Developmental Lead Exposure Alters the Distribution of Protein Kinase C Activity in the Rat Hippocampus

Chronic low-level lead (Pb) exposure in children is known to cause a deficit in learning and memory. In vitro studies have demonstrated that Pb altered protein kinase C (PKC) activityt Especially, hippocampal PKC has been correlated with performance in several learning tasks. The effects of Pb exposure on hippocampal PKC were investigated during development at various postnatal ages: postnatal day (PN) 7, 14, 28, and 56. Two-tenth % Pb acetate was administered to pregnant and lactating dams and then administered to weanling rats in drinking water. PKC activity was measured in both membrane and cytosolic fractions from the hippocampi of the controls and Pb-exposed animals. Pb-induced increase in PKC activity in the cytosolic fraction was obsereved in the PN56 rats. In contrast, PKC activity was decreased by Pb at PN7 in the membrane fraction. Furthermore, a significant decrease in the ratio of membrane to cytosolic PKC activity which is representative of PKC distribution was observed in the PN28 and PN56 Pb-exposed rats relative to the same-age controls. This study indicates that chronic Pb exposure during development influences hippocampal PKC activity and distribution. These changes may be involved in the subclinical neurotoxicity of chronic Pb exposure in young children.

Behavior, distribution and environmental influence of arsenic in a typical lead smelter

A field study was conducted to determine the behavior and distribution of arsenic during the pyrometallurgy process in a typical SKS(Shuikoushan) lead smelter in Hunan province, China. Environmental influences of arsenic in selected samples were evaluated. Arsenic contents in all input and output samples vary from 0.11% in raw lead to 6.66% in collected dust-2. More arsenic is volatilized in blast furnace and fuming furnace(73.02% of arsenic input) than bottom blowing furnace(10.29% of arsenic input).There are 78.97%, 13.69%, 7.31% of total arsenic distributed in intermediate materials, stockpiled materials and unorganized emissions, respectively. Matte slag-2, collected dust-1 and secondary zinc oxide are hazardous based on the arsenic concentrations of toxicity characteristic leaching procedure. According to risk assessment code(RAC) guideline, arsenic in collected dust-1 poses a very serious risk to the surrounding environment, arsenic in speiss, matte slag-2, water-quenched slag and secondary zinc oxide show low risk, while arsenic in matte slag-1, collected dust-2 and post dust has no risk to the environment.

Reply to 'Statistical testing and distribution for lead chloride toxicity'

We are very grateful for the letter written by Dr Lange,and indeed apologize for the mistakes noted in the word-ing of our text regarding statistical analysis.This wasdue to changes carried out while revising the manuscriptat the request of reviewers,whom we thank for,point-ing out several issues that were actually similar to thosenoted by Dr.Lange.Unfortunately,we were unable todescribe and discuss our findings properly in the context