Purpose The anti-inflammatory drug naproxen (NPX) has been found as a micropollutant in river water downstream the discharge points of wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). In this study, rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) was exposed to NXP and the uptake and metabolism of the drug was studied. Methods Following exposure through intraperitoneal injection (i.p., 0.5 mg NPX/100 g fish biomass) and through water (1.6 μg L⁻¹), the bile was collected and analyzed with various LC-MS/MS methods. The identification of the formed metabolites in i.p. injected fish was based on the exact mass determinations by a time-of-flight mass analyzer (Q-TOF-MS) and on the studies of fragments and fragmentation patterns of precursor ions by an ion trap mass analyzer (IT-MS). Results No matter the exposure route, the main metabolites were found to be acyl glucuronides of NPX and of 6-O-desmethylnaproxen. Also, unmetabolized NPX was detected in the bile. The total bioconcentration factors (BCFtotal₋bile) of NPX and the metabolites in the bile of fish exposed through water ranged from 500 to 2,300. Conclusion The findings suggest that fish living downstream WWTPs may take up NPX and metabolize the compound. Consequently, NPX and its metabolites in bile can be used to monitor the exposure of fish to NPX.

Purpose The Pb absorption processes on a heavy textured calcareous soil, typical of central Italy, were studied using synchrotron X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) in order to probe, at molecular scale, the structure and chemical nature of Pb in contaminated soils and achieve precise description of Pb ions localization into these contaminated soils. Materials and methods In order to distinguish the role of the different components of soils in Pb retention, samples were prepared from the original soils removing the carbonate fractions, the organic matter, the metal oxides, or selecting the clay fractions. Then these samples were fortified with Pb simulating the natural interactions processes of heavy metal solutions with soils. The quantitative analysis of near edge (XANES) as well extended (EXAFS) regions of Pb LIII edge absorption spectra, in comparison with Pb XAS data of selected reference compounds, allowed the precise determination of local structure and chemical environment of Pb ions in these soil samples. Results Four components were individuated as the major responsible of Pb retention in calcareous soils: the carbonates, the metal oxide surfaces, the organic matter, and the colloidal inorganic surfaces containing clay components. The structural analysis suggests that, within these experimental conditions, the Pb adsorbed on the soil is generally present as Pb hydroxide with poor crystallization degree. However, the presence of carbonates (CaCO₃) induces the co-precipitation of PbCO₃-like phases with some degree of crystallinity.

INTRODUCTION: Illicit drug use is a largely hidden phenomenon, and population measures are notoriously problematic. Reliable and valid data for local, regional, and national public health and other interventions are needed. METHODS: To address this information, we examined temporal trends within and across weeks in methamphetamine (MA) in a single location in order to inform a sampling plan for understanding long-term trends in MA use based on sampling raw influent to wastewater treatment plants. The measured concentrations in the wastewater are used to estimate the total mass of MA consumed rather than the number of doses due to the uncertainty surrounding methamphetamine purity, mass of MA per dose, and the number of doses used per day. RESULTS: Results from a region with high levels of MA use indicate that MA levels do not differ significantly between weekdays and weekends (p = 0.1), consistent with a predominately regular, daily use pattern use. The potential contribution of legal sales of D: - and L: -MA to the mass of MA consumed within the community was estimated to range from 3–8%. Limitations and uncertainties associated with estimating the mass of MA consumption include small contributions of prescription and over-the-counter drugs that are metabolized to MA as well as measurement and sampling variability.

INTRODUCTION: This study investigated the effect of copper on chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency and on the properties (mainly settling and dewatering) and the composition of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) when 20 mg/L Cu(II) was continuously dosed to a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) inoculated with activated sludge. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The results showed that the continuous addition of 20 mg/L Cu(II) seriously inhibited the removal of sodium benzoate (provided as a model organic pollutant) by activated sludge in a SBR. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: After 40 days of acclimation, the removal efficiency presented a slight but unsteady recovery and the settling and dewatering properties improved, indicating that sludge bulking had been inhibited. Additionally, the proportion of loosely bound EPS in the total EPS increased with time and the relative composition of the total organics was polysaccharide > humic substances > protein > DNA. CONCLUSION: The effects of copper on the composition of EPS and the settling and dewatering properties of bulking activated sludge were also discussed for the first time in this paper.

INTRODUCTION: Two hundred twenty-five precipitation samples were collected at high- (summit, 1,534 m ASL) and low-elevation (base, 218 m ASL) sites between 2005 and 2008 in eastern China. The present work focused on the roles of long-range transport and under-cloud/boundary layer scavenging on chemical composition of precipitation collected at the two sites. METHODS: Ionic and trace species were analyzed in 225 precipitation samples. A total of 72 precipitation events occurring simultaneously at the summit and base sites were further examined. Positive matrix factorization (PMF) and backward air mass trajectories were used to identify the sources of precipitation pollutants. RESULTS: Low pH and high concentrations of ionic and trace species were measured at both sites. Inter-correlations for the simultaneous samples at the two sites were poor for trace elements (−0.07~0.47). A several fold increase in major ion (122~546%) and trace element (261~3,302%) concentrations occurred as the rain fell. Approximately 89% of the air masses responsible for the summit precipitation events were of distance origin. Marine salt, crustal material, fossil fuel burning plus secondary products, and metallic-industry-related factors were identified by PMF, contributing 9.7%, 22.8%, 41.8%, and 25.6%, respectively, to the precipitation pollutants at the summit and 13.3%, 31.9%, 39.6%, and 15.2%, respectively, at the base. CONCLUSIONS: Long-range atmospheric transport primarily influenced the high and the low site precipitation was strongly influenced by the under-cloud scavenging process of local boundary layer pollutants. Crustal material and fossil fuel burning plus secondary products were the predominant pollution sources in this region.

INTRODUCTION: It is predicted that demand for electricity in Islamic Republic of Iran will continue to increase dramatically in the future due to the rapid pace of economic development leading to construction of new power plants. At the present time, most of electricity is generated by burning fossil fuels which result in emission of great deal of pollutants and greenhouse gases (GHG) such as SO₂, NOₓ, and CO₂. The power industry is the largest contributor to these emissions. Due to minimal emission of GHG by renewable and nuclear power plants, they are most suitable replacements for the fossil-fueled power plants. However, the nuclear power plants are more suitable than renewable power plants in providing baseload electricity. The Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, the only nuclear power plant of Iran, is expected to start operation in 2010. This paper attempts to interpret the role of Bushehr nuclear power plant (BNPP) in CO₂ emission trend of power plant sector in Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In order to calculate CO₂ emissions from power plants, National CO₂ coefficients have been used. The National CO₂ emission coefficients are according to different fuels (natural gas, fuels gas, fuel oil). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: By operating Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in 2010, nominal capacity of electricity generation in Iran will increase by about 1,000 MW, which increases the electricity generation by almost 7,000 MWh/year (it is calculated according to availability factor and nominal capacity of BNPP). CONCLUSIONS: Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant will decrease the CO₂ emission in Iran power sector, by about 3% in 2010.

PURPOSE: The aim of this work was to determine some microbial characteristics of Mytilus galloprovincialis harvested from four stations, located in Izmir coastal area (Eastern Aegean Sea, Turkey). The area along the Izmir coast is densely populated, and it includes extensive agricultural lands, industrial and domestic discharge. Shellfish contamination from sewage-polluted waters is very important for public health. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Mussel samples were collected by SCUBA equipment. While, counts of culturable heterotrophic bacteria (aerobic, mesophilic) in samples were determined by the spread plate method, fecal coliforms were enumerated by the most probable number (MPN) method using the standard five-tube method. Additionally, samples were evaluated with the presence of Salmonella spp. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The results showed that levels of fecal coliforms determined were higher than the allowed limit (>300 MPN/100 g) in all the stations during the study period. Maximum fecal coliform count was observed in all of the stations in March, May and November as 2.4 × 105 MPN/100 g. The mean number of culturable heterotrophic bacteria varied between 1.7 × 105 and 6.7 × 106 CFU/100g, and maximum heterotrophic bacteria level was recorded in March 2006. In addition, the presence of Salmonella spp. was positive in one or more stations in all periods except for January. CONCLUSION: The results obtained from this study can be of use to prevent potentially harmful adverse effects of microorganisms from polluted waters and shellfish. Necessary hygienic measurements should be regularly taken and shellfish products should certainly not be consumed raw or undercooked.

BACKGROUND, AIM, AND SCOPE: Ferro-cyanide is one of the commonly found species at cyanide-contaminated soils and groundwater. Unlike botanical metabolism of KCN via the β-cyanoalanine pathway, processes involved in the plant-mediated assimilation of ferro-cyanide are still unclear. The objective of this study was to investigate a possible mechanism involved in uptake and assimilation of ferro-cyanide by plants. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Detached roots of plants were exposed to ferro-cyanide in a closed-dark hydroponic system amended with HgCl2, AgNO3, LaCl3, tetraethylammonium chloride (TEACl), or Na3VO4, respectively, at 25 ± 0.5°C for 24 h. Total CN, free CN-, and dissolved Fe2+ were analyzed spectrophotometrically. Activity of β-cyanoalanine synthase involved in cyanide assimilation was also assayed using detached roots of plants in vivo. RESULTS: Dissociation of ferro-cyanide [FeII(CN)6]-4 to free CN- and Fe2+ in solution was negligible. The applied inhibitors did not show any significant impact on the uptake of ferro-cyanide by soybean (Glycine max L. cv. JD 1) and hybrid willows (Salix matsudana Koidz × alba L.; p > 0.05), but rice (Oryza sativa L. cv. JY 98) was more susceptible to the inhibitors compared with the controls (p < 0.05). However, TEACl had the most severe effect on the assimilation of ferro-cyanide by soybean, hybrid willows, and maize (Zea mays L. cv. PA 78; p < 0.01), whereas AgNO3 was the most sensitive inhibitor to rice (p < 0.01). No measurable difference in β-cyanoalanine synthase activity of roots exposed to ferro-cyanide was observed compared with the control without any cyanides (p > 0.05), whereas roots exposed to KCN showed a considerable increase in enzyme activity (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Plants take up Fe2+ and CN- as a whole complex, and in vivo dissociation to free CN- is not prerequisite during the botanical assimilation of ferro-cyanide. Ferro-cyanide is likely metabolized by plants directly through an unknown pathway rather than the β-cyanoalanine pathway.

In the present work, two types of artificial neural network (NN) models using the multilayer perceptron (MLP) and the radial basis function (RBF) techniques, as well as a model based on principal component regression analysis (PCRA), are employed to forecast hourly PM₁₀ concentrations in four urban areas (Larnaca, Limassol, Nicosia and Paphos) in Cyprus. The model development is based on a variety of meteorological and pollutant parameters corresponding to the 2-year period between July 2006 and June 2008, and the model evaluation is achieved through the use of a series of well-established evaluation instruments and methodologies. The evaluation reveals that the MLP NN models display the best forecasting performance with R ² values ranging between 0.65 and 0.76, whereas the RBF NNs and the PCRA models reveal a rather weak performance with R ² values between 0.37-0.43 and 0.33-0.38, respectively. The derived MLP models are also used to forecast Saharan dust episodes with remarkable success (probability of detection ranging between 0.68 and 0.71). On the whole, the analysis shows that the models introduced here could provide local authorities with reliable and precise predictions and alarms about air quality if used on an operational basis.

Introduction It has been noticed many times that schools are buildings with high levels of particulate matter concentrations. Several authors documented that concentrations of particulate matter in indoor school microenvironments exceed limits recommended by WHO namely when school buildings are situated near major roads with high traffic densities. In addition, exercise under conditions of high particulate concentrations may increase the adverse health effects, as the total particle deposition increases in proportion to minute ventilation, and the deposition fraction nearly doubles from rest to intense exercise. Site and methods Mass concentrations of size-segregated aerosol were measured simultaneously in an elementary school gym and an adjacent outdoor site in the central part of Prague by two pairs of collocated aerosol monitors--a fast responding photometer DusTrak and a five stage cascade impactor. To encompass seasonal and annual differences, 89 days of measurements were performed during ten campaigns between 2005 and 2009. Results and discussion The average (all campaigns) outdoor concentration of PM₂.₅ (28.3 μg m⁻³) measured by the cascade impactors was higher than the indoor value (22.3 μg m⁻³) and the corresponding average from the nearest fixed site monitor (23.6 μg m⁻³). Indoor and outdoor PM₂.₅ concentrations exceeded the WHO recommended 24-h limit in 42% and 49% of the days measured, respectively. The correlation coefficient (r) between corresponding outdoor and indoor aerosol sizes increased with decreasing aerodynamic diameter of the collected particles (r = 0.32-0.87), suggesting a higher infiltration rate of fine and quasi-ultrafine particles. Principal component analysis revealed five factors explaining more than 82% of the data variability. The first two factors reflected a close association between outdoor and indoor fine and quasi-ultrafine particles confirming the hypothesis of high infiltration rate of particles from outdoors. The third factor indicated that human activity is the main source of indoor emission of coarse particles. The fourth factor involved only outdoor variables showing the resuspension of coarse ambient aerosol on dry and warm days without its seeming effect on the indoor coarse PM levels. Having in mind that high concentrations of both fine and coarse aerosol were frequently observed in the studied space, our results suggest that indoor exercise in polluted urbanized areas may increase the overall exposure and thus represent a potential health risk to young individuals during physical education at schools.