Fungal growth within the structure of buildings or in ventilation filters generates “hidden contamination”, which cannot be detected only through visual inspection. At the beginning of development, the fungi release fungal volatile organic compounds (FVOCs) into the atmosphere, which can originate from metabolic pathways or from the enzymatic degradation of materials. This study analyzed the air quality of a public referral hospital in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil in terms of FVOCs, to establish ways to improve methods of monitoring and control of specific sectors in the hospital. For that, we created and validated a protocol for detection of FVOCs, using GC/MS, while fungal samples were identified by analysis of macro and micromorphology. In total, 48 samples (60.5% positive) were analyzed for FVOCs; 7 were detected in at least one of the sectors analyzed, with 2-heptanone (179.5 μg/m3) and 2-methyl-1-propanol (121.5 μg/m3) as the most abundant. With respect to fungal findings, 24 samples were analyzed, with a high number of colony-forming units per cubic meter (CFU/m3) observed in all sectors. The airborne fungal spectrum revealed the existence of 19 genera, composed predominantly by hyaline filamentous deuteromycetes. Analysis with periodic monitoring is still needed to allow improvement in the data quality. Also, further discussion on the subject in the academic and legislative environment is needed to contribute to the systematic study of aerobiology.

In this study, Reverse phase dispersive liquid–liquid micro extraction (RP-DLLME) technique have been successfully developed to preconcentrate trace amount of phenol from sediment samples as a prior step to its derivatization with 4-aminoantipyrine and enhanced determination by UV–Vis spectrophotometry after primary ultrasonic extraction. In this procedure, 50μL 0.7M NaOH solution was chosen as extraction solvent and other factors including pH, extraction time, concentration of 4-aminoantipyrine, type and volume of dispersive solvents were optimized. Under selected conditions, the limit of detection, the linearity range, relative standard deviation and enrichment factor of method were obtained 15μg·kg−1, 50–1800μg·kg−1, 4.8% (n=10) and 33, respectively. Finally, using the high sensitivity, low organic solvent consumption and waste generation method, total phenol content in marine sediments from several locations in Chabahar Bay (southeast Iran) was estimated at 55.8–73.2μg·kg−1.

Two strains (Pseudomonas taiwanensis PYR1 and Acinetobacter baumannii INP1) were isolated from PAH-contaminated Liaohe estuarine wetland using enrichment. The cells of PYR1 and INP1 were immobilized in cinder beads for pyrene and indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene biodegradation in wetland. Biodegradation of pyrene and indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene in soils from wetland was carried out in pots using free cells as well as those immobilized in cinder beads to ascertain the role of bioaugmentation. Supported by the cinder beads, the immobilized cells degraded 70.7% and 80.9% of pyrene and indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene respectively after 30days. While the free cells degraded only 58.2% and 55.3%. Additionally, microbial analysis with high-throughput sequencing revealed the changes of microbial communities in soil without and with cinder beads immobilized with strains. The result indicated that Gammaproteobacteria were dominant PAH-degrading groups during bioaugmentation. This effective approach can be used to treat other PAH-contaminated wetlands by immobilizing different species of bacteria in cinder beads.

A multidisciplinary survey was carried out on the quality of water and sediments of a coastal protected marine area, embedded between the inputs from Bagnoli steel plant to the south and a sewage plant, Volturno River and Regi Lagni channel to the north. The study integrated chemical-sedimentological data with biological and ecotoxicological analyses to assess anthropogenic pressures and natural variability. Data reveal marked differences in anthropogenic pollution between southeastern and northwestern zone, with the north affected by both inorganic and organic flows and the south influenced by levels of As, Pb and Zn in the sediments above law limits, deriving from inputs of the Bagnoli brownfield site. Meiobenthic data revealed at south higher relative abundance of sensitive species to pollution and environmental stress to the south, i.e. Lobatula lobatula and Rosalina bradyi, whereas to the north relative abundance of stress tolerant Quinqueloculina lata, Quinqueloculina pygmaea and Cribroelphidium cuvilleri were determined.

Ambient PM2.5 (particulate matter less than 2.5 μm) samples, collected in a 8-week wintertime sampling program in two residential sites of Bhilai, India during the Indian Diwali festival in November 2012, were chemically characterized for 38 chemical species including eight speciated carbonaceous fractions (SCFs) of elemental (EC) and organic carbon (OC), twenty one metallic elements, and nine water soluble ionic species. Our objectives were to investigate: 1) relative abundances of SCFs contained in PM2.5during the Diwali festival period compared to normal days, and 2) enrichment pattern of potential inorganic markers of firework emission in ambient PM2.5during the festival days. Eight-fold increase inPM2.5mass concentrations were measured during the Diwali festival days compared to concentrations occurring in normal days. Bursting of firecrackers in the residential streets have shown significant contribution to the emission markers (K, Mg, Zn, S, EC and OC) along with crustal markers (Ca, Fe, Al) in ambient PM2.5aerosol samples. Concentrations of water soluble ionic species were found to be 10 times greater than those found in normal days. Further, the anion/cation ratios were found to reach a factor of 2; indicating the acidic character of emissions resulting from fireworks. The relative abundance of SCFs and higher ratios of OC to EC during the Diwali episode suggested the significant formation of secondary organic carbon (SOC) aerosols. We estimate that aerosols emitted from firework bursting contribute up to 32% of total ambient PM2.5 during the Diwali festival.

The present application of numerical modelling techniques provides an overview of river discharges, nutrient flux and nutrient dispersal in Jakarta Bay. A hydrological model simulated river discharges with a total of 90 to 377m3s−1 entering Jakarta Bay. Daily total nitrogen and total phosphorus loads ranged from 40 to 174tons and 14 to 60tons, respectively. Flow model results indicate that nutrient gradients are subject to turbulent mixing by tides and advective transport through circulation driven by wind, barotropic and baroclinic pressure gradients. The bulk of nutrient loads originate from the Citarum and Cisadane rivers flowing through predominantly rural areas. Despite lower nutrient loads, river discharges from the urban area of Jakarta exhibit the highest impact of nutrient concentrations in the near shore area of Jakarta Bay and show that nutrient concentrations were not only regulated by nutrient loads but were strongly regulated by initial river concentrations and local flow characteristics.

The São Francisco River estuarine system, located in the Northeast coast of Brazil, has great economic, tourist and social importance. Its waters are used for activities such as agriculture, aquaculture, navigation and fishery, which supplies the surrounding communities. In this study, sterols markers were determined in twenty-eight sediment samples from São Francisco River estuary by gas chromatography - mass spectrometry (GC–MS). Sterol analysis was useful to distinguish between anthropogenic and biogenic organic matter (OM) sources in the studied area. Six sterols were quantified, suggesting different sources. Concentrations of fecal sterol (coprostanol) were lower than 500ngg−1, suggesting no indicative of severe sewage contamination.However, two stations showed concentrations around 100ngg−1 and the values for the coprostanol/(coprostanol+cholestanol) and coprostanol/cholesterol ratios indicates sewage contamination. The results in this study may be considered as baseline concentrations to be used as future reference for monitoring programs to prevent anthropogenic impacts.

The amounts and sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their bioaccumulation factors (BAFs) in the zooplankton community of Chabahar Bay were investigated. The highest amounts of total PAHs (tPAHs) in the water and zooplankton samples were 62.2ngL−1 and 1478.6ngg−1 dry weights, in near the Shahid Beheshti Port and desalination, respectively. The greatest amount of BAF (51,780) was obtained in the entry of Bay, and it was related to the phenanthrene accumulation. Using molecular ratio, the results showed that the major input source of PAH compounds in zooplankton of Chabahar Bay was pyrolytic (fuel) source.

The Antarctic continent is considered a low-impact environment; however, there is a tendency to increase the contaminants' levels due to human activities in the research stations. In this study, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb and Zn levels in sediment and biota were determined in the environmental samples from Admiralty Bay (King George Island, Antarctica) collected in 2003. The results demonstrated high concentrations of Cu and Zn in the sediments. There was bioaccumulation of As in the biota from Admiralty Bay and bioaccumulation of Zn specifically in the biota from Martel Inlet. In addition, the results were useful in order to understand the heavy metal levels for the pre-accident condition of Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Station, where an accident occurred in 2012, and also for the comparison with current conditions within the monitoring work developed by INCT-APA (National Institute of Science and Technology for Environmental Research Antarctic).

The hydrolyzed protein derived from seafood waste is regarded as a premium and low-cost nitrogen source for microbial growth. In this study, optimization of enzymatic shrimp waste hydrolyzing process was investigated. The degree of hydrolysis (DH) with four processing variables including enzyme/substrate ratio (E/S), hydrolysis time, initial pH value and temperature, were monitored. The DH values were used for response surface methodology (RSM) optimization through central composite design (CCD) and for training artificial neural network (ANN) to make a process prediction. Results indicated that the optimum levels of variables are: E/S ratio at 1.64%, hydrolysis time at 3.59h, initial pH at 9 and temperature at 52.57°C. Hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria Bacillus subtilis N3-1P was cultivated using different DHs of hydrolysate. The associated growth curves were generated. The research output facilitated effective shrimp waste utilization.