Search results for " Pollution"
showing 10 items of 1010 documents
Effects of temperature on the acute toxicity of heavy metals (Cr, Cd, and Hg) to the freshwater crayfish, Procambarus clarkii (Girard).
1987
Chromium, an essential trace element for humans and animals is involved in normal carbohydrate metabolism; however, it is toxic at high concentrations. There is no evidence that cadmium and mercury are biologically essential but their toxicity for organisms is well known. Both cause toxic effects at low concentrations to most organisms, especially in combination with other environmental variables such as temperature. Lake Albufera and the surrounding rice field waters are subjected to very heavy loads of sewage and toxic industrial residues (including heavy metals) from the many urban and waste waters in this area. In 1978, the American red crayfish Procambarus clarkii appeared in lake Albu…
An uptake and elimination kinetics approach to assess the bioavailability of chromium, copper, and arsenic to earthworms (Eisenia andrei) in contamin…
2019
The aim of this study was to determine the bioavailability of metals in field soils contaminated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA) mixtures. The uptake and elimination kinetics of chromium, copper, and arsenic were assessed in the earthworm Eisenia andrei exposed to soils from a gradient of CCA wood preservative contamination near Hartola, Finland. In soils contaminated with 1480–1590 mg Cr/kg dry soil, 642–791 mg Cu/kg dry soil, and 850–2810 mg Ag/kg dry soil, uptake and elimination kinetics patterns were similar for Cr and Cu. Both metals were rapidly taken up and rapidly excreted by Eisenia andrei with equilibrium reached within 1 day. The metalloid As, however, showed very slow uptak…
Premature aging in bone of fish from a highly polluted marine area
2015
Fish species have attracted considerable interest in studies assessing biological responses to environmental contaminants. In this study, the attention has been focussed on fishbone of selected fish species from a highly polluted marine area, Augusta Bay (Italy, Central Mediterranean) to evaluate if toxicant elements had an effect on the mineralogical structure of bones, although macroscopic deformations were not evident. In particular, an attempt was made to evaluate if bone mineral features, such as crystallinity, mineral maturity and carbonate/phosphate mineral content, determined by XR-Diffraction and FT-IR Spectroscopy, suffered negative effects due to trace element levels in fishbone,…
Isolating the climate change impacts on air pollution-related-pathologies over Europe – A modelling approach on cases and costs
2019
Air pollution has important implications on human health and associated external costs to society, and is closely related to climate change. This contribution tries to assess the impacts of present (1996–2015) and future (2071–2100 under RCP8.5) air pollution on several cardiovascular and respiratory pathologies and to estimate the difference in the costs associated to those health impacts on European population. For that, air quality data from the WRF-Chem regional chemistry/climate modelling system is used, together with some epidemiological information from the European Commission. The methodology considered relies on the EVA exposure-response functions and economic valuation…
Congener profile, occurrence and estimated dietary intake of dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs in foods marketed in the Region of Valencia (Spain).
2011
During 2006-2008, a monitoring program was conducted on 29 target compounds, including PCDD/Fs and dl-PCBs, comprising 150 randomly collected individual food samples marketed in the Region of Valencia, Spain, grouped into 8 categories (vegetables, cereals, fats and oils, eggs, milk and dairy products, fish products, meat and meat products and fish oil). For PCDD/Fs, the highest frequency of detection corresponds to 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDD, OCDD, 2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF; and PCBs 118, 105 and 156 were the more frequent dl-PCBs. The food groups presenting higher contamination, expressed as toxic equivalents (WHO-TEQs), were fish oil (6.38 pg WHO-TEQ g(-1)fat), fish (1.21 pg WHO-TEQ g(-1)w.w.) and milk an…
Ischemic cardiovascular disease in workers occupationally exposed to urban air pollution – A systematic review
2018
Introduction Cardiovascular disease is the first cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Among several known risk factors, researchers also focus their attention on the chronic exposure to air pollution. There is much evidence that exposure to air pollution, especially to ultrafine particles, can damage the endothelium and can favour cardiovascular diseases in the general population. Occupational exposition could be an additive risk factor for the cardiovascular system. This article presents a scientific review of the linkage between occupational exposure to air pollution and ischemic heart disease. Material and methods A scientific review was undertaken, followed by PRISMA Statements. …
Thiourea Organocatalysts as Emerging Chiral Pollutants: En Route to Porphyrin-Based (Chir)Optical Sensing
2021
Environmental pollution with chiral organic compounds is an emerging problem requiring innovative sensing methods. Amino-functionalized thioureas, such as 2-(dimethylamino)cyclohexyl-(3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)thiourea (Takemoto’s catalyst), are widely used organocatalysts with virtually unknown environmental safety data. Ecotoxicity studies based on the Vibrio fischeri luminescence inhibition test reveal significant toxicity of Takemoto’s catalyst (EC50 = 7.9 mg/L) and its NH2-substituted analog (EC50 = 7.2–7.4 mg/L). The observed toxic effect was pronounced by the influence of the trifluoromethyl moiety. En route to the porphyrin-based chemosensing of Takemoto-type thioureas, their s…
The impact of the Little ice age on coccolithophores in the central Mediterranea Sea
2010
The Little Ice Age (LIA) is the last episode of a series of Holocene climatic anomalies. There is still little knowledge on the response of the marine environment to the pronounced cooling of the LIA and to the transition towards the 20th century global warming. Here we present decadal-scale coccolithophore data from four short cores recovered from the central Mediterranean Sea (northern Sicily Channel and Tyrrhenian Sea), which on the basis of <sup>210</sup>Pb activity span the last 200–350 years. The lowermost part of the record of one of the cores from the Sicily Channel, Station 407, which extends down to 1650 AD, is characterized by drastic changes in productivity. Specific…
"Nanodentistry": exploring the beauty of miniature
2011
Feynman’s early vision in 1959 gave birth to the concept of nanotechnology. He saw it as an unavoidable development in the progress of science and said that there is plenty of room at the bottom. Since then, nanotechnology has been part of mainstream scientific theory with potential medical and dental applications. Numerous theoretical predictions have been made based on the potential applications of nanotechnology in dentistry, with varying levels of optimism. While a few layers of nanotechnologic capability have become a reality for oral health in the last decade, many of these applications are still in their puerile stage .The most substantial contribution of nanotechnology to dentistry …
Wild brown trout affected by historical mining in the Cévennes national park, France.
2011
8 pages; International audience; In the protected area of the Cévennes National Park (Southern France), 114 wild brown trout (Salmo trutta fario) were captured at six locations affected to different extents by historical mining and metallurgy dating from the Iron Age to Modern Times. Cadmium and lead in trout livers and muscles reflect high sediment contamination, although an age-related effect was also detected for hepatic metal concentrations. Lead isotope signatures confirm exposure to drainage from mining and metallurgical waste. Developmental instability, assessed by fluctuating asymmetry, is significantly correlated with cadmium and lead concentrations in trout tissues, suggesting th…