The response of Chenopodium album L. and Abutilon theophrasti Medik. to reduced doses of mesotrione

Limited toxicity data are available for estuarine and marine species and the widely used pyrethroid insecticide, permethrin. This study determined acute effects of permethrin on survival, lipid peroxidation, acetylcholinesterase activity, and splenocyte proliferation for two fish species found in South Carolina estuaries; juvenile red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) and adult mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus). Juvenile S. ocellatus were significantly more sensitive than adult F. heteroclitus to permethrin exposure, with a 96-h LC50 value of 8 μg/L determined for red drum compared to 23 μg/L for mummichog. Lipid peroxidation activity of the liver increased in permethrin-treated fish compared to control animals after 24 h and decreased after 96 h. Permethrin had no effect on acetylcholinesterase activity of the brain at the concentrations tested. Permethrin exposure significantly inhibited splenocyte proliferation, indicating an immunosuppressive effect. Most of the effects of permethrin on fish cellular stress enzymes and survival occurred at concentrations much higher than those typically measured in the environment. However, inhibition of splenocyte proliferation in juvenile red drum occurred at approximately twice that of measured permethrin concentrations in surface water. These findings may prove useful to the future management and regulation of pyrethroid insecticide use near estuarine habitats.     

In vitro effects of various xenobiotics on Fusarium spp. strains isolated from cereals

This study aimed to determine the susceptibility of Fusarium spp. strains isolated from cereals to selected heavy metals, fungicides and silver nanoparticles. The experiments were conducted using 50 Fusarium strains belonging to five species: F. graminearum, F. culmorum, F. oxysporum, F. sporotrichioides and F. avenaceum. The strains were found to be highly resistant to Pb²⁺ and Zn²⁺. Medium resistance to Cu²⁺ and Mn²⁺ and low resistance to Cd²⁺ and Fe³⁺ was also observed. Among the tested fungicides, formulations containing azoxystrobin, prochloraz and tebuconazole proved to be the most effective in inhibiting the growth of fungi, as they affected fungal growth in each of the applied doses. Susceptibility of Fusarium spp. to nanosilver, demonstrated in this study, shows the legitimacy of using nanostructures as fungicidal agents. The results confirm high diversity of the analyzed fungal species in terms of susceptibility to the tested substances, and encourage to continue research on the resistance of Fusarium spp. to various fungicidal agents.     

Behavior of pyrimethanil,pyraclostrobin, boscalid,cypermethrin and chlorpyrifos residues on raspberry fruit and leaves of Laszka variety

The purpose of the research conducted was to investigate and evaluate the behavior of pyrimethanil, pyraclostrobin, boscalid, cypermethrin and chlorpyrifos, the active ingredients of selected fungicides and insecticides, on ripe fruit and in fully developed leaves of raspberry of the Laszka variety. The field trial was carried out in the period of one month starting from the first fruit picking. The results obtained indicated that residue levels on the day of the first crop picking did not even approximate the corresponding EU-MRLs (http://ec.europa.eu/sanco_pesticides). Individual substances in raspberry fruits and leaves disappeared at a similar rate. As a result of chlorpyrifos application to the soil, its residue in fruits and leaves occurred for the whole period of fruit bearing, though in fruit they dropped successively. To produce raspberries with residues below or equal to 0.01 μg g^?1, the application of pesticides should be stopped at least 2–3 weeks before the first crop picking, and on condition that an appropriate preparation (active in low doses) is applied to the last treatments.     

Removal possibilities of colloidal chromium (III) oxide from water using polyacrylic acid

The lack of water is the most serious threat to humanity that leads to more efficient water and sewage treatment. Currently, many scientists are looking for new coagulants, flocculants and physicochemical methods allowing for sufficient removal of pollutants from water. The presence of various types of pigments, including chromium (III) oxide, poses the major problem. Even small amounts of these substances inhibit life processes in water. In this paper, the stability of Cr₂O₃ suspension in the absence and the presence of polyacrylic acid (PAA) was determined. To explain the changes in the system stability, the adsorption and electrokinetic measurements were performed. The chromium (III) oxide suspension not containing PAA is the most stable at pH?=?3. Under these conditions, each positively charged solid particle is surrounded by a negatively charged diffusion layer which protects from particle collision and aggregates formation (electrostatic stabilization). In turn, the Cr₂O₃ suspension containing the PAA is most unstable also at pH?=?3. In this case, the polymer causes destabilization of the colloidal suspension, which results from charge neutralization of solid particles by adsorbed PAA.     

The spectroscopic studies of humic acid extracted from sediment collected at different seasons

Gocza?kowice Reservoir is the biggest water reservoir in the south of Poland. For our studies bottom sediments were collected from eight different places of the reservoir at various seasons of the year.EPR spectroscopy was applied to analyse both quantitatively and qualitatively the humic acids (HA) present in the samples. EPR spectra of the extracted HA exhibited broad lines from the paramagnetic metal ions and narrow lines from free radicals. The values of the free radical concentration obtained for HA amounted to 1.14-13.6 × 1016 spin g⁻¹ depending on the season and the place of sample collection. The values of the g factor obtained for HA were of the range 2.0027-2.0035.The EPR studies show that HA extracted from bottom sediment collected at various points of the Gocza?kowice Reservoir exhibit similar physical-chemical properties. It was also observed that the depth of the reservoir affects the content of the oxygen functional groups as well as the free radical concentration in HA.The identification of the functional groups was done by means of IR. UV/VIS spectroscopy was used to estimate the maturity of the HA.     

Study on the determination of PCDDs/Fs and HCB in exhaust gas

The subject of this study was to develop a method of simultaneous determination of PCDDs/PCDFs and HCB in exhaust gases from industrial installations. Sampling to determine PCDDs/PCDFs was conducted using the method described in PN-EN 1948-1: 2006, where the sorption material is polyurethane foam (PUF). In order to simultaneously collect PCDDs/PCDFs and HCB and to avoid sorbent bed breakthrough, it was necessary to apply an additional polyurethane sorption layer. Twenty-seven samples of exhaust gases from various cement plants and 40 samples of exhaust gases from hospital and industrial waste incineration plants collected in 2009/2010 in the entire territory of Poland were examined. The average content of PCDDs/Fs in samples from cement plants amounted to 0.076 ng I-TEQ N m(-3) (range of 0.002-0.62 ng I-TEQ N m(-3)), while the average content of HCB amounted to 10 ng N m(-3) (range of 0.98-60.5 ng N m(-3)). In the case of samples collected from waste incineration plants, the average concentration of PCDDs/Fs was 0.39 ng I-TEQN m(-3) (range of 0.002-5.68 ng I-TEQ N m(-3)). In the case of HCB, the average concentration was 238 ng N m(-3) (range of 3.21-2500 ng N m(-3)). Also, the interdependence of the concentration of PCDDs/PCDFs and HCB was determined in the analysed samples, with the ranges of low and high content of PCDDs/PCDFs being examined separately. In all cases, the determined values of the r correlation coefficient were within the range of 0.7-1.0, which indicates a good correlation between the concentrations of PCDDs/PCDFs and HCB.     

The effect of mycorrhiza on the growth and elemental composition of Ni-hyperaccumulating plant Berkheya coddii Roessler

The effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on growth and element uptake by Ni-hyperaccumulating plant, Berkheya coddii, was studied. Plants were grown under laboratory conditions on ultramafic soil without or with the AM fungi of different origin. The AM colonization, especially with the indigenous strain, significantly enhanced plants growth and their survival. AMF affected also the elemental concentrations that were studied with Particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE). AMF (i) increased K and Fe in shoots, Zn and Mn in roots, P and Ca both, in roots and shoots; (ii) decreased Mn in shoots, Co and Ni both, in shoots and roots. Due to higher biomass of mycorrhizal plants, total Ni content was up to 20 times higher in mycorrhizal plants compared to the non-mycorrhizal ones. The AMF enhancement of Ni uptake may therefore provide an improvement of a presently used technique of nickel phytomining.     

Tannery waste as a renewable source of nitrogen for production of multicomponent fertilizers with biostimulating properties

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The studies presented in this work show that solid tannery waste-like shavings can be used as high-protein materials for fertilizer production...     

Occupational exposure to rubber vulcanization products during repair of rubber conveyor belts in a brown coal mine

Several hundred chemical compounds were found in workroom environments in the rubber industry, but most of the published exposure data relate to the production of tyres; information from the "non-tyre" sections are very limited, if any. This study was carried out to identify chemical substances and measure their air concentrations in the repair shop of a brown coal mine in which damaged rubber conveyor belts were repaired. GC-MS and HPLC analysis of stationary air samples resulted in identification of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons to C12, PAHs, alcohols, phenols, ketones, heterocyclic nitrogen and sulfur compounds. Quantitative evaluation of occupational exposure included determination of organic compound vapours collected on charcoal (GC-MSD), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (HPLC), N-nitrosoamines and other amines (GC-NPD) and DNPH derivatives of aldehydes (HPLC) in the breathing zone of workers representing all job titles. The concentrations of investigated compounds were very low. Carcinogenic substances: N-nitrosoamines, benzene, PAHs were not present in workroom air in concentrations exceeding limits of detection of the analytical methods being applied; concentrations of methylisobutylketone, tetrachloroethylene, naphtha, aromatic hydrocarbons, phthalates and aldehydes were much lower than the respective occupational exposure limit values. The results indicate much lower exposure than that reported in the production of tyres and other fabricated rubber products.