Occurrence of contaminants of emerging concern in different water samples from the lower part of the Danube River Middle Basin - A review.

This study intends to assess the extent of the occurrence of CECs in different water types based on the literature data reported for the countries from a lower part of the Middle Danube Basin, including those belonging to the Western Balkan (WB) region and two upstream neighboring EU Member States, Croatia and Slovenia. These countries share main freshwater courses important for drinking water supply, agriculture, industry, navigation, tourism, etc, but in some of them there are low rate of wastewater treatment, impacting the chemical status of water resources in the region and probably beyond, if downstream countries are considered. The literature survey revealed 38 investigative studies reporting data on CECs in water matrices sampled in the region in the period 2008-2022.

Beekeeping breakthrough: unveiling hive health with a portable membrane inlet mass spectrometry detection method.

Supporting bee populations is essential considering threats posed by human activities like pesticide usage and habitat destruction. However, the current methods for monitoring and analyzing beehives and their surrounding environments are invasive, complex, and time-consuming. These methods often rely heavily on laboratory analyses, making them difficult to implement independently in the field.

Contamination levels, influencing factors, and risk assessment of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in house dust of northern Serbia.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are a group of compounds that, due to their applications, are considered mainly indoor contaminants. To obtain the first information about the presence of PBDEs in Serbia, dust samples (n = 50) were collected in settlements in the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina. The selected/target congeners (BDE-28, 47, 99, 100, 153, 154, and 183) were extracted from house dust by microwave-assisted extraction technique, and purified extracts were analyzed on a dual-column gas chromatograph with micro-electron capture detectors.

The impact of fullerenol nanoparticles on the growth of toxigenic Aspergillus flavus and aflatoxins production in vitro and in corn flour.

Antifungal and antimycotoxigenic activity of fullerenol nanoparticles (FNPs) were investigated on Aspergillus flavus growth isolated from a real food sample and aflatoxins (AFs) (AFB and AFB ) production. The final FNPs concentrations in in vitro and in commercial corn flour after the stationary incubation period of 7 and 14 days were in the range 0.16-80 µg/mL and 0.

Heavy elements in indoor dust from Serbian households: pollution status, sources, and potential health risks.

Occurrence of five heavy elements (HEs) was analyzed in indoor dust (n = 45) in households from four settlements in Vojvodina Province, Serbia. Overall medians (mg/kg) of Pb (5.6), Ni (5.

A case study on the occurrence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in indoor dust of Serbian households: Distribution, source apportionment and health risk assessment.

This study was conducted in order to obtain the first insight into the occurrence, potential sources, and health risks of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in indoor dust. Samples (n = 47) were collected from households in four settlements in the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina. Total concentrations of 16 EPA priority PAHs in the dust samples varied from 140 to 8265 μg kg.

Comprehensive characterization of PAHs profile in Serbian soils for conventional and organic production: potential sources and risk assessment.

This study presents a comprehensive characterization of occurrence and levels of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in arable soils used for conventional and organic production in northern and central part of Serbia as well as cross-border region with Hungary. Furthermore, this study includes a characterization of PAH sources and carcinogenic/non-carcinogenic human health risk for PAHs accumulated in analysed arable soils. The total concentration of 16 PAHs varied between 55 and 4584 µg kg in agricultural soil used for conventional production and between 90 and 523 µg kg in agricultural soil used for organic production.

Pollution status and health risk caused by heavy elements in the flooded soil and vegetables from typical agricultural region in Vojvodina Province, Serbia.

The investigation conducted in the Vojvodina Province, as a typical European and one of the biggest agricultural regions in the Balkans, offers the research methodology that could be used for any non/flooded agricultural region. The flood impact on heavy elements (HE) content in the flooded arable soil (n = 16) in relation to the control soil (n = 16) was examined, as well as their accumulation in the most often cultivated vegetables (n = 96) in the studied area. Results revealed that the flood did not significantly change the pseudo total HEs concentration in the soil as well as their amounts accumulated in different soil fractions.

Occurrence and assessment of environmental risks of endocrine disrupting compounds in drinking, surface and wastewaters in Serbia.

The present study is the first comprehensive monitoring of 13 selected endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) in untreated urban and industrial wastewater in Serbia to assess their impact on the Danube River basin and associated freshwaters used as sources for drinking water production in the area. Results showed that natural and synthetic estrogens were present in surface and wastewater at concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 64.

Occurrence of heavy elements in street dust from sub/urban zone of Tianjin: pollution characteristics and health risk assessment.

Main purpose of this study was to determine the concentrations of selected heavy elements (As, Cd, Pb, Cu, Co, Cr and Ni) in the street dust samples (n = 49) collected from seven districts located in suburban/urban zone of Tianjin in order to estimate their possible sources and degree of environmental pollution as well as human health risk. Mean concentrations (mg kg) of As (19.3), Cd (0.

Seasonal occurrence and cancer risk assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in street dust from the Novi Sad city, Serbia.

This is the first investigation that identified seasonal occurrence, distribution and sources of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in 60 street dust samples collected within urban zone of Novi Sad, the second largest city in Serbia. The obtained results were further used for comprehensive assessment of carcinogenic risk of Serbian inhabitants exposed to PAHs present in street dust by the incremental lifetime cancer risk method. The total level of 16 PAHs ranged between 35 μg kg and 2422 μg kg in samples taken in summer and between 35 μg kg and 587 μg kg in samples taken in winter.

Mycotoxins, trace elements, and phthalates in marketed rice of different origin and exposure assessment.

The aim of this study was to determine levels of 11 mycotoxins, 10 trace elements, and 6 phthalates in rice samples from Serbian and Chinese market. Mycotoxins were not detected in any of the analysed rice samples. Results revealed similar median levels for following elements: Mn, 17.

Essential and toxic elements in commercial baby food on the Spanish and Serbian market.

About 10 heavy elements were determined in 90 samples of baby food collected from Spanish and Serbian market. The results indicated that iron, manganese and copper were most frequently detected. Tin was the predominant toxic element in both Spanish and Serbian samples, with occurrence frequencies of 12.

The level of elements and antioxidant activity of commercial dietary supplement formulations based on edible mushrooms.

Commercial preparations of Cordyceps sinensis, Ganoderma lucidum and Coprinus comatus mushroom marketed as healthy food supplements in Serbia were analyzed by atomic absorption spectrometry with a graphite furnace (GFAAS) for their element content. Antioxidant activity potential and total phenolics of the same mushrooms were determined. The element content of mushroom samples was in the range of 0.

Characterization of an extracellular laccase of Leptosphaerulina chartarum.

Laccase-producing fungi were isolated from air, using selective media with a chromogenic substrate to indicate enzyme activity. The best laccase producer strain proved to be a Leptosphaerulina chartarum isolate. Laccase production was investigated in the presence of various inducers in different cultivation conditions.

Determination of 81 pharmaceutical drugs by high performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry with hybrid triple quadrupole-linear ion trap in different types of water in Serbia.

The aim of the work was to study the occurrence of pharmaceuticals in waste, surface, underground, and drinking water samples collected in Serbia. A multi-residue method for the analysis of 81 pharmaceutical drugs from different therapeutic classes in the various types of water was applied. Twenty-five composite water samples were prepared using solid-phase extraction and the presence of 81 pharmaceutical compounds in the extracts was analyzed by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry with hybrid triple quadrupole-linear ion trap (UPLC-QqLIT-MS/MS).

Concentrations of arsenic, cadmium and lead in selected foodstuffs from Serbian market basket: estimated intake by the population from the Serbia.

In this study arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) were determined in 114 samples of various food items collected at supermarkets located in Novi Sad, the capitol of the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina in January 2012 and March 2013. The considered items represented the most consumed foodstuffs according to the "national market basket". The highest concentrations were obtained for Pb in candy (0.