Adsorption of Cd, Cu, Ni and Zn in tropical soils under competitive and non-competitive systems

The adsorption of heavy metals in soils affects their behavior in the environment and their bioavailability to plants. The knowledge of the adsorption mechanisms in competitive systems allows a more realistic evaluation of the metals' behavior in the soil than the single metal adsorption. The objectives of this study were (i) to evaluate Cd, Cu, Ni, and Zn adsorption in 14 surface samples (0-0.2 m) of representative soils of the Brazilian humid-tropical region, in competitive and non-competitive systems, and (ii) to establish metal affinity sequences for each soil, based in the maximum adsorption capacity (MAC) estimated by the Langmuir model. The Rhodic Eutrudox, the Kandiudalf Eutrudox, the Arenic Hapludalf, the Arenic Hapludult and the Typic Argiudoll had the highest metals' adsorption capacity, whereas the Typic Quartzipsamment and the sandy-textured Arenic Hapludult had the lowest values. In general, the MAC values for metals were lower in the competitive than in the non-competitive system. In the non-competitive system, the most common affinity sequence was Cu > Zn > Ni > Cd, whereas the most common sequence was Cu > Cd > Zn > Ni in the competitive system. In general, the Langmuir model fitted well the adsorption data of metals on the studied soils.A adsorção de metais pesados em solos afeta seu comportamento e biodisponibilidade às plantas. O conhecimento dos mecanismos de adsorção em sistemas competitivos permite uma avaliação mais realista do comportamento dos metais no solo do que estudos com adsorção de cada metal, isoladamente. Os objetivos desse trabalho foram: (i) avaliar a adsorção de Cd, Cu, Ni e Zn em amostras superficiais (0-0,2 m) de 14 solos representativos da região tropical úmida, em sistema competitivo e não-competitivo, e (ii) estabelecer sequências de afinidade metálica para cada solo, com base nos valores de capacidade máxima de adsorção (CMA) dos metais estimados por meio do modelo de Langmuir. O Rhodic Eutrudox, o Kandiudalfic Eutrudox, o Arenic Hapludalf (Alf2), o Arenic Hapludult (Ult2) e o Typic Argiudoll apresentaram elevadas capacidades de adsorção dos metais, ocorrendo o inverso para o Typic Quartzipsamment e para o Arenic Hapludult textura arenosa. No geral, a CMA dos metais aos solos foi menor no sistema competitivo. A sequência de afinidade mais comumente encontrada no sistema não-competitivo foi Cu > Zn > Ni > Cd. No sistema competitivo, a sequência foi Cu > Cd > Zn > Ni. Em geral, o modelo de Langmuir simulou de maneira satisfatória a adsorção dos metais nas amostras de solo

Mesenchymal stem cells from patients with chronic myeloid leukemia do not express BCR-ABL and have absence of chimerism after allogeneic bone marrow transplant

Bone marrow is a heterogeneous cell population which includes hematopoietic and mesenchymal progenitor cells. Dysregulated hematopoiesis occurs in chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), being caused at least in part by abnormalities in the hematopoietic progenitors. However, the role of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in CML has not been well characterized. The objectives of the present study were to observe the biological characteristics of MSCs from CML patients and to determine if MSCs originate in part from donors in CML patients after bone marrow transplantation (BMT). We analyzed MSCs from 5 untreated patients and from 3 CML patients after sex-mismatched allogeneic BMT. Flow cytometry analysis revealed the typical MSC phenotype and in vitro assays showed ability to differentiate into adipocytes and osteoblasts. Moreover, although some RT-PCR data were contradictory, combined fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis showed that MSCs from CML patients do not express the bcr-abl gene. Regarding MSCs of donor origin, although it is possible to detect Y target sequence by nested PCR, the low frequency (0.14 and 0.34%) of XY cells in 2 MSC CML patients by fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis suggests the presence of contaminant hematopoietic cells and the absence of host-derived MSCs in CML patients. Therefore, we conclude that MSCs from CML patients express the typical MSC phenotype, can differentiate into osteogenic and adipogenic lineages and do not express the bcr-abl gene. MSCs cannot be found in recipients 12 to 20 months after BMT. The influence of MSCs on the dysregulation of hematopoiesis in CML patients deserves further investigation

A PRND polymorphism in Churra do Campo portuguese sheep breed

Prion-like Doppel gene (PRND) is located downstream from priori protein gene (PRNP). Doppel protein is not related to prion disease but to male fertility. Our previous analysis of PRND coding region in 460 animals from 8 Portuguese sheep breeds, by multiple restriction fragment-single strand conformation polymorphism (MRFSSCP), revealed a synonymous substitution (78G>A). An association was found between identified PRND polymorphism and PRNP genotypes, determined by primer extension and grouped into 5 grades of increasing scrapie susceptibility-R1 to R5: PRND was monomorphic (GG) in animals with most resistant ARR/ARR PRNP genotype-R1; higher frequency of heterozygotes (GA) was significantly associated with ARQ/AHQR4. Therefore, EU selection programme to eradicate scrapie in sheep, based on PRNP genotypes, may reduce genetic diversity, with hypothetical repercussions on reproduction. The aim of current work was to evaluate 78G>A PRND polymorphism in highly endangered Churra do Campo Portuguese sheep breed. From a total of 73 animals analysed (16 R1, 36 R3, 18 R4, 3 R5), 72 were GG and 1 GA, the later being ARQ/ARQ (R4). Low incidence of PRND polymorphic variants in this breed may be explained by mating involving small number of related animals, and particular differences in distribution of PRNP genotypes