Search results for " TOXIC"
showing 10 items of 3345 documents
Biomonitoring of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the urine of lactating mothers: Urinary levels, association with lifestyle factors, and risk ass…
2020
Abstract Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are pollutants produced during incomplete combustion of organic matter and several industrial processes. Humans can be exposed to PAHs through ingestion of food, inhalation of tobacco smoke or polluted air, and dermal contact, causing immunologic, developmental, and reproductive problems. In the present research, eleven metabolites of PAHs were analyzed in the urine of 110 lactating women living in Spain (2015). PAH metabolites were extracted from the urine samples by liquid-liquid extraction and their determination was performed by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. In addition, information on lifestyle and dietary ha…
Recreational noise pollution of traditional festivals reduces the juvenile productivity of an avian urban bioindicator.
2021
Noise is a pollutant of emergent concern for ecologists and conservation biologists. Recreational noise pollution, especially unpredictable and intermittent sounds, and its effects on wildlife and biodiversity have been poorly studied. Researchers have paid very little attention to the effect of noisy traditional festivals (fireworks and powder-guns). This study aimed to explore the effect of these recreational activities on the juvenile productivity of an urban avian bioindicator: the house sparrow. We studied five pairs of localities in the Valencia Region (E Spain) with noisy traditional festivals. Each pair was composed of one locality with festivals during the breeding season and the c…
Chronospeciation of uranium released in soil during a long-term DU shell weathering experiment.
2021
Corrosion process was investigated of depleted uranium (DU) ammunition fragments buried for three years in aerobic soils continuously irrigated with water. The continuing corrosion process was triggered through formation of soluble uranyl oxyhydrate phases such as metaschoepite and becquerelite, which were identified by micro-Raman and X-ray diffraction spectroscopy. The soil was not amended by phosphates and, therefore, no uranyl phosphates were found as corrosion products on the DU surfaces by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. A speciation modelling at high temporal sequence (chronospeciation approach) indicated that the abundant Fe oxyhydroxides in the soil immobilized the U(IV) released…
Blood flow in the internal jugular veins during the spaceflight - Is it actually bidirectional?
2020
Recently intriguing results of the research performed on astronauts of the International Space Station have been published. Unexpectedly, in some crew members a stagnant and bidirectional flow in the internal jugular vein was found, and in one of the astronauts this vein seemed to be totally thrombosed. If it actually were the case that in the settings of weightlessness there is a substantial risk of jugular vein thrombosis, any long-term human space missions would be extremely dangerous. Yet, we interpret these findings differently. In our opinion, what has been explained as bidirectional flow, actually represented the flow separation, and what has been described as occluded vein was rathe…
ATR–FTIR Spectral Analysis and Soluble Components of PM10 And PM2.5 Particulate Matter over the Urban Area of Palermo (Italy) during Normal Days and …
2019
Several epidemiological studies have shown a close relationship between the mass of particulate matter (PM) and its effects on human health. This study reports the identification of inorganic and organic components by attenuated total reflectance-Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) analysis in PM10 and PM2.5 filters collected from three air quality monitoring stations in the city of Palermo (Sicily, Italy) during non-Saharan dust events and Saharan events. It also provides information on the abundance and types of water-soluble species. ATR-FTIR analysis identified sulfate, ammonium, nitrate, and carbonate matter characterized by vibrational frequencies at 603, 615, 670, and …
Pneumothorax and the environment: A systematic review of the impact of air pollution and meteorology, and a meta-analysis on meteorology factors.
2021
Abstract A relationship between the occurrence of spontaneous pneumothorax (SP) and meteorological factors has been observed but with contradictory results. The objectives of this systematic review was to synthesis the current body of evidence to the relationships between the occurrence of SP and environmental determinants such as meteorological factors and air pollutants. We conducted a systematic search of MEDLINE, Scopus, Cochrane Library and gray literature from inception up to 31st December 2020, to find published scientific research articles based on the following eligibility criteria: original studies and population-based articles describing the relationship between meteorological fa…
Occurrence, distribution, and risk assessment of pharmerciuticals in wastewater and open surface drains of peri-urban areas: Case study of Juja town,…
2020
Abstract The occurrence of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) in the environment is becoming a major area of concern due to their undesirable effects on non-target organisms. This study investigated the occurrence and risk of contamination by five antibiotics and three antiretrovirals drugs in a fast-growing peri-urban area in Kenya, with inadequate sewer system coverage. Due to poor sewage connectivity and poorly designed decentralized systems, wastewater is directly released in open drains. Water and sediment samples were collected from open surface water drains, while wastewater samples were collected from centralized wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). Solid-phase extraction and u…
Controlled treatment of a high velocity anisotropic aquifer model contaminated by hexachlorocyclohexanes
2020
International audience; Xanthan gels were assessed to control the reductive dechlorination of hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) and trichlorobenzenes (TCBs) in a strong permeability contrast and high velocity sedimentary aquifer. An alkaline degradation was selected because of the low cost of NaOH and Ca(OH)2. The rheology of alkaline xanthan gels and their ability to deliver alkalinity homogeneously, while maintaining the latter, were studied. Whereas the xanthan gels behaved like non-Newtonian shear-thinning fluids, alkalinity and Ca(OH)2 microparticles had detrimental effects, yet, the latter decreased with the shear-rate. Breakthrough curves for the NaOH and Ca(OH)2 in xanthan solutions, ca…
Progress on bringing together raptor collections in Europe for contaminant research and monitoring in relation to chemicals regulation.
2019
Paola Movalli et al.
Volatile Profiles of Emissions from Different Activities Analyzed Using Canister Samplers and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) Analysis: …
2017
The objective of present study was to identify volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from several sources (fuels, traffic, landfills, coffee roasting, a street-food laboratory, building work, indoor use of incense and candles, a dental laboratory, etc.) located in Palermo (Italy) by using canister autosamplers and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) technique. In this study, 181 VOCs were monitored. In the atmosphere of Palermo city, propane, butane, isopentane, methyl pentane, hexane, benzene, toluene, meta- and para-xylene, 1,2,4 trimethyl benzene, 1,3,5 trimethyl benzene, ethylbenzene, 4 ethyl toluene and heptane were identified and quantified in all sampling sites.