Impact of shallowly deposited ore-bearing dolomites on local soil pollution aureoles of As, Cd, Pb, and Zn in an old mining area

Purpose

The study area, located in Upper Silesian Industrial Region, was rich in significant amounts of ores that were classified of Mississippi Valley type. Being these ores especially rich in Pb and Zn, an intense development of mining and ore extraction industry was verified in this area. The goal of this study was to investigate how local pollution aureoles of As, Cd, Pb, and Zn were influenced by the presence of shallowly deposited ore-bearing dolomites.

Materials and methods

Very extensive sampling campaign was carried out, and over 1,000 samples were collected in the area of about 150?km². Local aureoles of investigated metals were calculated for two soil layers. The first one covered the part of soil core from the soil surface to the depth of 20?cm and the second one from the depth of 40?cm to the depth of 60?cm. All spatial distributions of particular metals in soil were calculated by means of ordinary kriging using free softwares QGIS and SAGA.

Results and discussion

Maximum concentrations of Pb and Zn in soil in study area were very high, reaching over 24,000 and 77,000?mg/kg, respectively. Maximum concentrations of As and Cd were also very high, reaching about 1,000?mg/kg. Those maximum values were observed in the direct vicinity of the Boles?aw mine and its mine dumps. Almost all local aureoles were located within the range of ore-bearing dolomites. It was especially visible for Pb and Zn, minerals very common in ore deposits. Otherwise, local aureoles of As and Cd were more related with the vicinity of mines and other pollution sources, being more associated to the anthropogenic pollution than to the presence of ore-bearing dolomites.

Conclusions

The aureoles of Pb and Zn, and in moderate degree of As, were associated with a mineral composition of ores. Differently, the location, the shape, and spatial pattern of Cd aureoles suggest that they were mostly influenced by anthropogenic pollution. Anthropogenic factors were dominating over the lithogenic ones and masking the influence of the shallowly deposited ores.     

Comparison of the structure of chinchilla sperm isolated from semen and from the tail of the epididymis

Sperm cells isolated from the tail of the epididymis and from the semen of the same individuals were analysed. The use of silver nitrate to stain sperm cells isolated from the tail of the epididymis made it possible to identify structures that were not visible in the sperm from semen. Silver nitrate very clearly distinguished the acrosomal and distal parts of the sperm head. Following silver nitrate staining, the sperm isolated from the tail of the epididymis were characterized by dark ‘collars’ in the distal part of the head. These ‘collars’ are not visible in the sperm cells isolated from semen. The results of the study indicate differences in the dimensions of sperm isolated from the tail of the epididymis and sperm in semen. Sperm isolated from the tail of the epididymis had smaller heads, despite their longer length, and had longer midpieces and tails than ejaculate sperm. Silver nitrate staining is a simple and fast technique. Silver nitrate makes it possible to identify the acrosome and post-acrosomal region of the sperm head and to clearly identify the midpiece. Therefore, it can be successfully used to supplement routine techniques for evaluating sperm morphology or as an independent technique.     

Pregnancy detection in putatively unmated mink (Mustela vison) by serum progesterone level

The aim of this study was to determine whether blood plasma progesterone is a reliable indicator of pregnancy in mink at an early stage of gestation. We also attempted to establish the threshold value of progesterone as a pregnancy indicator. The analysis was carried out at a production farm on 42 standard female mink aged 1 year, which were grouped both according to the observed success of mating ("mated" and "unmated") and the level of blood serum progesterone measured afterwards ("pregnant" and "nonpregnant"). It was next verified whether a particular female had been assigned to the proper group in the first place. An analysis of accuracy of mating success assessment within the group of unmated females revealed that more than one-third of decisions were wrong, since some females that had been considered unmated ultimately whelped. This suggests that mating supervision by farm workers lacks reliability. A progesterone test for verification of such management decisions should limit the risk of err,or. We suggest that progesterone tests could be carried out using the threshold values 1.9 ng/ml and 20 ng/ml in blood sampled on 25 March and 8 April, respectively, although some level of uncertainty should be taken into account.     

Theory untangles the high-resolution infrared spectrum of the ortho-H2-CO van der Waals complex

Rovibrational spectroscopy of molecules boasts extremely high precision, but its usefulness relies on the assignment of spectral features to corresponding quantum mechanical transitions. In the case of ortho-H(2)-CO, a weakly bound complex abundant in the interstellar medium (although not yet observed there), the rather complex spectrum has been unexplained for more than a decade. We assigned this spectrum by comparison with a purely ab initio calculation. For most lines, agreement to within 0.01 centimeter(-1) between experiment and theory was achieved. Our results show that the applicability of rovibrational spectroscopy can be extended with the assistance of high-accuracy quantum mechanical computations.     

Coding/decoding and reversibility of droplet trains in microfluidic networks

Droplets of one liquid suspended in a second, immiscible liquid move through a microfluidic device in which a channel splits into two branches that reconnect downstream. The droplets choose a path based on the number of droplets that occupy each branch. The interaction among droplets in the channels results in complex sequences of path selection. The linearity of the flow through the microchannels, however, ensures that the behavior of the system can be reversed. This reversibility makes it possible to encrypt and decrypt signals coded in the intervals between droplets. The encoding/decoding device is a functional microfluidic system that requires droplets to navigate a network in a precise manner without the use of valves, switches, or other means of external control.     

Abundance and antibiotic resistance of Aeromonas isolated from the water of three carp ponds

Veterinary Research Communications - Abundance and antibiotic resistance of bacteria of the genus Aeromonas isolated from the water of three carp ponds were studied. The number of those bacteria...     

Nutritional regulation of intestine morphology in larval cyprinid fish, silver bream (Vimba vimba)

The present study includes the evaluation of morphological changes in the digestive tract of larval, stomachless fish silver bream ( Vimba vimba ) fed with various diets – live Artemia nauplii, commercial feed Aglo Norse (NOR) and semi-purified formulated diets: casein–gelatin (CG), dipeptide-protein (50P), dipeptide (100P), no-arginine dipeptide diet (100Pw/oArg) and a free amino acid (FAA) mixture diet. The supranuclear area of enterocytes in the posterior intestine contained enlarged absorptive vacuoles in the FAA, 100P and 100Pw/oArg groups, compared with the remaining groups. Hepatocytes' cytoplasm in fish fed with FAA, 100P and 100Pw/oArg contained mainly glycogen, and no lipid vacuoles were found. Fish fed with 100Pw/oArg showed the lowest hepatocyte surface areas while in those fed with 50P, the largest nuclei diameters were observed. Fish fed with Artemia , NOR and CG diets showed significantly ( P <0.05) higher number of proliferating cells compared with the remaining groups. Chromogranin A staining showed endocrine-immunoreactive cells (CgA-IR) in the taste buds in the oral cavity and in the enterocytes' supranuclear areas of the anterior and posterior intestine. We conclude that the growth rate and histological examination of the digestive tract in the 50P group of silver bream showed no nutritional deficiency.     

Uniform maternal age/size and light restrictions mitigate cannibalism in Clarias gariepinus larvae and juveniles reared under production-like controlled conditions

Individual size, size variability, cannibalism, total mortality and biomass production were studied in Clarias gariepinus in two experiments. In the Experiment 1st (duration 7 weeks) larvae originated from three females 1, 2 and 4 years old (females A, B and C, respectively). Three sibling (AA, BB and CC) and three mixed (AB, AC and BC, 1:1) larval groups were reared at a 12L:12D, 50 lux light regime. Initial individual weight of larvae in the sibling groups was strongly positively related to female age, this was preserved during 7 weeks of rearing. Initial coefficient of variation for weight was moderate in the sibling groups from young females AA and BB (30-33%), whereas it was elevated in the mixed groups (48-79%), especially in the group AC. Cannibalism was the major component of total mortality. Cannibalism in progeny of young females AA, AB and BB was reduced compared to the groups BC, AC and CC. Final biomass of small larvae issued from young females was higher than the final biomass of large progeny of the oldest female because of reduced cannibalism in the former. In a 6 week Experiment 2nd progeny of one female was reared at three light regimes: L (continuous light, 400 lux), N (“normal” 12L:12D, 50 lux) and D (continuous darkness). The final individual weight of fish was the lowest in the L group, highest in the D group, and intermediate in the N group. Final coefficient of variation for weight, cannibalism and total mortality were significantly reduced by light restrictions. The resulting final biomass was the lowest in the L group, intermediate in the N group and the highest in the D group in which it was higher by a factor 3.8 compared to the L group. Based on the results of present work and on literature overview several pathways were identified along which biomass size may be modified in populations of young fish that exhibit cannibalistic propensity. Selection of young female spawners of uniform age, and light restrictions, are recommended to mitigate cannibalism.     

Relationship between fish assemblage and angler catch in the Sulejów Reservoir,central Poland,in the context of a warming climate

The Pilica River has warmed at a rate of 0.06°C per year since 1969, threatening the ecological services provided by the Sulejów Reservoir. Gillnet sampling revealed that the reservoir is inhabited by a cyprinid‐dominated fish assemblage with roach, Rutilus rutilus (L.) (42% of the total biomass), the dominant species. However, the interest of the anglers was primarily focused on common bream, Abramis brama (L.) (almost 65% of the catch), as revealed by the catch statistics (2004–2014). No direct evidence was found that the temperature increase had an influence on the recreational fishery or fish assemblage structure. On the other hand, changes in the fish assemblage that were reflected in angler catch composition were observed. A decrease in the catch of common bream in gillnets was accompanied by a shift in angler choices towards roach and other fish species. The sustainability of recreational fisheries is more likely to be influenced by changes in the economic status of society, water quality (toxic cyanobacteria blooms) and water management practices in Poland. The question arises about which species will dominate in the impoundment in the future if the warming trend continues and common carp, Cyprinus carpio L., stocking is maintained.     

Semen biology of vendace (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Coregonus albula</Emphasis> L.)

The objective of this study was to describe the morphometry and motility parameters of vendace (Coregonus albula) spermatozoa. Morphometric parameters of vendace sperm head and tail were of values similar to rainbow trout. The effects of pH, sodium, potassium and calcium ion concentrations on computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA) sperm motility characteristics were tested. Vendace sperm was motile in a wide pH range of 6.0–10.5 with the optimum pH established at 9.0. Increases in potassium and calcium ions caused decreases in the percentage of motile sperm. The CASA parameters and erratic sperm movement pattern of vendace spermatozoa were similar to whitefish (C. lavaretus) sperm motility, suggesting that there is a coregonid-specific sperm motility pattern.