Captopril and its dimer captopril disulfide: photodegradation, aerobic biodegradation and identification of transformation products by HPLC-UV and LC-ion trap-MS(n)

In some countries effluents from hospitals and households are directly emitted into open ditches without any further treatment and with very little dilution. Under such circumstances photo- and biodegradation in the environment can occur. However, these processes do not necessarily end up with the complete mineralization of a chemical. Therefore, the biodegradability of photoproduct(s) by environmental bacteria is of interest. Cardiovascular diseases are the number one cause of death globally. Captopril (CP) is used in this study as it is widely used in Egypt and stated as one of the essential drugs in Egypt for hypertension. Three tests from the OECD series were used for biodegradation testing: Closed Bottle test (CBT; OECD 301 D), Manometric Respirometry test (MRT; OECD 301 F) and the modified Zahn-Wellens test (ZWT; OECD 302 B). Photodegradation (150 W medium-pressure Hg-lamp) of CP was studied. Also CBT was performed for captopril disulfide (CPDS) and samples received after 64 min and 512 min of photolysis. The primary elimination of CP and CPDS was monitored by LC-UV at 210 nm and structures of photoproducts were assessed by LC-UV-MS/MS (ion trap). Analysis of photodegradation samples by LC-MS/MS revealed CP sulfonic acid as the major photodegradation product of CP. No biodegradation was observed for CP, CPDS and of the mixture resulting from photo-treatment after 64 min in CBT. Partial biodegradation in the CBT and MRT was observed in samples taken after 512 min photolysis and for CP itself in MRT. Complete biodegradation and mineralization of CP occurred in the ZWT.     

Toxic effects of deltamethrin and λ-cyhalothrin on Xenopus laevis tadpoles

This study evaluates the toxic effects of deltamethrin and λ-cyhalothrin on Xenopus laevis tadpoles after 168 h of exposure. The LC(50) of deltamethrin and λ-cyhalothrin at 168 h was calculated as the μg of active ingredient per liter (μg AI/L). According to these values, the LC(50) was 6.26 and 3.94 μg AI/L for deltamethrin and λ-cyhalothrin, respectively. Several enzymes were studied for early signs of intoxication following exposure to the pesticides for 24 h. Glutathione-S-transferase,carboxylesterase, and lactate dehydrogenase were inhibited by λ-cyhalothrin, and both pesticides inhibited acid phosphatase and aspartate aminotransferase. In contrast, acetylcholinesterase was activated by deltamethrin. The results suggest that X. laevis is sensitive to the pyrethroids that were tested, and the enzyme responses suggest that they are potential biomarkers for evaluating the toxic effect of pyrethroids on amphibians in environmental conditions.     

Monitoring of hexabromocyclododecane diastereomers in fish from European freshwaters and estuaries

Background and aims  

Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) is a brominated flame retardant used mainly in polystyrene foam as well as in textile applications. In recent years, measures were taken to reduce HBCD emissions during its production and use. To evaluate the efficacy of these measures, a monitoring project was initiated with fish as bioaccumulation indicators.     

Exposure to toxic waste containing high concentrations of hydrogen sulphide illegally dumped in Abidjan, C?te d’Ivoire

Introduction

On August 2006, a cargo ship illegally dumped 500?t of toxic waste containing high concentrations of hydrogen sulphide in numerous sites across Abidjan. Thousands of people became ill. Seventeen deaths were associated with toxic waste exposure.

Materials and methods

This study reports on environmental and health problems associated with the incident. A cross-sectional transect study was conducted in five waste dumping site areas.

Results

Of the households, 62.1% (n?=?502) were exposed to the effects of the pollutants and 51.1% of the interviewed people (n?=?2,368) in these households showed signs of poisoning. Most important symptoms were cough (37.1%), asthenia (33.1%), pruritus (29.9%) and nausea (29.1%).

Discussion

The health effects showed different frequencies in the five waste impact sites. Among the poisoned persons, 21.1% (n?=?532) presented symptoms on the survey day (i.e., 4?months after incident). Transect sampling allowed to determine a radius of vulnerability to exposure of up to 3?km from the point of toxic waste disposal.

Conclusion

The area of higher vulnerability is influenced by various environmental factors, such as size and severity of pollution site, duration of toxic waste pollution on the impact site and locally climatic conditions. The surveillance of effects on environment and human health is warranted to monitor the development.     

Effect of diurnal changes in VOC source strengths on performances of receptor models

Introduction

The effect of diurnal changes in strengths of volatile organic compound (VOC) sources on the performances of positive matrix factorization (PMF) and principal component analysis (PCA) was investigated using ambient measurement results that were taken during daytime and nighttime hours between March 24 and May 14, 2011, within Davutpasa Campus of Yildiz Technical University (Istanbul, Turkey).

Methods

Forty-five VOC species, ranging from C₅ to C₁₁ in volatility, were measured in the samples, 40 of which are included in the analyses. Ambient samples were grouped as daytime, nighttime, and all day datasets, and both PMF and PCA were applied to each dataset. A total of six source groups were extracted from each dataset: solvent use, general industrial paint use, gasoline and diesel vehicle exhausts, and biogenic as well as evaporative emissions. Estimated source contributions showed great diurnal variations.

Results

The results suggested that extraction of possible sources by PCA depends greatly on the number of samples and the strength of the sources, while PMF produced stable results regardless of number of samples and source strengths.

Conclusion

Although PMF was unable to resolve gasoline vehicle and evaporative emissions, it was found to be successful in explaining diurnal fluctuations in source strengths, while the performance of PCA depends on the strength of emission source.     

改性酚醛基炭泡沫的表面结构及脱硫脱硝

采用前驱体改性的方法,以CuCl2、FeCl2和MgCl2为改性剂,制备出改性酚醛泡沫,经炭化/活化得到改性酚醛基炭泡沫。研究了不同金属对酚醛基炭泡沫表面物理与化学特性的影响,并进行同时脱硫脱硝实验研究。通过研究发现,添加CuCl2的样品比添加FeCl2、MgCl2的样品的中孔孔容大接近10倍;比表面积和孔容是CFCu>CF0>CFFe>CFMg;金属改性剂主要以金属和金属氧化物的形式存在于酚醛基炭泡沫中,而表面其他官能团大体结构不变。经CuCl2、FeCl2和MgCl2改性后,脱硫效率分别提高了39%、11%和13%,脱硝效率分别提高了19%、10%和4%,其中以CuCl2改性的酚醛基炭泡沫的效率最高。     

Environmental effects of soil contamination by shale fuel oils

Estonia is currently one of the leading producers of shale oils in the world. Increased production, transportation and use of shale oils entail risks of environmental contamination. This paper studies the behaviour of two shale fuel oils (SFOs)—‘VKG D’ and ‘VKG sweet’—in different soil matrices under natural climatic conditions. Dynamics of SFOs’ hydrocarbons (C10–C40), 16 PAHs, and a number of soil heterotrophic bacteria in oil-spiked soils was investigated during the long-term (1 year) outdoor experiment. In parallel, toxicity of aqueous leachates of oil-spiked soils to aquatic organisms (crustaceans Daphnia magna and Thamnocephalus platyurus and marine bacteria Vibrio fischeri) and terrestrial plants (Sinapis alba and Hordeum vulgare) was evaluated. Our data showed that in temperate climate conditions, the degradation of SFOs in the oil-contaminated soils was very slow: after 1 year of treatment, the decrease of total hydrocarbons’ content in the soil did not exceed 25 %. In spite of the comparable chemical composition of the two studied SFOs, the VKG sweet posed higher hazard to the environment than the heavier fraction (VKG D) due to its higher mobility in the soil as well as higher toxicity to aquatic and terrestrial species. Our study demonstrated that the correlation between chemical parameters (such as total hydrocarbons or total PAHs) widely used for the evaluation of the soil pollution levels and corresponding toxicity to aquatic and terrestrial organisms was weak.