Oakleyfaulkner8093

Biological assays can evaluate the cumulative effect of a mixture, considering synergistic/antagonistic interactions and effects of unknown/unconsidered compounds. Therefore, their application could increase in the next years also to analyse biological samples. The aim of this review is to discuss the methodological approach and the application of estrogenic activity assays in human biological samples. 75 research articles were analysed and divided according to whether they used these assays i) to quantify the level of estrogens and/or as a biomarker of estrogenic status ii) as a biomarker of exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). For the first purpose, some authors extracted biological samples while others tested them directly without any treatment. The study of these methodologies outlined that the methodology applied influenced the specificity of analysis. The estrogenic activity biomarker was used to analyse physiological variations of estrogens, pediatric diseases, hormone-dependent diseases to evaluate EDC presence implementing the existing knowledge about EDC exposure and adverse health effects.Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are contaminants of critical concern due to their persistence, widespread distribution in the environment, and potential human-health impacts. Metabolism agonist In this work, published studies of PFAS concentrations in soils were compiled from the literature. These data were combined with results obtained from a large curated database of PFAS soil concentrations for contaminated sites. In aggregate, the compiled data set comprises >30,000 samples collected from >2500 sites distributed throughout the world. Data were collected for three types of sites- background sites, primary-source sites (fire-training areas, manufacturing plants), and secondary-source sites (biosolids application, irrigation water use). The aggregated soil-survey reports comprise samples collected from all continents, and from a large variety of locations in both urban and rural regions. PFAS were present in soil at almost every site tested. Low but measurable concentrations were observed even in remote regions far from potential PFOS sources. Concentrations reported for PFAS-contaminated sites were generally orders-of-magnitude greater than background levels, particularly for PFOS. Maximum reported PFOS concentrations ranged upwards of several hundred mg/kg. Analysis of depth profiles indicates significant retention of PFAS in the vadose zone over decadal timeframes and the occurrence of leaching to groundwater. It is noteworthy that soil concentrations reported for PFAS at contaminated sites are often orders-of-magnitude higher than typical groundwater concentrations. The results of this study demonstrate that PFAS are present in soils across the globe, and indicate that soil is a significant reservoir for PFAS. A critical question of concern is the long-term migration potential to surface water, groundwater, and the atmosphere. This warrants increased focus on the transport and fate behavior of PFAS in soil and the vadose zone, in regards to both research and site investigations.In order to simultaneously improve the remediation capability of Cd contaminated water and soil, hydroxy iron-ABsep (HyFe/ABsep) was synthesized by a two-step modified (acid-base composite treatment, and hydroxy group was by using NaOH and Fe (NO3)3·9H2O). Results showed that HyFe/ABsep had developed pores and a rougher surface morphology, and the salt-soluble ion content was increased, surface-loaded iron species was mainly composed of FeOOH. Adsorption process of Cd2+ by HyFe/ABsep conformed best to the preudo-second-order model and Redlich-Paterson models, respectively. The behavior over a whole range of adsorption was consistent with chemical adsorption being the rate-controlling step and the theoretical maximum adsorption capacity obtained for the HyFe/ABsep was 220.9 mg·g-1 at 298 K, which was 4.87 times than Sep. HyFe/ABsep also had a more excellent passivation effect on available Cd in soil, being 36.83%-48.46% under the treatments of 0.5%-4% HyFe/ABsep, The structure and morphology of HyFe/ABsep were characterized through SEM-EDS, TEM, FTIR, XRD and XPS indicated that the mainly mechanisms of Cd sorption may include precipitates, ion exchange and complexation of active silanol groups. Therefore, HyFe/ABsep can employ as an effective agent for immobilization remediation of Cd contaminated water and soil.This work provides new insights into the presence of 239Pu, 240Pu, 241Pu, and 236U in the Southern Hemisphere through the study of peat bog cores from marshlands in Madagascar (19°S). 210Pb, 238Pu and 239+240Pu activities were characterized by alpha spectrometry in previous studies. Here, Pu from alpha-spectrometry discs corresponding to 10 peat-bog cores (85 samples) was reassessed for the aim of completing its isotopic composition (239Pu, 240Pu, and 241Pu) by Accelerator Mass Spectrometry. In addition, 236U was studied in a single core exhibiting unusually low 240Pu/239Pu ratios. Integrated 240Pu/239Pu atom ratios in the single cores ranged above and below the (0-30°S) fallout average ratio, 0.173 ± 0.027, from 0.126 ± 0.003 to 0.206 ± 0.002, without a regional pattern, thereby demonstrating the heterogeneous distribution of the 239Pu and 240Pu signal. However, such a variability was not observed for 241Pu/239Pu, ranging from (6 ± 1) · 10-4 to (11 ± 1) · 10-4 and consistently below the (0-30°S) fallout ratio of (9.7 ± 0.3) · 10-4 (2012). The integrated 236U/239Pu atom ratio in the studied core, 0.147 ± 0.005, was also significantly lower than the values reported for the global fallout in the Northern Hemisphere, in the 0.20-0.23 range. Our results point out to stratospheric fallout as the main source of both 236U and 241Pu at the studied site, whereas 239Pu and 240Pu signals show the influence of tropospheric fallout from the low-yield tests conducted in Australia (1952-1958) by United Kingdom and in French Polynesia (1966-1975) by France despite the long relative distances (i.e. about 15,000 and 8500 km). It was also demonstrated that a representative number of samples is necessary in order to assess Pu contamination and its various origins in a specific region in the Southern Hemisphere due to the heterogeneous distribution, and results based on single sample analysis should be interpreted with caution.The rock type used in coastal engineering structures impacts biodiversity, but its effect has been understudied to date. We report here on whether different combinations of rock material and rock mass properties can improve habitat suitability and early phase ecological outcomes on coastal engineering structures. We examine two coastal engineering schemes that used different granites during construction. At site one, Shap granite boulders with a high number of cm-dm2 surface features (e.g. ledges) were deliberately positioned during construction (called passive enhancement), to a) maximise the provision of cm-dm scale intertidal habitat and b) determine which scale of habitat is best for ecological enhancement. At site two, Norwegian granite boulders were installed without passive enhancement, allowing for a direct comparison. Passive positioning of Shap granite boulders led to an increase in limpet (Patella vulgata, Linnaeus, 1758) abundance within two years but few limpets were recorded on the non-enhanced Norwegian granite. Positioning of boulder thus exerts a strong control on the mm and mm-dm scale geomorphic features present, with clear ecological benefits when suitable features are selected for and optimally positioned (i.e. passive enhancement) to maximise habitat features. An EcoRock scoring matrix was developed to aid in the selection of the most ecologically suitable rock materials for coastal engineering worldwide; this can help improve habitat provision on engineered structures in a rapidly warming world.The temporal and spatial patterns of nitrogen wet deposition were investigated in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) under different weather types. The study was carried out in 27 monitoring sites with reliable meteorological data from 2010 to 2017. Large spatial variation data showed that both annual volume weighted mean (VWM) concentrations and fluxes were higher in the central PRD while lower in the outer area. The annual mean concentrations and fluxes were in the range of 0.8-1.3 mg N L-1 and 10.9-20.6 kg N ha-1 yr-1, respectively. The monthly mean concentrations and fluxes ranged from 0.1 to 0.2 mg N L-1 and 0.4 to 2.4 kg N ha-1, respectively. Further the study data revealed that the ratio of NH4+/NO3- was 1.1 which was much lower than the ratio reported in other regions like Northern China, Sichuan Basin, the US and Europe. The flux of NH4+ in urban sites was comparable to rural sites, implying that potential non-agricultural NH3 emissions were likely to be high in the PRD. The top three weather types were E, C and SE, with the total contribution of more than a half to the flux. Multiple linear regression was used to set up an equation to predict the variation of annual fluxes under the changes in weather conditions. The result hints that the variation on annual fluxes in the PRD tends to be stable in the next 30 years. Considering the increasing impact on the ecosystem, more effort should be exerted to reduce nitrogen wet deposition in the future.Dissolved humic substances (DHS) are ubiquitous in surface and subsurface aquatic environments and greatly affect the redox transformation of organic contaminants as reactants and/or electron transfer mediators. However, little is known about the quantitative relationship between the mediation efficiency of DHS and the physicochemical properties of DHS. Using sulfide-induced nitrobenzene reduction as a model system, we measured the reduction rate of nitrobenzene in the presence of 12 different DHS (20 mgC·L-1), including 4 commercial humic substances (Suwannee River humic and fulvic acids and Pahokee Peat humic and fulvic acids) and 8 soil humic substances collected as leachates from a wide variety of soils. In addition to the UV-vis absorption and fluorescence spectra, the electron donating/accepting capacities (EDC/EAC) of the tested DHS were measured using an electrochemical approach. A significant linear correlation (r = 0.99, P less then .0001) was observed between the observed pseudo-first-order rate constant (kobs) of nitrobenzene reduction and the sum of EDC and EAC which is defined as electron transfer capacity (ETC) of DHS. A relatively good positive correlation (r = 0.69, P less then .2) was shown between the kobs and the specific UV-absorbance at 254 nm (SUVA254), whereas no good correlation was shown between the kobs and the fluorescence of the C1-C4 components identified by the excitation emission matrices and parallel factor (EEM-PARAFAC) analysis. This study provides a new framework for accurate prediction of the capability of DHS in mediating the redox transformation of organic contaminants. CAPSULE A significant linear correlation exists between the kinetics of nitrobenzene reduction by sulfide and electron transfer capacity of mediating dissolved humic substances.Modeling criteria interaction in decision-making problems is complex and often neglected. In complicated problems, like contaminated site remediation projects, independency of involved criteria is not a realistic assumption. INfluence based deciSIon guiDE (INSIDE) is a methodology that enables sustainable decision making and management in contaminated site remediation practice. Unlike most previous decision-support methods, INSIDE considers realistic interactions among all involved criteria. The method not only gives a one-time best option for choosing a remediation method for the project at hand, but also a management plan for further improvements of the system. INSIDE recognizes economic, environmental, social, and technological considerations for the most sustainable practice. Eight criteria are defined based on these aspects and they can be interrelated. This means that a criterion, e.g., remediation time, does not need to belong to any pre-defined category such as economic, environmental, social, or technical, but can interact with other criteria.