Mammals And Birds As Bioindicators Of Trace Element Contaminations In Terrestrial Environments

The population explosion that began in the 1960s has been accompanied by a decrease in the quality of the natural environment, e.g. pollution of the air, water and soil with essential and toxic trace elements. Numerous poisonings of people and animals with highly toxic anthropogenic Hg and Cd in the 20th century prompted the creation of the abiotic environment, mainly in developed countries. However, the system is insufficient for long-term exposure to low concentrations of various substances that are mainly ingested through food and water. This problem could be addressed by the monitoring of sentinels – organisms that accumulate trace elements and as such reflect the rate and degree of environmental pollution. Usually these are long-lived vertebrates – herbivorous, omnivorous and carnivorous birds and mammals, especially game species. This book describes the responses of the sentinels most commonly used in ecotoxicological studies to 17 trace elements.

High levels of toxic elements have harmful effects on all aspects of the environment (water, air, plants, etc.). Trace elements, many of which are heavy metals, can compromise soil quality, cause toxicity to plants, and ultimately contaminate the food chain. This book summarizes the effects of trace elements in the environment. Section 1 discusses the influence of trace elements on soil and the ecosystem and Section 2 examines the influence of trace elements on water. The book also discusses microplastics, which accumulate trace elements and pollute the oceans, harming both aquatic and human life.

This new fifth edition of Information Resources in Toxicology offers a consolidated entry portal for the study, research, and practice of toxicology. Both volumes represents a unique, wide-ranging, curated, international, annotated bibliography, and directory of major resources in toxicology and allied fields such as environmental and occupational health, chemical safety, and risk assessment. The editors and authors are among the leaders of the profession sharing their cumulative wisdom in toxicology’s subdisciplines. This edition keeps pace with the digital world in directing and linking readers to relevant websites and other online tools. Due to the increasing size of the hardcopy publication, the current edition has been divided into two volumes to make it easier to handle and consult. Volume 1: Background, Resources, and Tools, arranged in 5 parts, begins with chapters on the science of toxicology, its history, and informatics framework in Part 1. Part 2 continues with chapters organized by more specific subject such as cancer, clinical toxicology, genetic toxicology, etc. The categorization of chapters by resource format, for example, journals and newsletters, technical reports, organizations constitutes Part 3. Part 4 further considers toxicology’s presence via the Internet, databases, and software tools. Among the miscellaneous topics in the concluding Part 5 are laws and regulations, professional education, grants and funding, and patents. Volume 2: The Global Arena offers contributed chapters focusing on the toxicology contributions of over 40 countries, followed by a glossary of toxicological terms and an appendix of popular quotations related to the field. The book, offered in both print and electronic formats, is carefully structured, indexed, and cross-referenced to enable users to easily find answers to their questions or serendipitously locate useful knowledge they were not originally aware they needed. Among the many timely topics receiving increased emphasis are disaster preparedness, nanotechnology, -omics, risk assessment, societal implications such as ethics and the precautionary principle, climate change, and children’s environmental health. Introductory chapters provide a backdrop to the science of toxicology, its history, the origin and status of toxicoinformatics, and starting points for identifying resources Offers an extensive array of chapters organized by subject, each highlighting resources such as journals, databases,organizations, and review articles Includes chapters with an emphasis on format such as government reports, general interest publications, blogs, and audiovisuals Explores recent internet trends, web-based databases, and software tools in a section on the online environment Concludes with a miscellany of special topics such as laws and regulations, chemical hazard communication resources, careers and professional education, K-12 resources, funding, poison control centers, and patents Paired with Volume Two, which focuses on global resources, this set offers the most comprehensive compendium of print, digital, and organizational resources in the toxicological sciences with over 120 chapters contributions by experts and leaders in the field

The sources, distribution, toxicity and management of environmental contaminants, from molecular interactions to ecological effects.

Hazardous and Trace Materials in Soil and Plants: Sources, Effects and Management explores the latest advancements in reducing, avoiding and eliminating soil contaminants that challenge the health and safety of agricultural plants. With a focus on minimizing the production of those hazardous substances, controlling their distribution and ensuring safe utilization, the book explores each contributing area and provides insights toward improved, sustainable and secure production. This is an excellent reference resource on both current research and future directions from laboratory research to field applications. The combined impacts of climate change and industrialization have led to increased and diversified threats to the health of the soil in which our food crops are grown, as well as in the plants themselves. This dual-hazard scenario is increasingly recognized as a threat to not just the environment, but to global food security as agricultural soils contaminated with pollutants alter plant metabolism, thus resulting in reduced crop quality and production quantity. Addresses the challenges of mitigating toxic substances in plants, including agricultural crops Presents current status and future prospects for managing biotic and abiotic environmental stress factors through plant stress tolerance mechanisms Includes chapters that address both biotic and abiotic stresses, agricultural and environmental science, toxicology, biotechnology, nanotechnology, and molecular studies Integrates insights and developments between environmental and plant science

Nucleic Acids: A Natural Target for Newly Designed Metal Chelate Based Drugs discusses how human diseases are becoming more costly to treat, along with updates on the resistance offered by disease-causing agents. The abundance of drugs in the market has provided great relief to patients, but side effects can destroy the immune system of the body. Patients need to boost their immune system, and at the same time cover expenses incurred to cure disease. Thus, a paradigm shift is needed to design a drug molecule with low cost and easy availability. Metal complexes can be a great example of such a shift, as metal ions are components of biological molecules and can achieve good binding capability to specific targets while not allowing them to damage healthy cell system. Therefore, in this book, a comprehensive compilation of recent data is provided, including the structural elucidation of metal complexes by advanced techniques and the binding pattern of metal complexes with specific targets. Focuses on recent advances and methods adopted for generating new metal-based molecules and their interactions with biomolecules, especially nucleic acids Addresses challenges for developing new metal-based drugs Examines advances in optical techniques for the characterization of metal-based drugs

Environmental sustainability with rapid industrialization is one of the current major global challenges. Industries are the key drivers of the world economy. But they are also the major polluters of the environment due to the discharge of partially treated/untreated toxic and hazardous wastes containing organic and inorganic pollutants, which cause severe environmental (soil and water) pollution and toxic effects in living beings. So the adequate treatment of industrial wastes to degrade/detoxify pollutants is of the utmost importance for environmental safety and for promoting the sustainable development of our society with low environmental impacts. Bioremediation: Green Approaches for a Clean and Sustainable Environment showcases the latest information on the different bioremediation approaches used for the many types of industrial pollutants and are dedicated to environmental safety. This book provides a detailed knowledge about the natural as well as anthropogenic sources of different types of toxic pollutants, such as toxic metals, dyes, pesticides, petroleum hydrocarbons and plastics; their fate and transport into the environment; their ecotoxicological effects and health hazards; and different approaches used for their bioremediation for the environmental clean-up. Key Features: Covers the different aspects of environmental problems and their remedies with up-to-date developments in the field of bioremediation of industrial/environmental pollutants Serves as an invaluable source of knowledge for a wide range of students, scientists, and researchers in microbiology, biotechnology, environmental sciences with the fundamental and advanced knowledge about the environmental pollution, challenges, and bioremediation of toxic pollutants

This book provides a comprehensive overview of medicinal plants and their interaction with abiotic stress in terms of morphological, physiological, biochemical, and molecular variations, and explains the adaptation and tolerance mechanisms involved. It presents various mechanisms that become operative in medicinal plants to combat stressful situations. The book discusses the secondary metabolites and/or bioactive compounds produced in medicinal plants under abiotic stress conditions, and the use of biostimulants and/or phytoprotectants to alleviate the adverse effects of abiotic stresses on medicinal plants. Additionally, it is likely to address opportunities and challenges in molecular and omics studies of medicinal plants under abiotic stress conditions. Overall, the chapters are developed by eminent subject experts with due care and clarity and cover an up-to-date literature review with relevant illustrations. The book would cater to the need of graduate and post-graduate students, researchers as well as scientists, and may attract the attention of pharmaceutical companies/industrialists and health policymakers.