Microalgal toxin(s): characteristics and importance

Prokaryotic and eukaryotic microalgae produce a wide array of compounds with biological activities. These include antibiotics, algicides, toxins, pharmaceutically active compounds and plant growth regulators. Toxic microalgae, in this sense, are common only among the cyanobacteria and dinoflagellates. The microalgal toxins is either important as material for useful drugs or one of the great mysteries in the world of biotoxicology. The aquatic poisons have long remained one of the great mysteries in the world of biotoxicology. There is evidence that these toxic organisms are on the increase, perhaps as a result of increased global pollution. The ability of cyanobacterial populations to produce potent toxins and annual examples of associated human and animal health problems have raised the position of cyanobacteria in the priorities for the management and protection of water quality in countries where health problems associated with the toxins have been perceived. The purpose of this review is to discuss the present understanding of microalgal toxins from microalgae in a manner that will stimulate interdisciplinary research with these microorganisms. Key Words: Toxin, cyanobacteria, microalgae, dinoflagellate. African Journal of Biotechnology Vol.3(12) 2004: 667-67

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

THE OPINIONS OF PRE-SERVICE BIOLOGY TEACHERS’ ABOUT THE CONTEXT OF TEACHERS’ SKILLS IN TECHNOLOGICAL PEDAGOGICAL CONTENT KNOWLEDGE

In recent years, the concept of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge has emerged as a result of changes taking place in the process of teaching by the introduction of technological tools and equipment. The idea of this was described by Mishra and Koehler and builds on the core of Shulman’s Pedagogical Content Knowledge through the inclusion of technology. The framework negotiates the relationships between technology, pedagogy and content. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to describe the opinions of pre-service biology teachers’ about the context of teachers’ skills in technological pedagogical content knowledge. It is very important that teachers understand how content, pedagogy and technology interrelate with each other and create a new form of knowledge in our 21st century. Qualitative research method was applied in this study. The data were collected via semi-structured interview form from 60 pre-service teachers and analyzed by utilizing the NVivo 9.0 package program employing the content analysis. As a result of this analysis the data were organized by these groups: Technological Knowledge, Content Knowledge, Pedagogical Knowledge, Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Technological Content Knowledge and Technological Pedagogical Knowledge

Ecological effects of some heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Hg, Cr) pollution of phytoplanktonic algae and zooplanktonic organisms in Sariyar Dam Reservoir in Turkey

Accumulation of heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Hg, Cr) in water and plankton of Sariyar Dam Lake (SDR) was seasonally studied from April, 2000 to December, 2004. In addition, seasonal changes in phytoplankton and zooplankton populations and species abundance were also determinate. Some physio-chemical parameters of water and their correlation with heavy metals were also determinated. The dominant phytoplanktonic algae determined were Choroococcus, Gomphospheria, Oscillatoria, Phormidium, Anabaena, Nostoc, Cystodinium, Dinobryon, Ankistrodesmus, Chlorella, Coelastrum, Oocystis, Pediastrum, Scenedesmus, Cosmarium, Oedogonium, Cyclotella, Achnanthes, Amphora, Anomoneis, Cocconeis, Cymbella, Diatoma, Diploneis, Fragilaria, Gomphonema, Navicula, Nitzschia, Nitzschia, Rhoicosphenia, Surirella and Synedra. The dominant zooplanktonic organisms determined were Asplachna priodonta, Brachionus angularis, Keratella quadrata, Keratella cochlearis, Keratella tropica, Polyarthra vulgaris, Proales decipiens, Bosmina longirostris, Ceriodaphnia quadrangula, Chydorus sphaericus, Daphnia longispina, Diaphanosoma brachyurum, Macrothrix laticornis, Acanthocyclops robustus and Acanthodiaptomus denticornis. High concentrations of all heavy metals were recorded in the plankton. Hg was lowest and Pb highest; but the concentration of each metal varied seasonally

Seasonal monitoring of algal flora in Pamukkale travertines and thermal springs (Denizli-Turkey)

In this study, the distribution and seasonal variation of the algal flora and some environmental parameters in the travertines and thermal water springs in Pamukkale-Denizli have been investigated between September 2010 and August 2011. For this purpose, a number of stations have been designated in the travertines, water channels, pools and ponds, where the algae samples were collected for the four seasons. Some of the environmental parameters such as temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen and electrical conductivity were measured in the study area in each season. The collected algae samples were identified, and their cell concentrations were calculated. The obtained data set was statistically analyzed by a series of tests in Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software package. According to the Kruskal Wallis H test (p 5) there is a significant relationship between the water samples collected from each station and T, pH, DO. According to the Friedman test EC value has a significant relationship according to different seasons (p < 0.05). The highest EC value is observed in the spring, followed by summer, fall and winter, respectively. The relationship between the environmental parameters, species functional group, seasons and stations were observed by using Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) software package. Negative and positive correlation and also the affinity of the species according to the environmental parameters were observed. In this study 35 genera, 57 taxa belonging to Cyanophyta (26 genera, 46 taxa), Charophyta (6 genera, 8 taxa), Chlorophyta (2 genera, 2 taxa) and Dinophyta (1 genus, 1 taxon) have been identified. Oscillatoria limnetica and Cyanobacterium minervae were the most abundant species, followed by Chara.sp., Spirulina subsalsa, Chroococcua minutus, Anabaena sp., Schizothrix thermophila, Gloeocapsa sp. and Pseudanabaena papillaterminata

The accumulation of heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Hg, Cr) and their state in phytoplanktonic algae and zooplanktonic organisms in Beysehir Lake and Mogan Lake, Turkey

Beysehir and Mogan Lakes are two shallow Lakes that are under environmental protection status. Phytoplanktonic dominant algae determined in Beysehir Lake were Oscillatoria sp., Cladophora sp., Achnanthes sp., Gomphonema sp., Navicula sp., Cosmarium sp., Cymbella sp., Fragilaria sp., Oocystis sp., Spirogyra sp., Diatomae sp., Microcystis sp. and Staurastrum sp. While in Mogan Lake, Spirogyra sp., Zygnema sp., Euglena sp., Achnanthes sp., Cymbella sp., Fragilaria sp. Navicula sp., Scenedesmus sp., Oocystis sp., Synedra sp., Oscillatoria sp., Chlorella sp., Cosmarium sp. and Nitzshia sp. were determined. Zooplanktonic dominant organisms determined in Beysehir Lake were Eudiaptomus drieshi, Daphnia longispina and Brachionus calyciforus while Arctodiaptomus sp., Keratella quadrata, Filinia longiseta and Diaphanosoma lacustris were determined in Mogan Lake. Accumulation of heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Hg and Cr) in the water and plankton of Beysehir and Mogan Lakes was studied seasonally, from April 2000 to December 2004. Higher concentration with all heavy metals was recorded in plankton. Mercury (Hg) was found in lowest and lead (Pb) in the highest correlation; however, the concentration of each metal varied seasonally. In addition, the seasonal changes in phytoplankton and zooplankton populations and species abundance were also determined. Some physical-chemical parameters of water and their correlation with heavy metals were also examined

Molecular and Morphological Characterization of Several Cyanobacteria and Chlorophyta Species Isolated from Lakes in Turkey

Morphological features are not sufficient for species characterization in microalgae. There are many possibilities for existing characters. Recently, molecular techniques have been used in many areas and this technique increasing the reliability of the work done. The general purpose of the study is to compare Cyanobacteria and Chlorophyta species under the culture conditions using classical classification and molecular identification. In order to achieve this aim, isolation of different clonal cultures of Cyanobacteria and Chlorophyta species from Apa Dam Lake and Beykavagi pond (Konya, Turkey) and Eber Lake (Afyon, Turkey) was performed. Morphological diversity of Cyanobacteria and Chlorophyta species was observed under culture conditions and visualized by both light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In addition, phylogenetic relationships of these strains to 16S rRNA and 18S rRNA gene sequences were determined. According to DNA sequence analysis, 3 isolates were found to be similar to Chodatodesmus mucronulatus (Chodat) Bock \& Krienitz (97\%), Desmodesmus sp. (Chodat) T.Friedl \& Hegewald (98\%) and Pediastrum duplex Meyen (97\%). Other 4 isolates were found to be similar to Fischerella ambigua (Kutzing ex Bornet \& Flahault) Gomont (99\%), Leptolyngbya sp. Anagnostidis \& Komarek (97\%), Phormidium autumnale Gomont (99\%) and Rivularia sp. C. Agardh ex Bornet \& Flahault (99\%)