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Ammonia exchange between the atmosphere and the surface waters at two locations in the Chesapeake Bay.

Excess phytoplankton production, which contributes to hypoxic conditions, is nitrogen limited in the Chesapeake Bay during the summer months. Therefore, understanding the flux of ammonia by direct deposition to the biologically active surface layer is critical to understanding the nutrient dynamics of the bay. This paper presents the results of a 2-yr study measuring gaseous ammonia (NH3) and aerosol ammonium (NH4+) in Baltimore and Solomons, MD, from which direct atmospheric loading of total ammonia (Nt = NH3 + NH4+) to the Chesapeake Bay is estimated. Mean atmospheric concentrations of total ammonia for Baltimore and Solomons were 2.7 +/- 1.7 and 1.0 +/- 0.8 microg of N m(-3), respectively. Monte Carlo estimates of gross dry deposition ranged from <100 to 4900 microg of N m(-2) d(-1). However, based upon water quality parameters, Monte Carlo estimates of gross volatilization of NH3 were calculated to range from <100 to 7700 microg of N m(-2) d(-1). The resulting net air-sea exchange flux varied seasonally from a net deposition into the water during the winter to a net volatilizing into the atmosphere during the summer. A total of 60% of the paired air-water samples had flux estimates that were not significantly different than equilibrium at the 90% confidence interval. The gross deposition, gross volatilization, and net air-sea fluxes were greater and more variable in Baltimore relative to the rural site. Atmospheric ammonia concentrations decrease during the winter at the rural site. However, the net exchange is still into the water due to an exponential decrease in [NH3]eq with temperature. These results indicate that the nitrogen-limited Chesapeake Bay can act as a source of ammonia to the local atmosphere.

Air Pollutants↗

Preparation of norfloxacin spherical agglomerates using the ammonia diffusion system.

Agglomerated crystals of norfloxacin were prepared by a spherical crystallization technique using the ammonia diffusion system (ADS). This technique makes it possible to agglomerate amphoteric drugs like norfloxacin, which cannot be agglomerated by conventional procedures. When an ammonia-water solution of norfloxacin is poured into an acetone dichloromethane mixture under agitation, a small amount of ammonia is liberated in the system. The ammonia-water solution plays a role both as a good solvent for norfloxacin and as a bridging liquid, allowing the crystals' collection to take place in one step. It has been proven that the agglomeration mechanism follows three steps: first acetone enters into the droplets of ammonia-water (this emulsion is formed because of the system characteristics); dissolved norfloxacin is consequently precipitated while the droplets collect the crystals; simultaneously, a part of the ammonia contained in the agglomerates diffuses to the outer organic solvent phase, thereby forming the norfloxacin spherical agglomerates. The correct selection of solvents has enabled us to obtain a suitable stable crystalline shape.

Ammonia↗

Significance of gaseous NO for ammonia oxidation by Nitrosomonas eutropha.

Nitrification by the obligately lithoautotrophic ammonia oxidizer Nitrosomonas eutropha was significantly inhibited when nitric oxide was removed from the culture medium by means of intensive aeration and turbulence. Nearly complete recovery of ammonia oxidation could be achieved by adding 100 ppm NO to the supplied air. Inhibition of ammonia oxidation occurred also upon addition of the NO binding agent 2,3-Dimercapto-1-propane-sulfonic acid (DMPS). Recovery of ammonia oxidation occurred within 3 h in the presence of 100 ppm NO and within 76 h in the absence of externally added NO. In co-cultures of N. eutropha and the NO detoxifying bacterium Pseudomonas PS88, hardly any nitrification was detectable and release of NO was extremely low when the heterotroph was provided with an organic substrate. When cells of Pseudomonas PS88 were added to a mixotrophically nitrifying culture of N. eutropha the release of NO decreased drastically upon the addition and ammonia oxidation ceased. These results confirm for the first time the significance of NO in the course of ammonia oxidation by N. eutropha.

Ammonia↗

Does ammonia contribute to increased GABA-ergic neurotransmission in liver failure?

The ammonia and GABAergic neurotransmission hypotheses of the pathogenesis of hepatic encephalopathy (HE) have appeared to be unrelated and perhaps mutually exclusive. Observations in animal models of fulminant hepatic failure, that are consistent with increased GABAergic inhibitory neurotransmission contributing to the manifestations of HE, include: (i) abnormal visual evoked potential waveforms that resemble those induced by GABA(A)/benzodiazepine (BZ) receptor complex agonists; (ii) GABA(A)/BZ receptor complex antagonist-induced ameliorations of encephalopathy; (iii) increased resistance to drugs which decrease GABAergic tone; and (iv) hypersensitivity of CNS neurons to depression by GABA(A)/BZ receptor complex agonists. Mechanisms of increased GABAergic tone in HE may include the following: (i) increased brain concentrations of natural BZs; and (ii) increased GABA concentrations in synaptic clefts, possibly due to increased blood-brain-barrier permeability to GABA and a decrease in GABA(B) receptor density. Both neuroelectrophysiological and behavioral data indicate that ammonia concentrations in the range 0.75-2 mM induce increased excitatory neurotransmission. In contrast, recently, ammonia concentrations in the range 0.15-0.75 mM, i.e. concentrations that commonly occur in plasma in precoma HE, have been shown: (i) to increase GABA-induced chloride current in cultured neurons; and (ii) to enhance synergistically the binding of GABA(A)/BZ receptor agonists. In addition, increased ammonia concentrations enhance synthesis of neurosteroids in astrocytes, and some neurosteroids potently augment GABAergic neurotransmission. Thus, the modestly elevated concentrations of ammonia, that commonly occur in liver failure, may contribute to the manifestations of HE by enhancing GABAergic inhibitory neurotransmission. This concept appears to unify the ammonia and GABAergic neurotransmission hypotheses.

Ammonia↗

Prevention of ammonia and glutamate neurotoxicity by carnitine: molecular mechanisms.

Carnitine has beneficial effects in different pathologies and prevents acute ammonia toxicity (ammonia-induced death of animals). Acute ammonia toxicity is mediated by excessive activation of the NMDA-type of glutamate receptors, which mediates glutamate neurotoxicity. We showed that carnitine prevents glutamate neurotoxicity in primary cultures of cerebellar neurons. This supports the idea that the protective effect of carnitine against ammonia toxicity is due to the protective effect against glutamate neurotoxicity. We are studying the mechanism by which carnitine protects against glutamate neurotoxicity. Carnitine increases the binding affinity of glutamate for metabotropic glutamate receptors. The protective effect of carnitine is lost if metabotropic glutamate receptors are blocked with specific antagonists. Moreover, activation of metabotropic glutamate receptors by specific agonists also prevents glutamate neurotoxicity. This indicates that the protective effect of carnitine against glutamate neurotoxicity is mediated by activation of metabotropic glutamate receptors. The molecule of carnitine has a trimethylamine group. Different compounds containing a trimethylamine group (carbachol, betaine, etc.) also prevent ammonia-induced animal death and glutamate-induced neuronal death. Moreover, metabotropic glutamate receptor antagonists also prevent the protective effect of most of these compounds. We summarize here some studies aimed to identify the mechanism and the molecular target that are responsible for the protective effect of carnitine against ammonia and glutamate neurotoxicity. Finally it is also shown that carnitine inhibits the hydrolysis of inositol phospholipids induced by activation of different types of metabotropic receptors, but this effect seems not responsible for its protective effects.

Ammonia↗

Blood-brain barrier to ammonia in humans.

We have developed a method to evaluate the diffusion of ammonia across the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in normal humans, based on measures of CBF and the regional cerebral metabolic rate for ammonia, obtained by positron emission tomography. The extraction fraction for ammonia passing through the cerebral capillary bed was a reciprocal function of CBF. The product of the BBB surface area and ammonia permeability, calculated from the Renkin-Crone model, was 0.32 +/- 0.19 cm3 g-1 min-1 (+/- SD) in gray matter and 0.24 +/- 0.16 cm3 g-1 min-1 in white matter. From literature values of the expected capillary surface area ratio, a gray-to-white matter ammonia permeability ratio of 0.37:1.0 was calculated. We speculate that astrocytes may mediate this unexpected difference in permeability, and that the permeability of the BBB to ammonia may be important in the pathogenesis of hyperammonemic brain dysfunction.

Ammonia↗

Mechanism of volume expansion on citrate, ammonia, and acid excretion in the rat.

Potassium-depleted rats receiving sodium chloride or i.v. mannitol decrease their blood bicarbonate concentration isohydrically, reduce urinary citrate, and increase urinary ammonia excretion per milligram of urinary creatinine. To determine the mechanisms of these renal changes, we volume expanded normal rats with mannitol, normal saline, or saline bicarbonate solutions. Blood pH in each group remained constant, but blood bicarbonate fell significantly in the mannitol and saline-infused rats. In these two groups, urinary citrate per unit GFR decreased 27% and 25% (P less than 0.01) but urinary ammonia excretion per unit GFR increased 120% and 90% (P less than 0.01). By contrast, in saline bicarbonate rats, citrate excretion increased 27% and urinary ammonia excretion rose 29% (P greater than 0.2). Rats with metabolic acidosis given saline did not alter blood pH or bicarbonate. Citrate excretion per unit GFR increased 150% (P less than 0.02) but urinary ammonia excretion rose insignificantly by 11%. Calculated net tubular reabsorption of citrate increased in the mannitol and saline-infused rats. The rise in urinary pH in these two groups during expansion suggest that renal ammonia production was also increased. We conclude that volume expansion changes renal citrate and ammonia metabolism by isohydrically reducing blood bicarbonate concentration, thereby demonstrating another effect of bicarbonate, independent of pH, on renal metabolism.

Acid-Base Equilibrium↗

Simultaneous determination of ammonia nitrogen and L-glutamine in bioreactor media using flow injection.

A novel split stream flow injection (FI) system suitable for the simultaneous determination of L-glutamine and ammonia nitrogen (ammonia-N) in cell culture media is described. Potentiometric detection of ammonia-N in one portion of the manifold is achieved using a commercial ammonia gas-sensing electrode fitted with a wall-jet cap. L-Glutamine is quantified in the other part of the split sample by potentiometric detection of ammonium ions (by an ammonium-selective polymer membrane electrode), liberated from the hydrolysis of glutamine after the sample flows through a glass bead reactor containing immobilized glutaminase. Endogenous ammonia-N and potassium ions that would normally interfere with the glutamine measurement are removed upstream using a unique tubular cation-exchange unit. Using 50 microliters sample volumes and mixed solutions of ammonium chloride and L-glutamine in Iscove's Modified Dulbecco's Medium to calibrate the FI measuring system, values for ammonia-N and L-glutamine determined for 22 media samples obtained from a bioreactor growing retroviral producer cells correlate well with those measured with commercial, manual enzymic-spectrophotometric assay kits.

Ammonia↗

Determining the agricultural ammonia immission using bark bio-monitoring: comparison with passive sampler measurements.

Bark samples of spruce, pine and oak trees were collected at two sites in southern Bavaria which are characterized by high agricultural ammonia emissions. The samples were taken using a recently developed bark sampling device which removes a defined layer of the bark. The bark was then analysed for ammonium concentration in order to reflect the environmental ammonia immission. The measured bark concentrations decreased with rising distance between the sample trees and the ammonia source. This applied (i) to measurements inside a closed forest stand ranging from forest edge with high immission to forest interior with much lower immission, and (ii) to the open field where single-standing trees were sampled. Comparing the ammonium concentrations among the three different tree species revealed significant correlations. Thus, it could be shown that old spruce trees are as usable for bark bio-monitoring as the traditionally used pine and oak trees. The ammonium concentrations of the bark were significantly correlated to measurements taken by ammonia passive samplers at the same locations. These results indicate that bark samples may be used for a standardised monitoring of airborne ammonia load. A major advantage of the technique is the determination of the long-term accumulative ammonia load using a single measurement.

Agriculture↗

Evaluation of a fluorometric method for measuring low concentrations of ammonia in ambient air.

A fluorometric method developed for measuring low concentrations of ammonium in marine and freshwater ecosystems was adapted for the analysis of ammonia in ambient air. The modified method entails collection of samples on an acid-treated solid adsorbent followed by analysis using a fluorometer. Optimal results were obtained using a commercially available sorbent tube containing 100 mg of acid-treated silica gel for sample collection, and an analytical protocol consisting of sample desorption in DI water, addition of orthopthaldialdehyde (OPA) working reagent, and room temperature incubation. Method accuracy and precision were evaluated by comparing experimentally determined quantities of ammonia to expected levels for sample loadings ranging from 0.16 [micro sign]g to 550 [micro sign]g-accuracy was generally within +/-20%. The estimated LOQ for the method is 0.08 [micro sign]g ammonia per sample which represents a 25-375-fold improvement in sensitivity compared to current NIOSH and OSHA methods for the measurement of ammonia in ambient air. The new method should be useful for applications requiring measurement of low concentrations of ammonia using personal sampling equipment or in the characterization of short-term fluctuations of ammonia concentrations in air.

Air Pollutants↗

The contribution of endogenous urea to faecal ammonia in man, determined by 15N labelling of plasma urea.

To establish the role of endogenous urea as a source of faecal ammonia, the plasma urea of two healthy men was labelled with 15N at a constant level for several days and its 15N enrichment was compared with that of faecal ammonia and total nitrogen. Faeces collected after one complete gastrointestinal transit from the onset of plasma labelling had ammonia 15N enrichments which were only 8.5 +/- 1.2% and total nitrogen enrichments which were 6.8 +/- 0.7% of the plasma urea 15N enrichment. These results show that endogenous urea is not the main precursor of faecal ammonia, which is probably derived by bacterial deamination from the protein of dietary residues, intestinal secretions and shed epithelial cells. The minor contribution of endogenous urea to faecal ammonia suggests that the lumen of the large bowel is not the main site of endogenous urea hydrolysis. The similar labelling of faecal total nitrogen and ammonia nitrogen supports other evidence that these faecal nitrogen fractions are in a constant state of exchange.

Adult↗

Effects of temperature and fertilizer on activity and community structure of soil ammonia oxidizers.

We investigated the effect of temperature on the activity of soil ammonia oxidizers caused by changes in the availability of ammonium and in the microbial community structure. Both short (5 days) and long (6.5, 16 and 20 weeks) incubation of an agricultural soil resulted in a decrease in ammonium concentration that was more pronounced at temperatures between 10 and 25 degrees C than at either 4 degrees C or 30-37 degrees C. Consistently, potential nitrification was higher between 10 and 25 degrees C than at either 4 degrees C or 37 degrees C. However, as long as ammonium was not limiting, release rates of N2O increased monotonously between 4 and 37 degrees C after short-term temperature adaptation, with nitrification accounting for about 35-50% of the N2O production between 4 and 25 degrees C. In order to see whether temperature may also affect the community structure of ammonia oxidizers, we studied moist soil during long incubation at low and high concentrations of commercial fertilizer. The soil was also incubated in buffered (pH 7) slurry amended with urea. Communities of ammonia oxidizers were assayed by denaturant gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of the amoA gene coding for the alpha subunit of ammonia monooxygenase. We found that a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) system using a non-degenerated reverse primer (amoAR1) gave the best results. Community shifts occurred in all soil treatments after 16 weeks of incubation. The community shifts were obviously influenced by the different fertilizer treatments, indicating that ammonium was a selective factor for different ammonia oxidizer populations. Temperature was also a selective factor, in particular as community shifts were also observed in the soil slurries, in which ammonium concentrations and pH were better controlled. Cloning and sequencing of selected DGGE bands indicated that amoA sequences belonging to Nitrosospira cluster 1 were dominant at low temperatures (4-10 degrees C), but were absent after long incubation at low fertilizer treatment. Sequences of Nitrosospira cluster 9 could only be detected at low ammonium concentrations, whereas those of Nitrosospira cluster 3 were found at most ammonium concentrations and temperatures, although individual clones of this cluster exhibited trends with temperature. Obviously, ammonia oxidizers are able to adapt to soil conditions by changes in the community structure if sufficient time (several weeks) is available.

Ammonia↗

GABAC receptor agonist suppressed ammonia-induced apoptosis in cultured rat hippocampal neurons by restoring phosphorylated BAD level.

Ammonia-induced apoptosis and its prevention by GABAC receptor stimulation were examined using primary cultured rat hippocampal neurons. Ammonia (0.5-5 mm NH4Cl) dose-dependently induced apoptosis in pyramidal cell-like neurons as assayed by double staining with Hoechst 33258 and anti-neurofilament antibody. A GABAC receptor agonist, cis-4-aminocrotonic acid (CACA, 200 microm), but not GABAA and GABAB receptor agonists, muscimol (10 micro m) and baclofen (50 microm), respectively, inhibited the ammonia (2 mm)-induced apoptosis, and this inhibition was abolished by a GABAC receptor antagonist (1,2,5,6-tetrahydropyridin-4-yl)methylphosphinic acid (TPMPA, 15 microm). Expression of all three GABAC receptor subunits was demonstrated in the cultured neurons by RT-PCR. The ammonia-treatment also activated caspases-3 and -9 as observed in immunocytochemistry for PARP p85 and western blot. Such activation of the caspases was again inhibited by CACA in a TPMPA-sensitive manner. The anti-apoptotic effect of CACA was blocked by inhibitors for MAP kinase kinase and cAMP-dependent protein kinase, PD98059 (20 microm) and KT5720 (1 microm), suggesting possible involvement of an upstream pro-apoptotic protein, BAD. Levels of phospho-BAD (Ser112 and Ser155) were decreased by the ammonia-treatment and restored by coadministration of CACA. These findings suggest that GABAC receptor stimulation protects hippocampal pyramidal neurons from ammonia-induced apoptosis by restoring Ser112- and Ser155-phospho-BAD levels.

Ammonia↗

Indomethacin prevents the development of experimental ammonia-induced brain edema in rats after portacaval anastomosis.

Patients with fulminant hepatic failure (FHF) die with brain edema, exhibiting an increased cerebral blood flow (CBF) at the time of cerebral swelling. Mild hypothermia prevents brain edema in experimental models and in humans with FHF, an effect associated with normalization of CBF. To study the effects of alterations of CBF on the development of brain edema, we administered intravenous (IV) indomethacin to rats receiving an ammonia infusion after portacaval anastomosis. This model predictably develops brain edema and a marked increase in CBF at 3 hours of infusion. Brain water was measured with the gravimetry technique; CBF was monitored with both laser Doppler flowmetry and radioactive microspheres, whereas intracranial pressure (ICP) was monitored with a cisterna magna catheter. Coadministration of indomethacin prevented the increase in CBF seen with ammonia alone (110 +/- 19% vs. -2 +/- 9%) as well as the increase in brain water (80.86 +/- 0.12% vs. 80.18 +/- 0.06%) and the increase in ICP. Plasma ammonia and brain glutamine levels were markedly elevated in the ammonia-infused group and unaffected by indomethacin. However, ammonia uptake by the brain was significantly reduced by indomethacin. Levels of 6-keto-PGF(1alpha), a stable metabolite of prostacyclin, were reduced in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of indomethacin-treated animals. As with mild hypothermia, avoiding cerebral vasodilatation with indomethacin will prevent the development of brain edema in this hyperammonemic model. Cerebral vasoconstriction reduces cerebral ammonia uptake and, if selective to the brain, may be of benefit in FHF.

6-Ketoprostaglandin F1 alpha↗

Sweat lactate, ammonia, and urea in rugby players.

The purpose of this study was to investigate sweat lactate, ammonia, and urea excretion in rugby players. Fifteen elite amateur rugby players volunteered to participate. The study was conducted during competitive matches in the official season. Plasma and sweat concentrations of lactate, ammonia, and urea were measured before and after the matches. Peak values for creatine kinase activity were observed 24 h after the match. There was no significant change between time points for blood lactate concentration but secretion rate per unit surface and time was significantly reduced after the match. Sweat ammonia concentration increased significantly during the match; values were significantly reduced after 24 h and still remained low at 72 h. Secretion rate was also reduced from 24 h. Urea concentration was significantly reduced at 48 h, while secretion rates decreased at 24 h and 48 h. Lactate in blood was significantly elevated during the match but not thereafter. Blood ammonia was significantly elevated during the match and did not differ from the resting values at 24 or 48 h. Urea in blood tended to decrease during the match, with a significant reduction at 24 h. Significant positive correlations were observed between blood and sweat concentrations for urea and ammonia but not for lactate. Sweat rate correlated positively with sweat lactate secretion. The fact that part of the ammonia formed during exercise is lost with sweat indicates the importance of the purine nucleotide cycle during rugby matches. Our data also confirm that sweat lactate concentration is not influenced by circulatory blood lactate in rugby players.

Adult↗

Performance measures, blood lactate and plasma ammonia as indicators of overwork in elite junior weightlifters.

The effects of short-term overwork on performance measures, blood lactate, and plasma ammonia concentrations were examined in 28 elite junior weightlifters who participated in a 2 wk high volume resistance training camp. Performance testing (maximum effort vertical jump test and snatch lift) and blood chemistry analyses (ammonia and lactate) were conducted before (T1) and after (T2) 7 d of high volume training (2-3 workouts/d). Blood samples were collected from an antecubital vein at rest, preexercise, 5 min postexercise, and 15 min postexercise at T1 and T2. Results indicated a significant decrease from T1 to T2 in the maximum effort vertical jump test while the snatch lift test yielded no difference across time. Blood lactate and ammonia concentrations were significantly lower at 5 min postexercise at T2 while resting ammonia concentrations were significantly elevated at T2 compared to corresponding measures at T1. These data suggest possible early symptoms of overwork at T2 (decrease in performance of the maximum effort vertical jump test and the elevated resting ammonia concentrations); however, lower 5 min postexercise concentrations of lactate and ammonia at T2 indicated a positive adaptation to the 1 wk high volume resistance training period.

Adolescent↗

Developing an energy landscape for the novel function of a (beta/alpha)8 barrel: ammonia conduction through HisF.

HisH-hisF is a multidomain globular protein complex; hisH is a class I glutamine amidotransferase that hydrolyzes glutamine to form ammonia, and hisF is a (beta/alpha)8 barrel cyclase that completes the ring formation of imidizole glycerol phosphate synthase. Together, hisH and hisF form a glutamine amidotransferase that carries out the fifth step of the histidine biosynthetic pathway. Recently, it has been suggested that the (beta/alpha)8 barrel participates in a novel function: to channel ammonia from the active site of hisH to the active site of hisF. The present study presents a series of molecular dynamic simulations that investigate the channeling function of hisF. This article reconstructs potentials of mean force for the conduction of ammonia through the channel, and the entrance of ammonia through the strictly conserved channel gate, in both a closed and a hypothetical open conformation. The resulting energy landscape within the channel supports the idea that ammonia does indeed pass through the barrel, interacting with conserved hydrophilic residues along the way. The proposed open conformation, which involves an alternate rotamer state of one of the gate residues, presents only an approximately 2.5-kcal energy barrier to ammonia entry. Another alternate open-gate conformation, which may play a role in non-nitrogen-fixing organisms, is deduced through bioinformatics.

Algorithms↗

Reversibility of the tryptophanase reaction: synthesis of tryptophan from indole, pyruvate, and ammonia.

Degradation of tryptophan to indole, pyruvate, and ammonia by tryptophanase (EC 4....) from Escherichia coli, previously thought to be an irreversible reaction, is readily reversible at high concentrations of pyruvate and ammonia. Tryptophan and certain of its analogues, e.g., 5-hydroxytryptophan, can be synthesized by this reaction from pyruvate, ammonia, and indole or an appropriate derivative at maximum velocities approaching those of the degradative reactions. Concentrations of ammonia required for the synthetic reactions produce specific changes in the spectrum of tryptophanase that differ from those produced by K(+) and indicate that ammonia interacts with bound pyridoxal 5'-phosphate to form an imine. Kinetic results indicate that pyruvate is the second substrate bound, hence indole must be the third. These results favor a modified mechanism for the multitude of tryptophanase-catalyzed reactions in which alpha-aminoacrylate, which functions as a common enzyme-bound intermediate in both synthetic and degradative reactions, is not released into the medium during the latter reactions, but is degraded to pyruvate and ammonia by sequential reversible steps via enzyme-bound intermediates.

Acrylates↗