A Comparitive Study of Anticardiolipin Antibodies among Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Patients from Western and Eastern India.

INTRODUCTION: Anti-phospholipid antibodies (APA) like anticardiolipin antibodies (ACA) are important cause of venous and arterial thrombosis and other occlusive vascular diseases. Prevalence of these antibodies in SLE patients at the time of diagnosis is not known in Indian SLE patients. This study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence of ACA in SLE patients from Eastern and Western India and to correlate them with disease activity. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Seventy SLE patients from Assam Medical College, Dibrugarh, Assam and 85 SLE patients from Rheumatology Department, KEM Hospital, Mumbai were studied. SLE disease activity was evaluated by SLE Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI) score at the time of evaluation. All patients studied were in an active stage of disease. RESULTS: Demographic data showed significant variations in the clinical manifestations of SLE between two regions. Renal manifestations were higher (42.9%) among SLE patients from Eastern region as compared with 37.6% patients from Western region. These patients were categorized as Lupus Nephritis (LN) and patients that did not show any renal manifestations were categories as non-LN. ACA to IgG and IgM subclasses were tested by ELISA. IgGACA positivity was 20%, 12.9% and IgM-ACA positivity was 18.6%, 12.9% where asIgG + IgM ACA positivity as found in 12.9%, 3.5% patients respectively among SLE patients from Eastern and Western India. CONCLUSIONS: ACA positivity was higher among LN patients from Eastern India whereas the same was higher among non-LN patients from Western India. Hence detection of ACA alongwith associated clinical manifestations were helpful to evaluate their possible association with disease severity in SLE patients. A long term follow up of patients having ACA antibodies without thrombotic event is needed to detect their possible thrombotic event in future along with their clinical presentation from these two different geographic regions from India.

Selective coal mine overburden treatment with topsoil and compost to optimise pasture or native vegetation establishment.

Overburden at a coal mine in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales, was stored in a flat-topped artificial mound with 14-degree side slopes. Topsoil was scarce, dispersive and readily eroded. A split-plot factorial experiment applied an enhanced municipal solid waste compost at 0, 60 or 100 t ha(-1) to untreated overburden or to overburden covered with 0.1 m of topsoil. Two seeding treatments, of trees and shrubs or of pasture species, were applied to two 0.5-ha replicates of each surface treatment. Substrate physical and chemical properties and vegetation attributes were assessed 2.5 years later. Compost application to both topsoil and overburden significantly increased total N, P, Cu and Zn, soluble K, Ca and Mg, and significantly reduced soluble Na and pH. Mean tree density, size and total canopy cover were significantly greater with compost applied at 60 t ha(-1) to overburden than with all other treatments, especially those on topsoil where tree growth was inhibited by undesired species. Compost application to overburden and topsoil at 100 t ha(-1) significantly increased biomass of desired pasture species and significantly reduced undesired species cover compared with unamended topsoil and the extent of bare ground compared with unamended overburden. Successful development of woody species on overburden and pastures on both overburden and topsoil treated with compost provides opportunities for new combinations of landscape design, surface preparation and plant species introductions to increase the stability of final landforms, the effectiveness of resource use, and the delivery of commercial and biodiversity benefits from mine site rehabilitation.

Rapid quantitative assessment of visible injury to vegetation and visual amenity effects of fluoride air pollution.

Quantitative measures of visible injury are proposed for the protection of the aesthetic acceptability and health of ecosystems. Visible indications of air pollutant injury symptoms can be assessed rapidly and economically over large areas of mixed species such as native ecosystems. Reliable indication requires close attention to the criteria for assessment, species selection, and the influence of other environmental conditions on plant response to a pollutant. The estimation of fluoride-induced visible injury in dicotyledonous species may require techniques that are more varied than the measurement of necrosis in linear-leaved monocotyledons and conifers. A scheme is described for quantitative estimates of necrosis, chlorosis and deformation of leaves using an approximately geometric series of injury categories that permits rapid and sufficiently consistent determination and recognises degrees of aesthetic offence associated with foliar injury to plants.

A new conceptual framework for plant responses to soil metals based on metal transporter kinetic parameters.

Based on a review of the literature, we have developed a functional conceptual framework of plant metal uptake in relation to plant available metal concentration in the soil. This framework applies to all plant parts and plant available metal levels in soils, and was validated using independent datasets from field surveys and the literature. This is the first framework based on metal transporter kinetic parameters and combining Michaelis-Menten (hyperbolic) kinetics facilitated by the High Affinity Transport System (HATS) for soil concentrations below the transition concentration between transport systems, and linear metal uptake facilitated by the Low Affinity Transport System (LATS) for higher soil available metal concentrations. We propose a new terminology for metal tolerant plants, i.e. metal tolerators, based on this framework. Depending on the plant available metal levels in the soil, tolerator responses to metals can be described best by either Vmax and Km for soil concentrations below the transition concentration between metal transport systems (HATS), or by the slope for greater soil concentrations (LATS). This conceptual framework may be a useful tool for selecting suitable metal tolerators for specific phytoremediation purposes, and may be also applied to non-metal elements or ions.

Assessing germination characteristics of Australian native plant species in metal/metalloid solution.

This study investigated tolerance of Australian native grass species Astrebla lappacea, Themeda australis, and Austrostipa scabra and a tree species Acacia harpophylla to different concentrations of arsenic As(V) (13.34-667.36 µM), Cu2+ (0.5-200 µM), Zn2+ (9-500 µM), Mn2+ (8-10240 µM) and Pb2+ (240-9600 µM) in single solutions in germination experiments. Metal/loid tolerance indicators used were maximum germination percentage (Gmax), mean germination time (MGT), radicle and shoot tolerance indexes (RTI & STI). Radicle tolerance index was the most sensitive indicator of metal tolerance in germinating seeds. All native species were highly tolerant to the metal/loids tested, however, they showed different metal toxicity thresholds and levels of tolerance based on RTI as a metal tolerance indicator during germination. Overall, all four species could be classified as metallophytes, confirming their current suitability for and established use in mine site rehabilitation. This work may also serve as a basis for future studies on metal/loid tolerance of other plant species during germination.

Fluoride-induced enhancement and inhibition of shoot growth in four taxa of Pinus.

Pinus elliottii Englem. Var. elliottii (PEE) and three varieties of Pinus caribaca morelet [var. caribaca barr. Et Golf. (PCC), var bahamensisi Barr. et Golf. (PCB) and var. hondurensis (PCH)] were grown at gaseous hydrogen fluoride concentrations of 0.0, 1.2, 1.8 and 4.3 µ F m-3 during a period of 200 d. Extension growth of the mainstem and lateral branches was not significantly affected by fluoride in any taxon. Overbark diameter increment at the stem base was signicantly greater at 1.2 µg F m-3 than at 0, 1.8 or 4.3 µ F m-3 in all taxa, and also near the stem apex in PEE. Only in PEE was the stem base diameter increment lower at 4.3 µ F m-3 than in control plants. Lateral branch diameter increments were not signicantly affected by ambient fluoride concentration. Stem base diameter increments in all taxa linearly related to the rates of photosynthesis I needles 4-8 weeks old.

Photosynthesis in an Australian rainforest tree, Argyrodendron peralatum, during the rapid development and relief of water deficits in the dry season.

Rates of apparent photosynthesis were measured in situ at five positions between the upper crown and a lower branch of a 34 m tall Argyrodendron peralatum (F.M. Bailey) H.L. Edlin ex I.H. Boas tree, and on an understorey sapling of the same species growing in a northern Australian rainforest. At the end of the dry season, rapid reductions in photosynthetic rates occurred in the upper crown within three days after a rain event, but changes in the lower crown and the sapling were less marked. Complete recovery of photosynthesis followed a second rain event. At high photon flux densities, stomatal conductance to water vapour decreased in a curvilinear fashion as the vapour pressure difference between leaf and air increased. Apparent photosynthesis was linearly related to stomatal conductance on the first clear day after each rain event, but there was no relationship between these parameters at the end of a brief natural drying cycle. Under conditions of adequate water supply, stomatal conductances of both upper crown and understorey leaves increased linearly with increasing photon flux density up to about 300 µmol m-2 s-1. During water deficits, stomatal conductances in leaves from the understorey increased much more rapidly at very low photon flux densities than did conductances in leaves from the upper canopy.

Micron-size metal-binding hydrogel particles improve germination and radicle elongation of Australian metallophyte grasses in mine waste rock and tailings.

Metal contamination of landscapes as a result of mining and other industrial activities is a pervasive problem worldwide. Metal contaminated soils often lack effective vegetation cover and are prone to contaminant leaching and dispersion through erosion, leading to contamination of the environment. Metal-binding hydrogel particle amendments could ameliorate mine wastes prior to planting and enhance seedling emergence. In this study, micron-size thiol functional cross-linked acrylamide polymer hydrogel particles (X3) were synthesised and tested in laboratory-scale experiments on phytotoxic mine wastes to determine their capacity to: (i) increase substrate water holding capacity (WHC); (ii) reduce metal availability to plants to below the phytotoxicity threshold; and (iii) enhance germination characteristics and early radicle development of two Australian metallophyte grasses under limiting and non-limiting water conditions. Addition of X3 to mine wastes significantly increased their WHC and lowered toxic soluble metal concentrations in mine waste leachates. Germination percentages and radicle elongation of both grasses in wastes were significantly increased. Highest germination percentages and greater radicle development recorded in X3 amended wastes under water limited conditions suggests that X3 was able to ameliorate metal toxicity to radicles, and provide moisture, which improved the imbibition and consequent germination of the seeds.

Metal-binding hydrogel particles alleviate soil toxicity and facilitate healthy plant establishment of the native metallophyte grass Astrebla lappacea in mine waste rock and tailings.

Soil contaminants are potentially a major threat to human and ecosystem health and sustainable production of food and energy where mineral processing wastes are discharged into the environment. In extreme conditions, metal concentrations in wastes often exceed even the metal tolerance thresholds of metallophytes (metal-tolerant plants) and sites remain barren with high risks of contaminant leaching and dispersion into the environment via erosion. A novel soil amendment based on micron-size thiol functional cross-linked acrylamide polymer hydrogel particles (X3) binds toxic soluble metals irreversibly and significantly reduces their concentrations in the soil solution to below the phytotoxicity thresholds. X3 mixed into the top 50mm of phytotoxic mine waste materials in pots in glasshouse conditions reduced total soluble concentrations of toxic contaminants by 90.3-98.7% in waste rock, and 88.6-96.4% in tailings immediately after application. After 61 days, quality of unamended bottom layer of X3-treated pots was also significantly improved in both wastes. Combination of X3 and metallophytes was more efficient at improving soil solution quality than X3 alone. Addition of X3 to substrates increased substrate water retention and water availability to plants by up to 108% and 98% for waste rock and tailings respectively. Soil quality improvement by X3 allowed successful early establishment of the native metallophyte grass Astrebla lappacea on both wastes where plants failed to establish otherwise.

Metal-binding particles alleviate lead and zinc toxicity during seed germination of metallophyte grass Astrebla lappacea.

Combining metal-binding particles and metal-tolerant plants (metallophytes) offers a promising new approach for rehabilitation of heavy metal contaminated sites. Three types of hydrogel metal-binding polymer particles were synthesized and their effects on metal concentrations tested in vitro using metal ion solutions. The most effective of the tested polymers was a micron-sized thiol functional cross-linked acrylamide polymer which reduced the available solution concentrations of Pb(2+) (9.65 mM), Cu(2+) (4mM) and Zn(2+) (10mM) by 86.5%, 75.5% and 63.8%, respectively, and was able to store water up to 608% of its dry mass. This polymer was not toxic to seed germination. In deionised water, it enhanced seed germination, and at otherwise phytotoxic Pb(2+) (9.65 mM) and Zn(2+) (10mM) concentrations, it allowed normal germination and root elongation of the metallophyte grass Astrebla lappacea. We conclude that the polymer has the potential to facilitate restoration of heavy metal contaminated lands by reducing the concentration of metal cations in the soil solution and improving germination rates through reduced toxicity and enhanced plant water relations.

Photosynthetic characteristics of Flindersia brayleyana and Castanospermum australe from tropical lowland and upland sites.

Photosynthetic responses to temperature, light and carbon dioxide partial pressure were studied in two-year-old Flindersia brayleyana F. Muell. and Castanospermum australe Cunn. & C. Fraser ex Hook. growing on coastal lowland and upland rainforest sites in tropical Queensland, Australia. Climatic conditions ranged from moist and cool (17-19 degrees C) to dry and warm (22-24 degrees C). The optimum temperature for photosynthesis was 23.7-25.6 degrees C for C. australe and 21.2-24.6 degrees C for F. brayleyana. Mean maximum rate of electron transport for each species did not differ between sites but was higher (60-62 &mgr;mol m(-2) s(-1)) in F. brayleyana than in C. australe (42-44 &mgr;mol m(-2) s(-1)). Ribulose-bisphosphate carboxylation rate did not differ significantly between sites or species. Maximum rates of photosynthesis at 1000 &mgr;Pa Pa(-1) CO(2) did not differ significantly between sites for each species, but did differ significantly between species. At 350 &mgr;Pa Pa(-1) CO(2), photosynthetic light use efficiencies of F. brayleyana and C. australe were 0.05 and 0.015, respectively, at the upland site, and the corresponding values at the lowland site were 0.025 and 0.05. In C. australe, these differences were reflected in significantly greater maximum rates of photosynthesis at 350 &mgr;Pa Pa(-1) CO(2) at the lowland site than at the upland site (5.2 versus 3.3 &mgr;mol m(-2) s(-1)).