Dynamics of steroid estrogen daily concentrations in hospital effluent and connected waste water treatment plant

Hospital effluent and connected waste water treatment plant (WWTP) influent and effluent were sampled daily to determine the levels and inter-day variations of three naturally occurring steroid estrogens: estrone, 17β-estradiol, estriol, and synthetic 17α-ethinylestradiol. After solid phase extraction, interferences were removed with a silica gel clean-up step and the samples analysed using gas chromatography with mass selective detection (GC-MSD). The determined inter-day concentrations in hospital effluent were between 8.6 to 31.3 ng L(-1) for estrone, 相似文献   

Monitoring SARS-CoV-2 in the Wastewater and Rivers of Tapachula,a Migratory Hub in Southern Mexico

Food and Environmental Virology - The COVID-19 pandemic has been monitored by applying different strategies, including SARS-CoV-2 detection with clinical testing or through wastewater-based...     

Development and growth in synanthropic species: plasticity and constraints

Urbanization poses serious extinction risks, yet some species thrive in urban environments. This may be due to a pronounced developmental plasticity in these taxa, since phenotypically, plastic organisms may better adjust to unpredictable urban food resources. We studied phenotypic plasticity in Nuctenea umbratica, a common European forest and urban vegetation spider. We subjected spiderlings to low (LF), medium (MF) and high (HF) food treatments and documented their growth and developmental trajectories into adulthood. Spiders from the three treatments had comparable numbers of instars and growth ratios, but differed in developmental periods. Longest developing LF spiders (♀?=?390, ♂?=?320 days) had the smallest adults, but MF (♀?=?300, ♂?=?240 days) and HF (♀?=?240, ♂?=?210 days) spiders reached comparable adult sizes through shorter development. While males and females had comparable instar numbers, females had longer development, higher growth ratios, adult sizes and mass; and while males adjusted their moulting to food availability, female moulting depended on specific mass, not food treatment. We discussed the patterns of Nuctenea sex-specific development and compared our results with published data on two other Holarctic urban colonizers (Larinioides sclopetarius, Zygiella x-notata) exhibiting high plasticity and fast generation turn-over. We conclude that despite relatively unconstrained developmental time in the laboratory enabling Nuctenea to achieve maximal mass and size—main female fitness proxies—their relatively fixed growth ratio and long generation turn-over may explain their lower success in urban environments.     

Physiological Method of Evaluating Protective Clothing for Work in a Cold Environment

The purpose of this study was to determine the usefulness of physiological studies in the evaluation of protective clothing for work in a cold environment. The study included the examination of the dynamics of changes in chosen physiological parameters (core and skin temperatures, heart rate, pulmonary minute ventilation) as well as physical ones (the temperature and relative humidity under the clothes) during work in protective clothing with unknown thermal insulation. The experiment was conducted in extreme environmental conditions (–10 and –15°C) at a work load defined by the clothing manufacturer as moderate. Results show that thermal equilibrium was achieved and maintained throughout the investigated work time (60 min) and that the protective clothing ensures safety on the time scale of a regular 8-hour work day. It was also shown that the dynamics of thermal stress physiological parameters can be used to determine the maximum duration of exposure for cold protective clothing with unknown thermal insulation.     

Biotreatment strategies for the removal of microplastics from freshwater systems. A review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Research on plastic pollution has recently evidenced the ubiquitous presence of tiny plastic particles called microplastics. Microplastics alter organisms because...     

Comparative use of bacterial, algal and protozoan tests to study toxicity of azo- and anthraquinone dyes

Toxicity of two azo dyes (Reactive Orange 16 (RO16); Congo Red (CR)) and two anthraquinone dyes (Remazol Brilliant Blue R (RBBR); Disperse Blue 3 (DB3)) were compared using bacterium Vibrio fischeri, microalga Selenastrum capricornutum and ciliate Tetrahymena pyriformis. The following respective endpoints were involved: acute toxicity measured as bacterial luminescence inhibition, algal growth inhibition, and the effects on the protozoa including viability, growth inhibition, grazing effect and morphometric effects. In addition, mutagenicity of the dyes was determined using Ames test with bacterium Salmonella typhimurium His(-). DB3 dye was the most toxic of all dyes in the bacterial, algal and protozoan tests. In contrast to other dyes, DB3 exhibited mutagenic effects after metabolic activation in vitro in all S. typhimurium strains used. Of the methods applied, the algal test was the most sensitive to evaluate toxicity of the dyes tested.     

Insights into Effective Adsorption of Lead ions from Aqueous Solutions by Using Chitosan-Bentonite Composite Beads

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - The chitosan (Ch)—bentonite (B) composite was synthesized and its adsorption properties were investigated for lead ions. The characterization of the...     

Analysis of essential,toxic, rare earth,and noble elements in maternal and umbilical cord blood

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Progressive industrialization in recent decades has contributed to the increase of metal levels in the environment, which has a dangerous impact on...