Effect of the detergent alkylbenzene sulphonate (ABS) on hepatopancreas of the shrimp Crangon crangon L.

Shrimps Crangon crangon L., acclimated in the laboratory for 24 h in brackish water (7‰ salinity), were incubated in solutions of anionic detergent alkylbenzene sulphonate (ABS) in concentrations of 5 - 50 ppm. After 24 h or 96 h of incubation, preparations of hepatopancreas were stained and examined by light or transmission electrone microscopy. The light microscopy examination revealed a flattening of the duct cells, pyknotic nuclei in these cells, fine granular secretions in the ducts of the gland, and cellular infiltration. The transmission electron microscopy examination revealed an impairment and destruction of the lysosomal and mitochondrial membranes of the hepatopancreas cells in the shrimps exposed to alkylbenzene sulphonate

Large scale related effects on the determination of plant communities and relationships with environmental variables

The influence of scale on the discernment of plant community patterns was examined using vegetation-environment data collected from a subalpine wet meadow in south-coastal British Columbia. Species cover data were recorded in 225, 0.25 m2quadrats systematically located at 5m intervals in a 40 m x 120 m sampling grid. Environmental data consisted of quadrat elevations as well as measured and kriged estimates of five soil variables (carbon content, pH, electrical conductivity, percent sand, and percent clay). Sampling scale was adjusted by aggregating neighbouring quadrats into composite sampling units; analytical scale was altered by varying the intercept level in dendrograms from minimum increase of sum of squares cluster analysis of the vegetation data corresponding to the different sampling scales. The resulting classifications were evaluated for their ability to explain variation in the vegetation data and in the environmental data. The vegetation variation explained by the classifications was highest at the smallest sampling scale indicating that vegetation heterogeneity is fine grained. In contrast, the environmental variation explained was higher for the classifications based on the larger composite sampling units implying a coarser scaling of abiotic conditions within the study area. These results were consistent with the recognition of three main zones along a drainage gradient within the sampling grid. upper mixed-forb, middle heath, and lower sedge. There was also evidence that the orientation of rectangular sampling units parallel to the drainage gradient leads to higher levels of explained variation. This study reaffirms the need for careful consideration of alternatives both in field sampling and analytical phases of vegetation research to ensure that description and interpretation of patterns adequately address study objectives and that vegetation-environment relationships are more completely investigated from a hierarchical perspective

Influence of crude oil and detergents on the concentration of some ions in hemolymph of the shrimp Cragon cragon L. and the crab Rhithropanopeus harrisi Gould

Solutions of detergent or crude oil of 10 ppm, 50 ppm, and 100 ppm after 48-96 hours of exposure induce significant changes in the ionic composition of the hemolymph of the shrimp Crangon crangon and the crab Rhithropanopeus harrisi. The concentrations of sodium, calcium, and chloride ions decrease, whereas the concentration of potassium increases in both species exposed to both pollutants. - The magnesium ion concentration decreases in the hemolymph of the shrimp incubated in solutions of detergent and in the crab incubated in the water containing crude oil. - lt is suggested that changes of the ionic composition of the hemolymph of the studied shrimps and crabs under influence of both pollutants are possibly brought about by alteration of cell membrane permeability and action on some enzyme activities

Influence of two pt(iv) complexes on viability, apoptosis and cell cycle of B16 mouse melanoma tumors

Several platinum(IV) complexes are showing considerable promise in initial trials, producing reactive intermediates that then interact with DNA. Aim: To perform in vitro study of two new platinum(IV) complexes cytotoxic effect on B16 mouse melanoma cells. Methods: PtCl₄ (dbtp)₂ and PtCl₂ (6mp)₂ complexes were prepared. PtCl₄ (dbtp)₂ was created as modification of PtCl₄ (dmtp) test previously.Apoptosis and necrosis were examined using flow cytometry, upon Annexin V/PI staining. Results: LC₁₀,LC₅₀ andLC₉₀ parameters established for PtCl₄ (dbtp)₂ were as following: 2.6, 17.0, 58.0 μmol/L. However LC₁₀ andLC₅₀ established for PtCl₂ (6mp)₂ were 1.2 and 14.0μmol/l respectively. The both complexes induced apoptosis. PtCl₂ (6mp)₂ induced cell cycle arrest in G0/G1, while PtCl₄ (dbtp)₂ — in S-phase. Conclusions: PtCl₄ (dbtp)₂ appeared to be more cytotoxic against B16 cells than PtCl₂ (6mp)₂ . Apoptosis was the main mechanism of cell loss in cultures incubated with both tested complexes

Purification and properties of soluble arylsulphatases isolated from hepatopancreas of the shrimp Crangon crangon L.

Arylsulphatase A and B were isolated from the hepatopancreas of the shrimp Crangon crangon L. after 7 days incubation in 50 ppm of detergent "SOLO". Arylsulphatase A, B-1 and B-2 were isolated from the hepatopancreas of the shrimp C. crangon L. incubated in pure brackish water (salinity 7‰). - Heavy and light fuel oil added to the enzyme in vitro in conc. of 2.0% inhibit the activity of arylsulphatase A in greater degree than arylsulphatase B (14.4% and 5.5% respectively). - Detergent "SOLO" (mixture of nonionic and anionic detergents) in the conc. of 0.5% inhibits for 58% arylsulphatase A and for 91% arylsulphatase B, whereas in conc. of 2.0% it inhibits arylsulphatase A for 91.7% and arylsulphatase B for 100%

Cancer Biomarker Discovery: The Entropic Hallmark

Background: It is a commonly accepted belief that cancer cells modify their transcriptional state during the progression of the disease. We propose that the progression of cancer cells towards malignant phenotypes can be efficiently tracked using high-throughput technologies that follow the gradual changes observed in the gene expression profiles by employing Shannon's mathematical theory of communication. Methods based on Information Theory can then quantify the divergence of cancer cells' transcriptional profiles from those of normally appearing cells of the originating tissues. The relevance of the proposed methods can be evaluated using microarray datasets available in the public domain but the method is in principle applicable to other high-throughput methods. Methodology/Principal Findings: Using melanoma and prostate cancer datasets we illustrate how it is possible to employ Shannon Entropy and the Jensen-Shannon divergence to trace the transcriptional changes progression of the disease. We establish how the variations of these two measures correlate with established biomarkers of cancer progression. The Information Theory measures allow us to identify novel biomarkers for both progressive and relatively more sudden transcriptional changes leading to malignant phenotypes. At the same time, the methodology was able to validate a large number of genes and processes that seem to be implicated in the progression of melanoma and prostate cancer. Conclusions/Significance: We thus present a quantitative guiding rule, a new unifying hallmark of cancer: the cancer cell's transcriptome changes lead to measurable observed transitions of Normalized Shannon Entropy values (as measured by high-throughput technologies). At the same time, tumor cells increment their divergence from the normal tissue profile increasing their disorder via creation of states that we might not directly measure. This unifying hallmark allows, via the the Jensen-Shannon divergence, to identify the arrow of time of the processes from the gene expression profiles, and helps to map the phenotypical and molecular hallmarks of specific cancer subtypes. The deep mathematical basis of the approach allows us to suggest that this principle is, hopefully, of general applicability for other diseases

Influence of an anionic detergent (alkylbenzene sulphonate) on enzymes, moulting cycle and survival in the shrimp Crangon crangon L.

Shrimps Crangon crangon L. were exposed to 5, 7.5, 10, 25 and 50 ppm of the anionic detergent alkylbenzene sulphonate (ABS) added to brackish water (7‰ salinity). The animals were incubated in these solutions from one to nine days at 15° C or 20° C. After 24 h and 108 h of incubation the activities of arylsulphatase (E.C. 3.1.6.1 ), acid phosphatase (E.C. 3.1.3.2) and cathepsin D (E.C. 3.4.4.23) were assayed in homogenates of the hepatopancreas. The influence of the detergent ABS on the moulting cycle of the shrimps was also investigated. The activity of all acid hydrolases assayed descreased by 20 % to 50 % in the experimental shrimps, depending on concentration of the pollutant, as compared with the control group. The moulting cycle of the shrimps exposed to the action of the detergent was shortened from 31 % to 51 %, and the body weight during one moulting cycle was reduced by 24 % to 36 %. Survival times were reduced in the animals exposed to the action of the detergent. Total mortality of the shrimps occurred after 194 h, in 5 ppm of ABS at 15° C and after 108 h in 50 ppm. The 96 h LC50 for shrimp Crangon crangon L. under laboratory conditions was estimated as 27 ppm of alkylbenzene sulphonate