Heavy Metal Concentrations in Free-Living Southern Caracaras  (Caracara plancus) in the Northeast Region of Brazil

Background: With the continuously increasing release of heavy metals in the environment, mostly from anthropogenic sources, there is a need to find ways of evaluating and managing the issuance of these contaminants and correct its damages. The birds being at the top of some food chains reflect the presence of metals in the environment, keeping this in perspective, raptors have been successfully used for heavy metals biomonitoring studies in the past. The purpose of this study was to identify and quantify cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), and chromium (Cr) in the feathers and livers of free-living southern caracaras, live and dead, from Recife, Pernambuco state, Northeast of Brazil.Material, Methods & Results: Sixty-two feathers from live and dead southern caracaras and 21 livers from dead southern caracaras were analyzed by atomic absorption spectrometry for Hg and by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry for Cd, Cr, Pb, and Cu. Concentrations of Cr and Cu elements were detected in all feather and liver samples analyzed from live and dead caracaras. There was no difference in the concentration of metals between feathers of dead and live caracaras: Pb (P = 0.3576), Cd (P = 0.0792), Cr (P = 0.5475), and Cu (P = 0.3603), but significant variation was observed for Hg (P = 0.0459). The highest concentrations of Pb (P < 0.0001) and Cr (P < 0.0001) were found in the feathers than in the liver. On the other hand, the highest concentrations of Cu were found in liver samples (P = 0.0011). No significant variation in the concentrations of Cd (P = 0.7770) and Hg (P = 0.3669) was found between feathers and liver samples.Discussion: Chromium, as well as Hg, and Cu have a high affinity for keratin, which may explain the higher concentrations of Cr in caracaras feathers in this research. Lead was detected in all liver samples analyzed. Elevated levels were also found in the feathers of dead (95.2%) and live (75.6%) caracaras. The presence of Pb may be due to external contamination by pollutants, such as fossil fuels. Higher concentrations of Hg were observed in dead caracaras feathers, this concentrations change during molting but are not affected by external contamination. Metals, such as Hg, and Cd, accumulate in organisms from different trophic levels, which may indicate that this contamination comes mainly from feed. Pearson’s coefficient here showed no correlation between metals from dead caracaras feathers and livers, although a few previous studies have shown a correlation between metal concentrations from tissues and feathers. This pattern can be attributed to the different time of exposure of feathers to metals in relation to livers. The concentrations of metals in hepatic tissues reflect the levels of elements in the diet of these birds, characterizing acutely the contamination of the ecosystem. On the other hand, feathers represent the exposure in the time of molting, when the artery supplies metals, thus representing a chronic exposure. In feathers from live birds, the Pearson’s correlation analysis showed a high to moderate correlation between metals, which may suggest that they come from a similar source, but there is no way to specify the origin since the metals surveyed could be present in the soil, water, or in the prey eaten by these animals. For the purpose of environmental analyses, it is required to determine the exact source of contamination. Considering that it is possible to confirm the presence of these heavy metals in southern caracaras, these birds may be important environmental bioindicators. The development of systematic research on animals and the environment is essential for monitoring the levels of metal pollutants and evaluating their impact in order to guide measures to protect fauna and human health.

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Innovative Ultrasound-Assisted Approaches towards Reduction of Heavy Metals and Iodine in Macroalgal Biomass

Foods ◽

10.3390/foods10030649 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 649

Author(s):

Estefanía Noriega-Fernández ◽

Izumi Sone ◽

Leire Astráin-Redín ◽

Leena Prabhu ◽

Morten Sivertsvik ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Heavy Metals ◽

Dry Weight ◽

The Other ◽

Laminaria Hyperborea ◽

Other Hand ◽

Macroalgal Biomass ◽

Ultrasound Assisted ◽

I 31

The aim of this work was to evaluate the potential of ultrasound (US), alone or in combination with mild heating and/or EDTA towards reduction of As, Cd, I, and Hg content of Laminaria hyperborea. Concentrations of As, Cd, I, and Hg of 56.29, 0.596, 7340, and <0.01 mg kg−1 of dry weight, respectively, were found in L. hyperborea blades. Treatment with US at 50 °C increased approx. 2-fold the amount of As released, although did not affect significantly the content of Cd or I, as compared to control (no US) samples. Reducing the temperature to 8 °C significantly decreased the effect of US, but heating at 80 °C did not cause a significant effect as compared to treatments at 50 °C. On the other hand, treatment with 0.1 N EDTA at 50 °C enhanced the percentage of Cd released by approximately 7-fold, regardless of sonication. In the present work, the combination of US and EDTA at 50 °C for 5 min led to a significant reduction of the As (32%), Cd (52%) and I (31%) content in L. hyperborea, thus improving the product’s safety for consumers.

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ORIGINATIONS AND EXTINCTIONS: ANALYSES OF FOSSIL DATA AND SIMULATIONS

International Journal of Modern Physics C ◽

10.1142/s0129183100000250 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 11 (02) ◽

pp. 277-285 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

TANE RAY ◽

LEO MOSELEY ◽

NAEEM JAN

Keyword(s):

Fourier Transform ◽

Frequency Dependence ◽

Frequency Spectrum ◽

Fossil Record ◽

Trophic Levels ◽

The Other ◽

Simulation Data ◽

The Past ◽

Other Hand ◽

Fossil Data

We analyse the fossil data of Benton1 with and without interpolation schemes. By Fourier transform analysis, we find a frequency dependence of the amplitude of 1/f for the various interpolation schemes used in the past. We illustrate that shuffling the interpolated data changes the spectra only slightly. On the other hand, an identical analysis performed on the raw (uninterpolated) fossil data gives a flat frequency spectrum. We conclude that the 1/f behavior is an artifact of the interpolation schemes. We next introduce a simulation of extinctions driven only by interactions between two trophic levels. Fourier transform analysis of the simulation data shows a frequency dependence of 1/f. When the data are grouped into a form resembling the fossil record the frequency dependence vanishes, giving a flat spectrum. Our simulation produces a frequency spectrum that agrees with the observed fossil record.

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The influence of desiccation and UV radiation on the development and survival of free-living stages of cyathostomins under field and laboratory conditions

Helminthologia ◽

10.2478/s11687-008-0006-3 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 45 (1) ◽

pp. 32-40 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

I. Langrová ◽

I. Jankovská ◽

J. Vadlejch ◽

M. Libra ◽

A. Lytvynets ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Uv Radiation ◽

Field Experiments ◽

The Other ◽

Infective Stage ◽

Free Living ◽

Infective Larvae ◽

Laboratory Conditions ◽

Other Hand ◽

Field And Laboratory Conditions

AbstractThe present work describing both laboratory and field experiments was performed to assess the effects of desiccation and UV radiation on the development and survival of free-living stages of equine cyathostomins.Cyathostomin larvae in horse faeces did not develop to the infective stage when faecal humidity levels dropped below 23 %, nonetheless solitary preinfective larvae were still recovered after 151 days (humidity 19.5 %). The development to infective stage after remoistening occurred for the last time after 54 days following desiccation.Preinfective stages are susceptible to the effects of the direct desiccation stage. The preinfective larvae were rapidly killed within one minute, the cyathostomin eggs within 5 hours. The numerous normal mobile infective larvae were encountered after 35 days of the desiccated period. The preinfective stage of cyathostomins also showed very little tolerance to direct sun radiation: most eggs were killed by the exposure within 3 hours and the preinfective larvae within 1 hour. The survival of infective larvae was, on the other hand, unaffected by sun radiation after 7 days (P < 0.05). However, desiccated infective larvae were then found to be susceptible to UV radiation, resulting in total mortalities after 5 days.

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Heavy metal uptake of near-shore benthic foraminifera during multi-metal culturing experiments

10.5194/bg-2021-158 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Sarina Schmidt ◽

Edmund Charles Hathorne ◽

Joachim Schönfeld ◽

Dieter Garbe-Schönberg

Keyword(s):

Heavy Metals ◽

Heavy Metal ◽

Mining Industry ◽

Anthropogenic Pollution ◽

Anthropogenic Sources ◽

Strong Positive Correlation ◽

Clear Trend ◽

Direct Function ◽

Metal Concentrations ◽

Near Shore

Abstract. Heavy metal pollution originating from anthropogenic sources, e.g., mining, industry and extensive land use, is increasing in many parts of the world and influences coastal marine environments for a long time. The elevated input of heavy metals into the marine system potentially affects the biota because of their toxicity, persistence and bioaccumulation. An emerging tool for environmental applications is the heavy metal incorporation into foraminiferal tests calcite, which facilitates monitoring of anthropogenic footprints on recent and past environmental systems. The aim of this study is to investigate whether the incorporation of heavy metals in foraminifera is a direct function of their concentration in seawater. Culturing experiments with a mixture of dissolved chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), silver (Ag), cadmium (Cd), tin (Sn), mercury (Hg) and lead (Pb) in artificial seawater were carried out over a wide concentration range to assess the uptake of heavy metals by the near-shore foraminiferal species Ammonia aomoriensis, Ammonia batava and Elphidium excavatum. Seawater analysis exhibited the increasing metal concentrations between culturing phases and revealed high metal concentrations in the beginning of the culturing phases due to the punctual metal addition. Furthermore, a loss of metals during the culturing process was discovered, which lead to a deviation between the expected and the actual concentrations of the metals in seawater. Laser ablation ICP-MS analysis of the newly formed calcite revealed species-specific differences in the incorporation of heavy metals. The foraminiferal calcite of all three species reveals a strong positive correlation with Pb and Ag concentrations in the culturing medium. Ammonia aomoriensis further showed a correlation with Mn and Cu, A. batava with Mn and Hg and E. excavatum with Cr and Ni, and partially also with Hg. Zn, Sn and Cd showed no clear trend for the species studied, which may be caused by the little variation of these metals in seawater. Our calibrations and the calculated partition coefficients render A. aomoriensis, A. batava and E. excavatum as natural archives that enable the direct quantification of metals in polluted and pristine environments. This in turn allows monitoring of the ecosystem status of areas that are potentially under the threat of anthropogenic pollution in order to evaluate contemporary emission reduction measures.

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Study of Heavy Metals Toxicity Level in Workplace Atmosphere by Alternative Methods

IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science ◽

10.1088/1755-1315/906/1/012034 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 906 (1) ◽

pp. 012034

Author(s):

Lorand Toth ◽

Călămar Angela ◽

Simion Alexandru ◽

Cristian Nicolescu ◽

Izabella Kovacs

Keyword(s):

Heavy Metals ◽

Working Conditions ◽

Well Being ◽

The Body ◽

The Other ◽

Alternative Methods ◽

Positive Contribution ◽

Other Hand ◽

Relative Standard ◽

Toxicological Investigation

Abstract Promoting safety and health at work, as part of the overall improvement of working conditions, is an important strategy, not only to ensure well-being of workers, but also to make a positive contribution to productivity. Health, safety and well-being of workers are therefore prerequisites for improving quality and productivity and are important for equitable and sustainable socio-economic development. Toxicological investigation of an industrial objective involves both knowledge of working conditions and the dynamic establishment of occupational pollutants in the workplace atmosphere, as well as bio-toxicological evaluation, being a synthetic representation of the aggressiveness of pollutants entering the body by various paths (respiratory, cutaneous, digestive, etc.) with reference, at the same time, to the adaptability of respective employees. Evaluation of the toxicological investigation has a role in following the evolution of working conditions and health of employees in time, potential technological changes with possible impact on employees’ health, as well as if new conditions occur, requiring the completion of previous toxicological investigations. Use of heavy metals in different industries has increased the quality of products from different production sectors but on the other hand also led to an increase in the toxicity of workplace atmosphere, which requires an assessment of the negative impact produced. The current paper aims at an alternative analysis of the determination of heavy metals content (Cu, Cd, Pb, Ni, Cr) in workplace atmosphere, using, on one hand, the method of spectroscopy of atomic emissions with inductively coupled plasma and, on the other hand, fluorescence with X rays. Following statistical processing of data gathered by the two alternative methods, the accuracy, reproducibility, relative standard deviation as well as the fidelity of methods expressed by the coefficient of variation will be established.

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Source Identification, Ecological Risk and Spatial Analysis of Heavy Metals Contamination in Agricultural Soils of Tanjaro Area, Kurdistan Region, Iraq

UKH Journal of Science and Engineering ◽

10.25079/ukhjse.v5n2y2021.pp18-27 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

pp. 18-27

Author(s):

Hayder Issa ◽

Azad Alshatteri

Keyword(s):

Heavy Metals ◽

Ecological Risk ◽

Risk Index ◽

Pollution Index ◽

Potential Ecological Risk ◽

Soil Samples ◽

Anthropogenic Sources ◽

Emission Spectrometry ◽

Kurdistan Region ◽

Ecological Risk Index

The current work accomplished a comprehensive evaluation of heavy metals pollution in soil of agricultural areas from Tanjaro sub-district, Sulaimaniyah province, Kurdistan Region, NE Iraq. Ninety soil samples were collected from thirty different locations. Concentrations of 16 heavy metals were measured by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry ICP-OES. The pollution index (PI), potential ecological risk index (Er), enrichment factor (EF), and ecological risk index (RI) were used to assess the pollution in soil samples. High levels of Li and Ni, and moderate Ba, Cd, Hg, and Pb according to the results of concentration analysis, pollution index (PI), and potential ecological risk (ERI). High levels of Cd and Hg according to the results of Er. Agglomerative hierarchical clustering (AHC) and principal component analysis (PCA) suggested that heavy metals were generated from different natural and anthropogenic sources like natural weathering, fertilizer application, and transportation. Origins of Hg, Cd, Ni, and Pb are probably from activities like overuse of pesticides and fertilizers, whereas Pb could be exhausted from vehicle exhausts as well. Furthermore, spatial distributions revealed nonpoint source pollution for the studied heavy metals. The obtained results help in the remediation techniques of contaminated soils such as dilution with decontaminated soil or extraction or separation of heavy metals.

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Accumulation and distribution of toxic and potentially toxic elements in potato on different types of soil

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-2740 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Jelena Popović-Djordjević ◽

Zoran Broćić ◽

Mirjana Kresović ◽

Jelena Mutić

Keyword(s):

Trace Elements ◽

Soil Ph ◽

Toxic Elements ◽

Potato Production ◽

Soil Samples ◽

The Other ◽

Emission Spectrometry ◽

The Core ◽

Ph Values ◽

Other Hand

Potato is currently the third most significant crop culture in the world, with the production of over 388 million tons in 2016. This crop is present on the tables of Serbian consumers throughout the year because of the tradition and its affordable price. Serbia has relatively good climatic conditions for potato production, which are defined by the temperature regime and the amount and frequency of precipitation. The nutritive value of the potato is mainly attributed to the chemical composition of the tuber. The element composition of tubers depends on many factors, such as: genotype, developmental phase of the plant, agroecological conditions, chemical properties of soil, fertilization and irrigation. On the other hand, geochemical origin of trace elements in the soil, the intensive agriculture production, use of contaminated soil and irrigation water may increase their toxic levels in tubers.&#160;Potato tubers of five varieties were produced on commercial farms at two locations in Western Serbia (Gu&#269;a and Sjenica), with favorable agroecological conditions for potato production. Tuber samples of studied varieties from each location were collected at the end of growing seasons at the stage of physiological maturity. Soil samples were collected from several sites at each production location at the depth of 0&#8211;30 cm. Basic agrochemical properties of the soil samples were determined. Content of toxic (As, Cd, Pb) and potentially toxic (Al, Ba, Ni, V) elements in fresh tubers (peel and core) and soil samples was established by inductively coupled plasma&#8211;optical emission spectrometry (ICP&#8211;OES). Bioaccumulation factor (BAF) of each studied element, as the ratio between its content in the peel and in the core of the tuber and the soil, was calculated.&#160;According to pH values, 4.77 and 6.80, soils were clasified as very acidic (Gu&#269;a location) and slightly acidic (Sjenica location), respectively. Content of studied trace elements in soils, with the exception of Ni, was within the allowable limits. Tuber peel of all studied varieties grown on both soil types was characterized with the higher content of Cd, Al, Ba and Ni, compared to the relevant core. Consenquently, the higher values of BAF were observed in the peel of tubers. Average values of BAF for the studied elements in the peel for both soil pH values 4.77 and 6.80 (Gu&#269;a and Sjenica, respectively) were in the following order: Cd>Ba>Pb>As>Ni>Al=V. On the other hand, average BAF values for the core of the tuber samples were in a slightly different order, depending on the soil pH; Cd>Pb>As>Ba>Ni>Al=V (pH 4.77) and Cd>Pb>As>Ba=Ni>V (pH 6.80). The highest/lowest BAFs were calculated for Cd (0.339) in the peel and Al (0.0002) in the core, respectively. Content of As and Cd did not exeed the maximum allowed concentrations set by the national and European Union regulations, but it should be pointed out that Cd content was close to the upper limit. Also, it was noticed that the content of Pb exceeded the safe limit set for these elements according to both regulations.Keywords: potato tuber, soil, toxic elements, ICPAcknowledgement: This work was supported by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia (Research grant No. 46009).

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Assessment of Heavy Metal Contamination in Soil in and around Sohar Industrial Port Area, Oman

Sultan Qaboos University Journal for Science [SQUJS] ◽

10.24200/squjs.vol24iss1pp1-10 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 24 (1) ◽

pp. 1 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Maha Al-Jabri ◽

Daniel Moraetis ◽

Reginald Victor

Keyword(s):

Heavy Metals ◽

Heavy Metal ◽

Inductively Coupled Plasma ◽

Heavy Metal Contamination ◽

Anthropogenic Impacts ◽

International Standards ◽

Anthropogenic Sources ◽

Emission Spectrometry ◽

High Background ◽

Port Area

The increase in the number of heavy metal emitting sources in industrial areas is a serious issue in pollution science. Sohar Industrial Port (SIP) area is located in the northern part of Oman where different industrial activities like petrochemical production, metal processing, and waste disposal are prevalent. This study comprehensively identified the presence and quantities of heavy metals in the soils of Sohar Industrial Port area and traced their origin to geogenic or anthropogenic sources. Bulk geochemical and mineralogical analyses were carried out on all samples. Environmentally available and bioavailable heavy metals were extracted by diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) and were finally analyzed using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The environmentally available metals that showed higher concentrations when compared to international standards were Ni and Cd. The geochemical evidence showed a strong geochemical signature of the ophiolite rocks in the soils as indicated by the significant correlation between Cr and Ni (P< 0.05). In addition, the Cd content showed significant correlations with Ni and Cr (P< 0.05). Other metals like Pb and Zn, possibly also were geogenic in origin, but with significantly elevated concentrations in samples close to a national highway (P< 0.05). The present study demonstrated the significance of understanding the geological framework of an industrial area, which is already imposing high background concentrations of Cr, Ni and Cd, and also the possible anthropogenic impacts in the cases of Pb and Cd that exceeded internationally permissible limits.

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Study of the effect of climate on free-living stages of Dictyocaulus filaria in Baghdad area.

The Iraqi Journal of Veterinary Medicine ◽

10.30539/ijvm.v24i2.1168 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 24 (2) ◽

pp. 67-87

Author(s):

S. A.G. AL-Samarrae ◽

A. M. Obaid

Keyword(s):

Adverse Effect ◽

Climatic Condition ◽

Irrigation System ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

The Other ◽

Free Living ◽

Other Hand ◽

Short Time

The survival ability and development of the free living stages of Dictyocaulus. filaria larvae were studied to understand the epidemiology of this parasite in irrigation system . Galvanised iron boxes were planted and containated at subsequent times by faeces containing the larvae. Then faecal , soil and pasture samples were examined weekly, climatic conditions were recorded in Baghdad area. The results showed that the free living larvae survived and migrated from the faeces to the soil and pasture in the squares of the 2 nd group of boxes which has been contaminated in January for a longer period in comparison with other groups. The larvae survived until the 1 st week of April in their faecal , soil and pasture samples. On the other hand , no larvae could be recovered after one week of contamination in the fifth group of boxes which has been contaminated in July. In the other groups of boxes, the larvae survived for (98) days in the 1 st group , (49) days in the 3 rd group and for (21) days in the 4 th group, however, the number of larvae in the soil and pasture in all groups was lower than that in the faeces, and the presence of larvae in the soil was recovered for short time The climatic condition during December , January , Febreuary and March had good influence on the survivability and moulting of the larvae in comparison with the adverse effect of other months . *Part of his M.Sc. Thesis.

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TOXIC METALS CONTENT AND SAFE USE OF Seseli pallasii HERB

10.7562/se2016.6.01.01 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Marija Ilić ◽

Vesna stankov Jovanovic ◽

Violeta Mitić ◽

Marija Dimitrijević ◽

Jelena Cvetković ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Heavy Metals ◽

Traditional Medicine ◽

Toxic Metals ◽

Inductively Coupled Plasma ◽

Animal Health ◽

Optical Emission ◽

Average Concentration ◽

Anthropogenic Sources ◽

Emission Spectrometry ◽

Aboveground Part

Heavy metals, whether from natural or anthropogenic sources have the ability to migrate between differ ent parts of environment and accumulate in flora and fauna, finally reaching humans through food chain. The possibility that plants might be contaminated by heavy metals should be taken into account, when they are intended for use in pharmaceutical and food industry, because increased concentration of some metals may have an adverse effect on human and animal health. Wild medicinal herb Seseli pallasii have been used in traditional medicine as well as a spice in nutrition, hence an assessment of the presence of toxic metals in it is essential in order to ensure its safe application. Vegetative parts of plant S. pallasii (root, leaf, flower and fruit) from Southeast Serbia were analyzed to assess the content of toxic metals (Cd, Cr, Ni and Pb, using inductively coupled plasma with optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The results have shown that the average concentration of Cd in the aboveground part was almost twice as high 0.21 ppm than in the root 0.11 ppm, concentration of Cr in aerial part was of 0.43ppm, in the root 0.29 ppm, concentration of Ni in the aboveground was of 0.98ppm, while in the root it was of 0.68ppm. The average concentration of Pb in the aboveground part and the root was almost the same (2.31 and 2.15 ppm, respectively). These facts evidenced that the contents of toxic elements in the studied medicinal plant species are below the recommended limits, confirming that S. pallasii from the examined area can be safely used in traditional medicine and nutrition. Key words: Seseli pallasii, toxic metals, ICP, safety .

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