The primary cause(s) of neuronal death in most cases of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, are still unknown. However, the association of certain etiological factors, e.g., oxidative stress, protein misfolding/aggregation, redox metal accumulation and various types of damage to the genome, to pathological changes in the affected brain region(s) have been ...

All metal oxide nanoparticles influence the growth and development of plants. They generally enhance or reduce seed germination, shoot/root growth, biomass production and physiological and biochemical activities. Some plant species have not shown any physiological change, although significant variations in antioxidant enzyme activity and upregulation of heat shock protein have been observed. Pl...

We investigated changes in mineral nutrient uptake and cellular expression levels for metal transporter genes in the cadmium (Cd)/zinc (Zn) hyperaccumulator, Thlaspi caerulescens during whole plant and leaf ontogenesis under different long-term treatments with Zn and Cd. Quantitative mRNA in situ hybridization (QISH) revealed that transporter gene expression changes not only dependent on metal ...

Background: There has been increasing awareness throughout the world regarding the remarkable decrease in amphibian population. For such amphibian population decline several causes have been given. Cadmium, a heavy metal is released both from natural sources (leaching of cadmium rich soils) and anthropogenic activities to the aquatic and terrestrial environments. This study evaluated the toxici...

BACKGROUND Recent studies have demonstrated that several mineral products sold for medicinal purposes demonstrate antimicrobial activity, but little is known about the physicochemical properties involved in antibacterial activity. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Using in vitro mineral suspension testing, we have identified two natural mineral mixtures, arbitrarily designated BY07 and CB07, wit...

In this article a luminescence fiber optic biosensor for the microdetection of heavy metal toxicity in waters based on the marine bacterium Aliivibrio fischeri (A. fischeri) encapsulated in alginate microspheres is described. Cu(II), Cd(II), Pb(II), Zn(II), Cr(VI), Co(II), Ni(II), Ag(I) and Fe(II) were selected as sample toxic heavy metal ions for evaluation of the performance of this toxicity ...

Development of environmentally benign approaches to remediation of metal-contaminated soils and sewage sludges are needed to replace currently used techniques of either landfilling or metal extraction using caustic or toxic agents. We report results from four application technologies that use a metal-chelating biosurfactant, rhamnolipid, for removal of metals or metal-associated toxicity from m...

Escherichia coli ZinT is a metal binding protein involved in zinc homeostasis, with additional putative functions in the resistance against other metals. Herein, a method was designed and implemented to evaluate from a structural and functional viewpoint metal binding to E. coli ZinT in 96-well microtiter plates. The isolated ZinT was mixed with several metal ions and their binding ability was ...

The objective of this paper is to provide an analysis of particulate metal emissions in the USA. The analysis will identify natural and industrial sources, environmental standards, emission trends, and controls of particulate emissions. Since the majority of airborne metal emissions originate from metal industries and electric utility facilities, environmental and worker assessments of exposure...

background: the occurrence of heavy metals in the environment is of important concern due to their toxicity and health effects on humans, including cancer. because metals have been extensively used for centuries in commerce, environmental contamination is widespread; moreover, exposure to metals and metal compounds continues to be a significant public health problem. electroplating sludge conta...