scholarly journals Quantitative Assessment of Organic And Inorganic Contaminants In Charcoal Applied for Food Processing

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zbigniew Jelonek ◽  
Monika Fabiańska ◽  
Iwona Jelonek
Keyword(s):  
Toxic Elements ◽  
Prolonged Exposure ◽  
Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Moderate Degree ◽  
Inorganic Contaminants ◽  
Low Degree ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Polycyclic Aromatic ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
High Degree

Abstract Thirty-one batches of commercial charcoal from various regions of Poland and Germany were tested for the presence of twenty toxic elements and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) using gas chromatography - mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Elements that are toxic to living organisms were determined using atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). They were classified as elements representing a very high degree of hazard (As, Cd, Cu, Hg, and Pb), high degree of hazard (Zn, Ba, Cr, Mn, and Mo), moderate degree of hazard (Co, Ni, Sn, and Te), and a low degree of hazard for living organisms and the environment (Ag, Bi, Ce, Se, Sr, and Zr). When it comes to the most toxic elements, the highest concentration in the whole tested material was recorded for Cu. In addition, considerable amounts of Ba, Mn, and Sr, i.e., elements representing high or moderate degree of hazard, were found in the tested charcoals. Moreover, all charcoals contained a wide range of PAHs, from naphthalene to benzo(ghi)perylene, with concentrations in the range between 12.55 and 3554.11 ng/g of charcoal. In total, 25 unsubstituted PAHs were identified in the charcoal extracts. PAHs distributions were dominated by 5-ring PAHs. The results indicate the high carcinogenicity with ∑PAHcarc/∑PAHtot close to 1, as well as high TEQ and MEQ values. Thus, prolonged exposure to charcoal and charcoal dust might cause serious health problems. This applies to employees actively involved in the production and transport of charcoal, and, to a lesser extent, also to users of this fuel.

scholarly journals Quantitative Assessment of Organic and Inorganic Contaminants in Charcoal

Resources ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 69
Author(s):  
Zbigniew Jelonek ◽  
Monika Fabiańska ◽  
Iwona Jelonek
Keyword(s):  
Toxic Elements ◽  
Prolonged Exposure ◽  
Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Moderate Degree ◽  
Inorganic Contaminants ◽  
Low Degree ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Polycyclic Aromatic ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
High Degree

Thirty-one batches of commercial charcoal from various regions of Poland and Germany were tested for the presence of 20 toxic elements and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Elements that are toxic to living organisms were determined using atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). They were classified as elements representing a very high degree of hazard (As, Cd, Cu, Hg, and Pb), high degree of hazard (Zn, Ba, Cr, Mn, and Mo), moderate degree of hazard (Co, Ni, Sn, and Te), and a low degree of hazard for living organisms and the environment (Ag, Bi, Ce, Se, Sr, and Zr). In regard to the most toxic elements, the highest concentration in the whole tested material was recorded for Cu. In addition, considerable amounts of Ba, Mn, and Sr, i.e., elements representing a high or moderate degree of hazard, were found in the tested charcoals. Moreover, all charcoals contained a wide range of PAHs, from naphthalene to benzo(ghi)perylene, with concentrations in a range between 12.55 and 3554.11 ng/g charcoal. In total, 25 unsubstituted PAHs were identified in the charcoal extracts. PAHs distributions were dominated by five-ring PAHs. The results indicate high carcinogenicity with ∑PAHcarc/∑PAHtot close to 1, as well as high TEQ and MEQ values. Thus, prolonged exposure to charcoal and charcoal dust might cause serious health problems. This applies to employees actively involved in the production and transport of charcoal and, to a lesser extent, users of this fuel.

scholarly journals Key Issues in Global Technological Innovation Projects

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 04-28
Author(s):  
Marcos Roberto Piscopo ◽  
Roberto Sbragia
Keyword(s):  
Technological Innovation ◽  
Multinational Enterprises ◽  
Moderate Degree ◽  
Business Results ◽  
Iron Triangle ◽  
Low Degree ◽  
Innovation Projects ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Performance Dimensions ◽  
High Degree

This article aimed to identify those issues that were present in global technological innovation projects carried out by Brazilian multinational companies and which performance criterions these undertakings met. We investigated 36 global technological innovation projects from Brazilian multinational enterprises through a web-survey. Findings show that these companies went beyond the traditional iron triangle to evaluate their technological efforts and considered additional performance dimensions such as customer satisfaction, business results, and preparation for the future. Results also show high degree of presence for issues emerging from the industry, moderate degree of presence for issues emerging from both the project and R&D activities, and low degree of presence for issues emerging from the headquarters, the subsidiaries, and the external environment. Further research is needed to find out if and how these issues influenced the performance of the global technological innovation projects studied.DOI:10.5585/gep.v3i1.72

scholarly journals The Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) degradation activities and genome analysis of a novel strain Stenotrophomonas sp. Pemsol isolated from Mexico

PeerJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. e8102
Author(s):  
Temidayo O. Elufisan ◽  
Isabel C. Rodríguez-Luna ◽  
Omotayo Opemipo Oyedara ◽  
Alejandro Sánchez-Varela ◽  
Armando Hernández-Mendoza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Crude Oil ◽  
Contaminated Soil ◽  
Antimicrobial Agents ◽  
Carbon Sources ◽  
Genomic Islands ◽  
Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Chromatography Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Polycyclic Aromatic

Background Stenotrophomonas are ubiquitous gram-negative bacteria, which can survive in a wide range of environments. They can use many substances for their growth and are known to be intrinsically resistant to many antimicrobial agents. They have been tested for biotechnological applications, bioremediation, and production of antimicrobial agents. Method Stenotrophomonas sp. Pemsol was isolated from a crude oil contaminated soil. The capability of this isolate to tolerate and degrade polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) such as anthraquinone, biphenyl, naphthalene, phenanthrene, phenanthridine, and xylene was evaluated in Bushnell Hass medium containing PAHs as the sole carbon sources. The metabolites formed after 30-day degradation of naphthalene by Pemsol were analyzed using Fourier Transform Infra-red Spectroscopic (FTIR), Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (UPLC-MS) and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). The genome of Pemsol was also sequenced and analyzed. Results Anthraquinone, biphenyl, naphthalene, phenanthrene, and phenanthridine except xylene can be used as sole carbon sources for Pemsol’s growth in Bushnell Hass medium. The degradation of naphthalene at a concentration of 1 mg/mL within 30 days was tested. A newly formed catechol peak and the disappearance of naphthalene peak detected on the UPLC-MS, and GC-MS analyses spectra respectively confirmed the complete degradation of naphthalene. Pemsol does not produce biosurfactant and neither bio-emulsify PAHs. The whole genome was sequenced and assembled into one scaffold with a length of 4,373,402 bp. A total of 145 genes involved in the degradation of PAHs were found in its genome, some of which are Pemsol-specific as compared with other 11 Stenotrophomonas genomes. Most specific genes are located on the genomic islands. Stenotrophomonas sp. Pemsol’s possession of few genes that are associated with bio-emulsification gives the genetic basis for its inability to bio-emulsify PAH. A possible degradation pathway for naphthalene in Pemsol was proposed following the analysis of Pemsol’s genome. ANI and GGDH analysis indicated that Pemsol is likely a new species of Stenotrophomonas. It is the first report on a complete genome sequence analysis of a PAH-degrading Stenotrophomonas. Stenotrophomonas sp. Pemsol possesses features that make it a good bacterium for genetic engineering and will be an excellent tool for the remediation of crude oil or PAH-contaminated soil.

scholarly journals Detecting communities by suspecting the maximum degree nodes

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (13) ◽  
pp. 1950133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mei Chen ◽  
Mei Zhang ◽  
Ming Li ◽  
Mingwei Leng ◽  
Zhichong Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Maximum Degree ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Ground Truth ◽  
Underlying Structure ◽  
Community Structures ◽  
Large Size ◽  
Low Degree ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Art Methods ◽  
High Degree

Detecting the natural communities in a real-world network can uncover its underlying structure and potential function. In this paper, a novel community algorithm SUM is introduced. The fundamental idea of SUM is that a node with relatively low degree stays faithful to its community, because it only has links with nodes in one community, while a node with relatively high degree not only has links with nodes within but also outside its community, and this may cause confusion when detecting communities. Based on this idea, SUM detects communities by suspecting the links of the maximum degree nodes to their neighbors within a community, and relying mainly on the nodes with relatively low degree simultaneously. SUM elegantly defines a similarity which takes into account both the commonality and the rejective degree of two adjacent nodes. After putting similar nodes into one community, SUM generates initial communities by reassigning the maximum degree nodes. Next, SUM assigns nodes without labels to the initial communities, and adjusts the border node to its most linked community. To evaluate the effectiveness of SUM, SUM is compared with seven baselines, including four classical and three state-of-the-art methods on a wide range of complex networks. On the small size networks with ground-truth community structures, results are visually demonstrated, as well as quantitatively measured with ARI, NMI and Modularity. On the relatively large size networks without ground-truth community structures, the performances of these algorithms are evaluated according to Modularity. Experimental results indicate that SUM can effectively determine community structures on small or relatively large size networks with high quality, and also outperforms the compared state-of-the-art methods.

scholarly journals Burnout Among Anesthesiologists and Intensive Care Physicians: Results From an Italian National Survey

2020 ◽  
Vol 57 ◽  
pp. 004695802091926
Author(s):  
Maria Vargas ◽  
Gianmario Spinelli ◽  
Pasquale Buonanno ◽  
Carmine Iacovazzo ◽  
Giuseppe Servillo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Maslach Burnout Inventory ◽  
Personal Accomplishment ◽  
Moderate Degree ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Low Degree ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Chronic Health Problems ◽  
Psychological Dimensions

Burnout is one of the main chronic health problems with negative consequences on caregivers but also on the quality of care. This is a multidimensional occupational syndrome, characterized by three main criteria: emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP), and low personal accomplishment (PA). Burnout is particularly identified in professionals working in caregiving and human services, especially the ones who are interpersonally stressed and emotionally vulnerable. Intensive care professionals seem to face a critical risk of burnout. This study aiming to evaluate the occurrence and the risk factors of burnout among Italian anesthesiologists and intensive care physicians. All members included in the mailing list of the Italian Society of Anesthesia, Analgesia, and Intensive Care were invited to participate in an online survey. An anonymous questionnaire was distributed via a specific website. Burnout was measured using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) questionnaire. All responses were evaluated through univariate and multivariable logistic regression. A total of 859 physicians out of 3,654 (23.5%) participated in this online survey. According to the MBI criteria for a high degree of burnout, 10.2% (88) of the respondents reported high EE, high DP, and low PA together; 79.9% (686) exhibited a moderate degree of burnout; and 9.9% (85) reported a low degree of burnout, with normal values in all three of the explored psychological dimensions. This study reported mostly a moderate level of burnout among Italian anesthesiologist and intensive care physicians since we found 10.2% incidence for high degree of burnout according to the MBI criteria.

scholarly journals The Effective Healing Strategy against Localized Attacks on Interdependent Spatially Embedded Networks

Complexity ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kai Gong ◽  
Jia-Jian Wu ◽  
Ying Liu ◽  
Qing Li ◽  
Run-Ran Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Communication Networks ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Power Grids ◽  
Moderate Degree ◽  
Embedded Networks ◽  
Low Degree ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Functional Components ◽  
Failed Node

Many real-world infrastructure networks, such as power grids and communication networks, always depend on each other by their functional components that share geographic proximity. A lot of works were devoted to revealing the vulnerability of interdependent spatially embedded networks (ISENs) when facing node failures and showed that the ISENs are susceptible to geographically localized attacks caused by natural disasters or terrorist attacks. How to take emergency methods to prevent large scale of cascading failures on interdependent infrastructures is a longstanding problem. Here, we propose an effective strategy for the healing of local structures using the connection profile of a failed node, called the healing strategy by prioritizing minimum degrees (HPMD), in which a new link between two active low-degree neighbors of a failed node is established during the cascading process. Afterwards, comparisons are made between HPMD and three healing strategies based on three metrics: random choice, degree centrality, and local centrality, respectively. Simulations are performed on the ISENs composed of two diluted square lattices with the same size under localized attacks. Results show that HPMD can significantly improve the robustness of the system by enhancing the connectivity of low-degree nodes, which prevent the diffusion of failures from low-degree nodes to moderate-degree nodes. In particular, HPMD can outperform other three strategies in the size of the giant component of networks, critical attack radius, and the number of iterative cascade steps for a given quota of newly added links, which means HPMD is more effective, more timely, and less costly. The high performance of HPMD indicates low-degree nodes should be placed on the top priority for effective healing to resist the cascading of failures in the ISENs, which is totally different from the traditional methods that usually take high-degree nodes as critical nodes in a single network. Furthermore, HPMD considers the distance between a pair of nodes to control the variation in the network structures, which is more applicable to spatial networks than previous methods.

Form, Matter, Substance

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathrin Koslicki
Keyword(s):  
Substance P ◽  
Ontological Status ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Form Compound ◽  
Alternative Approaches ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Special Case

This work defends a hylomorphic analysis of concrete particular objects (e.g., living organisms). The Aristotelian doctrine of hylomorphism holds that those entities that fall under it are compounds of matter (hulē) and form (morphē or eidos). The author argues that a hylomorphic analysis of concrete particular objects is well equipped to compete with alternative approaches when measured against a wide range of criteria of success. A successful application of the doctrine of hylomorphism to the special case of concrete particular objects, however, hinges on how hylomorphists conceive of the matter composing a concrete particular object, its form, and the hylomorphic relations which hold between a matter–form compound, its matter and its form. Through the detailed answers to these questions the author develops in this book, matter–form compounds, despite their metaphysical complexity, emerge as occupying the privileged ontological status traditionally associated with substances, due in particular to their high degree of unity.

scholarly journals Multi-Target Strategy to Uncover Unexpected Compounds in Rinse-Off and Leave-On Cosmetics

Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (9) ◽  
pp. 2504
Author(s):  
Maria Celeiro ◽  
Laura Rubio ◽  
Carmen Garcia-Jares ◽  
Marta Lores
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Solid Phase ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Analytical Determination ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass ◽  
Analytical Point ◽  
Polycyclic Aromatic

The wide range and complexity of cosmetic formulations currently available on the market poses a challenge from an analytical point of view. In addition, during cosmetics manufacture, impurities coming from raw materials or formed by reaction of different organic compounds present in the formulation may be present. Their identification is mandatory to assure product quality and consumer health. In this work, micro-matrix solid-phase dispersion (μMSPD) is proposed as a multi-target sample preparation strategy to analyze a wide number of unexpected families of compounds including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), pesticides, plasticizers, nitrosamines, alkylphenols (APs), and alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEOs). Analytical determination was performed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) for the determination of 51 target compounds in a single run, whereas liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was employed for the analysis of six APs and APEOs. Both methodologies were successfully validated in terms of linearity, accuracy, and precision in leave-on and rinse-off cosmetics. Limits of detection (LODs) were calculated in the low ng g−1, showing their suitability to determine trace levels of impurities and banned compounds with different chemical natures, providing useful tools to cosmetic control laboratories and companies.

Comparative analysis of algorithms to generate adjacency constraints

1994 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 1277-1288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atsushi Yoshimoto ◽  
J. Douglas Brodie
Keyword(s):  
Heuristic Algorithms ◽  
Analysis Of Algorithms ◽  
Computational Effort ◽  
Planning Problem ◽  
Moderate Degree ◽  
Final Solution ◽  
Low Degree ◽  
Analytical Algorithm ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Conventional Algorithm

A mathematical programming formulation of the area-based forest planning problem can result in a large number of adjacency constraints with much potential for redundancy. Two heuristic algorithms have been proposed for reducing redundant adjacency constraints generated by the conventional algorithm. In this paper another analytical algorithm is proposed, and its efficiency and that of the conventional algorithm and the two heuristics are evaluated and compared. Comparison is based on the number of constraints, and on the computational effort needed both to derive the adjacency constraints and to solve the associated planning problem. Evaluation for several adjacency maps shows that the conventional algorithm has the largest number of constraints, with a low degree of effort in derivation of adjacency constraints and a small computational task to find a final solution. The first heuristic algorithm has the smallest number of constraints but involves a high degree of effort and a large computational task. The second heuristic has a small number of constraints with a moderate degree of effort and a large computational task, and the proposed algorithm has a small number of constraints with a low degree of effort and a moderate to large computational task.

scholarly journals A Polyomic Approach To Elucidate the Fluoranthene-Degradative Pathway in Mycobacterium vanbaalenii PYR-1

2007 ◽  
Vol 189 (13) ◽  
pp. 4635-4647 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ohgew Kweon ◽  
Seong-Jae Kim ◽  
Richard C. Jones ◽  
James P. Freeman ◽  
Michael D. Adjei ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Liquid Chromatography ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Culture Medium ◽  
Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Visible Absorption ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass ◽  
Polycyclic Aromatic ◽  
Uv Visible

ABSTRACT Mycobacterium vanbaalenii PYR-1 is capable of degrading a wide range of high-molecular-weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), including fluoranthene. We used a combination of metabolomic, genomic, and proteomic technologies to investigate fluoranthene degradation in this strain. Thirty-seven fluoranthene metabolites including potential isomers were isolated from the culture medium and analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and UV-visible absorption. Total proteins were separated by one-dimensional gel and analyzed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry in conjunction with the M. vanbaalenii PYR-1 genome sequence (http://jgi.doe.gov ), which resulted in the identification of 1,122 proteins. Among them, 53 enzymes were determined to be likely involved in fluoranthene degradation. We integrated the metabolic information with the genomic and proteomic results and proposed pathways for the degradation of fluoranthene. According to our hypothesis, the oxidation of fluoranthene is initiated by dioxygenation at the C-1,2, C-2,3, and C-7,8 positions. The C-1,2 and C-2,3 dioxygenation routes degrade fluoranthene via fluorene-type metabolites, whereas the C-7,8 routes oxidize fluoranthene via acenaphthylene-type metabolites. The major site of dioxygenation is the C-2,3 dioxygenation route, which consists of 18 enzymatic steps via 9-fluorenone-1-carboxylic acid and phthalate with the initial ring-hydroxylating oxygenase, NidA3B3, oxidizing fluoranthene to fluoranthene cis-2,3-dihydrodiol. Nonspecific monooxygenation of fluoranthene with subsequent O methylation of dihydroxyfluoranthene also occurs as a detoxification reaction.

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