The impact of automobile exhaust on the levels of lead in commercially produced and sold white bread at bus terminals in Lagos, Nigeria were assessed. Total lead concentrations by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry were carried out. The mean concentration of lead in foods across the sites (T1-T10) ranged from 0.01 – 0.025 μgg; 0.01 – 0.03 μgg; 0.015 – 0.035 μgg and 0.005 – 0.025 μgg for the first, ...

Understanding the adsorption of mercury on soil from aqueous solution is necessary for tracing the fate of mercury in the environment. This study was undertaken to predict the fate of mercury emitted from artisanal gold mining activities within the Ankobra basin. Total mercury (THg) concentrations were determined in soils close to River Ankobra and its major tributaries in the south-western par...

BACKGROUND AND AIM Mediterranean Sea, Egypt is an economically important marine environment. During the last decades there has been extensive increase in the levels of urbanization and industrialization along its coastal area. Therefore, the present work attempts to determine the status of heavy metals distribution in sediment samples, and their ecological risk assessment in the studied area. ...

The present study was conducted to determine heavy metal (cadmium and chromium) concentrations in gills, kidneys, liver, skin, muscles and scales of three fish species (Catla catla, Labeo rohita and Cirrhina mrigala) from three stations viz. Lahore Siphon (Up stream), Shahdera Bridge and Baloki Headworks (Down stream) in the river Ravi, Pakistan. Heavy metal concentrations varied significantly ...

Heavy metal’s release without treatment poses a significant threat to the environment. Heavy metals are non-biodegradable and persistent. In the present study the ash of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), was used to remove six metals from aqueous solutions through biosorption. Results of batch and column experiments showed excellent adsorption capacity. Removal of lead, chromium, zinc, cad...

The persistence of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) Aroclor 1248 in soils and sediments is a major concern because of its toxicity and presence at high concentrations. In this study, we developed an integrated remediation system for PCBs using chemical catalysis and biodegradation. The dechlorination of Aroclor 1248 was achieved by treatment with bimetallic nanoparticles Pd/nFe under anoxic condi...

To elucidate the role of tachykinins in bronchoconstriction induced by intravenous administration of bradykinin (Bk), we studied the effects of FK224, a neurokinin-1 (NK1) and neurokinin-2 (NK2) receptor antagonist, on the bronchoconstriction induced by intravenous (i.v.) administration of Bk (5-100 micrograms.kg-1) in guinea-pigs. Total pulmonary resistance -(RL) was measured using a pressure-...

1 Acknowledgements The work in this thesis 1 is a part of the OtaOnline research project at the Helsinki University of Technology. I would like to take the opportunity to thank all those who have contributed to the work. First, I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor Prof. Shosta Sulonen for all his support, guidance, constructive criticism and ideas. I would also like to thank my...