Benthic community ecology for Algerian river Seybouse

The Seybouse is the second largest river basin in Algeria, hosting an important biodiversity and providing various ecosystem services. This watershed is highly influenced by agricultural and industrial activities, which threaten its biodiversity and ecosystem integrity. The use of benthic macroinvertebrates as biological indicators has a long tradition in developed countries and integrated into all assessments of the ecological quality of river systems. However, the macroinvertebrates of many North African regions are still not well studied, including those of the Seybouse river. The aim of this study is to assess the inventory and ecological role of benthic macroinvertebrates in inland waters of the Seybouse River and determine the impact of pollution on their spatial distributions. We sampled the benthic macrofauna of Wadi Seybouse and its affluents using regular surveys in three sites, of which one was in the upper Seybouse Bouhamdane in Medjez Amar and two in the middle Seybouse. Between December 2019 and May 2020, 10 physico-chemical parameters (pH, EC, OD, water speed, NO3, Salinity, NO2, MES, turbidity, depth) were measured in order to establish a health state diagnosis of these aquatic ecosystems. The complementary biological approach by the analysis of populations of macroinvertebrates identified 7482 individuals and 40 taxa divided into five classes: Crustaceans which were the most dominant, insects with the main orders (Ephemeroptera, Diptera, Trichoptera, Heteroptera and Odonata), Molluscs, Nematodes and Annelids. The physico-chemical analyzes and the application of the organic pollution indices indicated a strong to excessive pollution for all sites, especially in Seybouse upstream

Edaphic fauna and physico-chemical atributes of soil in different phytophysionomies of Cerrado

ABSTRACT The edaphic community comprises several organisms that perform ecological functions in the environment, such as litter fragmentation, nutrient cycling, and modifications of soil structure, in addition to acting as food chain regulators. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the composition of the edaphic fauna and the physical and chemical attributes of soil in different physiognomies of Cerrado in the Parque Estadual do Mirador (PEM). The study was carried out in two Cerrado formations (Sparse Cerrado and Typical Cerrado) in PEM, where 100 pitfall traps were installed. The edaphic organisms were screened and identified in terms of orders, suborders, subfamilies, families, abundance, richness, Shannon diversity, and Pielou’s equitability. A total of 4,149 individuals were collected from two experimental plots. The plot in the Typical Cerrado showed greater taxonomic richness (25 groups) and greater Shannon diversity (H’ = 1.65), while the plot in Sparse Cerrado presented 19 edaphic groups and Shannon diversity equal to H’ = 1.51. The factorial exploration explained 84.43% of the original data from the Sparse Cerrado and 90.84% from the Typical Cerrado. It is concluded that the plot in the Typical Cerrado showed greater differences in terms of richness and abundance due to the more favorable conditions for soil fauna, such as a high content of organic material and greater vegetation cover.

Synthesis, UV-Vis Spectroscopic and Physico-chemical Characterization of Oxovanadyl Complexes of Lincomycin and Neomycin

In the recent past, the pharmaceutical modification of drug molecules by complexation with biologically relevant metals to improve their properties such as stability, dissolution rate, absorption and bioavailability has been extensively studied. In order to achieve better and enhanced medicinal activity, vanadyl complexes of the widely used lincomycin (Lin-van) and neomycin (Neo-van) have been synthesized and their physico-chemical properties examined. The UV-Vis absorption properties of these complexes were determined and their antimicrobial activities were tested against some pathogenic organisms viz: Proteus vulgaris, Klebsiella pneumonae, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. In all cases, Neo-van showed better antimicrobial activity than Lin-van while both complexes showed better activity than the antibiotic lincomycin and the previously reported Cu-Lin. Keywords: lincomycin, neomycin, UV-Vis spectroscopy, Physico-chemical, Oxovanadyl, synthesis

Influences of NaCl and Na2SO4 on the Micellization Behavior of the Mixture of Cetylpyridinium Chloride + Polyvinyl Pyrrolidone at Several Temperatures

Herein, the conductivity measurement technique is used to determine the interactions that may occur between polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) polymer and cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) surfactant in the presence of NaCl and Na2SO4 of fixed concentration at variable temperatures (298.15–323.15 K) with an interval of 5 K. In the absence or presence of salts, we observed three critical micelle concentrations (CMC) for the CPC + PVP mixture. In all situations, CMC1 values of CPC + PVP system were found to be higher in water than in attendance of salts (NaCl and Na2SO4). Temperature and additives have the tendency to affect counterion binding values. Various physico-chemical parameters were analyzed and demonstrated smoothly, including free energy (ΔG0m), enthalpy (ΔH0m) and entropy change (ΔS0m). The micellization process is achieved to be spontaneous based on the obtained negative ΔG0m values. The linearity of the ΔHmo and ΔSmo values is excellent. The intrinsic enthalpy gain (ΔH0*m) and compensation temperature (Tc) were calculated and discussed with logical points. Interactions of polymer hydrophobic chains or the polymer + surfactant associated with amphiphilic surface-active drugs can employ a strong impact on the behavior of the gels.

Physical-Chemical Constants and Fatty Acid Composition of Zosima absinthifolia Link. Fruit Oil

Zosima absinthifolia is the only species of Zosima genus in Azerbaijan. The aim of this study was to determine the quantitative and qualitative determination of fatty acids in the fruits of the plant Zosima absinthifolia, which is widespread in Absheron, as well as to study its physicochemical and organoleptic properties, possible use in the pharmaceutical and food industries. The oil obtained from the fruits of the plant collected from the Absheron Peninsula (Bibiheybat) was analyzed by gas chromatography. The oil was obtained at 60 °C for 8 h by the extraction of the fruits in a Soxhlet extractor. The yield was 10.36%. Chromatographic analysis of the oil obtained from plant fruits allowed to determine 14 fatty acids. The main component of Z. absinthifolia fruit oil is oleic acid (74.36%). Small amounts of caprylic and palmitic acids were also found to be 8.9% and 5.39%, respectively. The lowest percentage is palmitinoleic acid (0.07%). Physico-chemical constants and organoleptic properties of Z. absinthifolia fruit oil were also analyzed and it was determined that the percentage of free fatty acids in our sample was 2.47%, the peroxide value 34.16 mg O/kg and the saponification number 200.23 mg KOH/g.

Changes in the taxonomic and functional structure of microbial communities during vegetable waste mixed silage fermentation

Silage fermentation, a sustainable way to use vegetable waste resources, is a complex process driven by a variety of microorganisms. We used lettuce waste as the main raw material for silage, analyzed changes in the physico-chemical characteristics and bacterial community composition of silage over a 60-day fermentation, identified differentially abundant taxa, predicted the functional profiles of bacterial communities, and determined the associated effects on the quality of silage. The biggest changes occurred in the early stage of silage fermentation. Changes in the physico-chemical characteristics included a decrease in pH and increases in ammonia nitrogen to total nitrogen ratio and lactic acid content. The numbers of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) increased and molds, yeasts and aerobic bacteria decreased. The bacterial communities and their predicted functions on day 0 were clearly different from those on day 7 to day 60. The relative abundances of phylum Firmicutes and genus Lactobacillus increased. Nitrite ammonification and nitrate ammonification were more prevalent after day 0. The differences in the predicted functions were associated with differences in pH and amino acid, protein, carbohydrate, NH3-N, ether extract and crude ash contents.

Czech and Slovak young brown coals in environmental applications

In recent time, various kinds of young brown (low-rank) coals are utilized increasingly not only as fuels, but also as valuable materials in advanced environmental applications. It should be noted in this context that significant deposits of the young brown coals can be found both in the Czech Republic as well as in Slovakia. For their effective applications e.g. in wastewater treatment or in soil remediation, the properties of the coals should be studied in more details and numerous physico-chemical characteristics should be measured. As a part of a common Czech-Slovak project, a series of various kinds of coals was collected, including North-Bohemian oxihumolites, lignite from South Moravia and several lignites from Slovakia (Baňa Zahorie). Basic properties were measured, such as acid-base titration curves, contents of main functional groups and sorption capability towards heavy metal cations (Cu2+, Zn2+, Co2+) and some organic pollutants. The contents of humic substances – main active constituents of the young coals – were also determined. Selected environmental applications of the brown coals will be mentioned further, e.g. for the removal of metal cations from waters or in phytoremediation of contaminated soils.