Toxicity of wood leachate to algae Desmodesmus subspicatus and plant Lemna minor

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Wood is one of the extensively used goods on the earth due to its large accessibility and usage in a wide range of human life. When woods are exposed...     

The potential impact of geological environment on health status of residents of the Slovak Republic

In order to assess the potential impact of the geological environment on the health of the population of the Slovak Republic, the geological environment was divided into eight major units: Paleozoic, Crystalline, Carbonatic Mesozoic and basal Paleogene, Carbonatic-silicate Mesozoic and Paleogene, Paleogene Flysch, Neovolcanics, Neogene and Quaternary sediments. Based on these geological units, the databases of environmental indicators (chemical elements/parameters in groundwater and soils) and health indicators (concerning health status and demographic development of the population) were compiled. The geological environment of the Neogene volcanics (andesites and basalts) has been clearly documented as having the least favourable impact on the health of Slovak population, while Paleogene Flysch geological environment (sandstones, shales, claystones) has the most favourable impact. The most significant differences between these two geological environments were observed, especially for the following health indicators: SMRI6364 (cerebral infarction and strokes) more than 70 %, SMRK (digestive system) 55 %, REI (circulatory system) and REE (endocrine and metabolic system) almost 40 % and REC (malignant neoplasms) more than 30 %. These results can likely be associated with deficit contents of Ca and Mg in groundwater from the Neogene volcanics that are only about half the level of Ca and Mg in groundwater of the Paleogene sediments.     

Pollution status and health risk caused by heavy elements in the flooded soil and vegetables from typical agricultural region in Vojvodina Province,Serbia

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The investigation conducted in the Vojvodina Province, as a typical European and one of the biggest agricultural regions in the Balkans, offers the...     

Effect of triazole pesticide formulation on bovine culture cells

To date, most data about the possible genotoxic effect of triazole pesticides are focused on laboratory animals resulting in limited information on further non-target organisms such as cattle. The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of triazole (tebuconazole/prothioconazole) fungicide formulation on the induction of chromosomal aberrations (CAs), sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) and DNA fragmentation in bovine cultured lymphocytes. Our results showed that the fungicide formulation did not induce significant number of CAs in bovine cells after 24 h treatment. Nevertheless, the dose-dependent reduction of mitotic division was observed, with the strongest effect at 30.0 μg mL^?1 in both donors (P < 0.01 and P < 0.001, respectively). Prolonged 48 h exposure caused the increased level of breaks in treated cultures (3.0?15.0 μg mL^?1; P < 0.05) and significant decrease in mitotic index (MI). The tested fungicide failed to produce any statistical changes in the SCE frequency neither after 24 h nor 48 h treatment. However, the significant decline of the proliferation index (PI) was observed after 24 h indicating the fungicide influence on cell cycle kinetics. Prolonged 48 h exposure caused cytotoxicity reflecting in lower PI value relative to control mainly at the highest fungicide concentrations (30.0 μg mL^?1, P < 0.001). Using painting probes for bovine chromosomes 1, 5 and 7 (BTA1, BTA5 and BTA7) only low levels of aneuploidies were detected. Significant increase of polyploidy cells (P < 0.05) was induced by a 3.0 μg mL^?1 dose of the fungicide after 48 h. DNA fragmentation assay didn't reveal the presence of DNA nucleosome ladder in cell cultures at any time (24 h and 48 h) and fungicide concentration.     

Ecological parameters and disinfection effect of low-temperature laundering in hospitals in Slovenia

The aim of this research was to determine the influence of laundering procedures on the ecological parameters of wastewater and the electric energy consumption. Laundering procedures were simulated in a laboratory washing machine and the parameters temperature, duration and concentration of disinfection agents were varied until the optimal conditions were found for low-temperature laundering while achieving an appropriate disinfection effect with peroxyacetic acid and minimal damages to the textiles. The disinfection effect was determined using standard bioindicators Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacter aerogenes and Candida albicans. The optimal low-temperature laundering procedure at 40 °C was then evaluated according to the Slovenian regulations for wastewater reuse and the toxicity of the wastewater on activated sludge as well as the wastewater biodegradability were determined. It was found that an optimal low-temperature laundering procedure at 40 °C decreased the energy consumption while reaching an adequate disinfection effect with somewhat higher dosages of chemicals and with lower damages to the textiles due to lower washing temperatures. The wastewater was found to have a certain level of pollution and was biodegradable and can therefore be treated using biological treatment.     

David and Goliath: potent venom of an ant-eating spider (Araneae) enables capture of a giant prey

It is rare to find a true predator that repeatedly and routinely kills prey larger than itself. A solitary specialised ant-eating spider of the genus Zodarion can capture a relatively giant prey. We studied the trophic niche of this spider species and investigated its adaptations (behavioural and venomic) that are used to capture ants. We found that the spider captures mainly polymorphic Messor arenarius ants. Adult female spiders captured large morphs while tiny juveniles captured smaller morphs, yet in both cases ants were giant in comparison with spider size. All specimens used an effective prey capture strategy that protected them from ant retaliation. Juvenile and adult spiders were able to paralyse their prey using a single bite. The venom glands of adults were more than 50 times larger than those of juvenile spiders, but the paralysis latency of juveniles was 1.5 times longer. This suggests that this spider species possesses very potent venom already at the juvenile stage. Comparison of the venom composition between juvenile and adult spiders did not reveal significant differences. We discovered here that specialised capture combined with very effective venom enables the capture of giant prey.     

History effect of light and temperature on monoterpenoid emissions from Fagus sylvatica L.

Monoterpenoid emissions from Fagus sylvatica L. trees have been measured at light- and temperature-controlled conditions in a growth chamber, using Proton Transfer Reaction Mass Spectrometry (PTR-MS) and the dynamic branch enclosure technique.De novo synthesized monoterpenoid Standard Emission Factors, obtained by applying the G97 algorithm (Guenther, 1997), varied between 2 and 32 μg g_DW^?1 h^?1 and showed a strong decline in late August and September, probably due to senescence.The response of monoterpenoid emissions to temperature variations at a constant daily light pattern could be well reproduced with a modified version of the MEGAN algorithm (Guenther et al., 2006), with a typical dependence on the average temperature over the past five days.The diurnal emissions at constant temperature showed a typical hysteretic behaviour, which could also be adequately described with the modified MEGAN algorithm by taking into account a dependence on the average light levels experienced by the trees during the past 10–13 h.The impact of the past light and temperature conditions on the monoterpenoid emissions from F. sylvatica L. was found to be much stronger than assumed in previous algorithms.Since our experiments were conducted under low light intensity, future studies should aim at confirming and completing the proposed algorithm updates in sunny conditions and natural environments.