0000000000563249

AUTHOR

M. R. Melati

The use of leaves of Rosmarinus officinalis L. as samplers for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Assessment of air quality in the area of Palermo

The quantitative analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in vegetables and animals allows us to evaluate the quality of air, in a determined geographic area, without the need of making long samplers with complicate instrumentation. In this work, Rosmarinus officinalis leaves have been used as passive samplers. In particular, this plant was chosen because it is widespread in the Mediterranean area and it is commonly found both in the metropolitan and in the peripheral areas of the city of Palermo. Results for the concentration of total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (the sum of the 22 compounds) and the PAHs distribution in leaves from Rosmarinus officinalis are presented. Puri…

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The use of leaves of Olea europaea L. as passive samplers for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Assessment of the quality of the air in Palermo

Interest in polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHS), both from an analytical and an environmental point of view, arises from the fact that although most of them have absolutely no practical use, they are widely diffused into the environment. Their widespread distribution means that every individue is unwittingly exposed to the action of this class of substances, in working environments, in the home and in the open air. In this paper, Oleae europaea leaves have been used as passive samplers. The correlation obtained clearly shows that the quantitative analysis of PAHs in the Olea leaves permits to evaluate the quality of air, in a determined geographic area, without the need of making long …

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Interference of tributyltin(IV)chloride on the vascular plant cells

In the recent past years, interest in the environmental impact of organotin(IV) compounds has risen markedly. Considering that most data in the scientific literature refers to the animal kingdom and not to higher plants cells, we tested the effects of organotin compounds on vascular plant cells, by studying the interaction of tributyltin chloride (TBTCl) with Allium cepa, Solanun tuberosum and Solanum melongena, vascular plants that are directly involved in the human food chain. The TBTCl effects on mitotic metaphase plates, on pollen grains and on both microtubers and adult tuber parenchymatic cells were investigated and the concentrations of TBTCl inside the treated parenchymatic cells we…

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Preliminary Results on the Effect of Magnetic Fields on Anther Culture and Pollen Germination of Citrus clementina Hort. ex Tan.

Exposure to electromagnetic fields seems to modify the biological behaviour of seeds, roots, pollen grains and buds of several plants. This procedure has been also suggested as a tool to improve the utilization of plant species (Firetto et al., 2000, 2001, Petruszewski S., 1996). Since the first haploid embryogenic calli production and plantlet regeneration by anther culture of C. clementina Hort. ex Tan. 'Nules' was reported (Germany et al., 1994), several studies have been carried out to improve both the frequency of microspore embryogenesis and the percentage of plantlet regeneration. To enlarge the number of respondent genotypes and to improve the induction rate (the frequency of pollen…

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