The Department of Defense has developed explosives with the insensitive munition 2,4-dinitroanisole (DNAN), to prevent accidental detonations during training and operations. Understanding the fate and transport of DNAN is necessary to assess the risk it may represent to groundwater once the new ordnance is routinely produced and used. Experiments with ferrous iron or anthrahydroquinone-2,6-disulfonate (AHQDS) were conducted from pH 6.0 to 9.0 with initial DNAN concentrations of 100 μM. DNAN was degraded by 1.2 mM Fe(II) at pH 7, 8, and 9, and rates increased with increasing pH. Greater than 90% of the initial 100 μM DNAN was reduced within 10 min at pH 9, and all DNAN was reduced within 1 h. AHQDS reduced DNAN at all pH values tested. Cells of Geobacter metallireducens were added in the presence and absence of Fe(III) and/or anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate (AQDS), and DNAN was also reduced in all cell suspensions. Cells reduced the compound directly, but both AQDS and Fe(III) increased the reaction rate, via the production of AHQDS and/or Fe(II). DNAN was degraded via two intermediates: 2-methoxy-5-nitroaniline and 4-methoxy-3-nitroaniline, to the amine product 2,4-diaminoanisole. These data suggest that an effective strategy can be developed for DNAN attenuation based on combined biological-abiotic reactions mediated by Fe(III)-reducing microorganisms.

Gifted children often display sensitivities to their environment that vary from those of the general population. Data were gathered on 6- to 11-year-old gifted children attending a public elementary school gifted program. Parents completed Dunn's (1999) Sensory Profile questionnaire regarding their child. Two primary analyses were conducted: (1) a comparison of the gifted children's sensory sensitivity with Sensory Profile norms and (2) an examination of the internal consistency of the Sensory Profile for the gifted sample. Gifted children were more sensitive to their environment and reacted with heightened emotional and behavioral responses than did children of average intelligence. Internal consistencies for the 14 Sensory Profile sections and the Sensory Profile factors for the gifted sample were found to be equal to the reported norms of the Sensory Profile. These findings further support that gifted children may have important sensory modulation differences and add to our understanding of gifted children.

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