The potential of halotolerant algae isolated from natural resources was used to study CO2 fixation and algal lipid production. Biological fixation of CO2 in photobioreactor in presence of salinity is exploited. The CO2 concentration 1060 ppm gave the highest biomass yield (700 mg dry wt/l), the highest total lipid content (10.33%) with 80% of CO2 removal.

A potential nitrification rate test (PNR) was used to identify metal toxicity in field-contaminated soils. The test was applied to metal salt-spiked soils, to 27 uncontaminated soils, and to 15 soils that are contaminated by former metal smelting activities. Four agricultural soils (pH 4.5-6.6) were spiked with various rates of CdCl2 (0-200 mg Cd/kg dry wt) or ZnCl2 (0-3,000 mg Cd/kg dry wt) an...

In the tropics, termites are major players in the mineralization of organic matter leading to the production of greenhouse gases including nitrous oxide (N2O). Termites have a wide trophic diversity and their N-metabolism depends on the feeding guild. This study assessed the extent to which N2O emission levels were determined by termite feeding guild and tested the hypothesis that termite speci...

Accumulation of metal contaminants in soil as a result of various industrial and anthropogenic activities has reduced soil fertility significantly. Phytoextraction of metal contaminants can improve soil fertility and provide inexpensive feedstock for biorefineries. We investigated the hyperaccumulation capacity of sunflower (Helianthus annuus) biomass by cultivating these plants in various conc...

this research was conducted at the department of horticluture, university of tehran during years 2005-2006, to investigate the use of iran apatite rocks in zeoponic substrate and as well to evaluate them as substitutes for phosphate fertilizers. five different substrates namely: m1: 89 wt. % soil+10 wt. % zeolite + 1 wt.% jeyrood apatite; m2: 82 wt.% soil + 15 wt.% zeolite+ 3 wt. % jeyrood apat...

We tested the hypothesis that reducing hydrogen ion accumulation during training would result in greater improvements in muscle oxidative capacity and time to exhaustion (TTE). Male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to one of three groups (CON, PLA, and BIC). CON served as a sedentary control, whereas PLA ingested water and BIC ingested sodium bicarbonate 30 min prior to every training session...

Cardiac failure appears rapidly during severe hypoxia and precedes a substantial reduction in adenosine triphosphate content. Reduced adenosine triphosphate turnover, in the presence of nearly normal content, may be the metabolic basis for contractile failure during hypoxia. To measure both the myocardial content and the turnover rates of high-energy phosphate compounds during hypoxia, we perfo...

Triacylglycerol (TAG) storage and turnover rates in the intact, beating rat heart were determined for the first time using dynamic mode (13)C- NMR spectroscopy to elucidate profound differences between hearts from diabetic rats (DR, streptozotocin treatment) and normal rats (NR). The incorporation of [2,4,6,8,10,12,14,16-(13)C(8)]palmitate into the TAG pool was monitored in isolated hearts perf...

The aim of the present study was to examine whether ATP production increases and mechanical efficiency decreases during intense exercise and to evaluate how previous exercise affects ATP turnover during intense exercise. Six subjects performed two (EX1 and EX2) 3-min one-legged knee-extensor exercise bouts [66.2 +/- 3.9 and 66.1 +/- 3.9 (+/-SE) W] separated by a 6-min rest period. Anaerobic ATP...

To develop a suitable biomonitor of metal pollution in watersheds, we examined trends in exposure to nine trace elements in the diet (benthic invertebrates and fish), feathers (n = 104), and feces (n = 14) of an aquatic passerine, the American dipper (Cinclus mexicanus), from the Chilliwack watershed in British Columbia, Canada. We hypothesized that key differences may exist in exposure to meta...