n-Octyl esters of long-chain fatty acids are not anthropogenic pollution markers

n-Octyl esters of higher fatty acids have been reported as markers of urban wastewater in sediments, polychaeta, fish, crabs and oysters (Chaler et al. in J Chromatogr A 1046:203–210, 2004)). However, up to date, there were no subsequent studies to confirm this claim. Likewise, Chaler and co-workers did not consider that the mentioned compounds might occur naturally in the environment. Here we found seven n-octyl straight-chain alkanoates, from C-20 to C-26, in the wild-growing plant Heracleum sphondylium L., Apiaceae, from 14 locations. Those plant metabolites were unambiguously identified by gas chromatographic co-injection of the synthesized esters with the inflorescence washings. All identified octyl esters represent new natural compounds, except for octyl docosanoate. Since we have demonstrated that n-octyl esters occur naturally, and in abundance, they cannot be recognized any longer as wastewater markers. Additionally, here we provide evidences that the compounds identified by Chaler et al. (2004) are in fact 2-ethylhexyl esters, mistakenly identified as n-octyl esters.     

Flexible and high-efficiency Sb2S3/solid carrier solar cell at low light intensity

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Producing green and efficient energy sources is a major challenge. As a consequence, the use of photovoltaic devices for conversion of light into electricity is...     

Principal component analysis of indicator PCB profiles in breast milk from Poland

Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to a data set containing the levels of indicator polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in human milk of mothers living in the Wielkopolska region, Poland, in order to investigate the information captured in the PCB patterns and to elucidate the relationship between PCB concentrations in milk and donor characteristics. According to the obtained PCA results milk fat content was the most influential factor affecting the PCB levels in milk of the Wielkopolska cohort. The lifestyle data collected from the questionnaire completed by the donors appeared to have no influence on PCB concentrations in breast milk. The score plots revealed the PCB contents of milk were quite low and uniform with a few outliers, without discrimination observed either between the primipareous and secundipareous females or between donors from the urban and rural areas. Comparison of the PCB levels and profiles of human milk from the Wielkopolska region and from various European and Asian locations made by PCA reflected a generally low background exposure and indicated the possible reasons for the outlying of some samples. In order to enhance the chances of observing the relationship between donor habits and PCB levels in breast milk it was suggested that the questionnaire be redesigned to gather information about vegetable product consumption and indoor air exposure.     

Terrestrial Biodiversity Analyses in Dalmatia (Croatia): A Complementary Approach Using Diversity and Rarity

Here we present the methodology used for terrestrial biodiversity analysis and site selection in Phase B of the UNDP/GEF COAST project. The analysis was focused on the problem of biodiversity evaluation in four Croatian counties stretching from sea level to the highest mountain in Croatia. Data on habitats, vascular flora, and fauna (mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, butterflies, ground beetles, and underground invertebrates) were collected and analyzed for each of the four counties. Emphasis was given to the richness of endangered species and the rarity of endemic species. Based on the spatial analyses of habitat, fauna, and flora data, four to six areas were selected from each county and ranked according to their biodiversity importance. Overlap between areas important for richness and those important for rarity was highest for data on flora (65.5%) and lowest for data on fauna (16.7%). When different data sets were compared, the lowest overlap was between flora and fauna (17.1%) and largest between fauna and habitats (23.9%). Simultaneous overlap among all three data sets was found in just 6.5% of the overall selected areas. These results suggest that less specific data, with respect to taxa threat status, could better serve as surrogate data in estimating overall biodiversity. In summary, this analysis has demonstrated that Dalmatia is a region with a high overall biodiversity that is important in a broader European context.     

(210)Po and (210)Pb activity concentrations in Mytilus galloprovincialis from Croatian Adriatic coast with the related dose assessment to the coastal population

Activity concentrations of ²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Pb in the species Mytilus galloprovincialis from Croatian Adriatic coast were determined. The samples were collected in thirteen sampling places which are also a part of Croatian Mediterranean mussel watch project. The results of ²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Pb activity concentrations were found to vary between (22.1 ± 2.5)-(207 ± 21) Bq kg⁻¹ fresh weight and (2.8 ± 1.4)-(9.3 ± 0.7) Bq kg⁻¹ fresh weight, respectively. ²¹⁰Po/²¹⁰Pb ratio ranged between 6.2 and 30.7. The highest measured activities were found in the enclosed basins of the Neretva channel, where the majority of Croatian mussel cultivation is taking place. The estimated consequent average total annual effective ingestion dose due to ²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Pb from mussel consumption in Croatian coastal region is 202 ± 99 μSv with 96% contribution of ²¹⁰Po to the total effective dose.     

In vitro activity of antimicrobial agents against Pseudomonas tolaasii, pathogen of cultivated button mushroom

In vitro antibacterial activity tests of seven biofungicides (Ekstrasol, Bisolbisan, Bisolbifit, Serenade, Sonata, Timorex, F-Stop) and two disinfectants (colloidal silver alone and in combination with hydrogen peroxide) against the Pseudomonas tolaasii strain (NS3B6) were carried out by the disc-diffusion, broth microdilution and broth macrodilution method. Biofungicides tested in this study did not exhibit any antimicrobial activity in neither one of the methods used. Disc diffusion method revealed high sensitivity of the tested P. tolaasii strain to Ecocute based on colloidal silver and hydrogen peroxide. Both microdilution and macrodilution methods identified the same MICs and MBCs of Ecocute (0.19 mg/L) for P. tolaasii strain. MICs and MBCs values of silver alone were much higher (10 mg/L) compared to silver in combination with hydrogen peroxide.     

Radon diffusion in an anhydrous andesitic melt: a finite difference solution

Radon-222 diffusion in an anhydrous andesitic melt was investigated. The melts were glass discs formed artificially from melted volcanic materials. Solutions of the relevant diffusion equations were done by the explicit finite difference method. Results were compared to analytical solutions reported in the literature and good agreement was found. We have shown that the explicit finite difference method is effective and accurate for solving equations that describe ²²²Rn diffusion in andesitic melts, which is especially important when arbitrary initial and boundary conditions are required.     

Development of a fast instrumental method for the analysis of pharmaceuticals in environmental and wastewaters based on ultra high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC)-tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS)

This work describes the development, optimization and validation of an analytical method for the simultaneous detection and identification of 74 pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs), from various therapeutic groups, in both environmental (ground and surface water) and wastewaters (WW). The method is based on the simultaneous extraction of all target compounds by solid phase extraction (SPE), using a hydrophilic-lipophilic balanced polymer followed by ultra high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). Two selected reaction monitoring (SRM) transitions have been monitored per compound in order to fulfil the EC guidelines, as well as to ensure an accurate identification of target compounds in the samples. Quantification is performed by internal standard approach, applying 24 specific isotopically labeled compounds. The main advantages of the developed method, besides the selectivity and reliability of the results, is its high throughput. All compounds are extracted in a single step and the instrumental analysis lasts 5 min (NI mode) + 8 min (PI mode), allowing fast throughput of samples. The limits of detection range from 0.01 to 50 ng L⁻¹, depending on the matrix, for most of the compounds. Finally, the method developed has been applied to the analysis of pharmaceuticals in the Ebro river basin (NE Spain).     

Accumulation of organochlorine contaminants in loggerhead sea turtles, Caretta caretta, from the eastern Adriatic Sea

We analyzed 15 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and five organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in fat tissue of 27 loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) from eastern Adriatic Sea with the curved carapace length ranging from 25.0 to 84.5 cm. The PCB profile was dominated by hexa- and hepta-chlorinated congeners, with PCB-153 (median: 114.9 ng g⁻¹ wet mass), PCB-138 (80.0 ng g⁻¹ w.m.), and PCB-180 (26.7 ng g⁻¹ w.m.) detected with the highest levels. Toxic mono-ortho congeners PCB-118, PCB-105 and PCB-180 with dioxin-like toxicity were found in >70% samples. 4,4′-DDE (81.0 ng g⁻¹ w.m.) prevailed the OCP signature, accounting for 80% of the total DDTs. A significant increasing trend in accumulation with size was found for PCB-52 (r_s = 0.512, p < 0.01) and PCB-114 (r_s = 0.421, p < 0.05). Comparison of our results with organochlorine contaminant (OC) pattern in some prey taxa suggest that contamination occurs primarily through the food web, with biomagnification factors of 0.14-6.99 which were positively correlated with the octanol-water partition coefficient (log K_ow; p < 0.05). This study, based upon a fairly large sample size collected mostly from incidentally captured animals over a short time period (June 2001-November 2002), present a temporal snapshot of OC contamination in wild, free-ranging loggerheads from Adriatic feeding grounds and provide a baseline for monitoring the regional OC trends in this endangered species.