Changes in some nitrogenous compounds in the blood and tissues of freshwater pikeperch (Sander lucioperca) during salinity acclimation.

The effect of ambient salinity changes (0.9, 6 and 12 psu) on the levels of dissolved ammonia (DA), ninhydrin positive substances (NPS), trimethylamine (TMA) and trimethylamine oxide (TMAO) in the blood and tissue of medium-acclimated Sander lucioperca L. (also Stizostedion lucioperca) were investigated. In freshwater, blood and tissue total free amino acid levels (measured as NPS) were 3.62 mM and 60.61 mM, respectively. The NPS content increased significantly (P<0.05) in the tissue and blood on acclimation to 6 and 12 psu salinities. The mass-specific tissue TMAO concentration of pikeperch acclimated to normal freshwater was 0.413+/-0.084 micromol TMAO g(-1). Results reveal that TMAO levels are positively influenced by the external salinity medium where significant differences in mean levels occurred between the groups (P<0.05). The calculated p[NH(3)] and [NH(4)(+)] gradients reveal that the [NH(3)] gradient was consistently low (cf. the [NH(4)(+)] gradient). The gradient of p[NH(3)] decreased with the medium increased salinities. The results suggest that freshwater pikeperch may be able to resist salinity changes by manipulation of nitrogen metabolism. Free amino acids and TMAO are involved in mediating response to salinity exposure in freshwater pikeperch.

Gas diffusion-flow injection determination of total inorganic carbon in water using tungsten oxide electrode.

A novel gas diffusion-flow injection method has been developed for the rapid and sensitive determination of total inorganic carbon (TIC) in water. The method is based on the diffusion of CO(2) across gas permeable membrane from a donor stream containing 0.1M HCl to an acceptor stream of sodium acetate (10(-5)moll(-1) and pH 10). The CO(2) trapped in the acceptor stream passes through an electrochemical flow cell contains a tungsten oxide wire and a silver/silver chloride electrode, where it was sensitively detected. The parameters affecting the sensitivity of the electrode such as buffer concentration, pH, flow rate and injected volume were studied in detail. The electrode response was linear in the concentration range from 5 to 100mugml(-1) CO(3)(2-) with a correlation coefficient (R(2)) of 0.998. Precision (R.S.D.) was 1.42% for 20mugml(-1) standard solution of CO(3)(2-) (n=10). The detection limit was 0.20mugml(-1) CO(3)(2-). The method was evaluated by the injection of real natural water samples and an average recovery of 100.1% was obtained. The sampling rate was 30 samplesh(-1). The method is simple, feasible with satisfactory accuracy and precision and thus could be used for monitoring TIC in water.

A simple simultaneous flow injection method based on phosphomolybdenum chemistry for nitrate and nitrite determinations in water and fish samples.

A direct spectrophotometric flow injection method for the simultaneous determination of nitrite and nitrate has been developed. The method is based on the oxidation of a phosphomolybdenum blue complex by the addition of nitrite and the decrease in absorbance of the blue complex is monitored at 820 nm. The injected sample is split into two segments. One of the streams was directly reacted with the above reagent and detected as nitrite. The other stream was passed through a copperised cadmium reductor column where reduction of nitrate to nitrite occurs, and the sample was then mixed with the reagent and passed through the cell of the spectrophotometer to be detected as nitrite plus nitrate. The conditions for the flow injection manifold parameters were optimised by experimental design and the concentration of nitrite and nitrate was determined in the linear range from 0.05 to 1.15 mug ml(-1) nitrite and 0.06 to 1.6 mug ml(-1) nitrate with a detection limit of 0.01 mug ml(-1) for nitrite and 0.025 mug ml(-1) for nitrate. The method is suitable for the simultaneous determination of nitrite and nitrate in fish and water samples with a sampling rate of 25+/-2 sample per hour.

[Macro- and microscopic anatomy of the heart conduction system in myocardial infarction]. / Makro- i mikroskopicheskaia anatomiia provodiashchei sistemy pri infarkte miokarda

Morphological and morphometric examinations of the cardiac conduction system (CCS) of subjects who had died in different periods of acute myocardial infarction in the presence of atrioventricular block versus those without conduction disturbances have indicated that the severity of circulatory disorders leading to destructive processes in the ischemic myocardium, as well as involutional processes in its autonomic nerve terminals are essential in the development of functional abnormalities in CCS in myocardial infarction. The more profound the dysfunction of CCS is, the closer it is to the myocardial alteration foci. The altered CCS with the block recorded should be interpreted as its impact of ischemia in the presence of fibrosis and calcinosis of ventricular septal structures.