Seasonal and spatial variations of arsenic and its species in particulate matter in an urban environment of Brno, Czech Republic.

The present paper deals with an analysis of total arsenic concentration using ICP-MS/MS and an analysis of concentration of several arsenic species, arsenite (As), arsenate (As), monomethylarsonate (MMA), dimethylarsenite (DMA), and trimethylarsine oxide (TMAO), using HPLC-ICP-MS/MS in the PM fraction of airborne urban aerosol. The samples were collected during two campaigns, in the autumn of 2022 and in the winter of 2023, at three locations within the central European city of Brno, with the aim to evaluate the seasonal and spatial variations in the PM composition. The results confirmed only the seasonal variability in the content of the methylated arsenic species in PM influenced by biomethylation processes.

Seasonal variation of arsenic in PM and PM in an urban park: The influence of vegetation-related biomethylation on the distribution of its organic species and air quality.

Arsenic (As) levels in particulate matter (PM) are routinely monitored in cities of developed countries. Despite advances in the knowledge of its inorganic species in PM in urban areas, organic species are often overlooked with no information on their behaviour in urban parks - areas with increased potential for As biomethylation. Therefore, the aim of this study was to characterize As distribution, bioaccessibility, seasonal variation and speciation (As, As, MMA, DMA and TMAO) in PM-PM of an urban park.

In vivo assessment of TiO based wear nanoparticles in periprosthetic tissues.

A multimodal approach combining inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), single-particle ICP-MS (spICP-MS), scanning electron microscopy-energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) and Raman spectroscopy enabled a deeper insight into the balance between total titanium (Ti), the soluble titanium fraction and titanium dioxide based particle fraction levels in periprosthetic tissues collected from patients undergoing revision surgery. Hydrofluoric acid usage in the sample digestion allowed for complete digestion of TiO particles, thus enabling accurate estimation of total Ti levels. The TiO fraction represents 38-94% of the titanium load in the six samples where particles were detected, and the fraction is present mainly in samples from patients with aseptically loosened total hip arthroplasty.

Development of New Health Risk Assessment of Nanoparticles: EPA Health Risk Assessment Revised.

The concentration of nanoparticles in the ambient air can lead to induced toxicities; however, it appears that nanoparticles’ unique properties are completely omitted when assessing health risks. This paper aims to enhance the EPA health risk assessment by incorporating two new variables that consider the size of nanoparticles: the toxicity multiplier and the size multiplier. The former considers the qualitative aspect of the size of particles within a concentration, whilst the latter takes into account the effects associated with the number of particles of the specific i-th size distribution interval.

Assessment of the Hormetic Effect of Arsenic on Growth and Physiology of Two Cultivars of Maize ( L.).

Although growth stimulation at low arsenic doses was observed in several plants, few studies have focused on this phenomenon in more detail. The effects of different concentrations of arsenic (0-50 mg kg of soil: As0-As50) on the growth and selected physiological parameters of two maize cultivars ( L. cvs.

Monitoring of the impact of road salting on spruce forest ecosystem in the vicinity of the highway D1 in the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands, Czech Republic.

Monitoring of pollution in the vicinity of roads connected to winter road maintenance is one of the important tools for optimising winter maintenance technology and reducing its environmental impact. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between winter road maintenance and the increased concentration of sodium ion to characterise the harm caused by the de-icing agents on selected types of individual components grown in the Norway spruce ecosystem. The model area is located in the immediate vicinity of the D1 motorway connecting Prague and Brno (Czech Republic), at 103 km.

Assessment of Soil Contamination with Potentially Toxic Elements and Soil Ecotoxicity of Botanical Garden in Brno, Czech Republic: Are Urban Botanical Gardens More Polluted Than Urban Parks?

Though botanical gardens are an important and widely visited component of urban green spaces (UGS) worldwide, their pollution is rarely studied. The aim of this study was to assess botanical garden soil contamination and ecotoxicity and to evaluate whether urban botanical gardens are more contaminated than urban parks. Soil assessments showed serious contamination with Cd, Pb and Zn, emitted predominantly by traffic, agrochemicals and past construction and demolition waste.

Occurrence, Seasonal Variation, and Size Resolved Distribution of Arsenic Species in Atmospheric Particulate Matter in an Urban Area in Southeastern Austria.

Extensive information is available on total arsenic in particulate matter (PM), but little is known about the relative contribution of each individual species. Recent studies often focus on inorganic arsenic as arsenite and arsenate, neglecting the organoarsenicals, i.e.

Impact of New Year's Eve fireworks on the size resolved element distributions in airborne particles.

New Year's Eve fireworks represent one of the most unusual atmospheric pollution events in the course of a year. A majority of particles aerosolized by burning of fireworks consist of metals and their compounds used in firework displays. In this study, ambient particulate matter was sampled using a 14 stage cascade impactor in two European cities during turn of the years 2016/17 and 2017/18.

Arsenic speciation in aerosols of a respiratory therapeutic cave: A first approach to study arsenicals in ultrafine particles.

Arsenic is ubiquitous in the environment and of special concern due to its varying toxicity depending on the chemical form present. Less is known about arsenic in air, especially about organoarsenicals, their sources and fate. There is also a lack of knowledge regarding arsenic in airborne nanoparticles that are critical for understanding with respect to human health effects due to their size.

Analysis of Means (ANOM) as a Tool for Comparison of Sample Treatment Methods: Testing Various Mineralization Procedures for Selenium Determination in Biological Materials.

Several mineralization methods for the determination of selenium using hydride generation optical emission spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma in biological samples (whole egg powder and pork liver) were compared using the analysis of means (ANOM) method. This statistical tool is suitable for graphical representation of testing on simple comparative experiments. The results yielded by ANOM are identical with those obtained with the commonly used analysis of variance (ANOVA) method; however, the graphical output of ANOM is more illustrative in comparison to ANOVA.

Bioluminescence determination of active caspase-3 in single apoptotic cells.

Caspase-3 is an executive caspase, in the central position within apoptotic machinery. Apoptosis as a way of programmed cell death is a physiological process that plays an essential role in the development and homeostasis maintenance; moreover, its deregulations are linked to tumor progression or various autoimmune disorders. Therefore, an investigation of apoptosis pathways on the level of individual cells is not only of biological but also medical importance.