51 research outputs found
Body Size of the Monomorphic Ant Lasius niger
Metal pollution may cause the decrease in the individual body size. In ants, the
morphological diversity within and between colonies may be much higher than that
considered before, even in monomorphic ants. In this study we measured the body size,
expressed as head width, of Lasius niger workers collected from 44 young colonies in their
ergonomic stage along a well-known gradient exhibiting chronic metal pollution. We
calculated statistics describing the body size distribution curve, namely, average, median, data
range, skewness, and kurtosis. None of these statistics correlated with the pollution level.
Contrary to our previous study performed on mature colonies, workers from young colonies
do not display pollution-related morphological changes. The results stress the importance of
developmental stage of colony on diversifying body size of the worker cast, in monomorphic
ants living in metal-polluted areas
Ant nests as a microbial hot spots in a long-term heavy metal-contaminated soils
Interactions between soil fauna and soil microorganisms are not fully recognized, especially in extreme environments, such as long-term metal-polluted soils. The purpose of the study was to assess how the presence of Lasius niger ants affected soil microbial characteristics in a long-term metal-polluted area (Upper Silesia in Poland). Paired soil samples were taken from bulk soil and from ant nests and analysed for a range of soil physicochemical properties, including metal content (zinc, cadmium, and lead). Microbial analysis included soil microbial activity (soil respiration rate), microbial biomass (substrate-induced respiration rate), and bacteria catabolic properties ( ECO plates). Soil collected from ant nests was drier and was characterized by a lower content of organic matter, carbon and nitrogen contents, and also lower metal content than bulk soil. Soil microbial respiration rate was positively related to soil pH (p = 0.01) and negatively to water-soluble metal content, integrated into index (p = 0.01). Soil microbial biomass was negatively related to index (p = 0.04). Neither soil microbial activity and biomass nor bacteria catabolic activity and diversity indices differed between bulk soil and ant nests. Taken together, ant activity reduced soil contamination by metals in a microscale which support microbial community activity and biomass but did not affect BiologÂŽ culturable bacteria
A new class of exact solutions of the Schrodinger equation
The aim of this paper is to find the exact solutions of the Schrodinger
equation. As is known, the Schrodinger equation can be reduced to the continuum
equation. In this paper, using the non-linear Legendre transform the equation
of continuity is linearized. Particular solutions of such a linear equation are
found in the paper and an inverse Legendre transform is considered for them
with subsequent construction of solutions of the Schrodinger equation. Examples
of the classical and quantum systems are considered.Comment: 26 pages, 34 figure
Effect of Long-Term Zinc Pollution on Soil Microbial Community Resistance to Repeated Contamination
The aim of the study was to compare the effects of stress (contamination trials) on the microorganisms in zinc-polluted soil (5,018 mg Zn kgâ1 soil dry weight) and unpolluted soil (141 mg Zn kgâ1 soil dw), measured as soil respiration rate. In the laboratory, soils were subjected to copper contamination (0, 500, 1,500 and 4,500 mg kgâ1 soil dw), and then a bactericide (oxytetracycline) combined with a fungicide (captan) along with glucose (10 mg gâ1 soil dw each) were added. There was a highly significant effect of soil type, copper treatment and oxytetracycline/captan treatment. The initial respiration rate of chronically zinc-polluted soil was higher than that of unpolluted soil, but in the copper treatment it showed a greater decline. Microorganisms in copper-treated soil were more susceptible to oxytetracycline/captan contamination. After the successive soil contamination trials the decline of soil respiration was greater in zinc-polluted soil than in unpolluted soil
Modification of functional quality of raw myofibril preparation obtained from water-washed mechanically recovered chicken meat
Determination of trace heavy metals in milk using an ionic liquid and bismuth oxide nanoparticles modified carbon paste electrode
Factors affecting long-term efficacy of T regulatory cell-based therapy in type 1 diabetes
Minimum Information about T Regulatory Cells: A Step toward Reproducibility and Standardization.
Cellular therapies with CD4+ T regulatory cells (Tregs) hold promise of efficacious treatment for the variety of autoimmune and allergic diseases as well as posttransplant complications. Nevertheless, current manufacturing of Tregs as a cellular medicinal product varies between different laboratories, which in turn hampers precise comparisons of the results between the studies performed. While the number of clinical trials testing Tregs is already substantial, it seems to be crucial to provide some standardized characteristics of Treg products in order to minimize the problem. We have previously developed reporting guidelines called minimum information about tolerogenic antigen-presenting cells, which allows the comparison between different preparations of tolerance-inducing antigen-presenting cells. Having this experience, here we describe another minimum information about Tregs (MITREG). It is important to note that MITREG does not dictate how investigators should generate or characterize Tregs, but it does require investigators to report their Treg data in a consistent and transparent manner. We hope this will, therefore, be a useful tool facilitating standardized reporting on the manufacturing of Tregs, either for research purposes or for clinical application. This way MITREG might also be an important step toward more standardized and reproducible testing of the Tregs preparations in clinical applications
Thickness of mineral covers on the ice - cored moraine and an active layer of permafrost on the western coast of the Oscar II Land (Svalbard)
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