Effects of simulated acidic, metal-containing precipitation on coniferous litter decomposition

1983 ◽  
Vol 61 (12) ◽  
pp. 3337-3342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirk A. Moloney ◽  
Lori J. Stratton ◽  
Richard M. Klein

Depths of undegraded litter in hardwood and boreal forest ecosystems of Camels Hump Mountain in the Green Mountains of Vermont doubled between 1965 and 1982. Simulations of litter leaching by acidic and nonacidic snowmelt, fog water, or rain showed that hydrogen ions were retained by coniferous-needle litter and both cations and anions were leached. In vitro studies on litter degradation showed that acidic conditions reduced microbial CO2 evolution from litter. CO2 evolution was further repressed by the presence of Pb and Zn, but not by Al or Cu. Cellulose breakdown was unaffected in acidic, metal-containing soils treated with water acidified to pH 3.8. Reduction in litter decomposition, which could adversely alter the rates of mineral cycling in natural ecosystems, may be due to repression of the metabolism of litter-degrading microflora by precipitation acidity and metals present in soils and introduced by polluted rain.

Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (14) ◽  
pp. 4265
Author(s):  
Victor Carramiñana ◽  
Ana M. Ochoa de Ochoa de Retana ◽  
Francisco Palacios ◽  
Jesús M. de los de los Santos

Several phosphorus-substituted N-acylated cyanoaziridines 2 and N-carbamoylated cyanoziridines 5 were prepared in good to high yields. N-Acylated cyanoaziridines 2 were used, after ring expansion, in an efficient synthesis of oxazoline derivative 3a and in a completely regio-controlled reaction in the presence of NaI. Conversely, N-carbamoyl cyanoaziridines 5 reacted with NaI to obtain a regioisomeric mixture of 2-aminocyanooxazolines 7. Mild acidic conditions can be used for the isomerization of N-thiocarbamoyl cyanoaziridine 6a into a 2-aminocyanothiazoline derivative 8a by using BF3·OEt2 as a Lewis acid. Likewise, a one pot reaction of NH-cyanoaziridines 1 with isocyanates obtained 2-iminocyanooxazolidines 9 regioselectively. This synthetic methodology involves the addition of isocyanates to starting cyanoaziridines to obtain N-carbamoyl cyanoaziridines 5, which after the ring opening, reacts with a second equivalent of isocyanate to give the final 2-imino cyanooxazolidines 9. In addition, the cytotoxic effect on the cell lines derived from human lung adenocarcinoma (A549) was also screened. 2-Iminooxazolidines 9 exhibited moderate activity against the A549 cell line in vitro. Furthermore, a selectivity towards cancer cells (A549) over non-malignant cells (MCR-5) was detected.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-15
Author(s):  
Ainaz Mihanfar ◽  
Niloufar Targhazeh ◽  
Shirin Sadighparvar ◽  
Saber Ghazizadeh Darband ◽  
Maryam Majidinia ◽  
...  

Abstract Doxorubicin (DOX) is an effective chemotherapeutic agent used for the treatment of various types of cancer. However, its poor solubility, undesirable side effects, and short half-life have remained a challenge. We used a formulation based on graphene oxide as an anticancer drug delivery system for DOX in MCF-7 breast cancer cells, to address these issues. In vitro release studies confirmed that the synthesized formulation has an improved release profile in acidic conditions (similar to the tumor microenvironment). Further in vitro studies, including MTT, uptake, and apoptosis assays were performed. The toxic effects of the nanocarrier on the kidney, heart and liver of healthy rats were also evaluated. We observed that the DOX-loaded carrier improved the cytotoxic effect of DOX on the breast cell line compared to free DOX. In summary, our results introduce the DOX-loaded carrier as a potential platform for in vitro targeting of cancer cells and suggest further studies are necessary to investigate its in vivo anti-cancer potential.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 22
Author(s):  
Kenji Tsukigawa ◽  
Shuhei Imoto ◽  
Keishi Yamasaki ◽  
Koji Nishi ◽  
Toshihiko Tsutsumi ◽  
...  

In a previous study, we reported on the development of a synthetic polymer conjugate of pirarubicin (THP) that was formed via an acid-labile hydrazone bond between the polymer and the THP. However, the synthetic polymer itself was non-biodegradable, which could lead to unexpected adverse effects. Human serum albumin (HSA), which has a high biocompatibility and good biodegradability, is also a potent carrier for delivering antitumor drugs. The objective of this study was to develop pH-sensitive HSA conjugates of THP (HSA-THP), and investigate the release of THP and the cytotoxicity under acidic conditions in vitro for further clinical development. HSA-THP was synthesized by conjugating maleimide hydrazone derivatives of THP with poly-thiolated HSA using 2-iminothiolane, via a thiol-maleimide coupling reaction. We synthesized two types of HSA-THP that contained different amounts of THP (HSA-THP2 and HSA-THP4). Free THP was released from both of the HSA conjugates more rapidly at an acidic pH, and the rates of release for HSA-THP2 and HSA-THP4 were similar. Moreover, both HSA-THPs exhibited a higher cytotoxicity at acidic pH than at neutral pH, which is consistent with the effective liberation of free THP under acidic conditions. These findings suggest that these types of HSA-THPs are promising candidates for further development.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 236-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. P. Krishna ◽  
Mahesh Mohan

1997 ◽  
Vol 41 (5) ◽  
pp. 1046-1052 ◽  
Author(s):  
M H Coconnier ◽  
V Liévin ◽  
M F Bernet-Camard ◽  
S Hudault ◽  
A L Servin

The spent culture supernatant of the human Lactobacillus acidophilus strain LB produces an antibacterial activity against a wide range of gram-negative and gram-positive pathogens. It decreased the in vitro viability of Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella typhimurium, Shigella flexneri, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Bacillus cereus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter spp. In contrast, it did not inhibit lactobacilli and bifidobacteria. The activity was heat stable and relatively sensitive to enzymatic treatments and developed under acidic conditions. The antimicrobial activity was independent of lactic acid production. Activity against S. typhimurium SL1344 infecting human cultured intestinal Caco-2 cells was observed as it was in the conventional C3H/He/oujco mouse model with S. typhimurium C5 infection and oral treatment with the LB spent culture supernatant.


Plant Disease ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 103 (3) ◽  
pp. 531-537 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janna Beckerman ◽  
Chelsi Abbott

A 2-year study on the use of organic and conventional adjuvants alone, or mixed with urea, was conducted for management of overwintering inoculum of the apple scab pathogen, Venturia inaequalis. Select adjuvants (LI 700, Bond Max, Latron B-1956, and Organic Wet Betty [OWB]) have the potential to hasten urea-driven leaf litter decomposition and reduce V. inaequalis overwintering inoculum comparable to urea, and that one organic surfactant could perform the same level of leaf decomposition as urea. Combinations of adjuvants with urea significantly improved leaf litter degradation compared with urea alone, concomitant with reducing the number of pseudothecia present and pseudothecium fertility. We demonstrate that the combination of urea with Bond Max or OWB reduced pseudothecia fertility and ascospore production to less than 5% in the remaining pseudothecia, a significantly greater reduction than with urea alone. These results suggest that conventional growers combine urea with Bond Max or OWB to more effectively reduce overwintering inoculum, and that the adjuvant OWB can provide organic growers with comparable performance to urea used in conventional orchards for improved sanitation.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanya Puccio ◽  
Alexander C Schultz ◽  
Claudia A Lizarraga ◽  
Ashley S Bryant ◽  
David J Culp ◽  
...  

Streptococcus sanguinis is an oral commensal and an etiological agent of infective endocarditis. Previous studies have identified the SsaACB manganese transporter as essential for endocarditis virulence; however, the significance of SsaACB in the oral environment has never been examined. Here we report that a ΔssaACB mutant of strain SK36 exhibits reduced growth and manganese uptake under acidic conditions. Further studies revealed that these deficits resulted from the decreased activity of TmpA, shown in the accompanying paper to function as a ZIP-family manganese transporter. Transcriptomic analysis of fermentor-grown cultures of SK36 WT and ΔssaACB strains identified pH-dependent changes related to carbon catabolite repression in both strains, though their magnitude was generally greater in the mutant. In strain VMC66, which possesses a MntH transporter, loss of SsaACB did not significantly alter growth or cellular manganese levels under the same conditions. Interestingly, there were only modest differences between SK36 and its ΔssaACB mutant in competition with Streptococcus mutans in vitro and in a murine oral colonization model. Our results suggest that the heterogeneity of the oral environment may provide a rationale for the variety of manganese transporters found in S. sanguinis and point to strategies for enhancing the safety of oral probiotics.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
SUPRIYANTO ◽  
PURWANTO ◽  
S.H. POROMARTO ◽  
SUPYANI

Abstract. Supriyanto, Purwanto, Poromarto SH, Supyani. 2020. Evaluation of in vitro antagonistic activity of fungi from peatlands against Ganoderma species under acidic conditions. Biodiversitas 21: 2935-2945. The use of peatlands is a significant contributor to the world’s palm oil production. A serious problem of oil palm plantations in peatlands is the high incidence of basal stem rot (BSR) disease caused by Ganoderma, which has a higher attack rate than on mineral soils. There is no effective way to control Ganoderma in peatlands. At present, the effort for the same focuses on environment-friendly biological methods; however, this is constrained by the unavailability of appropriate biological agents for peatlands. The development of biological control agents for peatlands is hampered by limited data on biological control of Ganoderma in peatlands. This research was conducted to evaluate the in vitro antagonistic activity of fungi isolated from a peatland in acidic pH conditions. Twenty-seven Ganoderma-antagonistic fungi from peatland were evaluated for their activity and their ability to antagonism in vitro within a pH range of 2-7. The results show that most antagonistic fungi from peatland, based on biomass weight, the sporulation ability, and germination of conidium, were able to grow optimally at pH 3.0-4.0, indicating that most of the Ganoderma-antagonistic fungi from peatland can be used as biological control agents for BSR on oil palms in peatlands.


Microbiology ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 157 (11) ◽  
pp. 3150-3161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianshun Chen ◽  
Changyong Cheng ◽  
Ye Xia ◽  
Hanxin Zhao ◽  
Chun Fang ◽  
...  

Listeria monocytogenes is a foodborne pathogen causing listeriosis. Acid is one of the stresses that foodborne pathogens encounter most frequently. The ability to survive and proliferate in acidic environments is a prerequisite for infection. However, there is limited knowledge about the molecular basis of adaptation of L. monocytogenes to acid. Arginine deiminase (ADI) and agmatine deiminase (AgDI) systems are implicated in bacterial tolerance to acidic environments. Homologues of ADI and AgDI systems have been found in L. monocytogenes lineages I and II strains. Sequence analysis indicated that lmo0036 encodes a putative carbamoyltransferase containing conserved motifs and residues important for substrate binding. Lmo0036 acted as an ornithine carbamoyltransferase and putrescine carbamoyltransferase, representing the first example, to our knowledge, that catalyses reversible ornithine and putrescine carbamoyltransfer reactions. Catabolic ornithine and putrescine carbamoyltransfer reactions constitute the second step of ADI and AgDI pathways. However, the equilibrium of in vitro carbamoyltransfer reactions was overwhelmingly towards the anabolic direction, suggesting that catabolic carbamoyltransferase was probably the limiting step of the pathways. lmo0036 was induced at the transcriptional level when L. monocytogenes was subjected to low-pH stress. Its expression product in Escherichia coli exhibited higher catabolic carbamoyltransfer activities under acidic conditions. Consistently, absence of this enzyme impaired the growth of Listeria under mild acidic conditions (pH 4.8) and reduced its survival in synthetic human gastric fluid (pH 2.5), and corresponded to a loss in ammonia production, indicating that Lmo0036 was responsible for acid tolerance at both sublethal and lethal pH levels. Furthermore, Lmo0036 played a possible role in Listeria virulence.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Lazraq Bystrom ◽  
Michael Pujari-Palmer

Phosphoserine modified cements (PMC) exhibit unique properties, including strong adhesion to tissues and biomaterials. While TTCP-PMCs remodel into bone in vivo, little is known regarding the bioactivity and physiochemical changes that occur during resorption. In the present study, changes in the mechanical strength and composition were evaluated for 28 days, for three formulations of αTCP based PMCs. PMCs were significantly stronger than unmodified cement (38–49 MPa vs. 10 MPa). Inclusion of wollastonite in PMCs appeared to accelerate the conversion to hydroxyapatite, coincident with slight decrease in strength. In non-wollastonite PMCs the initial compressive strength did not change after 28 days in PBS (p > 0.99). Dissolution/degradation of PMC was evaluated in acidic (pH 2.7, pH 4.0), and supersaturated fluids (simulated body fluid (SBF)). PMCs exhibited comparable mass loss (<15%) after 14 days, regardless of pH and ionic concentration. Electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray analysis revealed that significant amounts of brushite, octacalcium phosphate, and hydroxyapatite reprecipitated, following dissolution in acidic conditions (pH 2.7), while amorphous calcium phosphate formed in SBF. In conclusion, PMC surfaces remodel into metastable precursors to hydroxyapatite, in both acidic and neutral environments. By tuning the composition of PMCs, durable strength in fluids, and rapid transformation can be obtained.


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