Synthesis, structural studies and biological activity of a dioxovanadium(v) complex with pyridoxal semicarbazone.

Reaction between the NH4VO3 and pyridoxal semicarbazone (PLSC) in a methanol/ammonia solution forms an orange, diamagnetic, mononuclear NH4[VO2(PLSC-2H)] complex in which vanadium is in the oxidation state +5, and pyridoxal semicarbazone is coordinated in its dianionic form. The complex cocrystallizes with a neutral molecule of PLSC and two water molecules. The coordination environment around vanadium can be described as an almost ideal square-pyramid.

Detection of dioxin-like contaminants in soil from the area of oil refineries in Vojvodina region of Serbia.

In this study level of soil contamination by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in two oil refineries in Vojvodina region of Serbia was assessed using combined bio/chemical approach. Toxicity of the samples, determined by microEROD analysis, could not be exclusively attributed to the content of measured PCBs and PAHs, but also to the presence of unknown dioxin-like compounds (DLC), and/or positive interactions among similarly acting chemicals. The results proved that biotests, when applied in ecotoxicological assessments, should be used either as a screening tool or initial step in effect-directed analyses.

Effect of a PCB-based transformer oil on testicular steroidogenesis and xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes.

Pyralene is a PCB-based transformer oil with a unique PCB congener profile when compared to other mixtures. We studied the influence of Pyralene on testicular steroidogenesis and the status of xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes in the testis and liver of rats during oral exposure (10 and 50 mg/kg body weight, p.o.

Nitric oxide-scavenging activity of polyhydroxylated fullerenol, C60(OH)24.

Investigation of the possible nitric oxide-scavenging activity of hydroxylated derivative of fullerene, fullerenol C60(OH)24, demonstrated that it expressed direct scavenging activity toward nitric oxide radical (NO) liberated within solution of sodium nitroprusside (SNP), a well known NO donor. In parallel, pre-treatment (30') with intratesticular injection of fullerenol (60 microg/each testis) prevented NO-induced decrease of catalase, glutathione transferase and glutathione peroxidase activities in the denucleated fraction of interstitial testicular cells of adult rats 2 h after intratesticular injection of SNP (20 microg/each testis). In addition, fullerenol decreased formation of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBA-RS) with similar efficiency as butylated hydroxy toluen (BHT), a well known antioxidant.

Parallelism and dissociation in the actions of an Aroclor 1260-based transformer fluid on testicular androgenesis and antioxidant enzymes.

The mechanism by which Aroclors and other polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) inhibit testicular androgenesis in vivo and in vitro has not been characterized. Here we studied in adult rats the effects of intratesticular (i.t.