Search results for "accumulation"
showing 10 items of 240 documents
Persistent and Emerging Organic Pollutants in the Marine Coastal Environment of the Gulf of Milazzo (Southern Italy): Human Health Risk Assessment
2020
The Gulf of Milazzo (north-eastern Sicily) has been recognized as Italian Site of National Interest (SNI; areas characterized by high level of contamination with potential effects on human health) in 2005 because of its high level of pollution. In this study we measured the concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), and polyBrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) in seawater and sediments sampled from the Gulf of Milazzo in order to assess (i) the environmental status of contamination, and (ii) cancer and non-cancer human health risk potentially due to dermal absorption from contaminated seawater and/or ingestion of contaminated fish. Particularly, …
Profiles and Sources of PAHs in Sediments from an Open-Pit Mining Area in the Peruvian Andes
2015
The Peruvian Andes are one of the most productive areas for mining and therefore also one of the most exposed to these sources of pollution. This article reports the characterization of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sediments of Cerro de Pasco area (Peru) located close to a large open-pit mine and, in recent years, several reports have provided evidence of environmental contamination and related health problems. Investigations were carried out into the fifteen PAHs identified by the US-Environment Protection Agency (US-EPA) as requiring priority monitoring, other non US-EPA listed PAHs and perylene were also investigated in order to obtain further information on their origins. …
Bioaccumulation, Biodistribution, Toxicology and Biomonitoring of Organofluorine Compounds in Aquatic Organisms
2021
This review is a survey of recent advances in studies concerning the impact of poly- and perfluorinated organic compounds in aquatic organisms. After a brief introduction on poly- and perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) features, an overview of recent monitoring studies is reported illustrating ranges of recorded concentrations in water, sediments, and species. Besides presenting general concepts defining bioaccumulative potential and its indicators, the biodistribution of PFCs is described taking in consideration different tissues/organs of the investigated species as well as differences between studies in the wild or under controlled laboratory conditions. The potential use of species as bioi…
High efficiency and clinical relevance of exome sequencing in the daily practice of neurogenetics
2021
ObjectiveTo assess the efficiency and relevance of clinical exome sequencing (cES) as a first-tier or second-tier test for the diagnosis of progressive neurological disorders in the daily practice of Neurology and Genetic Departments.MethodsSixty-seven probands with various progressive neurological disorders (cerebellar ataxias, neuromuscular disorders, spastic paraplegias, movement disorders and individuals with complex phenotypes labelled ‘other’) were recruited over a 4-year period regardless of their age, gender, familial history and clinical framework. Individuals could have had prior genetic tests as long as it was not cES. cES was performed in a proband-only (60/67) or trio (7/67) st…
Background element content in the lichen Pseudevernia furfuracea: a comparative analysis of digestion methods
2019
In bioaccumulation studies, the interpretation of pollutant contents in the target biomonitor has to be performed by assessing a deviation from an unaltered reference condition. A common strategy consists in the comparison with background element content (BEC) values, often built up by uncritically merging methodologically heterogeneous data. In this respect, the acid digestion of samples was identified as a major step affecting BEC data. Here, the analytical outcomes of two acid mixtures were compared on a set of matched paired samples of the lichen Pseudevernia furfuracea, a widely used biomonitor for which BEC values based on partial digestion were previously provided. The standard refer…
Background element content of the lichen Pseudevernia furfuracea: A supra-national state of art implemented by novel field data from Italy
2018
Abstract In biomonitoring, the knowledge of background element content (BEC) values is an essential pre-requisite for the correct assessment of pollution levels. Here, we estimated the BEC values of a highly performing biomonitor, the epiphytic lichen Pseudevernia furfuracea, by means of a careful review of literature data, integrated by an extensive field survey. Methodologically homogeneous element content datasets, reflecting different exposure conditions across European and extra-European countries, were compiled and comparatively analysed. Element content in samples collected in remote areas was compared to that of potentially enriched samples, testing differences between medians for 2…
New Interpretative Scales for Lichen Bioaccumulation Data: The Italian Proposal
2019
The interpretation of lichen bioaccumulation data is of paramount importance in environmental forensics and decision-making processes. By implementing basic ideas underlying previous interpretative scales, new dimensionless, species-independent &ldquo
Bioaccumulation of dioxins, coplanar PCBs, PCDEs, HxCNs, R-PCNs, R-PCPHs and R-PCBBs in fish from a pulp-mill recipient watercourse
1993
Abstract Pike, perch and lake bream from the river Kymijoki were analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) for toxic polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and dibenzofurans (PCDFs), hexachlorinated naphthalenes (HxCNs), non-ortho substituted polychlorinated biphenyls (coplanar PCBs) and alkylchloroaromatics of pulp mill origin. In most fish, the only congener of PCDD/PCDFs found was 2,3,7,8-TeCDF (
Conflicting coccolithophore and geochemical evidence for productivity levels in the Eastern Mediterranean sapropel S1
2011
Abstract The cyclic development of anoxic conditions in the eastern Mediterranean deep sea waters is one of the most fascinating research topics in paleoceanographic studies. In combination with bottom water stagnation, enhanced primary production is a common explanation for the deposition of organic-rich layers (sapropels). This is supported by extensive evidence from both geochemical and micropaleontological studies. The correspondence of recent sapropel layers with peaks of the lower photic zone coccolithophore species Florisphaera profunda has been interpreted as a proxy for the development of a deep chlorophyll maximum (DCM), due to the pycnocline/nutricline shallowing into the lower p…
Presence and biodistribution of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in Paracentrotus lividus highlight its potential application for environmental biomonit…
2021
AbstractThe first determination of presence and biodistribution of PFOA in ninety specimens of sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus from two differently contaminated sites along Palermo’s coastline (Sicily) is reported. Analyses were performed on the sea urchins’ coelomic fluids, coelomocytes, gonads or mixed organs, as well as on seawater and Posidonia oceanica leaves samples from the collection sites. PFOA concentration ranged between 1 and 13 ng/L in seawater and between 0 and 794 ng/g in P. oceanica. The analyses carried out on individuals of P. lividus from the least polluted site (A) showed PFOA median values equal to 0 in all the matrices (coelomic fluid, coelomocytes and gonads). Conver…