Salivary cortisone as potential predictor of occupational exposure to noise and related stress.

Salivary cortisone strongly correlates with serum cortisol, and since it is less invasive to measure salivary cortisone than serum cortisol and easier than to measure cortisol in saliva, as its concentrations are much lower, we wanted to compare salivary cortisone and cortisol levels as markers of noise-induced stress reaction. The study included 104 participants aged 19-30 years, 50 of whom were exposed to occupational noise ≥85 dB(A) and 54 non-exposed, control students. All participants took samples of their saliva with Salivette Cortisol synthetic swabs on three consecutive working days first thing in the morning.

Bedload sediment transport model for revealing the multi-year trend of polychlorinated biphenyl contamination in the river sediment (Kupa, Croatia).

This article investigated the multi-year polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) burden of the sediment collected along the Kupa River flow in Croatia using the bedload sediment transport model. Kupa, as the natural border between Croatia and Slovenia, belongs to the water system Krupa (Slovenia) → Lahinja (Slovenia) → Kupa (Croatia) → Sava → Danube → Black Sea. From 1962 to 1985, the total quantity of waste calculated for pure PCBs, released by a capacitor manufacturer into the environment within various locations of the Krupa River in Slovenia, was 70 tons.

Seasonal distribution of multiclass pesticide residues in the surface waters of northwest Croatia.

As part of our OPENTOX project, we evaluated the incidence and mass concentrations of multiclass pesticide residues in 23 river/stream water samples collected in urban and agricultural areas of northwest Croatia at various points of the pesticide application season in 2015. The study included 16 compounds of five herbicide classes and seven compounds of three insecticide classes. Pesticide residues were accumulated from water by solid-phase extraction and analysed using high performance liquid chromatography with UV-diode array detection and/or gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Distribution of Organochlorine Pesticide and Polychlorinated Biphenyl Residues in Lake Sediment Cores from the Plitvice Lakes National Park (Croatia).

The occurrence and distribution of 11 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and their degradation products as well as of 17 polychlorinated biphenyl congeners (PCBs) were investigated for the first time in sediments of three (Lake Prošće, Lake Kozjak, Lake Kaluđerovac) out of 16 cascading karst lakes within the protected area of the Plitvice Lakes National Park in central Croatia. The 15-cm-long sediment cores were divided for analysis into three 5-cm-long segments. The abundance and levels of sediment-associated OCPs and PCBs were evaluated with respect to sampling location and sediment depth, presumed age of deposition, and organic carbon content.

Soil burden by persistent organochlorine compounds in the vicinity of a coal-fired power plant in Croatia: a comparison study with an urban-industrialized area.

The impact of a coal-fired Plomin Power Plant (PPP) in Croatia on PCB soil burden was examined by comparing the occurrence, levels, and profile of PCBs in soil from the PPP with the values determined in urban-industrialized soil (Varaždin, Croatia). Soil burden by organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) were also investigated at both locations. Topsoil samples were collected at five distances (100-800 m) along a downwind pollution gradient from the PPP and across the city.

Dissipation dynamics of terbuthylazine in soil during the maize growing season.

Ever since terbuthylazine (TBA) replaced atrazine in herbicide crop treatment, its much greater persistence has raised considerable environmental concern. The aim of our field experiment was to establish the dissipation dynamics of TBA and its degradation product desethylterbuthylazine (DET) in soil over five months of maize growth. We applied TBA as part of pre-emergent treatment in the regular and double-the-regular amounts.

The impact of multiple anthropogenic contaminants on the terrestrial environment of the Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia.

The anthropogenic impact on the terrestrial environment of the Plitvice Lakes National Park (PLNP) was investigated through the analysis of three groups of major contaminants (persistent organochlorine pollutants including 15 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and 17 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), trace elements/heavy metals (6 major and 23 trace constituents), and anthropogenic radionuclides ((90)Sr, (134)Cs, and (137)Cs)) in three terrestrial compartments (soil, air, and bioindicators of air contamination) during 2011-2013. The correlation coefficients of element mass fractions with soil properties indicated that total Fe and Al minerals, soil organic matter (OM), and organic carbon (OC) content affected the mass fractions of most trace elements in the topsoils. The annual and spatial distributions of heavy metals in total deposited matter (TDM) indicated that the metals came from natural sources and long-range transfer of particulate matter.

Catabolism of terbuthylazine by mixed bacterial culture originating from s-triazine-contaminated soil.

The s-triazine herbicide terbuthylazine (TERB) has been used as the main substitute of atrazine in many EU countries for more than 10 years. However, the ecological consequences of this substitution are still not fully understood. Since the fate of triazine herbicides is primarily dependent on microbial degradation, in this paper, we investigated the ability of a mixed bacterial culture, M3-T, originating from s-triazine-contaminated soil, to degrade TERB in liquid culture and soil microcosms.

Effect of organic and mineral soil fractions on sorption behaviour of chlorophenol and triazine micropollutants.

This article compares the sorption behaviour of 2,4,6-trichlorophenol, 2,3,4,6-tetrachlorophenol, pentachlorophenol, chlorotriazine atrazine, methylthiotriazine ametryn, methoxytriazine atratone, hydroxyatrazine, and didelakylated atrazine in a topsoil and an aquifer sediment before and after removal of sorbent organic matter and in humic acid. Freundlich isotherm coefficients Kf and 1/n and free energy change (deltaG degrees ) were calculated for all compounds in all sorbents. According to sorbent pH values, chlorophenolate anions and uncharged triazine species dominated in all sorption experiments with topsoil and aquifer sediment.