heavy metals Articles
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Generation of mt:egfp transgenic zebrafish biosensor for the detection of aquatic zinc and cadmium
Zebrafish embryo toxicity test has become a popular method for detecting the environmental pollutions. But our research showed that zebrafish embryos exhibited no visible paramorphia, malformation or mortality when exposed to heavy metals in a range above the environmental standard limits, indicating that zebrafish embryo an imprecise model in monitoring environmental heavy metals ...
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Cysteine synthesis in Scorpiurum circinatum as a suitable biomarker in air pollution monitoring
Heavy metals enter ecosystems by both natural and anthropogenic processes. An excess of metals in the environment damages plant metabolism, leading to oxidative stress in the cell. Most metal ions present in the cell are bound to low molecular mass ligands. The major types of S-containing ligands involved in metal binding are derived from cysteine. The authors show, for the first time in ...
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Spatial distribution and heavy metal content of some bryophytes and lichens in relation to air pollution in Nigeria's Guinea Savanna
Use of bio-indicators in monitoring environmental quality in the West African sub-region is limited. In a study to evaluate the occurrence and distribution of bryophytes and lichens in relation to air pollution in Nigeria, three species each of bryophytes (Calymperes palisotii, Erpodium coronatum, B. leptophyllum) and lichens (Parmelia tinctorum, Physcia sp. and Trentifolia sp.) were encountered. ...
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Biomonitoring in the forest zone of Ghana: the primary results obtained using neutron activation analysis and lichens
The first heavy metal deposition survey using biological indicators in the forest belt of Ghana was carried out in the year 2002?2003. The selected sampling areas included two mining centres, industrial areas and farming communities. Levels of ten chemical elements namely, Al, As, Cr, Fe, Hg, Mn, Sb, Th, Ti and V present in the lichens at high concentrations that are suspected to be resulting ...
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Comparison of earthworm and chemical assays of the bioavailability of aged 1,1‐dichloro‐2,2‐bis(p‐chlorophenyl)ethylene, 1,1,1‐trichloro‐2,2‐bis(p‐chlorophenyl)ethane, and heavy metals in orchard soils
Orchard soils can contain elevated concentrations of 1,1‐dichloro‐2,2‐bis(p‐chlorophenyl)ethylene (p,p′‐DDE), 1,1,1‐trichloro‐2,2‐bis(p‐chlorophenyl)ethane (p,p′‐DDT), and heavy metals as a result of historical agrichemical applications. The bioavailability of p,p′‐DDE, p,p′‐DDT, As, Cd, Cu, and Pb from five field‐aged New Zealand orchards and three grazing soils was assessed by using a 28‐d ...
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Bioaccumulation and Toxicity of Dissolved Heavy Metals from the Guadalquivir Estuary After the Aznalcóllar Mining Spill Using Ruditapes philippinarum
The shore clam Ruditapes philippinarum was used as a biomonitoring organism to measure the potential impact that the mining spill in the Guadalquivir Estuary (SW, Spain) in 1998 may have exerted on local biota. Individuals were exposed to dissolved cadmium, copper, and zinc at concentrations found in local waters after the spill (3 g · L–1 Cd, 15 g · L–1 Cu, 700 g · L–1 Zn) at two salinity ...
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Biomonitoring of air quality employing in situ Ramalina celastri in Argentina
The lichen Ramalina celastri was employed as an in situ biomonitor for the study of air quality and heavy metal distribution in the central region of the Argentine Republic. The thallus content of copper, iron, manganese, cobalt, zinc, nickel and lead was determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Pigments, hydroperoxy conjugated dienes, malondialdehyde and sulfur were also measured. Some ...
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Affinity–based biosensors for heavy metal detection
In recent years, there has been a pressing need for fast and reliable methods for environmental monitoring. Among the various pollutants, the heavy metals are some of the most harmful because these substances are non–biodegradable and retained by the ecological system. Conventional analytical techniques for heavy metals imply high cost, trained personnel and the repute that they are mostly ...
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Surface plasmon resonance biosensors for environmental analysis: general aspects and applications
Interest in the development of Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) based biosensors for the detection and monitoring of analytes in several fields has been extensively developed in the last decade. Indeed, SPR-based biosensors demonstrate interesting potential for environmental applications, and a substantial number of studies have been reported for heavy metals, dioxins, pesticides, aromatic ...
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Using the exhaled breath condensate as a tool for non-invasive evaluation of pollutant exposure
The aim of the present study was to investigate whether Exhaled Breath Condensate (EBC) can be employed for a better risk assessment among human exposure to heavy metals. The objective was to develop a human bioindicator to be applicable for professional exposure that, compared with other common indicators, presents important advantages: it is non-invasive and it is easily and quickly collected. ...
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Improved sensitivity to heavy metals in the bioluminescence assay using alternative salt solutions
Introduction The marine bacterium Vibrio fischeri is widely used for the toxicity assessment of environmental samples. The toxicity is measured in a medium containing 2% NaCl. When the bacteria are exposed to toxic compounds, the light production is inhibited. Toxicity values are obtained after 15 and 30 minutes exposure and expressed as EC50 values, the effective concentration causing 50% loss ...
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List of 10 Soil Metal Testing Methods
Soil testing has become a must-check item for environmental testing. In recent years, countries around the world have attached great importance to soil testing, which has led to great progress in soil testing technology. At the same time, countries around the world have increased their investment in soil metal testing, using advanced technologies such as spectroscopic analysis technology, ...
By Lifeasible
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Aptamer-based and DNAzyme-based biosensors for environmental monitoring
Aptamers and DNAzymes are small single-stranded nucleic acids that fold into a well-defined three-dimensional structure with high specificity to various ligands, such as low-molecular-weight organic or inorganic substrates or macromolecules. Their specificity is comparable with and in certain cases even higher than those of antibodies, and they can be applied for specific detection of various ...
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A statistical approach applied to trace metal data from biomonitoring studies
This work underlines the importance of the statistical procedures necessary for the significant assessment of analytical data of heavy metals derived from marine organisms (biomonitors) collected at five stations in Ustica at the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea. The statistical method described indicates that, where the differences among the averages of Pb, Cu and Zn concentrations in the molluscs of the ...
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Quantitative relations between different concentrations of micro- and macroelements in mosses and lichens: the region of Opole (Poland) as an environmental interface in between Eastern and Western Europe
We examined the concentration of selected metals: Al, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb, as well as activity of 137Cs in samples of moss and lichen, collected in the area surrounding Bory Stobrawskie, a wood complex situated in southern Poland. The concentration of metals was determined by atomic absorption spectrometry. The activity of 137Cs was determined by gamma spectrometry. We used these results, ...
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On the road from environmental biomonitoring to human health aspects: monitoring atmospheric heavy metal deposition by epiphytic/epigeic plants: present status and future needs
For the past few years, a strong and intensive combined study by analytical scientists and biologists on bioindication and biomonitoring has developed. To achieve a more public-related prophylactic healthcare feature derived from these biotechniques in the future, the collaboration between analytical scientists, ecotoxicologists and especially human toxicologists has to be strongly intensified ...
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Biomonitoring of concentrations of platinum group elements and their correlations to other metals
Biomonitoring of Pt, Pd, Pb, Mn, Cu, Fe and Zn was conducted using leaves (two and six months old) of laurel (Laurus nobilis L.) ornamental shrubs grown in 14 sampling sites located on the central green belts of six avenues and streets of Athens. In this biomonitoring, we determined, for the first time in Greece, the concentrations of the new urban "pollutants" Pt and Pd, and we estimated the ...
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Application of radiochemical neutron activation and atomic absorption spectrometry methods for the study of nutrition-pollution interactions in children
The application of radiochemical neutron activation analysis (RNAA) and atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) is expected to aid in understanding and evaluating the effects of environmental pollution on the nutritional status of children already exposed to marginal malnutrition. Samples of placenta, of low-weight and control newborns groups, were collected for determination of nutritional elements ...
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The significance of pollution in eliciting the "bleaching" response in symbiotic cnidarians
The loss of pigmentation, or "bleaching", in tropical reef organisms such as corals and symbiotic sea anemones has been extensively reported around the world over the last 15 years. The widespread bleaching of corals has generally been associated with seawater warming; increased sea surface temperatures and irradiance both play a part in eliciting the bleaching response. At the same ...
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A biomonitoring study: trace metals in seagrass, algae and molluscs in a marine reference ecosystem (Southern Tyrrhenian Sea)
Marine organisms were tested as possible biomonitors of heavy metal contamination in Ustica (island of the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea). The concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn were measured in the phanerogam Posidonia oceanica L. Delile, the two brown algae Padina pavonica (L.) Thivy and Cystoseira sp., and the two gastropod molluscs Monodonta turbinata Born and Patella caerulea L. collected at ...
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