Hormesis, the Individual and Combined Phytotoxicity of the Components of Glyphosate-Based Formulations on Algal Growth and Photosynthetic Activity.

The occurrence of the market-leading glyphosate active ingredient in surface waters is a globally observed phenomenon. Although co-formulants in pesticide formulations were considered inactive components from the aspects of the required main biological effect of the pesticide, several studies have proven the high individual toxicity of formulating agents, as well as the enhanced combined toxicity of the active ingredients and other components. Since the majority of active ingredients are present in the form of chemical mixtures in our environment, the possible combined toxicity between active ingredients and co-formulants is particularly important.

Ecotoxicological Evaluation of Safener and Antimicrobial Additives in Isoxaflutole-Based Herbicide Formulations.

The environmental load by isoxaflutole and its formulated herbicide products has increasingly become apparent because, after the ban of atrazine, isoxaflutole has become its replacement active ingredient (a.i.).

Development of an Immunofluorescent Capillary Sensor for the Detection of Zearalenone Mycotoxin.

A capillary-based immunofluorescence sensor was developed and incorporated in a flow injection analysis system. The light-guiding capillary was illuminated axially by a 473 nm/5 mW solid state laser through a tailored optofluidic connector. High sensitivity of the system was achieved by efficiently collecting and detecting the non-guided fluorescence signal scattered out along the wall of the capillary.

Laser cleaning and Raman analysis of the contamination on the optical window of a rubidium vapor cell.

In this work, we present the laser cleaning of a Rubidium vapor cell and the Raman analysis of the contaminant material to be removed. The optical window of the vapor cell had gradually lost transparency due to the development of an opaque layer of unknown composition at the inner side during the normal operation of the cell. Laser cleaning was successfully performed by a frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser focusing the beam inside the cell, avoiding any possible damage to the window.

Eliminating the interference pattern in near-infrared spectra used for identification of thin plastic foils.

A Fourier type filtering method is proposed for the pretreatment of near-infrared (NIR) spectra of thin (<100 microm) transparent plastic foils before their identification by means of multivariate calibration methods. The interference of multiply reflected beams from the boundary surfaces of the foil causes a disturbing signal component in the spectrum and the identification becomes impossible. The purpose of the filtering is to eliminate the interference pattern from the spectrum.

Novel, fourier filtering method that reuses interference-patterned spectra to extend the calibration set for thickness determination.

Determining the thickness of plastic sheets on the basis of near-infrared spectra by building a multivariate calibration model requires a relatively large sample set. In the thickness region, where just a few non-interference-patterned samples are available, it is a waste of information if interference-patterned spectra are excluded. After eliminating the interference pattern from the spectra (filtering), the calibration set can be extended with these filtered spectra.

Optimizing phytoremediation of heavy metal-contaminated soil by exploiting plants' stress adaptation.

Soil phytoextraction is based on the ability of plants to extract contaminants from the soil. For less bioavailable metals, such as Pb, a chelator is added to the soil to mobilize the metal. The effect can be significant and in certain species, heavy metal accumulation can rapidly increase 10-fold.