Click evoked otoacoustic emissions in occupational exposure to lead, concentrations of selected essential elements and markers of oxidative stress.

Purpose: This study focused on the selected markers of oxidative stress, impact of elevated lead levels on long-term hearing quality. We investigated whether the presence of certain essential minerals might provide protection to the auditory system against the effects of lead (and cadmium) compounds.

Methods: The research group included 280 male employees of the zinc and lead smelter, which was divided into: L-Pb-low blood lead concentration (PbB) subgroup, H-Pb-high PbB subgroup.

Effect of Cadmium on Oxidative Stress Indices and Vitamin D Concentrations in Children.

Heavy metal poisoning can have serious health consequences, including damage to the brain, kidneys, and other organs. Cadmium is a toxic heavy metal that can accumulate in the body over time and the exposure to this element has been linked to a variety of adverse health effects. Cadmium toxicity can lead to an imbalance in the cellular redox state and be a source of oxidative stress.

Relationship between Postural Stability, Lead Content, and Selected Parameters of Oxidative Stress.

This study attempts to determine whether the increased blood lead concentration affects the posturographic test and to determine the relationship between the parameters of posture stability and selected parameters of oxidative stress. The study population consisted of 268 male employees and was divided into two equal subgroups, depending on the lead content in the blood. A posturographic examination was performed.

Validation of the test for detecting SARS--CoV-2 antigens in the Polish population in patients with suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection.

In December 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that China had accumulated pneumonia of unclear etiology in Wuhan. According to WHO recommendations, in strictly defined situations, antigen tests can be implemented into the diagnostic algorithm to reduce the number of molecular tests performed and support the rapid identification and treatment of COVID-19 patients. According to WHO recommendations, the antigen test for diagnostic use should have a sensitivity of ≥ 80% and a specificity of ≥ 97% compared to molecular tests (NAAT).

Effects of environmental and occupational lead toxicity and its association with iron metabolism.

Background: Discrepancies are present in the findings from clinical trials evaluating a physiological role of iron status in the lead-exposed population.

Objective: The purpose of this article was to summarize the current understanding of cellular mechanisms of lead toxicity and present a comprehensive review of existing clinical trials related to associations of lead poisoning and iron status. Although an association of iron metabolism pathways that are affected by lead intoxication has been studied, there are still aspects that remain to be elucidated.

Relationship between lead absorption and iron status and its association with oxidative stress markers in lead-exposed workers.

Background: The emission of lead (Pb) occurring during the extraction, processing and industrial applications of this element remains a significant environmental risk factor. The absorbability of lead in humans is strongly associated with the general health status of exposed individuals. Existing mineral deficiencies are considered being a predisposition to an increased Pb uptake.

Methods for the Simple and Reliable Assessment of Barley Sensitivity to Abiotic Stresses During Early Development.

Physiological assays that facilitate screening for various types of responses to abiotic stresses are well established for model plants such as Arabidopsis; however, there is a need to optimize similar tests for cereal crops, including barley. We have developed a set of stress assays to characterize the response of different barley lines during two stages of development-seed germination and seedling growth. The assays presented, including the response to osmotic, salt, oxidative stresses, and exogenously applied abscisic acid, can be used for forward screening of populations after mutagenesis as well as for phenotyping of already isolated mutants, cultivars, or breeding lines.

Analysis of aluminum toxicity in Hordeum vulgare roots with an emphasis on DNA integrity and cell cycle.

Barley is one of the cereals that are most sensitive to aluminum (Al). Al in acid soils limits barley growth and development and, as a result, its productivity. The inhibition of root growth is a widely accepted indicator of Al stress.

Mutation in () Adapts Barley to Drought Stress at Phenotypic and Transcriptomic Levels.

() encodes a small subunit of the cap-binding complex (CBC), which is involved in the conserved cell processes related to RNA metabolism in plants and, simultaneously, engaged in the signaling network of drought response, which is dependent on ABA. Here, we report the enhanced tolerance to drought stress of barley mutant in the gene manifested at the morphological, physiological, and transcriptomic levels. Physiological analyses revealed differences between the mutant and its WT in response to a water deficiency.

An automated, cost-effective and scalable, flood-and-drain based root phenotyping system for cereals.

Background: Genetic studies on the molecular mechanisms of the regulation of root growth require the characterisation of a specific root phenotype to be linked with a certain genotype. Such studies using classical labour-intensive methods are severely hindered due to the technical limitations that are associated with the impeded observation of the root system of a plant during its growth. The aim of the research presented here was to develop a reliable, cost-effective method for the analysis of a plant root phenotype that would enable the precise characterisation of the root system architecture of cereals.