The biochemical basis for resistance to metal ion toxicity is emerging though it is complicated by the different resistance mechanisms. Several strategies for resistance to toxic metal ions have been identified:
The development of energy driven efflux pumps which keep toxic element levels low in the interior of the cell. Such mechanisms have been described for Cd(II) and As(V).
Oxidation (e.g. AsO2‐ to AsO43‐) or reduction (e.g. Hg2+ to Hg0) can enzymatically and intracellularly convert a more toxic form of an element to a less toxic form.
The biosynthesis of intracellular polymers which serve as traps for the removal of metal ions from solution such as traps have been described for cadmium, calcium, nickel and copper.
The binding of metal ions to cell surfaces.
The precipitation of insoluble metal complexes (e.g. metal sulfides and metal oxides) at cell surfaces.
Biomethylation and transport through cell‐membranes by diffusion controlled processes.
In this short review I shall discuss the implications of biomethylation as a detoxification mechanism for microorganisms as well as for certain higher organisms. 相似文献
Abstract Reef blocks made from stabilized oil ash were taken from the sea after five years in the ocean to examine the chemical behaviour of calcium. Experiments included (1) determination of the calcium leaching rate and a comparison with the rate for unexposed blocks to test the validity of a diffusion model for predicting long term (5 years) leaching rates, (2) determination of the effect of biological cover (shell) on the leaching rate, (3) determination of the leaching rate of the core of exposed reef blocks, (4) determination of the calcium content in ‘ring areas’ - regions of discoloration observed in sectioned exposed reef blocks, and (5) determination of the leachable fraction of the total calcium in exposed reef blocks. Results showed the presence of a pronounced calcium discontinuity zone located 3–7 cm from the outside surface of the reef blocks. Cumulated calcium release rates ranged from 2.81–3.14 μmol cm?2 day?1 for original unexposed reef blocks and the core of exposed (in the ocean for five years) blocks, respectively, to 0.47–0.50 μmol cm?2 day?1 for outside (facing sea water) surfaces of exposed reef blocks. Tank leaching studies also showed that the presence or absence of hard biological cover (shells) had little or no effect on the calcium release rate. the diffusion model normally used in modelling the chemical behaviour of calcium cannot be used to predict the long term (five years) leaching of calcium. the core of the exposed blocks released calcium at a rate similar to new, unexposed reef block material. Overall, it appears that the calcium discontinuity zone is probably responsible for restricting the release of calcium and hence the failure of the diffusion model. 相似文献
Floods have become increasingly alarming worldwide. Flood risk management in terms of assessing disaster risk properly is a great challenge that society faces today. Natural disaster risk analysis is typically beset with issues such as imprecision, uncertainty, and partial truth. There are two basic forms of uncertainty related to natural disaster risk assessment, namely, randomness caused by inherent stochastic variability and fuzziness due to macroscopic grad and incomplete knowledge sample. However, the traditional probability statistical method ignores the fuzziness of risk assessment with incomplete data sets and requires a large sample size of data. The fuzzy set methodology is introduced in the area of disaster risk assessment to improve probability estimation. The purpose of the current study is to establish a fuzzy model to evaluate flood risk with incomplete data sets. The present paper puts forward a composite method based on variable fuzzy sets and information diffusion method for disaster risk assessment. The results indicate that the methodology is effective and practical; thus, it has the potential to forecast the flood risk in flood risk management. We hope that by conducting such risk analysis, the impact of flood disasters can be mitigated in the future. 相似文献