background soil pollution due to toxic metals released by industrial activities such as cement production is a serious problem from the standpoints of the environment and public health, because they tend to persist, circulating indefinitely and, eventually, accumulating throughout the food chain. objectives this paper presents the results of the first research study into the distribution of cad...

Perovskite-based solar cells have recently been catapulted to the cutting edge of thin-film photovoltaic research and development because of their promise for high-power conversion efficiencies and ease of fabrication. Two types of generic perovskites compounds have been used in cell fabrication: either Pb- or Sn-based. Here, we describe the performance of perovskite solar cells based on alloye...

A fast ultrasound-assisted sequential extraction (UASE) procedure for the determination of cadmium, lead and nickel fractions in soil was developed and fully validated. The working parameters of an ultrasound probe were optimized by comparing the content of metals in soil extracts obtained by the UASE procedure with that obtained by the conventional (with the aid of a vertical rotor) modified C...

OBJECTIVES Occupational lead (Pb) exposure is still an important health problem in the world. Long-term Pb exposure causes several adverse effects. The aim of this study was to investigate the changes of inflammation markers with chronic Pb exposure by analyzing neopterin levels and kynurenine (Kyn) to tryptophan (Trp) ratio that reflects indolamine 2,3-dioxygenase activity and to compare with ...

We present a comprehensive theoretical investigation of the light absorption rate at a Pb/Ge(111)-β√3 × √3R30° surface with strong spin-orbit coupling. Our calculations show that electron spin-flip transitions cause as much as 6% of the total light absorption, representing 1 order of magnitude enhancement over Rashba-like systems. Thus, we demonstrate that a substantial part of the light irradi...

The aim of this study was the occupational exposure assessment to lead and manganese of workers in an armament repair shop of a military organization. The air of the working environment was assessed in the environmental monitoring while the internal dose biological indicators for lead and manganese, in blood and urine, were used in biological monitoring. Metals concentration in filters and biol...

Heavy metals are persistent environmental contaminants, and wild animals are increasingly exposed to the harmful effects of compounds of anthropogenic origin, even in areas distant from industrial centers. We used atomic absorption spectrometry to determine levels of cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) in liver and kidney of wild Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber) in Poland. Cd con...

To assess if they were within the safety limits for human consumption, the Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn contents of fish muscles, bought from separate stalls of the fish markets of nine cities of NW Mexico, were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Considering all fish and markets, the mean contents were Zn: 23.23 ± 5.83, Cu: 1.72 ± 0.63, Cd: 0.27 ± 0.07, and Pb: 0.09 ± 0.04 µg/g (dry weigh...

OBJECTIVE To study the characterization apportionment of main ion concentrations of PM10 under the influence of trajectory wind direction in London. METHODS PM10 samples from 1 May 1995 to 30 October 1995 of Oxford Street of Central London were collected, the metals and anions of which were measured using atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) and ion chromatography (IC). Composite trajectories...