The Distribution Of Chlorine And Iodine In Soil In The Vicinity Of Lead Mining And Smelting Operations, Bixby Area, S.E. Missouri, U.S.A.

Iodine and Cl are enriched in soils in the vicinity of the Magmont and Buick lead mines near Bixby, southeastern Missouri. The enrichments, up to 5.6 ppm I and 305 ppm Cl, are against regional background of 1.26 ppm I and 41 ppm Cl. The area of highest I and Cl is thought to reflect a zone of base metal sulphide mineralization occurring about 400 m below the surface. Iodine and Cl are also enriched in soils immediately adjacent to a tailings pond, hence these elements would appear to be leached from this source. A zone of enhanced I values (up to 2.65 ppm I) to the north of a lead smelter is superimposed on a much larger zone of lead enrichment (up to 12,000 ppm Pb) and is thought to represent I released from sulphide ores on smelting. © 1988

Bioavailability of iodine in the UK-Peak District environment and its human bioaccessibility: an assessment of the causes of historical goitre in this area

Iodine is an essential micronutrient for human health. Its deficiency causes a number of functional and developmental abnormalities such as goitre. The limestone region of Derbyshire, UK was goitre-endemic until it declined from the 1930s and the reason for this has escaped a conclusive explanation. The present study investigates the cause(s) of goitre in the UK-Peak District area through an assessment of iodine in terms of its environmental mobility, bioavailability, uptake into the food chain and human bioaccessibility. The goitre-endemic limestone area is compared with the background millstone grit area of the UK-Peak District. The findings of this study show that ‘total’ environmental iodine is not linked to goitre in the limestone area, but the governing factors include iodine mobility, bioavailability and bioaccessibility. Compared with the millstone grit area, higher soil pH and calcium content of the limestone area restrict iodine mobility in this area, also soil organic carbon in the limestone area is influential in binding the iodine to the soil. Higher calcium content in the limestone area is an important factor in terms of strongly fixing the iodine to the soil. Higher iodine bioaccessibility in the millstone grit than the limestone area suggests that its oral bioaccessibility is restricted in the limestone area. Iodine taken up by plant roots is transported freely into the aerial plant parts in the millstone grit area unlike the limestone area, thus providing higher iodine into the human food chain in the millstone grit area through grazing animals unlike the goitre-prevalent limestone area

Sediment geochemistry of streams draining abandoned lead / zinc mines in central Wales: the Afon Twymyn

Purpose Despite the decline of metal mining in the UK during the early 20th century, a substantial legacy of heavy metal contamination persists in river channel and floodplain sediments. Poor sediment quality is likely to impede the achievement of ’good’ chemical and ecological status for surface waters under the European Union Water Framework Directive. This paper examines the environmental legacy of the Dylife lead/zinc mine in the central Wales mining district. Leachable heavy metal concentrations in the bed sediments of the Afon Twymyn are established and the geochemical partitioning, potential mobility and bioavailability of sediment-associated heavy metals are established. Materials and methods Sediment samples were collected from the river bed and dry-sieved into two size fractions (<63 μm and 64–2,000 μm). The fractionated samples were then subjected to a sequential extraction procedure to isolate heavy metals (Pb, Zn, Cu, Cd, Fe, Mn) in three different geochemical phases. Sediment samples were then analysed for heavy metals using ICP-AES. Results and discussion The bed sediment of the Afon Twymyn is grossly polluted with heavy metals. Within the vicinity of the former mine, Pb concentrations are up to 100 times greater than levels reported to have deleterious impacts on aquatic ecology. Most heavy metals exist in the most mobile easily exchangeable and carbonate-bound geochemical phases, potentially posing serious threats to ecological integrity and constituting a significant, secondary, diffuse source of pollution. Metal concentrations decrease sharply downstream of the former mine, although there is a gradual increase in the proportion of readily extractable Zn and Cd. Conclusions Implementation of sediment quality guidelines is important in order to achieve the aims of the Water Framework Directive. Assessments of sediment quality should include measurements of background metal concentrations, river water physico-chemistry and, most importantly, metal mobility and potential bioavailability. Uniformity of sediment guidelines throughout Europe and flexibility of targets with regard to the most heavily contaminated mine sites are recommended

Expression variability of co-regulated genes differentiates Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains

Background: Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Baker’s yeast) is found in diverse ecological niches and is characterized by high adaptive potential under challenging environments. In spite of recent advances on the study of yeast genome diversity, little is known about the underlying gene expression plasticity. In order to shed new light onto this biological question, we have compared transcriptome profiles of five environmental isolates, clinical and laboratorial strains at different time points of fermentation in synthetic must medium, during exponential and stationary growth phases. Results: Our data unveiled diversity in both intensity and timing of gene expression. Genes involved in glucose metabolism and in the stress response elicited during fermentation were among the most variable. This gene expression diversity increased at the onset of stationary phase (diauxic shift). Environmental isolates showed lower average transcript abundance of genes involved in the stress response, assimilation of nitrogen and vitamins, and sulphur metabolism, than other strains. Nitrogen metabolism genes showed significant variation in expression among the environmental isolates. Conclusions: Wild type yeast strains respond differentially to the stress imposed by nutrient depletion, ethanol accumulation and cell density increase, during fermentation of glucose in synthetic must medium. Our results support previous data showing that gene expression variability is a source of phenotypic diversity among closely related organisms.Fundação para a Ciência e TecnologiaThe authors wish to thank Adega Cooperativa da Bairrada, Cantanhede, Portugal, for providing the commercial strains

Chronic kidney disease after liver, cardiac, lung, heart–lung, and hematopoietic stem cell transplant

Patient survival after cardiac, liver, and hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) is improving; however, this survival is limited by substantial pretransplant and treatment-related toxicities. A major cause of morbidity and mortality after transplant is chronic kidney disease (CKD). Although the majority of CKD after transplant is attributed to the use of calcineurin inhibitors, various other conditions such as thrombotic microangiopathy, nephrotic syndrome, and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis have been described. Though the immunosuppression used for each of the transplant types, cardiac, liver and HSCT is similar, the risk factors for developing CKD and the CKD severity described in patients after transplant vary. As the indications for transplant and the long-term survival improves for these children, so will the burden of CKD. Nephrologists should be involved early in the pretransplant workup of these patients. Transplant physicians and nephrologists will need to work together to identify those patients at risk of developing CKD early to prevent its development and progression to end-stage renal disease

Intravesical Mycobacterium brumae triggers both local and systemic immunotherapeutic responses against bladder cancer in mice

The standard treatment for high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (BC) is the intravesical administration of live Mycobacterium bovis BCG. Previous studies suggest improving this therapy by implementing non-pathogenic mycobacteria, such as Mycobacterium brumae, and/or different vehicles for mycobacteria delivery, such as an olive oil (OO)-in-water emulsion. While it has been established that BCG treatment activates the immune system, the immune effects of altering the mycobacterium and/or the preparation remain unknown. In an orthotopic murine BC model, local immune responses were assessed by measuring immune cells into the bladder and macromolecules in the urine by flow cytometry and multiplexing, respectively. Systemic immune responses were analyzed by quantifying sera anti-mycobacteria antibody levels and recall responses of ex vivo splenocytes cultured with mycobacteria antigens. In both BCG- and M. brumae-treated mice, T, NK, and NKT cell infiltration in the bladder was significantly increased. Notably, T cell infiltration was enhanced in OO-in-water emulsified mycobacteria-treated mice, and urine IL-6 and KC concentrations were elevated. Furthermore, mycobacteria treatment augmented IgG antibody production and splenocyte proliferation, especially in mice receiving OO-in-water emulsified mycobacteria. Our data demonstrate that intravesical mycobacterial treatment triggers local and systemic immune responses, which are most significant when OO-in-water emulsified mycobacteria are used