Change in apparent and true absorption and retention of dietary zinc with age in rats

Two groups of 16 rats each were fed the same diet with 12.9 ppm Zn. Nine days after each animal was injected with⁶⁵Zn for assessing fecal zinc of endogenous origin, zinc intake and excretion were determined for a six-day period at the age of about five (group I) and nine (II) weeks. At mean growth rates of 5.1 and 5.2 g/day, food consumption per gram of gain was 2.01 g in group I vs 2.86 g in II. Overall, zinc retention amounted to 21 vs 25 μg Zn/g of gain. Apparent absorption averaged 92 vs 74% of Zn intake (132 vs 189 μg/day), while true absorption averaged 98 vs 92%. It was concluded that endogenous fecal zinc excretion was limited to the indispensable loss (F _em) in group I (7 μg/day), while it exceeded this minimum loss in group II (33 μg/day). True retention, which reflected total zinc utilization (true absorption times metabolic efficiency), was derived from apparent absorption plusF _em (11 μg/day for group II according to the greater metabolic body size of the rats). It averaged 98% of Zn intake in group I vs 80% in group II. The mean metabolic efficiency was 100% vs 87%. The conclusion was that these marked differences between age groups in utilizing the dietary zinc reflected the efficient homeostatic adjustments in absorption and endogenous excretion of zinc to the respective zinc supply status.     

Bovine pregnancy and nonreturn rates following artificial insemination using a covered sheath

Contamination transferred into the uterus from external genitalia during artificial insemination (AI) has been hypothesized to cause lowered bovine pregnancy rates (PR). Using aseptic techniques, there is still a possibility of uterine contamination during routine AI. Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of two types of sheath covers (CS) placed over the conventional French Medium Syringe assembly (FMS) used for AI. Their use entailed passing the assembly to the external os of the cervix, pushing the FMS through the CS and manipulating the FMS to the cervical uterine junction in the normal manner. Fifty-six day non-return rate (NRR) in dairy and actual PR in beef cattle were evaluated. In Experiment 1, 30 professional technicians were employed to inseminate 7, 387 dairy cows, while in Experiment 2, six technicians with varying levels of experience inseminated 416 beef cows. Least-squares means for NRR in dairy cattle were 78% using a CS and 79% without. Means for PR in beef cattle were 57% using a CS and 62% without. In Experiment 2, the overall PR was lower in Trial l than in other trials (P<0.05). Since some technicians improved with time, the difference due to trial was attributed to technician variation in gaining experience with a CS. Results indicate that general use of a CS in routine AI of apparently healthy cows will not increase PR.     

Pitfalls in the sample preparation and analysis of N-acylethanolamines

N-acylethanolamines (NAEs) are a group of lipid mediators synthesized in response to a number of physiological and pathological stimuli. Because of the low tissue concentrations of NAEs, analyses often include liquid extraction followed by solid-phase extraction and subsequent quantitation by LC/MS or GC/MS. Reported levels of NAEs vary considerably, however, and often no explanation is given for these discrepancies. Brought on by difficulties encountered during method development, the effects of using four different brands of silica-containing solid phase extraction (SPE) columns and five different brands of chloroform for sample preparation were investigated. Considerable variation in the retention and recoveries of seven NAEs and 2-arachidonoylglycerol existed between the SPE columns. Furthermore, it was found that some chloroforms contained quantifiable amounts of N-palmitoylethanolamine and N-stearoylethanolamine. Finally, it was found that use of one of the chloroforms resulted in a loss of N-oleoylethanolamine from solution due to addition of chlorine to the ω-9 bond. The identity of this reaction product was confirmed by LC-MS/MS and NMR. It is recommended that these aspects of sample preparation and analysis should be thoroughly validated during method development and the relevant information on specific brands used be reported in future communications in order to better estimate the validity of reported quantitative data.     

Monte Carlo study on the secondary cancer risk estimations for patients undergoing prostate radiotherapy: A humanoid phantom study

AimThe aim of this study was to estimate the secondary malignancy risk from the radiation in FFB prostate linac-based radiotherapy for different organs of the patient.BackgroundRadiation therapy is one of the main procedures of cancer treatment. However, the application the radiation may impose dose to organs of the patient which can be the cause of some malignancies.Materials and methodsMonte Carlo (MC) simulation was used to calculate radiation doses to patient organs in 18 MV linear accelerator (linac) based radiotherapy. A humanoid MC phantom was used to calculate the equivalent dose s for different organs and probability of secondary cancer, fatal and nonfatal risk, and other risks and parameters related to megavoltage radiation therapy. In out-of-field radiation calculation, it could be seen that neutrons imparted a higher dose to distant organs, and the dose to surrounding organs was mainly due to absorbed scattered photons and electron contamination.ResultsOur results showed that the bladder and skin with 54.89 × 10⁻³ mSv/Gy and 46.09 × 10⁻³ mSv/Gy, respectively, absorbed the highest equivalent dose s from photoneutrons, while a lower dose was absorbed by the lung at 3.42 × 10⁻³ mSv/Gy. The large intestine and bladder absorbed 55.00 × 10⁻³ mSv/Gy and 49.08 × 10⁻³, respectively, which were the highest equivalent dose s due to photons. The brain absorbed the lowest out-of-field dose, at 1.87 × 10⁻³ mSv/Gy.ConclusionsWe concluded that secondary neutron portion was higher than other radiation. Then, we recommended more attention to neutrons in the radiation protection in linac based high energy radiotherapy.     

New preparation techniques for molecular and in‐situ analysis of ancient organic micro‐ and nanostructures

Organic microfossils preserved in three dimensions in transparent mineral matrices such as cherts/quartzites, phosphates, or carbonates are best studied in petrographic thin sections. Moreover, microscale mass spectrometry techniques commonly require flat, polished surfaces to minimize analytical bias. However, contamination by epoxy resin in traditional petrographic sections is problematic for the geochemical study of the kerogen in these microfossils and more generally for the in situ analysis of fossil organic matter. Here, we show that epoxy contamination has a molecular signature that is difficult to distinguish from kerogen with time‐of‐flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF‐SIMS). This contamination appears pervasive in organic microstructures embedded in micro‐ to nano‐crystalline carbonate. To solve this problem, a new semi‐thin section preparation protocol without resin medium was developed for micro‐ to nanoscale in situ investigation of insoluble organic matter. We show that these sections are suited for microscopic observation of Proterozoic microfossils in cherts. ToF‐SIMS reveals that these sections are free of pollution after final removal of a <10 nm layer of contamination using low‐dose ion sputtering. ToF‐SIMS maps of fragments from aliphatic and aromatic molecules and organic sulfur are correlated with the spatial distribution of organic microlaminae in a Jurassic stromatolite. Hydrocarbon‐derived ions also appeared correlated with kerogenous microstructures in Archean cherts. These developments in analytical procedures should help future investigations of organic matter and in particular, microfossils, by allowing the spatial correlation of microscopy, spectroscopy, precise isotopic microanalyses, and novel molecular microanalyses such as ToF‐SIMS.     

Health risk assessment due to exposure of arsenic contamination in drinking water of district Shiekhupura,Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract

The present study was conducted to assess the magnitude and health impacts of As in drinking water. Drinking water samples (n?=?60) were collected from twenty different sites of Shiekhupura District (Pakistan). Health risk assessment through average daily dose (ADD), hazard indices (HI), hazard quotient (HQ), carcinogenic risk (CR), and cancer indices (CI) for dermal and oral exposure were determined. Results revealed that As concentration ranged from 2 to 900?µg?L^?1 in water samples, which was significantly greater than the safe limit of As (10?µg?L^?1) in water. Health risk assessment of As showed that ADD (1.07E?02–9.85E?04), HQ (1.06E+01–9.85E+00), and CR (1.60E?02–9.85E?04) for oral exposure and ADD (1.03E?05–9.69E?06), HQ (1.19E?02–7.96E?03), and CR (1.11E?05–8.98E?05) for dermal exposure which were exceeded the toxic risk index value. Comparison of the two exposure pathways indicated that the oral exposure is much higher risk than the dermal contact. Both values of HI and CI were greater than WHO limit. It is concluded that residents of study area are at higher risk of As induced diseases and carcinogenicity.     

Statistical and multivariate statistical techniques to trace the sources and affecting factors of groundwater pollution in a rapidly growing city on the Chinese Loess Plateau

Abstract

Groundwater quality is defined by various water quality parameters. The aims of the research are to understand the relationships among different groundwater quality parameters and to trace the sources and affecting factors of groundwater pollution via statistical and multivariate statistical techniques. The 36 shallow groundwater samples collected from shallow pumping wells in Yan’an City were analyzed for various water quality parameters. Correlation analysis, principal component analysis (PCA), hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), and multivariable linear regressions (MLR) were jointly used in this study to explore the sources and affecting factors of groundwater pollution. The study reveals that the mineral dissolution/precipitation and anthropogenic input are the main sources of the physicochemical indices and trace elements in the groundwater. Groundwater chemistry is predominantly regulated by natural processes such as dissolution of carbonates, silicates, and evaporates and soil leaching, followed by human activities as the second factor. Climatic factors and land use types are also important in affecting groundwater chemistry. Cl^– is the greatest contributor to the overall groundwater quality revealed by the two regression models. The first model which has eight dependent variables is high in model reliability and stability, and is recommended for the overall groundwater quality prediction. The study is helpful for understanding groundwater quality variation in urban areas.     

自然越冬期软枣猕猴桃枝条组织结构及内源激素的变化特征

该试验以抗寒性不同的5年生软枣猕猴桃品种‘魁绿’、‘丰绿’和‘96-6’为试验材料,测定分析自然越冬期间枝条组织解剖结构、细胞膜透性和内源激素GA3、ABA、IAA含量水平的变化,以明确不同品种软枣猕猴桃越冬期间对低温的适应能力及其内在生理机制,为软枣猕猴桃抗寒品种的选育及鉴别提供理论依据。结果表明:(1)软枣猕猴桃枝条木质部比率大小依次为‘魁绿’>‘96-6’>‘丰绿’,皮层比率依次为‘丰绿’>96-6’>魁绿’,二者表现趋势相反,且‘魁绿’枝条的解剖结构与其他两品种差异显著。(2)在自然越冬期间,各品种软枣猕猴桃枝条相对电导率和MDA含量随温度变化均呈先升后降的趋势,在温度最低的1月份达到最高,其中‘魁绿’枝条的相对电导率和MDA含量变化幅度最小,而‘丰绿’受低温影响较大。(3)在11月份至2月份,随自然温度的变化,各品种软枣猕猴桃枝条的GA3和IAA含量均呈先降低后升高的变化趋势,ABA含量则呈先升后降的趋势,且都在1月份分别达到最低或最高值。研究发现,在自然越冬期间,低温对3个软枣猕猴桃品种的组织解剖结构、膜透性及内源激素含量均都造成较大的影响,品种‘魁绿’枝条的木质部比率最大、皮层比率最小,相对电导率和MDA含量变化幅度最小,内源激素含量GA3和ABA/GA3变化趋势较小,故其抗寒性比‘丰绿’和‘96-6’更强。     

沙地樟子松人工林土壤理化性质与微生物生物量的动态变化

为揭示不同林龄沙地樟子松人工林土壤理化性质和微生物生物量的动态和相互关系,以毛乌素沙地、科尔沁沙地和呼伦贝尔沙地不同林龄樟子松人工林为对象,分析土壤理化性质、土壤微生物生物量碳和微生物生物量氮变化规律。结果表明:樟子松人工林土壤理化性质随林龄增加在不同沙地中表现不同,毛乌素沙地土壤容重和养分含量明显降低,科尔沁沙地土壤孔隙度和养分含量明显升高,呼伦贝尔沙地土壤养分则呈现先增加后降低趋势。与土壤理化性质变化趋势类似,毛乌素沙地樟子松人工林土壤微生物生物量氮随着林龄的增加而降低,科尔沁沙地土壤微生物生物量氮随着林龄的增加而升高,呼伦贝尔沙地土壤微生物生物量氮随着林龄的增加呈先增加而后降低趋势。影响毛乌素沙地、科尔沁沙地和呼伦贝尔沙地土壤微生物生物量碳、氮的主要因子分别是硝态氮、铵态氮和有机质含量。毛乌素与科尔沁沙地樟子松人工林主要限制因子为土壤氮,而呼伦贝尔沙地樟子松受土壤有机碳限制较强。