Trace Element Status of Chronic Renal Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis

The purpose of this study was to examine the status of trace elements (Cu, Zn, and Fe) and minerals (Mg, K, Na, and Cl) and the level of biochemical parameters (urea, creatinine, total protein, albumin, and glucose) in hemodialysis (HD) patients. This study included 30 HD patients (25 men and 5 women) aged 52.12 +/- 3.13 years and 30 healthy subjects (23 men and 7 women) aged 51.64 +/- 2.22 years. This study investigated the status of trace elements and minerals in HD patients. It was found that the total HD patients (before and after dialysis) had statistically lower Zn and albumin in the after-dialysis group K and Cl levels and higher Mg, creatinine, and urea in the before-dialysis group K and in the after-dialysis group glucose levels than those of the controls. It was determined that the results might be helpful in monitoring patients with renal failure in terms of insufficiency or excess of trace elements and minerals. There was positive correlation for Mg-K (r = 0.64; p = 0.001), creatinine-urea (r = 0.59; p = 0.001), K-urea (r = 0.56; p = 0.001), K-creatinine (r = 0.52; p = 0.003), Mg-creatinine (r = 0.47; p = 0.008), Zn-albumin (r = 0.40; p = 0.028), and Zn-creatinine (r = 0.40; p = 0.031) in the before-dialysis session. There was also positive correlation for creatinine-urea (r = 0.56; p = 0.001), K-urea (r = 0.39; p = 0.035), and Mg-creatinine (r = 0.38; p = 0.041) in the after-analysis session. As a result of the analysis of regression between serum levels of albumin and zinc in total HD patients, the use of the level of albumin might be a suitable choice in determining zinc deficiency resulting from the decrease in the level of zinc in parallel to that of albumin. The results also suggest that the relationship between creatinine and K, Mg, and Zn could be ascribed to the loss of renal function.     

Drought’s impact on Ca,Fe, Mg,Mo and S concentration and accumulation patterns in the plants and soil of a Mediterranean evergreen <Emphasis Type="Italic">Quercus </Emphasis><Emphasis Type="Italic">ilex</Emphasis> forest

We conducted a 6-year field manipulation drought experiment in an evergreen Quercus ilex forest where we simulated the drought predicted by GCM and ecophysiological models for the coming decades (an average of 15% soil moisture reduction). We thereby tested the hypothesis that enhanced drought will change Ca, Fe, Mg, Mo and S availability, concentrations and accumulation patterns in Mediterranean ecosystems. The strongest effects of drought occurred in the soil. Drought increased the total soil concentrations of S, the soil extract concentrations of Fe, Mg and S, the Mg saturation in the soil exchangeable complex and tended to increase the percentage base saturation of the soil exchangeable complex. These increased soil concentrations were related to a decrease of plant uptake capacity and not to an increase of soil enzyme activity, which in fact decreased under drier conditions. Drought increased leaf Mg concentrations in the three dominant species although only significantly in Quercus ilex and Arbutus unedo (20 and 14%, respectively). In contrast, drought tended to decrease Ca in Phillyrea latifolia (18%) and Ca and Fe concentrations in the wood of all three species. Drought increased Ca and Fe concentrations in the roots of Quercus ilex (26 and 127%). There was a slight general trend to decrease total biomass accumulation of nutrients that depend on water flux such as Mg, Fe and S. This effect was related to a decrease of soil moisture that reduced soil flow, and to a decrease in photosynthetic capacity, sap flow, transpiration and growth, and therefore plant uptake capacity under drought observed in Quercus ilex and Arbutus unedo. On the contrary, drought increased Mo accumulation in aboveground biomass in Phillyrea latifolia and reduced Mo accumulation in Arbutus unedo by reducing growth and wood Mo concentrations (51%). Phillyrea latifolia showed a great capacity to adapt to drier conditions, with no decrease in growth, an increase of Mo uptake capacity and a decrease in leaf Ca concentration, which was related to a decrease in transpiration under drought. The results indicate asymmetrical changes in species capacity to accumulate these elements, which are likely to produce changes in inter-specific competitive relations among dominant plant species and in their nutritional quality as food sources. The results also indicate that drought tended to decrease nutrient content in aboveground biomass, mainly through the decrease in growth and transpiration of the most sensitive species and caused an increase in the availability of these nutrients in soil. Thus, drought decreased the ecosystem’s capacity to retain Mg, Fe and S, facilitating their loss in torrential rainfalls.     

Synthesis, crystal structure, NMR and ab initio molecular-orbital studies of some magnesium(II) macrocyclic Schiff-base complexes, with two 2-aminoethyl pendant arms

Three new Mg(II) bis(pendant arm) macrocyclic Schiff-base complexes, [MgLⁿ]²⁺(n=5, 6, 7), have been prepared via cyclocondensation of 2,6-diacetylpyridine with branched hexaamines and characterised spectroscopically. In addition, for [MgL⁵](ClO₄)₂ the crystal structure is reported. This is the first X-ray structural determination of an Mg(II) complex coordinated by seven nitrogen atoms. The ligands, L, are 15-, 16- and 17-membered pentaaza macrocycles having two 2-aminoethyl pendant arms [L⁵; 2,13-dimethyl-6,9-bis(aminoethyl)-3,6,9,12,18-pentaazabicyclo[12.3.1]octadeca-1(18), 2, 12, 14, 16-pentaene, L⁶; 2,14-dimethyl-6,10-bis(aminoethyl)-3,6,10,13,19-pentaazabicyclo[13.3.1]nonadeca-1(19), 2, 13, 15, 17-pentaene and L⁷; 2,15-dimethyl-6,11-bis(aminoethyl)-3,6,11,14,20-pentaazabicyclo[14.3.1]eicosa-1(20),2,14,16,18-pentaene]. The crystal structure of [MgL⁵](ClO₄)₂, was determined by X-ray diffraction and showed that the complex cation that had formed consisted of a pentagonal bipyramidally coordinated Mg(II) ion. All complexes were characterised by IR, ¹H NMR,¹³C NMR, COSY(H,H) and HETCOR(H,C) spectroscopy, and the data indicate that the structure is approximately pentagonal bipyramidal in each case. This structural assignment is also supported by ab initio HF-MO calculations made using the standard 3-21G* basis set.     

Effects of fertilization on understorey vegetation in a Norwegian Pinus sylvestris forest

Abstract. Boreal coniferous forests have been impacted by long distance airborne pollutant deposition for most of the 20th century. Changes in forest understorey vegetation attributable to N‐deposition have been observed in southern Sweden, but not so far in southern Norway. We recorded the quantity of all species of vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens in 144 plots in a fertilization experiment in a 35‐yr old Pinus sylvestris forest in Aust Agder County, southernNorway initiated 6 yr before our study. Each plot represented a combination of three levels of nitrogen, two levels of magnesium and two levels of phosphorus addition. Effects of fertilization on species quantity were tested by Kruskal‐Wallis one‐way analysis by ranks. For vascular plants, only small and hardly significant differences were found between treatments and control. Significant negative effects of N‐fertilization were found on both mosses and lichens. To some extent, these effects could be attributed to direct effects of application of the fertilizer, but were more likely to be due to a negative feedback response to the faster growth of pine trees in fertilized stands, reducing throughfall precipitation and increasing litter fall. Significant differences between Mg‐ and P‐fertilized sites and respective controls were found for too few species to be likely to represent an overall trend.     

Effect of magnesium on the growth and cell cycle of transformed and non-transformed epithelial rat liver cells in vitro

The effects of magnesium (Mg) restriction on cell growth and the cell cycle were determined in transformed (TRL-8) and non-transformed (TRL-12-15) epithelial-like rat liver cells. Cells were cultured in RPMI 1640 medium in which the Mg concentration was reduced to 0.5, 0.1, and 0 × the concentration in the regular RPMI 1640 media (100mg/l). Cell growth in the transformed cells was not influenced by the Mg restriction as greatly as in the non-transformed cell line. Transit through the cell cycle also exhibited an independence of the Mg in the medium in the transformed cells. When transformed cells were grown for two generations in Mg-limited medium, the growth rate slowed to a rate similar to that demonstrated by the non-transformed cells. Analysis by flow cytometry showed that transit through the cell cycle was minimally slowed in Mg deficient transformed cells; however, transit through the G₁ and S phases in the non-transformed cells was slowed. The TRL-8 cells in Mg-limited medium resulted in fewer nuclei in G₁ with subsequent increases in the percentages of S-phase nuclei. The TRL 12-15 cells reacted oppositely with the number of G₁ nuclei increased and the number of S-phase nuclei decreased. In respect to growth, these results show that epithelial cells respond in a similar manner to Mg-limitation as do fibroblast cells. The transformed cells exhibited a level of independence from Mg in respect to growth, reproduction, and cell-cycle kinetics.     

NADH Binds and Stabilizes the 26S Proteasomes Independent of ATP

The 26S proteasome is the end point of the ubiquitin- and ATP-dependent degradation pathway. The 26S proteasome complex (26S PC) integrity and function has been shown to be highly dependent on ATP and its homolog nucleotides. We report here that the redox molecule NADH binds the 26S PC and is sufficient in maintaining 26S PC integrity even in the absence of ATP. Five of the 19S proteasome complex subunits contain a putative NADH binding motif (GxGxxG) including the AAA-ATPase subunit, Psmc1 (Rpt2). We demonstrate that recombinant Psmc1 binds NADH via the GxGxxG motif. Introducing the ΔGxGxxG Psmc1 mutant into cells results in reduced NADH-stabilized 26S proteasomes and decreased viability following redox stress induced by the mitochondrial inhibitor rotenone. The newly identified NADH binding of 26S proteasomes advances our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of protein degradation and highlights a new link between protein homeostasis and the cellular metabolic/redox state.     

Comparative study of the antioxidant activity of the essential oils of five plants against the H2O2 induced stress in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The purpose of this work was to investigate the protective effect of five essential oils (EOs); Rosmarinus officinalis, Thymus vulgaris, Origanum compactum Benth., Eucalyptus globulus Labill. and Ocimum basilicum L.; against oxidative stress induced by hydrogen peroxide in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The chemical composition of the EOs was analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The in vitro antioxidant activity was evaluated and the protective effect of EOs was investigated. Yeast cells were pretreated with different concentrations of EOs (6.25–25 µg/ml) for an hour then incubated with H₂O₂ (2 mM) for an additional hour. Cell viability, antioxidants (Catalase, Superoxide dismutase and Glutathione reductase) and metabolic (Succinate dehydrogenase) enzymes, as well as the level of lipid peroxidation (LPO) and protein carbonyl content (PCO) were evaluated. The chemical composition of EOs has shown the difference qualitatively and quantitatively. Indeed, O. compactum mainly contained Carvacrol, O. basilicum was mainly composed of Linalool, T. vulgaris was rich in thymol, R. officinalis had high α-Pinene amount and for E. globulus, eucalyptol was the major compound. The EOs of basil, oregano and thyme were found to possess the highest amount of total phenolic compounds. Moreover, they have shown the best protective effect on yeast cells against oxidative stress induced by H₂O₂. In addition, in a dose dependent manner of EOs in yeast medium, treated cells had lower levels of LPO, lower antioxidant and metabolic enzymes activity than cells exposed to H₂O₂ only. The cell viability was also improved. It seems that the studied EOs are efficient natural antioxidants, which can be exploited to protect against damages and serious diseases related to oxidative stress.     

Patterns of mobilization of calcium,magnesium, and phosphorus by embryonic yellow-headed blackbirds(Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus)

Summary Embryonic blackbirds(Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) obtain most of their calcium from the eggshell (85 90%), but all of their phosphorus comes from reserves in the yolk (80–85%) and albumen (15–20%). Approximately equal amounts of magnesium are supplied by the eggshell, the yolk, and the albumen. Yolk is depleted of magnesium and phosphorus during embryogenesis, but excess calcium absorbed from the eggeshell is stored in the yolk. Consequently reserves of calcium in the yolk actually increase 8-fold during embryonic development. Our results reveal that altricial birds manifest patterns of mobilization and deposition of calcium and other elements similar to those described for precocial species. Evolution of altriciality from precocity evidently did not entail major changes in how embryonic birds meet the challenge of obtaining the calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus required for development.     

Chromatographic study of magnesium and calcium binding to immobilized human serum albumin

The use of immobilized human serum albumin (HSA) as a stationary phase in affinity chromatography has been shown to be useful in resolving optical antipodes or to investigate interactions between drugs and protein. However, to our knowledge, no inorganic ion binding has been studied on this immobilized protein type. To do this, the human serum albumin stationary phase was assimilated to a weak cation-exchanger by working with a mobile phase pH equal to 6.5. A study of the eluent ionic strength effect on ion retention was carried out by varying the buffer concentrations and the column temperatures. The thermodynamic parameters for magnesium and calcium transfer from the mobile to the stationary phase were determined from linear van’t Hoff plots. An enthalpy–entropy compensation study revealed that the type of interaction was independent of the mobile phase composition. A simple model based on the Gouy–Chapman theory was considered in order to describe the retention behavior of the test cations with the mobile phase ionic strength. From this theoretical approach, the relative charge densities of the human serum albumin surface implied in the binding process were estimated at different column temperatures.