A variety of aquatic bacteria were isolated and tested for their ability to degrade humic substances and their aromatic residues/monomers which serve as precursors of the trihalomethanes (THMs) found in chlorinated drinking waters. The majority of them were Gram-negative, oxidative types dominated by pseudomonads. Most of the 146 isolates were found to utilize as their sole source of carbon several or more of ten aromatic compounds known to be products of degradation of humus and also to be precursors of THMs. The aromatics tested, with percent of the isolates utilizing the compound in parentheses, were: p-hydroxybenzoate (49), vanillic acid (48), 3,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (16), syringic acid (19), vanillin (30), benzoic acid (27), ferulic acid (34), resorcinol (9), catechol (8) and protocatechuic acid (27).

Climate change scenarios predict that seawater temperature and precipitation will increase in the Baltic Sea region during the next century. In the northern part of the Baltic Sea, increasing inflows of the terrestrial allochthonous dissolved organic matter (ADOM) are expected to be a major consequence of elevated rainfall, which can alter light and nutrient availability for phytoplankton. The aim of my thesis was to elucidate effects of ADOM on phytoplankton production, community, size-structure and nutritional strategy along offshore south-north gradients in the Baltic Sea, as well as in estuarine systems exposed to seasonal variation in river discharge. Field studies, a mesocosm experiment and a modeling study were used to explore these issues. Results from the field studies and mesocosm experiment illustrated that the nutritional strategy, size-structure and cellular pigment content of the phytoplankton were governed by changes in ADOM, and thus in light and nutrient availability. A summer study along an offshore south-north gradient showed that the proportion of mixotrophic phytoplankton increased towards the north. In this area the concentrations humic substances (proxy for ADOM) were high, while the light availability and phosphorus concentrations were relatively low. The phytoplankton cells responded to reduced light availability by increasing their chlorophyll a: carbon ratio. Additionally, the levels of photoprotective pigments decreased from south to north, as a result of acclimation to a low-light environment and reduced exposure to ultraviolet radiation. According to ecological assumptions picophytoplankton should be favored in light- and nutrient-limited environments. However, the results did not follow that pattern, the proportion of picophytoplankton being highest in the relatively nutrient rich Baltic Proper. The study was performed during the decline of an extensive bloom of filamentous cyanobacteria, a successional phase in which picophytoplankton often dominate the phytoplankton community. The estuarine studies performed in the Bothnian Bay (Råne estuary) and in the Bothnian Sea (Öre estuary) showed different successions. In the Råne estuary no spring phytoplankton bloom occurred and highest primary production was observed during the summer. This absence of a spring bloom was explained by low phosphorus and high ADOM concentrations, while the summer maximum could be explained by higher temperature and nutrient concentrations. In the Öre estuary a marked phytoplankton spring bloom was observed as well as an ADOM sustained bacterial production phase. The later secondary peak of bacterial production observed in summer, concomitant with an extended secondary primary production peak, suggests that autochthonous dissolved organic matter supported the bacterial growth Furthermore, the photosynthetic efficiency (i.e. phytoplankton growth rates) was lower during spring, indicating that high ADOM, and thus lower light and phosphorus availability, disfavored phytoplankton growth. Our modeling study showed that climate change can impact the food web; however effects will be different between basins. In the southern Baltic Sea elevated temperature and nutrient discharge may promote nutrient recycling and oxygen consumption, potentially extending anoxic areas, sediment nutrient release and cyanobacteria blooms. In the north, increased inflow of ADOM may promote heterotrophic bacterial production and decrease primary production due to light attenuation and lower phosphorus availability. This will favor the heterotrophic microbial food web and consequently lead to lower food web efficiency of the ecosystem.

Humic substances, such as the closely related humic and fulvic acids are ubiquitous, naturally occurring organic macromolecules of complex but undefined structure. These compounds are known complexing agents due to their supramolecular like structures and are capable of binding a wide variety of compounds. Numerous studies have confirmed that humic and fulvic acids exhibit diverse medicinal and therapeutic properties. For this reason, alternative or “natural” medicinal preparations rich in these substances are being self-administered, often concomitantly with conventional drugs. The possibility exists that these humic substances, found in the alternative medicinal products, may result in drug-drug interactions and bind to simultaneously ingested drugs. Complex formation may affect absorption and alter overall bioavailability. Changes in these parameters may lead to reduced therapeutic effect or toxic side effects of prescribed drugs in patients. Similarly, these humic substances may bind to and alter the uptake of ingested nutrients, such as vitamins and minerals, obtained from food sources as well as dietary supplements. Changes in absorption may result in a loss of proper physiological functioning in the body or in unwanted effects of overdose. This study investigated the effect of fulvic and humic acids on the absorption of commonly administered classes of drugs, vitamins and minerals using the everted mouse gut model that was successfully used to assess the membrane transport of the test compounds. This model made use of everted segments of excised intestinal tissue placed in Krebs Ringer Buffer (pH7.4), where physiological functioning of the tissue is maintained for up to two hours after excision. The amount of test compound which crossed through the intestinal membrane without and in the presence of each humic substance was quantified using LC-MS/MS methods developed for each of the drugs and vitamins, and ICP-MS, in the case of the minerals. The amount of test compound absorbed alone was compared to the amount absorbed when in the presence of each humic substance. Changes in the uptake, for each test compound was noted, the extent of the absorption increase or decrease was compound specific. The changes in absorption observed could be attributed to changes in compound solubility and mechanism of transport across the intestinal membrane once in complex. Drugs and vitamins were seen to be more prone to decreases in absorption in the presence of the humic substances, whereas the majority of the minerals showed significantly increased absorption. Binding of the minerals to the humic substances through chelation, and not complex formation, could have a greater effect on compound solubility. Health care professionals, as well as individuals ingesting these and other substances concurrently, should be aware of the potential effects on absorption that may occur due to drug-drug interactions in order to avoid a loss of therapeutic/physiological activity or negative toxic symptoms. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2015. / tm2015 / Pharmacology / MSc / Unrestricted

Este estudo teve como objetivo avaliar a interação entre substâncias húmicas e xenobióticos através de estudos ecotoxicológicos. O principal foco foi avaliar a resposta entre diferentes níveis tróficos em organismos aquáticos (fitoplanctônicos, zooplanctônicos, peixes e macroinvertebrados bentônicos) e terrestres (vegetais superiores, insetos e anelídeos) avaliando os efeitos diretos e indiretos das SH e de sua mistura com xenobióticos sobre os organismos. O reconhecido efeito das SH aumentarem ou reduzirem o efeito tóxico de algumas substâncias foi estudado. Os principais pontos para discussão são: a) SH podem reduzir ou estimular o crescimento algal (P. subcapitata); b) A presença de SH podem proteger os organismos contra efeitos tóxicos de metais, no entanto, a presença de Cd/Cu afeta negativamente o crescimento de C. xanthus. d) Em uma análise integrada de processos de remediação solo/água, a presença de SH afetou negativamente ou positivamente os efeitos tóxicos da atrazina em alguns organismos. A significância das SH como tecnologia é discutida. / This study focuses the interaction of humic substances and xenonbiotics, throw ecotixicological studies. The main point was quantify and qualify the ecotoxicological responses of several throphic levels of freshwater (algae, zooplankton, fishes and benthic organisms) and soil organisms (higth plants, insects and annelids) analyzing the direct and indirect effects of humic substances (HS) and their mixture on organisms. The recognized ability of HS on improve or reduce the toxic effect of same substances has been studied. The main points of discussion are: a) humic can be both reduce or stimulate the algal growth (P. subcapitata); b) The presence of HS can be protect aquatic organisms to negative effects of metals. However, the presence of mixture of Cd/Cu affect negatively the growth of C. xanthus; d) In a integrated analysis of remediation process in soil/water microcosm, the presence of HS displayed negative or positive effects on atrazine toxicity for some organisms. The value of humic technology was discussed.

A avaliação da ocorrência de interações hidrofóbicas em substâncias húmicas toma-se importante pois este tipo de interação pode afetar a dinâmica e a reatividade de contaminantes apoIares no ambiente e influenciar no controle biogeoquímico do carbono no solo, podendo contribuir para a mitigação do efeito estufa. Entretanto, devido à heterogeneidade química das substâncias húmicas associada à baixa energia envolvida neste tipo de interação, evidências ou detecções experimentais são difíceis. Neste trabalho avaliou-se a ocorrência de interações hidrofóbicas em substâncias húmicas e também em alguns componentes do solo utilizando a metodologia de marcador de spin, detectável por ressonância paramagnética eletrônica, e a supressão de fluorescência. A utilização de diferentes marcadores de spin (TEMPO, 5-SASL, 16-SASL e 5-MSSL) possibilitou avaliar que a interação estabelecida com o ácido húmico é predominantemente hidrofóbica. A forte imobilização do marcado r 5SASL no ácido húmico foi confirmada pela diminuição dos valores da taxa de difusão rotacional obtida por simulação espectral (109 s-1 em água e 106 s-1 em presença do ácido húmico). Da análise do comportamento espectral do marcador de spin, observou-se que a conformação estrutural do ácido húmico depende, além do pH, da concentração iônica. Em pH 7,5, foi observado que a utilização de concentrações iônicas acima de 0,1 moI L-1 de c1oreto de sódio favoreceu a formação de sítios hidrofóbicos menos expostos ao meio aquoso (internos). O tempo de hidratação e a concentração de ácido húmico também influenciaram na formação destes sítios. Os experimentos com variação de concentração de ácido húmico e de marcador de spin sugeriram que a estruturação de sítios hidrofóbicos internos, observados principalmente abaixo de pH 5, seja devida à agregação de várias estruturas húmicas menores. Embora tenha sido observada a existência de sítios hidrofóbicos no ácido fúlvico, este apresentou maior dificuldade de agregação em comparação ao ácido húmico, o que foi atribuído ao seu caráter mais hidrofílico. Dos experimentos de supressão de fluorescência, observou-se que a interação do pireno foi influenciada pelas características químicas dos ácidos húmicos extraídos de diferentes solos e sistemas de manejo. Os dados mostraram que quanto maior a aromaticidade do ácido húmico maior foi a interação, sugerindo que as interações estabelecidas ocorrem predominantemente por meio de forças de van der Waals. Não se obteve correlações significativas entre a porcentagem estimada de moléculas de marcadores de spin imobilizadas nos sítios hidrofóbicos internos com as características químicas dos ácidos húmicos. Este comportamento sugeriu que estes sítios podem estar mais associados à conformação estrutural do que à composição química dos ácidos húmicos. Também foi analisado o comportamento espectral do marcador de spin na presença de alguns componentes do solo (fração argila, solo tratado com ácido fluorídrico e ácido húmico). Pelos resultados não se observou imobilização do marcador de spin na fração argila (caulinita), diferentemente do que foi observado para o solo tratado com ácido fluorídrico e ácido húmico. As diferenças na imobilização dos marcadores de spin foram atribuídas aos diferentes teores de carbono de cada amostra. / Hydrophobic interactions can play an important role on the dynamics and reactivity of the apoIar organic compounds in the environrnent as well as the organic carbon dynamic in the global system, and eventually contribute to mitigation of greenhouse effect. However, due to the chemical heterogeneity of humic substances and the low energy involved in the hydrophobic interactions experimental evidences are very difficult to be obtained. ln this work, hydrophobic interactions in the humic substances and some soil components were evaluated through spin labeling, detected by electronic paramagnetic resonance, and fluorescence quenching. Using different spin labels (TEMPO, 5-SASL, 16-SASL and 5-MSSL), it was possible to observe that the interactions established with humic acids are mainly hydrophobic. The decrease of the values of the rotational diffusion rates, obtained from spectral simulation, from 109 s-1 Iin water to 106 s-1 in the presence of humic acid indicated that the spin label was strongly immobilized in the humic acid. The results from the analysis of spectral anisotropy of the spin label showed that conformational aspects of the humic acid are dependent on pH value and ionic strength. For pH around 7.5 and using ionic strength above 0.1 moI L-1 of sodium chloride was noticed an increase in the formation of inner hydrophobic sites. It was noticed that the formation of inner hydrophobic sites also was influenced by hydration time and humic acid concentration. Data obtained using different humic acids and spin label concentration suggested that the inner hydrophobic sites formation (mainly at pH below 5) is due to the aggregation of small humic structures. The existence of inner hydrophobic sites was noticed in the fulvic acid. However, the fulvic acid presented more difficulty to form aggregates, in comparison with humic acid, due to its major hydrophilic characteristic. From data obtained by fluorescence quenching it was observed that the interaction of pyrene was influenced by chemical composition of humic acid samples extracted from different soils and tillage systems. An increase of interactionin samples with higher aromaticity degree was shown, which indicates that the van der Waals forces are prevailing. No correlation between the estimated percentages of spin label molecules immobilized in the inner hydrophobic sites and the chemical characteristics of humic acid samples was obtained. This behavior suggested that the hydrophobic sites in the humic acid are mainly related to structural conformation instead of chemical composition. The mobility trend of spin label in the presence of soil components (clay fraction, fluoridric acid treated soil and humic acid) was also analyzed. No spin label immobilization was noticed in the clay fraction (kaolinite). On the other hand strongly immobilized spin label in the fluoridric acid treated soil and humic acid were observed. The differences in the immobilization were attributed to the carbon content.

The aim of this diploma thesis is to study to the influence of compost addition to soil humic substances extracted from blackland luvicsol. Humic substances extracted from soil and from compost were characterized by titration with potentiometrical and conductival indication, UV-VIS, FT-IR and 3D EEM fluorescential spectroscopy. Compost in amount of 124, 239 and 478 t/ha was applicated and manured into dept of 150 mm at blackland luvicsol. The main aim of thesis was the appraisal of compost influence into fluorescent attributes of soil HS and localization of fluorescent peaks at excitation emission spectrums. Next part of diploma thesis was focused on the study of spectroscopic attributes of soil HS and compost by UV-VIS and infrared spectroscopy with Fourier transformation. Humic substances were characterized by humifical index E4/E6 and transmissional vibratile spectrums. The last aim of diploma thesis were the characterization of soil HS extracts and compost by acidimetral titration. For each sample was calculated value of H+ ionts amount of substance from measured titrational curves.

This diploma thesis deals with the study of non-energy use of lignite. The main objective was to find an optimal recipe for the preparation of liquid and semi-solid (paste) hydrocolloids from the South Moravian lignite using the planetary mill and select the suitable dispersion medium with emphasis on possible use in agriculture. The used solutions were 10, 20 a 40 % w/w solutions of urea; 5, 10 a 15 % w/w solutions of citric acid; 1, 5 a 10 % w/w solutions of potassium chloride and deionized water. The best weight ratio for the preparation of lignite hydrocolloids is 1 part of lignite and 2 parts of the solution. The next part of this work is the isolation of humic acid from lignite hydrocolloids. The weight of isolated humic acids and amount of ash were compared to the used lignite hydrocolloids. Rheological behavior, particle size distribution, stability and thermal stablity of prepared lignite hydrocolloids were investigated. Correlation microscopy was used for determining elemental composition of selected location in the sample of lignite hydrocolloid.

This thesis deals with the study of the biological activity of humic substances. Based on the literature review preparation procedures were optimized in order to develop new hydrogel forms containing humic substances and biopolymers with high swelling capacity. Besides methodology for the rapid assessment of the biological activity obtained in laboratory conditions were designed and tested. The experimental part focused on characterization of hydrogel samples by means of routine physico-chemical methods, the main attention was paid to sorption of water and release of humic substances into solution. Then the prepared hydrogel materials were tested focusing on the growth effects on the maize. The absorption of mineral nutrients by the roots of plants were studied as well. The motivation of this work comes from the potential of agricultural and environmental applications of such hydrogel materials resulting in a renewal of previously exhausted organic content of soils and consequent interruption of substantial soil degradation.

Tato dizertační práce studuje charakter hydratační vody v systému voda/huminová látka. Úkolem je určit jak kvantitativní, tak i kvalitativní aspekty hydratace huminových látek (HS) v pevné i kapalné fázi a prozkoumat rozdíly ve vlastnostech vody obklopující huminovou látku s použitím vysokorozlišovací ultrazvukové spektroskopie (HRUS) a metod termické analýzy, jako je diferenční kompenzační kalorimetrie (DSC) a termogravimetrie (TGA). Hlavním cílem této práce je přispět k objasnění problému hydratace huminových látek pocházejících z různých zdrojů a majících proto odlišné vlastnosti a složení, a to s využitím postupů a technik, které se již dříve osvědčily při stanovení hydratační vody v hydrofilních polymerech. Tato práce zkoumá účinek vody na strukturu huminových látek, způsob, jakým voda smáčí jejich povrch a jak jimi proniká, způsobuje změny v konformaci HS, jejich retenční kapacitu a také vliv původu jednotlivých huminových látek na jejich hydratační vlastnosti s ohledem na kineticku těchto procesů. Dále studuje vliv stupně humifikace na hydratační procesy huminových látek, stejně jako reverzibilitu těchto procesů. Výsledky této práce objasňují paralelu s vlastnostmi hydrogelů a podobnosti i odlišnosti mezi biopolymery a huminovými látkami.

This thesis is focused on the study of the biological activity of superabsorbent polymers for environmental and agricultural applications. Generally these hydrogels perform many functions in the soil, which is increasingly stressed by treatment with synthetic fertilizers and thus loses their natural properties, such as the uptake of moisture. Addressing these issues is now in superabsorbent polymers that can absorb and also retain a lot of water around the root system as long as possible. They can perform the function of carriers gradual release fertilizer. Based on the literature review was designed and conducted the study of biological activity in the soil model on corn sown. SAPs were prepared in the framework of contract research Faculty of Chemistry of the Technical University in Brno with the company Amagro Ltd. The content of the experiment, the superabsorbent polymer, observing effects on the growth of dent corn. He was also studied root system for absorption of nutrients. Further changes were observed rheological properties of prepared superabsorbent polymer, superabsorbent polymers since they provide a source of nutrients and help to retain moisture in the soil, it is necessary to know their viskoelstick properties even at temperatures below freezing. This work is based primarily on the use of great motivation superabsorbent polymers in agriculture and also in environmental protection.