The mass concentrations and content of water-soluble anions (Cl−, NO3−, SO42−) and cations (Na+, NH4+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+) in the PM2.5 particle fraction were measured, and an investigation of their ...relationship and their contribution to the total PM2.5 mass measured was conducted at an urban background site as part of the Croatian monitoring network for air quality located in Rijeka, Croatia. Daily samples of PM2.5 particle fraction were collected over 2017 on PTFE filters using a low volume sampler Sven Leckel SEQ 47/50. Mass concentrations of the PM2.5 particle fraction were determined by gravimetry according to the standard HRN EN 12341:2014 (EN 12341:2014). The content of water-soluble inorganic anions and cations were determined using a Thermo Scientific ICS-5000 capillary ion chromatograph. Results show that the annual average PM2.5 mass concentration was 9.65 μg m-3 and did not exceed the limit value of 25 μg m-3 given by the Regulation on the level of pollutants in air (OG No. 117/12). The annual average mass concentrations of ions in PM2.5 particle fraction was SO42−> NH4+> NO3− > Ca2+> K+> Na+> Cl− > Mg2+. The contributions of total anion mass and total cation mass to the total PM2.5 mass were 25.4% and 12.8%, respectively. The acidic property of PM2.5 was obtained in spring and winter and slightly acidic in summer and autumn. For a prediction of the pollutant sources, we ran a factor analysis which was performed using the statistical packages STATISTICA 13.0. After varimax rotation, the obtained four principal component factors were found to account for 86% of the variance. Factor loadings > 0.7 were considered significant.
•The annual average mass concentrations of PM2.5 did not exceed the limit value.•The average ion mass concentrations was SO42− > NH4+> NO3− > Ca2+> K+> Na+> Cl− > Mg2+.•The most contributing ions to the total PM2.5 mass were SO42−, NH4+ and NO3−•Strong correlation indicated presence secondary aerosols (NH4)2SO4, NH4HSO4, NH4NO3.•Results implies acidic property of PM2.5
First data on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and nitro-aromatic compounds (NACs) in aerosols as well as of PAHs, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and NACs in bulk and wet atmospheric ...deposition samples were simultaneously obtained during 6-month-long field campaign at the costal central Adriatic area. Special attention was given to open-fire biomass burning episodes as extreme events common for the overall Mediterranean coastal area in order to gain a better understanding of the atmospheric variabilities and potential sources of trace organic pollutants in coastal environments. Diesel and gasoline combustion related to land and maritime traffic as well as occasional open-fire episodes (forest fires) were found to be the dominant pollution sources of PAHs in PM10 particles. NACs were determined almost exclusively in samples affected by biomass burning episodes. Open-fire episodes had a strong contribution to the overall NACs atmospheric deposition fluxes. Several chlorinated congeners of PCBs were predominantly contributed in deposition samples.
•First data of organic contents in aerosols and deposition samples at the Adriatic area•Data obtained during biomass burning events as extreme events for the Adriatic area•Strong influence of biomass burning on deposition fluxes of organic contents
Atmospheric bulk and wet deposition samples were collected simultaneously at the background coastal site in the Eastern Middle Adriatic region in order to assess the impact of major ions (Cl
, NO
, ...SO
, Na
, K
, NH
, Mg
, Ca
) on deposition acidity and distinguish the main sources. Higher ion levels were observed during the cold period, especially for Cl
, Na
, Mg
and K
. Dust intrusion caused significant increases in levels of Ca
, Mg
and K
, while open-fire events increased the levels of K
. Deposition acidity showed seasonal differences as well as the influence of dust intrusion. Low ionic balance ratios indicated acidic deposition properties and the presence of organic anions. The highest neutralization ability was found for Ca
, Na
and NH
. Several natural (marine, crustal) and anthropogenic sources were determined, as well as the formation of secondary aerosols. Wet deposition was characterized by higher contribution of sea salt fraction compared to bulk deposition and lower contribution of crustal fraction.
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•200 equally matched case and control volunteers were recruited for this study.•Oxidative status of patients with thyroid diseases was worse compared to controls.•Patients had higher ...baseline genome damage compared to controls.•High prevalence of aberrantly expressed B-Raf and Ret in thyroid was detected.•Cytogenetic biomonitoring might be useful tool in human risk assessment.
Since the incidence of cancer has increased over the years, adequate prevention programmes are needed. Thyroid cancer is one of the fastest growing cancer types in the world. In this study we performed a case-control study of 100 untreated patients with thyroid diseases (papillary thyroid cancer, follicular thyroid adenoma, and other thyroid diseases) and 100 control volunteers. Oxidative status differed among the two investigated groups. The patients’ group had 1.60-fold higher concentrations of malondialdehyde and 1.26-fold higher concentrations of protein carbonyls. At the same time, the concentrations of glutathione and catalase activity were by 32% and 35% lower, respectively. A similar effect was observed for the cytogenetic status where higher comet assay tail intensity (1.84-fold) and the total numbers of chromosome aberrations (1.47-fold), micronuclei (2.32-fold), nucleoplasmic bridges (3.98-fold), and nuclear buds (2.34-fold) were detected. As for protein expression in thyroid tissue, 97.89% were positive for either B-Raf or Ret. Interestingly, the papillary thyroid cancer patients more frequently expressed B-Raf proteins compared to the follicular thyroid adenoma patients and patients with other thyroid diseases. Human biomonitoring studies enable a risk assessment of general population, such data could be used to identify risk subgroups.
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•Health-related biomarkers in vegetarians vs. non-vegetarians were assessed.•Results revealed differences in biomarkers between the two groups.•Supplementation of animal derived ...nutrients to vegetarians would be beneficial.•Evaluated biomarkers give insight into dietary preferences and health outcomes.
This study was performed in a group of adult vegetarians (N = 40) and matched non-vegetarian subjects (N = 40) in order to analyse differences in health-related biomarkers. Obtained results revealed differences in various biomarkers between subjects on a traditional mixed and vegetarian diet, indicating that vegetarians have a lower nutritional status of some nutrients (Ca, Cu and Zn, and vitamins B12 and D) accompanied with a lower antioxidant defence system (glutathione) and higher homocysteine and genome damage (micronuclei and DNA strand breaks), along with shorter telomeres. This suggests that the supplementation of animal derived nutrients to this particular dietary group would be beneficial for the improvement of some measured health-related biomarkers. However, the level of certain toxic metals (As and Hg) was higher in non-vegetarians. The presented multi-biomarker approach implies the necessity of evaluating a large number of different health-related biomarkers in order to obtain clear insight into dietary preferences and health outcomes.
Na području Centralnog uređaja za pročišćavanje otpadnih voda grada Zagreba (CUPOVZ) od 2004. godine provode se ciljana mjerenja imisijskih koncentracija sumporovodika (H 2 S), amonijaka (NH 3 ) i ...ukupnih merkaptana (R−SH). U ovom radu prikazani su rezultati mjerenja provedenih tijekom 2017. godine na dvije mjerne postaje: Biologija-sjever i Biologija-jug, koje su smještene u krugu CUPOVZ-a. 24-satni uzorci H 2 S, NH 3 i R−SH sakupljani su po mjesec dana u svakom godišnjem dobu. Koncentracije H 2 S, NH 3 i R−SH na obje mjerne postaje pokazuju statistički značajnu sezonsku ovisnost (p < 0,05). Promatrajući sva mjerna razdoblja zajedno, pronađene su visoke pozitivne korelacije između svih onečišćujućih tvari i temperature te negativne s tlakom.
Since 2004, continuous measurements of hydrogen sulphide (H2S), ammonia (NH3), and mercaptan (R−SH) levels in air have been monitored in the area of the Central wastewater treatment plant Zagreb (CUPOVZ). At two measuring sites within the CUPOVZ area, Biology-north and Biology-south, for a month in every season in 2017, twenty-four hour samples of H 2 S, NH 3 , and R−SH were collected. Measured concentrations of gaseous pollutants showed statistically significant seasonal variations (p < 0.05) at both measuring stations. For the overall period, high positive correlations were found between all pollutants and temperature, and negative with pressure.
Garlic is a valuable source material for medicines due to its known antitumor, hypolipidaemic, antioxidant, and immunomodulatory effects. This study compares the protective effects of conventionally ...grown (CG) and
propagated garlic (PG) against hydrogen peroxide-induced cytotoxicity in HepG2 cells and their antioxidant activity. Garlic used in this study was obtained by planting garlic cloves or by planting the transplants of PG directly in the field. At the end of the vegetation period, CG and PG were sampled and extracts prepared for the experiment. Compared to conventionally grown garlic bulbs, PG leafy part yielded significantly higher content of polyphenols, flavonoids and alliin, and also showed equal or higher antioxidant activity, measured by the cell viability test, GSH and ROS level. Moreover, PG can be produced in less time (shorter vegetation period) and with significantly less material (cloves). Significantly higher content of alliin, polyphenols, and flavonoids and significantly higher yield of plant biomass in PG has a great potential to become a new production model with improved garlic properties as a medicine material.
Circulating platinum (Pt) is detectable in the blood of Pt-treated cancer patients for over a decade after the treatment. Prolonged exposure to Pt, in combination with adverse compounds from ...nutrition and lifestyle, such as cadmium (Cd), could increase the risk from second cancers. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of simultaneous exposure to Cd- and Pt-compounds on oxidative and DNA damage and the possible protective effects of zinc (Zn) and selenium (Se). The aqueous solutions of PtCl
4
, CdCl
2
×
H
2
O, ZnCl
2
and Na
2
SeO
3
were added, alone or in combination, to whole blood and isolated erythrocytes to produce the final concentrations of 2000 μg/L of Pt, 8 μg/L of Cd, 100 μg/L of Se, and 1000 μg/L of Zn. The activity of copper, zinc-superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and glutathione in whole blood was determined after 1 h exposure in in vitro conditions. The induction of DNA strand-breaks in human peripheral blood leukocytes was determined with the alkaline comet assay after 24 h exposure. Exposure to Pt and/or Cd decreased the activities of antioxidant enzymes and elevated DNA damage compared to control. A statistically significant change in the activity of both enzymes and in the induction of DNA strand-breaks was observed in the cells treated with Pt + Cd combination, while the addition of Se and/or Zn resulted in partial recovery of these effects. The results indicate that combined exposure to Pt and Cd could disrupt antioxidant protection of the organism and increase DNA damage, whereas Se and Zn could partially ameliorate these harmful effects.
Atmospheric deposition (AD) of nutrients and its impact on the sea surface requires consideration of interfacial processes within the sea surface microlayer (SML), the ocean-atmosphere boundary layer ...of major importance for many global biogeochemical and climate-related processes. This study comprised a comprehensive dataset, including dissolved NO3−, NH4+ and PO43− in ambient aerosol particles, wet deposition and sea surface samples collected from February to July 2019 at a central Adriatic coastal site. The aerosol mean concentration of dissolved nitrogen (DIN = NO3− + NH4+) and PO43− were 48.8 ± 82.8 μmol m−3 and 0.8 ± 0.6 μmol m−3, respectively, while their total fluxes (dry + wet) ranged from 24.2 to 212.3 μmol m−2 d−1 (mean 123.2 ± 53.2 μmol m−2 d−1) and from 1.2 to 2.1 μmol m−2 d−1 (mean 1.5 ± 0.3 μmol m−2 d−1), respectively. Intensive local episodes of open biomass burning (BB) significantly increased aerosol DIN concentrations as well as DIN deposition fluxes, particularly altering the molar DIN/PO43− ratio of atmospheric samples. The DIN temporal patterns showed high variability in the SML (range 0.2–24.6 μmol L−1, mean 5.0 ± 7.1 μmol L−1) in contrast to the underlying water samples (range 0.5–4.2 μmol L−1, mean 1.9 ± 1.2 μmol L−1), with significant increases during BB periods. Variability in abundance of heterotrophic bacteria and autotrophs in the SML along with concentrations of bulk dissolved and particulate organic carbon as well as dissolved and particulate lipids and carbohydrates, gel particles and surfactants followed DIN enhancements with a two-week delay. This study showed that AD can affect the short-term scale enrichments of organic matter in the SML, especially when accompanied by BB emissions typical of the overall Mediterranean coastal environment. This could have strong implications for global air-sea exchange processes, including those of climate relevant gases, mediated by the SML.
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•Adriatic coastal area: simultaneous atmospheric and seawater field measurements•Nutrient variability in aerosols, rainwater and atmospheric deposition (AD) fluxes•Local open-fire biomass burning (BB) affected chemistry of atmospheric samples.•AD impacted nutrient levels and N:P ratios in the sea surface microlayer (SML).•The SML plankton development and organic matter enrichments followed BB episodes.
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