Using gas chromatography for indoor-air quality control in conservation and renovation studios.

Investigations were carried out in the Department of Conservation of Painting and Polychrome Sculpture and in the Screen Printing Studio of the Faculty of Art at Nicolaus Copernicus University. Concentration of the vapours of organic solvents was measured in 2 workshops: the Art Conservation Studio and the Screen Printing Studio. This study attempts to evaluate the work environment in both studios by analysing the concentration of vapour solvents over 5 to 7 years of measurements. Volatile solvents--aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, alcohols, esters and ketones--were detected in investigated workplaces. These compounds have a wide range of applications in cleaning and removing old varnishes, lacquers and paints; inhalation is the main route of exposure. Vapour was collected using an active sampling method.     

Mutual interactions in bioelectromagnetics

This paper discusses mutual interactions phenomena especially in the case of Transverse ElectroMagnetic (TEM) cell applications as an exposure system in technical and biomedical studies. In many publications is described problem of influence of an object upon the electromagnetic field (EMF) distribution inside a exposure system while inverse effect—influence of exposure system on tested object is overlooked. The problem plays primary role if a correlation between investigations carried out in an enclosure (e.g. TEM cell) and that in the free space is looked for.     

Putting transdisciplinarity into practice: a mixed mode procedure for stakeholder participation in natural resource management

The definition of management actions in natural resource management requires the integration of all types of knowledge involved. An appropriate approach for such a challenge is the ideal of transdisciplinarity. A transdisciplinary process can be considered “consultative” when knowledge is simply gathered and collated, or “participatory” when knowledge integration is undertaken collectively. In this paper, we present a mixed mode procedure (i.e., using interviews, questionnaires, and group discussions) that empirically demonstrates the difference between consultative and participatory transdisciplinary processes. The mixed mode procedure is used for identifying the most relevant problems occurring in the coastal system of Praia da Vitória bay, Azores, Portugal. This mixed mode procedure is likely to be useful for other studies, because the results highlight the need to promote face-to-face interaction at the earliest opportunity, and because it allows an understanding to be gained of social learning processes, the influence of power, and participant behaviour during interaction with others.     

Blood clinical-chemical parameters and feeding history in growing Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) chicks exposed to Tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate and Dechlorane Plus in ovo

Blood clinical-chemical parameters (BCCPs) are used to investigate physiological consequences attributed to exposure to anthropogenic stressors, such as exposure to Tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TDCIPP) and Dechlorane Plus (DP), which are flame retardants (FRs), on avian health. Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) were used as a model species to investigate individual and mixture effects of both FRs by injecting different concentrations (5, 50, or 500 ng/µL) of either of these compounds as well as a 1:1 mixture of both into fertilized eggs. To estimate post-hatching effects, 18 BCCPs were evaluated from 101 chicks at day 14. Albumin levels were found to be significantly elevated in the groups exposed to high doses of TDCIPP alone as well as a mixture of TDCIPP and DP. However, during the course of the study, the initial corn-based feed had to be substituted by a fishmeal-based feed. The 8 days consuming the new feed played a significant role on 12 of 18 BCCPs measured. Consequently, it is recommended that dietary habits need to be considered when investigating the physiological impact of contaminants using BCCPs as biomarkers in growing nestlings both in controlled in vivo and field experiments.     

Biodegradation of poly(propylene glycol)s under the conditions of the OECD screening test

Two poly(propylene glycol)s (PPGs): PPG 425 and PPG 725 were tested under the conditions of the OECD Screening Test with activated sludge as inoculum. Tested PPG were the sole source of organic carbon in the test. Quantitative determination of the biodegradation progress was performed by the HPLC with fluorescence detection after derivatisation of PPG with naphthyl isocyanate. The liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry technique was used for identification and semiquantitative determination of metabolites. Separation of PPG and metabolites from the water matrix was performed by liquid-liquid extraction with chloroform. It was found that the shorter PPG 425 is biodegraded significantly worse than the longer PPG 725 and that biodegradation occurs without shortening of the PPG chain for both PPG. PPG molecules are oxidised to ketones and/or aldehydes during the aerobic biodegradation process.     

Predicting logarithmic values of the subcooled liquid vapor pressure of halogenated persistent organic pollutants with QSPR: How different are chlorinated and brominated congeners?

Logarithmic values of the subcooled liquid vapor pressure (log P_L) were estimated for 1436 polychlorinated and polybrominated congeners of benzenes, biphenyls, dibenzo-p-dioxins, dibenzofurans, diphenyl ethers and naphthalenes by employing the Quantitative Structure–Property Relationships (QSPR) approach. The QSPR model developed with GA–PLS technique was characterized by satisfactory goodness-of-fit, robustness and the external predictive performance (R²Y = 0.970, Q_CV² = 0.970, Q_Ext² = 0.966, RMSE_C = 0.21, RMSE_CV = 0.22 and RMSE_P = 0.22). The externally validated model has been applied to predict subcooled liquid vapor pressure of uninvestigated halogenated persistent organic pollutants. Moreover, a simple arithmetic relationship between logarithmic values of subcooled liquid vapor pressures in pairs of chloro- and bromo-analogues has been found. This relationship can be used for estimating log P_L of a brominated compound, whenever log P_L of its chlorinated counterpart is known, without necessity of performing any time-consuming computations.     

Work conditions in agriculture as risk factors of spinal pain in postmenopausal women

The aim of the study was to evaluate the risk factors for spinal pain in Polish postmenopausal women working in agriculture. The study included 1751 randomly selected postmenopausal women aged 45–65?years. The women were exposed to hazardous work conditions, in particular the use of force and heavy lifting, often more than 10?kg and with frequency of at least once a day. Two-thirds of them suffered from spinal pain, mostly in the lumbar spine and less frequently in the cervical and thoracic spine. The prevalence of spinal pain depended on exposure to health risks associated with overwork, early onset of menopause and increasing age. The prevalence of pain in the lumbar spine correlated positively with higher frequency of heavy lifting and using excessive force during agricultural work. The severity of spinal pain correlates positively with the age of pain onset and negatively with level of education.     

Climate Change and Agricultural Development: Adapting Polish Agriculture to Reduce Future Nutrient Loads in a Coastal Watershed

Currently, there is a major concern about the future of nutrient loads discharged into the Baltic Sea from Polish rivers because they are main contributors to its eutrophication. To date, no watershed-scale studies have properly addressed this issue. This paper fills this gap by using a scenario-modeling framework applied in the Reda watershed, a small (482 km²) agricultural coastal area in northern Poland. We used the SWAT model to quantify the effects of future climate, land cover, and management changes under multiple scenarios up to the 2050s. The combined effect of climate and land use change on N-NO₃ and P-PO₄ loads is an increase by 20–60 and 24–31 %, respectively, depending on the intensity of future agricultural usage. Using a scenario that assumes a major shift toward a more intensive agriculture following the Danish model would bring significantly higher crop yields but cause a great deterioration of water quality. Using vegetative cover in winter and spring (VC) would be a very efficient way to reduce future P-PO₄ loads so that they are lower than levels observed at present. However, even the best combination of measures (VC, buffer zones, reduced fertilization, and constructed wetlands) would not help to remediate heavily increased N-NO₃ loads due to climate change and agricultural intensification.     

Spatial distribution of trace elements and ecotoxicity of bottom sediments in Rybnik reservoir,Silesian-Poland

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The aim of study was to integrate chemical analyses and toxicity bioassays in order to assess the environmental risk connected with the presence of...