[Biological testing of cyclic acetaldehydes and their oxidation products using mollusks]. / Biotestirovanie tsiklicheskikh atsetalei i produktov okisleniia s ispol'zovaniem molliuskov.

Toxicity of cyclic acetaldehyde and the affined compounds was studied in freshwater shellfish Planorbis spirorbis in laboratory conditions. Chronic threshold concentrations of the acetaldehyde appeared to depress the increase in total mass and to lower the content of hemolymph. Functional state of the shellfish cells changed--the share of cell deformations reaches 57%. The phenomena are traced to disorders in hemocytes membrane permeability, changes in cellular composition of hemolymph, decreased share of basophilic and increased share of oxyphilic cells in hemolymph. Thus, studies of toxicity should include both traditional examination and thorough hematologic evaluation.

[The biomonitoring subsystem of the Republic of Bashkortostan for assessing environmental quality]. / Podsistema biomonitoringa Respubliki Bashkortostan dlia otsenki kachestva okruzhaiushchei sredy.

General integrated system evaluates the state of soil, waters and atmosphere through natural biotest organisms and monitors anthropogenic changes in environment. The topics discussed are modern methods of soil, waters and atmosphere monitoring, main parameters for ecologic regulation of toxic chemicals, creation of biomonitoring subsystem in whole ecologic control. Efficiency of studies aimed at creation of biomonitoring subsystem depends on systematic investigations of anthropogenic influence on living creatures and on assessment of integral parameters describing biologic environment and characterizing jeopardy of various polluters.

[The use of ground mollusks in the evaluation of environmental pollution with heavy metals in the city of Ufa]. / Primenenie nazemnykh molluskov dlia otsenki zagriazneniia territorii g. Ufy tiazhelymi metallami.

The authors analyzed soil and cochleae of bush snails in Ufa for heavy metals (Zn, Cu, Pb, Cd) content. Zn and Cu content of the soil exceeds the background levels and approaches the MACs. Pb and Cd content corresponds to their usual content of soil. The coefficients of Zn, Cu, Pb and Cd pass from soil to cochleae of bush snails increase in the row Pb < Zn < Cu < Cd and never outnumber 1.