Search results for "POLLUTION"
showing 10 items of 2765 documents
Teaching Green Analytical Chemistry on the Example of Bioindication and Biomonitoring (B & B) Technologies
2019
Teaching of Green Analytical Chemistry (GAC) requires a not inconsiderable willingness on the part of the lecturer to familiarize himself with a relatively new field in analytical chemistry. Although there is much that can be derived from Green and Sustainable Chemistry, the GAC’s forward-looking perspectives in particular are independent approaches that must not be neglected. In the first chapter of this article, approaches are pursued “how (teachers) learn to learn,” ultimately based on a consensus on ethics, which allows dealing with people, society and the environment to become an interdisciplinary unit. The end of all this is a smart method of conflict management which provides solutio…
Use of atropine-treated Daphnia magna survival for detection of environmental contamination by acetylcholinesterase inhibitors.
2003
The toxicity of cholinesterase-inhibiting compounds (e.g., carbamates and organophosphates) is due to a decrease in acetylcholine metabolism, which results in a continuous stimulation of cholinergic receptors (muscarinic and nicotinic) that can be fatal. The goal of this study was to evaluate the protective effect of atropine (muscarinic receptor antagonist) against paraoxon-induced toxicity to Daphnia magna using its survival rate for the detection of environmental contamination by cholinesterase-inhibiting compounds. As expected, paraoxon was lethal to D. magna in a concentration-dependent manner. Noteworthy, the pretreatment of these organisms with atropine dramatically increased their s…
Enabling Real-Time Computation of Psycho-Acoustic Parameters in Acoustic Sensors Using Convolutional Neural Networks
2020
Sensor networks have become an extremely useful tool for monitoring and analysing many aspects of our daily lives. Noise pollution levels are very important today, especially in cities where the number of inhabitants and disturbing sounds are constantly increasing. Psycho-acoustic parameters are a fundamental tool for assessing the degree of discomfort produced by different sounds and, combined with wireless acoustic sensor networks (WASNs), could enable, for example, the efficient implementation of acoustic discomfort maps within smart cities. However, the continuous monitoring of psycho-acoustic parameters to create time-dependent discomfort maps requires a high computational demand that …
Determination of elemental levels in medicinally important Indian leaves by instrumental neutron activation analysis
1998
Levels of As, Ba, Br, Ca, Ce, Cl, Cr, Cs, Eu, Fe, Hg, I, K, La, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Rb, Sb, Sc, Sm, Sr, Th, Zn, and U have been determined in ten leaves widely used in ayurvedic medicine by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). The neutron irradiations were performed with a 100 kW Triga nuclear reactor and the induced activity was counted with a gamma-ray spectrometer. Based on elemental levels obtained the utility of these leaves in medicine are discussed.
Wastewater surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 variants in October-November 2022 in Italy: detection of XBB.1, BA.2.75 and rapid spread of the BQ.1 lineage
2023
This study adds insight regarding the occurrence and spread of SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern (VOCs) and Var-iants of Interest (VOIs) in Italy in October and November 2022, by testing urban wastewater collected through-out the country. A total of 332 wastewater samples were collected from 20 Italian Regions/Autonomous Provinces (APs) within the framework of national SARS-CoV-2 environmental surveillance. Of these, 164 were collected in the first week of October and 168 in the first week of November. A similar to 1600 bp fragment of the spike protein was sequenced by Sanger (for individual samples) and long-read nanopore sequencing (for pooled Region/AP samples).In October, mutations charact…
Plant invasion risk inside and outside protected areas: Propagule pressure, abiotic and biotic factors definitively matter
2023
Invasive alien species are among the main global drivers of biodiversity loss posing major challenges to nature conservation and to managers of protected areas. The present study applied a methodological framework that combined invasive Species Distribution Models, based on propagule pressure, abiotic and biotic factors for 14 invasive alien plants of Union concern in Italy, with the local interpretable model-agnostic explanation analysis aiming to map, evaluate and analyse the risk of plant invasions across the country, inside and outside the network of protected areas. Using a hierarchical invasive Species Distribution Model, we explored the combined effect of propagule pressure, abiotic …
Effect of Bacillus thuringiensis on physiological rates of Mediterranean marine intertidal Mytilaster minimus (Mollusca, Bivalvia)
2010
The aim of the present research is to evaluate the impact of agricultural products in the marine environments. Indeed in a country such as Italy and in particularly Sicily where agricultural areas nearshore marine waters, predicting where, when and with what magnitude the impact of xenobiotics derived from agriculture is imperative. In this contest we use as model a biological product (Bacillus thuringiensis) in understanding its potential effects on non target species and on marine biodiversity. Bivalves are important elements of marine biodiversity and very often they play a role of ecosystem engineers in that many other species structurally depend on their presence. Moreover as they cons…
Seasonal dynamics of biomarkers in infaunal clam Macoma balthica from the Gulf of Riga (Baltic Sea)
2014
Abstract Biomarkers are often regarded as “early warning” signals of environmental pollution; however seasonal changes are mentioned as one of the most important factor that influences the activity of biomarkers. The aim of our study was to assess the importance of seasonal variation of selected contaminant biomarkers in Macoma balthica to provide background information for further environmental surveys in the Gulf of Riga. Seasonal variation of biomarkers (acetylcholinesterase (AChE), catalase (CAT), glutathione reductase (GR) and glutathione- S -transferase (GST)) was measured in infaunal clam M . balthica from the southern part of the Gulf of Riga. The majority of biomarkers (GST, CAT an…
Association between passive tobacco exposure and caries in children and adolescents. A systematic review and meta-analysis.
2017
To examine the available evidence on the association between exposure to tobacco use in the womb and in infancy and the presence of caries in primary and permanent dentition in children and adolescents. A systematic review was conducted through searches in 4 data bases (Pubmed, Scopus, Embase and Web of Science), complemented by hand-searching. Of the 559 articles identified, 400 were duplicates. Finally, 28 articles were included in the qualitative review and 21 in the meta-analysis. Their quality was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. The quality was medium in 44% of the articles included and high in 56%. The overall meta-analysis gave a significant odds ratio (OR = 1.53, 95% conf…
Dynamics of particulate major and trace elements in the lower reaches of the Daugava River and adjacent area of the Gulf of Riga (Baltic Sea).
2004
Suspended particulate matter (SPM) was collected in the freshwater-seawater mixing zone in the lower reaches of the Daugava River (Latvia) and adjacent marine area, during five cruises in 1998-2001. The study focused on biogeochemical phase exchange processes. SPM in the freshwater was found to be mainly allochthonous with a high content of organic matter, Mn and sorbed phosphate. Property-salinity plots suggested flocculation of humic-Fe complexes across the salinity gradient. The variability of sorbed phosphate was related to particulate Fe, although no dependence on pH and ionic strength was observed. The Mn contents of SPM mainly follow conservative mixing, but there are also indication…