Effect of Ocean Acidification on the Speciation of Metals in Seawater

Increasing atmospheric CO2 over the next 200 years will cause the pH of ocean waters to decrease further. Many recent studies have examined the effect of decreasing pH on calcifying organisms in ocean waters and on other biological processes (photosynthesis, nitrogen fixation, elemental ratios, and community structure). In this review, we examine how pH will change the organic and inorganic speciation of metals in surface ocean waters, and the effect that it will have on the interactions of metals with marine organisms. We consider both kinetic and equilibrium processes. The decrease in concentration of OH- and CO32- ions can affect the solubility, adsorption, toxicity, and rates of redox processes of metals in seawater. Future studies are needed to examine how pH affects the interactions of metals complexed to organic ligands and with marine organisms

Spectroscopic measurements of the pH in NaCl brines

Spectrophotometric measurements of the pH in natural waters such as seawater have been shown to yield precise results. In this paper, the sulfonephthalein indicator m-cresol purple ( mCP, H 2I) has been used to determine the pH of NaCl brines. The indicator has been calibrated in NaCl solutions from 5 to 45 °C and ionic strengths from 0.03 to 5.5 m. The calibrations were made using TRIS buffers (0.03 m, TRIS/TRIS–HCl) with known dissociation constants pK TRIS in NaCl solutions [Foti C., Rigano C. and Sammartano S. (1999) Analysis of thermodynamic data for complex formation: protonation of THAM and fluoride ion at different temperatures and ionic strength. Ann. Chim. 89, 1–12]. The values of pH were determined from pH = pK m CP + log { ( R - e 1 ) / ( e 2 - Re 3 ) } where R = 578 A/ 434 A, the ratios of the indicator absorbance maximum at 578 and 434 nm, e 1 = 0.00691, e 2 = 2.222 and e 3 = 0.1331 [Clayton T. and Byrne R. H. (1993) Spectrophotometric seawater pH measurements: total hydrogen ion concentration scale calibration of m-cresol purple and at-sea results. Deep-Sea Res. 40, 2115–2129]. Measurements were also made in NaCl solutions with different levels of TRIS (0.01–0.11 m). At low levels of TRIS buffer (<0.03 m), the values of pK m CP increased significantly. This effect can lead to erroneous values of pK m CP at low ionic strengths in estuaries and lakes. The measured values of pK m CP in NaCl as a function of ionic strength ( I/m) and temperature ( T/K) were fitted to the equation ( σ = 0.0072) pK m CP = - 29.095 + 2639.2 / T + 5.0417 ln T - 0.3307 I 0.5 - 186.80 I 0.5 / T - 0.28346 I + 296.44 I / T + 0.12841 I 1.5 - 68.23 I 1.5 / T These results should be useful in determining the pH of NaCl brines in natural waters from 0 to 50 °C

Effect of Ocean Acidification on the Speciation of Metals in Seawater

Increasing atmospheric CO2 over the next 200 years will cause the pH of ocean waters to decrease further. Many recent studies have examined the effect of decreasing pH on calcifying organisms in ocean waters and on other biological processes (photosynthesis, nitrogen fixation, elemental ratios, and community structure). In this review, we examine how pH will change the organic and inorganic speciation of metals in surface ocean waters, and the effect that it will have on the interactions of metals with marine organisms. We consider both kinetic and equilibrium processes. The decrease in concentration of OH- and CO32- ions can affect the solubility, adsorption, toxicity, and rates of redox processes of metals in seawater. Future studies are needed to examine how pH affects the interactions of metals complexed to organic ligands and with marine organisms

Renal physiology in elderly persons with severe immobility syndrome

The immobility syndrome (IS) is a common condition in the elderly and consists of a reduction in the capacity to perform daily activities because of motor function deterioration. This syndrome leads to characteristic structural and physiological changes in the body, but renal physiology studies have not been conducted on this population. For this reason, we decided to study prospectively changes in renal function in these individuals. We enrolled into this study 17 volunteers over 64 years of age, all of whom lived in the same nursing home. The patients were divided into two groups: nine healthy mobile persons and eight others who suffered from severe IS. Exclusion criteria were the presence of any disease or use of any drug that could induce water and electrolytes alteration. Blood and urine samples were drawn to measure sodium, potassium, creatinine, urea, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and uric acid in order to obtain their fractional excretion. Plasma osmolality and vasopressin were also measured. Total body water and lean body mass were obtained by bioelectrical impedance analysis. Statistical analysis was performed applying Student's t-test (P = 0.01) and Pearson's correlation test. A significant difference in body water composition was found between the groups. Thus in the IS group plasma sodium level was slightly lower and total water content was significantly higher than in the mobile subjects: 140 +/- A 5 vs. 143 +/- A 1 mmol/l (P = 0.01); 61 +/- A 8% vs. 50 +/- A 10% (P < 0.001), respectively. Despite these differences, plasma osmolality and vasopressin values were within the normal range in both groups. However, there was a good positive correlation between these two variables in the mobile group only: R 0.9 (mobile) vs. R -0.2 (immobile). We found no significant difference in plasma creatinine or fractional excretion of sodium, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, urea, and uric acid between the groups. Total body water content was significantly higher in the elderly who suffered from severe immobility syndrome than in healthy mobile elderly. In contrast with the mobile group, for which there was a good positive correlation between plasma osmolality and plasma vasopressin, for individuals with IS there was no correlation between plasma osmolality and plasma vasopressin