Some trace elements (Pb, Zn, Cd) exceeded the maximum allowable levels. EDIs of Cu, Ni, Hg for the majority of studied fruits and vegetables exceeded the health-based guideline values. Meanwhile, in case of combined consumption of the studied food items, the estimated cumulative daily intakes exceeded health-based guideline values not only for the aforementioned trace elements but also for Zn in the following sequence: Zn > Hg > Ni > Cu. HI > 1 values highlighted the potential adverse health effects for local population through more than one trace element.
Detailed investigations need to be done for the overall assessment of health risks, taking into consideration not only adverse health effects posed by more than one toxic trace element but also through other exposure pathways. 相似文献
Areas covered: In this review we describe the latest advances in research that utilizes proteomics-based tools to address some of the key challenges to developing effective interventions against schistosomiasis. We also provide information about the potential of extracellular vesicles to advance the fight against this devastating disease.
Expert commentary: Different proteins are already being tested as vaccines against schistosomiasis with promising results. The re-analysis of the Schistosoma spp. proteomes using new and more sensitive mass spectrometers as well as better separation approaches will help identify more vaccine targets in a rational and informed manner. In addition, the recent development of new proteome microarrays will facilitate characterisation of novel markers of infection as well as new vaccine and diagnostic candidate antigens. 相似文献
Aims: We investigate three hypotheses: (1) the purple morph occurs in colder, wetter climates than the yellow morph; (2) tissue–soil ionic relationships differ among morphs; and (3) morphs occur on soils with differing elemental concentrations.
Methods: We queried herbarium records to investigate patterns of occurrence among the yellow and purple floral morphs, and analysed soil and tissue samples from wild populations of all four morphs.
Results: The purple morph inhabited serpentine outcrops with colder temperatures and greater precipitation levels than the yellow morph. Concentrations of elements in leaf tissue and rhizosphere soil differed little among populations of the morphs, but showed substantial within-site variation.
Conclusions: Our results suggest that a climatic gradient may be responsible for divergence in floral colour among populations of S. polygaloides. Because of the large within-site variation in soil and tissue elemental concentrations, plants appear to have a varied physiological response to edaphic factors, regardless of morph membership. 相似文献
Objective: Assess the effects on anthropogenic contamination on female fiddler crabs reproduction, survival and genetic stability.
Methods: Exposition of wild crabs from a less impacted (reference) site to naturally contaminated sediments on under controlled laboratory conditions. Reproductive parameters, levels of DNA damage and mortality rates were measured, together with chemical analyses of sediments.
Results: The most contaminated sediments corresponded to the site where fish processing plants were located and the integrated biomarker response analysis revealed that the most adverse effects were produced by exposure to sediments from this site; these crabs showed higher mortality (67%) and poorer ovarian development than those crabs exposed to sediments from other sites.
Conclusions: Female crabs under pollution stress are able to trade-off reproduction for survival, and surviving animals were able to restore genetic stability possibly by activating DNA repair mechanisms. Multiple biomarker approach discriminates different coastal contamination scenarios. 相似文献
Areas covered: In addition to conventional linear peptides, HLA molecules also present post-translationally modified sequences comprising a wealth of chemical and structural modifications, including a novel class of noncontiguous spliced peptides. This review focuses on these emerging themes in antigen presentation and how mass spectrometry in particular has contributed to a new view of the antigenic landscape that is presented to the immune system.
Expert Commentary: Advances in the sensitivity of mass spectrometers and use of hybrid fragmentation technologies will provide more information-rich spectra of HLA bound peptides leading to more definitive identification of T cell epitopes. Coupled with improvements in sample preparation and new informatics workflows, studies will access novel classes of peptide antigen and allow interrogation of rare and clinically relevant samples. 相似文献
Supplemental materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of International Journal of Phytoremediation to view the supplemental file. 相似文献
Sulfur was added to soils in quantities of 20 to 400 mmol sulfur kg-1 soil. Plants were grown under fluorescent light in 1.5 l ($OS 13 cm) pots for 28 d.
Within 700 h soil pH decreased significantly in all soils, depending on S8 dosage. In the acid soil, pH decreased from pH 6.5 to about 4 at the highest treatment level, while pH in one of the calcareous soils dropped even below pH 4. The effect was smaller in the second calcareous soil.
NaNO3-extractable Cd and Zn increased up to 26-and 13-fold, respectively, in the acid soil, while in the calcareous soils, maximum increases were 9-and 11-fold, respectively.
Increased NaNO3-extractable concentrations translated well into shoot concentrations (dry matter) in plants. Shoot Zn concentrations in H. annuus, for example, increased from 930 in the controls to 4300 mg kg-1 in the highest S8 treatment. However, effects observed in the plants were generally smaller than in the soils. In addition, in some variants growth was negatively affected, resulting in reduced metal removal from the soils. 相似文献
Areas covered: In this review, we summarize how changes in glycosylation are associated with tumorigenesis, with emphasis on breast cancers. An overview of the changes in N-linked and O-linked glycans associated with breast cancer tumors and biofluids are described. Recent advances in glycomics are emphasized in the context of continuing to decipher the glycosylation changes associated with breast cancer progression.
Expert opinion: While changes in glycosylation have been studied in breast cancer for many years, the clinical relevance of these studies has been limited. This reflects the inherent biological and clinical heterogeneity of breast cancers. Glycomics analysis lags behind the advances in genomics and proteomics, but new approaches are emerging. A summary of known glycosylation changes associated with breast cancer is necessary to implement new findings in the context of clinical outcomes and therapeutic strategies. A better understanding of the dynamics of tumor and immune glycosylation is critical to improving emerging immunotherapeutic treatments. 相似文献
The results show that a resin gel thickness of 0.3 mm gives the best reproducibility and response in the absorption of copper by DGT. The amount of copper extracted in a period of 4 h by the devices from the soil solution corresponds to 13% of the total metal present in the solution.
The DGT allowed a more representative estimation of the amount of Cu available in the soil, more in agreement with the absence of symptoms of phytotoxicity in cultivated species. This shows that the determination of available Cu by DTPA must be handled cautiously because in soils with high Cu content the amount of metal that can have direct influence on absorption by the plant is overestimated. 相似文献
The samples were dried with sodium sulphate and Soxhlet extracted for 16 hours with dichloromethane. Then this solvent was replaced by hexane and the resulting solution was concentrated in a rotary evaporator. The clean-up process consisted of elution through a mixed silica column followed by a treatment with activated copper turnings to remove the sulphur. The sample was then concentrated down to 2 mL by nitrogen stream. The internal standard, 1,4-dibromobenzene, was added to the sample prior to the extraction, whereas the injection standard, 1,3,5-tribromobenzene, was added right before the sample was injected through the chromatographic system.
The limits of quantification ranged from 71 to 500 pg g?1 (dry weight). The reproducibility in the peak areas within a day was better for the compounds with increasing number of chlorines, whereas the reproducibility over time studies provided no significant differences in the peak areas in consecutive days.
The method was successfully applied to the determination of polychlorobenzenes in a certified sediment and, finally, it was applied to the determination of these compounds in several sections of a sediment core from Esthwaite Water Lake (United Kingdom). 相似文献
This study suggests that the concentrations of trace elements in the soft tissues of the selected molluscs can be affected by the presence of sewage discharges, and that limpets seem to be the best bioindicator. Moreover, the sewage pollution increased the concentrations of As in the mollusc species, emphasizing its potential damaging effects on natural systems and on edible species. 相似文献
Aims: The aim of this study was to hypothesise that if habitat patchiness is an important filter on dispersal syndromes, ‘directed’ vertebrate dispersal should be more prevalent in serpentine habitats because of their patchiness. Alternatively, if habitat quality is more important, wind dispersal should be more prevalent in serpentine habitats because of their low fertility.
Methods: Using three datasets representing grassland, chaparral and forest vegetation types, we analysed differences in the composition of dispersal syndromes (vertebrate, wind, passive, water and ant) between communities on patchy infertile serpentine soils and on continuous, fertile non-serpentine soils. Our analyses also accounted for correlated functional traits and phylogenetic relatedness.
Results: Across and within all three vegetation types, serpentine communities had significantly higher proportions of wind dispersed and lower proportions of vertebrate-dispersed species. These patterns were not independent of functional traits. Proportions of the other dispersal syndromes did not differ.
Conclusions: Our results suggest that on low-fertility soils, habitat quality may outweigh habitat patchiness as a filter on the availability of dispersal syndromes, potentially adding to the vulnerability of such communities to stochastic extinctions and global change. 相似文献
Purpose: For rational metabolic engineering, the elucidation of metabolic pathways in fine detail and their manipulation according to requirements is the key to exploiting the use of microalgae. Emergence of site-specific nucleases have revolutionized applied research leading to biotechnological gains. Genome engineering as well as modulation of the endogenous genome with high precision using CRISPR systems is being gradually employed in microalgal research. Further, to optimize and produce better algal platforms, use of systems biology network analysis and integration of omics data is required. This review discusses two important approaches: systems biology and gene editing strategies used on microalgal systems with a focus on biofuel production and sustainable solutions. It also emphasizes that the integration of such systems would contribute and compliment applied research on microalgae.
Conclusions: Recent advances in microalgae are discussed, including systems biology, gene editing approaches in lipid bio-synthesis, and antenna engineering. Lastly, it has been attempted here to showcase how CRISPR/Cas systems are a better editing tool than existing techniques that can be utilized for gene modulation and engineering during biofuel production. 相似文献
Chard suffered phytotoxicity at low pH and accumulated up to 90 mg Cd kg–1 on the biosolids amended mine soil. The maize inbred accumulated up to 45 mg Cd kg–1 with only mild phytotoxicity symptoms during early growth at pH > 6.0. N. caerulescens did not exhibit phytotoxicity symptoms at any pH, and accumulated up to 235 mg Cd kg–1 in 3 months. Reharvested N. caerulescens accumulated up to 900 mg Cd kg–1 after 10 months. Neither Alyssum nor 90% of rice genotypes survived acceptably.
Both N. caerulescens and B37 maize show promise for Cd phytoextraction in IL and require field evaluation; both plants could be utilized for nearly continuous Cd removal. Other maize inbreds may offer higher Cd phytoextraction at lower pH, and mono-cross hybrids higher shoot biomass yields. Further, maize grown only for biomass Cd maximum removal could be double-cropped. 相似文献
An increase in steam injection pressure produced a significant increase in LNAPL recovery efficiency. An increase in steam injection pressure from 12.4 to 44.8 kPa resulted in increased LNAPL recovery efficiency from 86 to 95% after one pore volume of steam injection. Higher steam injection pressure yielded maximum LNAPL recovery efficiency in significantly less time and required a smaller amount of steam than at low pressure.
An increase in soil grain size or an increase in grain‐size‐distribution slope resulted in increased LNAPL recovery efficiency. The final LNAPL residual saturation was approximately 0.5% for coarse‐grained soils and 1.8% for soils with finer grain sizes. Soils with finer grains required more time for treatment than soils with coarser grains.
Steam injection experiments with No. 2 heating oil and with jet fuel showed no significant variation in steam front propagation, temperature profile, and maximum LNAPL recovery efficiency. The LNAPL residual saturation after steam injection was essentially independent of the starting LNAPL saturation. 相似文献
Aims: We address three hypotheses: H1, diversity of mycorrhizal fungi in serpentine soils mirrors above-ground plant diversity; H2, the morphology of mycorrhizas and fungi on serpentine soils differs from that on non-serpentine; and H3, mycorrhizal fungal communities of the same or closely related hosts differ between serpentine and non-serpentine soils.
Methods: This review focuses on whether plant diversity on serpentine soils correlates with the below ground diversity of mycorrhizal fungi.
Results: Studies show that plants and fungi formed abundant ectomycorrhizal and arbuscular mycorrhizal symbioses on and off serpentine soils. No serpentine-endemic fungi were identified. Molecular analyses indicate distinct serpentine isolates for Cenococcum geophilum and for Acaulospora, suggesting adaptation to serpentine soils. While fungal sporocarp assemblages on serpentine sites resembled those off serpentine, fruiting of hypogeous fungi was greatly reduced.
Conclusions: Ectomycorrhizal fungal communities did not differ between soil types; however, arbuscular mycorrhizal communities differed in some cases but not others. The additive response to multiple factors, described as the serpentine syndrome, may explain part of the response by fungi. 相似文献
Areas covered: The review describes the structures of the N- and O-linked glycans found on glycoproteins and mass spectrometric methods for their ionization and fragmentation. The steps, such as determination of glycan attachment sites and the structures of the attached glycans following their release from the glycoproteins are described and examples are given of the uses of the various analytical methods using mainly influenza, Ebola and HIV as representative examples. Also included are tables listing work on many other viruses.
Expert commentary: Recent technological advances, such as the introduction of ion mobility techniques, have greatly improved analyses in this area and have enabled larger amounts of information to be gathered in shorter time periods on ever smaller amounts of material. Such techniques should greatly accelerate the discovery of vaccine targets and lead to the production of vaccines for diseases not currently available. 相似文献
Metal contamination factors (CF) indicated that sediments were not contaminated with Cu and Pb, slightly with Zn and moderately with Cr.
For sediments with high metal pollution loadings, the original BCR (Community Bureau of Reference) metal speciation protocol was also applied. Speciation studies showed that chromium was mainly associated with the oxidisable plus residual fractions (>85%). These results suggest that changes in the physico-chemical properties of the river water (e.g. pH, Eh) should not be accompanied by a significative release of chromium from sediments.
The relationships between chromium speciation fractions, physic-chemical parameters of the sediments and water samples were studied by Principal Component Analysis, and allowed to reduce the dimensionality of the data matrix from 14 to 3 significant components accounting for 89% of the variance. It was found that hydrous Fe/Mn oxides and organic matter are the “carriers” of chromium associated to fractions exchangeable and oxidable. 相似文献
Areas covered: Publically available resources such as Pubmed were surveyed. Bottom-up proteomics analyses now allow efficient extraction and digestion such that membrane protein coverage is essentially complete, making up around one third of the proteome. However, this coverage relies upon hydrophilic loop regions while transmembrane domains are generally poorly covered in peptide-based strategies. Top-down mass spectrometry where the intact membrane protein is fragmented in the gas phase gives good coverage in transmembrane regions, and membrane fractions are yielding to high-throughput top-down proteomics. Exciting progress in native mass spectrometry of membrane protein complexes is providing insights into subunit stoichiometry and lipid binding, and cross-linking strategies are contributing critical in-vivo information.
Expert commentary: It is clear from the literature that integral membrane proteins have yielded to advanced techniques in protein chemistry and mass spectrometry, with applications limited only by the imagination of investigators. Key advances toward translation to the clinic are emphasized. 相似文献