Dense flat-sheet membranes were prepared from poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (PPO) using the casting solvents chloroform and 1,1,2-trichloroethylene. X-ray diffraction, tapping mode atomic force microscopy (TM-AFM), and contact angle studies were used to characterize the membranes. The surface energy and the solubility parameters of the PPO membranes were determined from the measured co...

Trichloroethylene is a widely-used industrial solvent that is absorbed through the digestive or respiratory tracts or cutaneously. It has a selective tropism for the cardiovascular and central nervous systems and may cause death due to cardiac arrest or neurological sequelae. We present the case of a 25-yr-old women who was exposed to trichloroethylene in the workplace for 18 months and who dev...

Imamura, T., and Ikeda, M. (1973). British Journal ofIndustrial Medicine, 30, 289-292. Lower fiducial limit ofurinary metabolite level as an index ofexcessive exposure to industrial chemicals. Utilization ofthe lower fiducial limit (P = 0-10), rather than the mean, as an index ofexcessive exposure to industrial chemicals is discussed. Cases of exposure to trichloroethylene, phenol, and toluene ...

Pulmonary veno-occlusive disease (PVOD) is a rare form of pulmonary hypertension characterised by predominant remodelling of pulmonary venules. Bi-allelic mutations in the eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2α kinase 4 (EIF2AK4) gene were recently described as the major cause of heritable PVOD, but risk factors associated with PVOD remain poorly understood. Occupational exposures have bee...

OBJECTIVE Our objective was to investigate the association between head and neck cancer and occupational exposure to chlorinated, oxygenated and petroleum solvents in women. METHODS Investigation of occupational and environmental CAuses of REspiratory cancers (ICARE), a French population-based case-control study, included 296 squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck (HNSCC) in women and ...

Trichloroethylene (TCE) is a chlorinated hydrocarbon used as a solvent in many degreasing and dry-cleaning operations. TCE is one of the most widespread contaminants of soil and groundwater in the United States. It can be found at 50% of the Superfund National Priority List cleanup sites managed by the United State Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). According to the USEPA, TCE is also abo...

Comamonas thiooxydans strain PHE2-6 (NBRC 110656), which was isolated from a trichloroethene-contaminated site in Japan, utilizes phenol as a sole source of carbon and cometabolizes cis- and trans-dichloroethenes. We report here the draft genome sequence of this strain, containing 5,309,680 bp, with 60.6% G+C content.

Research works in the recent past have revealed three major biodegradation processes leading to the degradation of trichloroethylene. Reductive dechlorination is an anaerobic process in which chlorinated ethenes are used as electron acceptors. On the other hand, cometabolism requires oxygen for enzymatic degradation of chlorinated ethenes, which however yields no benefit for the bacteria involv...