scholarly journals Influens of mole rats burrow activity to restore the soils proteolytic activity in terms of their man-made pollution

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 107-111
Author(s):  
T. A. Zamesova
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Metal Concentration ◽  
Proteolytic Activity ◽  
The Body ◽  
Activity Level ◽  
Forming Process ◽  
Vital Functions ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Burrow Activity

Heavy metals, especially their large concentration, is toxic for all living creatures because they are accumulating in the living things tissues. Theirs excessive levels evoke coagulation of proteins that cause immediate death of cells. Heavy metals get into the ground by different ways: directly because of using, precipitation, industrial pollution. Their impacts may be either time limited and have low toxicity or, alternatively, it may be long-termed and expressing the pollutants' ability to accumulate them in the body and supply chains. In the edaphotop block of land biogeocenosis most of the transformation processes begin with soil degradation ones. This leads to disruption of soil-forming process cycle of matter and biological productivity of systems. Optimization of a particular system or a block is possible only by acting on their biological relations, which is responsible for managing the system. Distortion or optimization of relations occurs with the animals environmental-forming, the component of which is animals burrow activity. As a result of it, water and chemicals are being reallocated in soil depths, thermal and aeration modes are changed, formed typical zoogenous micro relief with specific physical and chemical properties of the soil. This improves the living conditions of soil micro-organisms. Last ones are involved in soil enzyme activity forming. Enzymes involved in important biochemical processes: synthesis and humus decomposition, hydrolysis of organic compounds, the schedule remains of plants and microorganisms and converted them available to fixation, fix loose items, are actively involved in the cycling of essential elements for plants, in oxidation renewable reactions, etc. It is possible to determine the extent of microorganism’s activity by means of indexes of soil proteolytic activity. Conducted studies of the impact for animals burrow activity on the soils proteolytic activity for artificial forest under conditions of heavy metal pollution. Control plots were contaminated by lead with concentrations of 32; 160; 320 mg/kg of soil, which correspond to the maximum permissible concentration of 1; 5; 10 MAC. Samples were taken at 1st, 3rd and 15th months after contamination; proteolytic activity was determined by the Mishustin application method. Current proteolytic activity of soil is determined in vivo. It is the result of microorganism’s vital functions. And in turn can be an indicator of microbial activity. Contamination of lead depressing vital functions for soil microorganisms. This effect is more noticeable in the first month after contamination. The characteristic dependence of the soil proteolytic activity on metal concentration was observed also, the higher the MPC, the lower proteolytic activity level. The characteristics' dependence of soil proteolytic activity on metal concentration were also observed: the higher MPC, the lower the activity level. It was shown that on the mole rats burrows-dug with lead contaminated the medium proteolytic activity level exceeded control 1.9; 1.76 and 1.53 times respectively, at 1st; 3rd and 15th months after contamination. Based on this we can say that burrowing activity of animals inhibits inhibitory effect of heavy metals and plays an important role in the self-cleaning environment.

scholarly journals Alcohol Pattern Consumption Differently Affects the Efficiency of Macrophage Reverse Cholesterol Transport in Vivo

Nutrients ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 1885
Author(s):  
Daniela Greco ◽  
Simone Battista ◽  
Laura Mele ◽  
Antonio Piemontese ◽  
Bianca Papotti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reverse Cholesterol Transport ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
Cardiovascular Disease Risk ◽  
The Body ◽  
Cholesterol Transport ◽  
Drinking Patterns ◽  
Cardiovascular Morbidity And Mortality ◽  
Short Period ◽  
The Impact

It has been well established that moderate alcohol consumption inversely correlates with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, whereas binge alcohol drinking increases cardiovascular disease risk. The aim of this study was to assess in vivo the impact of different drinking patterns on reverse cholesterol transport (RCT); the atheroprotective process leading to the removal of excess cholesterol from the body. RCT was measured with a standardized, radioisotope-based technique in three groups of atherosclerosis-prone apolipoprotein E knock out mice: Placebo group, receiving water, which would mimic the abstainers; moderate group, receiving 0.8 g/kg alcohol/day for 28 days, which would mimic a moderate intake; binge group, receiving 0.8 g/kg alcohol/day for 5 days/week, followed by the administration of 2.8 g/kg alcohol/day for 2 days/week, which would mimic a heavy intake in a short period. Mice in the binge drinking group displayed an increase in total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) and non-HDL-c (all p < 0.0001 vs. placebo), and a significantly reduced elimination of fecal cholesterol. The moderate consumption did not lead to any changes in circulating lipids, but slightly improved cholesterol mobilization along the RCT pathway. Overall, our data confirm the importance of considering not only the total amount, but also the different consumption patterns to define the impact of alcohol on cardiovascular risk.

scholarly journals INVESTIGATION INTO HEAVY METAL CONCENTRATION BY THE GRAVEL ROADSIDES / SUNKIŲJŲ METALŲ KONCENTRACIJŲ ŽVYRKELIŲ PAKELIŲ DIRVOŽEMIUOSE VERTINIMAS / ОЦЕНКА КОНЦЕНТР АЦИЙ ТЯЖЕЛЫХ МЕТАЛЛОВ В ПОЧВЕ ОБОЧИН ГРАВИЙНЫХ ДОРОГ

2011 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Audronė Mikalajunė ◽  
Lina Jakučionytė
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Heavy Metal ◽  
Metal Concentration ◽  
Road Dust ◽  
Heavy Metal Concentration ◽  
Concentration Limit ◽  
Roadside Soils ◽  
Oil Emulsion ◽  
Gravel Roads ◽  
The Impact

Vehicles release large amounts of heavy metals to the environment. There have been done a lot of investigations analysing the distribution of heavy metals in soils near intensive regional roads. However, there is lack of investigations into the impact of small-intensity gravel roads on roadside soil contamination with heavy metals. The object of this investigation is four gravel roads of local significance connecting small villages. The intensity of these roads is very low. The gravel roads are chosen according to application of dust-minimizing materials, for example, CaCl2 and oil emulsion. According to our results, none of the soil samples had an excess of heavy metal concentration limit. Besides, heavy metal concentrations were decreasing with a distance from the road increasing. We can make an assumption that road dust-minimizing materials do not have a significant impact on heavy metal distribution in roadside soils. The major factors of heavy metal pollution distribution in roadside soils are traffic intensity, roadside trenches, and topographic conditions. Santrauka Eksploatuojant autotransportą, į aplinką patenka daug sunkiųjų metalų. Atlikta nemažai tyrimų sunkiųjų metalų paplitimuidirvožemyje šalia intensyvių magistralinių kelių nustatyti, tačiau mažo intensyvumo keliai šiuo požiūriu tiriami mažai.Tirti pasirinkta 4 žvyrkeliai – vietinės reikšmvs keliai, jungiantys nedideles gyvenvietes. Eismo intensyvumas šiuose keliuose mažas. Žvyrkeliai pasirinkti pagal taikomas priemones dulkėtumui mažinti, t. y. du nagrinvjami žvyrkeliai apdorotiCaCl2, kiti du – naftos emulsija. Nė viename mėginyje sunkiųjų metalų koncentracijos neviršijo DLK, o tolstant nuo važiuojamosios kelio dalies sunkiųjų metalų koncentracijos buvo mažesnės. Galima daryti prielaidą, kad kelio apdorojimo medžiagos dulkėtumui mažinti žymios įtakos sunkiųjų metalų pasiskirstymui pakelių dirvožemyje nedaro, lemia transporto srauto intensyvumas, kelio grioviai pakelėse bei reljefo sąlygos. Резюме При эксплуатации автомобилей в окружающую среду попадает много тяжелых металлов. Проведено немалоисследований, посвященных анализу распространения тяжелых металлов в почве обочин интенсивно эксплуатируемых магистральных дорог, однако исследований, касающихся аналогичных проблем дорог малой интенсивности, в настоящее время имеется немного. В настоящей работе в качестве объекта исследований выбраны четыредороги местного значения с гравийным покрытием, соединяющие небольшие поселения. Интенсивность дорог небольшая. Гравийные дороги выбраны с учетом их обработки для уменьшения пыльности – две дороги обработаны с применением CaCl2, а две другие – с применением нефтяной эмульсии. Ни в одной пробе не былозафиксировано концентраций тяжелых металлов, превышающих допустимые нормами. С удалением от проезжей части концентрации тяжелых металлов уменьшались. На основании исследований можно сделать вывод о том,что материалы, применявшиеся для уменьшения пыльности дорог, большого влияния на распространениетяжелых металлов в почве обочин дорог не оказывают. На распространение тяжелых металлов в почве обочин оказывает влияние интенсивность транспортного потока, кюветы на обочинах и условия рельефа.

scholarly journals Heavy metals contamination of the sediments of the south-eastern Baltic Sea: the impact of economic development

Baltica ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-62
Author(s):  
Alexander Krek ◽  
Aleksandr Danchenkov ◽  
Marina Ulyanova ◽  
Darya Ryabchuk
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Heavy Metal ◽  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Metal Concentration ◽  
Bottom Sediments ◽  
Heavy Metal Concentration ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Heavy Metals Contamination ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Eastern Baltic

The scope of the study was to assess the impact of potential sources of Cu, Zn, Co, Ni, and Cr on bottom sediments of the Russian sector of the south-eastern Baltic Sea. A total of 68 samples were taken and analyzed for grain-size (laser diffraction and sieve method) and heavy metal concentration (atomic absorption spectroscopy method). To avoid the influence of the sorption capacity of the fine-grained sediments to accumulate the pollutants, the normalization of the heavy metal concentration to Fe was applied. The environmental indices (contamination factor and modified degree of contamination) were calculated. The research has shown the contribution of oil platform, pipelines, ports and wastewater treatment facilities on the geochemical composition of bottom sediments. The authors have identified the level of heavy metals contamination of the middle parts of the Curonian and Vistula spits as a result of alongshore transport of pollutants.

scholarly journals Hemoglobin stimulates vigorous growth of Streptococcus pneumoniae and shapes the pathogen's global transcriptome

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fahmina Akhter ◽  
Edroyal Womack ◽  
Jorge E. Vidal ◽  
Yoann Le Breton ◽  
Kevin S. McIver ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Streptococcus Pneumoniae ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
The Body ◽  
Host Proteins ◽  
Vigorous Growth ◽  
Cultivation In Vitro ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Heme Binding Protein

Abstract Streptococcus pneumoniae (Spn) must acquire iron from the host to establish infection. We examined the impact of hemoglobin, the largest iron reservoir in the body, on pneumococcal physiology. Supplementation with hemoglobin allowed Spn to resume growth in an iron-deplete medium. Pneumococcal growth with hemoglobin was unusually robust, exhibiting a prolonged logarithmic growth, higher biomass, and extended viability in both iron-deplete and standard medium. We observed the hemoglobin-dependent response in multiple serotypes, but not with other host proteins, free iron, or heme. Remarkably, hemoglobin induced a sizable transcriptome remodeling, effecting virulence and metabolism in particular genes facilitating host glycoconjugates use. Accordingly, Spn was more adapted to grow on the human α − 1 acid glycoprotein as a sugar source with hemoglobin. A mutant in the hemoglobin/heme-binding protein Spbhp-37 was impaired for growth on heme and hemoglobin iron. The mutant exhibited reduced growth and iron content when grown in THYB and hemoglobin. In summary, the data show that hemoglobin is highly beneficial for Spn cultivation in vitro and suggest that hemoglobin might drive the pathogen adaptation in vivo. The hemoglobin receptor, Spbhp-37, plays a role in mediating the positive influence of hemoglobin. These novel findings provide intriguing insights into pneumococcal interactions with its obligate human host.

Present and future applications of enterosorbents in the prevention and treatment of adverse effects of heavy metal compounds

2020 ◽  
pp. 42-47
Author(s):  
A. V. Fomichev ◽  
A. E. Sosyukin ◽  
E. V. Malysheva ◽  
V. S. Litvinсev ◽  
N. V. Lapina ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Heavy Metal ◽  
Modern Science ◽  
The Body ◽  
Biologically Active ◽  
Toxic Substances ◽  
Metal Compounds ◽  
Medicinal Substances ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Impact

Research of the last decade, which revealed the relationship of various socially significant diseases (Alzheimer’s disease, parkinsonism, multiple sclerosis, etc.) with the impact of heavy metals on the human body, stimulates modern science to create drugs that can quickly and safely remove these toxic substances from the body. The article presents a review of studies on the effectiveness of heavy metal adsorption by modern enterosorbents officially registered in the Russian Federation as drugs. The prospects of using non-starch polysaccharides, which are part of modern biologically active additives, in order to create new medicinal substances for the elimination of heavy metals that pose a threat to public health are indicated.

scholarly journals Bioaccumulation of heavy metals in the black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens and effects on its life cycle

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 261-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Diener ◽  
C. Zurbrügg ◽  
K. Tockner
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Heavy Metal ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Metal Concentration ◽  
Organic Waste ◽  
The Body ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Black Soldier Fly ◽  
Hermetia Illucens ◽  
Collection Costs

In developing countries, effective waste management strategies are constrained by high collection costs and lack of adequate treatment and disposal options. The organic fraction in particular, which accounts for more than 50% of the waste production, constitutes a great, yet mostly neglected, reuse potential. Concomitantly, the demand for alternative protein sources by the livestock feed industry is sharply increasing. A technology that effectively transforms organic waste into valuable feed is therefore a timely option. Larvae of the non-pest black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens L. (Diptera: Stratiomyidae), may be used to reduce the mass of organic waste significantly. Concurrently, larval feeding converts organic waste into prepupae (last larval stage) which is high in protein. In combination with a viable market, this potential animal feed may cover the waste collection costs and thus promote innovative, small-scale entrepreneurs to establish a profitable business niche. Organic waste, however, often contains persistent pollutants, such as heavy metals, that may accumulate in the larvae and prepupae of black soldier flies and consequently in the food chain. In this study, we fed black soldier fly larvae chicken feed spiked with heavy metals (cadmium, lead and zinc at three concentrations each) to examine the extent of metal accumulation in the different life stages and the effect of heavy metal concentration in the feed on the life cycle determinants of the flies. The cadmium accumulation factor in prepupae (metal concentration in the body divided by metal concentration in the food) ranged between 2.32 and 2.94; however, the lead concentration remained well below its initial concentration in the feed. The bioaccumulation factor of zinc in prepupae decreased with increasing zinc concentration in the feed (from 0.97 to 0.39). None of the three heavy metal elements had significant effects on the life cycle determinants (prepupal weight, development time, sex ratio).

scholarly journals Me-Doped Ti–Me Intermetallic Thin Films Used for Dry Biopotential Electrodes: A Comparative Case Study

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (23) ◽  
pp. 8143
Author(s):  
Cláudia Lopes ◽  
Patrique Fiedler ◽  
Marco Sampaio Rodrigues ◽  
Joel Borges ◽  
Maurizio Bertollo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thin Films ◽  
Binary Systems ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Skin Impedance ◽  
Comparative Case Study ◽  
Sports Activity ◽  
Dry Electrodes ◽  
Vital Functions ◽  
The Impact

In a new era for digital health, dry electrodes for biopotential measurement enable the monitoring of essential vital functions outside of specialized healthcare centers. In this paper, a new type of nanostructured titanium-based thin film is proposed, revealing improved biopotential sensing performance and overcoming several of the limitations of conventional gel-based electrodes such as reusability, durability, biocompatibility, and comfort. The thin films were deposited on stainless steel (SS) discs and polyurethane (PU) substrates to be used as dry electrodes, for non-invasive monitoring of body surface biopotentials. Four different Ti–Me (Me = Al, Cu, Ag, or Au) metallic binary systems were prepared by magnetron sputtering. The morphology of the resulting Ti–Me systems was found to be dependent on the chemical composition of the films, specifically on the type and amount of Me. The existence of crystalline intermetallic phases or glassy amorphous structures also revealed a strong influence on the morphological features developed by the different systems. The electrodes were tested in an in-vivo study on 20 volunteers during sports activity, allowing study of the application-specific characteristics of the dry electrodes, based on Ti–Me intermetallic thin films, and evaluation of the impact of the electrode–skin impedance on biopotential sensing. The electrode–skin impedance results support the reusability and the high degree of reliability of the Ti–Me dry electrodes. The Ti–Al films revealed the least performance as biopotential electrodes, while the Ti–Au system provided excellent results very close to the Ag/AgCl reference electrodes.

GEOECOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF THE MODERN ZINC CONTENT IN THE SOIL COVER OF THE URBANIZED TERRITORIES OF THE SOUTH OF RUSSIA

2021 ◽  
Vol 82 (3) ◽  
pp. 115-120
Author(s):  
SINTSOV ALEXANDER V. ◽  
◽  
BARMIN ALEXANDER N. ◽  
ZIMOVETS PETR A. ◽  
VALOV MICHAIL V. ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Maximum Permissible Concentration ◽  
Soil Cover ◽  
Chemical Elements ◽  
Zinc Content ◽  
Soil Samples ◽  
The Body ◽  
Urbanized Area ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City

Anthropogenic and technogenic processes in the urban environment significantly change the chemical composition of the soil cover. One of such processes influencing the state of the urban soil is the process of soil cover pollution with heavy metals. Heavy metals are biochemically active and highly toxic; they are found in various components of the natural environment, as well as in systems of anthropogenic and technogenic origin. They have the property of accumulation in the body of living beings and have a negative effect on their condition. This group of chemical elements includes lead, zinc, chromium, mercury, copper, iron and other metals. Exceeding the permissible concentration of heavy metals in the soil of an urbanized area and their toxic effects pose a significant danger to humans. Contamination of the soil cover of an urbanized area with heavy metals is associated with the impact of a large number of sources of anthropogenic and technogenic origin, namely, energy and industrial facilities, city infrastructure support systems, zones of construction activities and storage of materials or waste. One of the main highly toxic chemical pollutants of the soil cover of the urbanized territory belonging to the group of heavy metals is zinc «Zincum-Zn». The article describes the results of a 2020 study of the current zinc content in the soil cover of the city of Astrakhan. The relevance of the work lies in the geochemical analysis of the content of heavy metals in the soil of the city of Astrakhan. The aim of the work was to study the modern process of soil contamination of the city of Astrakhan with zinc. The work was based on the task of determining the degree of exceeding the hygienic standards of the maximum permissible concentration of zinc in soil samples. Methods of geographical and ecological research were used in the work, soil samples were collected, followed by determination of the concentration of a substance in each of the soil samples in a certified laboratory. In the course of the work, the indicators of exceeding the maximum permissible concentration of zinc in the soil of the city of Astrakhan were determined and the presumptive sources of pollution were identified.

A computer model of human thermoregulation for a wide range of environmental conditions: the passive system

1999 ◽  
Vol 87 (5) ◽  
pp. 1957-1972 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dusan Fiala ◽  
Kevin J. Lomas ◽  
Martin Stohrer
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Procedure ◽  
Analytic Solutions ◽  
The Body ◽  
Activity Level ◽  
Passive System ◽  
Active System ◽  
Directional Radiation ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Surface Convection ◽  
The Impact

A dynamic model predicting human thermal responses in cold, cool, neutral, warm, and hot environments is presented in a two-part study. This, the first paper, is concerned with aspects of the passive system: 1) modeling the human body, 2) modeling heat-transport mechanisms within the body and at its periphery, and 3) the numerical procedure. A paper in preparation will describe the active system and compare the model predictions with experimental data and the predictions by other models. Here, emphasis is given to a detailed modeling of the heat exchange with the environment: local variations of surface convection, directional radiation exchange, evaporation and moisture collection at the skin, and the nonuniformity of clothing ensembles. Other thermal effects are also modeled: the impact of activity level on work efficacy and the change of the effective radiant body area with posture. A stable and accurate hybrid numerical scheme was used to solve the set of differential equations. Predictions of the passive system model are compared with available analytic solutions for cylinders and spheres and show good agreement and stable numerical behavior even for large time steps.

Quality of preimplantation embryos recovered in vivo from dairy cows in relation to their body condition

Zygote ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 378-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.V. Makarevich ◽  
L. Stádník ◽  
E. Kubovičová ◽  
Z. Hegedüšová ◽  
R. Holásek ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
Body Condition Score ◽  
The Body ◽  
Preimplantation Embryos ◽  
Dead Cell ◽  
Cell Numbers ◽  
The Impact

SummaryThis study examined the impact of cow body condition on the quality of bovine preimplantation embryos. The embryos (n = 107) were flushed from dairy cows and classified according to a five-point scale body condition score (BCS2 n = 17; BCS3 n = 31; BCS4 n = 11) on the 7th day after insemination and then analyzed for development, dead cell index (DCI), cell number and actin cytoskeleton quality. The highest embryo recovery rate (P < 0.05) was recorded in the BCS3 group and the lowest in the BCS4 group. More transferable (morula, blastocyst) embryos were obtained from the BCS4 cows (79%), compared with the BCS2 (64%) or BCS3 (63%) animals. However, cell numbers were higher in the BCS2 and BCS3 groups (P < 0.05) compared with the BCS4 embryos. Conversely, the DCI was lowest in the BCS2 (3.88%; P < 0.05) and highest in the BCS4 (6.56%) embryos. The proportion of embryos with the best actin quality (grade I) was higher in the BCS2 and BCS3 cows compared with the BCS4 group. Almost 25% of all embryos showed fragmented morphology and a higher DCI (5.65%) than normal morulas (1.76%). More fragmented embryos were revealed in the BCS2 (28.6%) and BCS4 (31.25%) groups, and less (19.15%) in the BCS3 group. The cell numbers in such embryos were lower in the BCS4 (22.57) than in the BCS2 (46.25) or BCS3 (42.4) groups. In conclusion, the body condition of dairy cows affects the quality of preimplantation embryos. A BCS over 3.0 resulted in a higher incidence of poor (fragmented) embryos.

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