*2.6. Antioxidant Assays*

Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARs) were measured colorimetrically according to Tappel and Zalkin [45]. The catalase activity (U/mL serum; EC <IP_ADDRESS>, CAT) was measured according to Luck [46]. The superoxide dismutase activity (U/mL serum; EC <IP_ADDRESS>, SOD) was evaluated according to Misra and Fridovich [47]. The total antioxidant

capacity (TAC) was estimated colorimetrically using commercial kits produced by Bio Diagnostic, Egypt according to the method of [48].

#### *2.7. Antibody Titers against SRBCs*

The primary and secondary immune response was assayed by measuring antibody titer against sheep red blood cell counts (SRBCs), as the agglutination titer described by Wegmann and Smithies [49]. The agglutination titer was calculated as the log of the reciprocal of the highest serum dilution for the whole agglutination [50].


**Acknowledgements**

method were efficient and a quantity of 0.7 mg of alloyed (Ni, Cr and Mn was majority) metals was obtained. For a selective recovery of heavy metals is necessary that the electrochemical process should be conducted according to the differences of deposition potential of each metal

The balance of phytoremediation and heavy metal extraction indicated that the thermal treatment followed by ash leaching and electrolysis was an efficient method of metal extraction from the phytoremediation by-products – the plant biomass. By this process could be recov‐ ered saleable heavy metals and the waste resulted from phytoremediation was a heavy metal

For the studied area, in the vicinity of metallurgical plant of Targoviste city, the heavy metal concentration in soil for Cu, Sn, Pb and Mn exceeded the alert threshold for agricultural soil. For Zn, Ni and Cr, some of the results showed values that exceeded also the alert threshold

The metal concentration in soil was according with the position against the pollution source. The heavy metal concentration was widely different in the seven studied species of perennial grasses, and the bioaccumulation capacity was different according with the species and metal concentration in soil. Even a species accumulate high concentrations of metals, this could be because of the high content of metal in soil, not because the species showed accumulative

**Metal Maximal concentration in studied species (mg/kg) Maximal value of bioaccumulation factor**

**Table 8.** The maximal values of heavy metal concentration and bioaccumulation factor for studied plant species

The thermal treatment of plant biomass was an effective method for metal concentration in

**Cu** 113,83 *Festuca pratensis* 1,12 *Cynodon dactylon* **Zn** 921,67 *Lolium perenne* 1,36 *Cynodon dactylon* **Sn** 379,23 *Festuca pratensis* 6,06 *Cynodon dactylon* **Pb** 66,30 *Lolium perenne* 12,29 *Luzula campestris* **Co** 4,6 *Agrostis tenuis* 0,40 *Agrostis tenuis* **Ni** 60,23 *Agrostis alba* 1,63 *Agrostis alba* **Mn** 703,93 *Lolium perenne* 0,33 *Lolium perenne* **Cr** 191,99 *Stipa capillata* 2,67 *Agrostis alba* **Mo** 25,63 *Festuca pratensis* 15,34 *Cynodon dactylon*

[42, 43].

**8. Conclusions**

for industrial soils.

capacity – BF higher than 1 (Table 8).

the material which will be used in metal recovery.

low-concentration material, without toxicity risk.

330 Environmental Risk Assessment of Soil Contamination

The research is part of the PhD thesis "Studies and research concerning the remediation of heavy metal polluted soil by eco-technological procedure", in Romanian, realized by the author in 2011. Is a good opportunity to thank my colleagues Adrian Catangiu for his involve‐ ment in the experiment of metal recovery by electrolysis and Irina Fierascu and Radu Claudiu Fierascu for their involvement in the sample analyses by ICP-AES and EDXRF. Also I want to thank my thesis coordinator, Prof. Georghe Ionita for his support.


1. Introduction

Biological membranes are the boundaries that separate interiors of cells from their external environment. The composition of biological membranes is complex; they are made of lipid bilayers [1, 2] with a wide array of components depending on the type, function and age of the cell [3]. Carbohydrates are a key structural feature of cell membranes. In cell membranes, carbohydrates are mostly found covalently attached with other biomolecules, these pairs are termed glycoconjugates. Glycoconjugates are compounds in which one or more carbohydrate units are covalently linked to a biomolecule such as a protein or a lipid [4]. Depending upon the counterparts to which the carbohydrates are linked, glycoconjugates are classified as glycoproteins, glycolipids, glycosaminoglycans or proteoglycans. These glycoconjugates

© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and eproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

are involved in regulating biological activities such as fertilization, host- pathogen recognition, immunity and immune response, and in cancers where changes in glycosylation are commonly observed [5].

cholesterol content of membranes will disrupt lipid rafts, alter lipid organization, and affect cell behavior [16]. Using two-photon microscopy, liquid-ordered and liquid-disordered (raftlike) domains were observed in living cells including macrophages [17]. The removal of 9.5% of the cholesterol from live RAW264.7 cells affects the cells morphology by removing membrane protrusions, while adding more cholesterol increases the number of cell-cell contact points. The fluorescence data show a shift toward a greater population of liquid-disordered domains. Two–photon fluorescence imaging has also been used to show that cholesterol depletion in live macrophages caused disappearance of lipid rafts and that restoration of cholesterol restored the raft organization [18]. Another example concerns the culturing of hippocampal neurons, in which depletion of cholesterol resulted in a number of directly observable effects including the loss of many synapses and dendritic spines and the internalization of AMPA receptors [19]. The glycolipid ganglioside GM1 was contained within these rafts. An opportunity exists for further study of the effect of perturbation of lipid constitution

Monolayers of Carbohydrate-Containing Lipids at the Water-Air Interface

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.76440

215

This chapter will give insights into methods used for designing and studying monolayer model systems in general along with some pertinent experimental results. The primary component of the monolayer chosen for discussion here are glycolipids. However, the methods and theories described are not limited to glycolipids or biological systems and in principle can

Lipids are amphiphilic molecules consisting of a hydrophilic head-group and a hydrophobic

Monolayers are assembled by depositing droplets of lipid solution onto the water surface and subsequently waiting for the solvent to evaporate. The molecules spread out while the solvent evaporates. An example of a good spreading solvent is chloroform, although not all lipids are soluble in chloroform and sometimes mixed solvents with an alcohol must be used. Once deposited on the water surface, the polar or charged head-group orients towards the water surface and the hydrophobic tail(s) aligns away from the water. The lipid molecules get spread uniformly over the water surface forming a monomolecular thick film called a Langmuir monolayer named after

tail made of one or more hydrocarbon chains that may be saturated or unsaturated.

Irving Langmuir [20], who pioneered this technique together with Katharine B. Blodgett.

Selection of solvent is critical for uniform spreading of monolayer. An ideal solvent should be volatile, chemically inert, relatively pure and with enough solubilization power to dissolve the solutes under study. Care must also be taken to make sure that the solvents are insoluble in the subphase [21]. Chloroform, cyclohexane, benzene, hexane, and mixtures with acetone, ethanol or methanol are some commonly used solvents. Water or buffer solutions of various composi-

The depositions are carried out in a Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) trough, depicted in Figure 2 where some of the main monolayer techniques are also schematically depicted. The basic

on lipid organization and hence on cell behavior in living cells in culture.

2. Fabrication of monolayer of lipids as membrane models

be adapted to many other interfacial systems.

tion and pH are used as the subphase.

The complex nature of biomembranes makes them challenging to study [6], see Figure 1. This complexity necessitated development of simpler model systems, which would mimic native membranes but at the same time would give control over parameters such as structure, composition, size and facilitate monitoring of molecules of interest [7]. The majority of model systems are tailored to incorporate the bilayer structure of biological membranes. These bilayer model systems can be arranged in two-dimensions on a solid support or can form threedimensional spherical structures (supported or free in solution) as in liposomes [7–9]. Liposomes may be small, large, or giant in size and can have either one (unilamellar) or multiple (multilamellar) lipid bilayers. Liposomes are the subject of intense clinical interest where they are being studied as a vehicle for drug delivery [10–12]. Alternatively, one can fabricate monolayers of biomolecules as mimetic model systems. The compositions of monolayers are chosen to mimic one of the two leaflets of a biological membrane. One can then study the changes these systems would go through when they interact with external stimuli, which could be pathogens such as bacteria or viruses, proteins, or changes in environmental factors as temperature, pressure or pH. The results of such studies may then be extrapolated to natural biological membrane systems.

The lateral organization of lipids and cholesterol in cell membranes is important for cellular functions, especially cell signaling activities. Lipid rafts [13, 14], which are aggregates of sphingolipids and cholesterols, are also known to incorporate glycolipids [15] and host key cell signaling proteins such as glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored proteins. Studies in which the lipid organization is both perturbed and also observed in living cells under culture conditions are challenging. Exposure to agents such as methyl β-cyclodextrin that perturbs the

Figure 1. A representation of the complex nature of cell membranes.

cholesterol content of membranes will disrupt lipid rafts, alter lipid organization, and affect cell behavior [16]. Using two-photon microscopy, liquid-ordered and liquid-disordered (raftlike) domains were observed in living cells including macrophages [17]. The removal of 9.5% of the cholesterol from live RAW264.7 cells affects the cells morphology by removing membrane protrusions, while adding more cholesterol increases the number of cell-cell contact points. The fluorescence data show a shift toward a greater population of liquid-disordered domains. Two–photon fluorescence imaging has also been used to show that cholesterol depletion in live macrophages caused disappearance of lipid rafts and that restoration of cholesterol restored the raft organization [18]. Another example concerns the culturing of hippocampal neurons, in which depletion of cholesterol resulted in a number of directly observable effects including the loss of many synapses and dendritic spines and the internalization of AMPA receptors [19]. The glycolipid ganglioside GM1 was contained within these rafts. An opportunity exists for further study of the effect of perturbation of lipid constitution on lipid organization and hence on cell behavior in living cells in culture.

This chapter will give insights into methods used for designing and studying monolayer model systems in general along with some pertinent experimental results. The primary component of the monolayer chosen for discussion here are glycolipids. However, the methods and theories described are not limited to glycolipids or biological systems and in principle can be adapted to many other interfacial systems.


**8. Soil chemical properties**

The examination of the enduring effects of conservation tillage on soil chemical properties is a subject of considerable importance to farmers, agronomists, and environmentalists. The implementation of conservation tillage practices leads to the creation of a unique soil environment, which in turn requires modified management approaches when compared to conventional tillage methods. Soil pH, cation exchange capacity (CEC), exchangeable cation levels, and total nitrogen content are among the many of the chemical parameters typically affected by the tillage techniques. Lal [33] found that distinct positive changes in chemical properties of the surface layer tend to occur when employing the no-till method compared to tilled soil. Research by Rasmussen [34] shows that plant residues on the soil's surface contribute to an increase in organic matter inside the topsoil when no-tillage methods are used on a yearly basis. Ismail et al. [35] also documented a notable increase in soil organic carbon (SOC) levels in no-till (NT) soil when compared to in untilled soil. It has been observed that the total nitrogen loss is reduced under the no-till (NT) practice in comparison to under conventional tillage (CT). In tilled lands, the organic carbon and total nitrogen shows a crisp decrease as compared to in land with minimum tillage, which can be attributed to higher rates of mineralization and/or leaching due to the deterioration of soil structure caused by tillage practices; the soil remains unaltered Dalal [36]. The nutrient availability is effectively maintained as the organic matter content is increased in conservation tillage practices. The implementation of conservation tillage practices has been found to have a beneficial effect on the nutrient content of soil. Soils managed with conservation tillage exhibit elevated levels of essential nutrients, including nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). The levels of exchangeable calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and potassium (K) in the surface soil are notably elevated under no-till (NT) practices in comparison to under the plowed soil. Conservation tillage systems contribute to the enhancement of nutrient availability for crops by promoting improved soil organic matter content and reducing erosion.


*Article* **Shear-Wave Tomography Using Ocean Ambient Noise with Interference**

#### **Guoli Wu 1,2, Hefeng Dong 2,\*, Ganpan Ke 3 and Junqiang Song 1**

Received: 18 June 2020; Accepted: 21 August 2020; Published: 11 September 2020

**Abstract:** Ambient noise carries abundant subsurface structure information and attracts ever-increasing attention in the past decades. However, there are lots of interference factors in the ambient noise in the real world, making the noise difficult to be utilized in seismic interferometry. The paper performs shear-wave tomography on a very short recording of ocean ambient noise with interference. An adapted eigenvalue-based filter is adopted as a pre-processing method to deal with the strong, directional interference problem. Beamforming and the noise crosscorrelation analyses show that the filter works well on the noise recorded by the array. Directional energy is significantly suppressed and the background diffuse component of the noise is relatively enhanced. The shear-wave tomography shows a 4-layer subsurface structure of the area covered by the array, with relatively homogeneous distribution of the shear-wave velocity values in the top three layers and a complicated structure in the bottom layer. Moreover, 3 high-velocity zones can be recognized in the bottom layer. The result is compared with several other tomography results using different methods and data. It demonstrates that, although the ambient noise used in this paper is very short and severely contaminated, a reasonable tomography result can be obtained by applying the adapted eigenvalue-based filter. Since it is the first application of the adapted eigenvalue-based filter in seismic tomography using ambient noise, the paper proves the effectiveness of this technique and shows the potential of the technique in ambient noise processing and passive seismic interferometry.

**Keywords:** passive seismic interferometry; surface wave; inversion; shear-wave velocity; ambient noise; dispersion curve


*Appendix A.3. Data and Information Processing Technologies*

In this section, you will be asked to rate the level of usage, investment decisions, and the success potential for data and information processing technologies (e.g., Building Information Modeling or BIM, Scheduling program, such as Primavera, Power Project, Procore, Job Master, CMIC, Estimating software such as Manifest, Esti-mate, FBS-Estimator).

	- -Strongly Agree
	- -Agree
	- -Neutral
	- -Disagree
	- -Strongly Disagree
	- -Almost Always
	- -Often
	- -Sometimes
	- -Rarely
	- -Never
	- -Almost Always
	- -Often
	- -Sometimes
	- -Rarely
	- -Never
	- -Strongly Agree—Will greatly increase
	- -Agree—Will slightly increase
	- -Neutral—remain the same as already reached
	- -Disagree—Will slightly decrease
	- -Strongly Disagree—Will return to the pre-Pandemic level
	- -Very high
	- -High
	- -Normal
	- -Adequate
	- -Very little
	- -Very high
	- -High
	- -Normal
	- -Adequate
	- -Very little

#### *Appendix A.4. Information and Communications Technologies*

In this section, you will be asked to rate the level of usage, investment decisions, and the success potential for information and communication technologies (e.g., Video Conferencing such as google meet and zoom, Dropbox, mail, web-based systems).

	- -Strongly Agree
	- -Agree
	- -Neutral
	- -Disagree
	- -Strongly Disagree
	- -Almost Always
	- -Often
	- -Sometimes
	- -Rarely
	- -Never
	- -Almost Always
	- -Often
	- -Sometimes
	- -Rarely
	- -Never
	- -Strongly Agree—Will greatly increase
	- -Agree—Will slightly increase
	- -Neutral—remain the same as already reached
	- -Disagree—Will slightly decrease
	- -Strongly Disagree—Will return to the pre-Pandemic level
	- -Very high
	- -High
	- -Normal
	- -Adequate
	- -Very little
	- -Very high
	- -High
	- -Normal
	- -Adequate
	- -Very little
	- -Strongly Agree—Will greatly increase
	- -Agree—Will slightly increase
	- -Neutral—remain the same as already reached
	- -Disagree—Will slightly decrease
	- -Strongly Disagree—Will return to the pre-Pandemic level