Lexikon
an amendment-enhanced bioremediation technology for the treatment of POPs involves the creation of sequential anoxic and oxic conditions. The treatment process involves the following:
1. Addition of solid phase DARAMEND® organic soil amendment of specific particle size distribution and nutrient profile, zero valent iron, and water to produce anoxic conditions.
2. Periodic tilling of the soil to promote oxic conditions.
3. Repetition of the anoxic-oxic cycle until the desired cleanup goals are achieved.
The addition of DARAMEND® organic amendment, zero valent iron, and water stimulates the biological depletion of oxygen, generating strong reducing anoxic conditions within the soil matrix. The diffusion of replacement oxygen into the soil matrix is prevented by near saturation of the soil pores with water. The depletion of oxygen creates a low redox potential, which promotes dechlorination of organochlorine compounds. A cover may be used to control the moisture content, increase the temperature of the soil matrix and eliminate runon/run off.
The soil matrix consisting of contaminated soil and the amendments is left undisturbed for the duration of the anoxic phase of treatment cycle typically 1-2 weeks. In the oxic phase of each cycle, periodic tilling of the soil increases diffusion of oxygen to microsites and distribution of irrigation water in the soil. The dechlorination products formed during the anoxic degradation process are subsequently removed trough aerobic oxic biodegradation processes, initiated by the passive air drying and tilling of the soil to promote aerobic conditions.
Addition of DARAMEND® and the anoxic-oxic cycle continues until the desired cleanup goals are achieved. The frequency of irrigation is determined by weekly monitoring of soil moisture conditions. Soil moisture is maintained within a specific range below its water holding capacity. Maintenance of soil moisture content within a specified range facilitates rapid growth of an active microbial population and prevents the generation of leachate. The amount of DARAMEND® added in the second and subsequent treatment cycles is generally less than the amount added during the first cycle.
The additive enhanced bioremediation was successfully applied for toxaphene and DDT contaminated soil and sediment.
apoptosis is the process of programmed cell death that may occur in multicellular organisms. Programmed cell death involves a series of biochemical events leading to a characteristic cell morphology, such as blebbing, changes to the cell membrane, cell shrinkage, nuclear fragmentation, chromatin condensation, and chromosomal DNA fragmentation and finally death. Processes of disposal of cellular debris whose results do not damage the organism differentiate apoptosis from necrosis.
In contrast to necrosis, which is a form of traumatic cell death that results from acute cellular injury. Apoptosis, in general, confers advantages during an organism's life cycle. For example, the differentiation of fingers and toes in a developing human embryo occurs because cells between the fingers apoptose; the result is that the digits are separate. Between 50 and 70 billion cells die each day due to apoptosis in the average human adult. For an average child between the ages of 8 and 14, approximately 20 billion to 30 billion cells die a day. In a year, this amounts to the proliferation and subsequent destruction of a mass of cells equal to an individual's body weight.
Research in and around apoptosis has increased substantially since the early 1990s. In addition to its importance as a biological phenomenon, defective apoptotic processes have been implicated in an extensive variety of diseases. Excessive apoptosis causes hypotrophy, such as in ischemic damage, whereas an insufficient amount results in uncontrolled cell proliferation, such as cancer.
Source: Wikipedia
the pituitary gland, or hypophysis, is an endocrine gland about the size of a pea and weighing 0.5 g. It is considered a master gland. The pituitary gland secretes hormones regulating homeostasis, including tropic hormones that stimulate other endocrine glands. It is functionally connected to the hypothalamus by the median eminence.
Persistent Organic Pollutants