Effects of invasive plants on soil properties and microbial communities have been observed, but the mechanisms driving change are less obvious. The objective of this study was to determine the short-term impacts of litter from the invasive shrub Frangula alnus on soil properties and soil microorganims. In situ soil rings (6-cm diameter by 7-cm deep) received the following aqueous treatments: deionized water, dextrose, cellulose, Quercus alba leaf extract, and F. alnus leaf extract (n = 7) and were sampled 1, 2, and 4 weeks after additions were made. Microbial biomass carbon did not respond differently to treatments containing carbon (C) sources at any sampling period, suggesting that C quality had little impact on microbial abundance at this site. However, in weeks 1 and 2, soil treated with F. alnus had significantly higher total extractable nitrogen (N) than the control, dextrose, cellulose, and Q. alba extract (all comparisons for both weeks p < 0.001). We suspect that the increase in extractable N in the F. alnus-treated soil was due to enhanced N mineralization. In addition, changes to the microbial biomass C-to-N ratio in the F. alnus-treated soil indicated that microbial function had been altered. Overall, results from this study suggest that F. alnus leaf litter has the capacity to alter soil properties and microbial function by stimulating N mineralization.

An innovative device for enhancing particle settling, referred to as the bottom grid structure (BGS), was tested in the forebay of an urban stormwater detention pond in two design variants. Results showed that compared to the simulated bare pond bottom (i.e., a reference condition), the BGSs collected more sediments during a three-month test period and also captured and retained some very fine particles (<32 μm) even under high flows. The improvements of particle removal rates expressed in multiples of removals for the bare bottom were 3.6, 7.3, and 11.2, respectively, for the particle size ranges 106 μm < D < 250 μm, 32 μm < D < 106 μm, and D < 32 μm. Because the BGS can retain much smaller particles than bare bottom sediment traps, the application of the BGS can be considered as equivalent to increasing the settling area of a particle removal facility about 5 to 60 times, depending on the size of settleable particles under consideration. This characteristic distinguishes the BGS from other sedimentation enhancement methods and makes it possible to treat stormwater with a wide particle size spectrum under high flow rates, with a relatively small footprint, and without using chemical settling aids or filtration.

Urban sprawl and increasing economical pressure on agricultural production raises new unprecedented environmental questions. The presented study proved that higher level of fertilization of the urban vegetation significantly increases the concentration of male microgametophytes in the air during the flowering season. The levels of fertilization had no significant effect on the pollen grain size, nor on the profile and content of the phenolic compounds, however, the content of tryptophan (protein with a key role in allergies) was significantly influenced. The metabolism of tryptophan and its role in human imunilogy is not yet completely understood, however, it is recommended to avoid unnecessary fertilization in urbanized areas.

Adsorptive water purification methods were studied for the removal of phenol-type compounds (such as phenol/thymol) and humic acid applying sodium bentonite modified by cationic surfactant hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HTAB). The effect of humic acid on adsorption of phenols was examined in pure and model thermal water. It was found that the efficiency of the removal of individual pollutants can be highly influenced if another pollutant is present. The main reason for the increased efficiency was identified by the means of infrared spectroscopy which proved that each pollutant modifies decisively the organophilicity of the clay surface. Furthermore, the studies performed in model thermal waters revealed that the presence of specific cations could further increase the removability of these pollutants.

Aquatic weed Myriophyllum spicatum L. is one of the most invasive water plants known. In many countries, it is usually harvested and landfilled, where aerobic and anaerobic decomposition takes place. In this research, the kinetic, equilibrium, and desorption studies of biosorption of Pb(II), Cu(II), Cd(II), Ni(II), and Zn(II) ions onto compost of M. spicatum were investigated in batch experiments. Biosorbent was characterized by scaning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). SEM analysis showed that ion exchange between divalent cations Ca(II) and selected metals takes place. The results of FTIR exposed that carbonyl, carboxyl, hydroxyl, and phenyl groups are main binding sites for those heavy metal ions. The rate of adsorption of the five heavy metals was fast, which achieved equilibrium in 40 min, and followed the pseudo-second-order model well. Langmuir, Freundlich, and Sips equilibrium adsorption models were studied, and Sips isotherm gave the best fit for experimental data. Desorption by 0.1 M HNO₃did not fully recover the metals sorbed onto the compost, indicating that reusing this material as biosorbent is not possible. Furthermore, the use of spent biosorbent as a soil fertilizer is proposed.

TiO₂-mediated photodegradation is widely reported to degrade recalcitrant pollutants such as nitrophenolics. This paper investigated the TiO₂-mediated photodegradation of trinitrophenol (TNP) in aqueous solution irradiated by an artificial light source. About 28.4 % TNP degradation was attained over 450 min from an initial TNP concentration of 1,000 mg L⁻¹. Ionic chromatographic analysis further revealed the evolution of nitrite and nitrate anions and an unknown intermediate X during the photodegradation process. The trends of nitrite and nitrate anions indicate that the photodegradation process produced nitrite at first, which subsequently turned to nitrate in the presence of oxygen. The removal rate of COD was far slower than that of TNP, inferring the photodegradation reaction gradually mineralized the parent pollutants. The photodegradation of TNP could not proceed under anaerobic condition, presumably a result of oxygen deficiency that disabled the denitration process. Because of the volumetric loss of the test solution, follow-up irradiations were performed after addition of supplementary water. This follow-up irradiation period revealed that direct photolysis, i.e., irradiation in the absence of TiO₂photocatalysts, could not photodegrade TNP but gradually diminish the component X.

The fate of colored natural organic matter (CNOM) was investigated for a period of 16 months at a municipal wastewater treatment plant of a mid-sized city in Northern Ontario, Canada, using fluorescence spectroscopy. Our objectives were to assess the changes of CNOM at the inlet and outlet of the plant and to determine if these changes were correlated with parameters routinely measured at the plant. The fluorescence signals were spectrally resolved into humic-like, fulvic-like, and protein-like components using a parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) routine. We found that the signals of the CNOM components in the raw sewage had protein-like characteristics, followed by fulvic-like and humic-like characteristics. Conversely, after treatment, the CNOM signals were dominated by fulvic-like components, followed by approximately equal signals of humic-like and protein-like components. The fluorescence signals were, on average, ∼60 % lower in the effluent for the protein-like components and ∼28 % lower for the humic-like components, suggesting a decomposition of these CNOM materials. The fluorescence signals showed a small apparent increase of fulvic-like components, by ∼4 %, suggesting that the material showing this signal is recalcitrant to decomposition, or it could be potentially produced in the process. We found weak but statistically significant correlations (R ² > 0.3) between the total fluorescence signals and total carbon (TC), the flow rate through the plant, and rainfall in the raw sewage. Similarly, correlations were found between protein-like fluorescence of the protein-like components and total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) and ammonium at the effluent (R ² > 0.3).

The accumulation of metals and nutrients in biosolid-amended soils and the risk of their excess uptake by plants is a topic of great concern. This study examines the elemental uptake and accumulation in five vegetable plants grown on biosolid-applied soils and the use of spectral reflectance to monitor the resulting plant stress. Soil, shoot, root, and fruit samples were collected and analyzed for several elemental concentrations. The chemical concentrations in soils and all the plant parts increased with increase in applied biosolid concentrations. The Cu and Zn concentrations in the plant shoots increased in the order of collard < radish < lettuce < tomato < pepper. The Cu and Zn concentrations accumulated significantly in the fruits of the tomato plants compared to other plants. Among all the plants, the shoot concentration factor (SCF) of Zn was significantly higher for pepper plants, indicating increase in uptake of Zn. The shoot relative uptake index (SRUI) of Cu and Zn increased in the order of collard < radish < lettuce < tomato < pepper. The shoot dry weight and spectral reflectance of the radish plants in the near-infrared (NIR) region (800–1,300 nm) decreased significantly with increase in biosolid concentration compared to other plants. Increase in plant stress with increase in biosolid dose was evident in radish plants through significant reduction in Normalized Difference Vegetative Index (NDVI). This study indicates the potential use of spectral reflectance as a tool for the screening and monitoring of stress-sensitive plant species and their physiology and as a result, indirectly assesses the chemical concentrations in soils and plants.

In the present study, we investigate the effects of a possible protective role of vitamin E (vit E) or selenium (Se) on glucose metabolism disruption induced by static magnetic field (SMF) in rats. Rats have been exposed to SMF (128 mT, 1 h/day during 5 days). Our results showed that SMF failed to alter body weight and relative liver weight. Our data demonstrated that exposure to SMF increased (+21 %) blood glucose level and caused a decrease (−15 %) in liver glycogen content. Moreover, the same treatment induced a reduction of pancreatic islet area. Interestingly, supplementation with vit E (DL α-tocopherol acetate, 150 mg/kg per os during 5 days) prevented alterations induced by SMF on glucose metabolism and liver glycogen content, whereas supplementation with Se (Na₂SeO₃, 0.20 mg/l, in drinking water for 4 weeks) restored only hepatic glycogen contents. By contrast, both vit E and Se failed to correct the area of pancreatic islets.

The objective of the current study was to estimate the dose in human tissues after inhalation exposure to airborne particulate matter-bound metals at a landfill site. Field measurements have revealed that the 8-h permissible exposure limit set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for particulate matter (PM₁₀) was not exceeded for the working personnel at an outdoor weighing facility in the Akrotiri landfill (Chania, Greece). However, PM₁₀concentrations were exceeding the EU health protection standards (50 μg/m³). Furthermore, dust emanating from landfill operations contains traces of heavy metals due to the nature of materials (e.g., sludge, batteries) which have been deposited over the lifetime of the landfill. In addition, particulate matter-bound metals concentrations at the landfill are enhanced by refuse truck emissions (e.g., exhaust, tire wear dust, brake wear dust, road surface wear dust and resuspension of deposited PM on a road surface) and resuspension from the surface of the composting site. Estimations of particle-bound metals dose in the human body were performed for arsenite (ASᴵᴵᴵ), lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd). The Exposure Dose Model (ExDoM) in conjunction with a Physiologically Based PharmacoKinetic (PBPK) model was applied to determine the dose for an adult Caucasian male worker. The ExDoM was used to estimate the human exposure and the deposition, dose, clearance, retention of particulate matter-bound metals in the human respiratory tract and the mass transferred to the gastrointestinal tract and blood. The PBPK model was developed to describe the movement of metals from the blood into the tissues as a blood-flow-limited model. The results showed that after 1 day of exposure to PMAₛIII, the major accumulation occurs in the lung, muscle and liver. In addition, for PMPb, the major accumulation occurs in the bone, blood and muscle whereas as regard PMCdthe major accumulation occurs in the other tissues (the rest of the body), kidney and liver. The results indicate an increased health risk for an adult Caucasian male worker at the landfill site due to exposure to elevated particulate matter concentrations and their associated metallic content.