Biomedical subjects

William J Doucette

Publications and source records attributed to William J Doucette.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Trichloroethylene uptake by apple and peach trees and transfer to fruit.

A greenhouse study was conducted to quantify 14C-trichloroethylene (TCE) uptake and transfer into the edible fruit of apple and peach trees. Trees were subsurface irrigated with solutions of 14C [TCE] that bracketed groundwater concentrations (5 and 500 microg/L) found in residential areas surrounding Hill Air Force Base, UT, where trace amounts of TCE had been found in several fruits during a preliminary field survey. Nondosed control trees were grown within the canopy of the dosed trees and in a separate greenhouse. Tissue samples were analyzed for 14C and TCE using combustion/liquid scintillation counting (LSC) and headspace/gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (HS/GC/MS). Tissue was also extracted and analyzed by GC/MS for dichloroacetic acid (DCAA), trichloroacetic acid (TCAA), and trichloroethanol (TCEt), three specific TCE metabolites that have been previously identified in laboratory and field studies. No 14C was detected in the nonexposed control trees. Exposed trees contained levels of 14C that were proportional to the exposure concentration. 14C concentrations were greatest in leaves followed by branches and fruits. At the end of the study, TCE was detected only in roots implying that the 14C in the leaves, branches, and fruit was associated with unidentified nonvolatile TCE transformation products and/or is nonextractable. However, TCAA and DCAA were positively identified only in leaves collected during the first year from an apple tree exposed to the high dose treatment. Additional data for other chemicals and fruittrees are needed to better understand the potential transfer of organic compounds to edible fruit.

Carbon Isotopes↗

PubMed2005

Uptake of nonylphenol and nonylphenol ethoxylates by crested wheatgrass.

Nonylphenol (NP) and other hydrophobic biodegradation intermediates of nonylphenol ethoxylate (NPE) surfactants have been identified in wastewater treatment biosolids. These biosolids often are land applied, but little is known regarding the potential uptake of biosolid-derived contaminants by plants. Hydroponic experiments, 11 to 14 weeks in duration, were conducted to examine the uptake and translocation of 14C and unlabeled NP, nonylphenol tetraethoxylate (NPE4), and nonylphenol nonylethoxylate (NPE9) by crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum). Phenol also was evaluated for comparison. Plant tissue was analyzed for 14C and for the parent compounds. Volatilization from the hydroponic system and rhizosphere mineralization also were quantified. At the conclusion of the study, most of the plant-associated 14C was found in the roots (NP = 98%, NPE4 = 92%, and NPE9 = 81%). Concentrations of 14C in the foliar tissue ranged from 0.002 to 0.045 mg-equivalent per kg (dry wt), but no parent compounds were detected, implying that the 14C was unextractable or in the form of metabolites. Transpiration stream concentration factors for NP, NPE4, and NPE9, calculated assuming the 14C was parent compound, were 0.012, 0.032, and 0.066, respectively. Little mineralization was observed for NP, NPE4, and NPE9 in the hydroponic system; however, for phenol, 16 to 30% of the added 14C was mineralized.

Agropyron↗

PubMed2004

Determination of alkanolamines in cattails (Typha latifolia) utilizing electrospray ionization with selected reaction monitoring and ion-exchange chromatography.

Selected reaction monitoring (SRM) with electrospray ionization was used as a specific detection technique for the analysis of alkanolamines in plant tissue extracts. Ion-exchange chromatography was used as the method of separation. Quantification was based on monitoring the loss of either H2O or 2(H2O) from the protonated molecule [M+H]+. The method provided increased selectivity for all analytes and better detection limits for three of the six analytes investigated compared with an earlier method using selected ion monitoring with liquid chromatography. Instrumental detection limits ranged from 6-300 pg injected for monoethanolamine (MEA), monoisopropanolamine (MIPA), diethanolamine (DEA), methyldiethanolamine (MDEA), diisopropanolamine (DIPA), and triethanolamine (TEA). Method robustness and selectivity were demonstrated by the determination of DIPA and a known transformation product MIPA in over 35 plant extract samples derived from a laboratory study of plant uptake mechanisms.

Amino Alcohols↗

PubMed2003

Tracer studies for evaluation of in situ air sparging and in-well aeration system performance at a gasoline-contaminated site.

Field-scale tracer studies were conducted at a gasoline-contaminated site in order to evaluate the effectiveness of in situ air sparging (IAS) and in-well aeration (IWA) in controlling the movement of soil gas and groundwater in the subsurface. The field site was comprised of silty sand (SM) and silty clay (CL), underlain by a clay layer at approximately 7.6 m. Depth to groundwater ranged from 2.4 to 3 m. Soil permeability and the natural hydraulic gradient were both low. Helium was used to trace the movement of soil gas in the unsaturated zone during the IAS field study, and successfully confirmed short-circuit pathways for injected air and demonstrated the limited distribution of injected gases at this site. Fluorescein, bromide, and rhodamine were used to trace the movement of groundwater during the IWA system field study, and successfully documented the inability of the IWA system to recirculate enough groundwater to enhance subsurface dissolved oxygen levels or to remediate groundwater by air stripping at this site. The inability of the systems to remediate the site was likely due to site conditions which consist of low-permeability soils and decreasing permeability with depth. As a result, relatively impermeable layers exist at the depth of the IAS screen and the lower IWA screen. These site conditions are not conducive to successful performance of either remediation system.

Biodegradation, Environmental↗

PubMed2003

Quantitative structure-activity relationships for predicting soil-sediment sorption coefficients for organic chemicals.

Sorption coefficients are used to describe the equilibrium distribution of a chemical between a soil or sediment and the aqueous phase that it is in contact with. Although sorption coefficients for a particular organic chemical vary greatly from soil to soil, the observation has been made that sorption generally increases as the organic carbon content of the soil and the hydrophobicity of the chemical increases. This general observation resulted in the acceptance of organic carbon normalized sorption coefficients (KOC) as unique properties or constants of organic chemicals. In turn, KOC values have been estimated by quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSARs) developed by correlation with a variety of physical or chemical properties and structural descriptors related to the hydrophobicity of the chemical such as octanol-water partition coefficients, aqueous solubilities, molecularconnectivity indices, molecular weight, molecular surface area, and reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography retention times. The selection and application of the most appropriate QSAR for predicting KOC depend on several factors, including the availability of required input, the appropriateness of model to chemical of interest, and the methodology for calculating the necessary topological or structural information. A review of the existing QSARs for predicting KOC and the limitations of using the KOC approach to estimate sorption coefficients will be presented.

Adsorption↗