Aspects on the Accumulation of Trace Metals in Various Environmental Matrices (Water, Soil, Plant and Sediments): Case Study on Catchment Area of the Somes River, Romania

A study was carried out to determine the accumulation of trace metals in water, sediments, and soil from several locations in the Transylvania region (Romania), using the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP‐MS) technique. A significant number of metals (range of several μg L−1) were identified, the toxic metal concentrations in mostly of the investigated waters being within the permissible limits. A seasonal variation in the metal content was also observed. Comparison of the metal concentrations to samples of sediment, soil, and vegetation coming from the surrounding areas of the same water reservoir revealed a higher accumulation of rare and toxic metals in sediments than in soil and vegetation

Social innovation in the Romanian context – case study on the country’s city halls

In recent decades, computers and the Internet have led to a new era – the digital one. Along with this period, a transition process has also occurred, therefore the industrial society of yesterday has become the information society of today. In this context, Romanian public authorities should be able to keep up with the rapid manner in which modern society develops itself and also to meet the challenges that it raises. The purpose of this article is to present the specific framework in which the relationship between the Romanian information society and the public sector’s authorities takes place, a relationship that surely leads to social innovation, beneficial for both citizens and the state as a whole. The methodology that we considered for achieving our goal is based both on a bibliographical research on the most representative scientific papers written on social innovation, and on an analysis at the level of all 320 Romanian city halls – analysis that targeted the measurement of the city halls’ interest in developing communication with citizens through specific tools of IT&C. In our article, social innovation in the public sector must be understood, on one hand, as an instrument that can be used by local communities in order for them to meet current measures of austerity and, on the other hand, on the long-term, as a tool necessary for a sustainable development, based on achieving the public administration’s general objective, which is to satisfy the citizens’ needs and requirements

Lithium Content and Its Nutritional Beneficence, Dietary Intake, and Impact on Human Health in Edibles from the Romanian Market

Lithium (Li) is present in human nutrition based on food intake, and several studies recommend it for treating mood disorders, even if the biological proprieties and biochemical mechanisms represent the basis for its use as an essential element. The Li content was evaluated using the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry technique (ICP-MS) in 1071 food and beverage samples from the Romanian market. The results show that Li had a decreasing mean concentration in the food samples as follows: vegetables leafy > bulbous > fructose > leguminous > egg whites > root vegetables > milk products > egg yolks > meats. Approximately a quarter of all data from each dataset category was extreme values (range between the third quartile and maximum value), with only 10% below the detection limit. Mean Li concentration indicated higher values in red wine, white wines, beers, and fruit juice and lower in ciders and bottled waters. A particular interest was addressed to plants for teas and coffee seeds, which showed narrow amounts of Li. For both food and beverages, two similar matrices, including egg whites and yolks and white and red wines, were found to have significant differences, which explains the high variability of Li uptake in various matrices. For 99.65% of the analyzed samples, the estimated daily intake of Li was below the provisional subchronic and chronic reference dose (2 µg/kgbw/day) for adverse effects in several organs and systems. Even so, a risk occurs in consuming bulbous vegetables (Li > 13.47 mg/kg) and fructose solano vegetables (Li > 11.33 mg/kg). The present study’s findings indicate that ingesting most of the analyzed beverages and food samples could be considered safe, even if future studies regarding Li content, nutritional aspects, and human cohort diseases must be conducted

Elemental Profile in Chicken Egg Components and Associated Human Health Risk Assessment

Egg is a food product of high nutritional quality, extensively consumed worldwide. The objectives of this study were the determination of the elemental profile in eggs (egg white, yolk, and eggshell), the estimation of the non-carcinogenic health risk associated with the presence of heavy metals in investigated egg samples, and the development of statistical models to identify the best predictors for the differentiation of egg components. The assessments were carried out in a total set of 210 samples, comprising home-produced and commercial eggs, using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The results suggested measurable differences amongst hen eggs coming from different husbandry systems. The statistical models employed in this study identified several elemental markers that can be used for discriminating between market and local producer samples. The non-carcinogenic risk related to the consumption of the analyzed egg samples was generally in the safe range for the consumers, below the maximum permitted levels set by Romanian and European legislation. Food contamination is a public health problem worldwide, and the risk associated with exposure to trace metals from food products has aroused widespread concern in human health, so assessing the heavy metal content in food products is mandatory to evaluate the health risk

Correlation between CRISPR Loci Diversity in Three Enterobacterial Taxa

CRISPR-Cas is an adaptive immunity system of prokaryotes, composed of CRISPR arrays and the associated proteins. The successive addition of spacer sequences in the CRISPR array has made the system a valuable molecular marker, with multiple applications. Due to the high degree of polymorphism of the CRISPR loci, their comparison in bacteria from various sources may provide insights into the evolution and spread of the CRISPR-Cas systems. The aim of this study was to establish a correlation between the enterobacterial CRISPR loci, the sequence of direct repeats (DR), and the number of spacer units, along with the geographical origin and collection source. For this purpose, 3474 genomes containing CRISPR loci from the CRISPRCasdb of Salmonella enterica, Escherichia coli, and Klebsiella pneumoniae were analyzed, and the information regarding the isolates was recorded from the NCBI database. The most prevalent was the I-E CRISPR-Cas system in all three studied taxa. E. coli also presents the I-F type, but in a much lesser percentage. The systems found in K. pneumoniae can be classified into I-E and I-E*. The I-E and I-F systems have two CRISPR loci, while I-E* has only one locus upstream of the Cas cluster. PCR primers have been developed in this study for each CRISPR locus. Distinct clustering was not evident, but statistically significant relationships occurred between the different CRISPR loci and the number of spacer units. For each of the queried taxa, the number of spacers was significantly different (p < 0.01) by origin (Africa, Asia, Australia and Oceania, Europe, North America, and South America) but was not linked to the isolation source type (human, animal, plant, food, or laboratory strains)

ICP-MS Assessment of Essential and Toxic Trace Elements in Foodstuffs with Different Geographic Origins Available in Romanian Supermarkets

The present study was conducted to quantify the daily intake and target hazard quotient of four essential elements, namely, chromium, cobalt, nickel, and copper, and four toxic trace elements, mercury, cadmium, lead, and arsenic. Thirty food items were assigned to five food categories (seeds, leaves, powders, beans, and fruits) and analyzed using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Factor analysis after principal component extraction revealed common metal patterns in all foodstuffs, and using hierarchical cluster analysis, an association map was created to illustrate their similarity. The results indicate that the internationally recommended dietary allowance was exceeded for Cu and Cr in 27 and 29 foodstuffs, respectively. According to the tolerable upper level for Ni and Cu, everyday consumption of these elements through repeated consumption of seeds (fennel, opium poppy, and cannabis) and fruits (almond) can have adverse health effects. Moreover, a robust correlation between Cu and As (p < 0.001) was established when all samples were analyzed. Principal component analysis (PCA) demonstrated an association between Pb, As, Co, and Ni in one group and Cr, Cu, Hg, and Cd in a second group, comprising 56.85% of the total variance. For all elements investigated, the cancer risk index was within safe limits, highlighting that lifetime consumption does not increase the risk of carcinogens

Assessing the Health Risk and the Metal Content of Thirty-Four Plant Essential Oils Using the ICP-MS Technique

Natural ecosystems are polluted with various contaminants, and among these heavy metals raise concerns due to their side effects on both environment and human health. An investigation was conducted on essential oil samples, comparing similar products between seven producers, and the results indicated a wide variation of metal content. The recommended limits imposed by European Union regulations for medicinal plants are exceeded only in Mentha × pipperita (Adams, 0.61 mg/kg). Except for Thymus vulgaris, the multivariate analysis showed a strong correlation between toxic and microelements (p −9–7.89 × 10−7). Based on the target hazard quotient, three groups of elements were associated with a possible risk to human health, including As, Hg, and Cd in the first group, Cr, Mn, Ni, and Co in the second, and Zn and Al in the third. Additionally, the challenge of coupling inter-element relationships through a network plot analysis shows a considerable probability of associating toxic metals with micronutrients, which can address cumulative risks for human consumers

The GHGs Evolution of LULUCF Sector at the European Union (EU-27 + UK): Romania Case Study

Mitigating climate change is a challenge that urgently needs to be addressed, as it has an increasing impact on the planet. According to the latest reports, global CO2 emissions must be neutralized by 2050 in order to limit the rise in temperature to 1.5 &deg;C. This work presents the evolution of Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions/removals at the EU-27 + UK level for the 1990&ndash;2019 time period, as well as LULUCF emissions/removals forecasts for Romania up to 2040. The results revealed a 23% reduction in GHG emissions for the EU-27 + UK in 2019 compared to 1990. Romania&rsquo;s yearly average of GHG emissions/removals was 28,000 kt CO2 eq., representing roughly 9.7% of the EU&rsquo;s annual average. In terms of projections for Romania, the only scenario that will not be in the target set by the new LULUCF Regulation is WEM (Reference Scenario/With Existing Measures), in which net GHG removals will be reduced by approximately 218 kt CO2 eq., or 0.9 percent, in 2030 compared to the reference year; in 2040 compared to 1989, the trend will be accentuated both in absolute values, with a decrease of over 3000 kt CO2 eq., and in relative values of 12%

The GHGs Evolution of LULUCF Sector at the European Union (EU-27 + UK): Romania Case Study

Mitigating climate change is a challenge that urgently needs to be addressed, as it has an increasing impact on the planet. According to the latest reports, global CO2 emissions must be neutralized by 2050 in order to limit the rise in temperature to 1.5 °C. This work presents the evolution of Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions/removals at the EU-27 + UK level for the 1990–2019 time period, as well as LULUCF emissions/removals forecasts for Romania up to 2040. The results revealed a 23% reduction in GHG emissions for the EU-27 + UK in 2019 compared to 1990. Romania’s yearly average of GHG emissions/removals was 28,000 kt CO2 eq., representing roughly 9.7% of the EU’s annual average. In terms of projections for Romania, the only scenario that will not be in the target set by the new LULUCF Regulation is WEM (Reference Scenario/With Existing Measures), in which net GHG removals will be reduced by approximately 218 kt CO2 eq., or 0.9 percent, in 2030 compared to the reference year; in 2040 compared to 1989, the trend will be accentuated both in absolute values, with a decrease of over 3000 kt CO2 eq., and in relative values of 12%

A Tree Ring Proxy Evaluation of Declining Causes in Pinus sylvestris L. and Pinus nigra J.F. Arnold in Northeastern Romania

Drought-induced dieback has been extensively studied in various forests habitats. We used a retrospective tree ring width (TRW), basal area increment (BAI), oxygen isotope ratios in tree ring cellulose (&delta;18OTR) and carbon isotope ratios in tree ring cellulose (&delta;13CTR) to assess causes in declining Pinus sylvestris L. and Pinus nigra J.F. Arnold. The climate data analysis indicates a significant increased trend occurred after 1980 in minimum, mean and maximum temperature and a reduced amount of precipitation compared to the 1920&ndash;1980-time scale. According to the Palmer Drought Severity Index, we found two extreme drought years (1946 and 2000) and three years with severe drought (1990, 2003 and 2012). One-way ANOVA indicated no significant difference between P. nigra and P sylvestris tree ring width, basal area increment, but a considerable difference between &delta;13CTR and &delta;18OTR. Basal area increment evaluated the climate-growth relationship most accurately, comparing to &delta;18OTR and &delta;13CTR, which explained the influences of environmental factors in tree rings formation. The &delta;13CTR was mainly negatively correlated with high temperatures from April-August current growing seasons. The negative correlation between &delta;13CTR and NDVI indices (June, August) shows a decreased carbon uptake induced by drought from summer to early autumn. The low &delta;18OTR signal was associated with a complex of factors, including the strong influence of heavy precipitation occurring in the growing season and a weak reaction of declined trees to resources. Species-specific responses to drought in 1990, 2003 and 2012 indicated P. sylvestris as more sensitive to drought whit higher demand for water supply in the optimal compared with P. nigra. Weak and unstable correlations in time with increasing/decreasing values in drought periods were obtained more accurately using &delta;18OTR compared to &delta;13CTR. The species-specific resilience response to drought years showed a weak resilience and resistance in P. sylvestris occurred more evident after the 2012 event compared to less sensitive P. nigra trees. Decision-makers can use presented results to reinforce specific management plans capable of protecting and changing local compositions where is the case with species more resistant to drouth