Accumulation of heavy metals in the grain of spring barley (Hordeum sativum) as affected by varietal characteristics and duration of storage

Purpose. Determine the content of heavy metals in the grain of spring barley varieties of different application as affected by the duration of storage. Methods. In the years 2018–2020, 11 spring barley varieties of different applications were studied: grain ‘Stalker’, ‘Vodohrai’, ‘Vzirets’, ‘Ahrarii’, ‘Shchedryk’; universal ‘Enei’; malting ‘Kozak’, ‘Dokuchaievskyi 15’, ‘Etyket’, ‘Helios’, ‘Sviatohor’. The content of chemical elements in the grain (cadmium, lead, mercury, arsenic, copper, zinc) was determined in the dynamics: immediately after harvest, after 7, 14, 21 and 28 days. Results. In the studied varieties of spring barley, the lead (Pb) content in the grain varied immediately after threshing and after 7 days ranged from 1.01 to 1.12 mg/kg. Reduction of the studied element after 14 days was observed in all varieties. In particular, the lead content was 1.03 mg/kg in ‘Shchedryk’, 1.01 mg/kg in ‘Stalker’, 1.00 mg/kg in ‘Vzirets’, 0,78 mg/kg (the lowest) in ‘Vodohrai’, and 1.12 mg/kg (the highest) in ‘Ahrarii’. Studies have shown that the most sensitive to cadmium (Cd) grain variety of spring barley was ‘Vzirets’ with the content of 0.09 mg/kg immediately after threshing and on the 7th day of storage; on the 14th, 21st and 28th days, the content was 0.08 mg/kg. The content of cadmium in malting barley grain immediately after threshing and after 7 days was 0.08 mg/kg in ‘Sviatohor’, and 0.09 mg/kg in all other varieties. On the 14th day, the accumulation remained unchanged in varieties ‘Dokuchaievskyi 15’, ‘Etyket’, ‘Helios’, ‘Sviatohor’; insignificant decrease was noted in ‘Kozak’ (0.07 mg/kg). After the storage for 21 and 28 days, the cadmium content was 0.07 mg/kg in ‘Sviatohor’ and ‘Kozak’, and 0.08 mg/kg in all others. Conclusions. The lowest cadmium content was determined in variety ‘Shchedryk’. Immediately after threshing and after 7 days of storage it was 0.05 mg/kg, and on the 14th, 21st and 28th days it decreased to 0.03 mg/kg. Immediately after threshing and after 7 days, the mercury content of the varieties varied from 0.07 to 0.03 mg/kg. After 14, 21 and 28 days, the following values were determined: in ‘Vodohrai’ 0.06 mg/kg, in ‘Stalker’ and ‘Vzirets’ 0.05 mg/kg, in ‘Ahrarii’ 0.04 mg/kg, ‘Shchedryk’ 0.3 mg/kg. Depending on the varietal characteristics and duration of storage, the highest content (14.05 mg/kg) was determined in ‘Ahrarii’, and the lowest (12.55 mg/kg) in ‘Shchedryk’. The study of the ‘Enei’ variety of spring barley of universal application allows us to note that the accumulation of heavy metals, as affected by the duration of storage, did not differ significantly from the grain varities.

Geochemical evaluation of soils, surface and groundwater from natural protected areas from Romania. Case studies.

The purpose of this article was to present an assessment of the soil and water quality in some protected areas from Romania in order to establish a series of geochemical thresholds on a spatial and temporal scale. The activities and results presented in this article are based on extensive monitoring, being stage results because the monitoring activities will continue, the project is ongoing. Two protected areas, Cheile Nerei -Beusnita National Park and Piatra Craiului National Park were selected. Surface water, groundwater samples, and soil samples were collected in 2019, respectively 2021 from 16 sampling sites situated in both locations. For each sample, twenty quality parameters/indicators were analyzed and the values were compared with in-force legislations. For Arsenic, Copper, and Nitrates parameters have plotted the distribution of the values in each site. In future monitoring activities, the evolution of the parameters will be followed.

Effect of Combined Stressors on C. elegans Lifespan

Cellular stress is a fundamental component of age-associated disease. Cells experience many forms of stress (oxidative, heavy metal, etc.), and as we age the burden of stress and resulting damage increases while our cells’ ability to deal with the consequences becomes diminished due to dysregulation of cellular stress response pathways. By understanding how cells respond to stress we aim to slow age-associated deterioration and develop treatment targets for age-associated disease. The majority of past work has focused on understanding responses to individual stressors. In contrast, how pathology and stress responses differ in the presence of multiple stressors is relatively unknown; we investigate that here. We cultured worms on agar plates with different combinations of arsenic, copper, and DTT (which create oxidative/proteotoxic, heavy metal, and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, respectively) at doses that result in 20% lifespan reduction individually and measured the effect on lifespan. We found that arsenic/copper and arsenic/DTT combinations created additive lifespan reductions while the copper/DTT combination created an antagonistic lifespan reduction when compared to controls (p<0.05). This antagonistic toxicity suggests an interaction either between the mechanisms of toxicity or the cellular response to copper and DTT. We are now evaluating the impact of copper and DTT individually and in combination on unfolded protein and heavy metal response pathways to understand the underlying mechanism of the interaction. Additionally, we are continuing to screen stressors to identify combinations that cause non-additive (synergistic or antagonistic) toxicity to build a comprehensive model of the genetic stress response network in C. elegans.

DUSHI VISHA W.R.T. MODERN SLOW-ACTING POISON AND THEIR SKIN MANIFESTATION

According to Ayurveda, prevention of disease and maintenance of health are more important than the treatment of disease. As given in Ayurvedic Samhitas, a poison is a substance that vitiates the normal functioning of dosha, dhatu, mala. Thousands of harmful toxins are present in our atmosphere (Air, water and earth) that are ingested by human beings on daily basis. As described in our Ayurvedic Samhitas, Dushi Visha is an intake of toxic drugs which is less potent (Denatured) and remains in a dormant state within the body for years together without causing any major harm to the body. As we see in today's era workers working in the lead industry like enamel workers, glass blowers, printing works have typical chronic lead poisoning symptoms such as constipation, tremors, menstrual disarrangements etc. Due to chronic exposure to lead which accumulates in the body and produces its ill effect like Dushi Visha. Arsenic, copper, mercury chronic occupational poisoning also happened due to long exposure of poi- son working in the respective industry. In agriculture, chronic exposure to OPP, OCP, weed killers like parquet, chlorophenoxy acetates, chlorates used to prevent infection in plants, being sprayed by farmers on daily basis, leads to symptoms like dysphasia, oropharyngeal ulcers, coughing, pain in the abdomen, etc. These symptoms resemble Dushi Visha like symptoms. From this article, we may correlate the symptoms of Dushi Visha with the dermatolog- ical manifestation of chronic occupational poisoning and agricultural field exposure to weed killers, which may behelpful to understand the concept of Dushi Visha. We need to realize the health hazardous effects of cumulative poison and its proper time to time prevention as well as its proper treatment. Keywords: Dushi Visha, Skin manifestation, Slow acting poison

Do Old Mining Areas Represent an Environmental Problem and Health Risk? A Critical Discussion through a Particular Case

A bibliographic review was carried out to establish the state of knowledge of a mining area with several centuries of exploitation and currently abandoned. The selected case study, the Sierra Minera de Cartagena-La Union (Spain), has a long history of mining activity, ending in 1990. The area is rich in metallic sulphide (lead, zinc and iron), with underground mines and quarries. The zone is very close to important populations and affects protected sites of special ecological value. It is also adjacent to areas dedicated to agriculture and important centres of tourist interest. It is a territory that meets the requirements to be classified as a critical area, as it is in a state of unstable physical and geochemical equilibrium, giving rise to possible risks to human health and ecosystems. A literature review was carried out according to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) methodology criteria, consulting a large number of related publications. The results obtained using the Source-Pathway-Receptor model make it possible to identify the main impacts caused by the contamination sources, the main routes of contamination, as well as the transfer to the biota and the influence on adjacent agricultural soils. In this study, lead, cadmium, zinc, arsenic, copper and manganese were considered as potential toxic elements (PTEs), and data were obtained on concentrations in soil, water and air as well as in fauna and flora. Finally, once the receptors and the associated risks to the ecosystem and human health were identified, a conceptual model of the contamination was drawn up to consider a management proposal to tackle the problems associated with this area, which would also be applicable to critical mining zones.