Geno-toxicity assay of sediment and water samples from the Upper Silesia post-mining areas, Poland by means of Allium-test

Genotoxic potential of two environmental compartments (water and sediment) from the Upper Silesia Coal Basin (USCB), Poland were evaluated and compared by employing root meristem cells of Allium cepa. The clear genotoxic effect of water and sediment sampled was shown, with an important contribution of severe types of cytogenetic abnormalities. The most biologically relevant pollutants were revealed through multivariate statistical analysis of relationships between biological effects registered and the environment contamination. Overall, results of simultaneous use of conventional monitoring methods and biological tests suggested that contemporary levels of persistent pollutants in post-mining areas of the USCB may enhance the risk both for human health and biological components of natural ecosystems.     

Turbulent flow over a D-section bluff body: a numerical benchmark

Environmental Fluid Mechanics - A numerical benchmark of different turbulence closures was performed to investigate the turbulent wake flow behind a submerged D-shaped bluff body. The numerical...     

Metal concentrations in sediment and Nereis diversicolor in two Moroccan lagoons: Khnifiss and Oualidia

Metal concentrations were measured monthly during an annual cycle (December 2004 to January 2006) in the tissues of Nereis diversicolor ragworms and sediment from two Moroccan Atlantic coastal lagoons: Oualidia in the north, situated in a highly industrialised urban area and Khnifiss in the south, far from anthropogenic influences. Relatively high levels of Zn, Ag and Cd were found in the sediment of Oualidia lagoon, while Ni concentrations were shown to be high at Khnifiss. The significant metal levels at Oualidia are a result of industrial and urban discharges, coupled with discharges from adjacent phosphate ore processing plants. Trace metal concentrations in worms vary according to season; they are usually high in winter and spring, in relation to the animal's reproductive cycle. Comparing the two lagoons, trace metal levels appear to be higher in worms from Khnifiss lagoon, suggesting a higher bioavailability of these elements in a relatively pristine area.     

Production of bio-fertilizer by biotransformation of poultry waste enriched with molasses and algae

This research work consists on valorizing poultry waste by biotransformation into biofertilizers, associating this agro-industrial waste with algae (abundant natural resources) and molasses (a by-product of the sugar refining industry) ensuring a good contribution of nutritional chemical elements and obtaining a balanced formulation. A total of seven different formulations of the above three components, were examined in a simplex centroid design. A fungal inoculum of Aspergillus niger was used as a fermentation agent for better quality of biotransformation. The monitoring of this biotransformation is ensured during 15 days by following the evolution of physicochemical and microbiological parameters and, to understand the bioconversion of the simple compounds of the biofertilizer mixture such as short aliphatic chains, sugar, and amino acids into soluble mineral compounds, a Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis was carried out before and after biotransformation. Finally, germination and fertilization tests were performed to evaluate the efficiency of the final product on a barley crop. The overall results of the present study showed that the mixture which contained 68.75% poultry waste, 12.5% molasses, and 18.75% algae presented the better microbiological and chemical safety criteria required for a good biofertilizer according to NF U44-551 standard.     

Changes over time in persistent organic pollutants (POP) concentrations in human milk in the Republic of Moldova

Persistent organic pollutants (POP) in human milk originating from various sources are used as environmental exposure markers. Further, mothersmilk is a predominant pathway for human exposure for suckling infants to POP. The aim of present study was to provide baseline and time trend information on human milk POP concentrations in the Republic of Moldova. A pooled sample of breast milk was analyzed in 2009 and 2015 and health risk evaluated by comparing reference values of humans' daily intake with estimated daily intake (EDI). Results showed decreases for concentrations of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, hexachlorobenzene, dieldrin, heptachlor, α and β-hexachlorocyclohexane, polychlorinated biphenyls, dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls, polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans between sampling periods. Regardless of the decrease, EDI was higher than reference values for dioxins toxic equivalents, polychlorinated biphenyls and β-hexachlorocyclohexane in both phases. However, increased levels were detected for polybrominated diphenyl ethers (twofold) and hexabromocyclododecane (threefold) from 2009 to 2015, but the EDI in both phases is much lower than the reference. The decline in certain POP levels may be attributed to coordinated efforts undertaken by national and international entities to regulate these compounds. The basis for the elevated levels of polybrominated diphenyl ethers and hexabromocyclododecane remains unknown but raises concerns regarding lactational exposure.     

Characterization of organic coatings on hygroscopic salt particles and their atmospheric impacts

The photooxidation of α-pinene in the presence of NO₂, with and without added NaNO₃ seed particles, has been studied in a large-diameter flow tube. Particles formed by homogeneous nucleation and by condensation on the pre-existing seeds were sampled at various stages of the reaction, dried using four diffusion dryers, size selected at different mobility diameters (d_m) using a differential mobility analyzer (DMA), and characterized with a single particle mass spectrometer (SPLAT II). It was found that homogeneously nucleated particles are spherical, have a density (ρ) of 1.25 ± 0.02 g cm^?3 (±2σ) and contain a significant amount of organic nitrates. The mass spectra of the low volatility products condensed on the NaNO₃ seed particles were found to be virtually the same as in the case of homogeneous nucleation. The data show that the presence of even a submonolayer of organics on the NaNO₃ particles causes water retention that leads to a decrease in particle density and that the amount of water retained increases with organic coating thickness. Thicker coatings appear to inhibit water evaporation from the particle seeds altogether. This suggests that in the atmosphere, where low volatility organics are plentiful, some hygroscopic salts will retain water and have different densities and refractive indices than expected in the absence of the organic coating. This water retention combined with the organic shell on the particles can potentially impact light scattering by these particles and activity as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), as well as heterogeneous chemistry and photochemistry on the particles.     

Biodegradation of Poly-ε-caprolactones and Poly-<Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">l</Emphasis>-lactides by Fungi

This work assessed biodegradation, by Aspergillus, Fusarium, Penicillium and Parengyodontium fungi, of four samples of poly-ε-caprolactone (PCL), three samples of poly-l-lactide (PLA) and one sample of poly-d,l-lactide (DL-PLA) produced by ring-opening polymerization initiated by aluminium complexes of corresponding lactones. Mesophilic fungal strains actively biodegrading PCL (F. solani) and PLA (Parengyodontium album and A. calidoustus) were selected. The rate of degradation by the selected fungi was found to depend on the physicochemical and mechanical properties of the polymers (molecular weight, polydispersity, crystallinity). The most degradable poly-ε-caprolactone sample was shown to have the lowest molecular weight; the most biodegradable polylactide DL-PLA had the lowest crystallinity. Mass spectral analysis of biodegraded polymer residues showed PCL to be degraded more intensively than PLA. It is established that in the case of Parengyodontium album the colonization of the films of polypropylene composites with DL-PLA is observed, which will undoubtedly contribute to their further destruction under the influence of abiotic factors in the environment.     

The toxicity and fate of phenolic pollutants in the contaminated soils associated with the oil-shale industry

Phenol, cresols, dimethylphenols and resorcinols are considered major pollutants in the oil-shale semi-coke dump leachates (up to 380 mg phenols/L) that contaminate the surrounding soils and pose a threat to the groundwater in the North-East of Estonia. However, despite high residual concentrations of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and oil products in these soils, the concentration of phenols (especially their water-extractable fraction) was low, not exceeding 0.7 mg/kg dwt. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the role of biodegradation and aging on the decrease of hazard caused by phenolic pollution. The extractability of phenols (phenol, cresols, dimethylphenols and resorcinols) and their biodegradability by the microbial population was studied in the 13 soils sampled from the Estonian oil-shale region, territories of former gas stations, and from presumably non-polluted areas. Phenol, 5-methylresorcinol, p-cresol and resorcinol could be considered easily degradable in the soils as the microbial populations from majority of the soils studied were able to grow on mineral medium supplemented with these phenols as a single source of carbon. 2,3- and 2,4- and 3,4-dimethylphenols could be considered less easily biodegradable.The semi-coke dump leachate polluted soil (containing no dibasic phenols, 43 mg of monobasic phenols, 1348 mg of oil products and 35 mg of PAHs per g dwt) was analyzed chemically (HPLC) and toxicologically (Flash-Assay usingVibrio fischeri) for the leaching of phenols during shaking of soil-water slurries for 24 h. Only 5.8% of the total concentration of phenols was water-extractable, whereas about 50% of the leached amount was biodegraded by the soil microorganisms. Phenol and cresols were biodegraded by 80%, but the concentration of dimethyl-phenols practically did not change. The pollutants (measured as total water-extractable toxicity) were desorbed from the soil particles by the 8^th h of extraction, whereas the toxicity of the aqueous phase continued to increase, probably due to the formation of toxic metabolites. The concentration of water-extractable phenols was too low to explain the toxicity of the extract. Also the impact of PAHs and oil products was excluded. Thus, the relatively low concentration of phenols in the oil-shale region soils is most probably the reflection of both natural attenuation and pollution aging. Therefore, the impact of phenolic compounds to the net bioavailable hazard is probably not so remarkable as it has been considered. The actual pollutants causing the toxicity of the soils from the oil-shale region, however, need to be elucidated.     

Metabolic and Environmental Control on Methane Emission from Soils: Mechanistic Studies of Mesotrophic Fen in West Siberia

The biological mechanisms regulating methane emission fromnatural wetlands are the focus of this article. A novel techniqueprovides estimates of the distribution of CH₄ sources withinan undisturbed soil profile by recording the transient gasdynamics after soil enclosure by deep (50 cm) chamber. Thecombined use of conventional surface and soil chambers across a200-m fen transect allowed us to relate the observed methaneemission to its instant generation and uptake. Surprisingly, themethane generation was relatively constant (9–12 mg CH₄-C hr^-1 m^-2) and highly variable net emission (0.2–20 mg CH₄-C hr^-1 m^-2) was closely correlated (r = –0.809)with methane uptake. In laboratory incubations, CH₄ uptakefollowed Michaelis-Menten kinetics. Added chloride and nitrateirrespective of the cation's nature suppressed uptake as a strongnoncompetitive inhibitors (K _i 0.5 mM). The methaneformation turned out to be unstable and under anaerobicincubation, the formation of CH₄, CO₂ andH₂displayed sustained weekly oscillations. We conclude that effectsof environmental factors alone are not sufficient topredict the variation in emission, which depends also on metabolic control of respective soil organisms. The multitude ofsuch controls is dependent on diversity of respective soilorganisms and could be grouped into a limited number ofcategories considerably simplifying large-scale simulations.