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Gold flotation concentrate may contain relatively high concentrations of valuable metals such as iron, copper, and zinc, and occasionally, even precious metals such as gold. The major components of the concentrate are SiO2, Fe2O3, and Al2O3, but it also contains reactive sulphide minerals such as pyrite. The sulphides in the flotation concentrate are fully converted into an oxide form during oxidative roasting, therefore, the chemical composition of the roasted concentrate is considered to be a copper slag. High temperature smelting with additives to dissolve Au from the gold concentrate into a molten copper was used in the research. Gold greatly dissolved at 1600°С under a CaO/SiO2 ratio of 1.25, suggesting the increase in the dissolution of gold into molten copper with decreasing viscosity of the molten slag-like concentrate at high temperatures.

Electricity is one of the most convenient forms of energy that is used in every building today. However, it causes a number of fatalities every year and has the potential to cause harm to anyone exposed to it. This article, investigates the cause and effects of electrical accidents in domestic properties over a 3-year period (2000-2002) in the UK based on the 24th Report of the Home and Leisure Accident Surveillance System (HASS/LASS). The electrical accident data from this database was analysed to establish electrical injury trends for various categories and groups. This highlighted the high-risk activities, which led to receiving an electric shock in a domestic property and identified at-risk groups that could most benefit from electrical safety interventions. In order to enhance electrical safety and to aid in the formulation of the relevant national wiring regulations, it is imperative that the narrative reports and statistics presented in the HASS/LASS document and this article are considered by regulators, manufacturers, educators, safety officers and engineers so that the whole of society can benefit. Based on the evidence and analysis presented in this article, it was concluded that there are a number of recommended protective measures designers, installers and regulators could consider implementing to advance electrical safety in the home. Practical application: Engineers, educators, manufacturers and regulators can use the information highlighted in this article to improve electrical safety in the built environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background & Objective : To date, percutaneous bone anchored hearing aids has been used for treatment of hearing- impaired patients with satisfactory hearing outcome. However, percutaneous abutment has concerning problems such as hygine, adverse soft tissue reaction and biofilm formation. Transcutaneous BAHA attract was developed for prevention of complications by skin penetrating abutment. To assess surgical, audiological benefits, and quality of life, in bone-achored hearing device users ( transcutaneous cochlear BAHA attract 5). Materials and method : It is a retrospective evaluation of sixteen patients fitted unilaterally by single surgeon. Patients assessed with audiometric measurements and application of Glasgow Benefit Inventory(GBI) and Korean Version-Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit(K-PHAB). Results : All surgery was done by typical C-shape incision under local anesthetics except one case. The implant was used with 4 mm length except two children with 3 mm length due to cortical bone thickness. Skin reduction was performed in 13 patients except three patient. The patients were divided two type; single side deafness or sensorineural hearing loss (n=12), mixed or conductive hearing loss (n=4). The seroma was complicated after operation in one patient with wafarin user. The seroma was released by conventional dressing. The barovac drain was used for the other patients for prevention of seroma after surgery. There was no wound healing problem. The BAHA attract device was attached 6 or 8 weeks post-surgery. With the device, sound-field pure-tone audiometry results revealed an increase gain in all frequencies. However, KPHAB and GBI showed polarized results because of the inconvenience the patients experience in their daily lives. Conclusions : The surgery was relatively simple and can be local anesthesia except children. Transcutaneous BAHA attract device can provide good hearing benefit and subjective satisfaction, but sufficient consideration is needed to select for operating patient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to identify delayed auditory maturation and the fate of premature infants who failed the newborn hearing screening (NHS) in neonatal intensive care unit., Materials and Methods: A total of 1375 neonates underwent NHS using the transient evoked otoacoustic emission (TEOAE) in a tertiary hospital between 2007 and 2010 according to the Joint Committee on Infant Hearing guidelines. In addition, a structured telephone survey was given to caregivers of infants who were lost to follow-up NHS. Auditory steady-state response (ASSR) threshold and the threshold change in diagnostic test failures were analysed., Result: Among the 1375 NICU babies, 344 (25.0%) babies, 111 (9.7%) babies and 64 (4.6%) babies failed to pass the first TEOAE, second TEOAE and diagnostic ASSR, respectively. However, at the age of about 5 years, 12 (0.9%) infants showed permanent hearing loss (PHL). The ASSR threshold improved from 69.0 ± 19.7 dB to 52.9 ± 21.6 dB in <4 months (P < 0.001). Premature infants of <29 weeks of gestational age at birth showed higher referral (P = 0.003) rate at the first OAE test compared to the others, and the difference continued until the last follow-up. The odds ratio for the initial ASSR threshold >67.5 dB for PHL was 9.00 (95% confidence interval, 1.7-46.7)., Conclusion: Most of first TEOAE screening failures (91.3%) showed normal hearing and speech development. Hearing levels in premature infants can improve over time, particularly in neonates with initial ASSR threshold <67.5 dB., (© 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Histone acetylation alters chromatin state by modifying lysines on histone and plays an important role in modulating gene transcription. A dynamic balance of histone acetylation/deacetylation is maintained by histone acetyltransferases and histone deacetylases. Emerging evidence suggests that a family of histone deacetylases may exist to regulate diverse cellular functions, including chromatin structure, gene expression, cell cycle progression, and oncogenesis. We describe here a novel human histone deacetylase, named HDAC8, cloned from human kidney. HDAC8 encodes 377 amino acid residues and shares extensive homology to several known HDACs, in particular a histone deacetylase from Arabidopsis thaliana. Northern blot analyses revealed that HDAC8 expression pattern for HDAC8 is distinct from that for HDAC1 and HDAC3, and expression of HDAC8 mRNA occurs in multiple organs including heart, lung, kidney, and pancreas. HDAC8 mRNA was also observed in several cell lines derived from cancerous tissues. When expressed in HEK293 cells, HDAC8 exhibited deacetylase activity toward acetylated histone, indicating that this protein is a bona fide histone deacetylase. Its histone deacetylase activity was inhibited by trichostatin and other known histone deacetylase inhibitors. Furthermore, active recombinant HDAC8 was expressed and purified from Escherichia coli. When ectopically expressed in cells, HDAC8 was found to be localized to the nucleus. Co-transfection experiments demonstrated that expression of HDAC8 repressed a viral SV40 early promoter activity. These results indicate that HDAC8 is a novel member of the histone deacetylase family, which may play a role in the development of a broad range of tissues and potentially in the etiology of cancer.

The enzyme coenzyme A-independent transacylase (CoA-IT) has been demonstrated to be the key mediator of arachidonate remodeling, a process that moves arachidonate into 1-ether-containing phospholipids. Blockade of CoA-IT by reversible inhibitors has been shown to block the release of arachidonate in stimulated neutrophils and inhibit the production of eicosanoids and platelet-activating factor. We describe novel inhibitors of CoA-IT activity that contain a beta-lactam nucleus. beta-Lactams were investigated as potential mechanism-based inhibitors of CoA-IT on the basis of the expected formation of an acyl-enzyme intermediate complex. Two beta-lactams, SB 212047 and SB 216754, were shown to be specific, time-dependent inhibitors of CoA-IT activity (IC50 = 6 and 20 microM, respectively, with a 10-min pretreatment time). Extensive washing and dilution could not remove the inhibition, suggesting it was irreversible. In stimulated human monocytes, SB 216754 decreased the production of eicosanoids in a time-dependent manner. In an in vivo model of phorbol ester-induced ear inflammation, SB 216754 was able to inhibit indices of both edema and cell infiltration. Taken together, the results support two hypotheses: 1) CoA-IT activity is important for the production of inflammatory lipid mediators in stimulated cells and in vivo and 2) the mechanism by which CoA-IT acts to transfer arachidonate is through an acyl-enzyme intermediate.

Platelet-activating factor (PAF) production is carefully controlled in inflammatory cells. The specific removal of arachidonate (AA) from 1-O-alkyl-2-arachidonoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (GPC), thought to be mediated by CoA-independent transacylase (CoA-IT), is required to generate the PAF precursor 1-O-alkyl-2-lyso-GPC in human neutrophils. Exposure of A23187-stimulated human monocytes to the CoA-IT inhibitors SK&F 98625 and SK&F 45905 inhibited PAF formation (IC50s of 10 and 12 microM, respectively), indicating that these cells also need CoA-IT activity for PAF production. Because CoA-IT activity transfers arachidonate to a 2-lyso phospholipid substrate, its activity is obligated to an sn-2 acyl hydrolase to form the 2-lyso phospholipid substrate. SB 203347, an inhibitor of 14 kDa phospholipase A2 (PLA2), and AACOCF3, an inhibitor of 85 kDa PLA2, both inhibited AA release from A23187-stimulated human monocytes. However, AACOCF3 had no effect on A23187-induced PAF formation at concentrations as high as 3 microM. Further, depletion of 85 kDa PLA2 using antisense (SB 7111, 1 microM) had no effect on PAF production, indicating a lack of a role of 85 kDa PLA2 in PAF biosynthesis. Both SB 203347 and the 14 kDa PLA2 inhibitor scalaradial blocked PAF synthesis in monocytes (IC50s of 2 and 0.5 microM, respectively), suggesting a key role of 14 kDa PLA2 in this process. Further, A23187-stimulated monocytes produced two forms of PAF: 80% 1-O-alkyl-2-acetyl-GPC and 20% 1-acyl-2-acetyl-GPC, which were both equally inhibited by SB 203347. In contrast, inhibition of CoA-IT using SK&F 45905 (20 microM) had a greater effect on the production of 1-O-alkyl (-80%) than of 1-acyl (-14%) acetylated material. Finally, treatment of U937 cell membranes with exogenous human recombinant (rh) type II 14 kDa PLA2, but not rh 85 kDa PLA2, induced PAF production. Elimination of membrane CoA-IT activity by heat treatment impaired the ability of 14 kDa PLA2 to induce PAF formation. Taken together, these results suggest that a 14 kDa PLA2-like activity, and not 85 kDa PLA2, is coupled to monocyte CoA-IT-induced PAF production.

The enzyme CoA-independent transacylase (CoA-IT) has been proposed to mediate the movement of arachidonate between phospholipid subclasses and influence the formation of arachidonic acid metabolites and platelet-activating factor. To substantiate the critical role of CoA-IT, we have developed two structurally diverse inhibitors of CoA-IT activity, SK&F 98625 [diethyl 7-(3,4,5-triphenyl-2-oxo-2,3-dihydro-imidazole-1-yl)heptane phosphonate] and SK&F 45905 [2-[2-(3-4-chloro-3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)-ureido]-4- (trifluoromethyl)phenoxy]-4,5-dichlorobenzenesulfonic acid]. These compounds were tested for their capacity to block microsomal CoA-IT activity using two assay systems, the transacylation of 1-alkyl-2-lyso-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (GPC) and the transfer of [14C]arachidonate from 1-acyl-2-[14C]arachidonoyl-GPC to lyso-PE. Both SK&F 98625 and SK&F 45905 inhibited CoA-IT activity (IC50s 6-19 microM) in these two assays. In contrast, SK&F 98625 or SK&F 45905 had little or no effect on other lipid-modifying activities, including CoA-dependent acyltransferase or acetyltransferase. Kinetic analysis revealed that both SK&F 98625 and SK&F 45905 interact directly with the enzyme and prevented the acylation of lysophospholipids in a competitive manner. In intact human neutrophils, both SK&F 98625 and SK&F 45905 completely blocked the movement of [3H]arachidonate from 1-acyl-linked phospholipids into 1-alkyl-2-arachidonoyl-GPC and 1-alk-1'-enyl-2-arachidonoyl-GPE. In contrast, these compounds did not inhibit the incorporation of free arachidonic acid into cellular lipids indicating that they did not alter CoA-dependent acyl transferase activities in the intact cell.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

CoA-independent transacylase (CoA-IT) appears to play a critical role in lipid mediator generation by rapidly moving arachidonate (AA) between phospholipid pools during cell activation. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF) pretreatment of human neutrophils increases agonist-induced production of inflammatory mediators. The current study tested if the TNF-induced increase in lipid mediator production may be, in part, due to altered CoA-IT activity. Neutrophils were treated with TNF (250 U/ml, 30 min), homogenates prepared, and CoA-IT activity measured by the ability of these homogenates to acylate 1-[3H]alkyl-2-lyso-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (GPC). There was an increased CoA-IT activity, from 9.1 +/- 1.1 to 13.7 +/- 1.4 pmol/mg per min in control vs. TNF-treated samples, respectively. Varying the concentration of 1-alkyl-2-lyso-GPC revealed an increased CoA-IT activity in microsomes that was due to an increased Vmax, from 26 to 54 pmol/mg per min. The ability of TNF to increase CoA-IT activity was concentration-dependent, with maximal response observed at 25 U/ml. This effect on CoA-IT appears to be specific, in that TNF treatment of neutrophils had no effect on CoA-dependent acylation of 1-acyl-2-lyso-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, using either AA-CoA or linolenoyl-CoA as substrates. In the intact cell, the movement of [3H]AA from other phospholipids into PE in fMLP-stimulated neutrophils was greatly enhanced after TNF treatment, demonstrating a functional consequence of increased CoA-IT activity. In addition, TNF treatment doubled platelet-activating factor production in response to the chemotactic peptide fMLP, as measured by [3H]acetate incorporation, while the response to A23187 remained unchanged. Taken together, these results provide the first evidence of modulation of CoA-IT activity by a proinflammatory cytokine and suggest that one mechanism for augmented lipid mediator formation is through increases in CoA-IT activity.

We have compared biochemical and pharmacological characteristics of CoA-independent transacylase (CoA-IT) activity of microsomes from U937 cells to those of two other enzymes involved in arachidonate metabolism, a human type II low molecular weight (M(r) 14,000, LMW) PLA2 isolated from synovial fluid of patients with inflammatory joint disease and a high molecular weight (M(r) 85,000, HMW) PLA2 enzyme isolated from the cytosol of human monocytic U937 cells. Activities of HMW PLA2 and CoA-IT were reduced by treatment with acid, heat or acetonitrile but were not altered by treatment with the sulfhydryl reducing agent dithiothreitol (DTT). In contrast, the activity of LMW PLA2 enzyme was inactivated by DTT, but was insensitive to treatment with acid, heat or acetonitrile. HMW PLA2 activity decreased as NaCl concentration was increased in the assay buffer from 0 to 150 mM, unlike LMW PLA2 and CoA-IT activities, which increased as NaCl increased. Compounds that inhibit LMW PLA2 activity were examined for their effects on HMW PLA2 and CoA-IT activities. The compounds examined (nordihydroguaiaretic acid, manoalide, p-bromophenacyl bromide, arachidonic acid, gossypol, aristologic acid and a mimic of a transition state phospholipid) had different rank orders for inhibition of the three enzymes. Taken together, these data show that these three enzymes, although unpurified, can be biochemically and pharmacologically distinguished.