Republication or reproduction of this report or its storage and/or dissemination by electronic means is permitted without the need for formal IUPAC permission on condition that an acknowledgement, with full reference to the source along with use of the copyright symbol q, the name IUPAC and the year of publication are prominently visible. Publication of a translation into another language is subject to the additional condition of prior approval from the relevant IUPAC National Adhering Organization.

No abstract

Republication or reproduction of this report or its storage and/or dissemination by electronic means is permitted without the need for formal IUPAC permission on condition that an acknowledgement, with full reference to the source along with use of the copyright symbol q, the name IUPAC and the year of publication are prominently visible. Publication of a translation into another language is subject to the additional condition of prior approval from the relevant IUPAC National Adhering Organization.

A new miniaturized glucose oxidase based needle-type glucose microsensor has been developed for subcutaneous glucose monitoring. The sensor is equivalent in shape and size to a 26-guage needle (0.45-mm o.d.) and can be implanted with ease without any incision. The novel configuration greatly facilitates the deposition of enzyme and polymer films so that sensors with characteristics suitable for in vivo use (upper limit of linear range greater than 15 mM, response time less than 5 min, and sensitivity yielding a 5:1 signal-to-background ratio at normal basal glucose levels) can be prepared in high yield (greater than 60%). The sensor response is largely independent of oxygen tension in the normal physiological range. It also exhibits good selectivity against common interferences except for the exogenous drug acetaminophen.

River basin metal pollution originates from heavy industries (plating, automobile) and from urban sources (Paris conurbation: 2740 km(2), 9.47 million inhabitants). The natural sources of metal have been found to be limited due to sedimentary nature of this catchment and to the very low river sediment transport (10 t km(-2) y(-1)). Several types of data have been collected to build the metal budget within the whole Seine River basin: field surveys, economical statistics and environmental models. Environmental contamination and related fluxes have been measured on atmospheric fallout, rural streams particles, and Seine River particles upstream and downstream of Paris and at river mouth. Metal pathways and budgets have been set up for (i) a typical cultivated area, (ii) a Paris combined sewer system, (iii) Paris conurbation and (iv) the whole catchment metal retention effect in floodplain and dredged material. Metal fluxes to the estuary have been decomposed into natural, urban domestic and other sources. The latter are within 1-2 orders of magnitude larger than waste water fluxes directly released into rivers according to an industrial census. These fluxes have been further compared to the annual use (1994-2003) of these metals. Metal excess fluxes exported by the river are now a marginal leak of metal inputs to the catchment (i.e. "raw" metals, metals in goods, atmospheric fallout), generally from 0.2 to 5 per thousand. However, due to the very limited dilution power in this basin, the contamination of particles is still relatively high. The Seine River basin is gradually storing metals, mostly in manufactured products used in construction, but also in various waste dumps, industrial soils, agricultural and flood plain soils.