Change of liver metabolism of 1,2-dibromoethane during simultaneous treatment with carbon tetrachloride

The combination of carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) and 1,2-dibromoethane (DBE) in isolated rat hepatocytes led to a significant potentiation of both lipid peroxidation and of plasma membrane damage observed after a single treatment with CCl₄. Such a synergistic effect appeared to be related to the CCl₄-induced shift of DBE metabolism from the cytosolic conjugation with glutathione towards the microsomal transformation into toxic intermediates. In fact, CCl₄ significantly inactivated hepatocyte total GSH-transferase, i.e. the DBE detoxification pathway. Furthermore, while the microsomal metabolism of CCl₄ was not affected by the simultaneous presence of DBE, the amount of DBE reactive metabolities covalently bound to hepatocyte protein was significantly enhanced in the presence of CCl₄.     

Precise Gene Editing Preserves Hematopoietic Stem Cell Function following Transient p53-Mediated DNA Damage Response

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Development of a refined ex vivo model of peritoneal adhesion formation,and a role for connexin 43 in their development

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry - Despite many advances across the surgical sciences, post-surgical peritoneal adhesions still pose a considerable risk in modern-day procedures and are highly...     

The genetic drivers for the successful invasive potential of a generalist bird,the House crow

Biological Invasions - What kind of genetic structure helps the rapid range expansion of the invasive species is fundamental to understand spread of invasion. The House crow (Corvus splendens), an...     

Multi‐isotype antibody responses against the multimeric Salmonella Typhi recombinant hemolysin E antigen

The detection and measurement of different antibody isotypes in the serum provide valuable indicators of the different stages of typhoid infection. Here, the ability of S. Typhi recombinant hemolysin E (HlyE) to detect multi‐isotype antibody responses in sera of patients with typhoid and paratyphoid A was investigated using an indirect antibody immunoassay. Nanogram amounts of HlyE were found to be sufficient for detection of IgG and IgA isotypes and, in a study of individuals' sera (n = 100), the immunoassay was able to distinguish between typhoid and non‐typhoid sera. The overall sensitivity, specificity and efficiency of the ELISA were 70% (39/56), 100% (44/44) and 83% respectively.     

Phosphorus retention in lab and field-scale subsurface-flow wetlands treating plant nursery runoff

Constructed wetland systems built to handle nutrient contaminants are often efficient at removing nitrogen, but ineffective at reducing phosphorus (P) loads. Incorporating a clay-based substrate can enhance P removal in subsurface-flow constructed wetland systems. We evaluated the potential of crushed brick, a recycled building product, and two particle sizes of a palygorskite–bentonite industrial mineral aggregate (calcined clay) to sorb P from simulated nutrient-rich plant nursery effluent. The three substrates were screened for P sorbing behavior using sorption, desorption, and equilibration experiments. We selected one substrate to evaluate in an 8-month field trial to compare field sorption capacity with laboratory sorption capacity. In the laboratory, coarse calcined clay average sorption capacity was 497 mg kg⁻¹ and it sorbed the highest percentage of P supplied (76%), except at exposure concentrations >100 mg L⁻¹ where the increased surface area of fine calcined clay augmented its P sorption capacity. Subsurface-flow mesocosms were filled with coarse calcined clay and exposed to a four and seven day hydraulic retention time treatment. Phosphorus export was reduced by 60 to 74% for both treatments until substrate P-binding sites began to saturate during month seven. During the eight month experiment, the four and seven day treatments fixed 1273 ± 22 mg kg⁻¹ P and 937 ± 16 mg kg⁻¹ P, respectively. Sequential extractions of the P saturated clay indicated that P could desorb slowly over time from various pools within the calcined clay; thus, if the calcined clay were recycled as a soil amendment, most P released would be slowly available for plant uptake and use. This study demonstrated the viability of using coarse calcined clay as a root bed substrate in subsurface-flow treatment wetlands remediating phosphorus from plant nursery runoff.     

A first report of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) soil seed banks in South Africa

We investigated water hyacinth seed banks in several aquatic systems in South Africa. Fifteen sites, mainly in the Eastern and Western Cape provinces, were surveyed from August to October 2009. Soil seed density varied between 0 and 2534 seeds/m² but did not differ significantly between the type of waterbody (impoundment vs. river) or the history of control carried out at a site. Average germination was 54.17% with very fast velocities (Vigour Index = 36.66) and maximum germination around three days. Although we demonstrated the existence of an important reservoir of seeds, results from this study indicated that a combination of factors such as water fluctuation, eutrophication and seed decomposition might have had a great influence on dispersal and persistence of seeds.