Carbon mineralization from composts and food industry wastes added to soil

We have studied the short term C mineralization of six wastes from important food industries, one sludge from a biogas plant and three composts. All the wastes were characterized chemically and fractionated according to the Van Soest method. The fresh wastes were incubated under controlled environment conditions to determine the C mineralization rate. Based on first order mineralization kinetics, we calculated the hypothetical amount of stable C in the wastes as the amount of C that would not be mineralized within one year under field conditions. The percentage of stable organic C in the organic matter was in general much larger in the composts than in the other wastes, but when expressed on dry matter, the non-composted wastes had comparable or larger amounts of stable organic C than the composts and have a considerable potential for supplying organic matter to soils, and hence for C sequestration. The amount of stable organic C could best be predicted by the total N content of the wastes (R _a ² = 0.855), whereas the results of the fractionation had very little predictive power, probably due to problems related to the high ash content of some of the wastes. An index that combined stable organic C and N and P content in the wastes was calculated to assess possible limitations for applying these wastes in agriculture. Under current nutrient legislation in Western Europe, a number of these wastes will only be usable in small amounts, but these and other food industry wastes could still prove to be valuable soil amendments in nutrient poor situations, for increasing soil organic C content and supplying nutrients.     

In vivo occupancy of the striatal dopamine uptake complex by various inhibitors does not predict their effects on locomotion

We have recently found that allogenic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) can be used to treat lupus nephritis in NZB x NZW F1 (B/W F1) and BXSB mice. To elucidate why and how glomerular damage is repaired, serial renal biopsies were carried out using B/W F1 mice before, and after BMT. Donor-derived B cells and macrophages with normal functions developed two weeks after BMT, whereas donor-derived functional T cells were generated after seven weeks of BMT. Visceral epithelial cells as well as macrophages in the glomeruli were activated (probably by T cell-derived lymphokines) at this time; they showed marked phagocytic activity, resulting in clearance of immune complexes (ICs) and repair of damaged basement membranes. These results suggest that normal T cell functions, which have the capacity to activate macrophages and epithelial cells, are essential in repairing IC-mediated glomerular damage.     

Raman studies of structural rearrangements induced in human plasma lipoprotein carotenoids by malondialdehyde

Raman and resonance Raman spectra of plasma lipoproteins ± malondialdehyde were studied at concentrations which block the normal receptor-mediated uptake by cells. The strong resonance Raman bands at about 1010, 1162 and 1530 cm⁻¹, due to the presence of carotenoids in the lipoproteins, are envisaged as structural probes. High resolution resonance Raman spectra of the 1500–1600 cm⁻¹ region reveal multiple features suggesting the coexistence of several structural populations of β-carotene whose precise assignment is complex. When plasma lipoproteins are reacted with malondialdehyde, a complex change occurs in the resonance Raman banding of β-carotene in the 1500–1600 cm⁻¹ region. Malonaldehyde (MDA) also modifies the acoustical region (70–200 cm⁻¹ of low density lipoprotein (LDL) lipids. We suggest that malondialdehyde association with plasma lipoproteins alters the lipid structure via apoprotein or apoprotein/lipid associations.