Biosurfactant of marine origin exhibiting heavy metal remediation properties

The present study was aimed at elucidating the role of biosurfactant product isolated from a marine bacterium in removing heavy metals from heavy metal containing solutions. In this study, metal removal was biosurfactant-mediated. Efficiency of metal removal depended on the concentration of the metal as well as that of the biosurfactant. At a concentration 5×, the critical micelle concentration (CMC), almost complete removal of 100 ppm of lead and cadmium occurred. Atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) studies also showed metal removal at a concentration less than the CMC in contrast to earlier findings that only micelles are involved in metal removal. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) equipped with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) further substantiated these findings.     

Novel strategies to overcome expression problems encountered with toxic proteins: Application to the production of Lac repressor proteins for NMR studies

NMR studies of structural aspects of allosteric regulation by the Lac repressor requires overexpression and isotope labeling of the protein. The size of the repressor makes it a challenging target, putting constraints on both expression conditions and sample preparation methods to overcome problems associated with studies of larger proteins by NMR. We optimized protocols for the production of deuterated functionally active thermostable dimeric Lac repressor and its core domain mutants. The Lac repressor core domain has never been obtained as a recombinant protein, possibly due to the observed toxicity to the host cells. We overcame the core domain induced toxicity by co-expression of this domain with the full length Lac repressor, combined with a stringent control of culture conditions. Significant overexpression was only obtained if during all stages of pre-culturing the bacteria were kept in their exponential growth phase at low density. The sensitivity of NMR measurements is dramatically affected by buffer conditions; we therefore used a thermofluor buffer optimization screen to determine the optimal buffer conditions. The combined thermofluor and NMR screening method yielded thermostable fully functional Lac repressor domain samples suitable for high-resolution NMR studies. The optimized procedures to adapt Escherichia coli to growth in D₂O, to overcome toxicity, and to optimize protein sample conditions provides a broad range of universally applicable techniques for production of larger proteins for NMR spectroscopy.     

三峡库区藻类水华调查及其毒理学研究

三峡水库一期工程蓄水近两年(2003年7月—2005年4月)期间,库区发生过多次藻类“水华”,尤其在阳光充足、气温回升的春季。经鉴定形成水华的藻类主要有拟多甲藻(Peridiniopsissp1,sp2),新星形冠盘藻(Stephanodiscusneoastraea),里海小环藻(Cyclotella caspia),湖沼红胞藻(Rhodomonas lacustris),实球藻(Pandorina morum)和空球藻(Eudorina elegans);其中以拟多甲藻水华涉及面积最大,持续时间最久,污染程度最为严重。通过对拟多甲藻水华水及其藻细胞提取液的生物毒性测试,表明其对其他水生生物和小白鼠没有明显的生物毒性。     

Developing environmental performance indicators for food and beverage processors in the USA

Despite consumer and regulatory focus on the quality of final food and beverage (F&B) products, little attention is given to the release and management of toxic chemicals by F&B processors. This study develops five plant-level indicators of environmental performance specific to toxic chemicals. Our findings suggest that (i) only few F&B processors invest in toxic chemical prevention activities; (ii) the major toxic chemical management strategy is treatment rather than recycling or energy recovery; (iii) F&B processors, on average, have improved their toxic chemical management rates between 2001 and 2012; and (iv) there is evidence for homogeneous performance across similar producers in the F&B processing industry but there is no evidence for the role of socio-economic characteristics of surrounding communities on the environmental performance of F&B processors.     

Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria and endophytes accelerate phytoremediation of metalliferous soils

Technogenic activities (industrial—plastic, textiles, microelectronics, wood preservatives; mining—mine refuse, tailings, smelting; agrochemicals—chemical fertilizers, farm yard manure, pesticides; aerosols—pyrometallurgical and automobile exhausts; biosolids—sewage sludge, domestic waste; fly ash—coal combustion products) are the primary sources of heavy metal contamination and pollution in the environment in addition to geogenic sources. During the last two decades, bioremediation has emerged as a potential tool to clean up the metal-contaminated/polluted environment. Exclusively derived processes by plants alone (phytoremediation) are time-consuming. Further, high levels of pollutants pose toxicity to the remediating plants. This situation could be ameliorated and accelerated by exploring the partnership of plant-microbe, which would improve the plant growth by facilitating the sequestration of toxic heavy metals. Plants can bioconcentrate (phytoextraction) as well as bioimmobilize or inactivate (phytostabilization) toxic heavy metals through in situ rhizospheric processes. The mobility and bioavailability of heavy metal in the soil, particularly at the rhizosphere where root uptake or exclusion takes place, are critical factors that affect phytoextraction and phytostabilization. Developing new methods for either enhancing (phytoextraction) or reducing the bioavailability of metal contaminants in the rhizosphere (phytostabilization) as well as improving plant establishment, growth, and health could significantly speed up the process of bioremediation techniques. In this review, we have highlighted the role of plant growth promoting rhizo- and/or endophytic bacteria in accelerating phytoremediation derived benefits in extensive tables and elaborate schematic sketches.     

Cisplatin administration influences on toxic and non-essential element metabolism in rats

Nowadays several papers deal with the effectiveness and side effects of metal complexes, especially cisplatin, in cancer therapy. The excretion of essential metal elements from the body is a serious problem in the treatment, but there are no data concerning the distribution and metabolism of toxic and nonessential elements. Therefore our aim was to study the concentration of some of these elements after treatment with cisplatin. Male Wistar rats (n = 20, 175–190 g) were randomly divided into 2 groups (n = 10/group). The control group received 1% (w/v) methyl cellulose at 10 mL/kg body weight, p.o. by gastric gavage twice daily for 14 days, while cisplatin was injected i.p. in a single dose of 6.5 mg/kg body weight. Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) was used for measuring Al, B, Ba, Cr, Li, Ni, Pb, Pt, Sb, Si, Sn, Sr and V content in plasma, liver and kidney. Liver total scavenger capacity, diene conjugate content and malondialdehyde concentration were also determined. Cisplatin elevated the free radical reactions in the liver, although redox balance did not change significantly. According to the study it seems that the metabolism of Al, Ba, Cr, Ni, Pb, Sr were changed by the effect of cisplatin, and the most notable alterations were found for Al and Pb. Therefore, besides the toxic effect of and free radical induction by Pt, the side effects of increased levels of other toxic and non-essential elements have to be taken into consideration.     

A comparative study on recurrent blooms of Alexandrium minutum in two Mediterranean coastal areas

Alexandrium minutum is a toxic dinoflagellate widespread along the Mediterranean coasts. This species is frequently detected year-round at low concentrations within the Mediterranean basin. However, it only proliferates recurrently in some localities. Two affected areas are the Catalan and Sicilian coasts. In order to identify the factors determining the A. minutum blooms in the Mediterranean Sea, we compare the bloom conditions in two harbours: Arenys de Mar (Catalan coast, Spain) and Syracuse (Sicily, Italy), during 2002–2003. Arenys de Mar harbour is a fishing and leisure harbour and receives an input of freshwater rich in nutrients. Likewise, the Syracuse harbour – located on the Ionian coast of Sicily – is subject to freshwater inputs. Some points of this site are used for productive activities such as shellfish farming. A. minutum from the two areas studied were morphologically and genetically identical. In both sites, recurrent blooms take place from winter to spring. Surface water temperatures and salinities during A. minutum bloom events were 12–14.5 °C and 32–38, and 16–24 °C and 32–37.7 for Arenys and Syracuse, respectively. During the blooms, the spatial distribution of A. minutum in the two harbours, the physicochemical characteristics and the phytoplankton community were studied. Similarities in composition of the phytoplankton community were evidenced, with a clear dominance of dinoflagellates over the other taxa. In Arenys, the second dominant species was Prorocentrum micans followed by Scrippsiella spp. and Dinophysis sacculus. The same species were found in Syracuse although P. triestinum, and alternatively Lingulodinium polyedrum, reached cell densities much higher than the other dinoflagellates giving marked water discolourations.     

PCR技术检测单核细胞增生李斯特氏菌研究进展

单核细胞增生李斯特氏菌(Listeria monocytogenes)是危害公共卫生和食品行业的一种重要人畜共患病致病菌.PCR技术是近年来被广泛地运用到食源性致病菌快速检测的分子生物学方法之一.就PCR技术检测单核细胞增生李斯特氏菌中的特异性鉴别基因、模板DNA制备等关键因素及多重PCR、巢式PCR、反转录PCR与定量PCR等主要技术进行了综述.     

FOLFOX方案联合西妥昔单抗治疗转移性结直肠癌的近期疗效及安全性分析

目的：探讨FOLFOX方案联合西妥昔单抗治疗转移性结直肠癌的近期临床疗效及安全性。方法：选择2009年2月～2011年2月本院诊治的42例转移性结直肠癌患者为研究对象,采用随机数字表法将其随机分入对照组与观察组,其中对照组20例,观察组22例。对照组患者接受FOLFOX方案治疗,每2周重复1次,治疗3周期;观察组患者给予FOLFOX方案联合西妥昔单抗治疗。比较两组的近期疗效及毒副反应。结果：观察组的客观缓解率和疾病控制率均显著高于对照组,差别具有统计学意义（P〈0．05）;骨髓抑制、消化道反应、神经毒性是两组常见的毒副反应,两组患者骨髓抑制、消化道反应、神经毒性、脱发及肝功能损害发生率无显著差别（P〉0．05）,观察组痤疮样皮疹的发生率显著高于对照组（36．4％VS0,P〈0．05）。结论：西妥昔单抗联合FOLFOX方案可提高转移性结直肠癌患者的近期疗效,毒副反应可耐受。     

Towards an optimal sampling strategy for Alexandrium catenella (Dinophyceae) benthic resting cysts

The study proposes methodological developments to optimize sampling strategy of resting cysts of Alexandrium catenella to estimate their abundance with a predefined error. This work also aims to provide information on spatial distribution of resting cysts in sediments. The distribution mode of A. catenella resting cysts related to the abundance variability was studied through sediment cores sampling on four different spatial scales and using Ludox CLX gradient density method. The quantification method underestimates by a factor of 2 the resting cysts abundance in one gram of sediment. Application of Taylor's power law allowed us to define a compromise between sampling effort and abundance estimation error. In the case of A. catenella resting cysts from Thau lagoon, the optimal sampling strategy consists of sampling 10 stations on a surface of 2 km² for a given coefficient of variability (C) of 15%, sampling 3 sediment cores at each station (C = 30%) and counting only one replicate by core (C = 18%). Results related to the application of Taylor's power law are closely dependent on resting cyst density and aggregation in a given sediment. In our area, A. catenella resting cysts are mainly observed in the upper 3 cm of sediment. Horizontally, their heterogeneity is lower on 10 cm² surface and tends to stabilize itself beyond a surface of 10 m². Each author has to carry out this pre-sampling effort for his own resting cysts-forming species, in his own area, in order to increase accuracy of resting cyst mapping.