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Biomedical subjects

L Frazer

Publications and source records attributed to L Frazer.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

The trickle-down theory of cleaner air.

The 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments prompted an increased urgency to find new ways to treat airstreams containing volatile organic compounds, which affect the nitrogen photolytic cycle and help produce ground-level ozone, hazardous air pollutants, and odorous air emissions such as hydrogen sulfide. Scientists at the New Jersey company Envirogen have adapted traditional biofiltration technology to perform airborne waste stream cleanup. Preliminary research on pollutants such as phenol, methylene chloride, benzene, and toluene indicates that Envirogen's biotrickling filter may remove an average of about 94% of total hazardous air pollutants. Scientists are working to identify microbes that will clean up more stubborn pollutants.

Air Pollution↗
PubMed2000

Lipid lather removes metals.

Metal contamination has been linked to birth defects, cancer, skin lesions, retardation, learning disabilities, liver and kidney damage, and a host of other maladies, and the United States alone will spend some $7 trillion over the next five years or so to clean up sites contaminated with metals. Until recently, there have only been a few time-consuming, costly methods for dealing with metal contamination in soils, but research developed at the University of Arizona uses biosurfactants, lipids that form emulsions between liquids of different polarities, to virtually "wash" metals out of contaminated soil. Lab tests show that 80-100% of single metals including cadmium and lead can be removed through the use of environmentally benign biosurfactants.

Humans↗
PubMed2000

Go with the flow: an updated tool for detecting molecules.

In the early 1970, researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratories developed the flow cytometer, a device that allows for the identification of unknown cells. In a flow cytometer, a single-cell suspension is passed in a continuous flow through a laser beam, with each cell scattering the light in a characteristic manner. A few years ago, researchers at Los Alamos began another project, refining the capabilities of the flow cytometer so that it could analyze not a single cell but a single molecule, allowing scientists to study bacteria at the molecular level, differentiating between individual strains more quickly and with greater accuracy than before. The new flow cytometer shows great promise in a variety of fields where single-molecule study would be valuable, such as genomics and disease transmission.

Bacteria↗
PubMed1999

Plasma jet takes off.

Thanks to a series of joint research projects by Los Alamos National Laboratory, Beta Squared of Allen, Texas, and the University of California at Los Angeles, there is now a more environmentally sound method for cleaning semiconductor chips that may also be effective in cleaning up chemical, bacterial, and nuclear contaminants. The Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Jet uses a type of ionized gas called plasma to clean up contaminants by binding to them and lifting them away. In contrast to the corrosive acids and chemical solvents traditionally used to clean semiconductor chips, the jet oxidizes contaminants, producing only benign gaseous by-products such as oxygen and carbon dioxide. The new technology is also easy to transport, cleans thoroughly and quickly, and presents no hazards to its operators.

Decontamination↗
PubMed1998

Palm readings.

Scientists are taking technology in common laboratory usage for more than 15 years and adapting it in ways that may, quite literally, bring the laboratory into the field. The technology is known as surface plasmon resonance (SPR), and a team of scientists has taken a sensing unit that was once the size of an old-fashioned console television and shrunken it down into a handheld unit no bigger than a conductor's baton.

Environmental Monitoring↗
PubMed1996

Bacteria breakfast.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Biodegradation, Environmental↗
PubMed1994

Fat-soluble vitamin concentration in chronic alcohol-induced pancreatitis. Relationship with steatorrhea.

In order to study the fat-soluble vitamin concentration of patients with chronic alcohol-induced pancreatitis (CAIP) we measured vitamins A and E, total lipids, and retinol-binding protein (RBP) in the plasma of 44 patients with CAIP and 83 controls (44 healthy controls; 39 Crohn's disease patients). Mean plasma vitamin E and vitamin E/total lipid ratio were significantly lower in CAIP when compared with either control or Crohn's disease groups. A low vitamin E/total lipid ratio was found in 75% of CAIP patients (91% with steatorrhea) and a ratio less than 1.0 was virtually 100% predictive of steatorrhea. The mean plasma vitamin A level for the CAIP group was significantly lower (overall 16%, 38% with steatorrhea) than in controls. Patients with CAIP show subnormal plasma levels vitamin E more often as compared to vitamin A. Further, the plasma vitamin E/total lipids ratio may be a sensitive and practical means in the detection and follow-up of steatorrhea in these patients.

Adolescent↗