Susceptibility of various Gladiolus cultivars to fluoride pollution and their suitability for bioindication

Dez cultivares brasileiras de Gladiolus, planta amplamente utilizada como bioindicadora da poluição aérea por fluoretos, foram expostas ao ar ambiente em um local altamente poluído por esse elemento e em um local de referência, nas proximidades do complexo industrial de Cubatão, SP, visando verificar a sensibilidade de cada cultivar ao poluente e selecionar as que possuem características mais adequadas à bioindicação. A determinação dos efeitos induzidos pela poluição incluiu avaliação quantitativa dos danos foliares, do peso seco de folhas e flores e das concentrações foliares de fluoreto. Plantas expostas ao local poluído mostraram necroses nas pontas e margens das folhas, as quais são tipicamente causadas por fluoretos nessa espécie. A intensidade e distribuição das lesões na lâmina foliar variaram entre as cultivares. A poluição por fluoreto resultou na acumulação de flúor nas folhas. O peso seco das folhas e flores de plantas expostas no local poluído foi significativamente reduzido, em comparação ao de plantas expostas em local de referência. Considerando a sensibilidade e facilidade de avaliação de danos foliares, as cultivares White Friendship e Eurovision foram sugeridas para uso como bioindicadores da poluição por fluoretos em regiões tropicais/subtropicais e em regiões temperadas.Ten Brazilian cultivars of Gladiolus, a widely used bioindicator plant of fluoride pollution, were exposed to ambient air at a severely fluoride-polluted site and a reference site near the industrial complex of Cubatão, SP, Brazil, in order to determine their sensitivity and to select cultivars with adequate bioindication characteristics. Assessment of pollution-induced effects included quantitative evaluation of leaf injuries, determination of leaf and flower dry weight as well as analysis of foliar fluoride concentrations. Plants exposed at the polluted site showed necroses at tips and margins of the leaves, typically caused by fluoride on this species. Intensity and distribution of lesions on the blades varied between the cultivars. Fluoride pollution resulted in accumulation of fluoride in leaves. Dry weight of leaves and flowers of plants exposed at the polluted site were significantly reduced when compared with the reference site. Considering sensitivity and evaluability of leaf injuries; the cultivars White Friendship and Eurovision are suggested for use as bioindicators of fluoride pollution in tropical/subtropical as well as in temperate regions

Impactos de poluição atmosférica sobre remanescentes florestais

Este capítulo está constituído de duas partes. Na primeira, apresenta-se as características da atmosfera urbana poluída, descrevendo, quais são os principais poluentes, suas fontes, os processos de deposição e remoção, e a influência dos parâmetros meteorológicos sobre a remoção desses poluentes. Na segunda, são descritos e caracterizados os reflexos da poluição atmosférica sobre remanescentes florestais, a importância do biomonitoramento como instrumento da avaliação da saúde ambiental e, finalmente, a situação da floresta do PEFI.Pages: 221-25

Ozone pollution and ozone biomonitoring in European cities. Part I: Ozone concentrations and cumulative exposure indices at urban and suburban sites

International audienceIn the frame of a European research project on air quality in urban agglomerations, data on ozone concentrations from 23 automated urban and suburban monitoring stations in 11 cities from seven countries were analysed and evaluated. Daily and summer mean and maximum concentrations were computed based on hourly mean values, and cumulative ozone exposure indices (Accumulated exposure Over a Threshold of 40 ppb (AOT40), AOT20) were calculated. The diurnal profiles showed a characteristic pattern in most city centres, with minimum values in the early morning hours, a strong rise during the morning, peak concentrations in the afternoon, and a decline during the night. The widest amplitudes between minimum and maximum values were found in central and southern European cities such as Du¨ sseldorf, Verona, Klagenfurt, Lyon or Barcelona. In the northern European cities of Edinburgh and Copenhagen, by contrast, maximum values were lower and diurnal variation was much smaller. Based on ozone concentrations as well as on cumulative exposure indices, a clear north–south gradient in ozone pollution, with increasing levels from northern and northwestern sites to central and southern European sites, was observed. Only the Spanish cities did not fit this pattern; there, ozone levels were again lower than in central European cities, probably due to the direct influence of strong car traffic emissions. In general, ozone concentrations and cumulative exposure were significantly higher at suburban sites than at urban and traffic-exposed sites. When applying the newly established European Union (EU) Directive on ozone pollution in ambient air, it was demonstrated that the target value for the protection of human health was regularly surpassed at urban as well as suburban sites, particularly in cities in Austria, France, northern Italy and southern Germany. European target values and long-term objectives for the protection of vegetation expressed as AOT40 were also exceeded at many monitoring sites

Readout technologies for highly miniaturized kinase assays applicable to high-throughput screening in a 1536-well format.

This article discusses the development of homogeneous, miniaturized assays for the identification of novel kinase inhibitors from very large compound collections. In particular, the suitability of time-resolved fluorescence resonance energy transfer (TR-RET) based on phospho-specific antibodies, an antibody-independent fluorescence polarization (FP) approach using metal-coated beads (IMAP technology), and the determination of adenosine triphosphate consumption through chemiluminescence is evaluated. These readouts are compared with regard to assay sensitivity, compound interference, reagent consumption, and performance in a 1536-well format, and practical considerations for their application in primary screening or in the identification of kinase substrates are discussed. All of the tested technologies were found to be suitable for miniaturized high-throughput screening (HTS) in principle, but each of them has distinct limitations and advantages. Therefore, the target-specific selection of the most appropriate readout technology is recommended to ensure maximal relevance of HTS campaigns

Airborne trace element pollution in 11 European cities assessed by exposure of standardised ryegrass cultures

11 páginas, 2 tablas, 3 figuras.Within a European biomonitoring programme, Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) was employed as accumulative bioindicator of airbornetraceelements (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, Sb, V, Zn) in urban agglomerations. Applying a highly standardised method, grass cultures were exposed for consecutive periods of four weeks each to ambient air at up to 100 sites in 11cities during 2000–2002. Results of the 2001 exposure experiments revealed a clear differentiation of traceelementpollution within and among local monitoring networks. Pollution was influenced particularly by traffic emissions. Especially Sb, Pb, Cr, Fe, and Cu exhibited a very uneven distribution within the municipal areas with strong accumulation in plants from traffic-exposed sites in the city centres and close to major roads, and moderate to low levels in plants exposed at suburban or rural sites. Accumulation of Ni and V was influenced by other emission sources. The biomonitoring sites located in Spanish city centres featured a much higher pollution load by traceelements than those in other cities of the network, confirming previously reported findings obtained by chemical analyses of dust deposition and aerosols. At some heavily-trafficked sites, legal thresholds for Cu, Pb, and V contents in foodstuff and animal feed were reached or even surpassed. The study confirmed that the standardised grass exposure is a useful and reliable tool to monitor and to assess environmental levels of potentially toxic compounds of particulate matter.This study was supported by the LIFE Environment Programme of the European Commission under the grant LIFE/99/ENV/D/000453.CEAM is partly supported by Generalitat Valenciana, Bancaja, and CONSOLIDER-INGENIO 2010 (GRACCIE).Peer reviewe

Ozone pollution and ozone biomonitoring in European cities Part II. Ozone-induced plant injury and its relationship with descriptors of ozone pollution

International audienceWithin the scope of a biomonitoring study conducted in twelve urban agglomerations in eight European countries, the ozone-sensitive bioindicator plant Nicotiana tabacum cv. Bel-W3 was employed in order to assess the occurrence of phytotoxic ozone effects at urban, suburban, rural and traffic-exposed sites. The tobacco plants were exposed to ambient air for biweekly periods at up to 100 biomonitoring sites from 2000 to 2002. Special emphasis was placed upon methodological standardisation of plant cultivation, field exposure and injury assessment. Ozone-induced leaf injury showed a clearly increasing gradient from northern and northwestern Europe to central and southern European locations. The strongest ozone impact occurred at the exposure sites in Lyon and Barcelona, while in Edinburgh, Sheffield, Copenhagen and Düsseldorf only weak to moderate ozone effects were registered. Between-site differences within local networks were relatively small, but seasonal and inter-annual differences were strong due to the variability of meteorological conditions and related ozone concentrations. The 2001 data revealed a significant relationship between foliar injury degree and various descriptors of ozone pollution such as mean value, AOT20 and AOT40. Examining individual sites of the local monitoring networks separately, however, yielded noticeable differences. Some sites showed no association between ozone pollution and ozone-induced effects, whereas others featured almost linear relationships. This is because the actual ozone flux into the leaf, which is modified by various environmental factors, rather than ambient ozone concentration determines the effects on plants. The advantage of sensitive bioindicators like tobacco Bel-W3 is that the impact of the effectively absorbed ozone dose can directly be measured

Size and weight of the guinea pig hearts.

<p>The trioleate-fed guinea pigs show a significantly decreased length (A) and weight (B) of the heart. The ratio of heart weight to body weight (g/kg) was significantly decreased in the trioleate-fed guinea pigs (C). Values are given as means ± SD. ***<i>p</i><0.001, compared with control group.</p

Uptake of fatty acids into guinea pig cardiomyocytes.

<p>Guinea pig cardiomyocytes were incubated for 24 h with 200 µM stearic acid (A, D) or 200 µM oleic acid (B, E) and were identified with α-actinin (A, B). Additionally, Nile blue staining showed that both fatty acids were taken up by the cells but, notably, oleic acid-treated cells were partially damaged and stearic acid-treated were not. –  = 10 µm.</p

Trioleate-induced changes of the aorta.

<p>Oil red O staining: The aortas from the control diet guinea pigs had no fat inclusions (A). In contrast, the aortas from the trioleate-fed guinea pigs showed some lipid depositions in the subendothelium (B, D) and in the adventitia (C). Furthermore, focal areas with elastin degradation and disorganisation were detected (B, C). HE-staining: The aortas from the control group exhibited a compact structure (E). The media consisted of homogenous layers of thick elastic lamellae and smooth muscle cells. The adventitia was composed of compact connective tissue with interspersed adventitial cells. In comparison, the aortas from the trioleate group exhibited deterioration of the smooth muscle cells and of structural integrity in the media (F. G). The connective tissue of the adventitia was spongy and fewer cells were observed (F). Particularly, in the subendothelial area clusters of foamy smooth muscle cells were found (G). A, C  =  original magnification ×20; B, E, F  =  original magnification ×40.</p