Search results for " heavy metals"

In vivo exposure of the marine sponge Chondrilla nucula Schmidt, 1862 to cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu) and lead (Pb) and its potential use for bioremedia…

2018

Abstract The study aimed to test the cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu) and lead (Pb) bioaccumulation capacity of the marine sponge Chondrilla nucula and to measure the expression of metallothioneins (MTs) by a western blotting assay to explore metal tolerance and its potential use as a bioremediator in contaminated coastal areas. C. nucula was sampled in a protected marine area in order to perform experiments on organisms living in a healthy environment. Under laboratory conditions, the sponges were exposed to increasing concentrations of Cd, Cu and Pb in tanks filled with artificial seawater set up for the experiments. For each metal, three waterborne concentrations (mgL−1) of Cd (0.02–0.04-0.08),…

A new opportunity in bioremediation of copper polluted soils.

2016

Is Active Moss Biomonitoring Comparable to Air Filter Standard Sampling?

2022

Recently, significant attention has been paid to air quality awareness and its impact on human health, especially in urban agglomerations. Many types of dust samplers for air quality monitoring are used by governmental environmental monitoring agencies. However, these techniques are associated with high costs; as a consequence, biological methods such as active moss biomonitoring are being developed. The main disadvantages of such techniques are the lack of standardization of the preparation procedures and the lack of reliable comparisons of results with data from instrumental analyses. Our study aimed to compare the results obtained from active biomonitoring with the use of three moss spec…

Cadmium-induced changes in soil biochemical characteristics of oat (Avena sativa L.) rhizosphere during early growth stages

2011

A microcosm was assembled to physically separate soil from roots and was used to study both the impact of living roots on the soil–plant system during early stages of growth and plant responses to abiotic stress. Oat (Avena sativa L.) seedlings were grown in the microcosm unit for 44 days. Twenty-three days after planting, 0.154 mg CdSO4/g dry soil was added. Plants grown in Cd-treated microcosms showed considerable inhibition of shoot growth rates, and leaf chlorophyll content. Soil microbial biomass C and respiration increased with plant age, and most of the measured biochemical indicators decreased with increasing distance from the soil–root interface, thus demonstrating the rhizosphere …

Eco-Friendly Estimation of Heavy Metal Contents in Grapevine Foliage Using In-Field Hyperspectral Data and Multivariate Analysis

2019

Heavy metal monitoring in food-producing ecosystems can play an important role in human health safety. Since they are able to interfere with plants’ physiochemical characteristics, which influence the optical properties of leaves, they can be measured by in-field spectroscopy. In this study, the predictive power of spectroscopic data is examined. Five treatments of heavy metal stress (Cu, Zn, Pb, Cr, and Cd) were applied to grapevine seedlings and hyperspectral data (350−2500 nm), and heavy metal contents were collected based on in-field and laboratory experiments. The partial least squares (PLS) method was used as a feature selection technique, and multiple linear regressions (…

Environmental impact assessment on the Monza cathedral (Italy): A multi-analytical approach

2020

This research deals with the characterization of black crusts collected from the Dome of Monza (Milan, Italy). Air pollution is responsible for the degradation of historical buildings surfaces. In urban and industrial areas, the degradation process is accelerated, due to carbonaceous particles and heavy metals emitted by combustion processes which contribute to the formation of black crust (BCs). In this study the characterization of BC was performed using different analytical techniques such as: HRSEM-EDX, IC, LA-ICP/MS and digital image analysis. In particular, the research focused on the study of "heavy metals" which contribute to the identify the main sources of pollution responsible fo…

The Mathematical Modeling of Ca And Fe Distribution In Peat Layers

2015

Bogs have been formed by an accumulation of peat - a light brown-to-black organic material, built up from partial decomposition of mosses and other bryophytes, sedges, grasses, shrubs, or trees under waterlogged conditions. The total peatlands area in Latvia covers 698 918 ha or 10.7% of the entire territory. Knowledge’s of peat metals content are important for any kind of peat using. Experimental determination of metals in peat is very long and expensive work. Using experimental data mathematical model for calculation of concentrations of metals in different points for different layers can help to very easy and fast to find approximately concentration of metals or trace elements. The resul…

Tolerance, Adaptation, and Cell Response Elicited by Micromonospora sp. Facing Tellurite Toxicity: A Biological and Physical-Chemical Characterization

2022

The intense use of tellurium (Te) in industrial applications, along with the improper disposal of Te-derivatives, is causing their accumulation in the environment, where oxyanion tellurite (TeO32−) is the most soluble, bioavailable, and toxic Te-species. On the other hand, tellurium is a rare metalloid element whose natural supply will end shortly with possible economic and technological effects. Thus, Te-containing waste represents the source from which Te should be recycled and recovered. Among the explored strategies, the microbial TeO32− biotransformation into less toxic Te-species is the most appropriate concerning the circular economy. Actinomycetes are ideal candidates in…

Geostatistical 3-dimensional integration of measurements of soil magnetic susceptibility.

2010

In soil magnetometry, two types of measurements are usually performed. The first type is measurements performed on the soil surface, frequently using an MS2D sensor. The second type includes measurements of magnetic susceptibility carried out in the soil profile, usually to a depth of about 30 cm. Up to now, such measurement results were analyzed separately. However, it is possible and advantageous to integrate these two types of measurements. The goal of the study was to integrate measurements of magnetic susceptibility performed on the soil surface and in the soil profile. More specifically, the goal was to obtain 3-dimensional spatial distributions of magnetic susceptibility of the topso…

Impact of Heavy Metals in Eggs and Tissues of C. caretta along the Sicilian Coast (Mediterranean Sea)

2022

In this study we compared the heavy metal concentration found in different tissues and eggs of the loggerhead sea turtle and evaluated the potential ecotoxicological risk for this important species. Eighteen heavy metal elements were determined in different tissues (liver, gonads, fat, kidney, heart, brain, and spleen) of nine individuals of Caretta caretta found stranded along the coasts of Messina (Sicily, Italy) and in the shell and yolk of six eggs from the island of Linosa (Sicily, Italy). For the analysis of the heavy metals, we used the analytical procedures in accordance with the EPA 200.8 method supplemented by EPA 6020b with three replicates for each measurement. The elements anal…