Metals Toxic Effects in Aquatic Ecosystems: Modulators of Water Quality

The topic of this work was based on the assessment of aquatic systems quality related to the persistent metal pollution. The use of aquatic organisms as bioindicators of metal pollution allowed the obtaining of valuable information about the acute and chronic toxicity on common Romanian aquatic species and the estimation of the environment quality. Laboratory toxicity results showed that Cd, As, Cu, Zn, Pb, Ni, Zr, and Ti have toxic to very toxic effects on Cyprinus carpio, and this observation could raise concerns because of its importance as a fishery resource. The benthic invertebrates’ analysis showed that bioaccumulation level depends on species, type of metals, and sampling sites. The metal analysis from the shells of three mollusk species showed that the metals involved in the metabolic processes (Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, and Mg) were more accumulated than the toxic ones (Pb, Cd). The bioaccumulation factors of metals in benthic invertebrates were subunitary, which indicated a slow bioaccumulation process in the studied aquatic ecosystems. The preliminary aquatic risk assessment of Ni, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, As, and Zn on C. carpio revealed insignificant to moderate risk considering the measured environmental concentrations, acute and long-term effects and environmental compartment

The influence of toxic metals As, Cd, Ni, and Pb on nutrients accumulation in Mentha piperita

Medicinal plants are, for a considerable part of the population, an important source of treatment for certain diseases. They contain essential nutrients for the human body such as magnesium, iron and zinc. The present study shows the influence of the addition of As, Cd, Ni, Pb on mineral nutrients in different organs of Mentha piperita. The experiments were carried out in the laboratory for a period of three months (May-July). Mentha piperita plants were AsCd and AsCdNiPb exposed up to final concentrations corresponding to the soil intervention threshold according to Romanian Order no.756/1997 (25 mg/kg As, 5 mg/kg Cd, 150 mg/kg Ni and 100 mg/ kg Pb). Simultaneously with these experiments, a control experiment (M) was performed. To evaluate the effect of the addition of AsCd and AsCdNiPb on the accumulation and transfer of Ca, Cr, Cu, Mn, Mo, Fe and Zn, the transfer coefficient (TC), the translocation factor (TF), and the enrichment factor (EF) were calculated. A higher concentration of Ca, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, and Zn was observed especially in the mint root in the experiments in which AsCdNiPb was added compared to those in which only AsCd was added. The AsCdNiPb addition did not influence the translocation of micro and macronutrients from the root to the aerial (edible) parts of the plant. In the case of the AsCd, addition, the translocation of zinc from the root to the aerial parts (leaves and stem) of the plant was increased

Evaluating the ecotoxicity of different pharmaceuticals using Aliivibrio fischeri bioassays

An endless list of companies have produced a large amount of pharmaceutical compounds in a year-on-year growth trend. Due to the excessive consumption of these substances and the inappropriate disposal, the environment was contaminated, especially aquatic ecosystems, with quantities of pharmaceuticals (PHACs) so that they have affected the living organisms, leading to decreased biodiversity and ecological degradation. Many studies on PHACs environmental presence and toxic effects were performed, but unfortunately, no limit was establish for discharging into environment, especially into the aquatic systems. The aim of this study was to use the bioluminescence of Aliivibrio fischeri bacteria as an indicator of toxically effect of different PHACs in simulated marine medium. The Microtox® bioassay is based on the PHACs inhibitory effect on the metabolism of bacteria which induced changes in their bacterial bioluminescence. The test organisms were exposed to analgesics and anti-inflammatories such as Diclofenac, Ketoprofen, Naproxen and Ibuprofen. The results showed that based on EC50 values, Naproxen had a very low toxicity but Diclofenac, Ketoprofen and Ibuprofen had a harmful effect on the aquatic organisms

Biomonitoring climate change and air quality assessment using bioindicators as experimental model

Nowadays, the air pollution has become a major environmental problem due to rapid increase of industrialization and anthropogenic activities which led to climate change. Air pollution is considered as a harmful agent for human health. Different classes of gaseous pollutants (SOx, NOx) are continuously released in air and perceived/recognized as pollutants. Among the biological models, plants could give us information related with pollution range in a monitored area, analyzing injuries caused on the leaves surfaces. The aim of this study was to identify and select certain species of plants for using them in experimental biomonitoring studies. An experimental fumigation system with a closed fumigation glasshouses maintained under defined conditions with environmental control and pollutant delivery was used to study the effects of air pollution on plants species. The relative degrees of injury as a response of plants to pollutants fumigation were assessed. Considering the sensitiveness degree to pollutants, the indigenous tobacco Nicotiana rustica proved to be the most sensitive followed by cultivated tobacco Nicotiana tabacum and least sensitive Petunia hibrida. Future researches will focus on field biomonitoring

BIOCOMPATIBILITY TESTING OF CHITOSAN HYDROGELS

Chitosan is a linear, natural cationic polysaccharide comprising beta-1,4 linked glucosamine and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine. Hydrogels of chitosan were prepared by crosslinking with varying amounts of glutaraldehyde. It can be used as a bacteriostatic, fungistatic and coating agent, and the gels and suspensions may play the role of carriers for slow release or controlled delivery of drugs, as an immobilizing medium and an encapsulation material. Material and methods: Chitosan and glutaraldehyde were used to prepare the hydrogels and their characteristics were investigated by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and the inhibitory effect on cellular growth was tested by chemiluminescence assay. The hemolytic activity was also determined by direct contact with human blood and the concentration of hemoglobin was spectrophotometrically measured. Results and discussion: Chitosan hydrogels have no inhibitory effect on cell growth, and hemolytic action below 1%, which means good blood compatibility; therefore they are promising materials

Sensitivity of Pathogenic Bacteria Strains to Treated Mine Water

Mine water as a result of meteoric and/or underground water’s contact with tailings and underground workings could have an elevated content of metals associated with sulfate, often acidic, due to the bio-oxidation of sulfides. When entering aquatic ecosystems, the mine water can cause significant changes in the species’ trophic levels, therefore a treatment is required to adjust the alkalinity and to remove the heavy metals and metalloids. The conventional mine water treatment removes metals, but in many cases it does not reduce the sulfate content. This paper aimed to predict the impact of conventionally treated mine water on the receiving river by assessing the genotoxic activity on an engineered Escherichia coli and by evaluating the toxic effects generated on two Gram-negative bacterial strains, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli. Although the main chemical impact is the severe increases of calcium and sulfate concentrations, no significant genotoxic characteristics were detected on the Escherichia coli strain and on the cell-viability with a positive survival rate higher than 80%. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was more resistant than Escherichia coli in the presence of 1890 mg SO42−/L. This paper reveals different sensitivities and adaptabilities of pathogenic bacteria to high concentrations of sulfates in mine waters

Quality of Life in Patients with Chronic Psychotic Disorders: A Practical Model for Interventions in Romanian Mental Health Centers

Background and Objectives: Current psychiatric care is increasingly focusing on patients’ quality of life (QoL). Research is still trying to determine the main factors which influence QoL. The present study aims to assess the QoL of patients with chronic psychotic-spectrum disorders, as well as its relation to symptomatology, functionality, adaptive behavior, and perceived level of recovery. Materials and Methods: The study included a sample of 78 patients with chronic psychosis. Symptomatology and illness severity were assessed with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and the Clinical Global Impression Scale-Severity (CGI-S) scales, respectively. The Global Assessment of Functioning Scale (GAFS) and the Adaptive Behavior Assessment System II (ABAS-II)-Adult Form were used for the assessment of patients’ functionality, and the Quality-of-Life Inventory (QOLI) scale was applied for the evaluation of QoL. Results: According to the CGI-Severity scale, 20.5% of the patients were borderline mentally ill, and 24.4% were mildly ill. The highest number of patients (34.6%) were moderately ill, while 14.1% and 2.6% were markedly ill and severely ill, respectively. Among the moderately ill patients, more than half (63%) were patients with schizophrenia, 18.5% were patients with delusional disorder, and 18.5% were patients with schizoaffective disorder. Most of the patients (43.6%) presented moderate functioning deficiency, while 38.5% of the patients presented severe deficiency, according to the GAFS score. When assessed with the ABAS, we observed that almost half of the patients (44.9%) showed an average functioning across skill areas in the conceptual, social, and practical domains. A percent of 67.9% of the patients presented an average QoL, while 15.4% and 12.8% showed a very low and low QoL. QoL was not influenced by the patients’ symptomatology, gender, and education level. Having children, family support, better social and conceptual skills, and a higher perceived level of recovery was correlated with an increased QoL, hierarchical multiple regression R2 = 0.379, F(9, 68) = 2.616, and p = 0.012. Conclusions: Psychiatric interventions in psychosis should focus not only on symptoms’ control, but also on improving social and family support, as well as adaptive skills to increase the patients’ QoL

Toxic Metals (As, Cd, Ni, Pb) Impact in the Most Common Medicinal Plant (Mentha piperita)

This study aimed to evaluate the behavior of Mentha piperita under Cd, Pb, Ni, and As soil contamination and their transfer from soil in plants as well as translocation in the roots/stems/leaves system compared with a control without metal addition. The mint seedlings were exposed for a three-month period using two metal mixtures in the same concentrations such as AsCd and AsCdNiPb (23.7 mg/kg As, 5 mg/kg Cd, 136 mg/kg Ni, and 95 mg/kg Pb). The results of metal concentration in plants showed that Cd, Ni, and Pb were accumulated in different parts of the plant, except for As. In plants organs, the order of metal accumulation was roots > stems > leaves. No significant impact on the growth, development, and chlorophyll content compared to the control was observed in the first month of exposure. After three months of exposure, phytotoxic effects occurred. Generally, the transfer coefficients and translocation factors values were less than 1, indicating that Mentha piperita immobilized the metals in root. The laboratory experiments highlighted that for a short period of time, Mentha piperita has the capacity to stabilize the metals at the root level and was a metal-tolerant plant when using a garden rich-substrate