Soil samples taken from a contaminated site in Northern Quebec, Canada, exhibited a low capacity for biodegradation of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH), despite a high capacity for the mineralization of aromatic hydrocarbons and a low toxicity of soil leachates as measured by Microtox assay. Toxicity assays directly performed on surface soil, including earthworm mortality and barley seedling ...

To assess the role of time-intensity curves (TICs) of the normal peripheral zone (PZ) in the identification of biopsy-proven prostate nodules using contrast-enhanced transrectal ultrasound (CETRUS). This study included 132 patients with 134 prostate PZ nodules. Arrival time (AT), peak intensity (PI), mean transit time (MTT), area under the curve (AUC), time from peak to one half (TPH), wash in ...

Treatment of hydrocarbon-rich industrial wastewater in bioreactors using heterotrophic microorganisms is often associated with various operational problems. In this study, a consortium of phototrophic microorganisms and a bacterium is developed on the discs of a rotating biological contactor (RBC) for treatment of wastewater containing diesel oil. The reactor was fed with oil degrading bacteriu...

Tree plantations represent an important component of the global carbon (C) cycle and are expected to increase in prevalence during 21st century. We examined how silvicultural approaches that optimize economic returns loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) affected accumulation C pools vegetation, detritus, mineral soil up 100 cm across pine’s natural range southeastern United States. Comparisons treatm...

Similar to other amphetamine analogs 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, "ecstasy"), a currently popular illicit drug, has been characterized recently as a serotonergic neurotoxin due to its ability to cause long-lasting deficits in markers of central serotonergic function in animals. Because the serotonergic toxicity associated with the MDMA analog methamphetamine has been linked previous...

Social isolation is known to induce emotional and behavioral changes in animals and humans. The effect of treadmill exercise on depression was investigated using social isolated rat pups. The rat pups in the social isolation groups were housed individually. The rat pups in the exercise groups were forced to run on treadmill for 30 min once a day from postnatal day 21 to postnatal day 34. In ord...

Phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH), which catalyzes the conversion of phenylalanine to tyrosine, shares physical, structural and catalytic properties with tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH) that catalyze the rate-limiting steps in the biosynthesis of the neurotransmitters dopamine, noradrenaline, and serotonin. Because these neurotransmitter systems have all been implicated...

We investigated the possibility of re-using remediated soils for new bioremediation projects by spiking these soils with waste oil sludge in laboratory based microcosms. The level of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon (TPH) reduction was high (>80%) in naturally attenuated microcosms and was not significantly improved by biostimulation, bioaugmentation and the combined treatment of bioaugmentation and...

Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a severe type of stroke causing neurological dysfunction with high mortality rate. Depression is one of the most common complications of ICH. In the present study, the effects of treadmill exercise on ICH-induced depressive symptoms in relation with apoptosis were investigated using rats. ICH rat model was induced by injection of collagenase into the hippocampu...

Recent investigations in neurogenomics have opened up new lines of research into a crucial genetic problem-the pathway from genes to behavior. This paper concentrates on the involvement of protein elements in the brain neurotransmitter serotonin (5-HT) system in the genetic control of aggressive behavior. Specifically, it describes: (1) the effect of the knockout of MAO A, the principal enzyme ...