Development of microbial biomass and enzyme activities in mine soils

This study assessed the development of microbial biomass, basal respiration, and the activities of dehydrogenase, urease, and acid phosphomonoesterase in sandy mine soils reclaimed for forestry and those developing under vegetation from natural succession. The mine soils contained significantly less organic C (Corg) and total N (Nt) than the natural forest soils. However, in some of them the microbial biomass and basal respiration attained values typical for the natural forest soils. The content of Nt proved to be the most important control on the microbial biomass, basal respiration, and the activities of dehydrogenase and phosphomonoesterase in the mine soils. All the microbial properties were positively related also to Corg content. The activities of dehydrogenase and urease depended strongly on microbial biomass (Cmic). Hence, high activities of these enzymes were determined in soils containing high Cmic. The acid phosphomonoesterase activity was also positively related to Cmic, but its activity was increased in the soils with low P contents

Serum cathepsin K and cystatin C concentration in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer during chemotherapy.

A pathogenic implication of cathepsin K (Cath K) and its inhibitor - cystatin C (Cyst C) occur to be of growing importance in the mechanisms of tumor invasiveness in lung cancer. This study was conducted to investigate the prognostic role and the effects of chemotherapy on serum Cath K and Cyst C (ELISA) in patients with advanced stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The study entered 40 patients (32 men) and 15 healthy volunteers (control group). Peripheral blood samples were taken before and after four cycles of chemotherapy. The mean serum Cyst C levels were significantly higher in patients with advanced NSCLC than in controls (p=0.003). The levels of Cath K in serum of NSCLC are comparable to those in controls. No correlation was found between Cath K and Cyst C concentrations and the histological type and staging of lung cancer. Patients with T4-stage had a lower level of Cyst C, than those with T2 (p=0.033). No correlation was found between the concentrations of Cath K, Cyst C and the effect of chemotherapy. However, Cyst C level positively correlated with serum creatinine concentration (R=0.535; p=0.005) in patients who responded to chemotherapy and with patient's age (R=0.456; p=0.018) in whole group. When the cut-off values of serum Cath K and Cyst C (23.35 pmol/l, 1.29 mg/l, respectively) were used, the prognoses of high and low groups were not different. Concluding, patients with lung cancer have a higher serum concentration of Cyst C compared to healthy people. In our opinion, determination of Cath K and Cyst C concentrations has no clinical significance in the prognosis of the survival time in lung cancer

Soil chemical properties affect the reaction of forest soil bacteria to drought and rewetting stress

Reaction of soil bacteria to drought and rewetting stress may depend on soil chemical properties. The objectives of this study were to test the reaction of different bacterial phyla to drought and rewetting stress and to assess the influence of different soil chemical properties on the reaction of soil bacteria to this kind of stress. The soil samples were taken at ten forest sites and measured for pH and the contents of organic C (C(org)) and total N (N(t)), Zn, Cu, and Pb. The samples were kept without water addition at 20 – 30 °C for 8 weeks and subsequently rewetted to achieve moisture equal to 50 – 60 % of their maximum water-holding capacity. Prior to the drought period and 24 h after the rewetting, the structure of soil bacterial communities was determined using pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA genes. The drought and rewetting stress altered bacterial community structure. Gram-positive bacterial phyla, Actinobacteria and Firmicutes, increased in relative proportion after the stress, whereas the Gram-negative bacteria in most cases decreased. The largest decrease in relative abundance was for Gammaproteobacteria and Bacteroidetes. For several phyla the reaction to drought and rewetting stress depended on the chemical properties of soils. Soil pH was the most important soil property influencing the reaction of a number of soil bacterial groups (including all classes of Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Acidobacteria, and others) to drought and rewetting stress. For several bacterial phyla the reaction to the stress depended also on the contents of N(t) and C(org) in soil. The effect of heavy metal pollution was also noticeable, although weaker compared to other chemical soil properties. We conclude that soil chemical properties should be considered when assessing the effect of stressing factors on soil bacterial communities. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13213-014-1002-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users