The Possibility of Using Endophytic Micromycetes for Increasing Plant Metal Resistance

The aim of this research was to study the effect of inoculation with the Cylindrocarpon magnusianum endotrophic micromycete on the physiological and biochemical parameters of tomato test plants under the action of heavy metal salts. The plants were inoculated with the fungus culture (control population) and populations of this fungus preliminarily adapted to the action of the stress factor. Then, inoculated plants were grown under control conditions and on substrates with different concentrations of heavy metal salts (zinc, copper, lead and chromium). After the plants were inoculated with the control population of the C. magnusianum fungus, a stimulating effect increasing the plants’ resistance to the action of the heavy metal salts was not detected. When the plants were inoculated with adapted populations of the C. magnusianum fungus, adaptive reactions of the plants associated with the content of photosynthetic pigments in the leaves and the formation of plant biomass were significantly manifested. Under these conditions, a more intense development of fungal infection in plant roots was observed in contrast to the use of the control fungal population. These findings therefore demonstrated an effective partnership between the C. magnusianum fungus and the root system of plants under extreme conditions for plant life. Keywords: Cylindrocarpon magnusianum, micromycetes, heavy metals, inoculation, biochemical indicators

How Impurities Responsible for Recalls Emerge in Hand Sanitizers

The global pandemic has created an unprecedented demand for alcohol-based hand sanitizers. This stimulated the entry of many new producers of hand sanitizers, both to provide a new business during the general shutdowns, and to meet the needs of society. Similarly, this created a need for alcohol sources well beyond what had been produced for the consumer market. This has led to numerous recalls of formulations in both the United States and Canada for exceeding the limits of several key impurities, arising from oxidized forms of alcohols, that could risk consumers’ health. Some of these recalls likely arise from the use of substandard ingredients, but others are less easily explained. However, the inclusion of hydrogen peroxide, and the possibly introduction of metal salts from processing could explain the levels of oxidative impurities. This study investigates these questions experimentally using the standard WHO formula as the base formulation, and finds that these impurities do readily arise in the presence of metal salts.

Stabilization of Dicalcium Silicate-Zn Composite Approaching Layered Double Hydroxide Structure for Bioactive Cement Applications

Layered Double Hydroxide (LDH) is ionic clay that is characterized by the union of metal cations and OH- hydroxides. LDH composites exhibit considerably high releasing and recharging capacity and have applications as bioactive cements. They can be prepared by direct co-precipitation of metal salts at controlled pH. The preparation is carried out from an acid solution of Zn (NO3)2.6H2O, Al (NO3)3.9H2O and a basic solution of Na2CO3 and NaOH, with a Zn/Al ratio = 3, the pH is stabilized between 9 and 9.5 at a constant temperature of 45°C. The objective of this study is to incorporate Zinc and Aluminum elements at different percentages in dicalcium silicate phase to produce C2S phase incorporating LDH composite. The characterizations of the developed phases by XRD and SEM indicate the formation of stoichiometric LDH phases Zn6Al2(OH)16CO3.4H2O and non-stoichiometric Zn0.61Al0.39 (OH)2(CO3)0.195.xH2O, the incorporation of Zn in the belitic C2S phase and not Al. The obtained micrographs by SEM(EDAX) analysis show new morphology of the stabilized composite.

Bulking up CpBIG: A Penta-Terphenyl Cyclopentadienyl Ligand

The modification of cyclopentadienyl ligands with carefully selected substituents is a widely used strategy to tune their steric and electronic properties. We describe the synthesis of an extremely bulky penta-terphenyl cyclopentadienyl ligand (CpT5) by arylation of cyclopentadiene. Deprotonation reactions with various group 1 metals and bases afforded a complete series of alkali metal salts MCpT5 with M = Li to Cs. The compounds were isolated as solvate-free salts, which were characterized by multinuclear NMR spectroscopy, UV-vis spectroscopy and elemental analysis. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies on LiCpT5, NaCpT5 (crystallized as a solvate with one THF molecule per formula unit) and KCpT5 revealed the formation of metallocene-like sandwich structures in the solid state.

Alkaline Metal and Alkaline Earth Metal Salts of Di(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)Methanone (DTO): Energetic Catalysts for Ammonium Perchlorate Decomposition

To explore novel coordination complexes for promising energetic materials, alkaline metal (Na+ (1), Na+ (2), K+ (3), and Rb+ (4)) and alkaline earth metal (Mg2+ (5), Ca2+ (6), and Sr2+...

Morphofunctional State of the Mature Rats Pituitary Gland under Readaptation Conditions to the Long Influence of Heavy Metal Salts Complex and Correction with L-Tocopherol

The purpose of the study was to study the morphofunctional rearrangements of the structural components of the adenohypophysis of sexually mature male rats under the condition of a 30-day period of readaptation to the long-term influence of salts of heavy metals (zinc, copper, iron, manganese, lead and chromium) and taking a corrector drug. Materials and methods. The experiment was carried out on 24 white sexually mature male rats, which were divided into 1 control and 1 experimental group. The experimental group consisted of rats that consumed ordinary drinking water for 30 days after 90 days of receiving water saturated with a combination of heavy metal salts: zinc (ZnSO4 7H2O) – 5 mg / l, copper (CuSO4 5H2O) mg / l, iron (FeSO4) – 10 mg / l, manganese (MnSO4 5H2O) – 0.1 mg / l, lead (Pb (NO3) 2) – 0.1 mg / l and chromium (K2Cr2O7) – 0.1 mg / l and L-tocopherol corrector. Results and discussion. With a 30-day period of readaptation to the action of a complex of salts of heavy metals, combined with the intake of a corrector drug L-tocopherol, morphological rearrangements of a nonspecific polymorphic nature developed in the structural components of the pituitary gland: compensatory hypertrophy and increased vascularization of the pituitary gland were observed, the state of rheological properties of the blood improved, the number of chromophiles increased and the number of chromophobes decreased, the processes of cyst formation disappeared, the stress from the adaptive processes in the glandulocytes of the adenohypophysis decreased, namely their secretory activity, the expression of Hsp90α receptors in the cytoplasm of adenocytes significantly increased. Negative rearrangements include an increased value of the fibrous component of the connective tissue of the intertrabecular spaces, increased collagenization of the wall of veins and capillaries, preservation of stromal edema, plethora of hemocapillaries, the presence of a small number of adenocytes with signs of vacuolization of the cytoplasm, balloon dystrophy. Conclusion. A comprehensive study of the structural components of the adenohypophysis of the test animals under the condition of a 30-day period of readaptation to long periods of consumption of heavy metal salts and correction with L-tocopherol certainly indicate a number of adaptive and regenerative morphofunctional changes aimed at reducing the stress of adaptive processes on the part of the adenohypophysis in response to cancel the action of the stress factor

Synthesis of Hierarchically Porous Metal Oxide Monoliths via Sol–Gel Process Accompanied by Phase Separation From Divalent Metal Salts: A Short Review

The sol–gel process accompanied by phase separation is one of the methods to prepare hierarchically porous monoliths, hierarchically porous monolith, which is applicable not only to oxides but also to various materials compositions such as metal phosphates, organic-polymers/carbons, metal-organic frameworks. It is not until recently, however, that progress has been made in the preparation of low-valence metal oxide HPMs, such as those of magnesium, manganese, cobalt, nickel, etc. Due to the difficulty of divalent metal precursors to form homogeneous gels, different approaches from those established for trivalent and tetravalent counterparts have been attempted. This short review introduces the methods and trials in the preparation of metal oxide HPMs from divalent metal salts.