Global fjords as transitory reservoirs of labile organic carbon modulated by organo-mineral interactions

Funding: This work is financially supported by the Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Polar Science (SCOPS), National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) for Excellent Young Scientists Fund Program (Overseas). J.C.F. has been supported by the European Community’s 7th Framework Programme FP7 2007/2013, Marie-Curie Actions (grant no. 238111).The global carbon cycle is strongly modulated by organic carbon (OC) sequestration and decomposition. Whereas the extent of OC sequestration is relatively well-constrained in marine sedimentary basins, there are few quantitative estimates of its susceptibility to decomposition. Fjords are widely distributed hotspots of sedimentation, and currently account for 11% of annual OC burial in marine sediments. Here, we adopt fjords as model systems to investigate the reactivity of sedimentary OC by assessing the distribution of the activation energy (termed E) required to break OC covalent bonds. Our results reveal that OC in fjord sediments is more labile than that in global sediments, which is governed by unique OC provenance and organo-mineral interactions. We estimated that 61±16% of the sedimentary OC in fjords is degradable. Once this OC is remobilized and remineralized during glacial periods (sea level lowstands), the CO2 produced could counterbalance up to 50 ppm of atmospheric CO2 decrease in glacial times, making fjords critical actors in dampening glacial-interglacial climate fluctuations through negative carbon cycling loops.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

The benthic-pelagic coupling affects the surface water carbonate system above groundwater-charged coastal sediments

Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) can be a significant source of dissolved nutrients, inorganic and organic carbon, and trace metals in the ocean and therefore can be a driver for the benthic-pelagic coupling. However, the influence of hypoxic or anoxic SGD on the carbonate system of coastal seawater is still poorly understood. In the present study, the production of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and alkalinity (AT) in coastal sediments has been investigated under the impact of oxygen-deficient SGD and was estimated based on the offset between the measured data and the conservative mixing of the end members. Production of AT and DIC was primarily caused by denitrification and sulphate reduction. The AT and DIC concentrations in SGD decreased by approximately 32% and 37% mainly due to mixing with seawater counterbalanced by reoxidation and CO2 release into the atmosphere. Total SGD-AT and SGD-DIC fluxes ranged from 0.1 to 0.2mol m-2 d-1 and from 0.2 to 0.3mol m-2 d-1, respectively. These fluxes are probably the reason why the seawater in the Bay of Puck is enriched in AT and DIC compared to the open waters of the Baltic Sea. Additionally, SGD had low pH and was undersaturated with respect to the forms of the aragonite and calcite minerals of CaCO3. The seawater of the Bay of Puck also turned out to be undersaturated in summer (Inner Bay) and fall (Outer Bay). We hypoth​e​size that SGD can potentially contribute to ocean acidification and affect the functioning of the calcifying invertebrates

Validation of the Polish version of the Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS)

Background. In 2008, the Movement Disorders Society (MDS) published a new Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) as the official benchmark scale for Parkinson’s Disease (PD). We have translated and validated the Polish version of the MDS-UPDRS, explored its dimensionality, and compared it to the original English one. Methods. The MDS-UPDRS was translated into Polish by a team of Polish investigators led by JS and GO. The back-translation was completed by colleagues fluent in both languages (Polish and English) who were not involved in the original translation, and was reviewed by members of the MDS Rating Scales Programme. Then the translated version of the MDS-UPDRS underwent cognitive pretesting, and the translation was modified based on the results. The final translation was approved as the Official Working Document of the MDS-UPDRS Polish version, and was tested on 355 Polish PD patients recruited at movement disorders centres all over Poland (at Katowice, Gdańsk, Łódź, Warsaw, Wrocław, and Kraków). Confirmatory and explanatory factor analyses were applied to determine whether the factor structure of the English version could be confirmed in the Polish version. Results. The Polish version of the MDS-UPDRS showed satisfactory clinimetric properties. The internal consistency of the Polish version was satisfactory. In the confirmatory factor analysis, all four parts had greater than 0.90 comparative fit index (CFI) compared to the original English MDS-UPDRS. Explanatory factor analysis suggested that the Polish version differed from the English version only within an acceptable range. Conclusions and clinical implications. The Polish version of the MDS-UPDRS meets the requirements to be designated as the Official Polish Version of the MDS-UPDRS, and is available on the MDS web page. We strongly recommend using the MDS-UPDRS instead of the UPDRS for research purposes and in everyday clinical practice.

Comparison of the burial rate estimation methods of organic and inorganic carbon and quantification of carbon burial in two high Arctic fjords

Summary: Quantifying the burial of organic carbon (OC) and inorganic carbon (IC) species in marine sediments contribute to a better understanding of carbon cycle. This is especially important in the Arctic, where carbon deposition is relatively high and expected to change with climate warming. This study aimed to quantify the burial rates of OC and IC in the sediments of two high-latitude fjords – Hornsund and Kongsfjorden (European Arctic). Comparison of the results from three methods quantifying carbon burial in marine sediments was carried out.Sediment cores, pore water, and over-bottom water samples were analyzed for OC and IC. The burial rates were established by considering: carbon deposition to sediments minus carbon return flux, carbon deposited to sediments 80–100 years ago and carbon deposited to sediments recently. The radiolead method was employed for sediment dating. Carbon return flux was obtained using dissolved carbon species concentrations in pore water and over-bottom water.Sediment linear and mass accumulation rates in the fjords were 0.12–0.20 cm y−1 and 1160–2330 g m−2 y−1. The OC burial rates were 19.3–30.3 g OC m−2 y−1 in Hornsund and 5.7–10.0 g OC m−2 y−1 in Kongsfjorden. IC burial was taken as equal to IC deposition and ranged from 10.7 to 20.8 g IC m−2 y−1 in Hornsund and 19.4–45.7 g IC m−2 y−1 in Kongsfjorden. The “return flux” model seems most appropriate for carbon burial rate studies. The data demonstrated that OC burial dominates in Hornsund, while in Kongsfjorden, IC burial is more important. Keywords: Spitsbergen, Carbon deposition, Pore water, Dissolved carbon species, Return flux, Carbon accumulation, Sedimentary carbo

Deposition, return flux, and burial rates of nitrogen and phosphorus in the sediments of two high-Arctic fjords

Summary: The aim of this study was to determine the burial rates of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in the sediments of two high-latitude fjords: Hornsund and Kongsfjorden (Spitsbergen). Both deposition to sediments and the return flux from sediments to the water column of the various species of these elements were, therefore, quantified. The burial rate was then calculated as the difference between deposition and return flux. The required concentrations of N and P species were measured in surface sediments, in pore water extracted from the sediments, and in the above-bottom water at sampling stations situated along the axes of the fjords.Annual deposition to sediments ranged between 2.3–8.3 g m−2 for N and 0.9–2.8 g m−2 for P. The nitrogen return fluxes ranged from 0.12 to 1.46 g m−2 y−1. At most stations, the N flux was predominantly of dissolved organic (about 60–70%) rather than inorganic N. The P return flux varied between 0.01 and 0.11 g m−2 y−1, with organic species constituting 60–97%. The N and P burial rates differed between fjords: 2.3–7.9 g N m−2 y−1 and 0.9–2.8 g P m−2 y−1 in Hornsund vs. 0.9–1.3 N g m−2 y−1 and 1.0–1.2 g P m−2 y−1 in Kongsfjorden. This was accompanied by a different efficiency of N and P burial – higher in Hornsund than in Kongsfjorden, in both cases. This suggests differences in the quality and quantity of N and P organic species deposited to sediments and therefore differences in the intensity of their mineralization and/or decomposition. Keywords: Hornsund, Kongsfjorden, Sedimentary nitrogen and phosphorus, Pore water, Concentrations, Nutrient

The influence of environmental factors on metabolic activity of cancer cells

The paper presents the results of viability of breast cancer cells under the influence of electromagnetic field. MCF-7 cell line was subjected to an electromagnetic field with a frequency of 5 Hz, 60 Hz and 120 Hz and an MTT assay was performed immediately after the influence of the field and after 24 hours. No statistical difference was demonstrated in cell viability immediately after exposure to EMF, and there are demonstrated differences in the case of field frequencies of 5 Hz and 120 Hz within 24 hours after exposure

Anomaly of total boron concentration in the brackish waters of the Baltic Sea and its consequence for the CO2 system calculations

Borates are the third most important component of total alkalinity (AT) in the oxic waters. Their concentrations are a function of the dissociation constant of boric acid and total boron (TB) concentration. The latter is approximated from salinity (S) as boron behave conservatively in the seawater. The linear dependencies between TB and S developed for the open ocean contain no intercept suggesting that river water contains no boron. Based on the historical data and our own measurements we identified a TB vs. S relationship specific for the Baltic Sea: TB [μmol kg−1] = 10.838 ∗ S + 13.821. In the series of the sensitivity tests we analysed what effect can have this anomaly on the determination of borate alkalinity (AB) and on the calculations within the CO2 system performed with AT as an input variable. Due to the high pKa for boric acid the influence of TB anomaly on AB exists only for pH > 8. The highest deviation in AB appears at low salinities. When salinity increases the effect becomes smaller and at salinities > 14, due to lower slope in TB vs. S dependency in the Baltic than in the open ocean, the effect on AB turns to negative and decreases further with the S increase. These uncertainties in AB influence calculations of pCO2 (CO2 partial pressure) and pH, when CT (total CO2 concentration) and AT are used as input parameters (the combination used in biogeochemical models). For pCO2 the discrepancies in calculations are not very much dependent on the AT. The highest are observed for low salinities and pH of 8.2–8.4, however they do not exceed 10 μatm. This relatively low influence of TB anomaly on pCO2 calculations is a result of the high distance on the pH scale between high pCO2 conditions (low pH) and the highest AB anomaly (high pH). In case of pH calculations the highest influence of TB anomaly is observed for the low AT and low S waters. For three different AT considered in our study the highest pH errors (up to 0.05 pH unit) were observed for AT = 500 μmol kg−1, while the lowest (up to 0.01 pH unit) were observed for highly buffered waters (AT = 3000 μmol kg−1). Irrespective of the AT the highest errors were found for low CT simulating low pCO2 (and thus high pH) conditions. This is due to the high pKa for boric acid that shifts the effects of the TB anomaly to high pH values. Although the observed discrepancies in pH and pCO2 calculations due to TB anomaly manifest themselves only at the specific environmental conditions the use of experimentally obtained TB vs. S dependency will increase the accuracy of the CO2 system calculations for the Baltic Sea and likely for other brackish systems

Trophic niches of macrobenthos : Latitudinal variation indicates climate change impact on ecosystem functioning

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Photodynamic Therapy for Treatment of Disease in Children—A Review of the Literature

Photodynamic therapy is a mode of treatment whereby local irradiation of an administered photosensitizer with light of a specific wavelength generates cytotoxic reactive oxygen species. Despite the upward trend in the popularity of this method in adults, it is not yet commonly used in the treatment of children. Due to certain limitations, underdeveloped treatment regimens and potential side effects, the use of photodynamic therapy in the pediatric population is still in the initial phases of evaluation in clinical trials. Method: This study is a review of articles in English from the databases PubMed and Web of Science retrieved by applying the search term “photodynamic therapy in children” from 2000–2020. Results: Based on the literature review, we analyze selected pediatric clinical cases in which photodynamic therapy was used for treatment in children. Examples of photodynamic therapy for treatment of dermatological diseases, diseases of the mucosa of the upper respiratory tract, halitosis, eye diseases and brain tumors are described. The paper describes the effectiveness of anti-cancer photodynamic therapy, including its use in antibacterial therapy. Conclusions: The results of the analysis suggest the potential of photodynamic therapy for the treatment of various diseases in children

Vitamin D and Vitamin D3 Supplementation during Photodynamic Therapy: A Review

Photodynamic therapy is an unconventional yet increasingly common method of treating dermatological diseases and cancer that is implemented more often in adults than in children. Current clinical uses include treatment of actinic keratosis, superficial basal cell carcinomas, and acne. Despite its high efficiency, photodynamic therapy support supplements have recently been reported in the literature, including calcitriol (1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol), the active form of vitamin D, and vitamin D3 cholecalciferol. In clinical trials, photodynamic therapy enhanced with vitamin D or D3 supplementation has been reported for treatment of squamous cell skin cancers, actinic keratosis, and psoriasis. Experimental research on the effect of photodynamic therapy with vitamin D or D3 has also been carried out in breast cancer cell lines and in animal models. The aim of this review is to evaluate the usefulness and effectiveness of vitamin D and D3 as supports for photodynamic therapy. For this purpose, the Pubmed and Scopus literature databases were searched. The search keyword was: “vitamin D in photodynamic therapy”. In the analyzed articles (1979–2022), the authors found experimental evidence of a positive effect of vitamin D and D3 when used in conjunction with photodynamic therapy. An average of 6–30% (in one case, up to 10 times) increased response to photodynamic therapy was reported in combination with vitamin D and D3 as compared to photodynamic therapy alone. Implementing vitamin D and D3 as a supplement to photodynamic therapy is promising and may lead to further clinical trials and new clinical methodologies