Search results for "POLLUTION"
showing 10 items of 2765 documents
Kinetic, isotherm and thermodynamic studies of the adsorption of methylene blue dye onto agro-based cellulosic materials
2015
AbstractThe purpose of this work is to establish the optimal experimental conditions for the removal of methylene blue (MB-as model basic dye) from aqueous solution by adsorption onto four agro-based materials, namely, cedar sawdust, pine sawdust, wheat straw, and Provence cane Arundo donax. Results show that an increase in acidity or ionic strength of the medium has generally a negative effect on the discoloration yield. From the data of pH effect, there is no need to change the initial pH of the MB solution to be treated. Equilibrium was reached after 20−30 min of agitation when cedar sawdust, pine sawdust, and Provence cane are used as adsorbents. However, in the case of wheat straw, an …
Exploring relationships between grid cell size and accuracy for debris-flow susceptibility models: a test in the Giampilieri catchment (Sicily, Italy)
2016
Debris flows are among the most hazardous phenomena in nature, requiring the preparation of suscep- tibility models in order to cope with this severe threat. The aim of this research was to verify whether a grid cell-based susceptibility model was capable of predicting the debris- flow initiation sites in the Giampilieri catchment (10 km2), which was hit by a storm on the 1st October 2009, resulting in more than one thousand landslides. This kind of event is to be considered as recurrent in the area as attested by historical data. Therefore, predictive models have been prepared by using forward stepwise binary logistic regression (BLR), a landslide inventory and a set of geo- environmental …
Spectrophotometric study of DNA interactions with ftorafur and its elementoorganic derivatives
2017
ABSTRACTFtorafur is an antimetabolite antitumour drug successfully used for treatment of various tumours. It is generally accepted that ftorafur is converted to 5-fluoruracil. However, some data indicate direct interactions of the compound with DNA. To test this hypothesis we have performed spectrophotometric study of DNA interactions of ftorafur and some of its elementoorganic derivatives with DNA. UV-VIS spectra of the tested compounds were recorded in absence and presence of increasing amounts of DNA. DNA caused a hypochromic effect in spectra of ftorafur, similar, but weaker effect was observed in 5-fluoruracil spectra. Trimethylgermyl derivative of ftorafur manifested a higher DNA-bind…
Oil-degrading bacteria from a membrane bioreactor (BF-MBR) system for treatment of saline oily waste: Isolation, identification and characterization …
2016
A collection of forty-two (42) strains was obtained during microbiological screening of a Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) system developed for the treatment of saline oily waste originated from marine transportation. The diversity of the bacterial collection was analyzed by amplification and sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. Taxonomic analysis showed high level of identity with recognized sequences of seven (7) distinct bacterial genera (Alcanivorax, Erythrobacter, Marinobacter, Microbacterium, Muricauda, Rhodococcus and Rheinheimera). The biotechnological potential of the isolates was screened considering an important factor such as the biosurfactant production. In particular fourteen (14) biosur…
Environmental radiation alters the gut microbiome of the bank vole Myodes glareolus.
2018
International audience; Gut microbiota composition depends on many factors, although the impact of environmental pollution is largely unknown. We used amplicon sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes to quantify whether anthropogenic radionuclides at Chernobyl (Ukraine) impact the gut microbiome of the bank vole Myodes glareolus. Exposure to elevated levels of environmental radionuclides had no detectable effect on the gut community richness but was associated with an almost twofold increase in the Firmicutes:Bacteroidetes ratio. Animals inhabiting uncontaminated areas had remarkably similar gut communities irrespective of their proximity to the nuclear power plant. Hence, samples could be c…
Successful aerobic bioremediation of groundwater contaminated with higher chlorinated phenols by indigenous degrader bacteria
2018
The xenobiotic priority pollutant pentachlorophenol has been used as a timber preservative in a polychlorophenol bulk synthesis product containing also tetrachlorophenol and trichlorophenol. Highly soluble chlorophenol salts have leaked into groundwater, causing severe contamination of large aquifers. Natural attenuation of higher-chlorinated phenols (HCPs: pentachlorophenol + tetrachlorophenol) at historically polluted sites has been inefficient, but a 4-year full scale in situ biostimulation of a chlorophenol-contaminated aquifer by circulation and re-infiltration of aerated groundwater was remarkably successful: pentachlorophenol decreased from 400 μg L−1 to <1 μg L−1 and tetrachlorophen…
Exposure to a Highly Caloric Palatable Diet During Pregestational and Gestational Periods Affects Hypothalamic and Hippocampal Endocannabinoid Levels…
2016
Journal Article; Exposure to unbalanced diets during pre-gestational and gestational periods may result in long-term alterations in metabolism and behavior. The contribution of the endocannabinoid system to these long-term adaptive responses is unknown. In the present study, we investigated the impact of female rat exposure to a hypercaloric-hypoproteic palatable diet during pre-gestational, gestational and lactational periods on the development of male offspring. In addition, the hypothalamic and hippocampal endocannabinoid contents at birth and the behavioral performance in adulthood were investigated. Exposure to a palatable diet resulted in low weight offspring who exhibited low hypotha…
Biomonitoring and evaluation of permethrin uptake in forestry workers using permethrin-treated tick-proof pants.
2014
We conducted a randomized case-control trial to analyze uptake of the insecticide/arcaricide permethrin in wearers of permethrin-impregnated and non-impregnated pants in German forestry. Eighty-two male workers were each equipped for a 16-week period with permethrin-treated (test group) or with non-treated work pants (control group). Pants with or without lining to protect against cuts, obtained from two different distributors, were worn in each group. Urinary permethrin metabolite levels were measured by GC-MS/MS before, during and after wearing of the pants. Permethrin uptake was calculated using additional questionnaire data. In the control group, metabolite levels in the range of enviro…
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 patientsâ 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 …