A series of source tests was performed to evaluate the chemical composition of particle emissions from the woodstove combustion of four prevalent Portuguese species of woods: Pinus pinaster (maritime ...pine), Eucalyptus globulus (eucalyptus), Quercus suber (cork oak) and Acacia longifolia (golden wattle). Analyses included water-soluble ions, metals, radionuclides, organic and elemental carbon (OC and EC), humic-like substances (HULIS), cellulose and approximately l80 organic compounds. Particle (PM10) emission factors from eucalyptus and oak were higher than those from pine and acacia. The carbonaceous matter represented 44-63% of the particulate mass emitted during the combustion process, regardless of species burned. The major organic components of smoke particles, for all the wood species studied, with the exception of the golden wattle (0.07-1.9% w/w), were anhydrosugars (0.2-17% w/w). Conflicting with what was expected, only small amounts of cellulose were found in wood smoke. As for HULIS, average particle mass concentrations ranged from 1.5% to 3.0%. The golden wattle wood smoke presented much higher concentrations of ions and metal species than the emissions from the other wood types. The results of the analysis of radionuclides revealed that the 226Ra was the naturally occurring radionuclide more enriched in PM10. The chromatographically resolved organics included n-alkanes, n-alkenes, PAH, oxygenated PAH, n-alkanals, ketones, n-alkanols, terpenoids, triterpenoids, phenolic compounds, phytosterols, alcohols, n-alkanoic acids, n-di-acids, unsaturated acids and alkyl ester acids.
The use of charcoal for cooking and heating contributes significantly to air pollution. Despite its popularity in developed regions due to food flavour, charcoal grilling at homes and restaurants ...exposes individuals to nearby air pollutants, leading to possible side effects on health. This study aimed to evaluate the potential cytotoxic and oxidative stress effects of particulate matter lower than 10 μm (PM10), and the mutagenic effect of PM10-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), emitted during charcoal barbecue grilling. Human alveolar adenocarcinoma cells (A549) were used for PM10 cytotoxicity evaluation. Interferences in cell cycle and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production were analysed by flow cytometry, while the mutagenicity of PAHs was studied through the Ames test using the Salmonella typhimurium strains TA100 and TA98 with and without metabolic activation. The results showed a dose-dependent significant reduction of the metabolic activity of A549 cells, even though, no differences in the extracellular lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release were observed. Cells treated with PM10 from starting a charcoal fire and from grilling boneless thin pork chops and pork belly showed a significant increase in ROS levels. On the other hand, regardless of the PM10 extracts tested, neither changes in cell cycle dynamics nor mutagenic effects were observed.
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•PM10 emitted during BBQ grilling reduced cell viability without affecting cell membrane integrity.•PM10 from lighting a charcoal fire and from grilling boneless thin pork chops and pork belly showed increased ROS levels.•No alterations in cell cycle dynamics nor mutagenic effects were observed for all PM10 and PM10-bound PAH extracts, respectively.
Evolutionarily conserved circadian clocks generate 24-hour rhythms in physiology and behaviour that adapt organisms to their daily and seasonal environments. In mammals, the suprachiasmatic nucleus ...(SCN) of the hypothalamus is the principal co-ordinator of the cell-autonomous clocks distributed across all major tissues. The importance of robust daily rhythms is highlighted by experimental and epidemiological associations between circadian disruption and human diseases. BMAL1 (a bHLH-PAS domain-containing transcription factor) is the master positive regulator within the transcriptional-translational feedback loops (TTFLs) that cell-autonomously define circadian time. It drives transcription of the negative regulators Period and Cryptochrome alongside numerous clock output genes, and thereby powers circadian time-keeping. Because deletion of Bmal1 alone is sufficient to eliminate circadian rhythms in cells and the whole animal it has been widely used as a model for molecular disruption of circadian rhythms, revealing essential, tissue-specific roles of BMAL1 in, for example, the brain, liver and the musculoskeletal system. Moreover, BMAL1 has clock-independent functions that influence ageing and protein translation. Despite the essential role of BMAL1 in circadian time-keeping, direct measures of its intra-cellular behaviour are still lacking. To fill this knowledge-gap, we used CRISPR Cas9 to generate a mouse expressing a knock-in fluorescent fusion of endogenous BMAL1 protein (Venus::BMAL1) for quantitative live imaging in physiological settings. The Bmal1Venus mouse model enabled us to visualise and quantify the daily behaviour of this core clock factor in central (SCN) and peripheral clocks, with single-cell resolution that revealed its circadian expression, anti-phasic to negative regulators, nuclear-cytoplasmic mobility and molecular abundance.
Bioenergy systems have a great potential worldwide to substitute fossil fuels mainly because they may contribute to greenhouse gas emissions reduction. In Portugal, several biomass combustion-based ...power plants have been built in the last decade. Biomass gasification is a potential alternative to combustion but its environmental impacts should be evaluated. The goal of this study is to assess and compare the environmental and energy performance of direct gasification and combustion (both in fluidized bed) using residual forest biomass (RFB) from eucalypt in Portugal. In order to achieve the goal, life cycle assessment was applied, complemented with the Energy-Returned-On-Energy-Invested (EROI) indicator. The boundaries of the systems comprise three stages: (1) forest management, (2) collection, processing and transportation, and (3) electricity generation. The results indicate that gasification performs environmentally better than combustion in 5 out of 8 impact categories addressed. Conversely, combustion has greater EROI than gasification. After running a sensitivity analysis where the efficiency of the gasifier was changed from 53% in the base scenario to 57%, it is shown that the environmental performance of gasification improved in the range of 2–8%. The study concludes that gasification may be a good alternative to current combustion systems in Portugal.
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•Environmental-energy assessment of electricity production from residual forest biomass.•Gasification and combustion are compared from life cycle approach.•Gasification has better environmental performance in 5 out of 8 impact categories.•Combustion presents better EROI than gasification.
Charbroiling is a major source of air pollution worldwide. In this study, the particulate and gas-phase emissions from the charcoal lighting phase and during the grilling of meat (pork and rump cap) ...and fish (sardine and salmon) on an outdoor barbecue grill were characterized. Some gaseous compounds (ethane, hexane, NO2, N2O, SO2, NH3, HCl) did not display significant variations between samples and the background level, indicating that they are not emitted during barbecuing. During the charcoal heating phase, levels of total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs) increased 6 times above the background level. Four-to 5-fold increases in TVOC concentrations were observed when grilling sardines and salmon, while rises of 1.3–1.5 were recorded for meat. Emission factors of 32.4 g PM10 kg−1 and 22.7 g TVOCs kg−1 were obtained for the biofuel ignition phase. PM10 emission rates of 472, 531, 1104 and 918 mg kg−1 were estimated for pork, rump cap, sardine and salmon charbroiling, respectively. TVOC emissions ranged from 23.9 mg kg−1 (pork) to 82.6 mg kg−1 (salmon). Organic carbon accounted for 35.0% of the PM10 emitted during the ignition and flaming phases of the biofuel but represented mass fractions of 56–64% of the particulate emissions during food charbroiling. About 235 organic compounds were quantified in the PM10 samples. The ecotoxicity was assessed using the kinetic version of the Vibrio fischeri bioluminescence inhibition bioassay. All samples were classified as very toxic or toxic. Ecotoxicity was statistically correlated with several n-alkanes, PAHs and alkyl-PAHs, anhydrosugars, acids, and phenolic compounds.
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•Charbroiling of foods whose emissions had never been characterized was investigated.•Compared with meat, lighting charcoal and grilling fish have much higher emissions.•More than 230 organic compounds were quantified in PM10.•Each of the grilled foods presented distinctive organic emission profiles.•Various PM10-bound organic compounds triggered ecotoxicity in all samples.
Winter aerosol samples were daily collected during one-month long campaign in Oporto and Coimbra. The high-volume PM2.5 samples were solvent extracted and their organic content separated into several ...functional groups, which were then analysed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The organic compounds identified and quantified revealed some differences between samples from the two urban areas. In general, the levels of total hydrocarbons in the urban background station of Oporto were higher than those of Coimbra. Concentration ratios between specific compounds and the presence of molecular markers derived from petroleum, such as hopanes, pristane and phytane, point out vehicles as the main source of pollutants. The contribution of biogenic compounds, mainly hydrocarbons associated with the waxy cuticle of vegetation, is also observable in both cities. The benzoapyrene equivalent daily values were frequently higher than 1ngm−3 in Oporto suggesting an additional cancer risk for the population. The PM2.5 mass attributable to vehicle emissions is higher in the background atmosphere of Oporto than in Coimbra. On weekends, biomass burning emissions could represent up to 74% of the organic carbon content of the urban aerosols.
•Winter PM2.5 samples were collected at two urban background sites (Oporto and Coimbra).•More than 200 organic compounds were quantified in PM2.5 from both cities.•The daily benzoapyrene equivalent concentrations often exceeded the WHO threshold.•Higher levels of exhaust emission markers were observed in Oporto.•In colder days, biomass burning can contribute up to 74% of the organic carbon mass.
Molluscs provided one of the pioneering approved pharmaceuticals from the seas: the painkiller ziconotide, developed from an ω-conotoxin isolated from cone snails. As marine biotechnologists are ...turning towards the immense range of novel bioproducts from marine invertebrates, little attention has been given to cephalotoxins, a group of obscure proteinaceous toxins produced by the salivary glands of coleoids, i.e., octopuses, squids and cuttlefishes. These toxins, for which there is empirical evidence for acting as immobilisers at least against crustaceans, are proteinaceous substances among the many that comprise the venomous mixtures secreted by these animals. Despite the ecological and economical importance of cephalopods, little is known about cephalotoxins, beginning with the actual span of taxa that secrete them. Indeed, cephalopods are long suspected for producing specific toxins as part of their predation and defence mechanisms, making them a promising group of marine animals for the bioprospecting of novel compounds. Despite scant or absent toxicological or otherwise experimental evidence for their bioreactivity, advances in “omics” methods have shed some light in the molecular structure of cephalotoxins. There are reports of cephalotoxins being complex glycoproteins that take part in a myriad of novel compounds being produced by the salivary glands. Still, there is no consensus of cephalotoxins being a conserved form of proteins. As Blue Biotechnology and marine bioprospecting for novel bioreactives are gaining momentum, the present review will provide the state-of-the-art on cephalotoxins, highlighting old and new research and existing gaps in the current knowledge.
The vast biological and biochemical diversity of the global ocean is the driver behind marine bioprospecting for novel bioproducts. As Marine Biotechnology is gaining momentum as one of the main ...pillars of the ‘Brue Growth’ revolution, the ability to screen for novel compounds of interest in species with little or no genomic resources is paramount. With this respect, proteins, which are easily metabolised, can be synthetised using convenient DNA recombinant methods and can easily be modified to better meet the needs of human society, making them prized targets. Evidently, proteins that hold natural bioactivity and specificity such as toxins and other venom components, have long captured the focus of biotechnologists, leading to the merger between environmental omics and toxinology termed as ‘venomics’. Indeed, bioactive proteins such as conopeptides, conotoxins, turripeptides and others are long deemed important subjects of research. Even though current mainstream paradigms set the focus on secondary metabolites from marine organisms, transcriptomics and proteomics approaches and their combination are rising strategies for screening for thousands of proteins and peptides in non-conventional biological models, emphasising, but not limited to, marine invertebrate animals due to their abundance, biodiversity and uncanny biochemical strategies to cope with selective pressure in literally every known marine habitat. Untargeted approaches, such as RNA-Seq – based transcriptomics and tandem mass spectrometry – based proteomics, can circumvent limitations related with absent or reduced genomic annotation. The present review will outline the main contributions of ‘omics’ and computational approaches for bioprospecting for proteinaceous marine bioactives. Despite the relatively low number of ‘omics’ studies with the main purpose of discover novel compounds, there is already important literature showcasing pipelines and approaches for revolutionising the exploration of the ocean.
Marine biodiversity has been yielding promising novel bioproducts from venomous animals. Despite the auspices of conotoxins, which originated the paradigmatic painkiller Prialt, the biotechnological ...potential of gastropod venoms remains to be explored. Marine bioprospecting is expanding towards temperate species like the dogwhelk
, which is suspected to secrete immobilizing agents through its salivary glands with a relaxing effect on the musculature of its preferential prey,
sp. This work focused on detecting, localizing, and testing the bioreactivity of cysteine-rich proteins and peptides, whose presence is a signature of animal venoms and poisons. The highest content of thiols was found in crude protein extracts from the digestive gland, which is associated with digestion, followed by the peribuccal mass, where the salivary glands are located. Conversely, the foot and siphon (which the gastropod uses for feeding) are not the main organs involved in toxin secretion. Ex vivo bioassays with
gill tissue disclosed the differential bioreactivity of crude protein extracts. Secretions from the digestive gland and peribuccal mass caused the most significant molecular damage, with evidence for the induction of apoptosis. These early findings indicate that salivary glands are a promising target for the extraction and characterization of bioactive cysteine-rich proteinaceous toxins from the species.
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