Metal Bioavailability in the Sava River Water

Metals present one of the major contamination problems for freshwater systems, such as the Sava River, due to their high toxicity, persistence, and tendency to accumulate in sediment and living organisms. The comprehensive assessment of the metal bioavailability in the Sava River encompassed the analyses of dissolved and DGT-labile metal species of nine metals (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn) in the river water, as well as the evaluation of the accumulation of five metals (Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn) in three organs (liver, gills, and gastrointestinal tissue) of the bioindicator organism, fish species European chub (Squalius cephalus L.).This survey was conducted mainly during the year 2006, in two sampling campaigns, in April/May and September, as periods representative for chub spawning and post-spawning. Additionally, metal concentrations were determined in the intestinal parasites acanthocephalans, which are known for their high affinity for metal accumulation. Metallothionein concentrations were also determined in three chub organs, as a commonly applied biomarker of metal exposure. Based on the metal concentrations in the river water, the Sava River was defined as weakly contaminated and mainly comparable with unpolluted rivers, which enabled the analyses of physiological variability of metal and metallothionein concentrations in the chub organs, as well as the establishment of their constitutive levels

Cause of Death and Predictors of All-Cause Mortality in Anticoagulated Patients With Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation : Data From ROCKET AF

M. Kaste on työryhmän ROCKET AF Steering Comm jäsen.Background-Atrial fibrillation is associated with higher mortality. Identification of causes of death and contemporary risk factors for all-cause mortality may guide interventions. Methods and Results-In the Rivaroxaban Once Daily Oral Direct Factor Xa Inhibition Compared with Vitamin K Antagonism for Prevention of Stroke and Embolism Trial in Atrial Fibrillation (ROCKET AF) study, patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation were randomized to rivaroxaban or dose-adjusted warfarin. Cox proportional hazards regression with backward elimination identified factors at randomization that were independently associated with all-cause mortality in the 14 171 participants in the intention-to-treat population. The median age was 73 years, and the mean CHADS(2) score was 3.5. Over 1.9 years of median follow-up, 1214 (8.6%) patients died. Kaplan-Meier mortality rates were 4.2% at 1 year and 8.9% at 2 years. The majority of classified deaths (1081) were cardiovascular (72%), whereas only 6% were nonhemorrhagic stroke or systemic embolism. No significant difference in all-cause mortality was observed between the rivaroxaban and warfarin arms (P=0.15). Heart failure (hazard ratio 1.51, 95% CI 1.33-1.70, P= 75 years (hazard ratio 1.69, 95% CI 1.51-1.90, P Conclusions-In a large population of patients anticoagulated for nonvalvular atrial fibrillation, approximate to 7 in 10 deaths were cardiovascular, whereasPeer reviewe

The influence of the masticatory hypofunction on the craniofacial growth and development in rats

In the present study, one masticatory hypofunction group and one normal function group were comprised of growing Wistar albino rats. The influence of the masticatory hypofunction on the growth and development of the craniofacial skeleton in rats was examined. The normal function group received the diet in the form of hard pellets, but the hypofunction group was fed powdered food, To avoid growth reduction because of nutritional deficiency, the animals were fed ad libitum, diet and water. At the end of the experimental period, the 90-day-old adult animals were killed and the direct anthropometric cranial, maxillary, and mandibular measurements were made on the skulls. The significant results can be summarized as follows: Total skull length, total anterior face height, lower anterior face height, ramus mandibula height, corpus mandibula height, premaxillary length, and maxillary width have been reduced but foramen incisivum width has been increased. This study showed that there is no significant effect of the masticatory hypofunction on the cranial growth and development in the growing rats, but that masticatory hypofunction affected the growth and development of the maxillofacial skeleton

Bioaccumulation of cadmium by nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus (L.) in the presence of green algae Cladophora glomerata (L.) kutz

Accumulation of cadmium (Cd) was determined in the muscle and gill tissues of Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus (L.) exposed to sublethal concentrations of Cd (0.1 and 1.0 mg/L) under laboratory conditions for 15 and 30 days, in the absence or presence of green algae Cladophora glomerata (L.) Kutz. Results showed that muscles, irrespective of treatments, accumulated less Cd than gills. Cd accumulation significantly increased in both the tissues in treatment groups as compared to control groups (p0.05). Presence of green algae did not influence accumulation of Cd in muscle. But Cd accumulation was significantly reduced in gills, in the presence of green algae, in all treatments groups, except in 0.1 mg/L Cd exposure for 15 days. In the presence of green algae, the reduced Cd accumulation in gills might be due to its uptake from the medium by the algae