Sediment infauna and sedimentary structures within the shallow ( S 15 m depth) inshore of the central Great Barrier Reef lagoon were examined seasonally for 1 yr to relate benthic fauna1 abundance, community composition and biogenic activity to outwelling of mangrove detritus and natural physical disturbance. Standing amounts of mangrove litter exceeded 4000 g dry weight (DW) m'2 in a semi-encl...

The Gironde fluvial estuarine system is impacted by historic metal pollution (e.g. Cd, Zn, Hg) and oysters (Crassostrea gigas) from the estuary mouth have shown extremely high Cd concentrations for decades. Based on recent work (Chiffoleau et al., 2005) revealing anomalously high Ag concentrations (up to 65 mg kg(-1); dry weight) in Gironde oysters, we compared long-term (~1955-2001) records of...

This study aimed to assess the effects of plant growth regulators (PGRs) on stock production mojave sage ( Salvia pachyphylla ) and ‘Avalanche’ cape daisy Osteospermum hybrid) that received foliar sprays following three PGRs: 200 400 ppm ethephon; 250 500 benzyladenine; 50 100 gibberellic acid 4 7 (GA 4+7 plus benzyladenine. Vegetative [height width index (GI)], number vegetative cuttings, fres...

Selenium (Se) is an essential micronutrient for many organisms, but is also a toxin and environmental pollutant at elevated levels. Due to its chemical similarity to sulphur, most plants readily take up and assimilate Se. Se accumulators such as Brassica juncea can accumulate Se between 0.01% and 0.1% of dry weight (DW), and Se hyperaccumulators such as Stanleya pinnata (Brassicaeae) contain be...

Seabird tissues collected between 2002 and 2004 from Barau's Petrel (Pterodroma baraui), Audubon's Shearwater (Puffinus lherminieri bailloni), and White-Tailed Trop icbird (Phaethon lepturus) colonies on Reunion Island were analyzed for metallothioneins (MTs) and trace element content. The subcellular distribution between soluble and insoluble fractions of Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Se, and Zn was determi...

Compared with age-matched men, women are resistant to the hypertensive effects of dietary NaCl; however, after menopause, the incidence of salt-sensitive hypertension is similar in women and men. We recently suggested that osmotically inactive Na+ storage contributes to the development of salt-sensitive hypertension. The connective tissues, including those immediately below the skin that may se...

The growing interest on the replacement of synthetic antioxidants with natural ones has directed many research toward the plant-derived raw materials. The special attention is focused on inexpensive or residual sources from food agricultural industries. Fruit peels are valuable wastes obtained from domestic and industrial sources. The potential of fruit wastes as sources of natural antioxidants...

To examine the impact of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) as an early marker of ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI) and the effect of prone position during the VILI, we ventilated 28 normal white rabbits (10 supine, 10 prone, 8 controls) for 6 hr or until PaO2/FIO2 ratio was<200 mmHg. We applied an identical injurious ventilatory pattern (peak inspiratory pressure of 35 cmH2O with a PEEP of 3 cmH2...

In this paper, a possible use of white sweet clover (Melilotus albus Med.) for phytoremediation was assessed. The plants were grown on soils with naturally occurring concentrations potentially toxic elements (PTEs). First, the content PTEs determined in plant biomass and soil samples using: (a) Optical emission spectrometry inductively coupled plasma to determine Sb, As, Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, Se, (b)...