Transplanted Moss Hylocomium splendens as a Bioaccumulator of Trace Elements from Different Categories of Sampling Sites in the Upper Silesia Area (SW Poland): Bulk and Dry Deposition Impact.

Concentrations of Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, K, Fe, Mn, Pb, V and Zn in transplants of Hylocomium splendens (Hedw.) Schimp. were compared with bulk deposition and dust samples from three different categories of sites: industrial, residential and their surroundings and rural (15 in total). Mosses were transplanted for 90 days to severely polluted areas of Upper Silesia, and samples of precipitation and dust were collected during the same period. Most of the significant correlations between element concentrations in mosses and bulk deposition (Cd, Ni, Pb and Zn) were found for industrial sites. In this study dry deposition carried higher element concentrations than bulk deposition, which may result in the higher passive capture of particulate matter by mosses.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in herbaceous Centaurium erythraea affected by various sources of environmental pollution.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are persistent xenobiotics with harmful effects on humans and wildlife. Their levels in the environment and accumulation in biota must be carefully controlled especially in species harvested from wild populations and commonly used as medicines. Our objective has been to determine PBDE concentrations (BDEs 28, 47, 66, 85, 99, 100, 153, 154, 183 and 209) in Centaurium erythraea collected at sites with various levels of environmental pollution. PBDE congener profiles in C. erythraea were dominated by BDE209, which accounted for 47-89% of the total PBDE burden in the plants. Principal Component and Classification Analysis, which classifies the concentration of PBDEs in C. erythraea, allowed us to distinguish the pattern of these compounds characteristic for the origin of pollution: BDEs 28, 47, 66, 85, 99, 100 for lignite and general chemical industry and the vicinity of an expressway and BDEs 183 and 209 for a thermal power plant and ferrochrome smelting industry. Careful selection of sites with C. erythraea for medicinal purposes is necessary as this herb can accumulate PBDEs while growing at polluted sites.

Expanding the boundaries in the face of global warming: A lesson from genetic and ecological niche studies of Centaurium erythraea in Europe.

Climate change affects plant species, especially those with restricted ecology and distribution. Centaurium erythraea is a flowering plant species in the Gentianaceae family, native to Europe, with its centre of diversity in the Mediterranean and western Asia. Of the 11 infraspecific taxa distinct from C. erythraea, only two are common in Europe: C. erythraea subsp. erythraea (widespread nominal subspecies) and C. erythraea subsp. majus (mainly distributed in the western Mediterranean region). Freshly collected samples of 36 plants from 11 localities across Lower Silesia (Central Europe) were utilised for taxonomic and genetic analysis. The barcode sequences of chloroplast DNA region matK were used for molecular analysis. Data deposited in GenBank was also used. Five haplotypes were identified among the analysed specimens. Species Distribution Modelling (SDM) techniques were applied to predict the current and future (short- and long-term projections) potential distribution of C. erythraea subsp. majus and to identify the most influential climatic factors. Despite the typical Mediterranean distribution, the presence of C. erythraea subsp. majus outside its natural range in SW Poland has been confirmed by morphological and genetic studies. The mean monthly precipitation of the wettest quarter and the mean daily temperatures of the warmest quarter were identified as the key climatic factors. Short-term scenarios suggest that C. erythraea subsp. majus will maintain most of its current suitable habitats and potentially expand into the lowlands of Central Europe. However, long-term projections indicate a potential reduction in its currently suitable areas, especially in the southern parts of its range, with a possible expansion into north-western Europe. The results of these studies provide clear evidence of the impact of ongoing climate change on species range changes. These findings suggest that climate change may create new opportunities for Mediterranean species to spread to new regions, using C. erythraea subsp. majus as an example.

Nuclear analytical techniques used to study the trace element content of Centaurium erythraea Rafn, a medicinal plant species from sites with different pollution loads in Lower Silesia (SW Poland).

Centaurium erythraea (Gentianaceae) is a medicinal plant species with therapeutic potential officially listed in the pharmacopoeias of many European, Asian and American countries. It has had many uses in natural medicine since ancient times and it is collected mostly from wild populations. The aim of this study is to investigate the trace element composition of C. erythraea using instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). The results of the performed investigations show that INAA has proved to be an efficient analytical technique for the determination of trace elements in medicinal plants. The studied plant contains elements important to the human diet and metabolism that are needed for growth, development and the prevention and curing of disease. A comparison with the reference levels of elements for plants shows that the concentrations of most elements in C. erythraea collected from all types of sites exceed those regarded as the reference. Compared to the values of the elements in C. erythraea from rural areas (LP), the concentrations of most of the investigated elements in C. erythraea collected from the lignite basin, urban areas and in the vicinity of the A4 highway (MP) were significantly higher. The results obtained can be used for control and monitoring in the production of pharmaceuticals based on natural medical plants.

Application of a micromembrane chromatography module to the examination of protein adsorption equilibrium.

A micromembrane chromatography module based on a 96-well plate design and enabling fast and simple separation of small amounts of proteins was used for the determination of binding capacities of lysozyme, bovine serum albumin, ovalbumin, bovine γ-globulin, and human immunoglobulin G on a hydrophobic membrane Sartobind® Phenyl. Dependence of the binding capacity of the proteins on the ammonium sulfate concentration was examined in the salt concentration range of 0.5-2.0 mol L(-1). An exponential increase of the binding capacity was observed for all proteins. Simple Langmuir one-component isotherm was found suitable for the characterization of the effect of protein concentration in all cases. A combined effect of protein and salt concentrations was expressed via the Langmuir exponential isotherm and fitted the adsorption data for three of the investigated proteins well.

Metal contents in Centaurium erythraea and its biometry at various levels of environmental pollution.

In this investigation we focus on the influence of pollution on concentration of elements in the medicinal Centaurium erythraea. This herb is collected from wild populations and also provides important information as monitor of environmental quality. Concentrations of Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, N, Ni, P, Pb, V and Zn in Centaurium erythraea and in the soil in which this plant grew were measured together with biometrical features of the species from sites affected by various levels of pollution. C. erythraea from sites polluted by lignite mining and industrial combustion had the highest concentrations of Cd, Co and Zn (principal component and classification analysis, PCCA). C. erythraea from sites influenced by ferrous-chromium and thermal power plants had the highest concentrations of Cr and Fe as well as Cu, Mn and Ni and the highest length of shoots and number of leaves, shoots, nodes, flowers and flowers on the main shoot. These luxurious growth forms were probably related to the highest concentrations of N, P and Fe in the soil and concentrations of N and K accumulated by C. erythraea on these sites as revealed by the established models. Controlling the collection of C. erythraea for medicinal purposes is recommended as this species is able to accumulate increased levels of metals from polluted sites. The medical quality of C. erythraea may be negatively related to the degree and type of pollution of the environment and should not be based on the luxurious growth of individuals which may contain hazardous levels of metals.

Association of PTPN22 single nucleotide polymorphism with rheumatoid arthritis but not with allergic asthma.

PTPN22 gene encodes a lymphoid tyrosine phosphatase (LYP), an important negative regulator of T-cell responses. The 1858C>T (Arg620Trp) single nucleotide polymorphism (rs2476601) was found associated with autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Allergic diseases are similar to autoimmune diseases, by an exaggerated immune response to an antigen (allergen in this case) normally not invoking such response in healthy individuals. We investigated whether polymorphism 1858C>T in PTPN22 gene is associated with susceptibility to allergic asthma and RA in a Polish population. PTPN22 was genotyped in 173 patients with RA, in 198 patients with allergic asthma, and in 543 controls using PCR-RFLP. The patients with RA differed from healthy controls in frequencies of PTPN22 1858C>T alleles (P=0.0004; odds ratio (OR), 1.8; 95% CI, 1.33-2.55) and genotypes (P=0.0009). Strong associations of 1858T allele with RA limited to joints (0.21 vs 0.12, P=0.0002; OR, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.44-3.00), with erosive disease (0.20 vs 0.12, P=0.0003; OR, 1.92; 95% CI, 1.34-2.71), with a lack of rheumatoid factor (RF; 0.23 vs 0.12, P=0.0008; OR, 2.29; 95% CI, 1.44-3.63), and weak association with the presence of RF (0.17 vs 0.12, P=0.02; OR, 1.6; 95% CI, 1.10-2.40) in comparison with healthy controls were observed. Very strong association of 1858T allele (P<0.0001; OR, 2.72; 95% CI, 1.9-3.9) and T phenotype (P<0001; OR, 3.2; 95% CI, 2.1-4.9) with antibodies to cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP) was found. When patients with allergic asthma were typed for PTPN22 1858C>T polymorphism, no difference with control was found. Subdivision of patients into those with mild, moderate, or severe asthma did not reveal any associations. In conclusion, we confirmed associations between several clinical manifestations of RA and PTPN22 1858T allele. However, no association with 1858C>T polymorphism was found for susceptibility to allergic asthma or for severity of the disease.

Trace elements in the Fontinalis antipyretica from rivers receiving sewage of lignite and glass sand mining industry.

Intensive lignite and glass sand mining and industrial processing release waste which may contain elements hazardous to the aquatic ecosystem and constitute a potential risk to human health. Therefore, their levels must be carefully controlled. As a result, we examined the effects of sewage on the aquatic Fontinalis antipyretica moss in the Nysa Luzycka (lignite industry) and the Kwisa Rivers (glass sand industry). The Nysa Luzycka and the Kwisa Rivers appeared to be heavily polluted with As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, V and Zn, which were reflected in the extremely high concentration of these elements in F. antipyretica along the studied watercourses. In the Nysa Luzycka, trace element composition in the moss species is affected by lignite industry with accumulation in its tissues of the highest concentrations of Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn, while samples from the Kwisa sites influenced by glass sand industry revealed the highest concentrations of As, V and Fe. The principal component and classification analysis classifies the concentration of elements in the aquatic F. antipyretica moss, thus enabling the differentiation of sources of water pollution in areas affected by mining industry.

Investigation of physical and hypoglycaemic properties of rectal suppositories with chosen insulin.

Rectal suppositories with insulin Humulin M3 (30/70) were prepared. Witepsol H15 and a polyoxyethyleneglycol mixture, composed of PEG 400, PEG 1000 and PEG 6000, were used as bases. Tween 60 and sodium salicylate were used as auxiliary substances. Hypoglycaemic properties of the prepared suppositories were tested on rabbits. The obtained results were compared with the data acquired after intravenous administration of insulin and subcutaneous injection of insulin.

Investigation of hypoglycemic properties of rectal suppositories with chlorpropamide.

Rectal suppositories with chlorpropamide and suppositories with chlorpropamide in the dispersion system with urea were prepared. Witepsol H15 and H19 and a polyoxyethyleneglycol mixture were used as bases. Rabbits were tested for blood-glucose level. The animals have been administered with prepared suppositories and commercial tablets. It was found that the suppositories prepared on the basis Witepsol H 15 with the dispersed chlorpropamide caused a much higher decrease of blood-glucose level than commercial tablets.