Cadmium Content (cadmium + content)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Fish and molluscan metallothioneins

FEBS JOURNAL, Issue 23 2005
A structural, functional comparison
Metallothioneins (MTs) are noncatalytic peptides involved in storage of essential ions, detoxification of nonessential metals, and scavenging of oxyradicals. They exhibit an unusual primary sequence and unique 3D arrangement. Whereas vertebrate MTs are characterized by the well-known dumbbell shape, with a ,,domain that binds three bivalent metal ions and an ,,domain that binds four ions, molluscan MT structure is still poorly understood. For this reason we compared two MTs from aquatic organisms that differ markedly in primary structure: MT 10 from the invertebrate Mytilus galloprovincialis and MT A from Oncorhyncus mykiss. Both proteins were overexpressed in Escherichia coli as glutathione S -transferase fusion proteins, and the MT moiety was recovered after protease cleavage. The MTs were analyzed by gel electrophoresis and tested for their differential reactivity with alkylating and reducing agents. Although they show an identical cadmium content and a similar metal-binding ability, spectropolarimetric analysis disclosed significant differences in the Cd7 -MT secondary conformation. These structural differences reflect the thermal stability and metal transport of the two proteins. When metal transfer from Cd7 -MT to 4-(2-pyridylazo)resorcinol was measured, the mussel MT was more reactive than the fish protein. This confirms that the differences in the primary sequence of MT 10 give rise to peculiar secondary conformation, which in turn reflects its reactivity and stability. The functional differences between the two MTs are due to specific structural properties and may be related to the different lifestyles of the two organisms. [source]


Dietary cation,anion difference and cadmium concentration in grasses fertilized with chloride

GRASS & FORAGE SCIENCE, Issue 4 2007
S. Pelletier
Abstract High dietary cation,anion difference (DCAD) of grass herbage increases the occurrence of hypocalcaemia of dairy cows. Application of chloride fertilizer reduces DCAD of herbage but it could increase cadmium concentration in herbage. This study includes an experiment conducted in Australia and in Canada. A glasshouse experiment in Australia evaluated the effect of four rates of chloride application (0,240 kg ha,1) on values of herbage DCAD and cadmium concentration of above-ground plant material of timothy (Phleum pratense L.) and phalaris (Phalaris aquatica L.), harvested 6 weeks after sowing and grown on two soils that had received cadmium either as a contaminant in superphosphate (soil + Super) or in sewage biosolids (soil + Bio) along with respective control soils (soil 0 Super and soil 0 Bio). Application of chloride fertilizer decreased values of herbage DCAD by 349 mmolc kg,1 dry matter (DM). Herbage DCAD values were highest on the 0 Bio soil (739 mmolc kg,1 DM) and were not different among the three other soils. Species did not differ in herbage DCAD values. Cadmium concentration in the above-ground plant material was highest on the +Bio soil treatment (1·67 mg kg,1 DM) and was lower for the three other soil treatments. Above-ground plant material of phalaris had a higher cadmium concentration than that of timothy. Application of chloride fertilizer did not affect cadmium concentration in above-ground plant material, despite the high cadmium content of the soil on the +Bio treatment. The field experiment in Canada evaluated the effect of four rates of chloride application (0,144 kg ha,1) on cadmium concentration of a timothy-based grass sward grown on four sites with soils of different potassium content. Application of chloride fertilizer increased cadmium concentration of herbage at two of the four sites but the maximum increase in cadmium concentration was only 0·025 mg kg,1 DM. Chloride fertilizer can be applied to decrease forage DCAD with minimal risk of increasing Cd in the food chain. [source]


Combined pulmonary toxicity of cadmium chloride and sodium diethyldithiocarbamate

JOURNAL OF APPLIED TOXICOLOGY, Issue 2 2001
Erzsébet Tátrai
Abstract The pulmonary toxicity of sodium diethyldithiocarbamate and cadmium chloride, each separately and in combination, was compared in Sprague-Dawley rats after single intratracheal instillation in sequential experiments by chemical, immunological and morphological methods. With combined exposure, the cadmium content of the lungs increased permanently relative to that of the lungs of just cadmium-treated animals. Immunoglobulin levels of the whole blood did not change, whereas in bronchoalveolar lavage the IgA and IgG levels increased significantly. Morphological changes were characteristic of the effects of cadmium but were more extensive and more serious than in the case of cadmium administration alone: by the end of the first month, interstitial fibrosis, emphysema and injury of membranes of type I pneumocytes developed and hypertrophy and loss of microvilli in type II pneumocytes were detectable. These results showed that although dithiocarbamates as chelating agents are suitable for the removal of cadmium from organisms, they alter the redistribution of cadmium within the organism, thereby increasing the cadmium content in the lungs, and structural changes are more serious than observed upon cadmium exposure alone. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Hg(1-x)CdxTe from short to long wave infrared on Si substrates grown by MBE

PHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (C) - CURRENT TOPICS IN SOLID STATE PHYSICS, Issue 10 2010
M. F. Vilela
Abstract In this paper, we show the power of using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) for the growth of the mercury cadmium telluride (HgCdTe) system. Abrupt composition profiles, changes in doping levels, or switching doping types are easily performed. It is shown that high quality material is achieved with Hg(1- x)CdxTe grown by MBE from a cadmium mole fraction of x =0.15 to x =0.72. Doping elements incorporation as low as 1015 cm -3 for both n-type and p-type material as well as high incorporation levels >1018cm -3 for both carrier types were achieved. Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) data, x-ray data, Hall data, the influence of doping incorporation with cadmium content and growth rate, etch pit density (EPD), composition uniformity determined from Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) transmission spectroscopy, and surface defect maps from low to high x values are presented to illustrate the versatility and quality of HgCdTe material grown by MBE. (© 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source]