Reduction of bioavailability and phytotoxicity effect of cadmium in soil by microbial-induced carbonate precipitation using metabolites of ureolytic bacterium Ochrobactrum sp. POC9.

The application of ureolytic bacteria for bioremediation of soil contaminated with heavy metals, including cadmium (Cd), allows for the efficient immobilization of heavy metals by precipitation or coprecipitation with carbonates. Microbially-induced carbonate precipitation process may be useful also in the case of the cultivation of crop plants in various agricultural soils with trace but legally permissible Cd concentrations, which may be still uptaken by plants. This study aimed to investigate the influence of soil supplementation with metabolites containing carbonates (MCC) produced by the ureolytic bacterium Ochrobactrum sp. POC9 on the Cd mobility in the soil as well as on the Cd uptake efficiency and general condition of crop plants (Petroselinum crispum). In the frame of the conducted studies (i) carbonate productivity of the POC9 strain, (ii) the efficiency of Cd immobilization in soil supplemented with MCC, (iii) crystallization of cadmium carbonate in the soil enriched with MCC, (iv) the effect of MCC on the physico-chemical and microbiological properties of soil, and (v) the effect of changes in soil properties on the morphology, growth rate, and Cd-uptake efficiency of crop plants were investigated. The experiments were conducted in soil contaminated with a low concentration of Cd to simulate the natural environmental conditions. Soil supplementation with MCC significantly reduced the bioavailability of Cd in soil with regard to control variants by about 27-65% (depending on the volume of MCC) and reduced the Cd uptake by plants by about 86% and 74% in shoots and roots, respectively. Furthermore, due to the decrease in soil toxicity and improvement of soil nutrition with other metabolites produced during the urea degradation (MCC), some microbiological properties of soil (quantity and activity of soil microorganisms), as well as the general condition of plants, were also significantly improved. Soil supplementation with MCC enabled efficient Cd stabilization and significantly reduced its toxicity for soil microbiota and plants. Thus, MCC produced by POC9 strain may be used not only as an effective Cd immobilizer in soil but also as a microbe and plant stimulators.

[Irrational use of drugs as a source of drug - induced diseases]. / Nieracjonalne stosowanie leków w pediatrii jako przyczyna chorób polekowych.

The irrational use of medication, by which we understand the administration of drugs for indications where their effectiveness has not been confirmed, the disregard of restrictions and warnings against their use, and the use of drug combinations which do not increase the therapeutic effect but to the contrary increase the risk of adverse drug reactions, is a serious problem encountered in paediatric pharmacotherapy. Each year the centres for monitoring of adverse drug reactions receive many reports, the analysis of which show that the reasons of occurrence of adverse drug reactions after drug administration, are specifically due to irrational use of medications. In order to prevent in an active way the occurrence, of adverse drug reactions following drug administration it is worthwhile to bring to attention the reasons for their occurrence which not infrequently bring about pathological effects. Our work which is based on reports received by the Regional Centre for Adverse Drug Reactions Monitoring in Krakow concerning the occurrence of adverse drug reactions in an attempt to bring to attention in our view important problems in current pharmacotherapy.

Simvastatin effects in normo- and hypercholesterolaemic patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease: a pilot study.

Improvement of endothelial function caused by statin treatment is not related to lowering of the cholesterol levels but results primarily from statin pleiotropic effects. Accordingly, we designed a pilot study in 10 normocholesterolaemic and 10 hypercholesterolaemic patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease to investigate potential biological effects of statins in relation to their effects on endothelial function. The patients were treated with simvastatin 40 mg/daily for 3 months. Simvastatin led to significant reduction in total cholesterol and trigliceride levels in normocholesterolaemic and hypercholesterolaemic patients. Elongation of pain-free and total walking distance was observed in both groups studied. Inconsiderable changes in rest ankle brachial index were seen. Flow-mediated dilation increased in normocholesterolaemic group by 153% and in the hypercholesterolaemic group by 180% after 3 months of treatment. Euglobulin clot lysis time was shortened significantly in both groups each time after drug intake. Platelet aggregates ratio was increased in normocholesterolaemic patients by 8.9% and in hypercholesterolaemic patients by 17.6% each time after intake and remained significantly increased during the observation after 1 and 3 months. Simvastatin inhibited platelet aggregation induced by collagen and ADP in both study groups 3 hr after intake, but the platelets of hypercholesterolaemic patients were less sensitive to these aggregatory agents after 3 months of treatment. Simvastatin therapy caused clinical improvement in normocholesterolaemic and hypercholesterolaemic patients with peripheral occlusive disease. It is suggested that this effect is due to the restoration of endothelial function.