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Current trends in environmental care are characterised by the principles of comprehensiveness, integration, interdisciplinarity and transregionality. It is in this spirit that the methodological, legislative and economic instruments develop, and this whole trend is referred to using the term 'environmental management'. Environmental management constitutes a set of technical instruments and methods for managing the environment, based upon an identification of the environmental aspects of products, activities and services of any type of organisation, with the aim to adopt and implement effective proactive measures to reduce their negative impact on the environment. These measures, along with their level, relate to an organisation's possibilities, the market's pressure on it, and primarily with the organisation's management's awareness, maturity and ability to anticipate the introduction of stricter requirements. Environmental management, in the industrial production and service sectors, is one of the the most effective instruments for achieving the priority goal, which is to minimise the negative impact of production activities on the individual elements of the environment as part of the global trend of reducing the negative impact of human activity on the environment. The objective of this article is to indicate possibilities to improve the environment through the basic principles and techniques of integrated environmental management.

Blood analyses can be used to assess the health and physiological conditions of wild animals and may provide a precise picture of disease, habitat quality, and other environmental factors. The objective of this study was to analyze the relationship between the age and the selected biochemical parameters of the female mouflon (Ovis musimon L.). This study creates a possible reference range of biochemical parameter concentrations in mouflon and aims to extend the knowledge of this wild game species within our geographical region. There have not been many studies dealing with this issue in our geographical region. A total of 57 female mouflons aged between 1 and 6 years (1–3 years n = 32, 4–6 years n = 25) and in good physical condition, with an average live weight between 32 and 40 kg were included in the research experiment between the two years. A total of 15 selected biochemical parameters were analyzed. Using statistical analysis, we noticed significant effects of age on almost three-quarters of analyzed biochemical parameters. A statistically significant correlation was observed between age and the parameters of glucose, alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, bilirubin, cholesterol, creatinine, high-density lipoprotein, calcium, triglycerides, and urea. An evaluation of the European mouflon’s biochemical parameters during the whole year may be a reliable method for judging a herd’s condition, diagnosing medical disorders, and preventing the etiology of their occurrence. An analysis of biochemical parameters tells us about the functioning of individual organs as well as the animals’ metabolism. Knowledge of the values of blood parameters is of special importance because they allow us to gather more information on mouflons.

In this study, the adsorption of Fe(III) from aqueous solution on zeolite and bentonite was investigated by combining batch adsorption technique, Atomic adsorption spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses. Although iron is commonly found in water and is an essential bioelement, many industrial processes require efficient removal of iron from water. Two types of zeolite and two types of bentonite were used. The results showed that the maximum adsorption capacities for removal of Fe (III) by Zeolite Micro 20, Zeolite Micro 50, blue bentonite, and brown bentonite were 10.19, 9.73, 11.64, and 16.65 mg.g−1, respectively. Based on the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyses of the raw samples and the solid residues after sorption at low and high initial Fe concentrations, the Fe content is different in the surface layer and in the bulk of the material. In the case of lower initial Fe concentration (200 mg.dm−3), more than 95% of Fe is adsorbed in the surface layer. In the case of higher initial Fe concentration (4000 mg.dm−3), only about 45% and 61% of Fe is adsorbent in the surface layer of zeolite and bentonite, respectively; the rest is adsorbed in deeper layers.

SummaryThe study was conducted to investigate the microbiological and parasitical risk related to the disposal of animal manure to soil by storage of raw pig slurry at temperatures 4°C, 20 °C and 42 °C for 115 days. Plate counts of Salmonella typhimurium and number of devitalized non-embryonated model Ascaris suum eggs were determined on days 0, 7, 12, 22, 32, 40, 55, 90 and 115 of storage. At the same intervals level of selected physico-chemical parameters were determined. Microbiological examination showed that S. typhimurium survived in the slurry for less than 115 days at 4 °C and less than 90 days at 20 °C and 42 °C. Devitalization of A. suum eggs increased with temperature and time of storage, but complete devitalization was not achieved even after 115 days at 42 °C. Physico-chemical parameters showed changes related to decomposition processes, but did not allow us to draw definite conclusion regarding their influence on devitalization of pathogens. The results indicate potential risk to human food chain that can be prevented by strict observation of legislative provisions and appropriate treatment of animal manure.

The environment is severything that creates natural conditions for the existence of organisms, including humans, and is a prerequisite for its further development. Proper environmental hygiene can prevent the outbreak and spread of infectious diseases. The function of disinfectants is to kill and prevent the growth of microorganisms. Disinfectants are potentially noxious substances which are used in intensive animal production and disease control programmes. In fulfilling this role, disinfectants may also have an adverse impact on the environment. These products may harm beneficial microorganisms, plant and animal life, and even humans, when used without due caution. Proper selection of disinfectant which is based on the knowledge of the resistance of microorganisms to the effect of the disinfectant and the efficacy of the disinfectants as well as the potential negative impact on the environment minimizes the risk of microbiological contamination and improves quality of the environment.

Nováková J., D. Daňová, k. Strišková, R. Hromada, H. Mičková, M. Rabišková: Zinc and Cadmium Toxicity Using a Biotest with Artemia franciscana. acta vet. Brno 2007, 76: 635-642. of the various toxic elements heavy metals, particularly cadmium, lead, mercury and zinc, occur frequently in the environment due to their relatively high industrial use. While the toxicity of individual substances is usually well known, information about their mutual interactions is relatively scarce. in animal experiments the prevailing trend is to substitute higher vertebrates with biotests of the 2 nd generation. our experiment focused on observation of the effect of combinations of ZnSo 4 .7H 2 o and CdCl 2 .2H 2 o on lethality to Artemia franciscana. The aim of the study was to observe the synergistic or antagonistic effects of these two metals.depending on concentration, cadmium may increase or decrease the toxicity of zinc. at higher concentrations of CdCl 2 .2H 2 o exceeding 100 mg·l -1 one can observe obvious synergistic toxic effects of both the substances. our observations allowed us to conclude that the use of optimum, relatively low concentrations of cadmium (up to 50 mg·l -1 CdCl 2 .2H 2 o) results in a significant decrease in lethality to Artemia franciscana caused by ZnSo 4 .7H 2 o at concentrations of 50, 100 a 250 mg·l -1 .

Introduction and objective. Research focused on the monitoring of selected heavy metals in ewes' blood. Concentrations of selected toxic elements, lead, cadmium and zinc, in ewes living near an environmentally-loaded area, concerned 15 ewes (aged 3-4 years) in good physical condition, during the spring of 2014 and 2015 in the eastern part of Slovakia. The aim of the research was to determine the concentration of selected heavy metals and state the correlations of selected heavy metals in ewes' blood. Materials and method. Within the period of 2 years, 15 ewe were evaluated. Ewes' blood samples were collected twice during the spring season from a farm located in area Spiš, eastern Slovakia, and then analysed for heavy metal contents. In the area under investigation, contamination with heavy metals was assumed as a result of intensive agricultural development and former mining activities. The level of selected heavy metals in the experimental group of animal blood was determined using an optical spectrophotometry. Results. Statistical analyses were carried out using the Statistica programme. The significant differences between means were calculated by the statistical method of the non-parametric Mann-Whitney´s U test. The statistical test experimental group of ewes in 2014 and 2015 confirmed the presence of selected heavy metals in ewes. The measured values of Cd (P=0.0003), Pb (P=0.0200) and Zn (P=0.0018) showed significant differences when comparing the years 2014 and 2015. Conclusion. The obtained and analysed blood samples confirmed the presence of selected heavy metals in ewes from area of Spiš in eastern Slovakia, which belongs the sub-region or is among the localities environmentally burdened. The conclusions are centred on the population's interest and concern for the environment, as well as on the preoccupation with factors that affect the satisfaction of basic needs, the local agricultural development and former mining activities.