Keratinocyte growth-promoting activity from human placenta

Extracts of term human placenta were tested for enhancement of proliferative growth of primary cultures of human keratinocytes. Saline extracts or supernatants from homogenates were dialyzed extensively, lyophilized, and tested in subcultures of keratinocytes in MCDB 153 medium with 0.1 mM Ca++ containing only defined supplements (insulin, hydrocortisone, transferrin, ethanolamine, phosphoethanolamine). Cells plated in the absence of EGF at moderately high densities (1000-3000 cells per cm2) formed colonies and grew in the presence of placental extract at 25-500 micrograms/ml. Extracts of cord serum or maternal serum were inactive, suggesting that the activity is derived from placental tissue. The activity is not EGF, since the activity in the placental extract, unlike EGF, did not promote growth at low cell density, was synergistic with EGF under some conditions, and did not produce changes in colonial morphology which occurred in the presence of EGF. Unlike keratinocyte growth-promoting activity in bovine hypothalamic extract, the activity is non-dialyzable and is destroyed at 100 degrees C. Placental extract could not replace any of the defined components of the medium and is therefore distinct from them. The presence of activity in the placenta with distinctive properties suggests that this is a previously undescribed material with growth-promoting properties for epithelium.     

EXO5-DNA structure and BLM interactions direct DNA resection critical for ATR-dependent replication restart

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Sampling for Explosives-Residues at Fort Greely,Alaska

Fort Greely, Alaska has an extensive complex of weapon training and testing areas located on lands withdrawn from the public domain under the Military Lands Withdrawal Act (PL106-65). The Army has pledged to implement a program to identify possible munitions contamination. Because of the large size (344,165,000 m²) of the high hazard impact areas, characterization of these constituents will be difficult. We used an authoritative sampling design to find locations most likely to contain explosives-residues on three impact areas. We focused our sampling on surface soils and collected multi-increment and discrete samples at locations of known firing events and from areas on the range that had craters, pieces of munitions, targets, or a designation as a firing point. In the two impact areas used primarily by the Army, RDX was the most frequently detected explosive. In the impact area that was also used by the Air Force, TNT was the most frequently detected explosive. Where detected, the explosives concentrations generally were low (<0.05 mg/kg) except in soils near low-order detonations, where the explosive-filler was in contact with the soil surface. These low-order detonations potentially can serve as localized sources for groundwater contamination if positioned in recharge areas.