Mineral elements, storage

Each biological form mentioned in this chapter has mineral components, storage sites of elements, and molecules that deserve further investigation. 

Some elements, for example calcium and molybdenum, may interfere with the absorption, transport, function, storage or excretion of other elements. There are many ways in which minerals may interact, but the three major ways involve the formation of unabsorbable compounds, competition for metabolic pathways and the induction of metal-binding proteins. The interaction of minerals with each other is an important factor in animal nutrition, and an imbalance of mineral elements -as distinct from a simple deficiency - is important in the aetiology of certain nutritional disorders of farm animals. The use of radioactive isotopes in recent years has advanced our knowledge of mineral nutrition, although there are many nutritional diseases associated with minerals whose exact causes are still unknown. 

Phytin, the insoluble mixed potassium, magnesium and calcium salt of myoinositol hexaphosphoric acid (phytic acid) is the major storage form of phosphate and macronutrient mineral elements in seeds. It is invariably present within a globoid in protein bodies [38, 45, 47, 56, 68, 69, 71]. 

Acknowledgements The authors wish to acknowledge the financial support of MIUR (Italian Ministero dell lstruzione, dell Universita e della Ricerca), PRIN-COFIN2006 The role of mineral phases in the mobilization and storage of contaminant elements within mining sites of eastern Liguria . 

Storage. The liver not only stores energy reserves and nutrients for the body, but also certain mineral substances, trace elements, and vitamins, including iron, retinol, and vitamins A, D, K, folic acid, and Bi2. 

As the human body is able to store many minerals, deviations from the daily ration are balanced out over a given period of time. Minerals stored in the body include water, which is distributed throughout the whole body calcium, stored in the form of apatite in the bones (see p. 340) iodine, stored as thyroglobulin in the thyroid and iron, stored in the form of ferritin and hemosiderin in the bone marrow, spleen, and liver (see p. 286). The storage site for many trace elements is the liver. In many cases, the metabolism of minerals is regulated by hormones—for example, the uptake and excretion of H2O, Na, ... 

In Jerusalem artichoke and other root and tuber crops, a significant portion of the total biomass at harvest is found in the underground storage organs (Kays, 1985 McLaurin et al., 1999 McLaurin and Kays, 1993 Meijer et al., 1993). The internal redistribution of carbon and nutrient elements that accumulate in the stems and leaves of Jerusalem artichoke plays an important role in the development of the tubers (McLaurin et al., 1999 Somda et al., 1999). Similar, but often more complex, accumulation and redistribution patterns occur for carbon and the mineral nutrient... 

Wine is a widely consumed beverage worldwide, with thousands of years of tradition and a remarkable commercial and social value. The evaluation of the quality of wine is a permanent concern for manufactures, merchants, and consumers. The presence of potentially toxic elements in wines is associated with soil contamination and also related to atmospheric precipitation, pesticides, and materials used in production, transportation, and storage. Although at the end of alcoholic fermentation there is a significant reduction of the mineral content, this may not be enough to prevent some problems related to wine stability, namely,... 

The mineral structure of bone also incorporates metals and metalloids that resemble calcium, including lead and a variety of elements some isotopes of which emit alpha radiation, including strontium-90, uranium-235, and plutonium-239. Bone acts as an important storage depot for these elements and the high local concentration in bone is responsible for the high risk of bone marrow effects and of bone cancers from a-emitting radionuclides. 

Input is measured in bulk precipitation, while output is measured in streamflow from the watershed. Positive net output means the watershed has other sources of the ion besides precipitation or is being depleted of its storage of the element. Ca2+, Mg2+, K+, and Na+ are being depleted by mineral weathering Na+ and Cl- are believed to have a significant road salt source. Both NHJ and NOy are retained as nutrients. Sulfate is not believed to have major sources on the watershed its excess of output over input is believed to be a measure of dry deposition. Units are equivalents per hectare per year. 

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