FLUORINE IN SOILS, PLANTS, AND ANIMALS

Elements mainly derived from soil in inorganic form are known as mineral elements. The three main sources of nutrients for plants are air, water, and soil. Elements obtained from air are known as non-mineral elements, such as carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen. Irrigation water is also a source of mineral elements from dissolved salts, mainly NaCl, Na2SO4, NaHCO3, MgSO4, CaSO4, CaCl2, KCl, and K2SO4. The third environmental source of nutrition for autotrophic plants is soil. Figure 2.1 shows the relative distribution of various elements in the earth’s crust, most of which are required for plant growth. Of these, oxygen constitutes about 46.5%, copper being 0.01%, and zinc, nickel, and selenium are present in traces. The relative percentage of some of the well-known macronutrients required for plant growth (calcium, potassium, magnesium, and phosphorus) is in the range of 3.6–0.12%. Phosphorus is the least abundant among the four elements. Among macroelements, nitrogen is the most abundant (44%) followed by potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and sulfur. Iron is the most abundant (51%) microelement followed by manganese, boron, zinc, and copper. Mineral elements are essentially used in the synthesis of a variety of important organic compounds. They also play a variety of roles as ions or as components of inorganic compounds (Table 2.1). Mineral nutrients continually cycle through all living organisms. However, they enter biosphere primarily through the roots. Elemental composition of plants reflects the composition of soil. In soil, more than 60 elements are present, but not all are absorbed by the plants. At the same time, many of the ions absorbed by the plants remain in ionic state inside the cells for an indefinite period. Many of these ions are incorporated either into the structure of more complex molecules, such as storage proteins, calcium oxalate, glycosides, etc., or into the protoplasm or cell walls. Some mineral elements are utilized in one organ of a plant and get subsequently released by disintegration of cellular constituents. These are further translocated to other organs of the plant for reutilization. Redistribution of minerals which have accumulated in cells but have not been actually utilized is also common in plants. Plants have the ability to accumulate essential elements and exclude nonessential elements. Some minerals are required in minute quantities, e.g., plant requires 60 million times less molybdenum than hydrogen (Box 2.1). Such minute quantities could not be detected by the crude methods which were used earlier. In addition to seven ash elements (the incombustible fraction of plant tissue), all elements which are required in large quantity (except for iron) are now known as macronutrients. There is another group of minerals, the micronutrients, needed in only minute quantities. It includes molybdenum, copper, zinc, manganese, boron, chlorine, and nickel.

Micronutrients in Parenteral Nutrition: Boron, Silicon, and Fluoride

Analytical evaluation of a cup-horn sonoreactor used for ultrasound-assisted extraction of trace metals from troublesome matrices

The presence of antinutrients and toxic substances in vegetables limits the derivable benefits from vegetables. The levels of these substances in vegetables are influenced by the nature of soil in which the vegetables are grown. The effect of applied nitrogen fertilizer on the levels of some antinutrients and toxic substances is investigated with a view to determine the appropriateness or otherwise of the application of nitrogen fertilizer in growing vegetables. Pot experiments were conducted to determine the effect of soil nitrogen levels on soluble and total oxalates, cyanide, nitrate and some micronutrients namely, vitamin C, β-carotene (precursor of vitamin A) and mineral elements (Fe, Mg, Zn, Cu, Ca, Na and K) in Hibiscus sabdariffa. The leaves of the vegetable were harvested and analysed at market maturity (vegetative phase) and fruiting (reproductive phase) of the plant development. Results obtained showed that the applied nitrogen fertilizer significantly elevated nitrate and β-carotene contents, while it decreases the levels of vitamin C, soluble and total oxalates in the vegetable. The levels of cyanide and mineral elements were not significantly affected by the applied nitrogen fertilizer.

Stresses increasing the load of unfolded proteins that enter the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) trigger a protective response termed the unfolded protein response (UPR). Stromal cell-derived factor2 (SDF2)-type proteins are highly conserved throughout the plant and animal kingdoms. In this study we have characterized AtSDF2 as crucial component of the UPR in Arabidopsis thaliana. Using a combination of biochemical and cell biological methods, we demonstrate that SDF2 is induced in response to ER stress conditions causing the accumulation of unfolded proteins. Transgenic reporter plants confirmed induction of SDF2 during ER stress. Under normal growth conditions SDF2 is highly expressed in fast growing, differentiating cells and meristematic tissues. The increased production of SDF2 due to ER stress and in tissues that require enhanced protein biosynthesis and secretion, and its association with the ER membrane qualifies SDF2 as a downstream target of the UPR. Determination of the SDF2 three-dimensional crystal structure at 1.95 A resolution revealed the typical beta-trefoil fold with potential carbohydrate binding sites. Hence, SDF2 might be involved in the quality control of glycoproteins. Arabidopsis sdf2 mutants display strong defects and morphological phenotypes during seedling development specifically under ER stress conditions, thus establishing that SDF2-type proteins play a key role in the UPR.

Organisms synthesize saccharides for carbohydrates, amino acids for proteins, fatty acid for lipids and nucleotides for nucleic acids for the basic molecules. Recently, carbohydrates have been recognized as the 3rd life chain molecule in eukaryotic cells. One of the biggest differences between the plant and animal kingdom would be the existence of the 9-carbon monosaccharide, sialic acid or N-acetylneuraminic acids (Neu5Ac) (Figure 1). Even some enterobacterial species produce the sialic acids, although their origins are postulated to be probably derived from the bacteria-host interactions during long evolution. Some sialic acid-like saccharides such as legionaminic acid were also found in bacteria. The interesting point will be then what is the motivation of the acquisition of the 9-carbon sialic acid from the carbohydrate biosynthesis and functional distribution of these animals and bacteria. This fundamental question is linked to the paradoxical question why do not the plants contain the sialic acids? Interestingly, these two organisms of bacterial and animals can move to place to place as the behavioral characters, where the process is indeed called “biological adaptation” or “evolution”. The organism’s movement process needs their consideration, thought, memory, learning and education, as these processes are specialized for the mobile organisms. Actually the contents of sialic acids of human brain is the most highest among those of the current organisms through all the animals, as human is the mostly evolved organism. The more the content of sialic acids is high the more the organism is evolved. Then the sialic acids are thought to be the movement-related molecules. How do the molecules play their roles in cells, tissues, organs, and organisms If the sialic acids are such functional? The prospective answer will be based on the molecular interactions of the sialic acids and their counterparts in each specific cell or site of each organism [1-3]. Biological functionof Sialic Acids

A rose may still smell like a rose, but Juliet missed the point. The utility of taxonomic nomenclature lies the wealth of biological information that it conveys. This biological information is based on relatedness, and the post-Darwinian era relatedness is usually meant the genealogical sense. However, the fascination with nomenclature goes beyond this, for nomenclature is tempered by a curious amalgamation of pragmatism, priority, prejudice, sociology, and occasionally even humor. The division between the plant and animal kingdoms would appear to be the most basic taxonomic division. Yet, early workers realized the difficulties associated with classifying organisms that had characteristics of plants as well as animals, such as mobile photosynthetic organisms, and attached or otherwise sessile carnivores. Aristotle had conveyed this sense of taxonomic futility by pointing out that in the sea, there are certain objects concerning which one would be at a loss to determine whether they be animal or vegetable (Aristotle 1941:635). With the discovery of microbes, the class of taxonomically ambiguous organisms broadened. Still, taxonomists seemed more comfortable making what some admitted were arbitrary taxonomic decisions rather than challenging the plant/animal dichotomy. Then, within a decade, five workers from both sides of the Atlantic proposed the erection of another kingdom: Richard Owen (1859, 1860, 1861) designated it the Protozoa, John Hogg (1860) designated it the Regnum Primigenum (Protoctista), Thomas B. Wilson and John Cassin (1863) designated it the Primalia, and Ernst Haeckel (1866) designated it the Protista. It is only within the last twenty years, however, that the use of a separate kingdom has been widely adopted. This paper focuses on the uneasy taxonomic and phylogenetic position of the unicellular eukaryotes with respect to the animal and plant kingdoms. The emphasis will be on these early proposals for a separate kingdom and the responses they elicited.

Clinical literature carries records of well authenticated cases in which noteworthy amounts of inositol, ranging sometimes from 15 to 20 gm. daily, have been excreted in the urine of man. This substance, more commonly referred to as inosite, was once thought to be a carbohydrate because its empiric formula, C₆H₁₂O₆, corresponds closely with that of familiar sugars. It is now known, however, to be a member of the cyclose group with the formula of a hexahydrocyclohexane, C₆H₆(OH)₆, which appears to be a constituent of both animal and vegetable tissues. The plant component known as phytin is the salt of a compound of inositol and phosphoric acid. In view of the wide distribution of such substances and their presumable inclusion in many articles of diet, the appearance of inositol in animal tissues and excretions has naturally been attributed to the dietary

The gut contents of nine genera of benthic Chironominae and Tanypodinae from the Middle Paraná River floodplain habitats (a lake and a secondary channel) were analyzed to determine their feeding patterns and functional feeding groups. Amorphous detritus, animal and vegetal tissues, and mineral materials (predominantly sand) were observed in the larval guts. Amorphous detritus were the main food item found for Polypedilum (Tripodura) sp., Chironomus gr. decorus sp., Endotribelos sp., Phaenopsectra sp., Cladopelma sp., and Pelomus sp. (Chironominae), while animal tissues (mainly oligochaetes) were the most important food item found for Ablabesmyia (Karelia) sp., Coelotanypus sp., and Procladius sp. (Tanypodinae). Dietary overlap was calculated for all pairs of genera. Within predators, the highest overlap was obtained between Coelotanypus sp. and Ablabesmyia (Karelia) sp., while within detritivores the highest niche overlap was obtained between Endotribelos sp. and Phaenopsectra sp.

It has been revealed that excessive fluoride intake on long-term is associated with toxic effects and can damage a variety of organs and tissues in the human body, for example, the liver tissue. The molecular mechanisms of fluoride-induced hepato-toxicity are not well understood. The study wants to offer up-to-date insights concerning the effects of natrium fluoride on hepatic tissues when this substance is administrated to a population of mice. The study was conducted on NMRI mice descending from the pregnant females treated with 0.25 mg and 0.5 mg natrium fluoride by daily gavage, from the beginning of pregnancy until the lactation was ceased. Then, the mice, males and females, were divided in six groups, three groups descending from the pregnant females treated with 0.5 mg natrium fluoride (Groups 1A, 1B and 1C ) and three groups from the pregnant females with 0.25 mg natrium fluoride (Groups 2D, 2E and 2F). From the moment the lactation is finished until adulthood, the animals received the following treatments: homeopathic (a CH7 solution of natrium fluoride – Groups A and D), allopathic-homeopathic (0.25 mg‰ natrium fluoride administered like drinking water ad libitum and CH7 solution of natrium fluoride – Group E; 0.5 mg‰ natrium fluoride administered like drinking water ad libitum and CH7 solution of natrium fluoride – Group B), and allopathic administration of natrium fluoride (0.25 mg‰ natrium fluoride like drinking water ad libitum – Group F; 0.5 mg‰ natrium fluoride like drinking water ad libitum – Group C). When the males reached adulthood, the administration of natrium fluoride was stopped and, by randomization, they were selected for euthanasia. The euthanasia was realized by cervical dislocation. The testes for the histopathological examination were preserved in a 10% formalin solution. The preparation of samples for optical microscopy was realized with Hematoxylin-Eosin staining. The results indicate that natrium fluoride administered in different doses, even in homeopathic dose or in allopathic-homeopathic dose, determined centrolobular vacuolar dystrophy of hepatic tissue, cariomegalia, granulovacuolar dystrophy, centrolobular hyperemia centrolobular degenerescences of hepatocytes and discreet centrolobular apoptosis.

Weight gain during the menopause transition: Evidence for a mechanism dependent on protein leverage.

SummaryEvidence is presented to show that both the quality and quantity of food available to a buffalo population falls below the minimum maintenance requirements of that population at certain times of the year. In the Serengeti grasslands there was a shortage of the only good quality component, grass leaf, in the dry season, with the result that the animals consumed an increasing proportion of poor quality food such as grass stem. By the end of the dry season the diet had dropped in quality below the minimum maintenance level. In areas such as Mt. Meru where there was a more continuous growing season, the high density of animals kept the standing crop of leaf at a low level. During the cooler dry season the growth of leaf became insufficient in quantity for the maintenance requirements of the population. These two quite different situations suggested that food shortage was a more general phenomenon in eastern Africa.Various measurements of feeding behaviour were made. Total grazing time per 24 h did not differ between seasons but ruminating time may have increased as the season became drier and could have been a response to the more fibrous food. Analysis for cycles of activity showed that there was more temporal organization during the dry season. These changes in activity cycles appeared to be related to the increase in energy expenditure produced by heat stress and sweating. Old animals with poor teeth did not compensate for the poor food supply by changing their feeding behaviour.There was a positive relationship between annual rainfall and mean crude density in different areas of eastern Africa, indicating that regulation was taking place. Since rainfall determined the amount of available food, it could have operated through the food supply. On a finer scale it was found that the extent of the preferred riverine habitats was also related to density. Thus rainfall, the extent of riverine habitat and perhaps soil moisture were three limiting factors that determined mean density and all could have taken effect through the food supply.As a result of initial selective grazing the amount of available leaf declined as the dry season progressed to the extent that by the end of the season the proportion of this component in the diet fell to a very low level. The impact of the population on its limited food supply indicated that intra‐specific competition was acting as the cause of regulation. Measurements of wildebeest eating the same food in the same habitats as buffalo showed that inter‐specific competition was also taking place. A small proportion (7“) of the wildebeest population could have reduced the buffalo population by approximately 18o,‘, from its potential population size.The buffalo population in the Serengeti was regulated by adult mortality which was caused by undernutrition as a result of food shortage. This food shortage was caused by intra‐ and inter‐specific competition. The effect of predation and disease was to hasten the response of the population to changes in the food supply. The limiting factors determining the mean level of the available food were, amongst others, rainfall, soil moisture and the extent of the preferred riverine habitat. The effect of interspecific competition could result in a complex regulation of populations through their food supply. There appears to be no foundation for hypotheses which invoke over‐utilization or damage as a consequence of regulation through food.

Objective To evaluate the dietary nutritional of Chinese Elite male young soccer player through the knowledge, attitude, behavior (KAP) survey and an adjusted dietary balance index （DBI）.
 Methods Explored the dietary nutritional status of 30 Chinese Elite male young soccer players through the knowledge, attitude, behavior (KAP) survey. Diet status of 30 Chinese Elite male young soccer players was collected by food-weighing method. The dietary index of DBI-low bound score（LBS），DBI-high bound score （HBS） and DBI-diet quality distance （DQD） in the adjusted DBI-07 system and nutrient analysis were used to evaluate the dietary quality of athletes.
 Results The average score of nutrition knowledge (general nutrition and sports nutrition knowledge) in the KAP questionnaire of Chinese Elite young players was 16.90±2.49, and the average score of nutritional attitude was 14.07±2.27. The mean score of the dietary behavior was 39.67±2.65. The total score average was 70.63±4.58.The results of the dietary intake survey showed that the percentage of calorie intake of Chinese Elite male young soccer players who eat three meals a day and snacks were 24.19%, 34.93%, 27.43%, and 13.45%. The proportion of energy intake of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins to total energy were 54.93%, 32.18%, and 11.53%, respectively. The results of the dietary quality survey showed that the median score of LBS of Chinese Elite male young soccer players was 21, the proportion of players with low level of intake was 83.3%, and the proportion of people with moderate and high levels of inadequacy was 16.7%. The median of HBS was 7.5,90.0% of players had low levels of dietary intake in excess, and 10.0% of players had moderate levels of dietary intake in excess. The median of DQD was 34.5. Among the players, 46.7% of athletes have low-level dietary imbalances, and 53.3% of players had moderate-to-high-level dietary imbalances.
 Conclusions The score of nutritional attitudes and dietary behaviors of 30 Chinese elite male young soccer players are relatively better than that of nutrition knowledge. Young soccer players have unreasonable dietary behaviors. Excessively intake too much fat in the three major nutrients and snacks.The intake of protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, iron and zinc was inadequate .In terms of dietary intake, most players have high-level dietary imbalances, and players have inadequate dietary intake and excessive dietary intake.

Summary. The variation of the chromosome number within a systematic group obeys fixed laws. These laws seem to be different in the plant and animal kingdoms. Polyploidy plays a major part in the plant kingdom; it is rare in the animal kingdom. Fragmentation of the chromosomes is frequent in the animal kingdom, and it is this which constitutes the principal method of evolution of the chromosome garnitures. In many cases all the elements of the chromosome garniture are divided simultaneously each into two fragments, so that the number of chromosomes is doubled. The arrangement resulting from this process of fragmentation strikingly brings to mind the arrangement brought about by polyploidy. Several examples of this are given in Section IV. The augmentation of the chromosome number seems nearly always to go along with the evolution and the specialization of the phylum. Most of the cases in which compound heterochromosomes have been observed, made up of two or more distinct elements, are met with in forms in which there has occurred a bipartition of the whole or of the greater part of the chromosome stock. This shows that the process of fragmentation relates both to the heterochromosomes and to the autosomes. The heterochromosomes usually react en bloc after the manner of a single element, but exceptions exist (Tegenaria domestica). Dimcious polyploids, in animals and plants alike, are rare. The list of known cases is given in Section III. (a). Among unbalanced polyploids, triploids in particular, one of the sexes (the heterozygous sex) is intersexual or sterile. However, exceptions to this rule exist (Trichoniscus elisabethæ, Antennaria carpathica), which are a sign of the appearance of the process of stabilization. The method of disjunction of the sex genes is particularly interesting to follow in polyploids:— Very rarely the segregation occurs according to the laws of chance. This is met with only among some experimental polyploids (Sphærocarpus Donnellii). Very generally segregation does not follow laws of chance, but it has been proved that certain types of segregation are favoured compared with others (Rumex acetosa, Drosophila). These cases are understandable for, by a progressive regulation, the recent polyploids have been able to produce stabilized polyploids of the type of those which make up natural species, and among which the distribution of the sexes occurs absolutely regularly. Disjunction appears in certain polyploids quite regularly (Empetrum hermaphroditum); this is an example of perfect regulation. The most extreme case of regulation is that in which the polyploids possess only one pair of heterochromosomes. Several explanations which are able to account for these conditions are given.

You have accessMoreSectionsView PDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail Cite this article Macallum Archibald Byron 1898VIII. On the detection and localisation of Phosphorus in animal and vegetable tissues.Proc. R. Soc. Lond.63412http://doi.org/10.1098/rspl.1898.0143SectionYou have accessPaper readVIII. On the detection and localisation of Phosphorus in animal and vegetable tissues. Archibald Byron Macallum Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for more papers by this author Archibald Byron Macallum Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for more papers by this author Published:01 January 1898https://doi.org/10.1098/rspl.1898.0143"VIII. On the detection and localisation of Phosphorus in animal and vegetable tissues.." Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, 63(389-400), p. 412FootnotesThis text was harvested from a scanned image of the original document using optical character recognition (OCR) software. As such, it may contain errors. Please contact the Royal Society if you find an error you would like to see corrected. Mathematical notations produced through Infty OCR. Previous ArticleNext Article VIEW FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD PDF FiguresRelatedReferencesDetails This Issue31 December 1898Volume 63Issue 389-400 Article InformationDOI:https://doi.org/10.1098/rspl.1898.0143Published by:Royal SocietyPrint ISSN:0370-1662Online ISSN:2053-9126History: Published online01/01/1997Published in print01/01/1898 License:Scanned images copyright © 2017, Royal Society Citations and impact