Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts blog

These HOT articles were recommended by our referees and are free to access for 4 weeks*

Contaminated land: can acute exposure be a significant health risk? Two case studies and associated risk assessment methods George Kowalczyk, Mark Brown, Rebecca Twigg, William Welfare and Yolande Macklin  
DOI: 10.1039/C3EM00278K

The influence of glacial meltwater on alpine aquatic ecosystems: a review
Krista E. H. Slemmons, Jasmine E. Sarosa and Kevin Simon  
DOI: 10.1039/C3EM00243H

Use of semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) to characterize dissolved hydrocarbon fractions of both dispersed and undispersed oil
April R. Van Scoy, Jennifer Voorhees, Brian S. Anderson, Bryn M. Philips and Ronald S. Tjeerdema  
DOI: 10.1039/C3EM00275F

Release of TiO₂ from paints containing pigment-TiO₂ or nano-TiO₂ by weathering
Ahmed Al-Kattan, Adrian Wichser, Roger Vonbank, Samuel Brunner, Andrea Ulrich, Stefano Zuin and Bernd Nowack  
DOI: 10.1039/C3EM00331K

Pilot-scale in situ bioremediation of HMX and RDX in soil pore water in Hawaii
Zachary M. Payne, Krishna M. Lamichhane, Roger W. Babcock and Stephen J. Turnbull  
DOI: 10.1039/C3EM00320E

The impact of an anti-idling campaign on outdoor air quality at four urban schools
Patrick H. Ryan, Tiina Reponen, Mark Simmons, Michael Yermakov, Ken Sharkey, Denisha Garland-Porter, Cynthia Eghbalniad and Sergey A. Grinshpun  
DOI: 10.1039/C3EM00377A

Influence of organic surface coatings on the sorption of anticonvulsants on mineral surfaces
Shen Qua and David M. Cwiertny  
DOI: 10.1039/C3EM00288H

Detection of multiple stresses in Scots pine growing at post-mining sites using visible to near-infrared spectroscopy Lhotáková Zuzana,  Brodský Lukáš, Kupková Lucie, Kopačková Veronika, Potůčková Markéta, Mišurec Jan, Klement Aleš,   Kovářová Monika and Albrechtová Jana  
DOI: 10.1039/C3EM00388D

 
Human exposure to aluminium
Christopher Exleya  
DOI: 10.1039/C3EM00374D

 
Lability, solubility and speciation of Cd, Pb and Zn in alluvial soils of the River Trent catchment UK
Maria Izquierdo, Andrew M. Tye and Simon R. Chenery  
DOI: 10.1039/C3EM00370A

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Nanomaterials have become a ‘hot topic’ within many spheres of science, from their manufacture and use through to their toxicity.  However a critical review by Holder et al, has shed light on their disposal by incineration, an often overlooked area.

Incineration is a key route of disposal of many solid wastes, including from wastewater, which could be a significant source of silver nanoparticles.  Incineration is a complex process which could see nanomaterials released into the environment through several different pathways.

This very comprehensive article reviews social aspects of this topic, such as legislation from across the globe, as well physical scientific data on how nanomaterials behave under combustion conditions and their fate.

This article would be of interest to anyone keen to learn more about modern waste disposal, the manufacture of nanoparticles or the release and behaviour of antiparticles in the environment.

The review is free to access for the next 4 weeks, so pick it up while it’s hot!*

 *Free access to individuals is provided through an RSC Publishing personal account. It’s quick, easy and more importantly – free – to register!

Nanomaterial disposal by Incineration by Amara L. Holder, Eric P. Vejerano, Xinzhe Zhou and Linsey C. Marr. DOI: 10.1039/C3EM00224A

Algae are identified in variety of research fields and used as indicators of water quality.  Quantifying and identifying algae is often a laborious task and requires a high level of skill.  Although there are several automated techniques now available, commercial developments have been limited.  Several software techniques based on imaging have been previously presented, however they’re often limited to only a few algal types, so not applicable to field samples. 

This paper presents an innovative method which provides real time recognition of multiple algaes.  The software uses image segmentation, shape features i.e. contours, centroid spectrum calculations and pigmentation.  The set up uses relatively simple hardware and no sample processing or fixation.  Coltelli et al tested the method on both cultured strains and field samples with the method correctly identifing 96.6% of 24 different algal phyla from 3423 images.

This article would be of interest to anyone involved in algal identification, whether from lab based cultures or water samples from the field. 

Automatic and real time recognition of microalgae by means of pigment and shape
Primo Coltelli, Laura Barsanti, Evangelista, Anna Maria Frassanito, Vincenzo Passarelli and Paolo Gualtieri
DOI: 10.1039/C3EM00160A

Biovolatilisation: a poorly studied pathway of the arsenic biogeochemical cycle
Adrien Mestrot, Britta Planer-Friedrich and Jörg Feldmann
DOI: 10.1039/C3EM00105A

Is meconium useful to predict fetal exposure to organochlorines and hydroxylated PCBs?
Anna Sofía Veyhe, Therese Haugdahl Nøst, Torkjel M. Sandanger, Solrunn Hansen, Jon Øyvind Odland and Evert Nieboer
DOI: 10.1039/C3EM00132F

Using quantitative structural property relationships, chemical fate models, and the chemical partitioning space to investigate the potential for long range transport and bioaccumulation of complex halogenated chemical mixtures
Anya Gawor and Frank Wania
DOI: 10.1039/C3EM00098B

Continuous, short-interval redox data loggers: verification and setup considerations
C. Shoemaker, R. Kröger, B. Reese and S. C. Pierce
DOI: 10.1039/C3EM00036B

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Fungal antigens, e.g. from damp homes, have been linked to a variety of illnesses and allergies.  Traditional techniques of identifying them, such as culture based-methods or microscopy, have several drawbacks including not being able to identify fungal fragments and limitations in species classification.  Currently available commercial monoclonal antibody-based ELISAs are avilable, however they have not been as successful in fungal identification as they have been in other common indoor allergens.   

This paper describes the development and validation of an enzyme sandwich ELISA designed to quantify A. versicolor antigens using polyclonal antibodies.  Samples from infected homes were collected and tested using the newly developed assay and the results were compared to the commercially available ELISA, colony forming units and fungi cultivations.

Proteins from A. versicolor spores and myecelia were extracted and subcutaneously injected into a rabbit.  The antibodies produced were then isolated and coated on to the plates to produce the immunoassays.   Positive and negative controls were run as well as the environmental samples. 

In brief the assay proved to be very sensitive (range = 0.12–4.5 ng mL^-1) and precise with intra-assay coefficient of variation (CV) = 4% and inter-assay CV = 11%.  Cross reactivity with other moulds was observed, although at intensities significantly lower than A. versicolor.  The assay also appeared to be more successful in environmental analysis than the commercial assay, showing a positive result for 88% of dust and 89% of bulk samples, with the commercial AveX ELISA only indicating positive results for 27% and 24% respectively.  This may be partly attributed to all the A. versicolor samples cultured showing A. versicolor antigens, whereas only 12 contained identifiable AveX antigens.  A wide range of proteins were shown to be identifiable by the polycolonal A. versicolor antibodies, although not smaller proteins (20–6 KDa) from the myecelia.

This immunoassay has been demonstrated to be effective in environmental studies and could prove to be a significant technique for those identifying and quantifying fungal infestations.  

This HOT article would be of interest to anyone involved in fungal identification or the development of immunoassays.  You can access it from the website for free for the next couple of weeks*!