Search results for "Environmental monitoring"
showing 10 items of 609 documents
The combined use of chemical and biochemical markers to assess water quality along the Ebro River
2004
Carp (Cyprinus carpio) and barbel (Barbus graellsii) were collected from five sites along the Ebro River. The study was designed to assess levels of persistent organic pollutants and metals bioaccumulated by fish, and some biochemical responses (cytochrome P450 system, phase II activities, and metallothioneins) against those pollutants. The highest levels of PCBs and DDTs were detected in carp from industrialised areas, which also showed high levels of mercury and cadmium in the liver, and high levels of nonylphenol in bile. Significant alterations in some biochemical markers were observed and associated to combined exposure to pollutants. The activity 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase ranged …
In vitro impact preliminary assessment of airborne particulate from metalworking and woodworking industries.
2020
Abstract BackgroundInhalation is the main route of exposure to airborne pollutants. To evaluate the safety and assess the risks of occupational hazards different testing approaches are used. 3D airway epithelial tissues allow to mimic exposure conditions in vitro, generates human-relevant toxicology data, allows to elucidate mode of action of pollutants. ResultsGilian 3500 pumps equipped with Standard Midget Impingers were used to collect the airborne particulate from woodworking and metalworking environments. EpiAirway™ tissues were used to model half working day (4 h), full working day (8 h), and 3 working day exposures to occupational pollutants. Tissue viability was assessed using MTT a…
Special issue “chemical speciation of organic and inorganic components of environmental and biological interest in natural fluids: Behaviour, interac…
2020
Several different definitions were in the past proposed to describe the term chemical speciation, and some of them were accepted from the scientific community [...]
Molecular Characterization and Source Identification of Atmospheric Particulate Organosulfates Using Ultrahigh Resolution Mass Spectrometry.
2019
Organosulfates (OSs) have been observed as substantial constituents of atmospheric organic aerosol (OA) in a wide range of environments; however, the chemical composition, sources, and formation mechanism of OSs are still not well understood. In this study, we first created an "OS precursor map" based on the elemental composition of previous OS chamber experiments. Then, according to this "OS precursor map", we estimated the possible sources and molecular structures of OSs in atmospheric PM2.5 (particles with aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 μm) samples, which were collected in urban areas of Beijing (China) and Mainz (Germany) and analyzed by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) c…
Catastrophic effects of sand mining on macroinvertebrates in a large shallow lake with implications for management
2019
Sand mining is a human activity that is increasing in inland waters and has profound effects on entire aquatic ecosystems. However, current knowledge of the effects of sand mining on freshwater lake ecosystems remains limited, especially for biotic communities. Here, we investigated the responses of macroinvertebrates to indiscriminate sand mining in a large shallow lake of China. Our results indicated that sand mining significantly increased the content of suspended particulate matter, total nitrogen, total phosphorus and chlorophyll a in the water column both in the sand mining area and the area adjacent to the dredging activities. While there was significantly lower total nitrogen and th…
Combination of linear and nonlinear multivariate approaches effectively uncover responses of phytoplankton communities to environmental changes at re…
2022
The response of a community to environmental changes is either linear or non-linear, so that they can be investigated approximately by linear or nonlinear models. At community level, redundancy analysis (RDA) and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA), and Mantel test and Generalized Dissimilarity Modelling (GDM) are two pairs of fundamental multivariate approaches. Thus, it is necessary to determine how they are used for a given group of communities or a metacommunity. In the present study, we explored the applications of the two pairs of commonly used multivariate methods for the analysis of tropical phytoplankton communities. Phytoplankton were collected from 60 tropical reservoirs in s…
A multi-criteria evaluation system for arable land resource assessment
2020
This study proposed a multi-criteria evaluation system for arable land resources by combining the soil integrated fertility index (IFI) with a soil cleanliness index (based on heavy metals and metalloid content). A total of 16 typical arable land units in Chongming District, China, were evaluated using the proposed evaluation system based on 104 collected soil samples in 16 towns. The comprehensive soil evaluation scores of arable lands in 16 towns were in the range of 90.7 to 99.2 with a mean of 96.2, indicating that the arable land in all 16 towns was at the level of excellent (≥ 90.0). Lower cleanliness indices had a significant impact on the final evaluation score. In comparison with si…
HCHs and DDTs in sediment-dwelling animals from the Yangtze Estuary, China
2005
HCHs and DDTs in sediment-dwelling animals including mollusks and crabs from the Yangtze Estuary were deter- mined by GC-ECD. Levels of t-HCH were in the range of 1.2-5.5 ng g � 1 and averaged 3.5 ng g � 1 in mollusks, while t-DDT concentrations ranged from 26.0 to 68.8 ng g � 1 , with a mean of 34.5 ng g � 1 . In crabs t-HCH concentrations var- ied from 2.0 to 25.7 ng g � 1 and averaged 13.8 ng g � 1 , whereas the concentrations of t-DDT were in the range of 1.5- 24.8 ng g � 1 with a mean value of 5.9 ng g � 1 . The HCHs and DDTs levels depend on geographical position and sources, showing the high levels at fresh water area in the estuary, such as XP, CM and LHK sites, and lower at brackis…
Tracing anthropogenic thallium in soil using stable isotope compositions.
2014
Thallium stable isotope data are used in this study, for the first time, to apportion Tl contamination in soils. In the late 1970s, a cement plant near Lengerich, Germany, emitted cement kiln dust (CKD) with high Tl contents, due to cocombustion of Tl-enriched pyrite roasting waste. Locally contaminated soil profiles were obtained down to 1 m depth and the samples are in accord with a binary mixing relationship in a diagram of Tl isotope compositions (expressed as e(205)Tl, the deviation of the (205)Tl/(203)Tl ratio of a sample from the NIST SRM 997 Tl isotope standard in parts per 10(4)) versus 1/[Tl]. The inferred mixing endmembers are the geogenic background, as defined by isotopically l…
Organic matter quantity and quality, metals availability and foraminiferal assemblages as environmental proxy applied to the Bizerte Lagoon (Tunisia)
2016
International audience; This study analyzes the benthic trophic state of Bizerte Lagoon (Tunisia) based on the total organic matter and the bioavailability of biopolymeric carbon including proteins (PTN), carbohydrates (CHO), lipids (LIP), chlorophyll a, as well as bacteria counts. The overall simultaneously extracted metals (SEM), and acid volatile sulfides (AVS) as well as the SEM/AVS ratio indicative of the toxicity of the sediments also were analyzed aiming to study their impact in the dimension, composition and structure of both dead and living benthic foraminiferal assemblages.In the studied sites TOC content is relatively high and the PTN/CHO values indicate that they can be consider…