The role of sodium chloride (NaCl) particles and ammonium sulfate ((NH4)2SO4) particles on the initial atmospheric corrosion of copper and zinc was investigated under in situ and ex situ conditions using microgravimetry, FTIR spectroscopy, ion chromatography, scanning electron microscopy with x-ray microanalysis and the scanning Kelvin probe. For the first time, in situ infrared spectra were co...

cupper oxide structures with a variety of novel morphologies are synthesized using cupper foil as substrate via a solution route. the structure, morphology and phase of the as-synthesized nanostructures are analyzed by various techniques. sem images show gradual development of hierarchical structures of copper oxide with different morphology. in order to study the effect of reaction time and te...

In this special issue about biofactors causing cognitive impairment, we present evidence for and discuss two such biofactors. One is excess copper, causing neuronal toxicity. The other is zinc deficiency, causing neuronal damage. We present evidence that Alzheimer's disease (AD) has become an epidemic in developed, but not undeveloped, countries and that the epidemic is a new disease phenomenon...

In plants, nitric oxide (NO) has multiple roles in defence reactions under abiotic stresses, including heavy metal load. Literature data suggest that there is a causal relationship between NO and iron metabolism but the effects of essential micronutrients/toxic heavy metals on NO production have not been investigated. In this study our aim is to demonstrate the possible role of NO in the plant ...

Iron, zinc, and copper play fundamental roles in eucaryotes and procaryotes, and their bioavailability regulates host-pathogen interactions. For intracellular pathogens, the source of metals is the cytoplasm of the host, which in turn manipulates intracellular metal traffic following pathogen recognition. It is established that iron is withheld from the pathogen-containing vacuole, whereas for ...

background and aims: giardia lamblia infection is a common cause of food and water-borne diarrhea in non-sanitary communities. infections are common in children, particularly in child-care centers, backpackers, travelers, and homosexuals. zinc is necessary for the immune system functions. zinc deficiency is associated with acute diarrhea. copper is essential for the production of red blood cell...

Objective: To investigate the serum concentrations of copper (Cu), zinc (Zn) and copper/zinc ratio (Cu/Zn) in patients with ovarian cancer and benign ovarian lesions. Methodology: The study included 50 patients, with ovarian cancer (malignant group) and 50 patients with benign ovarian lesions (benign group). After overnight fasting, blood samples were collected. The concentrations of Cu and Zn ...

Zinc is an essential nutrient because of its role in catalysis and in protein stabilization, but excess zinc is deleterious. We distinguished four nutritional zinc states in the alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii: toxic, replete, deficient, and limited. Growth is inhibited in zinc-limited and zinc-toxic cells relative to zinc-replete cells, whereas zinc deficiency is visually asymptomatic but disti...