Geotrupine beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) as bio-monitors of man-made radioactivity

Adults of the geotrupine beetle Anoplotrupes stercorosus (Coleoptera, Geotrupidae), a common European forest insect species, were used in the role of bio-monitors for mainly man-made radionuclides in a forest environment. Activities of 137Cs, 40K, 238Pu, (239+240)Pu, 90Sr and 241Am were studied. Samples originated from four areas in Poland, two from the north-east and two from the south of the country. The north-eastern areas were previously recognized as the places where hot particle fallout from Chernobyl took place. Results confirmed the differences in the activities between north-eastern and southern locations. Significant correlations were found between activities of 40K and 137Cs, and between activities of plutonium and americium isotopes. An additional study of the concentration of radionuclides within the bodies of beetles showed a general pattern of distribution of radioisotopes in the insect body.     

Vitamin B12 als biologisch aktive Modellsubstanz

A critical review on corrinoid biochemistry and physiology is presented. This includes: chemical synthesis of biologically important organocorrinoids and the correlation between their structures and coenzymatic activity; forms, distribution and transport of physiologically active corrinoids; methylcobalamin- and adenosylcobalamin-dependent enzymatic reactions and their physiological functions; and steric course of the adenosylcobalamin-dependent enzymatic rearrangements. Special attention is paid to the mechanisms of adenosylcobalamin-dependent enzymatic reactions.     

Modelling deposition and air concentration of reduced nitrogen in Poland and sensitivity to variability in annual meteorology

The relative contribution of reduced nitrogen to acid and eutrophic deposition in Europe has increased recently as a result of European policies which have been successful in reducing SO(2) and NO(x) emissions but have had smaller impacts on ammonia (NH(3)) emissions. In this paper the Fine Resolution Atmospheric Multi-pollutant Exchange (FRAME) model was used to calculate the spatial patterns of annual average ammonia and ammonium (NH(4)(+)) air concentrations and reduced nitrogen (NH(x)) dry and wet deposition with a 5 km × 5 km grid for years 2002-2005. The modelled air concentrations of NH(3) and dry deposition of NH(x) show similar spatial patterns for all years considered. The largest year to year changes were found for wet deposition, which vary considerably with precipitation amount. The FRAME modelled air concentrations and wet deposition are in reasonable agreement with available measurements (Pearson's correlation coefficients above 0.6 for years 2002-2005), and with spatial patterns of concentrations and deposition of NH(x) reported with the EMEP results, but show larger spatial gradients. The error statistics show that the FRAME model results are in better agreement with measurements if compared with EMEP estimates. The differences in deposition budgets calculated with FRAME and EMEP do not exceed 17% for wet and 6% for dry deposition, with FRAME estimates higher than for EMEP wet deposition for modelled period and lower or equal for dry deposition. The FRAME estimates of wet deposition budget are lower than the measurement-based values reported by the Chief Inspectorate of Environmental Protection of Poland, with the differences by approximately 3%. Up to 93% of dry and 53% of wet deposition of NH(x) in Poland originates from national sources. Over the western part of Poland and mountainous areas in the south, transboundary transport can contribute over 80% of total (dry + wet) NH(x) deposition. The spatial pattern of the relative contribution of national sources to total deposition of NH(x) may change significantly due to the general circulation of air.     

Spatiotemporal dynamics of spring and stream water chemistry in a high-mountain area

The present study deals with the application of the self-organizing map (SOM) technique in the exploration of spatiotemporal dynamics of spring and stream water samples collected in the Chocho?owski Stream Basin located in the Tatra Mountains (Poland). The SOM-based classification helped to uncover relationships between physical and chemical parameters of water samples and factors determining the quality of water in the studied high-mountain area. In the upper part of the Chocho?owski Stream Basin, located on the top of the crystalline core of the Tatras, concentrations of the majority of ionic substances were the lowest due to limited leaching. Significantly higher concentration of ionic substances was detected in spring and stream samples draining sedimentary rocks. The influence of karst-type springs on the quality of stream water was also demonstrated.     

Anaerobic co-digestion of swine and poultry manure with municipal sewage sludge

The anaerobic digestion of municipal sewage sludge (SS) with swine manure (SM) and poultry manure (PM) was undertaken. It was found that a mixture of sewage sludge with a 30% addition of swine manure gave around 400 dm³/kgVS of biogas, whereas the maximal biogas yield from ternary mixture (SS:SM:PM = 70:20:10 by weight) was only 336 dm³/kgVS. An inhibition of methanogenesis by free ammonia was observed in poultry manure experiments. The anaerobic digestion was inefficient in pathogen inactivation as the reduction in the number of E. coli an Enterobacteriaceae was only by one logarithmic unit. A substantial portion of pathogens was also released into the supernatant.     

Degradation of soil environment in the post-flooding area: content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and s-triazine herbicides

Impacts of flooding on the soil environment with regard to soil pollution with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and s-triazine (cyanazine, simazine, atriazine, propazine, prometryn) herbicides have been evaluated. No clear differences in the sum of the PAHs content were observed in the present studies. Only changes in the levels of individual PAHs were noted. In soils covered with flooding both at a depth of 0-20 and 20-40 high molecular weight PAHs were predominant (especially mutagenic and carcinogenic 5-rings PAHs) whereas in non-flooded areas, 2- and 3-rings PAHs constituted over 80%. In the case of s-triazine herbicides, no influence of flooding on the changes in their content in agriculturally used soils was noted. On the other hand, clearly lower levels of cyanazine, simazine and atriazine were not in the flooded forest soil as compared to the non-flooded forest soil.     

The Air Quality Health Index and all emergency department visits

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Through a variety of media formats, the Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) has served as a valuable communication tool for the general Canadian...     

Toxicity of aqueous mixture of phenol and chlorophenols upon photosensitized oxidation initiated by sunlight or vis-lamp

It is well established that aquatic wildlife in marine and freshwater of the European Union is exposed to natural and synthetic endocrine disruptor compounds (EDCs) which are able to interfere with the hormonal system causing adverse effects on the intact physiology of organisms. The traditional wastewater treatment processes are inefficient on the removal of EDCs in low concentration. Moreover, not only the efficiency of treatment must be considered but also toxicological aspects. Taking into account all these aspects, the main goal of the study was to investigate the photochemical decomposition of hazardous phenolic compounds under simulated as well as natural sunlight from the toxicity point of view. The studies were focused on photodegradation of 2,4-dichlorophenol as well as mixture of phenol, 2-chlorophenol and 2,4-dichlorophenol. Photosensitized oxidation process was carried out in homogeneous and heterogeneous system. V. fischeri luminescence inhibition was used to determine the changes of toxicity in mixture during simulated and natural irradiation. The photodegradation was carried out in three kinds of water matrix; moreover, the influence of presence of inorganic matter on the treatment process was investigated. The experiments with natural sunlight proved applicability of photosensitive chitosan for visible-light water pollutant degradation. The results of toxicity investigation show that using photosensitive chitosan for visible-light, the toxicity of reaction mixture towards V. fischeri has significantly decreased. The EC₅₀ was found to increase over the irradiation time; this increase was not proportional to the transformation of the parent compounds.     

Degradation of hop bitter acids by fungi

Nine fungal strains related to: Trametes versicolor, Nigrospora oryzae, Inonotus radiatus, Crumenulopsis sororia, Coryneum betulinum, Cryptosporiopsis radicicola, Fusarium equiseti, Rhodotorula glutinis and Candida parapsilosis were tested for their ability to degrade humulones and lupulones. The best results were obtained for T. versicolor culture, in which humulones and lupulones were fully degraded after 4days of incubation in the dark or after 36h in the light. The experiments were performed on a commercial hop extract and on sterilized spent hops.     

Thermally Induced Reaction of Potato Starch with Thiourea

Thermally induced reaction of thiourea with potato starch was carried out with involvement of either conventional or microwave heating. Under applied reaction conditions conventional heating provided a higher degree of transformation. The course of reaction was complex. Thiourea reacted with starch but the reaction products underwent further decompositions. Dextrins contaminated with isothiocyanates were obtained. Not necessarily they underwent alpha-amylolysis more readily than original starch.