A flue gas originating from a municipal waste incinerator was used as a source of CO(2) for the cultivation of the microalga Chlorella vulgaris, in order to decrease the biomass production costs and to bioremediate CO(2) simultaneously. The utilization of the flue gas containing 10-13% (v/v) CO(2) and 8-10% (v/v) O(2) for the photobioreactor agitation and CO(2) supply was proven to be convenient. The growth rate of algal cultures on the flue gas was even higher when compared with the control culture supplied by a mixture of pure CO(2) and air (11% (v/v) CO(2)). Correspondingly, the CO(2) fixation rate was also higher when using the flue gas (4.4 g CO(2) l(-1) 24 h(-1)) than using the control gas (3.0 g CO(2) l(-1) 24 h(-1)). The toxicological analysis of the biomass produced using untreated flue gas showed only a slight excess of mercury while all the other compounds (other heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated dibenzodioxins and dibenzofurans, and polychlorinated biphenyls) were below the limits required by the European Union foodstuff legislation. Fortunately, extending the flue gas treatment prior to the cultivation unit by a simple granulated activated carbon column led to an efficient absorption of gaseous mercury and to the algal biomass composition compliant with all the foodstuff legislation requirements.

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Background: Selenium is a trace element performing important biological functions in many organisms including humans. It usually affects organisms in a strictly dosage-dependent manner being essential at low and toxic at higher concentrations. The impact of selenium on mammalian and land plant cells has been quite extensively studied. Information about algal cells is rare despite of the fact that they could produce selenium enriched biomass for biotechnology purposes.

Background, aims, and scope Embankment of meandering river systems in many industrial areas results in the formation of artificial oxbow lakes that may act as perennial or intermittent traps for river sediments. Their deposits can be dated using a combination of historical and stratigraphic data, providing a good means to study historical records of contamination transported by rivers. Contamination history over the last few decades is of special significance for Central and Eastern Europe as it can reflect high pollutant levels in the second half of the twentieth century and the subsequent improvement after the fall of the Iron Curtain. The purpose of this study was to investigate recent sediments of an oxbow lake of the Morava River, Czech Republic, their stratigraphic records, sediment architecture, and history of contamination. Materials and methods Seven ground-penetrating radar (GPR) profiles and three sediment cores up to 4 m deep were studied. The stratigraphy of the cores was inferred from visible-light spectrophotometry, X-ray radiography, grain size analysis, and semiquantitative modal analysis of sandy fractions. The sediments were dated using the 137 Cs mass activity and combinations of stratigraphic and historical data. The cores were sampled for concentrations of heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants. Wet sampled, lyophilized, and sieved sediments were extracted and analyzed for heavy metals by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) of aqua regia leachate and for persistent organic pollutants by gas chromatography (GC-ECD and GC-MS). Results Three distinct sedimentary sequences (S1, S2, and S3) were identified. The basal sequence S1 represents river channel sediments deposited before the formation of the oxbow lake, most likely before the 1930s. The boundary between the S1 and S2 sequence correlates with the level of sediment dredging from 1981 evidenced from historical data. The overlying sequences S2 and S3 represent a postdredging sediment wedge, which progrades into the lake. 137 Cs dating revealed a distinct Chernobyl 1986 peak at ∼150 cm depth inferring sedimentation rates up to 7.7 cm/year. Sediment contamination abruptly increased from the pre1930s deposits to the post-1981 deposits. The concentration levels increased two to five times for Pb, As, Zn, and Cu, about 10 to 15 times for Cr, Sb, and Hg, up to 34 times for Cd, and 25 to 67 times for DDTs, PCBs, and PAHs. The concentrations of most contaminants remained approximately constant until the late 1980s when they started to decrease slowly. The decreasing trends

Vapour generation inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (VG-ICP-OES) was used for the determination of the iodine content in milk samples. Modified alkaline ashing of the milk sample was employed for the total digestion of organic matrix constituents. A mixture of potassium hydroxide (2 mL, 2 mol L À1 in ethanol) and calcium nitrate (2 mL, 0.4 mol L À1 in ethanol) was used in the digestion step as an ashing aid for 2 ml of milk sample (or 200 mg of milk powder). Sample ash was then treated with hydrochloric acid (1.5 mL, 5 mol L À1 ) and sodium sulfite (1.25 mL, 1 mol L À1 ) for the elimination of carbonates, which would otherwise cause spectral interference. The vapour of elemental iodine was generated by means of oxidation of iodide by hydrogen peroxide (1 mol L À1 ) in sulfuric acid (5 mol L À1 ). Using a gas phase separator, matrix elements were completely eliminated; thus the spectral interference of phosphorus (178.222 nm) was removed and the most intense analytical line of iodine (178.218 nm) could be used for determination. The accuracy of the method was verified by analysis of CRM Non-Fat Milk Powder 1549 from NIST, as well as by the comparative study of VG-ICP-OES and ICP-MS results after alkaline solubilization (TMAH 2.5 mL, 10%). The limit of detection for the VG-ICP-OES method is 20 mg L À1 for original milk samples (based on 3s of blank value). The concentration of iodine in real milk samples was found in the range 0.2-0.8 mg L À1 with a precision of determination from 0.5 to 3.5% (3 replicates).

The possibility of determining selenium in blood serum using inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometry with conventional pneumatic nebulization was studied. A high-resolution spectrometer (SBW=6 pm) with laterally viewed ICP was employed. Analysis with conventional pneumatic nebulization could overcome laborious and demanding digestion, which is necessary for hydride generation. A pressure digestion with nitric acid at 160 degrees C was sufficient to decrease the carbon content in the serum sample to 5%-10% of its original value. Spectral interference of the CN band was observed and mathematically corrected. It was found that the carbon-induced selenium line emission enhancement occurred even under ICP optimized conditions. A method of determination was developed and applied to the analysis of blood serum. True limit of detection in real samples is 0.01-0.02 mg/L and the limit of quantification (RSD 10%) is 0.03-0.07 mg/L using Se I 196.090 nm line at an integration time of 10-2 s. The method was tested by analysis of porcine blood serum and the serum reference material Seronorm MI 0181.

The role of metals in urinary stone formation has already been studied in several publications. Moreover, urinary calculi can also be used for assessing exposure of humans to minor and trace elements in addition to other biological matrices, for example, blood, urine, or hair. However, using urinary calculi for biomonitoring of trace elements is limited by the association of elements with certain types of minerals. In this work, 614 samples of urinary calculi were subjected to mineralogical and elemental analysis. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and thermo-oxidation cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry were used for the determination of major, minor, and trace elements. Infrared spectroscopy was used for mineralogical analysis, and additionally, it was also employed in the calculation of mineralogical composition, based on quantification of major elements and stoichiometry. Results demonstrate the applicability of such an approach in investigating associations of minor and trace elements with mineralogical constituents of stones, especially in low concentrations, where traditional methods of mineralogical analysis are not capable of quantifying mineral content reliably. The main result of this study is the confirmation of association of several elements with struvite (K, Rb) and with calcium phosphate minerals, here calculated as hydroxylapatite (Na, Zn, Sr, Ba, Pb). Phosphates were proved as the most important metal-bearing minerals in urinary calculi. Moreover, a significantly different content was also observed for Fe, Zr, Mo, Cu, Cd, Se, Sn, and Hg in investigated groups of minerals. Examination of such associations is essential, and critical analysis of mineral constituents should precede any comparison of element content among various groups of samples.

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