Bioremediation of soil polluted with oil

Microplastics have reached all corners of our planet, including soil and water. Plastic-degrading bacteria are seen as a promising, environmentally friendly tool for the bioremediation of soil polluted with microplastics. The petroleum origin of plastics makes them candidates for bioremediation analogous to the bioremediation of soil polluted with oil and its derivatives. A mud pit, located near the village of Turija, used for mud formation for the lubrication of drill pipes for drilling rigs, ended up polluted with oil and its derivatives. It was bioremediated using the in situ procedure. The content of n-hexane extractable substance, total petroleum hydrocarbon, dry substance, and loss on ignition were analyzed.

Hemoprotein-dependent production of a neutrophil-activating factor from arachidonic acid

Hemoproteins have been suggested to contribute to various forms of tissue injury by catalyzing the peroxidation of lipids. In this study, the ability of hemoglobin to catalyze the production of a neutrophil-activating factor from arachidonic acid was examined. Incubation of arachidonic acid, hydrogen peroxide, and hemoglobin at 37 degrees C for 30 min resulted in the production of a lipid-extractable substance that was chemotactic for neutrophils in vitro and could stimulate leukocyte adherence in vivo. These actions could be inhibited by two leukotriene B4 (LTB4) receptor antagonists. The peroxidation product cross-reacted significantly with an antibody directed against LTB4, but not with an antibody directed against LTC4. The production of this factor was hemoprotein dependent. Immunoreactive LTB4 and biological activity were produced only when hemoglobin, or another hemoprotein, cytochrome c, was present in the reaction mixture. The amount of the factor produced could be increased in a concentration-dependent manner by increasing the amounts of arachidonic acid or hydrogen peroxide in the reaction mixture. The production of this factor could be inhibited by 5-aminosalicylic acid, catalase, or deferoxamine. Separation of the lipid-extractable products of the peroxidation of arachidonic acid on high-performance liquid chromatography revealed that the immunoreactive (with anti-LTB4) and chemotactic substance had a retention time distinct from that of LTB4 and the hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids. A lipid-extractable substance with significant cross-reactivity to anti-LTB4 could also be produced if plasma was substituted for arachidonic acid in the reaction mixture.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

MORPHOLOGY, NUTRITION, AND HOST RANGE OF A SPECIES OF PYTHIUM

A species of Pythium (probably P. acanthicum Drechs.) is described which is able to parasitize 80% of a wide range of 98 species of fungi tested. Nine of the test fungi were not parasitized, and 10 actively inhibited the Pythium, with Ustilago maydis exhibiting the strongest inhibition. The roots of sunflower, corn, wheat, flax, beet, morning glory, sweet pea, Polish rape, and green pea were attacked, producing browning of the root tips. The organism produced a rapid, watery soft rot when inoculated into cucumber and potatoes. The organism requires a fat-solvent extractable substance for development of its sexual stages. It can obtain this substance from both living and dead host tissues, but not from its own killed vegetative mycelium.