Jonssonleon0895

In addition, this compound was also suggested as a probable intermediate of the degradation of the larger alkyl-chain parabens. Lastly, regarding the microbial community, with the exception of Mycobacterium, the reactors shared the same genera, which may explain their comparable operational performances. Additionally, some genera that developed more in the presence of parabens may be related to their degradation. Therefore, although antimicrobial agents such as parabens compromised the granule structure, AGS system maintained a good operational performance and showed to be very efficient in paraben removal.

Lead (Pb) concentration in bone is a reliable biomarker for cumulative Pb exposure and studying associated health outcomes. However, the standard K-shell fluorescence (KXRF) bone Pb measurement technology has limitations in large-scale population studies.

We compared measurements from a portable XRF device and a KXRF device.

We measured bone Pb concentrations in vivo using portable XRF and KXRF, each measured at the mid-tibia bone in 71 people, 38-95years of age (mean±SD=63±11years) living in or near three Indiana communities, US; 10 participants were occupationally exposed. We estimated the correlation between bone Pb concentrations measured by both devices. CAY10683 We also examined the extent to which the detection limit (DL) of the portable XRF was influenced by scan time and overlying soft tissue thickness. Finally, we quantified the associations of estimated bone Pb concentration with age and age with soft tissue thickness.

The mean bone Pb concentration measured via portable XRF was 12.3±16.7mg Pb/kg drially for people with thinner soft tissue.Biochars are low-cost and renewable biomaterials with several applications, including soil amendment, mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, and removal of both inorganic and organic contaminants in aqueous systems. An increasing body of recent evidence indicates that biochars can also remove gaseous chemical contaminants, such as those occurring in industrial flue gases. However, unlike other applications such as in agroecosystems, soil amendments, and aquatic systems, comprehensive reviews on biochar applications in the field of air pollution control are still lacking. The current paper examined existing evidence to understand the nature of contaminants, particularly the gaseous ones, potential applications, constraints, and future research needs pertaining to biochar applications in air pollution control. The preparation of biochars and their functionalized derivatives, and the properties influencing their capacity to remove gaseous contaminants are summarized. The removal capacity and mechanisms of variotill faces several challenges, largely stemming from constraints and several knowledge gaps, which were highlighted. Hence, further research is required to address these constraints and knowledge gaps before the benefits of the biochar-based air filters are realized.This article provides a comprehensive review on aerobic composting remediation of soil contaminated with total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs). The studies reviewed have demonstrated that composting technology can be applied to treat TPH contamination (as high as 380,000 mg kg-1) in clay, silt, and sandy soils successfully. Most of these studies reported more than 70% removal efficiency, with a maximum of 99%. During the composting process, the bacteria use TPHs as carbon and energy sources, whereas the fungi produce enzymes that can catalyze oxidation reactions of TPHs. The mutualistic and competitive interactions between the bacteria and fungi are believed to sustain a robust biodegradation system. The highest biodegradation rate is observed during the thermophilic phase. However, the presence of a diverse and dynamic microbial community ensures that TPH degradation occurs in the entire composting process. Initial concentration, soil type, soil/compost ratio, aeration rate, moisture content, C/N ratio, pH, and temperature affect the composting process and should be monitored and controlled to ensure successful degradation. link2 Nevertheless, there is insufficient research on optimizing these operational parameters, especially for large-scale composting. Also, toxic and odorous gas emissions during degradation of TPHs, usually unaddressed, can be potential air pollution sources and need further insightful characterization and mitigation/control research.This study reports the results from continuous measurement of indoor and outdoor radon concentrations in the area surrounding an unconventional shale gas exploration site in North Yorkshire, England, prior to the commencement of hydraulic fracturing. Public Health England has monitored the baseline radon levels in homes and in outdoor air in the Vale of Pickering since 2015. The statistical analysis presented here includes three full years (November 2015- -December 2018) of indoor and four and half years (October 2015 - April 2019) of outdoor radon measurements. Stratified sampling was used to select 171 dwellings in four areas, with two different radon potential. Statistical analysis confirms that homes in Kirby Misperton and Little Barugh and those in Yedingham are situated in areas with low radon potential, as was predicted by the UK radon potential map. On the other hand, both Pickering and Malton are confirmed as radon Affected Areas. Radon was measured continuously in the outdoor air using a newly developed outdoor kit containing passive radon detectors. The monitoring points were set up at 36 locations in the same local areas as those selected for the indoor monitoring. The results from statistical analysis show that outdoor radon had a different seasonality pattern to indoor radon. The monitoring of outdoor radon levels over the four and half years indicates a year-to-year variation in outdoor radon concentrations with levels fluctuating between 3 and 9 Bq m-3. There was a very good agreement between long-term average radon concentrations measured using passive detectors and using an active AlphaGUARD monitor.Drought responses of mature trees are still poorly understood making it difficult to predict species distributions under a warmer climate. Using mature European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.), a widespread and economically important tree species in Europe, we aimed at developing an empirical stress-level scheme to describe its physiological response to drought. We analysed effects of decreasing soil and leaf water potential on soil water uptake, stem radius, native embolism, early defoliation and crown dieback with comprehensive measurements from overall nine hydrologically distinct beech stands across Switzerland, including records from the exceptional 2018 drought and the 2019/2020 post-drought period. Based on the observed responses to decreasing water potential we derived the following five stress levels I (predawn leaf water potential >-0.4 MPa) no detectable hydraulic limitations; II (-0.4 to -1.3) persistent stem shrinkage begins and growth ceases; III (-1.3 to -2.1) onset of native embolism and defoliation; IV (-2.1 to -2.8) onset of crown dieback; V (20%. Our scheme provides, for the first time, quantitative thresholds regarding the physiological downregulation of mature European beech trees under drought and therefore synthesises relevant and fundamental information for process-based species distribution models. Moreover, our study revealed that European beech is drought vulnerable, because it still transpires considerably at high levels of embolism and because defoliation occurs rather as a result of embolism than preventing embolism. During the 2018 drought, an exposure to the stress levels III-V of only one month was long enough to trigger substantial crown dieback in beech trees on shallow soils. On deep soils with a high water holding capacity, in contrast, water reserves in deep soil layers prevented drought stress in beech trees. This emphasises the importance to include local data on soil water availability when predicting the future distribution of European beech.A modified QuEChERS method was optimized, validated and verified for the extraction of 218 pesticide residues in agricultural soil samples. The 218 analytes are extracted using a single step, without clean-up, with matrix-matched calibration, and two complementary techniques liquid and gas chromatography tandem triple quad mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS and GC-MS/MS). Some of the parameters such as salts, acidity of the extraction solvent, sample moisture and some mechanical changes in the procedure were optimized to improve the overall performance for the target compounds and the soil matrix. The method was fully validated on a representative agricultural soil sample of the Canary Islands (clay loam soil) in terms of linearity, accuracy and precision. To avoid matrix effects, matrix-matched calibration curves (R2 ≥ 0.99) were used for all target analytes. 100% of the compounds can be quantified with limits of quantification (LOQ) lower than the limit typically used in soils (50 ng g-1), with 92% of compounds presenting a LOQ that is at least 10 times lower than that normally required. The limits of detection (LOD) ranged between 0.024 and 6.25 ng g-1. The validated method was applied to a series of actual samples of agricultural soil (n = 18). In addition, as a further verification of its potential, the results of the application of the method in the investigation of clay loam soil samples that were obtained from underneath wildlife carcasses in the context of an environmental forensic investigation are also presented.Fire is an intrinsic feature of terrestrial ecosystems as well as a key Earth system process that significantly influences ecosystem patterns, the carbon cycle, and climate. Although local and regional paleofires across China have been investigated, the history of these phenomena at the national scale as well as possible drivers remain unknown. This study investigated spatiotemporal patterns in fire activity across China based on 107 individual site charcoal records. The aim of this work was to discuss the possible impact of climate and human activities on fire in China. Results showed that fire activities across China declined gradually overall between the early Holocene (12 ka BP) and the middle Holocene (7.3 ka BP) but then sharply increased in occurrence after 7.3 ka BP. Data showed that although regional fire activities did not vary synchronously, more events tended to occur in the late Holocene and there were relative less in the early-to-middle Holocene. link3 These changes in Holocene fire activity closely mirrored millennial scale moisture variations across China. Intensified human activities over the last 3 ka might also be responsible for a sharp increase in fire activity. Variable trends in fire activities within regions might also be attributed to large-scale climatic controls modulated by local factors, which determined burn likelihood. This study enhances our insights into the fire history of China and may help to provide improved future projections for such phenomena given current climate change.We define here "temporal environmental hysteresis" as the time lag between when a pollutant's input to the environment stops and when its concentration in the environment drops to some desired fraction of its maximum concentration. The goal of this paper is to investigate temporal environmental hysteresis for polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), which were widely used as flame retardants in consumer goods. These compounds were taken off the North American market in two steps At the end of 2004, the so-called Penta-BDE and Octa-BDE products were withdrawn, and at the end of 2013, the Deca-BDE product was also discontinued. We focus here on PBDE concentrations in about 700 atmospheric samples collected every 12 days from 2005 to 2018 (inclusive) at two urban sites Chicago, Illinois, and Cleveland, Ohio. In Chicago, the concentrations of BDE-47 and 99 decreased by a factor of two every 5.9 ± 0.9 and 8.0 ± 1.4 years, respectively, but the concentrations of BDE-209 doubled every 7.6 ± 1.8 years. In Cleveland, the concentrations of BDE-47 and 99 decreased by a factor of two every 5.