BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Because of the widespread use of pesticides for domestic and industrial applications, the evaluation of their toxic effects is of major concern to public health. The aim of the present study was to investigate the propensity of dimethoate (DM), an organophosphorus pesticide, to cause oxidative damage in the liver and kidney of mice and its associated genotoxic effect. METHODS: DM was administered intraperitoneally at doses of 1, 5, 10, 15, and 30 mg/kg body weight for 30 consecutive days in BALB/c mice. Oxidative stress was monitored in the kidney and liver by measuring malondialdehyde level, protein carbonyl concentration, and the catalase activity. The genotoxicity of DM was assessed by the comet assay in vivo. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Our results indicated that DM inhibited acetylcholinesterase activities in the liver and kidney of treated mice. DM increased lipid peroxidation and protein carbonyl levels in the liver and kidney in a dose-dependent manner. Catalase activity was found to be significantly increased in the liver and kidney at doses higher than 5 mg/kg body weight. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated that DM induced DNA damage in the liver and kidney of treated mice in a dose-dependent manner; this induction was associated to DM-induced oxidative stress. Further investigations are needed to prove the implication of oxidative stress in genotoxicity induced by DM.

PURPOSE: The aim of this work was to assess the levels of copper and zinc in fish from the main freshwater ecosystems of Moldova, in relation with species, habitat, age, sex, season, and development stage. METHODS: Fish from Cyprinidae and Percidae families (Cyprinus carpio, Carassius auratus gibelio, Rutilus rutilus heckeli, Abramis brama, Aristichthys nobilis, Hypophtalmichthys molitrix, Sander lucioperca) were collected from Prut and Dniester rivers, Cuciurgan, Dubasari, and Costesti-Stanca reservoirs, and ponds of farms in the Dniester delta. The Cu and Zn content of fish tissues (skeletal muscles, liver, gonads, gills, skin, and scales) was determined by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer AAS-3, of water by graphite furnace HGA 900 of AAnalist 400. RESULTS: The level of heavy metals accumulation in muscles of immature fish follows their dynamics in water. The highest concentration of zinc was registered in the gonads of mature fish, and of copper—in the liver. The lowest Cu and Zn contents were recorded in the muscles and are in the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization safety-permissible levels for human consumption. Cu and Zn contents in muscles of fish depend on specimen age. Their level in fish gonads was sharply increasing during pre-spawning period. During the early developmental stages, the metal concentration in fish eggs and larvae varies within wide limits, but the accumulation pattern is similar in the investigated species. CONCLUSIONS: The fish represent one of the most indicative factors for the estimation of trace metals pollution in freshwater systems and this is important not only for monitoring purposes, but also for the fish culture ones.

PURPOSE: This study contains some new findings connected to the photolysis of the drug paracetamol (hereinafter APAP) especially in light of estimating natural conditions, and it will offer information to better evaluate environmental problems connected with this widely used analgesic agent. Only a few studies, so far, have focussed on the photodegradation process of APAP in the natural environment, and the question about the role of the colored/chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) and nitrate (NO 3 − ) as photoinductors is almost open. METHODS: APAP dissolved in freshwater and pure laboratory water in the presence and absence of CDOM and NO 3 − ions was irradiated using weak-energy photon energies simulating natural conditions. RESULTS: CDOM and NO 3 − as photoinductors produced only the slow phototransformation of APAP under weak energy radiation, and APAP seemed to be practically resistant to direct photolysis under weak radiant energies available in natural conditions. The estimated reaction efficiencies, in addition to half-lives, speak for that NO 3 − and CDOM do not act as quite independent photoinductors but their effect in conjunction (CDOM–NO 3 − –water) is stronger than the separate ones. The principal phototransformation intermediates of APAP were mono-hydroxy derivatives, depending on available photon energies formed via ortho- or meta-hydroxylation, possessing substantial power of resistance to further specific transformation reactions. CONCLUSIONS: The estimated half-life of the phototransformation of APAP in the natural aqueous environment and in the presence of suitable photoinductors will be about 30 days or more.

To categorize the marine environmental health status, the Oslo and Paris commissions have recently formulated Ecological Quality Objectives (EcoQOs) for many ecological features including the contamination of coastal bird eggs with mercury and organochlorines. In this study, we describe spatial and temporal patterns of egg contamination around the North Sea and compared them to the EcoQOs. Concentrations of mercury, polychlorinated biphenyl (ΣPCB) congeners, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (ΣDDT) and derivatives, hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and hexachlorocyclohexane (ΣHCH) isomers were analysed in two tern species (Sterna hirundo and Sterna paradisaea) and Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) eggs collected between 2008 and 2010 in a total of 21 sites in seven countries surrounding the North Sea. Hg, ΣPCB and HCB were highest in the southern sites, while ΣDDT and ΣHCH concentrations were greatest in eggs from the western North Sea and the Elbe estuary. There were rarely any consistent decreases over time for any compounds. In the terns, Hg, HCB and ΣHCH increased at most sites, ΣPCB and ΣDDT in Sweden and Norway. In the Oystercatcher, HCB and ΣHCH increased at more than the half of the sites, ΣPCB, ΣDDT and Hg at several German sites. In the terns, Hg, ΣPCB and ΣDDT exceeded the EcoQO in all, HCB in most years and sites. At most sites, ΣHCH fulfilled the EcoQO in some study years. In the Oystercatcher, Hg, ΣPCB and ΣDDT exceeded the EcoQO in all or most years and sites. HCB and ΣHCH fulfilled the EcoQO in some or all years at most sites. The EcoQO was exceeded most frequently in estuaries. We conclude that EcoQOs are suitable for drawing contamination patterns of the coastal North Sea in an easily understandable manner, offering the opportunity to harmonize the EcoQOs with coordinated environmental monitoring programmes.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Estrogenic compounds and antibiotic residues in environment are receiving significant attention because of their potential adverse effects on ecosystems and human health. The objectives of this study were to determine the occurrence and seasonal variability of eight kinds of estrogenic compounds and 14 antibiotics. The study developed an occurrence database of the estrogenic compounds and antibiotics in spatial and temporal scale in Jiulongjiang River, South China, to provide useful information for environmental management of this region. METHODS: Eight estrogenic compounds and 14 antibiotic compounds were detected in Jiulongjiang River from 19 sampling sites during high-flow and low-flow season in surface water. The samples were preconcentrated by solid-phase extraction for analysis. Eight estrogenic compounds were analyzed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (Agilent 7890A-5975C), and antibiotics were determined by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) system (ABI 3200 Q TRAP). RESULTS: All target compounds could be detected, except 17α-ethynylestradiol, sulfamerazine, and ofloxacin. The median concentrations for seven estrogenic compounds ranged from 6.00 to 610.72 ng/L, with the detection frequency range of 16.00–100%. However, the detection frequencies of 13 antibiotics detected varied from 50% to 100%, with the median concentrations ranged from 0.89 to 117.97 ng/L. Seasonal variations were obvious for most estrogenic compounds in Jiulongjiang River, except for octylphenol and estriol. There were significant (P < 0.001) differences for three tetracyclines, sulfadiazine, and sulfamethoxazole between in low-flow season and in high-flow season. Besides, spatially considerable variations in the concentrations were observed for antibiotics, nonylphenol, octylphenol, and bisphenol A. CONCLUSION: The Jiulongjiang River water was more seriously contaminated by diethylstilbestrol, estrone, sulfamethazine, and tetracyclines. Higher overall concentration levels of estrogenic compounds and antibiotics were detected in low-flow water than those in high-flow water. The pollution of estrogenic compounds and antibiotics in Jiulongjiang River mainly came from municipal sewage and livestock breeding activities.

OBJECTIVE: This work aims to investigate the correlation between the photocatalytic activity determined by methylene blue bleaching (DIN 52980), stearic acid degradation, and degradation of acetone in gas phase. METHOD: The photocatalytic TiO2 coatings included in this investigation ranged from thin commercially available coatings (ActivTM and BioCleanTM) and ready to use suspensions (Nano-X PK1245) to lab-produced PVD and sol–gel coatings. XRD analysis of the photocatalytic coatings showed that all the coatings consisted of nanocrystalline anatase, although the thickness and porosity varied considerably. RESULTS: The study showed that the reproducibility of the activity measurements was good. However, more importantly, the investigation showed that there is a good correlation between the activities determined by the different methods even though the characteristics of the photocatalytic coatings and the organic probe molecules varied considerably. CONCLUSION: The overall findings of this work suggest that there is a good correlation between the investigated methods. These results are promising for the future work concerning standardization of methods for determination of the activity of photocatalytic films.

PURPOSE: The objectives of this research are to identify the functional groups and determine corresponding pK a values of the acidic sites on dried brown algae Cystoseira barbata using FTIR and potentiometric titrations, and to investigate the biosorption ability of biomass towards divalent nickel, cadmium, and lead ions. Adsorption was studied as a function of solution pH and contact time, and experimental data were evaluated by the Langmuir isotherm model. METHODS: CaCl2 pretreatment was applied to the sorbent for enhancing the metal uptake capacity. The effect of solution pH on biosorption equilibrium was investigated in the pH range of 1.5–5.0. Individual as well as competitive adsorption capacity of the sorbent were studied for metal cations and mixtures. RESULTS: The retention of the tested metal ions was mostly influenced from pH in the range of 1.5–2.5, then stayed almost constant up to 5.0, while Ni(II) uptake showed the highest variation with pH. Potentiometric titrations were performed to find the number of strong and weak acidic groups and their acidity constants. The density of strong and weak acidic functional groups in the biomass were found to be 0.9 and 2.26 mmol/g, respectively. The FTIR spectra of the sorbent samples indicated various functionalities on the biomass surface including carboxyl, hydroxyl, and amino and sulphonate groups which are responsible for the binding of metal ions. CONCLUSIONS: The capacity of the biomass for single metal ions (around 1 mmol/g) was increased to 1.3 mmol/g in competitive adsorption, Pb(II) showing the highest Langmuir intensity constant. Considering its extremely high abundance and low cost, C. barbata may be potentially important in metal ion removal from contaminated water and industrial effluents.

INTRODUCTION: In this paper, a novel method in the estimation and prediction of PM10 is introduced using wavelet transform-based artificial neural networks (WT-ANN). DISCUSSION: First, the application of wavelet transform, selected for its temporal shift properties and multiresolution analysis characteristics enabling it to reduce disturbing perturbations in input training set data, is presented. Afterward, the circular statistical indices which are used in this method are formally introduced in order to investigate the relation between PM10 levels and circular meteorological variables. Then, the results of the simulation of PM10 based on WT-ANN by use of MATLAB software are discussed. The results of the above-mentioned simulation show an enhanced accuracy and speed in PM10 estimation/prediction and a high degree of robustness compared with traditional ANN models.

Concentrations of selected organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are reported in air and surface soil in an extensive spatial survey across Azerbaijan, a country bordering the Caspian Sea with a history of OCP production and extensive use. Polyurethane foam disc passive air samplers (PAS) were deployed during October–November 2008 with soil samples collected in July 2009. Levels of Σ7PCB in ambient air were generally low (mean of 0.046 ng m−3, n = 13) and comparable to concentrations reported in countries within Eastern Europe and similar to or lower than concentrations reported in urban air in the UK and other western countries. Surprisingly, PCB concentrations in rural/background soil fell below the method detection limits at most sites, although concentrations were 0.209 and 0.071 ng Σ7PCB g−1 dry weight (dw) for two urban sites, again comparable to PCB levels measured at background sites in Europe. Levels of α-HCH, β-HCH, γ-HCH and p,p′-DDT/E were elevated in ambient air across Azerbaijan in comparison to PAS-derived concentrations reported elsewhere, with concentrations of α-HCH in air ranging from 0.085 to 2.699 ng m−3 and p,p′-DDE, 0.037–2.290 ng m−3. High concentrations of OCPs occurred at several of the urban sites and at sites in proximity to old pesticide storage facilities with concentrations in soil >0.1 μg g−1 dw for p,p′-DDE and p,p′-DDT at several sites. The ratio of p,p′-DDT/p,p′-DDE was close to unity in the soil at these sites, but elsewhere, the ratio was <1, indicating a weathered DDT pattern, which was also reflected in the air at all sites. A fugacity approach revealed the strong likelihood of net soil-to-air transfer at the majority of sites for all OCPs. The calculated annual fluxes or loading to the atmosphere from a rural/agricultural area (representing land as vineyards and cotton cultivation) were estimated to be on the order of ≈10–100 kg year−1 for the HCH isomers (including the β -isomer) and p,p′-DDE. The high levels of OCPs in soils, particularly in the vicinity of obsolete-pesticide storage facilities and at select urban sites are of concern and warrant regular monitoring activities and the development of containment or mitigation strategies.

BACKGROUND: In tropical countries, the palm tree is one of the most abundant and important trees. Date palm is a principal fruit grown in many regions of the world. It is abundant, locally available and effective material that could be used as an adsorbent for the removal of different pollutants from aqueous solution. REVIEW: This article presents a review on the role of date palm as adsorbents in the removal of unwanted materials such as acid and basic dyes, heavy metals, and phenolic compounds. Many studies on adsorption properties of various low cost adsorbent, such as agricultural waste and activated carbons based on agricultural waste have been reported in recent years. CONCLUSION: Studies have shown that date palm-based adsorbents are the most promising adsorbents for removing unwanted materials. No previous review is available where researchers can get an overview of the adsorption capacities of date palm-based adsorbent used for the adsorption of different pollutants. This review provides the recent literature demonstrating the usefulness of date palm biomass-based adsorbents in the adsorption of various pollutants.