background & aims of the study: vegetables and cereals are considered vital for properly-balanced diet given that they deliver vitamins, minerals, nutritional fiber, and phytochemicals. this study aimed to assess the concentration of as, cu, cd, pb, cr and hg in common vegetables and cereals in urban open markets in varanasi district, india materials & methods: total 260 edible portions of vege...

Metals are essential for the normal functioning of living organisms. Their uses in biological systems are varied, but are frequently associated with sites of critical protein function, such as zinc finger motifs and electron or oxygen carriers. These functions only require essential metals in minute amounts, hence they are termed trace metals. Other metals are, however, less beneficial, owing t...

Other laboratories have reported biphasic effects of heavy metals on protein kinase C activity: stimulation followed by inhibition at higher concentrations. We demonstrate that these earlier findings most likely resulted from a combination of the effect of the heavy metals to liberate Ca2+ from Ca2+-EGTA buffer systems and the direct inhibitory effects of the metals on protein kinase C. Simulat...

To reveal the impact of irrigation management on the release and leaching of soil metals (Cu, Zn, Pb, Cr, and Cd), deep percolation rate and metals contents in soil solutions were observed in rice fields with nonflooding controlled irrigation (NFI) and flooding irrigation (FI) treatments. The contents of Cu and Cr in the deep solutions were safe according to the environmental quality standard f...

We examined the effects of chronic metals ingestion on social behavior in the normally highly social prairie vole to test the hypothesis that metals may interact with central dopamine systems to produce the social withdrawal characteristic of autism. Relative to water-treated controls, 10 weeks of chronic ingestion of either Hg(++) or Cd(++) via drinking water significantly reduced social conta...

The metals segment differs from other sectors in its strong dependence upon exploration and acquisition of the best ore bodies and in its greater globalization of operations. Metals producers thus spoke the most about international technology trends and lessons to be gained from abroad. Despite present low metals prices, product demand remains high, and hence increasing productivity and lowerin...

This paper focuses on the general ways in which microbes interact with metals. Some bacteria have evolved mechanisms to detoxify heavy metals, and some even use them for respiration. Microbial interactions with metals may have several implications for the environment. Microbes may play a large role in the biogeochemical cycling of toxic heavy metals also in cleaning up or remediating metal-cont...

Seven heavy metals, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni and Zn, were measured in marine sediments, plants and invertebrates in the vicinity of a ferro-nickel smelting plant in Greece. The concentrations of metals in the sediment were higher than those found in the average unpolluted Greek coastal sediment. High levels of metals were observed in the gastropod molluscs, particularly Cerithium vulgatum, which ...

The variability of the bioaccumulation of metals (Ag, Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn) was extensively studied in the mussel Bathymodiolus azoricus from five hydrothermal vent sites inside three main vent fields of increasing depth along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge: Menez Gwen, Lucky Strike and Rainbow. Metal bioaccumulation varied greatly between vent fields and even between sites inside a vent field with B....

Since the industrial revolution, the production, and consequently the emission of metals, has increased exponentially, overwhelming the natural cycles of metals in many ecosystems. Metals display a diverse array of physico-chemical properties such as essential versus non-essential and redox-active versus non-redox-active. In general, all metals can lead to toxicity and oxidative stress when tak...