Amitraz marker residues in honey from honeybee colonies treated with Apiwarol

AbstractIntroductionAmitraz is a formamide exhibiting both acaricidal and insecticidal activity and is frequently used by beekeepers to protect honeybee colonies against Varroa destructor mites. The aim of this apiary trial was to evaluate the impact of honeybee colony fumigation with amitraz on the level of contamination of honey stored in combs.Material and MethodsExperimental colonies were fumigated four times every four days with one tablet of Apiwarol per treatment. Honey was sampled from combs of brood chambers and combs of supers one day after each amitraz application and from harvested honey. Amitraz marker residues (as a total of amitraz and metabolites containing parts of molecules with properties specific to the 2,4-DMA group, expressed as amitraz) were evaluated in honey.ResultsAll analysed samples were contaminated with amitraz metabolites. 2,4-DMA and DMPF were the most frequently determined compounds. The average concentration of amitraz marker residue in honey from groups where a smouldering tablet was located directly in beehives was significantly higher than that of residue in honey from groups with indirect smoke generation. No significant effect on the honey contamination deriving from the place where it was exposed to smoke (combs of brood chambers and supers) was noted. Amitraz marker residues exceeded the MRL in 10% of honey samples from combs.ConclusionFumigation of beehives with amitraz results in contamination of honey stored in combs.

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Impact of long-term supplementation of zinc and selenium on their content in blood and hair in goats

Veterinární Medicína ◽

10.17221/1581-vetmed ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 56 (No. 2) ◽

pp. 63-74 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

L. Pavlata ◽

M. Chomat ◽

A. Pechova ◽

L. Misurova ◽

R. Dvorak

Keyword(s):

Blood Plasma ◽

Whole Blood ◽

Average Concentration ◽

The Other ◽

Control Group ◽

Selenium Yeast ◽

Hair Samples ◽

The Impact ◽

Se Status

This paper evaluates the impact of long-term supplementation of different forms of zinc (Zn) and selenium (Se) on the content of these substances in the blood and hair of goats. Two analogous supplementation experiments were performed. 37 goats divided into four groups were used in the first trial with the Zn supplementation. Group A (n = 10) was a control group (with no Zn administered). A further three groups (B, C, D) were supplemented with Zn in various forms. Group B (n = 9) with zinc oxide, Group C (n = 9) with zinc lactate and Group D (n = 9) with zinc chelate. The second trial with Se supplementation was carried out on 20 goats divided into four groups. Group E (n = 5) was a control group. The other three groups were administered Se. Group F (n = 5) was supplied with a selenium lactate-protein complex, Group G (n = 5) with sodium selenite and Group H (n = 5) with selenium yeast. Three months later blood and hair samples were taken from all animals and Zn and Se concentrations were determined in whole blood, plasma, and hair. Glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity was determined in the Se supplementation trial group. At the end of the trial the Zn concentrations in plasma and whole blood were without major differences between the groups. The plasma concentration of Zn did not increase from the initial value at the start of the trial. In hair the average concentration of Zn was 95.2–100.0 mg/kg<br />in all groups. No conclusive relation was confirmed between the values of Zn in hair and its concentration in blood. The Se concentration in whole blood (µg/l) at the end of trial in supplemented groups (F – 188.8 ± 24.6; G – 197.2 ± 10.9; H – 190.1 ± 26.3) was significantly higher (P < 0.01) than in the control group (E – 103.1 ± 23.5). Similarly, the activity of GSH-Px (µkat/l) was significantly higher in all supplemented groups (F – 872.3 ± 94.8; G – 659.5 ± 176.4; H – 839.8 ± 150.8) than in the control group (E – 379.1 ± 63.5). Se content in hair (µg/kg) was higher also in all trial groups (F – 242.3 ± 41.5; G – 200.5 ± 46.9; H – 270.0 ± 106.8) than in the control group (E – 174.7 ± 38.0). However, it was significantly (P < 0.05) higher only in Group F. A conclusive correlation was identified between the Se concentration in whole blood and its content in hair (r = 0.54; P < 0.05; n = 20). Based on the results it can be concluded that none of the supplemented forms of Zn increased its concentration in blood, plasma and hair. On the other hand, the administration of Se led to an increase in the Se concentration in blood, increased the activity of GSH-Px in whole blood and the Se content in hair. Based on the proven correlation and regression relation between the Se concentration in blood and its content in hair, hair can be considered as a suitable material for the diagnosis of long-term Se status in goats. Goats with sufficient Se status are those that have more than 160 µg/kg of Se in hair dry weight.

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Efficiency and Eco-Costs of Air Purifiers in Terms of Improving Microbiological Indoor Air Quality in Dwellings—A Case Study

Atmosphere ◽

10.3390/atmos10120742 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (12) ◽

pp. 742 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Ewa Brągoszewska ◽

Magdalena Bogacka ◽

Krzysztof Pikoń

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Air Quality ◽

Indoor Air Quality ◽

Indoor Air ◽

Pollution Prevention ◽

Average Concentration ◽

Environmental Cost ◽

Bacterial Aerosol ◽

The Impact ◽

Ecological Cost

Air pollution, a by-product of economic growth, generates an enormous environmental cost in Poland. The issue of healthy living spaces and indoor air quality (IAQ) is a global concern because people spend approximately 90% of their time indoors. An increasingly popular method to improve IAQ is to use air purifiers (APs). Indoor air is often polluted by bioaerosols (e.g., viruses, bacteria, fungi), which are a major concern for public health. This work presents research on culturable bacterial aerosol (CBA) samples collected from dwellings with or without active APs during the 2019 summer season. The CBA samples were collected using a six-stage Andersen cascade impactor (ACI). The CBA concentrations were expressed as Colony Forming Units (CFU) per cubic metre of air. The average concentration of CBA in dwellings when the AP was active was 450–570 CFU/m3, whereas the average concentration when the AP was not active was 920–1000 CFU/m3. IAQ, when the APs were active, was on average almost 50% better than in cases where there were no procedures to decrease the concentration of air pollutants. Moreover, the obtained results of the particle size distribution (PSD) of CBA indicate that the use of APs reduced the proportion of the respirable fraction (the particles < 3.3 µm) by about 16%. Life cycle assessment (LCA) was used to assess the ecological cost of air purification. Our conceptual approach addresses the impact of indoor air pollution on human health and estimates the ecological cost of APs and air pollution prevention policies.

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The impact of channel effect on Asian dust transport dynamics: a case in southeastern Asia

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-12-271-2012 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 271-285 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

C.-Y. Lin ◽

Y.-F. Sheng ◽

W.-N. Chen ◽

Z. Wang ◽

C.-H. Kuo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Spatial Distribution ◽

High Resolution ◽

Coupling Effect ◽

Numerical Study ◽

Average Concentration ◽

Asian Dust ◽

Dust Transport ◽

Transport Dynamics ◽

Channel Effect ◽

The Impact

Abstract. A super heavy dust event was identified with unprecedented PM10 in terms of speed and concentration in the southeastern Asia. The average concentration was observed exceeding the value of 1000 μg m−3 for the duration lasting more than 10 h, with the highest value reached 1724 μg m−3 in northern Taiwan on 21 March 2010. We found that this case exhibited an uneven and intriguing spatial distribution of PM10 concentration and transport speed between eastern and western Taiwan. Higher values were observed in the western and northern areas. The peak concentrations can vary up to 5-fold between western and eastern Taiwan, and ten-fold between the northern tip and southern tip of Taiwan, only about 400 km apart. A high resolution, 10 km, numerical study by Weather Research Forecast (WRF) and WRF-chem models revealed that this intriguing spatial distribution of the Asian dust transport was resulting from a strong coupling effect of the geographic channel effect and blocking of the easterly from the Pacific Ocean. We are confident that this coupling effect can be revealed only by applying a high resolution numerical study in other similar regions.

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Changing climate patterns risk the spread of Varroa destructor infestation of African honey bees in Tanzania

Ecological Processes ◽

10.1186/s13717-020-00247-4 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Richard A. Giliba ◽

Issa H. Mpinga ◽

Sood A. Ndimuligo ◽

Mathew M. Mpanda

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Potential Risk ◽

Honey Bees ◽

Varroa Destructor ◽

Annual Rainfall ◽

Climate Change Scenarios ◽

Economic Implications ◽

Pests And Diseases ◽

Future Risk ◽

The Impact

Abstract Background Climate change creates opportune conditions that favour the spread of pests and diseases outside their known active range. Modelling climate change scenarios is oftentimes useful tool to assess the climate analogues to unveil the potential risk of spreading suitability conditions for pests and diseases and hence allows development of appropriate responses to address the impending challenge. In the current study, we modelled the impact of climate change on the distribution of Varroa destructor, a parasitic mite that attacks all life forms of honey bees and remains a significant threat to their survival and productivity of bee products in Tanzania and elsewhere. Methods The data about the presence of V. destructor were collected in eight regions of Tanzania selected in consideration of several factors including potentials for beekeeping activities, elevation (highlands vs. lowlands) and differences in climatic conditions. A total of 19 bioclimatic datasets covering the entire country were used for developing climate scenarios of mid-century 2055 and late-century 2085 for both rcp4.5 and rcp8.5. We thereafter modelled the current and future risk distribution of V. destructor using MaxEnt. Results The results indicated a model performance of AUC = 0.85, with mean diurnal range in temperature (Bio2, 43.9%), mean temperature (Bio1, 20.6%) and mean annual rainfall (Bio12, 11.7%) as the important variables. Future risk projections indicated mixed responses of the potential risk of spreads of V. destructor, exhibiting both decrease and increases in the mid-century 2055 and late-century 2085 on different sites. Overall, there is a general decline of highly suitable areas of V. destructor in mid- and late-century across all scenarios (rcp4.5 and rcp8.5). The moderately suitable areas indicated a mixed response in mid-century with decline (under rcp4.5) and increase (under rcp8.5) and consistent increase in late century. The marginally suitable areas show a decline in mid-century and increase in late-century. Our results suggest that the climate change will continue to significantly affect the distribution and risks spread of V. destructor in Tanzania. The suitability range of V. destructor will shift where highly suitable areas will be diminishing to the advantage of the honey bees’ populations, but increase of moderately suitable sites indicates an expansion to new areas. The late century projections show the increased risks due to surge in the moderate and marginal suitability which means expansion in the areas where V. destructor will operate. Conclusion The current and predicted areas of habitat suitability for V. destructor’s host provides information useful for beekeeping stakeholders in Tanzania to consider the impending risks and allow adequate interventions to address challenges facing honey bees and the beekeeping industry. We recommend further studies on understanding the severity of V. destructor in health and stability of the honey bees in Tanzania. This will provide a better picture on how the country will need to monitor and reduce the risks associated with the increase of V. destructor activities as triggered by climate change. The loss of honey bees’ colonies and its subsequent impact in bees’ products production and pollination effect have both ecological and economic implications that need to have prioritization by the stakeholders in the country to address the challenge of spreading V. destructor.

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A Foilized Polyethylene Pouch for the Prevention of Transmission of HIV from Mother to Child

The Open Biomedical Engineering Journal ◽

10.2174/1874120701206010092 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 92-97 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Robert Malkin ◽

Caroline Howard

Keyword(s):

Storage Conditions ◽

Average Concentration ◽

Moisture Loss ◽

Initial Time ◽

Antenatal Visit ◽

One Year ◽

The Impact ◽

Mother To Child ◽

Time Point ◽

At Home

Many children become HIV+ due to mother-to-child transmission, a risk that can be largely eliminated if infants ingest antiretroviral (ARV) medications immediately after birth. As most mothers in Africa deliver at home, the ARV must be provided at their last antenatal visit, sometimes months before birth. No current drug delivery system allows the mother to store the medication at home long enough to be effective. We propose a preserving, foilized, polyethylene pouch to be pre-dosed and sealed by a pharmacist for later delivery to the newborn. Pouches were filled with 0.6 ml of Nevirapine (NVP). Thirty-three pouches were immediately studied to measure the impact of medication handling (oxygen, light, filling and sealing the pouches). The remaining samples were stored for up to one year at three storage conditions (25°C/60%RH, 30°C/65%RH, and 40°C/75%RH). Every two months, moisture loss, preservative concentration, impurity concentrations and NVP concentration were measured. Flora and fauna challenges were conducted. The pouch nearly eliminated moisture loss: pouches lost less than 0.7% of their weight over twelve months. As expected, exposing the medication to light, oxygen, and handling significantly affected the sacrificial preservative concentrations (Propyl paraben dropped 38%, Methyl paraben dropped 12% at time point zero). However, after the initial time point, preservative levels were stable in the package over twelve months under all storage conditions (4.1% average concentration drop), leaving sufficient preservatives to protect the medication. The concentration of NVP changed an average of only 1.3% over all storage conditions and times points (maximum 1.4%). We conclude that the foilized polyethylene pouch can preserve NVP, and perhaps other ARV’s, for up to one year.

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Measured and modelled air quality trends in Italy over the period 2003–2010

10.5194/acp-2020-1058 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ilaria D'Elia ◽

Gino Briganti ◽

Lina Vitali ◽

Antonio Piersanti ◽

Gaia Righini ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Air Quality ◽

Air Pollutants ◽

Transport Model ◽

Statistical Significance ◽

Average Concentration ◽

Chemical Transport Model ◽

Spatial Coverage ◽

Significant Downward Trend ◽

The Impact

Abstract. Air pollution harms human health and the environment. Several regulatory efforts and different actions have been taken in the last decades by authorities. Air quality trend analysis represents a valid tool in assessing the impact of these actions taken both at national and local levels. This paper presents for the first time the capability of the Italian national chemical transport model, AMS-MINNI, in capturing the observed concentration trends of three air pollutants, NO2, inhalable particles having diameter less than 10 micrometres (PM10) and O3, in Italy over the period 2003–2010. We firstly analyse the model performance finding it in line with the state of the art of regional models applications. The modelled trends result in a general significant downward trend for the three pollutants and, in comparison with observations, the values of the simulated slopes show the same magnitude for NO2 (in the range −3.0 ÷ −0.5 ug m−3 yr−1), while a smaller variability is detected for PM10 (−1.5 ÷ −0.5 ug m−3 yr−1) and O3-maximum daily 8-hour average concentration (−2.0 ÷ −0.5 ug m−3 yr−1). As a general result, we find a good agreement between modelled and observed trends; moreover, the model allowed to extend both the spatial coverage and the statistical significance of pollutants' concentrations trends with respect to observations, in particular for NO2. We also conduct a qualitative attempt to correlate the temporal concentration trends to meteorological and emission variability. Since no clear tendency in yearly meteorological anomalies (temperature, precipitation, geopotential height) was observed for the period investigated, we focus the discussion of concentrations trends on emissions variations. We point out that, due to the complex links between precursors emissions and air pollutants concentrations, emission reductions do not always result in a corresponding decrease in atmospheric concentrations, especially for those pollutants that are formed in the atmosphere such as O3 and the major fraction of PM10. These complex phenomena are still uncertain and their understanding is of the utmost importance in planning future policies for reducing air pollution and its impacts on health and ecosystems.

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Mapping Modeled Exposure of Wildland Fire Smoke for Human Health Studies in California

Atmosphere ◽

10.3390/atmos10060308 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (6) ◽

pp. 308 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Patricia D. Koman ◽

Michael Billmire ◽

Kirk R. Baker ◽

Ricardo de Majo ◽

Frank J. Anderson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Quality ◽

Wildland Fire ◽

Average Concentration ◽

Atmospheric Modeling ◽

Smoke Exposure ◽

Geographic Scale ◽

Fire Smoke ◽

Model Predictions ◽

Health Studies ◽

The Impact

Wildland fire smoke exposure affects a broad proportion of the U.S. population and is increasing due to climate change, settlement patterns and fire seclusion. Significant public health questions surrounding its effects remain, including the impact on cardiovascular disease and maternal health. Using atmospheric chemical transport modeling, we examined general air quality with and without wildland fire smoke PM2.5. The 24-h average concentration of PM2.5 from all sources in 12-km gridded output from all sources in California (2007–2013) was 4.91 μg/m3. The average concentration of fire-PM2.5 in California by year was 1.22 μg/m3 (~25% of total PM2.5). The fire-PM2.5 daily mean was estimated at 4.40 μg/m3 in a high fire year (2008). Based on the model-derived fire-PM2.5 data, 97.4% of California’s population lived in a county that experienced at least one episode of high smoke exposure (“smokewave”) from 2007–2013. Photochemical model predictions of wildfire impacts on daily average PM2.5 carbon (organic and elemental) compared to rural monitors in California compared well for most years but tended to over-estimate wildfire impacts for 2008 (2.0 µg/m3 bias) and 2013 (1.6 µg/m3 bias) while underestimating for 2009 (−2.1 µg/m3 bias). The modeling system isolated wildfire and PM2.5 from other sources at monitored and unmonitored locations, which is important for understanding population exposure in health studies. Further work is needed to refine model predictions of wildland fire impacts on air quality in order to increase confidence in the model for future assessments. Atmospheric modeling can be a useful tool to assess broad geographic scale exposure for epidemiologic studies and to examine scenario-based health impacts.

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On the Impact of Trees on Ventilation in a Real Street in Pamplona, Spain

Atmosphere ◽

10.3390/atmos10110697 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (11) ◽

pp. 697 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Jose-Luis Santiago ◽

Riccardo Buccolieri ◽

Esther Rivas ◽

Beatriz Sanchez ◽

Alberto Martilli ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Wind Speed ◽

Kinetic Energy ◽

Turbulent Kinetic Energy ◽

Wind Velocity ◽

Flow Direction ◽

Pollutant Dispersion ◽

Average Concentration ◽

Pollutant Concentration ◽

Prevailing Wind Direction ◽

The Impact

This paper is devoted to the quantification of changes in ventilation of a real neighborhood located in Pamplona, Spain, due to the presence of street trees Pollutant dispersion in this urban zone was previously studied by means of computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations. In the present work, that research is extended to analyze the ventilation in the whole neighborhood and in a tree-free street. Several scenarios are investigated including new trees in the tree-free street, and different leaf area density (LAD) in the whole neighborhood. Changes between the scenarios are evaluated through changes in average concentration, wind speed, flow rates and total pollutant fluxes. Additionally, wind flow patterns and the vertical profiles of flow properties (e.g., wind velocity, turbulent kinetic energy) and concentration, horizontally-averaged over one particular street, are analyzed. The approach-flow direction is almost perpendicular to the street under study (prevailing wind direction is only deviated 4º from the perpendicular direction). For these conditions, as LAD increases, average concentration in the whole neighborhood increases due to the decrease of wind speed. On the other hand, the inclusion of trees in the street produces an increase of averaged pollutant concentration only within this street, in particular for the scenario with the highest LAD value. In fact, the new trees in the street analyzed with the highest LAD value notably change the ventilation producing an increase of total pollutant fluxes inward the street. Additionally, pollutant dispersion within the street is also influenced by the reduction of the wind velocity along the street axis and the decrease of turbulent kinetic energy within the vegetation canopy caused by the new trees. Therefore, the inclusion of new trees in a tree-free street should be done by considering ventilation changes and traffic emissions should be consequently controlled in order to keep pollutant concentration within healthy levels.

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Concentration of Lead, Cadmium, and Iron in Sediment Dust and Total Suspended Particles Before and After Initialisation of Integral Production in Iron and Steel Work Plant Zenica

Archives of Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology ◽

10.2478/10004-1254-63-2012-2191 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 63 (2) ◽

pp. 181-188 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Halim Prcanović ◽

Mirnes Duraković ◽

Sanela Beganović

Keyword(s):

Suspended Particles ◽

Average Concentration ◽

Limit Values ◽

Iron And Steel ◽

Steel Work ◽

Lead And Cadmium ◽

Total Suspended Particles ◽

Before And After ◽

The Impact ◽

Steel Works

Concentration of Lead, Cadmium, and Iron in Sediment Dust and Total Suspended Particles Before and After Initialisation of Integral Production in Iron and Steel Work Plant ZenicaPoor air quality is a common fact for all areas with base industry. The city of Zenica was once the metallurgical centre of Ex-Yugoslavia and is therefore highly polluted at present. Air pollution peaked in 1987 when average concentration of pollutants was extremely high (daily average concentration of SO2 was 1800 μg m-3). With the beginning of the war in 1992, integral production in the steel work plant was shut down, to be re-launched in 2008. Limit values for iron do not exist, but iron has been monitored in Zenica for the past 28 years because of the presence of steel works. Concentrations of cadmium and lead have also been measured because they are very much present in polluted areas with steel works. The concentration of mentioned elements in air deposit and total suspended particles before and after integral production in the steel work plant was re-launched is the subject of this paper. Total suspended particles were measured in two locations using German standard VDI 2463 Blatt 4. Sediment dust was measured in nine locations using Bergerhoff method. The concentration of iron, lead, and cadmium was performed in the chemical laboratory of the Metallurgical Institute "Kemal Kapetanović" Zenica using standard methods. Higher concentrations of these parameters during the period of integral production clearly point to the impact of steel works on Zenica valley.

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