Almost 25 years of chromatographic and spectroscopic analytical method development for petroleum hydrocarbons analysis in soil and sediment: State-of-the-art, progress and trends

This review provides a critical insight into the selection of chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques for semi-quantitative and quantitative detection of petroleum hydrocarbons in soil and sediment matrices. Advantages and limitations of both field screening and laboratory-based techniques are discussed and recent advances in chemometrics to extract maximum information from a sample by using the optimal pre-processing and data mining techniques are presented. An integrated analytical framework based on spectroscopic techniques integration and data fusion for the rapid measurement and detection of on-site petroleum hydrocarbons is proposed. Furthermore, factors influencing petroleum hydrocarbons analysis in contaminated samples are discussed and recommendations on how to reduce their influence provided

Rapid detection of alkanes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in oil-contaminated soil with visible near-infrared spectroscopy

Recent developments and applications of rapid measurement tools (RMTs) such as visible near‐infrared (vis–NIR) spectroscopy confirmed that these technologies can provide ‘fit for purpose’ and cost‐effective data for risk assessment and management of oil‐contaminated sites. Although vis–NIR spectroscopy has been used frequently to predict total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs), it has had limited use for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and there has been none for alkanes. In the present study, the potential of vis–NIR spectroscopy (350–2500 nm) to measure PAHs and alkanes in 85 fresh (wet, unprocessed) oil‐contaminated soil samples collected from three sites in the Niger Delta, Nigeria, was evaluated. The vis–NIR signal and alkanes and PAHs measured in the laboratory by sequential ultrasonic solvent extraction followed by gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry (GC‐MS) were then used to develop calibration models using partial least squares regression (PLSR) and random forest (RF) modelling tools. Prior to model development, the pre‐processed spectra were divided into calibration (75%) and prediction (25%) sets. Results showed that the prediction performance of RF calibration models for both alkanes (a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.58, a root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) of 53.95 mg kg−1 and a residual prediction deviation (RPD) of 1.59) and PAHs (R2 = 0.71, RMSEP = 0.99 mg kg−1 and RPD = 1.99) outperformed PLSR (R2 = 0.36, RMSEP = 66.66 mg kg−1 and RPD = 1.29, and R2 = 0.56, RMSEP = 1.21 mg kg−1 and RPD = 1.55, respectively). The RF modelling approach accounted for nonlinearity of the soil spectral responses and therefore resulted in considerably greater prediction accuracy than the linear PLSR. Adoption of vis–NIR spectroscopy coupled with RF is recommended for rapid and cost‐effective assessment of PAHs and alkanes in contaminated soil

Evaluation of vis-NIR reflectance spectroscopy sensitivity to weathering for enhanced assessment of oil contaminated soils

This study investigated the sensitivity of visible near-infrared spectroscopy (vis-NIR) to discriminate between fresh and weathered oil contaminated soils. The performance of random forest (RF) and partial least squares regression (PLSR) for the estimation of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) throughout the time was also explored. Soil samples (n = 13) with 5 different textures of sandy loam, sandy clay loam, clay loam, sandy clay and clay were collected from 10 different locations across the Cranfield University's Research Farm (UK). A series of soil mesocosms was then set up where each soil sample was spiked with 10 ml of Alaskan crude oil (equivalent to 8450 mg/kg), allowed to equilibrate for 48 h (T2 d) and further kept at room temperature (21 °C). Soils scanning was carried out before spiking (control TC) and then after 2 days (T2 d) and months 4 (T4 m), 8 (T8 m), 12 (T12 m), 16 (T16 m), 20 (T20 m), 24 (T24 m), whereas gas chromatography mass spectroscopy (GC–MS) analysis was performed on T2 d, T4 m, T12 m, T16 m, T20 m, and T24 m. Soil scanning was done simultaneously using an AgroSpec spectrometer (305 to 2200 nm) (tec5 Technology for Spectroscopy, Germany) and Analytical Spectral Device (ASD) spectrometer (350 to 2500 nm) (ASDI, USA) to assess and compare their sensitivity and response against GC–MS data. Principle component analysis (PCA) showed that ASD performed better than tec5 for discriminating weathered versus fresh oil contaminated soil samples. The prediction results proved that RF models outperformed PLSR and resulted in coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.92, ratio of prediction deviation (RPD) of 3.79, and root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) of 108.56 mg/kg. Overall, the results demonstrate that vis–NIR is a promising tool for rapid site investigation of weathered oil contamination in soils and for TPH monitoring without the need of collecting soil samples and lengthy hydrocarbon extraction for further quantification analysis

Unveiling biomarkers for postharvest resilience: the role of canopy position on quality and abscisic acid dynamics of ‘Nadorcott’ clementine mandarins

Clementine mandarins are categorised as non-climacteric fruit because they do not exhibit an increase in respiration rate and ethylene production during ripening. Recent studies have suggested that abscisic acid (ABA), a distinct ripening hormone, plays a pivotal role in the postharvest behaviour of this fruit. The present study aimed to identify biomarkers for enhancing the postharvest durability and flavour retention of imported ‘Nadorcott’ clementines (Citrus reticulata Blanco). To achieve this goal, an experiment was designed to investigate pre- and post-harvest factors influencing quality of clementine fruit, encompassing both physiological and biochemical aspects. Furthermore, the study investigated the role of ABA and ABA catabolites in the fruit senescence process.We thank AMFRESH Group and Cranfield University for sponsoring this project through the Cranfield Industrial Partnership PhD Scheme

New insights into the effects of ethylene on ABA catabolism, sweetening and dormancy in stored potato tubers

Continuous ethylene supplementation suppresses postharvest sprouting, but it can increase reducing sugars, limiting its use as an alternative to chlorpropham for processing potatoes. To elucidate the mechanisms involved, tubers were treated after curing with or without the ethylene binding inhibitor 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP at 1 μL L−1 for 24 h), and then stored in air or air supplemented with continuous ethylene (10 μL L−1). Across three consecutive seasons, changes in tuber physiology were assessed alongside transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis. Exogenous ethylene alone consistently induced a respiratory rise and the accumulation of undesirable reducing sugars. The transient respiratory peak was preceded by the strong upregulation of two genes encoding 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate oxidase (ACO), typical of wound and stress induced ethylene production. Profiles of parenchymatic tissue highlighted that ethylene triggered abscisic acid (ABA) catabolism, evidenced by a steep fall in ABA levels and a transient rise in the catabolite phaseic acid, accompanied by upregulation of transcripts encoding an ABA 8ˊ-hydroxylase. Moreover, analysis of non-structural carbohydrate-related genes revealed that ethylene strongly downregulated the expression of the Kunitz-type invertase inhibitor, already known to be involved in cold-induced sweetening. All these ethylene-induced effects were negated by 1-MCP with one notable exception: 1-MCP enhanced the sprout suppressing effect of ethylene whilst preventing ethylene-induced sweetening. This study supports the conclusions that: i) tubers adapt to ethylene by regulating conserved pathways (e.g. ABA catabolism); ii) ethylene-induced sweetening acts independently from sprout suppression, and is similar to cold-induced sugar accumulation

The Policy Dystopia Model:an interpretive analysis of tobacco industry political activity

BACKGROUND: Tobacco industry interference has been identified as the greatest obstacle to the implementation of evidence-based measures to reduce tobacco use. Understanding and addressing industry interference in public health policy-making is therefore crucial. Existing conceptualisations of corporate political activity (CPA) are embedded in a business perspective and do not attend to CPA's social and public health costs; most have not drawn on the unique resource represented by internal tobacco industry documents. Building on this literature, including systematic reviews, we develop a critically informed conceptual model of tobacco industry political activity. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We thematically analysed published papers included in two systematic reviews examining tobacco industry influence on taxation and marketing of tobacco; we included 45 of 46 papers in the former category and 20 of 48 papers in the latter (n = 65). We used a grounded theory approach to build taxonomies of "discursive" (argument-based) and "instrumental" (action-based) industry strategies and from these devised the Policy Dystopia Model, which shows that the industry, working through different constituencies, constructs a metanarrative to argue that proposed policies will lead to a dysfunctional future of policy failure and widely dispersed adverse social and economic consequences. Simultaneously, it uses diverse, interlocking insider and outsider instrumental strategies to disseminate this narrative and enhance its persuasiveness in order to secure its preferred policy outcomes. Limitations are that many papers were historical (some dating back to the 1970s) and focused on high-income regions. CONCLUSIONS: The model provides an evidence-based, accessible way of understanding diverse corporate political strategies. It should enable public health actors and officials to preempt these strategies and develop realistic assessments of the industry's claims

Comparative Analysis of the Volatile Fraction of Fruit Juice from Different Citrus Species

The volatile composition of fruit from four Citrus varieties (Powell Navel orange, Clemenules mandarine, and Fortune mandarine and Chandler pummelo) covering four different species has been studied. Over one hundred compounds were profiled after HS-SPME-GC-MS analysis, including 27 esters, 23 aldehydes, 21 alcohols, 13 monoterpene hydrocarbons, 10 ketones, 5 sesquiterpene hydrocarbons, 4 monoterpene cyclic ethers, 4 furans, and 2 aromatic hydrocarbons, which were all confirmed with standards. The differences in the volatile profile among juices of these varieties were essentially quantitative and only a few compounds were found exclusively in a single variety, mainly in Chandler. The volatile profile however was able to differentiate all four varieties and revealed complex interactions between them including the participation in the same biosynthetic pathway. Some compounds (6 esters, 2 ketones, 1 furan and 2 aromatic hydrocarbons) had never been reported earlier in Citrus juices. This volatile profiling platform for Citrus juice by HS-SPME-GC-MS and the interrelationship detected among the volatiles can be used as a roadmap for future breeding or biotechnological applications

Renal replacement therapy in Europe : A summary of the 2011 ERA-EDTA Registry Annual Report

BackgroundThis article provides a summary of the 2011 ERA-EDTA Registry Annual Report (available at www.era-edta-reg.org).MethodsData on renal replacement therapy (RRT) for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) from national and regional renal registries in 30 countries in Europe and bordering the Mediterranean Sea were used. From 27 registries, individual patient data were received, whereas 17 registries contributed data in aggregated form. We present the incidence and prevalence of RRT, and renal transplant rates in 2011. In addition, survival probabilities and expected remaining lifetimes were calculated for those registries providing individual patient data.ResultsThe overall unadjusted incidence rate of RRT in 2011 among all registries reporting to the ERA-EDTA Registry was 117 per million population (pmp) (n = 71.631). Incidence rates varied from 24 pmp in Ukraine to 238 pmp in Turkey. The overall unadjusted prevalence of RRT for ESRD on 31 December 2011 was 692 pmp (n = 425 824). The highest prevalence was reported by Portugal (1662 pmp) and the lowest by Ukraine (131 pmp). Among all registries, a total of 22 814 renal transplantations were performed (37 pmp). The highest overall transplant rate was reported from Spain, Cantabria (81 pmp), whereas the highest rate of living donor transplants was reported from Turkey (39 pmp). For patients who started RRT between 2002 and 2006, the unadjusted 5-year patient survival on RRT was 46.8% [95% confidence interval (CI) 46.6-47.0], and on dialysis 39.3% (95% CI 39.2-39.4). The unadjusted 5-year patient survival after the first renal transplantation performed between 2002 and 2006 was 86.7% (95% CI 86.2-87.2) for kidneys from deceased donors and 94.3% (95% CI 93.6-95.0) for kidneys from living donors.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Renal replacement therapy in Europe: a summary of the 2012 ERA-EDTA Registry Annual Report

BACKGROUND: This article summarizes the 2012 European Renal Association-European Dialysis and Transplant Association Registry Annual Report (available at www.era-edta-reg.org) with a specific focus on older patients (defined as ≥65 years). METHODS: Data provided by 45 national or regional renal registries in 30 countries in Europe and bordering the Mediterranean Sea were used. Individual patient level data were received from 31 renal registries, whereas 14 renal registries contributed data in an aggregated form. The incidence, prevalence and survival probabilities of patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) receiving renal replacement therapy (RRT) and renal transplantation rates for 2012 are presented. RESULTS: In 2012, the overall unadjusted incidence rate of patients with ESRD receiving RRT was 109.6 per million population (pmp) (n = 69 035), ranging from 219.9 pmp in Portugal to 24.2 pmp in Montenegro. The proportion of incident patients ≥75 years varied from 15 to 44% between countries. The overall unadjusted prevalence on 31 December 2012 was 716.7 pmp (n = 451 270), ranging from 1670.2 pmp in Portugal to 146.7 pmp in the Ukraine. The proportion of prevalent patients ≥75 years varied from 11 to 32% between countries. The overall renal transplantation rate in 2012 was 28.3 pmp (n = 15 673), with the highest rate seen in the Spanish region of Catalonia. The proportion of patients ≥65 years receiving a transplant ranged from 0 to 35%. Five-year adjusted survival for all RRT patients was 59.7% (95% confidence interval, CI: 59.3-60.0) which fell to 39.3% (95% CI: 38.7-39.9) in patients 65-74 years and 21.3% (95% CI: 20.8-21.9) in patients ≥75 years

The European Renal Association - European Dialysis and Transplant Association Registry Annual Report 2014 : a summary

Background: This article summarizes the European Renal Association - European Dialysis and Transplant Association Registry's 2014 annual report. It describes the epidemiology of renal replacement therapy (RRT) for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in 2014 within 35 countries. Methods: In 2016, the ERA-EDTA Registry received data on patients who in 2014 where undergoing RRT for ESRD, from 51 national or regional renal registries. Thirty-two registries provided individual patient level data and 19 provided aggregated patient level data. The incidence, prevalence and survival probabilities of these patients were determined. Results: In 2014, 70 953 individuals commenced RRT for ESRD, equating to an overall unadjusted incidence rate of 133 per million population (pmp). The incidence ranged by 10-fold; from 23 pmp in the Ukraine to 237 pmp in Portugal. Of the patients commencing RRT, almost two-thirds were men, over half were aged >= 65 years and a quarter had diabetes mellitus as their primary renal diagnosis. By day 91 of commencing RRT, 81% of patients were receiving haemodialysis. On 31 December 2014, 490 743 individuals were receiving RRT for ESRD, equating to an unadjusted prevalence of 924 pmp. This ranged throughout Europe by more than 10-fold, from 157 pmp in the Ukraine to 1794 pmp in Portugal. In 2014, 19 406 kidney transplantations were performed, equating to an overall unadjusted transplant rate of 36 pmp. Again this varied considerably throughout Europe. For patients commencing RRT during 2005-09, the 5-year-adjusted patient survival probabilities on all RRT modalities was 63.3% (95% confidence interval 63.0-63.6). The expected remaining lifetime of a 20-to 24-year-old patient with ESRD receiving dialysis or living with a kidney transplant was 21.9 and 44.0 years, respectively. This was substantially lower than the 61.8 years of expected remaining lifetime of a 20-year-old patient without ESRD.Peer reviewe