Arzneimittelwirkstoffe in der Umwelt

During the last decade, the impact of chemical pollution and environmental chemistry has focused almost exclusively on the conventional ‘priority’ pollutants which are regulated in different environmental laws. This spectrum of chemicals, however, is only one piece in the larger puzzle of ‘holistic’ risk assessment. The pharmacentical drugs are a diverse group of bioactive chemicals receiving comparatively little attention as potential environmental pollutants. The aim of the literature review is to describe the most important exposition scenarios for human and veterinary pharmacenticals in different environmental compartments (soil, surface, waste water, ground water, table water, etc.)     

Association of textile industry effluent with mutagenicity and its toxic health implications upon acute and sub-chronic exposure

Complex industrial discharges pose certain risks to the ecosystem. This study was aimed at identifying acute and sub-chronic toxicological effects of the textile industry wastewater. The textile wastewater was evaluated for the metals and organic pollutants by atomic absorption spectrophotometer and GC-MS respectively. In vitro genotoxicity and mutagenicity were assessed by Comet assay in peripheral lymphocytes isolated from Ovis aries and Ames test in Salmonella typhimurium strains TA-100 and 102 respectively. Physiological and behavioral changes along with systemic toxicity were determined in Rattus norvegicus albinus following acute and sub-chronic exposure. High amount of heavy metals such as Cr, Pb, Hg, As, and Cd were detected in textile wastewater. Organic pollutants such as 25-deacetoxy cucurbitacin-b, E-14-Hexadecenal, 11-Tricosene, and phthalates were also found. In vitro genotoxicity assessment in lymphocytes showed statistically significant DNA damaging potential of textile wastewater. Textile wastewater also showed significantly higher (p? 0.05) mutagenic potential in Salmonella TA-100 and TA-102 strains than sodium azide and 2-amino anthracycline. Acute exposure of textile wastewater to Rattus norvegicus was associated with several physiological changes and behavioral symptoms. Sub-chronic exposure of textile wastewater in Rattus norvegicus instigated the degeneration and necrosis of epithelial cells in renal tubules, hydropic degeneration and necrosis of hepatocytes, peri-bronchiolar infiltration and emphysema of the alveoli, and the degradation of myocardial cells. This study concludes that the textile wastewater may cause genotoxicity and mutagenicity, result in physiological and behavioral changes upon acute exposure, and inflict various pathological lesions upon sub-chronic exposure.     

Biological control of broad-leaved dock infestation in wheat using plant antagonistic bacteria under field conditions

Conventional weed management systems have produced many harmful effects on weed ecology, human health and environment. Biological control of invasive weeds may be helpful to minimize these harmful effects and economic losses incurred to crops by weeds. In our earlier studies, plant antagonistic bacteria were obtained after screening a large number of rhizobacteria for production of phytotoxic substances and effects on wheat and its associated weeds under laboratory conditions. In this study, five efficient strains inhibitory to broad-leaved dock and non-inhibitory to wheat were selected and applied to broad-leaved dock co-seeded with wheat both in pot trial and chronically infested field trial. Effects of plant antagonistic bacteria on the weed and infested wheat were studied at tillering, booting and harvesting stage of wheat. The applied strains significantly inhibited the germination and growth of the weed to variable extent. Similarly, variable recovery in losses of grain and straw yield of infested wheat from 11.6 to 68 and 13 to 72.6% was obtained in pot trial while from 17.3 to 62.9 and 22.4 to 71.3% was obtained in field trial, respectively. Effects of plant antagonistic bacteria were also evident from the improvement in physiology and nutrient contents of infested wheat. This study suggests the use of these plant antagonistic bacteria to biologically control infestation of broad-leaved dock in wheat under field conditions.

     

Advantages and prospective challenges of nanotechnology applications in fish cultures: a comparative review

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Applications of nanotechnology in fish cultures have participated in getting over various difficulties that hinder fish productivity. They can achieve...     

Sustainable Water Purification and Energy Generation Over Crystalline Chitosan Grafted Polyaniline Composite

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - The present research demonstrates the design and development of a dual-compartment water purification proto-plant for microbial degradation of organic...     

Quantitative structure-retention relationship for retention behavior of organic pollutants in textile wastewaters and landfill leachate in LC-APCI-MS

Introduction  

A quantitative structure-retention relation (QSRR) study was conducted on the retention times of organic pollutants in textile wastewaters and landfill leachate which was obtained by liquid chromatography-reversed phase-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-mass spectrometry.     

Synthesis of magnetite-based nanocomposites for effective removal of brilliant green dye from wastewater

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The present study aims at evaluating the batch scale potential of cotton shell powder (CSP), Moringa oleifera leaves (ML), and magnetite-assisted...     

Assessment of temporal and spatial water quality in international Gomishan Lagoon,Iran, using multivariate analysis

Coastal lagoon ecosystems are vulnerable to eutrophication, which leads to the accumulation of nutrients from the surrounding watershed over the long term. However, there is a lack of information about methods that could accurate quantify this problem in rapidly developed countries. Therefore, various statistical methods such as cluster analysis (CA), principal component analysis (PCA), partial least square (PLS), principal component regression (PCR), and ordinary least squares regression (OLS) were used in this study to estimate total organic matter content in sediments (TOM) using other parameters such as temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), pH, electrical conductivity (EC), nitrite (NO₂), nitrate (NO₃), biological oxygen demand (BOD), phosphate (PO₄), total phosphorus (TP), salinity, and water depth along a 3-km transect in the Gomishan Lagoon (Iran). Results indicated that nutrient concentration and the dissolved oxygen gradient were the most significant parameters in the lagoon water quality heterogeneity. Additionally, anoxia at the bottom of the lagoon in sediments and re-suspension of the sediments were the main factors affecting internal nutrient loading. To validate the models, R², RMSECV, and RPDCV were used. The PLS model was stronger than the other models. Also, classification analysis of the Gomishan Lagoon identified two hydrological zones: (i) a North Zone characterized by higher water exchange, higher dissolved oxygen and lower salinity and nutrients, and (ii) a Central and South Zone with high residence time, higher nutrient concentrations, lower dissolved oxygen, and higher salinity. A recommendation for the management of coastal lagoons, specifically the Gomishan Lagoon, to decrease or eliminate nutrient loadings is discussed and should be transferred to policy makers, the scientific community, and local inhabitants.     

Optimal conditions of Al and Fe extraction from laterite soil using D-optimal design

This paper reports pioneering work in identifying an alternative coagulation agent of wastewater treatment, given the availability of commonly used agents are of a higher cost relative to more natural sources, such as soil. The alternative proposed is laterite soil from northern Malaysia because it contains high amounts of Al and Fe, which are well-known coagulants. The soil was grinded and sieved to obtain uniform particle sizes of <250???m. Al and Fe were extracted from the soil. Extraction agents: (1) HCl, (2) NaOH, and (3) HCl?+?NaCl were chosen. It was found that the most effective agent to extract Fe was 5?N HCl while to extract Al was HCl?+?NaCl, 2 and 4?N, respectively. D-optimal design observed that extraction time t, temperature T, and ratio of amount of laterite soil to amount of extractants r, showed a significant effect on Al extraction. In contrast, the combination of factors t and r exhibited insignificant effect on Fe extraction while other factors were significant. The optimum conditions for extraction of both Al and Fe were 90?°C, 40?min, for r?=?1:15, which gave [Fe]?=?1,870?mg/l and [Al]?=?0.17?mg/l and 90?°C, 90?min, for r?=?1:10, which gave [Fe]?=?2,900?mg/l and [Al]?=?0.130?mg/l. Since concentration of Fe extracted from laterite soil was high, it was concluded that laterite soil can be considered as an alternative and novel source of coagulant applicable in a wastewater treatment coagulation process.     

Influence of pedestrian age and gender on spatial and temporal distribution of pedestrian crashes

Objectives: Every year, about 1.24 million people are killed in traffic crashes worldwide and more than 22% of these deaths are pedestrians. Therefore, pedestrian safety has become a significant traffic safety issue worldwide. In order to develop effective and targeted safety programs, the location- and time-specific influences on vehicle–pedestrian crashes must be assessed. The main purpose of this research is to explore the influence of pedestrian age and gender on the temporal and spatial distribution of vehicle–pedestrian crashes to identify the hotspots and hot times.

Methods: Data for all vehicle–pedestrian crashes on public roadways in the Melbourne metropolitan area from 2004 to 2013 are used in this research. Spatial autocorrelation is applied in examining the vehicle–pedestrian crashes in geographic information systems (GIS) to identify any dependency between time and location of these crashes. Spider plots and kernel density estimation (KDE) are then used to determine the temporal and spatial patterns of vehicle–pedestrian crashes for different age groups and genders.

Results: Temporal analysis shows that pedestrian age has a significant influence on the temporal distribution of vehicle–pedestrian crashes. Furthermore, men and women have different crash patterns. In addition, results of the spatial analysis shows that areas with high risk of vehicle–pedestrian crashes can vary during different times of the day for different age groups and genders. For example, for those between ages 18 and 65, most vehicle–pedestrian crashes occur in the central business district (CBD) during the day, but between 7:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., crashes among this age group occur mostly around hotels, clubs, and bars.

Conclusions: This research reveals that temporal and spatial distributions of vehicle–pedestrian crashes vary for different pedestrian age groups and genders. Therefore, specific safety measures should be in place during high crash times at different locations for different age groups and genders to increase the effectiveness of the countermeasures in preventing and reducing vehicle–pedestrian crashes.