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Abstract
In 1952, Alan Turing proposed a theory showing how morphogenesis could occur from a simple two morphogen reaction-diffusion system [Turing, A. M. (1952) Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A 237, 37-72. (doi:10.1098/rstb.1952.0012)]. While the model is simple, it has found diverse applications in fields such as biology, ecology, behavioural science, mathematics and chemistry. Chemistry in particular has made significant contributions to the study of Turing-type morphogenesis, providing multiple reproducible experimental methods to both predict and study new behaviours and dynamics generated in reaction-diffusion systems. In this review, we highlight the historical role chemistry has played in the study of the Turing mechanism, summarize the numerous insights chemical systems have yielded into both the dynamics and the morphological behaviour of Turing patterns, and suggest future directions for chemical studies into Turing-type morphogenesis. This article is part of the theme issue 'Recent progress and open frontiers in Turing's theory of morphogenesis'.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Konow
- Department of Chemistry, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02453, USA
| | - M Dolnik
- Department of Chemistry, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02453, USA
| | - I R Epstein
- Department of Chemistry, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02453, USA
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Garvin MC, Schijf J, Kaufman SR, Konow C, Liang D, Nigra AE, Stracker NH, Whelan RJ, Wiles GC. A survey of trace metal burdens in increment cores from eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides) across a childhood cancer cluster, Sandusky County, OH, USA. Chemosphere 2020; 238:124528. [PMID: 31425869 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.124528] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2019] [Revised: 08/04/2019] [Accepted: 08/05/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
A dendrochemical study of cottonwood trees (Populus deltoides) was conducted across a childhood cancer cluster in eastern Sandusky County (Ohio, USA). The justification for this study was that no satisfactory explanation has yet been put forward, despite extensive local surveys of aerosols, groundwater, and soil. Concentrations of eight trace metals were measured by ICP-MS in microwave-digested 5-year sections of increment cores, collected during 2012 and 2013. To determine whether the onset of the first cancer cases could be connected to an emergence of any of these contaminants, cores spanning the period 1970-2009 were taken from 51 trees of similar age, inside the cluster and in a control area to the west. The abundance of metals in cottonwood tree annual rings served as a proxy for their long-term, low-level accumulation from the same sources whereby exposure of the children may have occurred. A spatial analysis of cumulative metal burdens (lifetime accumulation in the tree) was performed to search for significant 'hotspots', employing a scan statistic with a mask of variable radius and center. For Cd, Cr, and Ni, circular hotspots were found that nearly coincide with the cancer cluster and are similar in size. No hotspots were found for Co, Cu, and Pb, while As and V were largely below method detection limits. Whereas our results do not implicate exposure to metals as a causative factor, we conclude that, after 1970, cottonwood trees have accumulated more Cd, Cr, and Ni, inside the childhood cancer cluster than elsewhere in Sandusky County.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary C Garvin
- Oberlin College, Department of Biology, 119 Woodland St., Oberlin, OH, 44074, USA
| | - Johan Schijf
- University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, P.O. Box 38, Solomons, MD, 20688, USA.
| | - Sonya R Kaufman
- Oberlin College, Department of Biology, 119 Woodland St., Oberlin, OH, 44074, USA
| | - Courtney Konow
- Oberlin College, Department of Biology, 119 Woodland St., Oberlin, OH, 44074, USA
| | - Dong Liang
- University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, P.O. Box 38, Solomons, MD, 20688, USA
| | - Anne E Nigra
- Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, 722 West 168th St., New York, NY, 10032, USA
| | - Norberth H Stracker
- Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, 1830 East Monument St., Room 442, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA
| | - Rebecca J Whelan
- University of Notre Dame, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, 140D McCourtney Hall, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA
| | - Gregory C Wiles
- The College of Wooster, Department of Earth Sciences, 944 College Hall, Wooster, OH, 44691, USA
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