Search results for " pollution."

Sperm DNA fragmentation: An early and reliable marker of air pollution.

2017

Environmental factors could have a key role in the continuous and remarkable decline of sperm quality observed in the last decades. This study compared the seminal parameters and sperm DFI in men living in areas with different levels of air pollution. Results demonstrate that both steel plants workers and patients living in a high polluted area show a mean percentage of sperm DNA fragmentation above 30%, highlighting a clear sperm damage. In this work, two different techniques were used to measure sperm DNA damage in patients’ groups, finding in both cases a high sperm DFI in patients living in polluted areas. We candidate sperm DNA fragmentation as a valuable early marker of the presence…

Allergic diseases in the elderly: biological characteristics and main immunological and non-immunological mechanisms

2017

Life expectancy and the number of elderly people are progressively increasing around the world. Together with other pathologies, allergic diseases also show an increasing incidence in geriatric age. This is partly due to the growing emphasis on a more accurate and careful diagnosis of the molecular mechanisms that do not allow to ignore the real pathogenesis of many symptoms until now unknown, and partly to the fact that the allergic people from 20 years ago represent the elderly population now. Moreover, environmental pollution predisposes to the onset of allergic asthma and dermatitis which are the result of internal pathologies more than the expression of allergic manifestations. At the …

Exacerbation of adverse cardiovascular effects of aircraft noise in an animal model of arterial hypertension

2020

Arterial hypertension is the most important risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease. Recently, aircraft noise has been shown to be associated with elevated blood pressure, endothelial dysfunction, and oxidative stress. Here, we investigated the potential exacerbated cardiovascular effects of aircraft noise in combination with experimental arterial hypertension. C57BL/6J mice were infused with 0.5 mg/kg/d of angiotensin II for 7 days, exposed to aircraft noise for 7 days at a maximum sound pressure level of 85 dB(A) and a mean sound pressure level of 72 dB(A), or subjected to both stressors. Noise and angiotensin II increased blood pressure, endothelial dysfunction, oxidati…

2017

Air pollution and climate change are potential drivers for the increasing burden of allergic diseases. The molecular mechanisms by which air pollutants and climate parameters may influence allergic diseases, however, are complex and elusive. This article provides an overview of physical, chemical and biological interactions between air pollution, climate change, allergens, adjuvants and the immune system, addressing how these interactions may promote the development of allergies. We reviewed and synthesized key findings from atmospheric, climate, and biomedical research. The current state of knowledge, open questions, and future research perspectives are outlined and discussed. The Anthropo…

Biostimulation proved to be the most efficient method in the comparison of in situ soil remediation treatments after a simulated oil spill accident

2016

The use of in situ techniques in soil remediation is still rare in Finland and most other European countries due to the uncertainty of the effectiveness of the techniques especially in cold regions and also due to their potential side effects on the environment. In this study, we compared the biostimulation, chemical oxidation, and natural attenuation treatments in natural conditions and pilot scale during a 16-month experiment. A real fuel spill accident was used as a model for experiment setup and soil contamination. We found that biostimulation significantly decreased the contaminant leachate into the water, including also the non-aqueous phase liquid (NAPL). The total NAPL leachate was …

Biosynthesis of selenium-nanoparticles and -nanorods as a product of selenite bioconversion by the aerobic bacterium Rhodococcus aetherivorans BCP1

2018

The wide anthropogenic use of selenium compounds represents the major source of selenium pollution world- wide, causing environmental issues and health concerns. Microbe-based strategies for metal removal/recovery have received increasing interest thanks to the association of the microbial ability to detoxify toxic metal/ metalloid polluted environments with the production of nanomaterials. This study investigates the tolerance and the bioconversion of selenite (SeO32−) by the aerobically grown Actinomycete Rhodococcus aetherivorans BCP1 in association with its ability to produce selenium nanoparticles and nanorods (SeNPs and SeNRs). The BCP1 strain showed high tolerance towards SeO32− with…

Crude oil exposures reveal roles for intracellular calcium cycling in haddock craniofacial and cardiac development.

2016

AbstractRecent studies have shown that crude oil exposure affects cardiac development in fish by disrupting excitation-contraction (EC) coupling. We previously found that eggs of Atlantic haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) bind dispersed oil droplets, potentially leading to more profound toxic effects from uptake of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Using lower concentrations of dispersed crude oil (0.7–7 μg/L ∑PAH), here we exposed a broader range of developmental stages over both short and prolonged durations. We quantified effects on cardiac function and morphogenesis, characterized novel craniofacial defects, and examined the expression of genes encoding potential targets underly…

Effects of gaseous and solid constituents of air pollution on endothelial function

2018

Abstract Ambient air pollution is a leading cause of non-communicable disease globally. The largest proportion of deaths and morbidity due to air pollution is now known to be due to cardiovascular disorders. Several particulate and gaseous air pollutants can trigger acute events (e.g. myocardial infarction, stroke, heart failure). While the mechanisms by which air pollutants cause cardiovascular events is undergoing continual refinement, the preponderant evidence support rapid effects of a diversity of pollutants including all particulate pollutants (e.g. course, fine, ultrafine particles) and gaseous pollutants such as ozone, on vascular function. Indeed alterations in endothelial function…

Enrichment, isolation and biodegradation potential of psychrotolerant polychlorinated-biphenyl degrading bacteria from the Kongsfjorden (Svalbard Isl…

2016

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs), such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), have been detected in abiotic Arctic matrices: surface sediments and seawater from coastal areas in the Kongsfjorden were collected and analyzed. Levels of PCBs varied depending on the sampling site. Total PCB concentrations were between 11.63 (site C2W) and 27.69 pg l-1 (site AW). These levels were comparable to those reported previously in lake sediments from the northern Svalbard. The occurrence and biodegradation potential of cold-adapted PCB-oxidizing bacteria in seawater and sediment along the fjord was also evaluated. After enrichment with biphenyl, 246 isolates were obtained with 45 of them that were abl…

Solastalgia's mourning and the slowly evolving effect of asbestos pollution: A qualitative study in Italy

2019

In Italy, the problem of asbestos pollution is increasing in severity. In fact, in recent years, the number of people affected by asbestos-related illnesses has been growing because of the fibre's slowly evolving effects and its progressive pollution in the environment adjacent to the places where it is processed. Even though the physical consequences of asbestos are now quite clear, few studies have examined the psychological consequences of this kind of disaster. Since it is difficult to perceive its pathogenicity in daily life, this study was conducted in the affected areas of north-eastern Italy, using the qualitative research in psychology with 51 persons who experienced asbestos-relat…