Occupational Exposure to Formaldehyde and Cancer Risk Assessment in an Anatomy Laboratory.

Dissecting a human cadaver is an irreplaceable practice in general training of medical students. Cadavers in anatomy laboratories are usually preserved in formalin, an embalming fluid whose basic component is formaldehyde (FA). The aim of this study is to assess the cancer risk of employees and students that are exposed to FA based on the results of three monitoring campaigns, as well as to suggest permanent solutions to the problem of FA exposure based on the results obtained. Three sampling campaigns of formaldehyde concentration in indoor environments were conducted at five different locations at the Anatomy Department of the Faculty of Medicine with the purpose of assessing permanent employees' and medical faculty first year students' exposure to FA. Indoor air was continuously sampled during 8 h of laboratory work and analyzed in accordance with the NIOSH Method 3500. Exceeding of the 8 h time-weighted average (8 h TWA) values recommended by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) of 0.75 ppm was recorded in 37% of the samples during the three-month monitoring campaign. Cancer risk assessment levels for permanent employees were in the range from 6.43 × 10-3 to 8.77 × 10-4, while the cancer risk assessment levels for students ranged from 8.94 × 10-7 to 1.83 × 10-6. The results of the research show that cancer risk assessment for employees is several thousand times higher than the limit recommended by the EPA (10-6) and point to the importance of reducing exposure to formaldehyde through the reconstruction of the existing ventilation system, continual monitoring, the use of formaldehyde-free products, and plastination of anatomical specimens.

The emission of BTEX compounds during movement of passenger car in accordance with the NEDC.

The results of the research in the field of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene isomers (BTEX) concentrations in exhaust gases of spark ignition engines under different operating conditions are presented in this paper. The aim of this paper is to gain a clearer insight into the impact of different engine working parameters on the concentrations of BTEX. The experimental investigation has been performed on the SCHENCK 230 W test stand with the controlled IC engine. The engine operating points have been chosen based on the results of a simulation and they are considered as the typical driving conditions according to the New European Driving Cycle. Concentration levels of BTEX compounds in exhaust gas mixtures have been determined by gas chromatography technique by using the combination of Supelcowax 10-Polyethylene glycol column and the PID detector. Based on the experimental research results, the emission model of BTEX compounds has been defined by the simulation of movement of a Fiat Punto Classic passenger car in accordance with the NEDC cycle. Using the results obtained within the simulation, the official statistics on the number of gasoline-powered cars on the territory of the Republic of Serbia and the European Commission data on the annual distance traveled by car, the amounts of BTEX compounds emitted annually per car have been estimated, as well as the emissions of the entire Serbian car fleet.

The occurrence of selected xenobiotics in the Danube river via LC-MS/MS.

Having in mind that there is a general lack of monitoring plans and precaution measures in the developing countries and that the Danube is the second longest river in Europe, the estimation of the relevant concentration levels of unregulated xenobiotics is a topic of interest both on local and international level. The selected pharmaceuticals, caffeine, and benzotriazole presented in the collected water samples from seven representative locations around the territory of Novi Sad, Serbia, during 1-year period, were analyzed with the use of solid-phase extraction followed by the liquid chromatography coupled with triple quad tandem mass spectrometry. The most frequently detected compounds were caffeine and carbamazepine in the concentrations up to 621 and 22.2 ng/L, respectively, while the maximum concentration of the analyzed pharmaceuticals was obtained for ibuprofen (60.1 ng/L). The presence of benzotriazole along the analyzed section of the river was confirmed in the concentration levels up to 26.7 ng/L. Although sulfamethoxazole and desmethyldiazepam were detected at trace levels (0.22 and 3.41 ng/L, respectively); the presence of these pharmaceuticals in complex mixtures should not be neglected. Due to the frequent detection caffeine, carbamazepine, ibuprofen, and benzotriazole could be proper candidate for hydrophilic anthropogenic markers for quantification of wastewater contamination in surface water in the analyzed Danube section.

Health risk assessment of PAHs, PCBs and OCPs in atmospheric air of municipal solid waste landfill in Novi Sad, Serbia.

The municipal solid waste landfill in Novi Sad, Serbia is in its operative status from early 1980s and represents potential significant source of environmental compartments pollution and the threat to human health as a result of undeveloped waste management practice. Residues of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) and Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) as toxic, mutagenic, teratogenic and carcinogenic chemicals were investigated in ambient air of landfill site in Novi Sad. Passive air sampling technique was used for the purpose of ambient air sampling. Total risk to the human health is calculated as a sum of individual risks for each group of substances according to the recommended United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) methodology. The overall results indicate that the landfill site in Novi Sad does not pose a relevant treat to human by inhalation of PAHs and POPs. The effect of low concentrations, non-monotonic dose response, synergistic and amplifying effects of chemical complexes must be highly respected while performing future health risk assessment.

Occurrence of aflatoxin M1 in human milk samples in Vojvodina, Serbia: Estimation of average daily intake by babies.

The objectives of the study were to determine the aflatoxin M1 content in human milk samples in Vojvodina, Serbia, and to assess the risk of infants' exposure to aflatoxins food contamination. The growth of Aspergillus flavus and production of aflatoxin B1 in corn samples resulted in higher concentrations of AFM1 in milk and dairy products in 2013, indicating higher concentrations of AFM1 in human milk samples in 2013 and 2014 in Serbia. A total number of 60 samples of human milk (colostrum and breast milk collected 4-8 months after delivery) were analyzed for the presence of AFM1 using the Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay method. The estimated daily intake of AFM1 through breastfeeding was calculated for the colostrum samples using an average intake of 60 mL/kg body weight (b.w.)/day on the third day of lactation. All breast milk collected 4-8 months after delivery and 36.4% of colostrum samples were contaminated with AFM1. The greatest percentage of contaminated colostrum (85%) and all samples of breast milk collected 4-8 months after delivery had AFM1 concentration above maximum allowable concentration according to the Regulation on health safety of dietetic products. The mean daily intake of AFM1 in colostrum was 2.65 ng/kg bw/day. Results of our study indicate the high risk of infants' exposure, who are at the early stage of development and vulnerable to toxic contaminants.

Evaluation of the adsorption potential of eco-friendly activated carbon prepared from cherry kernels for the removal of Pb2+, Cd2+ and Ni2+ from aqueous wastes.

Development, characterization and evaluation of the efficiency of cost-effective medium for the removal of Pb2+, Cd2+ and Ni2+ from aqueous systems, as a novel, eco-friendly solution for wastewater remediation were done. The precursors for low-cost adsorbent were lignocellulosic raw materials (sweet/sour cherry kernels), as industrial byproducts and components of organic solid waste. Activated carbon synthesis was carried out by thermochemical conversion (H3PO4, 500 °C) in the complete absence of inert atmosphere. Characterization of the activated carbon was performed by elemental analysis, FTIR, SEM, EDX and BET. BET surface area corresponds to 657.1 m2 g-1. The evaluation also included the influence of pH, contact time, solute concentration and adsorbent dose on the separation efficiency in the batch operational mode. The equilibrium and kinetic studies of adsorption were done. The maximum adsorption capacity of the activated carbon for Cd2+ ions was calculated from the Langmuir isotherm and found to be 198.7 mg g-1. Adsorption of Pb2+ and Ni2+ were better suitable to Freundlich model with the maximum adsorption capacity of 180.3 mg g-1 and 76.27 mg g-1, respectively. The results indicate that the pseudo-second-order model best describes adsorption kinetic data. Based on desorption study results, activated carbon was successfully regenerated with HNO3 for 3 cycles. In order to provide the results for basic cost-effective analysis, competing ion-effects in a real sample have been evaluated.

Meat industry wastewater: microbiological quality and antimicrobial susceptibility of E. coli and Salmonella sp. isolates, case study in Vojvodina, Serbia.

Wastewater from meat processing industries is a fusion of compounds with a high load of organic matter, and pathogen microorganisms like Escherichia coli, and Salmonella sp. The aim of this research was to determine microbiological characteristics of the wastewater discharged from the meat processing industry in order to get a more detailed insight into meat industry wastewater pollution, and to evaluate the resistance of bacterial strains E. coli and Salmonella sp. to antibiotics. The evaluation of the antimicrobial susceptibility was performed on 37 strains of E. coli and eight strains of Salmonella sp. to nine different antibiotics. The number of faecal pollution indicators was very high in all samples. From a total of 37 strains of E. coli, a moderate degree of resistance was shown to tetracycline (37.83%); a low degree of resistance to ampicillin (21.62%), streptomycin (24.32%), trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazol (18.92%) and nalidixic acid (16.22%); and very low to: chloramphenicol (13.51%), ciprofloxacin (2.7%), gentamicin and cefotaxime (0.0%). The results for eight strains of Salmonella sp. show that all eight isolates had some degree of susceptibility to nine tested antimicrobial agents and six strains were fully susceptible to all tested antibiotics.

Hepatocellular carcinoma and impact of aflatoxin difuranocoumarin derivative system ­ A case report.

Introduction: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most frequent type of liver malignancy. As a carcinogen, aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) causes HCC by inducing deoxyribonucleic acid adducts that lead to genetic changes in liver cells and may be the cause of HCC in up to 30% of cases. The incidence of HCC has been on the rise and is an issue in the countries of the Western Balkans. Case Outline: This paper presents a case of a 37-year-old woman who was diagnosed with HCC, without hepatitis B, hepatitis C, or liver cirrhosis. The patient consumed milk and dairy products in quantities of over two liters per day over the course of 20 years, which indicates the impact of aflatoxin in milk on HCC. A positive signal for the presence of AFB1 was detected by ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) in-house using immunoperoxidase screening test. Conclusion: As carcinogenic difuranocoumarin derivative, aflatoxin B1 is the most likely cause of malignant transformation of hepatocytes, which resulted in hepatocellular carcinoma in this patient.

Antioxidant profile of Trifolium pratense L.

In order to examine the antioxidant properties of five different extracts of Trifolium pratense L. (Leguminosae) leaves, various assays which measure free radical scavenging ability were carried out: 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl, hydroxyl, superoxide anion and nitric oxide radical scavenger capacity tests and lipid peroxidation assay. In all of the tests, only the H2O and (to some extent) the EtOAc extracts showed a potent antioxidant effect compared with BHT and BHA, well-known synthetic antioxidants. In addition, in vivo experiments were conducted with antioxidant systems (activities of GSHPx, GSHR, Px, CAT, XOD, GSH content and intensity of LPx) in liver homogenate and blood of mice after their treatment with extracts of T. pratense leaves, or in combination with CCl4. Besides, in the extracts examined the total phenolic and flavonoid amounts were also determined, together with presence of the selected flavonoids: quercetin, luteolin, apigenin, naringenin and kaempferol, which were studied using a HPLC-DAD technique. HPLC-DAD analysis showed a noticeable content of natural products according to which the examined Trifolium pratense species could well be regarded as a promising new source of bioactive natural compounds, which can be used both as a food supplement and a remedy.

GIS and the analytic hierarchy process for regional landfill site selection in transitional countries: a case study from Serbia.

The Serbian National Waste Management Strategy for the Period 2010-2019, harmonized with the European Union Directives, mandates new and very strict requirements for landfill sites. To enable analysis of a number of required qualitative and quantitative factors for landfill site selection, the traditional method of site selection must be replaced with a new approach. The combination of GIS and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was selected to solve this complex problem. The Srem region in northern Serbia, being one of the most environmentally sensitive areas, was chosen as a case study. Seventeen factors selected as criteria/sub-criteria were recognized as most important, divided into geo-natural, environmental, social and techno-economic factors, and were evaluated by experts from different fields using an AHP extension in Arc GIS. Weighted spatial layers were combined into a landfill suitability map which was then overlapped with four restriction maps, resulting in a final suitability map. According to the results, 82.65% of the territory of Srem is unsuitable for regional landfill siting. The most suitable areas cover 9.14%, suitable areas 5.24%, while areas with low and very low suitability cover 2.21 and 0.76% of the territory, respectively. Based on these findings, five sites close to two large urban agglomerations were suggested as possible locations for a regional landfill site in Srem. However, the final decision will require further field investigation, a public acceptance survey, and consideration of ownership status and price of the land.

Effect of extremely high specific flow rates on the removal of NOM and arsenic from groundwater with an ion-exchange resin: a pilot-scale study in Northern Serbia.

A pilot-scale study was performed to explore the possibility of the removal of natural organic matter (NOM) and arsenic from groundwater in the village of Melenci (Northern Serbia) using strongly basic, macroporous ion-exchange resin, commercially available as Amberlite IRA 958-Cl. The influences of the specific flow rate (SFR) and a broad range of contact times were studied using native groundwater and the same water pretreated with sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) for the oxidation of As(III) to As(V) and the degradation of NOM. The investigated SFR exceeded the manufacturer's recommended maximum value by up to ten times. In the range of SFR from 50 to 300 bed volumes per hour (BV/h), a higher efficiency of NOM removal was achieved in the absence of the oxidant, whereas at lower SFR and shorter contact times, the efficiency was higher when the water was pretreated. The arsenic removal from the oxidant-pretreated water was equally efficient at all SFR, whereas in the absence of the oxidant the efficiency was significantly lower and did not depend on SFR. The effectiveness of the resin illustrates the fact that the experimentally determined optimum SFR value of 30 BV/h is stated as the maximum in the manufacturer's specifications.

Characterization of dioxin-like contamination in soil and sediments from the "hot spot" area of petrochemical plant in Pancevo (Serbia).

PURPOSE: Combinatorial bio/chemical approach was applied to investigate dioxin-like contamination of soil and sediment at the petrochemical and organochlorine plant in Pancevo, Serbia, after the destruction of manufacturing facilities that occurred in the spring of 1999 and subsequent remediation actions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Soil samples were analyzed for indicator polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) by gas chromatography/electron capture detection (GC/ECD). Prioritized soil sample and sediment samples from the waste water channel were analyzed for polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) by high-resolution gas chromatography/high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRGC/HRMS). Microethoxyresorufin o-deethylase (Micro-EROD) and H4IIE-luciferase bioassays were used for monitoring of dioxin-like compounds (DLC) and for better characterization of dioxin-like activity of soil samples. RESULTS: Bioanalytical results indicated high dioxin-like activity in one localized soil sample, while the chemical analysis confirmed the presence of large quantities of DLC: 3.0 × 10(5) ng/g d.w. of seven-key PCBs, 8.2 ng/g d.w. of PCDD/Fs, and 3.0 × 10(5) ng/g d.w. of planar and mono-ortho PCBs. In the sediment, contaminant concentrations were in the range 2-8 ng/g d.w. of PCDD/Fs and 9-20 ng/g d.w. of PCBs. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates the utility of combined application of bioassays and instrumental analysis, especially for developing and transition country which do not have capacity of the expensive instrumental analysis. The results indicate the high contamination of soil in the area of petrochemical plant, and PCDD/Fs contamination of the sediment from the waste water channel originating from the ethylene dichloride production.

Detection of dioxin-like contaminants in soil from the area of oil refineries in Vojvodina region of Serbia.

In this study level of soil contamination by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in two oil refineries in Vojvodina region of Serbia was assessed using combined bio/chemical approach. Toxicity of the samples, determined by microEROD analysis, could not be exclusively attributed to the content of measured PCBs and PAHs, but also to the presence of unknown dioxin-like compounds (DLC), and/or positive interactions among similarly acting chemicals. The results proved that biotests, when applied in ecotoxicological assessments, should be used either as a screening tool or initial step in effect-directed analyses.

Nitric oxide-scavenging activity of polyhydroxylated fullerenol, C60(OH)24.

Investigation of the possible nitric oxide-scavenging activity of hydroxylated derivative of fullerene, fullerenol C60(OH)24, demonstrated that it expressed direct scavenging activity toward nitric oxide radical (NO) liberated within solution of sodium nitroprusside (SNP), a well known NO donor. In parallel, pre-treatment (30') with intratesticular injection of fullerenol (60 microg/each testis) prevented NO-induced decrease of catalase, glutathione transferase and glutathione peroxidase activities in the denucleated fraction of interstitial testicular cells of adult rats 2 h after intratesticular injection of SNP (20 microg/each testis). In addition, fullerenol decreased formation of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBA-RS) with similar efficiency as butylated hydroxy toluen (BHT), a well known antioxidant. Also, fullerenol expressed certain scavenging activity toward superoxide anion (O2-) in xanthine/xanthine oxidase system. In summary, results obtained in this study confirmed free radical-scavenging activity of fullerenol, and according to our knowledge, it is the first evidence of direct NO-quenching activity of hydroxylated C60 derivative in different milieu.

Modulating activity of fullerol C60(OH)22 on doxorubicin-induced cytotoxicity.

Paper presents the effects of the newly synthesized fullerol C60(OH)22 on the growth of tumor cells in vitro and its modulating activity on doxorubicin (DOX)-induced cytotoxicity in human breast cancer cell lines. Cell growth inhibition was evaluated by tetrazolium colorimetric WST1 assay. Electron spin resonance (ESR) "trapping" method was used to investigate OH-radical scavenger activity of fullerol during Fenton's reaction. At a range of nanomolar concentrations fullerol induced cell growth inhibition, which was cell line, dose and time dependent. Fullerol also strongly suppressed DOX-induced cytotoxicity at all concentrations regardless the time of fullerol addition. Proanthocyanidins added as single agent to MCF-7 cell culture for 48 h induced low growth inhibition but in combination with DOX strongly decreased DOX cytotoxicity. Fullerol was found to be a potent hydroxyl radical scavenger: the relative intensity of ESR signals of DMPO-hydroxyl radical (DMPO-OH) spin adduct decreased by 88% in the presence of 0.5 microg/ml of fullerol. The obtained results suggest that antiproliferative effect of the fullerol and its protective effect on DOX-induced cytotoxicity might be mediated through hydroxyl-radical scavenger activity of C60(OH)22.