Concerning Organometallic Compounds in Environment: Occurrence, Fate, and Impact

Organometallic compounds can be found in our surrounding environmental compartments either because of human extensive activities or their existence as natural products in the environment. Since organometallic species of trace metals were found often more worrying than their parent compounds, intensive research on their properties, pathways of transformation in different environmental compartment as well as their fate and interactions between different environmental compartments (under different external and internal conditions), and not finally their end-up and disposal, has become a requirement from many public health and environmental protection agencies

Numerical Modeling of Chemical Compounds’ Fate and Kinetics in Living Organisms: An Inverse Numerical Method for Rate Estimation from Concentration

Emerging chemical compounds are ubiquitous in all environmental compartments and may pose a risk to biota ecosystems. The quantification and prediction of environmental partitioning of these chemicals in various environmental compartment systems (water, sediments, soil, air, biota) is an important step in the comprehensive assessment of their sources, fates, and not finally of their uptake potential by various living organisms of ecosystems

Global Change Drivers Impact on Soil Microbiota: Challenges for Maintaining Soil Ecosystem Services

Global change refers to anthropogenic and climate pattern modification. The consequences of these changes are outstanding on aboveground biodiversity. Soil microbiota are key actors in soil processes, contributing significantly to numerous ecosystem services provided by soil. They are involved in the processes of nutrient cycling, organic matter decomposition, or pollutants degradation. Microorganisms are also able to synthesize volatile organic compounds that are secondary metabolites with multiple ecological roles and mechanisms of action—generally contributing to plant development. Changes in soil microbiota community could modify either negatively or positively their contribution in soil-provided ecosystem services through their involvement in soil functions that they mediate

Normal levels of protein C and protein S tested in the acute phase of a venous thromboembolic event are not falsely elevated

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Protein C (PC) and protein S (PS) determination is part of the thrombophilia investigation in patients with idiopathic venous thromboembolism (VTE). Based on scarce evidence it is a common notion that PC and PS levels decrease during the acute phase of VTE, necessitating delay of testing and temporary transition from warfarin to low molecular weight heparin. We have previously demonstrated that an abnormal PC or PS result determined within 24 hours of VTE diagnosis and before the initiation of warfarin needs to be repeated for confirmation ≥3 months after starting treatment and ≥14 days after stopping anticoagulation therapy. In the current study, we sought to show that normal PC and PS values determined during the acute phase of VTE are not false negatives.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>99 patients with acute idiopathic VTE who had normal PC and PS determination within the first 24 hours of presentation and who subsequently had their oral anticoagulation discontinued after six months of therapy. PC and PS determinations were repeated ≥6 months after starting treatment and ≥ 14 days after stopping warfarin. Proportions of patients who tested abnormal on the second test were calculated and 95% confidence intervals obtained using the Wilson's score method. Data from a previously published study on patients with abnormal initial tests was included for comparison.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>None of the 99 patients who had normal PC and PS initially had an abnormal result on repeated testing (0%; 95% CI 0 - 3.7%). Data from the previous study showed that, among patients who initially had abnormal results, 40% (95%CI 35.4-84.8%) were confirmed to have low PC and 63.6% (95%CI 16.8-68.7%) low PS on repeated testing. The difference between proportions was statistically significant (χ²p-value < 0.001).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results suggest that PC and PS can be determined during the acute phase of VTE and whereas abnormal results need to be confirmed with repeat testing at a later date, a normal result effectively rules out deficiency with only one test.</p

CYPERMETHRIN NON-TARGET IMPACT ON SOIL MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES: LABORATORY ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION EXPERIMENT

Intensive and excessive use of pesticides is a real pollution issue in agricultural lands. There is little knowledge on how these could change soil microbiota health status which are strongly involved in important soil functions. The objective of the present study was to assess under laboratory conditions if use of a common pyrethroid pesticide, cypermethrin, will change soil microbiota structure and abundance. Cypermethrin exposure dose and removal in time were accounted also. Its amount was quantified on GC-ECD while information about microbiota, expressed as PLFA, were acquired on GC-FID. Incubation period after artificial contaminations between 7 – 288 gkg-1 was set at 45 days, time during samples were picked up from incubation containers for chemical analysis. Experiment revealed that during the first ten days of exposure experiment, cypermethrin amount in soil decreased almost with half. It was removed with 68.8 – 43.3 %, depending positively by the exposure dose, thus it increased once that exposure dose decreased. The calculated half-life values under our experimental conditions vary between 4.59 - 10.54 days, depending by exposure dose. Compared with control soil gram-negative bacteria community was enhanced under cypermethrin exposure up to day 45 around 5.4 – 20.3 %, although the control has shown a slightly decreases from day 10 and 45 day. Fungal population decreased also between exposure time, as well exposure dose. After 10 days of incubation they weren’t be present in samples. Similar was obtained after measurement of anaerobe bacteria. Considering our obtained experimental data, we could consider that cypermethrin have the potential to change the soil equilibrium once that it changes both the structure as well the abundance of soil microbiota

RHIZOSPHERE MICROBIOTA PROFILE CHANGES WITH DIFFERENT GENETIC TYPES OF TOMATO SPECIES

Use of improved seeds (hybrids, transgenic, etc.) in agriculture is a common practice in our days. Resulted plants could improve crop yield or to develop in less adequate geoclimatic conditions, responding those to challenges raised by global change. However, at now there are limited information on potential impact of such plants on soil properties and microbiota. Considering that microbiota are key mediators of soil functions and ecosystem processes it is important to fulfil such gaps. The objective of this study was to identify if different genetic varieties of Cherry tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), grown in same conditions, could influence root exudates (mainly carbohydrates) and rhizosphere microbiota profile. Randomized complete block rhizo-box experiment was performed with identic soil under similar growing conditions of genetic varieties Cherry tomatoes. PLFA and carbohydrates were analysed on GC-FID. In soil where tomatoes were grown the total PLFA amount was approximately two times higher compared with that detected from control (669.1 nmolg-1), which means that tomato root rhizosphere and exudates could influence soil microbiota. The average value of total PLFA for heirloom varieties was 1575.5 nmolg-1 while for hybrid varieties was 1269.4 nmolg-1. ANOVA test revealed significant differences between genetic type varieties of Cherry tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) rhizosphere microbiota community structure. Gram-positive, gram-negative bacteria and fungi abundance decreased in hybrid Cherry tomato varieties rhizosphere soils. Decreases in microbial and fungi community abundance may be related with decrease in carbohydrates content following with grown of different genetic hybrid varieties of Cherry tomato where some species exudates are reduced in essential carbohydrates content

Automatic Germination Evaluation and Qualitative Analysis of Essential Oil of Mentha × piperita L. under the Influence of High Frequency Pulsatile Electromagnetic and Ultrasound Pulsatile Fields

The study illustrates the influence of high frequency pulsatile electromagnetic fields and ultrasound pulsatile fields on Mentha × piperita L. seed germination and the quality of its essential oil. The physiological role of the above mentioned experimental factors was considered to be a catalyticall base point, improving germination percent, SVI (seedling vigor index), GVI (germination velocity index). All the biometric aspects of the germination process (seed area, seed perimeter, seed development on x and y radius, radicele length, hypocotyl length) where determined using open free software, consolidating the general idea that scientific communities can improve and perfect open source projects. High frequency pulsatile electromagnetic fields (91.75%) and ultrasound pulsatile fields (64.75%) experimental variants gave higher germination percent compared to control (47.00%). Following the main terpenes determination, the same experimental variants obtained high accumulations of menthol, eugenol, thymol, eucalyptol, linalool and other components. These aspects can be scientifically sustained by the seedling vigor index marks obtained at high frequency pulsatile electromagnetic fields (1985.47) and ultrasound pulsatile fields (1480.09), creating the general premises for better development stages in the nursery sector. Raised accumulation of main therapeutical terpenes in Mentha × piperita L. must be supervised in further studies, when microscopically imagery of glandular trichomes and their density may lead to more profound conclusions

In vitro Interaction between Fumonisin B1 and the Intestinal Microflora of Pigs

The caecal chyme of pigs was incubated anaerobically in McDougall buffer with and without fumonisin B1 (5 &mu;g/ml) for 0, 24 and 48 h. The plate count agar technique was applied for enumerating the amount of bacteria including aerobic, anaerobic bacteria, coliform, Escherichia coli and Lactobacillus sp. The quantitative polymerase chain reaction was also performed to estimate the number of copies of the total bacteria, Lactobacillus, Bacteroides and Prevotella. No significant differences in the amount of bacterial groups between the experimental (buffer, chyme, and fumonisin B1) and control 1 groups (buffer + chyme) were observed in both methods. Fumonisin B1 and hydrolysed fumonisin B1 concentration were analysed by liquid chromatograghy &ndash; mass spectrometry. There was no significant difference in FB1 concentration between the experimental and the control 2 group (buffer and fumonisin B1) at 0 h incubation, 5.185 &plusmn; 0.174 &mu;g/ml com&shy;pared with 6.433 &plusmn; 0.076 &mu;g/ml. Fumonisin B1 concentration in the experimental group was reduced to 4.080 &plusmn; 0.065 &mu;g/ml at 24 h and to 2.747 &plusmn; 0.548 &mu;g/ml at 48 h incubation and was significantly less than that of in the control group. Hydrolysed fumonisin B1 was detected after 24 h incubation (0.012 &plusmn; 0 &mu;g/ml). At 48 h incubation time, hydrolysed fumonisin B1 concentration was doubled to 0.024 &plusmn; 0.004 &mu;g/ml. These results indicate that fumonisin B1 can be metabolised by caecal microbiota in pigs though the number of studied bacteria did not change