Fingerprinting Hydrocarbons in a Contaminated Soil from an Italian Natural Reserve and Assessment of the Performance of a Low-Impact Bioremediation Approach     

Volpe  Angela  D’Arpa  Stefania  Del Moro  Guido  Rossetti  Simona  Tandoi  Valter  Uricchio  Vito Felice 《Water, air, and soil pollution》2012,223(4):1773-1782

An environmentally friendly procedure suitable to restore a protected area was evaluated at laboratory scale. Soil contaminated by high molecular weight (C > 10) aliphatic hydrocarbons and by chromium was withdrawn from the study site and a qualitative study of soil hydrocarbon components was first performed in order to assess the potential source of contamination. To this aim, a number of characteristic diagnostic ratios of hydrocarbon components were derived by processing chromatographic data, and were used as indicators for distinguishing anthropogenic from natural hydrocarbons. Then, the efficiency of landfarming for soil remediation was tested by comparing the effect of a few selected amendments and by monitoring the fate of chromium. Soil microbial abundance and activity were also evaluated. Results showed that soil hydrocarbons were mainly of anthropogenic origin and land treatment allowed effective degradation by native microbial populations even in the absence of amendments. The investigated procedures had no effect on the mobilisation of chromium that remained in its stable form of Cr(III). Conventional land treatment may therefore be an effective and safe procedure for the removal of hydrocarbons even in the presence of chromium, and may be applied to areas where low-impact procedures are strictly required.  相似文献   

Mutations in the DJ-1 gene associated with autosomal recessive early-onset parkinsonism     

Bonifati V  Rizzu P  van Baren MJ  Schaap O  Breedveld GJ  Krieger E  Dekker MC  Squitieri F  Ibanez P  Joosse M  van Dongen JW  Vanacore N  van Swieten JC  Brice A  Meco G  van Duijn CM  Oostra BA  Heutink P 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》2003,299(5604):256-259

The DJ-1 gene encodes a ubiquitous, highly conserved protein. Here, we show that DJ-1 mutations are associated with PARK7, a monogenic form of human parkinsonism. The function of the DJ-1 protein remains unknown, but evidence suggests its involvement in the oxidative stress response. Our findings indicate that loss of DJ-1 function leads to neurodegeneration. Elucidating the physiological role of DJ-1 protein may promote understanding of the mechanisms of brain neuronal maintenance and pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease.  相似文献   

Alcohol consumption impairs detection of performance errors in mediofrontal cortex     

Ridderinkhof KR  de Vlugt Y  Bramlage A  Spaan M  Elton M  Snel J  Band GP 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》2002,298(5601):2209-2211

The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is a critical component of the human mediofrontal neural circuit that monitors ongoing processing in the cognitive system for signs of erroneous outcomes. Here, we show that the consumption of alcohol in moderate doses induces a significant deterioration of the ability to detect the activation of erroneous responses as reflected in the amplitude of brain electrical activity associated with the ACC. This impairment was accompanied by failures to instigate performance adjustments after these errors. These findings offer insights into how the effects of alcohol on mediofrontal brain function may result in compromised performance.  相似文献   

Mutations in Col4a1 cause perinatal cerebral hemorrhage and porencephaly     

Gould DB  Phalan FC  Breedveld GJ  van Mil SE  Smith RS  Schimenti JC  Aguglia U  van der Knaap MS  Heutink P  John SW 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》2005,308(5725):1167-1171

Porencephaly is a rare neurological disease, typically manifest in infants, which is characterized by the existence of degenerative cavities in the brain. To investigate the molecular pathogenesis of porencephaly, we studied a mouse mutant that develops porencephaly secondary to focal disruptions of vascular basement membranes. Half of the mutant mice died with cerebral hemorrhage within a day of birth, and approximately 18% of survivors had porencephaly. We show that vascular defects are caused by a semidominant mutation in the procollagen type IV alpha 1 gene (Col4a1) in mice, which inhibits the secretion of mutant and normal type IV collagen. We also show that COL4A1 mutations segregate with porencephaly in human families. Because not all mutant mice develop porencephaly, we propose that Col4a1 mutations conspire with environmental trauma in causing the disease.  相似文献   

Avian mycobacteriosis in companion birds: 20-year survey     

Manarolla G  Liandris E  Pisoni G  Sassera D  Grilli G  Gallazzi D  Sironi G  Moroni P  Piccinini R  Rampin T 《Veterinary microbiology》2009,133(4):323-327

The causative agents of avian mycobacteriosis in pet birds are rarely identified. The aim of this study is to add information about the etiology of avian mycobacteriosis. The identification of mycobacterium species in 27 cases of avian mycobacteriosis in pet birds was investigated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing of a rRNA hypervariable region. Avian mycobacteriosis appeared to be an infrequent diagnosis. Interestingly, a few cases of avian mycobacteriosis were recorded in very young birds. The most commonly affected species were the canary (Serinus canarius), the Eurasian goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) and the red siskin (Spinus cucullatus). All but one bird were infected with Mycobacterium genavense. Mycobacterium avium was identified only in one case.  相似文献   

Swimming stimulates oocyte development in European eel   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Arjan Palstra  Danilo Curiel  Madelon Fekkes  Merijn de Bakker  Csaba Szkely  Vincent van Ginneken  Guido van den Thillart 《Aquaculture (Amsterdam, Netherlands)》2007,270(1-4):321-332

In this study, we subjected eels from Lake Balaton (Hungary) to a swimming period of 1 week and 2 or 6 weeks. Most eels were silver and were 13–21 years old. Time dependent changes in morphometrical parameters and developmental characteristics of the oocytes were determined. Already after 1 week of swimming, the gonadal mass increased and oocytes became larger, filled with large numbers of lipid droplets. After 2 and 6 weeks of swimming we found in addition a significant enlargement of the eyes, which is a sign of sexual maturation. In contrast to the resting eels, that had oocytes in the primary growth phase (stage 1–2); the swimming eels had oocytes in stage 3; the cortical alveolus or lipid droplet stage. The results indicate that lipid mobilisation induced by swimming is a requirement for the natural incorporation of lipid droplets in the oocytes, a crucial step in oocyte maturation. As the Balaton eels responded stronger to swimming than young farmed eels, it is suggested that older eels are more sensitive for maturation triggers.  相似文献