Sediments as a sink for UV filters and benzotriazoles: the case study of Upper Iguaçu watershed,Curitiba (Brazil)

Ingredients in home and personal care products, including UV filters and benzotriazoles, are high production volume chemicals extensively used in our daily life, despite several studies revealed their potential eco-toxicity and endocrine-disrupting capacity. Due to some features, such as high lipophilicity, low degradability, and persistence of many of these compounds, sediments can be considered a sink for them in the aquatic environment. In the present study, nine organic UV filters and three benzotriazoles were investigated for the first time in sediments from four urban rivers in Brazil. The contaminants were analyzed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The results revealed that octocrylene (OC), etylhexyl-methoxycinnamate (EHMC), benzophenone-3 (oxybenzone, BP3), and benzotriazole (BZT) were the predominant compounds adsorbed on the sediments, with concentrations ranging from 5.6 to 322.2 ng g⁻¹ dry weight. The results reported in this work constitute the first data on the accumulation of polar benzotriazoles and lipophilic organic UV filters in sediments from Brazil.

     

Distribution of toxic elements and transfer from the environment to humans traced by using lead isotopes. A case of study in the Sarno River basin,south Italy

Environmental Geochemistry and Health - The results of a large geochemical study on various environmental media (soil, stream sediment, groundwater, surface water, lettuce and human hair) of the...     

Sand as a relevant fraction in geochemical studies in intertidal environments

Soil and sediment samples from several intertidal environment exposed to different types of contamination were studied to investigate the importance of grain size in relation to the capacity of the substrates to retain trace metals. The unfractionated samples (referred to as bulk samples) were separated into the following grain/size fractions: fine–coarse sand (2?0.100 mm), very fine sand (0.100?0.050 mm), silt (0.050?0.002 mm), and clay (0.002 mm). The sample into its fractions was carried out was in a glove box under high-purity N₂ atmosphere in order to minimize any alterations to the samples. The bulk samples were characterized in terms of physicochemical properties such as pH, redox potential, and grain size. The total organic carbon (TOC), total sulfur (S), iron (Fe) pyrite, Fe, and manganese (Mn), and trace metals lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), chromium (Cr), and nickel (Ni) were analyzed in the bulk samples and in each fraction. The sand fractions were also examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Comparisons of the above parameters were made between fractions and between each fraction and the corresponding bulk sample. The fine–coarse sand fraction contained high levels of the primary elements of the geochemical processes that occur in marine sedimentary environments such as TOC, total Fe, Mn, and S. The net concentrations of these four elements were higher in the fine-coarse sand fraction than in the very fine sand fraction and were similar to the net concentrations in the silt and clay fractions. Detailed SEM analysis of the sand coarse fraction revealed the presence of Fe and aluminum oxyhydroxide coatings in the oxic layers, whereas the framboidal pyrites and coatings observed in the anoxic layers were Fe sulfides. The presence of the various coatings explains why the trace metal concentrations in the sand fine–coarse fraction were similar to those in the clay fraction and higher than those in the very fine sand fraction. The present results highlight the importance of the sand fraction, which is generally disregarded in geochemical and environmental studies of sedimentary layers.     

Environmental Impact and Sustainable Development: An Analysis in the Context of Standards ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and OHSAS 18001

In this study, we seek to verify the contributions made by three international standards to efforts by eight companies to reduce their environmental impacts and move toward sustainable development. The standards considered in this article are the International Organization for Standardization's (ISO) 9001 (quality), ISO 14001 (environmental management systems), and the Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series (OHSAS) 18001. The eight companies analyzed for this study are located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil. As part of this work, the authors generated a proposed sustainable positioning matrix and placed each company within one of four quadrants—economic approach, environmental approach, social approach, and sustainability approach—derived from the context of the Triple Bottom Line (Elkington, 2004 ).     

湖南省四水流域水沙周期特征及其影响因素分析

采用复小波变换和M K非参数检验的方法分析了湖南省四水流域主要控制站1951~2011年径流量与输沙量周期规律和突变特征。结果表明：(1)湖南四水径流量存在多个波动增加和波动减少的波动变化现象，但无显著变化趋势；而输沙量虽然有一定的波动，但总体上呈波动减少变化态势，而且下降趋势较显著;(2)湘潭站、桃江站和桃源站径流量和输沙量存在20~25 a的第一主周期，而石门站径流量和输沙量的第一主周期不具有一致性，径流量主周期为2 a，输沙量主周期为13 a，但其径流量和输沙量第二、三主周期变化规律相吻合，均为3~5 a的周期;(3)大量的水利工程建设是导致输沙量减少的主要原因，径流量的变化与降水的变化规律较为一致     

Chromosomal evolution in Mugilidae: karyotype characterization of Liza saliens and comparative localization of major and minor ribosomal genes in the six Mediterranean mullets

This study continues a comparative cytogenetic analysis of the fish family Mugilidae, reporting the karyotype characterization of the leaping mullet, Liza saliens, by C-banding, Ag- and fluorochrome-staining, and completing the fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH)-mapping of the 18S and 5S rRNA genes (rDNA) to the chromosomes of the six Mediterranean mullets, namely L. saliens, L. ramada, L. aurata, Mugil cephalus, Chelon labrosus and Oedalechilus labeo. In all species, except M. cephalus, the 5S rDNA sites were localized on a medium-sized acrocentric chromosome pair, which was considered homeologous in all of them. In L. saliens, an additional 5S rDNA site was detected in a location close to the one shown by major ribosomal genes in M. cephalus, i.e. the subtelomeric region of chromosome pair 1. The 5S rDNA site in M. cephalus is located on the smallest chromosome pair of the complement, which, on the other hand, though on a different position, bears 18S rDNA in all the species of Liza and Chelon examined. The heterochromatin composition and the major and minor ribosomal gene locations suggest that the karyotype of L. saliens (subgenus Protomugil) can be considered intermediate between the karyotype of the more primitive M. cephalus and those of the other Liza (subgenus Liza) species and of the representatives of the more derived genera Chelon and Oedalechilus.     

Acute toxicity and ecotoxicological risk assessment of rice pesticides to Lithobates catesbeianus tadpoles

The objective of this study was to determine the acute toxicity of some pesticides used in irrigated rice farming to Lithobates catesbeianus tadpoles. The LC_50-96h for commercial formulations containing bentazon, penoxsulam, vegetable oil, permethrin and carbofuran, separately and their mixtures, were determined at the proportions commonly used in the field. The limits of risk concentrations of these products for the studied species were also established. The LC_50-96h for tadpoles was 4,530 mg L^?1 for bentazon; 7.52 mg L^?1 for penoxsulam + 145.66 mg L^?1 of vegetable oil; 81.57 mg L^?1 for vegetable oil; 0.10 mg L^?1 for permethrin; 29.90 mg L^?1 for carbofuran (active ingredients), and 38.79 times the dose used in the field for the mixture of these products. The environmental risk was determined only for permethrin, and care should be taken when using the vegetable oil.     

Aggregation and ecotoxicity of CeO₂ nanoparticles in synthetic and natural waters with variable pH, organic matter concentration and ionic strength

The influence of pH (6.0-9.0), natural organic matter (NOM) (0-10 mg C/L) and ionic strength (IS) (1.7-40 mM) on 14 nm CeO₂ NP aggregation and ecotoxicity towards the alga Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata was assessed following a central composite design. Mean NP aggregate sizes ranged between 200 and 10000 nm. Increasing pH and IS enhanced aggregation, while increasing NOM decreased mean aggregate sizes. The 48 h-E_rC20s ranged between 4.7 and 395.8 mg CeO₂/L. An equation for predicting the 48 h-E_rC20 (48 h-E_rC20 = −1626.4 × (pH) + 109.45 × (pH)² + 116.49 × ([NOM]) − 14.317 × (pH) × ([NOM]) + 6007.2) was developed. In a validation study with natural waters the predicted 48 h-E_rC20 was a factor 1.08-2.57 lower compared to the experimental values.     

Dimethoate induces genotoxicity as a result of oxidative stress: in vivo and in vitro studies

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Dimethoate ([O,O-dimethyl S-(N-methylcarbamoylmethyl) phosphorodithioate]) is an organophosphate insecticide and acaricide widely used for...     

Antioxidant activity and enzyme inhibitory potential of Euphorbia resinifera and E. officinarum honeys from Morocco and plant aqueous extracts

Natural products may be applied in a wide range of domains, from agriculture to food and pharmaceutical industries. In this study, the antioxidant properties and the capacity to inhibit some enzymatic activities of Euphorbia resinifera and Euphorbia officinarum aqueous extracts and honeys were assessed. The physicochemical characteristics were also evaluated. Higher amounts of iron, copper and aluminium were detected in E. officinarum honey, which may indicate environmental pollution around the beehives or inadequate storage of honey samples. This honey sample showed higher amounts of total phenols and better capacity for scavenging superoxide anion free radicals and DPPH free radicals as compared with E. resinifera honey, but poorer capacity for inhibiting lipoxygenase, acetylcholinesterase, tyrosinase and xanthine oxidase. The ratio plant mass:solvent volume (1:100) and extraction time (1 - 2 h) were associated with higher total phenols and better antioxidant activities and lipoxygenase, acetylcholinesterase and tyrosinase inhibitory activities, regardless of the plant species. The aqueous extracts had systematically higher in vitro activities than the respective honey samples.