Heavy metal concentration, potential ecological risk assessment and enzyme activity in soils affected by a lead-zinc tailing spill in Guangxi, China
CHEMOSPHERE
Authors: Liu, Kehui; Li, Chunming; Tang, Sanqi; Shang, Guiduo; Yu, Fangming; Li, Yi
Abstract
In 1976, a tailing dam collapse accident at the Xingping Lead-Zinc Mine in Guangxi Province, China, led to the spillage of mining wastewater and sludge into downstream agricultural lands in Side Village. Heavy metal concentrations, soil pollution and soil enzyme activity were analysed to understand the pollution characteristics of the agricultural lands along the Side stream by this accident. The tailing soil (TS), natural forest soil without spill contamination (NFS) and four representative agricultural soils were selected. The four agricultural soil sites located at the entrance of the stream to the agricultural soil (EnS), the upstream region (US), the middle stream (MS) and at the exit of the stream (ExS) from the village, respectively. The results showed that the soil pH values and heavy metal concentrations were in the order of tailing soil TS > ExS > MS > US > EnS > NFS. The concentration of Pb ranked highest among the analysed elements followed by Zn, Cd, Mn and Cu. The concentrations of Pb, Zn, Cd Mn and Cu 10530.41, 1708.58, 8.32, 885.61 and 104.51 mg kg(-1), respectively. Soil pollution assessments by single pollution index, synthesis pollution index and individual/comprehensive potential ecological risk analysis explicated all the soils reached the heavily polluted level and presented extremely high ecological risk grades. Pb, Zn and Cd were the dominant pollutants. The soil enzyme activities of invertase, protease and urease exhibited the opposite distribution pattern as those of the heavy metal concentrations, while the inversely results were observed for the activity of catalase. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Parengyodontium albumIsolated from Cutaneous Lesions of a Pacific White-Sided Dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens) During Treatment for Paracoccidioidomycosis Ceti
MYCOPATHOLOGIA
Authors: Kanegae, Hikaru; Tomino, Nanako; Nakamura, Yuichi; Minakawa, Tomoko; Yaguchi, Takashi; Izawa, Takeshi; Sano, Ayako; Itano, Eiko Nakagawa; Ueda, Keiichi
Abstract
The prominence of seafood in Japan motivates close monitoring of its seas and marine lives for potentially pathogenic fungi. During the treatments of the male Pacific white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens) for paracoccidioidomycosis ceti (PCM-C), 5 white and floccose colonies showing identical genotype and morphological characteristics were isolated from two skin biopsy samples of cutaneous granulomatous lesions in 2018. The isolates were identified asParengyodontium albumknown as one of fungal species having abilities to produce industrially important proteases, and to become a causative agent for emerging mycosis based on morphological and molecular biological characteristics. These lesions consisted of non-malignant pearl-like structures of hyperplastic keratinocytes. Interestingly, although the isolates could grow at 35 degrees C, their DNA sequences were phylogenetically located in a cluster consisting of environmental and clinical isolates lacking the ability to grow at 35 degrees C, based on previous reports. The opportunistic infection we observed in the dolphin might be caused by immune disorder due to PCM-C. Notably, althoughP. albumis recognized as non-harmful, and has significant industrial importance and antitumor activity, it has potential to cause not only superficial but also systemic infection, and presents difficulties in treatment because of its high resistance to antifungal compounds.