size and energy of the fragments. We therefore examine an event which took place two summers ago, unnoticed and unobserved: the disruption of SL9 into a "string of pearls' as it passed within the Roche limit at perijove. We first demonstrate, on the basis of timescales of tidal interaction, that the comet could not have broken into 20+ fragments through a hierarchy of brittle fracture events. Next, noting that the tidal stress was too weak to have even fragmented an uncompressed mass of freshly fallen snow, we run models for a strengthless comet held together only by self-gravity. We explore the initial size, density, and rotation. We conclude that a 4 km diameter comet (smaller if a prograde rotator) of density approx. 0.5 g/cu cm disrupts and disperses into a chain of fragments similar to Shoemaker-Levy 9, whether we begin with 21, 85, 169, 700 or 2000 sub-grains. Gravitational reaccumulation is evidently the answer, and there is no need to invoke the presence of 21 "cometesimals" as the subscale of the comet. To explain how a comet can be weaker than uncompacted snow, we show that the ring-plane crossing prior to perijove could have caused total damage. Finally, we compute the tidal stress on impactors as they approach Jupiter this July. Objects of various density are moderately distorted but not disrupted by the time they strike the planet.

  6. Mixture Genotoxicity of 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid, Acrylamide, and Maleic Hydrazide on Human Caco-2 Cells Assessed with Comet Assay

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Syberg, Kristian; Binderup, Mona-Lise; Cedergreen, Nina

    2015-01-01

    Assessment of genotoxic properties of chemicals is mainly conducted only for single chemicals, without taking mixture genotoxic effects into consideration. The current study assessed mixture effects of the three known genotoxic chemicals, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), acrylamide (AA......), and maleic hydrazide (MH), in an experiment with a fixed ratio design setup. The genotoxic effects were assessed with the single-cell gel electrophoresis assay (comet assay) for both single chemicals and the ternary mixture. The concentration ranges used were 0-1.4, 0-20, and 0-37.7 mM for 2,4-D, AA, and MH......, respectively. Mixture toxicity was tested with a fixed ratio design at a 10:23:77% ratio for 2.4-D:AA:MH. Results indicated that the three chemicals yielded a synergistic mixture effect. It is not clear which mechanisms are responsible for this interaction. A few possible interactions are discussed...

  7. Colour, albedo and nucleus size of Halley's comet

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cruikshank, D. P.; Tholen, D. J.; Hartmann, W. K.

    1985-01-01

    Photometry of Halley's comet in the B, J, V, and K broadband filters during a time when the coma was very weak and presumed to contribute negligibly to the broadband photometry is reported. The V-J and J-K colors suggest that the color of the nucleus of Halley's comet is similar to that of the D-type asteroids, which in turn suggests that the surface of the nucleus has an albedo less than 0.1.

  8. Reference cells and ploidy in the comet assay

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gunnar eBrunborg

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available In the comet assay, single cells are analyzed with respect to their level of DNA damage. Discrimination of the individual cell or cell type based on DNA content, with concomitant scoring of the DNA damage, is useful since this may allow analysis of mixtures of cells. Different cells can then be characterized based on their ploidy, cell cycle stage, or genome size. We here describe two applications of such a cell type-specific comet assay: (i Testicular cell suspensions, analyzed on the basis of their ploidy during spermatogenesis; and (ii reference cells in the form of fish erythrocytes which can be included as internal standards to correct for inter-assay variations. With standard fluorochromes used in the comet assay, the total staining signal from each cell – whether damaged or undamaged – was found to be associated with the cell’s DNA content. Analysis of the fluorescence intensity of single cells is straightforward since these data are available in scoring systems based on image analysis. The analysis of testicular cell suspensions provides information on cell type specific composition, susceptibility to genotoxicants, and DNA repair. Internal reference cells, either untreated or carrying defined numbers of lesions induced by ionizing radiation, are useful for investigation of experimental factors that can cause variation in comet assay results, and for routine inclusion in experiments to facilitate standardization of methods and comparison of comet assay data obtained in different experiments or in different laboratories. They can also be used - in combination with a reference curve - to quantify the DNA lesions induced by a certain treatment. Fish cells of a range of genome sizes, both greater and smaller than human, are suitable for this purpose and they are inexpensive.

  9. Protective effects of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Portulaca oleracea L. aerial parts on H2O2-induced DNA damage in lymphocytes by comet assay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Behravan, Javad; Mosafa, Fatemeh; Soudmand, Negar; Taghiabadi, Elahe; Razavi, Bibi Marjan; Karimi, Gholamreza

    2011-09-01

    The comet assay is a standard method for measuring DNA damage. In this study, the protective effects of ethanolic and aqueous extracts of Portulaca oleracea L. (P. oleracea) on human lymphocyte DNA lesions were evaluated with the comet assay. Lymphocytes were isolated from blood samples taken from healthy volunteers. Human lymphocytes were incubated in H(2)O(2) (50,100, and 200 μM), aqueous extract (0.05, 0.1, 0.5, 1, and 2.5mg/ml), and ethanolic extracts (0.05, 0.1, 0.5, 1, and 2.5mg/ml) of P. oleraceae aerial parts alone with a combination of H(2)O(2) (100 μM) with either 1 or 2.5mg/ml of both extracts at 4°C for 30 minutes. The extent of DNA migration was measured using the alkaline single cell gel electrophoresis approach assay, and DNA damage was expressed as percentage tail DNA. We found that the aqueous extract of P. oleracea significantly inhibited DNA damage, while there was no effect of the ethanolic extract. These data suggest that the aqueous extract of P. oleracea can prevent oxidative DNA damage to human lymphocytes, which is likely due to antioxidant constituents in the extract. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  10. Comet Dust After Deep Impact

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wooden, Diane H.; Harker, David E.; Woodward, Charles E.

    2006-01-01

    When the Deep Impact Mission hit Jupiter Family comet 9P/Tempel 1, an ejecta crater was formed and an pocket of volatile gases and ices from 10-30 m below the surface was exposed (A Hearn et aI. 2005). This resulted in a gas geyser that persisted for a few hours (Sugita et al, 2005). The gas geyser pushed dust grains into the coma (Sugita et a1. 2005), as well as ice grains (Schulz et al. 2006). The smaller of the dust grains were submicron in radii (0-25.3 micron), and were primarily composed of highly refractory minerals including amorphous (non-graphitic) carbon, and silicate minerals including amorphous (disordered) olivine (Fe,Mg)2SiO4 and pyroxene (Fe,Mg)SiO3 and crystalline Mg-rich olivine. The smaller grains moved faster, as expected from the size-dependent velocity law produced by gas-drag on grains. The mineralogy evolved with time: progressively larger grains persisted in the near nuclear region, having been imparted with slower velocities, and the mineralogies of these larger grains appeared simpler and without crystals. The smaller 0.2-0.3 micron grains reached the coma in about 1.5 hours (1 arc sec = 740 km), were more diverse in mineralogy than the larger grains and contained crystals, and appeared to travel through the coma together. No smaller grains appeared at larger coma distances later (with slower velocities), implying that if grain fragmentation occurred, it happened within the gas acceleration zone. These results of the high spatial resolution spectroscopy (GEMINI+Michelle: Harker et 4. 2005, 2006; Subaru+COMICS: Sugita et al. 2005) revealed that the grains released from the interior were different from the nominally active areas of this comet by their: (a) crystalline content, (b) smaller size, (c) more diverse mineralogy. The temporal changes in the spectra, recorded by GEMIM+Michelle every 7 minutes, indicated that the dust mineralogy is inhomogeneous and, unexpectedly, the portion of the size distribution dominated by smaller grains has

  11. Hyperactivity and Dust Composition of Comet 103P/Hartley 2 During the EPOXI Encounter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harker, David E.; Woodward, Charles E.; Kelley, Michael S. P.; Wooden, Diane H.

    2018-05-01

    Short-period comet 103P/Hartley 2 (103P) was the flyby target of the Deep Impact eXtended Investigation on 2010 November 4 UT. This comet has a small hyperactive nucleus, i.e., it has a high water production rate for its surface area. The underlying cause of the hyperactivity is unknown; the relative abundances of volatiles in the coma of 103P are not unusual. However, the dust properties of this comet have not been fully explored. We present four epochs of mid-infrared spectra and images of comet 103P observed from Gemini-South +T-ReCS on 2010 November 5, 7, 21 and December 13 UT, near and after the spacecraft encounter. Comet 103P exhibited a weak 10 μm emission feature ≃1.14 ± 0.01 above the underlying local 10 μm continuum. Thermal dust grain modeling of the spectra shows the grain composition (mineralogy) was dominated by amorphous carbon and amorphous pyroxene with evidence for Mg-rich crystalline olivine. The grain size has a peak grain radius range of a peak ∼ 0.5–0.9 μm. On average, the crystalline silicate mass fraction is ≃0.24, fairly typical of other short-period comets. In contrast, the silicate-to-carbon ratio of ≃0.48–0.64 is lower compared to other short-period comets, which indicates that the flux measured in the 10 μm region of 103P was dominated by amorphous carbon grains. We conclude that the hyperactivity in comet 103P is not revealing dust properties similar to the small grains seen with the Deep Impact experiment on comet 9P/Tempel 1 or from comet C/1995 O1 (Hale–Bopp).

  12. Comets, Charisma, and Celebrity: Reflections on Their Deep Impact

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olson, R. J. M.; Pasachoff, J. M.

    In celebration of the Deep Impact Mission, this essay explores the influence of comets on the arts and sciences since the beginning of recorded time. Through images, ranging from the sublime to the humorous, it probes the reasons why comets are among the most charismatic visual spectacles in the universe and why, even as scientific missions unmask their mysteries, they remain iconic symbols and harbingers of change.

  13. Comets, Carbonaceous Meteorites, and the Origin of the Biosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoover, Richard B.

    2007-01-01

    Evidence for indigenous microfossils in carbonaceous meteorites suggests that the paradigm of the endogenous origin of life on Earth should be reconsidered. It is now widely accepted that comets and carbonaceous meteorites played an important role in the delivery of water, organics and life critical biogenic elements to the early Earth and facilitated the origin and evolution of the Earth's Biosphere. However; the detection of embedded microfossils and mats in carbonaceous meteorites implies that comets and meteorites may have played a direct role in the delivery of intact microorganisms and that the Biosphere may extend far into the Cosmos. Recent space observations have found the nuclei of comets to have very low albedos (approx.0.03) and. these jet-black surfaces become very hot (T approx. 400 K) near perihelion. This paper reviews recent observational data-on comets and suggests that liquid water pools could exist in cavities and fissures between the internal ices and rocks and the exterior carbonaceous crust. The presence of light and liquid water near the surface of the nucleus enhances the possibility that comets could harbor prokaryotic extremophiles (e.g., cyanobacteria) capable of growth over a wide range of temperatures. The hypothesis that comets are the parent bodies of the CI1 and the CM2 carbonaceous meteorites is advanced. Electron microscopy images will be presented showing forms interpreted as indigenous-microfossils embedded' in freshly. fractured interior surfaces of the Orgueil (CI1) and Murchison (CM2) meteorites. These forms are consistent in size and morphologies with known morphotypes of all five orders of Cyanobacteriaceae: Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) elemental data shows that the meteoritic forms have anomalous C/O; C/N; and C/S as compared with modern extremophiles and cyanobacteria. These images and spectral data indicate that the clearly biogenic and embedded remains cannot be interpreted as recent biological

  14. Alkaline gel electrophoresis assay to detect DNA strand breaks and repair mechanisms in Escherichia coli

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Carlos Pelielo de Mattos

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available Reactive oxygen species (ROS can induce lesions in different cellular targets, including DNA. Stannous chloride (SnCl2 is a ROS generator, leading to lethality in Escherichia coli (E. coli, with the base excision repair (BER mechanism playing a role in this process. Many techniques have been developed to detect genotoxicity, as comet assay, in eukaryotic cells, and plasmid DNA agarose gel electrophoresis. In this study, an adaptation of the alkaline gel electrophoresis method was carried out to ascertain the induction of strand breaks by SnCl2 in bacterial DNA, from E. coli BER mutants, and its repair pathway. Results obtained show that SnCl2 was able to induce DNA strand breaks in all strains tested. Moreover, endonuclease IV and exonuclease III play a role in DNA repair. On the whole, data has shown that the alkaline gel electrophoresis assay could be used both for studying DNA strand breaks induction and for associated repair mechanisms.Espécies reativas de oxigênio (ERO podem induzir lesões em diferentes alvos celulares, incluindo o DNA. O cloreto estanoso (SnCl2 é um gerador de ERO que induz letalidade em E. coli, sendo o reparo por excisão de bases (BER um mecanismo importante neste processo. Técnicas como o ensaio cometa (em eucariotos e a eletroforese de DNA plasmidial em gel de agarose têm sido utilizadas para detectar genotoxicidade. No presente estudo, uma adaptação do método de eletroforese em gel alcalino de agarose foi usada para verificar a indução de quebras, pelo SnCl2, no DNA de E. coli, bem como a participação de enzimas do BER na restauração das lesões. Os resultados mostraram que o SnCl2 induziu quebras no DNA de todas as cepas testadas. Além disso, endonuclease IV e exonuclease III estão envolvidas na reparação dos danos. Em resumo, os dados obtidos indicam que a metodologia de eletroforese em gel alcalino de agarose pode ser empregada tanto para o estudo de quebras no DNA, quanto para avaliação dos

  15. The cyanogen band of Comet Halley

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tatum, J. B.; Campbell, E. C.

    The results of improved whole disk solar irradiance spectrum calculations performed for projected Halley's Comet heliocentric radial velocity and distance are provided. The computations were carried out to account for Doppler effects in the Fraunhofer lines of rotational excitation bands of violet CN emissions from the comet in its encounters with solar radiation. The calculations spanned every half-day for 200 days before and after perihelion. The 801 computer images of the expected intensities were photographed in sequence to form an animated film paced by background music from Liszt's Second Hungarian Rhapsody. The results are intended for accounting for spectral changes observed due to Doppler effects induced by changing velocity and distance, rather than physical mechanisms of the emitting processes.

  16. Practical capillary electrophoresis

    CERN Document Server

    Weinberger, Robert

    2000-01-01

    In the 1980s, capillary electrophoresis (CE) joined high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) as the most powerful separation technique available to analytical chemists and biochemists. Published research using CE grew from 48 papers in the year of commercial introduction (1988) to 1200 in 1997. While only a dozen major pharmaceutical and biotech companies have reduced CE to routine practice, the applications market is showing real or potential growth in key areas, particularly in the DNA marketplace for genomic mapping and forensic identification. For drug development involving small molecules (including chiral separations), one CE instrument can replace 10 liquid chromatographs in terms of speed of analysis. CE also uses aqueous rather than organic solvents and is thus environmentally friendlier than HPLC. The second edition of Practical Capillary Electrophoresis has been extensively reorganized and rewritten to reflect modern usage in the field, with an emphasis on commercially available apparatus and ...

  17. Groundbased investigation of comet 67p/churyumov- gerasimenko, target of the spacecraft Mission Rosetta

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Almeida, A. A.; Trevisan Sanzovo, D.; Sanzovo, G. C.; Boczko, R.; Miguel Torres, R.

    In this work, we make a comparative study of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, target of Mission Rosetta, with Comets 1P/Halley and Hyakutake(C/1996 B2). Water and gas) release rates are derived from visual magnitudes (mv), determined mostly by amateur astronomers, and listed in several issues of International Comet Quarterly(ICQ). We make a systematic and uniform analysis of continuum fluxes obtained at visual wavelengths and, using the framework of photometric theory of Newburn & Spinrad (1985, 1989), we estimate dust release rates, qd (in g/s), effective particle sizes, a (in micron), and dust-to-gas mass ratios, for this important sample of comets. We also determine the color excess of the dust particles, CE, relative to the Sun at wavelength ranges 477.0-524.0 nm in the 1996 return of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, and 365.0-484.5 nm for Comets 1P/Halley and C/1996 B2.

  18. Melt cooling by bottom flooding. The COMET core-catcher concept

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Foit, Jerzy Jan; Alsmeyer, Hans; Tromm, Walter; Buerger, Manfred; Journeau, Christophe

    2009-01-01

    The COMET concept has been developed to cool an ex-vessel corium melt in case of a hypothetical severe accident leading to vessel melt-through. After erosion of a sacrificial concrete layer the melt is passively flooded by bottom injection of coolant water. The open porosities and large surface that are generated during melt solidification form a porous permeable structure that is permanently filled with the evaporating water and thus allows an efficient short-term as well as long-term removal of the decay heat. The advantages of this concept are the fast cool-down and complete solidification of the melt within less than one hour typically. This stops further release of fission products from the corium. A drawback may be the fast release of steam during the quenching process. Several experimental series have been performed by FZK (Germany) to test and optimise the functionality of the different variants of the COMET concept. Thermite generated melts of iron and aluminium oxide were used. The large scale COMET-H test series with sustained inductive heating includes nine experiments performed with an array of water injection channels embedded in a sacrificial concrete layer. Variation of the water inlet pressure and melt height showed that melts up to 50 cm height can be safely cooled with an overpressure of the coolant water of 0.2 bar. The CometPC concept is based on cooling by flooding the melt from the bottom through layers of porous, water filled concrete. The third variant of the COMET design, CometPCA, uses a layer of porous, water filled concrete CometPCA from which flow channels protrude into the layer of sacrificial concrete. This modified concept combines the advantages of the original COMET concept with flow channels and the high resistance of a water-filled porous concrete layer against downward melt attack. Four large scale CometPCA experiments (FZK, Germany) have demonstrated an efficient cooling of melts up to 50 cm height using the recommended water

  19. Comet coma sample return instrument

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albee, A. L.; Brownlee, Don E.; Burnett, Donald S.; Tsou, Peter; Uesugi, K. T.

    1994-01-01

    The sample collection technology and instrument concept for the Sample of Comet Coma Earth Return Mission (SOCCER) are described. The scientific goals of this Flyby Sample Return are to return to coma dust and volatile samples from a known comet source, which will permit accurate elemental and isotopic measurements for thousands of individual solid particles and volatiles, detailed analysis of the dust structure, morphology, and mineralogy of the intact samples, and identification of the biogenic elements or compounds in the solid and volatile samples. Having these intact samples, morphologic, petrographic, and phase structural features can be determined. Information on dust particle size, shape, and density can be ascertained by analyzing penetration holes and tracks in the capture medium. Time and spatial data of dust capture will provide understanding of the flux dynamics of the coma and the jets. Additional information will include the identification of cosmic ray tracks in the cometary grains, which can provide a particle's process history and perhaps even the age of the comet. The measurements will be made with the same equipment used for studying micrometeorites for decades past; hence, the results can be directly compared without extrapolation or modification. The data will provide a powerful and direct technique for comparing the cometary samples with all known types of meteorites and interplanetary dust. This sample collection system will provide the first sample return from a specifically identified primitive body and will allow, for the first time, a direct method of matching meteoritic materials captured on Earth with known parent bodies.

  20. Misleading presentation of haemoglobin electrophoresis data | Adu ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Haemoglobinopathies are common in sub-Saharan Africa. As such haemoglobin electrophoresis are required to inform clinical decision making. However, haemoglobin electrophoresis is an assay that detects protein at either alkaline or acidic pH. Such assays do not interrogate gene sequences but rather the product of a ...

  1. Comparison of lipoprotein electrophoresis and apolipoprotein e genotyping in investigating dysbetalipoproteinemia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahmed, F.; Kadiki, A.E.

    2017-01-01

    Dysbetalipoproteinemia is often associated with apolipoprotein E2E2 homozygosity; however, lipoprotein electrophoresis may also be used to assist in the diagnosis. The aim of this study was to compare apolipoprotein E (apo E) genotyping and lipoprotein electrophoresis in investigating dysbetalipoproteinemia. Data were collected over a three-year period from a lipid clinic in a tertiary referral centre and reviewed for apo E genotyping and lipoprotein electrophoresis. Sixty-two patients had both apo E genotyping and lipoprotein electrophoresis. Of these, 16 patients showed broad beta band on electrophoresis. However, only 3 of them had apo E2E2 homozygosity on genotyping. Lipoprotein electrophoresis and apo E genotyping results showed poor concordance. This was primarily due to visual interpretation error of lipoprotein electrophoresis which may over diagnose dysbetalipoproteinemia. (author)

  2. Comparison of Lipoprotein Electrophoresis and Apolipoprotein E Genotyping in Investigating Dysbetalipoproteinemia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmed, Farhan; El-Kadiki, Alia; Gibbons, Stephen

    2017-06-01

    Dysbetalipoproteinemia is often associated with apolipoprotein E2E2 homozygosity; however, lipoprotein electrophoresis may also be used to assist in the diagnosis. The aim of this study was to compare apolipoprotein E (apo E) genotyping and lipoprotein electrophoresis in investigating dysbetalipoproteinemia. Data were collected over a three-year period from a lipid clinic in a tertiary referral centre and reviewed for apo E genotyping and lipoprotein electrophoresis. Sixty-two patients had both apo E genotyping and lipoprotein electrophoresis. Of these, 16 patients showed broad beta band on electrophoresis. However, only 3 of them had apo E2E2 homozygosity on genotyping. Lipoprotein electrophoresis and apo E genotyping results showed poor concordance. This was primarily due to visual interpretation error of lipoprotein electrophoresis which may over diagnose dysbetalipoproteinemia.

  3. Laboratory Studies of Cometary Materials - Continuity Between Asteroid and Comet

    Science.gov (United States)

    Messenger, Scott; Walker, Robert M.

    2015-01-01

    Laboratory analysis of cometary samples have been enabled by collection of cometary dust in the stratosphere by high altitude aircraft and by the direct sampling of the comet Wild-2 coma by the NASA Stardust spacecraft. Cometary materials are composed of a complex assemblage of highly primitive, unprocessed interstellar and primordial solar system materials as well as a variety of high temperature phases that must have condensed in the inner regions of the protoplanetary disk. These findings support and contradict conclusions of comet properties based solely on astronomical observations. These sample return missions have instead shown that there is a continuity of properties between comets and asteroids, where both types of materials show evidence for primitive and processed materials. Furthermore, these findings underscore the importance and value of direct sample return. There will be great value in comparing the findings of the Stardust cometary coma sample return mission with those of future asteroid surface sample returns OSIRIS-REx and Hayabusa II as well as future comet nucleus sample returns.

  4. Preliminary results of the Vega-1 and Vega-2 space probes rendezvous with the Halley comet

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1986-01-01

    Preliminary results of the Halley comet investigation using the Vega-1 and Vega-2 space probes which passed on the 6th and 9th of March, 1986 the comet nucleus at a distance of 9000 and 8200 respectively, are presented. The comet nucleus appeared to be one of the darkest bodies of the Solar system: its albedo is just about 4%. The IR spectrum analysis has shown, that water and carbon dioxide appear to be the main components of the comet material. Mass analysis points out to the presence in the comet dust of iron, oxygen and silicon. It is ascertained, that about 30 t of water vapors and about 5-10 t of dust are evaporated from the comet nucleus surface in one second. Solar wind interaction with the comet streched atmosphere was investigated

  5. Further characterization of benzo[a]pyrene diol-epoxide (BPDE)-induced comet assay effects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bausinger, Julia; Schütz, Petra; Piberger, Ann Liza; Speit, Günter

    2016-03-01

    The present study aims to further characterize benzo[a]pyrene diol-epoxide (BPDE)-induced comet assay effects. Therefore, we measured DNA effects by the comet assay and adduct levels by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in human lymphocytes and A549 cells exposed to (±)-anti-benzo[a]pyrene-7,8-diol 9,10-epoxide [(±)-anti-BPDE] or (+)-anti-benzo[a]pyrene-7,8-diol 9,10-epoxide [(+)-anti-BPDE]. Both, the racemic form and (+)-anti-BPDE, which is the most relevant metabolite with regard to mutagenicity and carcinogenicity, induced DNA migration in cultured lymphocytes in the same range of concentrations to a similar extent in the alkaline comet assay after exposure for 2h. Nevertheless, (+)-anti-BPDE induced significantly enhanced DNA migration after 16 and 18h post-cultivation which was not seen in response to (±)-anti-BPDE. Combination of the comet assay with the Fpg (formamidopyrimidine-DNA glycosylase) protein did not enhance BPDE-induced effects and thus indicated the absence of Fpg-sensitive sites (oxidized purines, N7-guanine adducts, AP-sites). The aphidicolin (APC)-modified comet assay suggested significant excision repair activity of cultured lymphocytes during the first 18h of culture after a 2 h-exposure to BPDE. In contrast to these repair-related effects measured by the comet assay, HPLC analysis of stable adducts did not reveal any significant removal of (+)-anti-BPDE-induced adducts from lymphocytes during the first 22h of culture. On the other hand, HPLC measurements indicated that A549 cells repaired about 70% of (+)-anti-BPDE-induced DNA-adducts within 22h of release. However, various experiments with the APC-modified comet assay did not indicate significant repair activity during this period in A549 cells. The conflicting results obtained with the comet assay and the HPLC-based adduct analysis question the real cause for BPDE-induced DNA migration in the comet assay and the reliability of the APC-modified comet assay for the

  6. Conducting Polymer Electrodes for Gel Electrophoresis

    OpenAIRE

    Bengtsson, Katarina; Nilsson, Sara; Robinson, Nathaniel D

    2014-01-01

    In nearly all cases, electrophoresis in gels is driven via the electrolysis of water at the electrodes, where the process consumes water and produces electrochemical by-products. We have previously demonstrated that p-conjugated polymers such as poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) can be placed between traditional metal electrodes and an electrolyte to mitigate electrolysis in liquid (capillary electroosmosis/electrophoresis) systems. In this report, we extend our previous result to gel ...

  7. Comet C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS): Dynamically Old or New?

    Science.gov (United States)

    de la Fuente Marcos, Raúl; de la Fuente Marcos, Carlos

    2018-04-01

    At discovery time, C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS) was the second most distant inbound active comet ever observed. It has been argued that this object is in the process of crossing the inner Solar System for the first time, but other authors have concluded that it is dynamically old. We have performed full N-body simulations for 3 Myr into the past using the latest public orbit determination for this object and most of them, 67%, are consistent with a bound and dynamically old Oort cloud comet, but about 29% of the studied orbits are compatible with an interstellar origin. Our independent calculations strongly suggest that C/2017 K2 is not a dynamically new Oort cloud comet.

  8. In situ photo-immobilised pH gradient isoelectric focusing and zone electrophoresis integrated two-dimensional microfluidic chip electrophoresis for protein separation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lin, Fengmin; Yu, Shiyong; Gu, Le; Zhu, Xuetao; Wang, Jianshe; Zhu, Han; Lu, Yi; Wang, Yihua; Deng, Yulin; Geng, Lina

    2015-01-01

    A method is introduced for open-column photo-induced site-selective immobilization of pH gradients in a layer of PEG-methacrylate in a multi-dimensional microfluidic chip for use in electrophoresis. It has several attractive features: (a) mixtures of fluorescently labelled proteins carbonic anhydrase, catalase and myoglobin in their native state can be separated by pH-gradient isoelectric focusing (IEF) and zone electrophoresis (CZE) using integrated 2D chip electrophoresis; (b) compared to strip packing or monolithic photo-immobilization, it overcomes the shortcomings of free carrier ampholyte-based 2D chip electrophoresis in an easy way; (c) larger amount of sample can be loaded into the open column-mode electrophoresis (d) immobilized pH gradients can be re-used and the chip can be recycled; (e) a multilayer 3D pH gradient is established by a layer-by-layer assembly technique to further increase the separation capacity. In our perception, this strategy has a large potential in microfluidic chip-based separation schemes because of its simplicity, separation power, re-usability, and separation capacity. (author)

  9. Encounter of the Ulysses Spacecraft with the Ion Tail of Comet McNaught

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neugebauer, M.; Gloeckler, G.; Gosling, J. T.; Rees, A.; Skoug, R.; Goldstein, B. E.; Armstrong, T. P.; Combi, M. R.; Makinen, T.; McComas, D. J.; hide

    2007-01-01

    Comet McNaught was the brightest comet observed from Earth in the last 40 years. For a period of five days in early 2007 February, four instruments on the Ulysses spacecraft directly measured cometary ions and key properties of the interaction of the comet's ion tail with the high-speed solar wind from the polar regions of the Sun. Because of the record-breaking duration of the encounter, the data are unusually comprehensive. O3(+) ions were detected for the first time in a comet tail, coexisting with singly charged molecular ions with masses in the range 28-35 amu. The presence of magnetic turbulence and of ions with energies up to approximately 200 keV indicate that at a distance of approximately 1.6 AU from the comet nucleus, the ion tail McNaught had not yet reached equilibrium with the surrounding solar wind.

  10. Model for the coma of Comet Halley, based on the Astron ultraviolet spectrophotometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boiarchuk, A.A.; Grinin, V.P.; Petrov, P.P.; Sheikhet, A.I.; Zvereva, A.M.

    1986-01-01

    The development of a model of the Comet Halley coma from spectral and photometric data is described. Spectra in the 1500-3500 A range and photometric scans at the 3085 A and 2190 A in the (0-0) band of the OH and CO(+) molecules were obtained by the UV telescope of the satellite Astron on December 3, 13, and 23, 1985. Surface-brightness profiles of the coma in the (0-0) band of OH, NH, and CS molecules are derived. The source and formation of these molecules, the lifetime of their radicals, the radial velocity of their parent molecules, and the water-molecule sublimation rate are computed and examined. The basic characteristics of the comet observed from the UV data are compared to the properties of other comets. It is observed that Comet Halley is similar to other large short-period comets. 29 references

  11. A note on the possible origin of comets in an interstellar gas cloud

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yabushita, S.; Hasegawa, I.

    1978-01-01

    A possible origin of comets in an interstellar gas cloud is discussed in relation to the two recent results on cometary research. First, among 200 long-period comets whose original incoming orbits were recently calculated, seven have definitely and 14 have probably negative values of 1/a, where 1/a is twice the binding energy (positive a corresponds to an elliptic orbit) with respect to the solar system barycentre. Second, it has been shown how an aggregate of dust grains embedded in an icy matrix of gaseous compounds could form in an interstellar gas cloud, which could be identified with the icy nucleus of a comet. Again, of about 20 comets whose original 1/a values are negative, seven are transformed into future elliptic orbits by planetary perturbation. Thus, a comet which originated in an interstellar cloud could be captured by the solar system

  12. The global morphology of the solar wind interaction with comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mendis, D. A.; Horányi, M.

    2014-01-01

    The forthcoming Rosetta-Philae mission to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko provides a novel opportunity to observe the variable nature of the solar wind interaction with a comet over an extended range of heliocentric distance. We use a simple analytical one-dimensional MHD model to estimate the sizes of the two most prominent features in the global structure of the solar wind interaction with a comet. When the heliocentric distance of the comet reaches d ≤ 1.51 AU, we expect a sharp shock to be observed, whose size would increase monotonically as the comet approaches the Sun, reaching a value ≅ 15, 000 km at perihelion (d ≅ 1.29 AU). Upstream of the shock, we expect the velocity-space distribution of the picked up cometary ions to be essentially gyrotropic. A well-defined ionopause is predicted when d ≤1.61 AU, though its size is expected to be only ≅25 km at perihelion, and it is expected to be susceptible to the 'flute' instability due to its small size. Consequently, we expect the magnetic field to penetrate all the way to the surface of the nucleus. We conclude with a brief discussion of the response of the comet's plasma environment to fast temporal variations in the solar wind.

  13. Spectrophotometry of seventeen comets. II - The continuum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newburn, R. L., Jr.; Spinrad, H.

    1985-01-01

    One-hundred-twenty IDS scans of the continua in 17 comets are analyzed to determine dust production rates and color as a function of heliocentric distance. Improved theory indicates that the dust loading of gas typically varies between 0.05 and 0.3 by mass (assuming a geometric albedo of 0.05 and oxygen expansion at 1 km/s) except during outbursts, when it rises much higher. P/Encke near perihelion falls much lower yet, to 0.004 or less. Dust loading is not always constant as a function of time in a given comet. Dust color is typically reddish, as has often been noted before.

  14. Assessment of gamma ray-induced DNA damage in Lasioderma serricorne using the comet assay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kameya, Hiromi; Miyanoshita, Akihiro; Imamura, Taro; Todoriki, Setsuko

    2012-01-01

    We attempted a DNA comet assay under alkaline conditions to verify the irradiation treatment of pests. Lasioderma serricorne (Fabricius) were chosen as test insects and irradiated with gamma rays from a 60 Co source at 1 kGy. We conducted the comet assay immediately after irradiation and over time for 7 day. Severe DNA fragmentation in L. serricorne cells was observed just after irradiation and the damage was repaired during the post-irradiation period in a time-dependent manner. The parameters of the comet image analysis were calculated, and the degree of DNA damage and repair were evaluated. Values for the Ratio (a percentage determined by fluorescence in the damaged area to overall luminance, including intact DNA and the damaged area of a comet image) of individual cells showed that no cells in the irradiated group were included in the Ratio<0.1 category, the lowest grade. This finding was observed consistently throughout the 7-day post-irradiation period. We suggest that the Ratio values of individual cells can be used as an index of irradiation history and conclude that the DNA comet assay under alkaline conditions, combined with comet image analysis, can be used to identify irradiation history. - Highlights: ► We investigated the DNA comet assay to verify the irradiation of pests. ► Ratio and Tail Moment were higher in irradiated groups than in the control group. ► The DNA comet assay can be used to identify irradiation history.

  15. Detection of the 3.4- and 2.8-micron emission features in Comet Bradfield (1987s)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brooke, T.Y.; Tokunaga, A.T.; Knacke, R.F.; Owen, T.C.; Mumma, M.J.

    1990-01-01

    Comet Bradfield's 3.4-micron C-H emission feature at 3.4 microns, as well as the emission feature near 2.8 microns, exhibit spectral shapes similar to those noted in Comets Halley and Wilson; the derived abundances of the C-H bonds in all three comets are also comparable (within water production rate uncertainties). These data support the hypothesis that the species responsible for the 3.4- and 2.8-micron features may be common to all comets. Beyond this, the widely differing ages of the three comets suggest that the 3.4-micron feature-emitting organics are not the product of surface irradiation processes after the comets' formation. 25 refs

  16. Comet 169P/NEAT(=2002EX12): More Dead Than Alive

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kasuga, T.; Balam, D. D.; Wiegert, P. A.

    2011-10-01

    The Jupiter family comet 169P/NEAT (previously known as asteroid 2002 EX12) has a dynamical association with the ?-Capriconid meteoroid stream. In this paper, we present photometric observations of comet 169P/NEAT to further investigate the physical characters of its disintegration state related to the stream. The comet shows a point-like surface brightness profile limiting contamination due to coma emission at ˜ 4% at most, indicating no evidence of outgassing. An upper limit on the fraction of the surface that could be sublimating water ice of disintegration of the parent at every return.

  17. DNA Sequencing by Capillary Electrophoresis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karger, Barry L.; Guttman, Andras

    2009-01-01

    Sequencing of human and other genomes has been at the center of interest in the biomedical field over the past several decades and is now leading toward an era of personalized medicine. During this time, DNA sequencing methods have evolved from the labor intensive slab gel electrophoresis, through automated multicapillary electrophoresis systems using fluorophore labeling with multispectral imaging, to the “next generation” technologies of cyclic array, hybridization based, nanopore and single molecule sequencing. Deciphering the genetic blueprint and follow-up confirmatory sequencing of Homo sapiens and other genomes was only possible by the advent of modern sequencing technologies that was a result of step by step advances with a contribution of academics, medical personnel and instrument companies. While next generation sequencing is moving ahead at break-neck speed, the multicapillary electrophoretic systems played an essential role in the sequencing of the Human Genome, the foundation of the field of genomics. In this prospective, we wish to overview the role of capillary electrophoresis in DNA sequencing based in part of several of our articles in this journal. PMID:19517496

  18. The use of comet assay in plant toxicology: recent advances

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Conceição LV Santos

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The systematic study of genotoxicity in plants induced by contaminants and other stress agents has been hindered to date by the lack of reliable and robust biomarkers. The comet assay is a versatile and sensitive method for the evaluation of DNA damages and DNA repair capacity at single-cell level. Due to its simplicity and sensitivity, and the small number of cells required to obtain robust results, the use of plant comet assay has drastically increased in the last decade. For years its use was restricted to a few model species, e.g. Allium cepa, Nicotiana tabacum, Vicia faba, or Arabidopsis thaliana but this number largely increased in the last years. Plant comet assay has been used to study the genotoxic impact of radiation, chemicals including pesticides, phytocompounds, heavy metals, nanoparticles or contaminated complex matrices. Here we will review the most recent data on the use of this technique as a standard approach for studying the genotoxic effects of different stress conditions on plants. Also, we will discuss the integration of information provided by the comet assay with other DNA-damage indicators, and with cellular responses including oxidative stress, cell division or cell death. Finally, we will focus on putative relations between transcripts related with DNA damage pathways, DNA replication and repair, oxidative stress and cell cycle progression that have been identified in plant cells with comet assays demonstrating DNA damage.

  19. The use of comet assay in plant toxicology: recent advances

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santos, Conceição L. V.; Pourrut, Bertrand; Ferreira de Oliveira, José M. P.

    2015-01-01

    The systematic study of genotoxicity in plants induced by contaminants and other stress agents has been hindered to date by the lack of reliable and robust biomarkers. The comet assay is a versatile and sensitive method for the evaluation of DNA damages and DNA repair capacity at single-cell level. Due to its simplicity and sensitivity, and the small number of cells required to obtain robust results, the use of plant comet assay has drastically increased in the last decade. For years its use was restricted to a few model species, e.g., Allium cepa, Nicotiana tabacum, Vicia faba, or Arabidopsis thaliana but this number largely increased in the last years. Plant comet assay has been used to study the genotoxic impact of radiation, chemicals including pesticides, phytocompounds, heavy metals, nanoparticles or contaminated complex matrices. Here we will review the most recent data on the use of this technique as a standard approach for studying the genotoxic effects of different stress conditions on plants. Also, we will discuss the integration of information provided by the comet assay with other DNA-damage indicators, and with cellular responses including oxidative stress, cell division or cell death. Finally, we will focus on putative relations between transcripts related with DNA damage pathways, DNA replication and repair, oxidative stress and cell cycle progression that have been identified in plant cells with comet assays demonstrating DNA damage. PMID:26175750

  20. Global moedeling of comets: nucleus, neutral and ionized coma of comets 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and 46P/Wirtanen. Preparations for the ROSETTA radio science investigations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oertzen, J. von

    2003-01-01

    Models of the thermal behaviour of a cometary nucleus, the evolution of the neutral gas coma, the ionized cometary coma and of the interaction of the cometary plasma with the solar wind are studied in this work. The general aim is to develop a global model of the comet and its environment in order to characterize the physical conditions around comets 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and 46P/Wirtanen with respect to the heliocentric distance. The model of the heat diffusion within the cometary nucleus is one-dimensional. A grid of one-dimensional models is distributed over the nucleus in order to determine the temperature distribution and the sublimation characteristics of the comet on the whole surface of the comet. A heat balance equation is applied as boundary condition on the surface. Many parameters that have to be accounted for in a heat diffusion model are not precisely known to date. The variation of these parameters within reasonable limits yields a wide range of possible results. The heat diffusion within the cometary nucleus is derived from an energy conservation equation that includes heat conduction through the porous cometary material and heat convection due to the transport of latent heat by the gas phase within the nucleus. Model results are evaluated by a comparison of modeled and observed global gas production rates. Exemplary maps of the local temperature distribution and local sublimation rates at particular heliocentric distances are also provided. The neutral gas coma of the comet is modeled with a hydrodynamic approximation. The acceleration of the spacecraft due to the gas mass flux is evaluated with the model results. The ionized coma of a comet can also have an effect on the carrier signal. A one-dimensional model of the plasma density at the comet-sun axis is developed. The assumption of photochemical equilibrium is not necessarily justified within the coma of weak outgassing comets. The continuity equation of the plasma density has to be solved