<p>U doktorskoj disertaciji evaluirani su rezultati kvantifikovanih koncentracionih nivoa lipofilnih perzistentnih i emergentnih organskih polutanata u uzorcima sedimenta kolektovanih sa deset reprezentativnih lokaliteta u srednjem Podunavlju. Na osnovu sprovedenih laboratorijskih i terenskih istraživanja definisan je prostorni trend jedinjenja na ispitivanom području. Primenom multivarijantnih tehnika eksperimentalni rezultati su uspešno modelovani statističkim metodama koje su izdiferencirale izvore kontaminacije za ukupan set ispitivanih polutanata. Prikazana je procena uticaja kontaminiranog sedimenta na akvatične organizme i humanu populaciju prema stepenu kancerogenosti jedinjenja. Predstavljeni su različiti scenariji izloženosti ingestijom i dermalnim kontaktom, u zavisnosti od vremena ekspozicije i izložene površine potencijalnih receptora, različitog uzrasta i pola. Po prvi put u istraživanom području, implementirana je ex-situ ravnotežna metodologija pasivnog uzorkovanja primenom sorpcionog medijuma od silikonske gume testirane pri različitim masenim odnosima polimer-uzorak sedimenta. Primenjenom metodom uspešno su dobijene slobodno rastvorene koncentracije lipofilnh kontaminanata u pornoj vodi sedimenta, kao prediktora za određivanje biodostupnosti jedinjenja.</p> / <p>The doctoral dissertation evaluated the results of quantified concentration levels of lipophilic persistent and emergent organic pollutants in sediment samples collected from ten representative localities in the central Danube region. Based on the conducted laboratory and field research, the spatial distribution of compounds in the studied area was defined. Using multivariate techniques, the experimental results were successfully modeled by statistical methods that differentiated the sources of contamination for the total set of tested pollutants. A risk assessment of contaminated sediment on aquatic organisms and the human population according to carcinogenicity of the tested compounds is presented in thesis. Different exposure scenarios of ingestion and dermal contact, depending on the time exposure and exposed surface skin of potential receptors, of different ages and sex, are presented. For the first time in the study area, an ex-situ equilibrium passive sampling methodology was implemented using silicone rubber sorption medium tested at different polymer-sample sediment mass ratios. Using the method, the freely dissolved concentrations of lipophilic contaminants in pore water were successfully obtained as predictors for determining the bioavailability of the compounds.</p>

Successful bioremediation of polluted soils is often limited by the bioavailability of organic contaminants to degrading bacteria. Recent studies revealed that fungal hyphae have the potential to promote bacterial dispersal, and thus raised the idea of specifically stimulating the establishment of fungal networks in soils to increase contaminant bioavailability. Can such bacterial dispersal networks improve biodegradation performance considerably? If so, how are the improvements affected by abiotic conditions and by the spatial structure of dispersal networks? This doctoral thesis aims at answering these research questions. To this end, laboratory experiments are performed and a bacterial simulation model is developed, incorporating both microbiological and ecological theory. Manifold simulations and analyses of the microbial ecosystems’ spatiotemporal dynamics under different environmental scenarios reveal key factors and processes controlling biodegradation performance and determining benefits from bacterial dispersal networks.

L’objectif a été de caractériser les émissions indirectes de composés organiques semi-volatils (PCB, HCB, PeCB, HAP, phtalates et PBDE) au droit de milieux potentiellement contaminés par leurs emplois (zones ferroviaires souterraines, axes de circulation) et de sites de traitement de déchets (station d’épuration, élimination, destruction de véhicules hors d’usage). Des réseaux de mesure comprenant des préleveurs d’air actifs « grand volume », des capteurs passifs et des bio-accumulateurs ont été utilisés pour acquérir des données au voisinage des sources potentielles. Les résultats révèlent une ubiquité de tous les composés recherchés dans l’air, où leurs présences en phase gazeuse est majoritaire. La contamination de l’air au niveau des sites d'étude montre une hiérarchisation commune (phtalates>HAP>HCB>PeCB>PCB>PBDE), où la contamination de l’air en période estivale est plus importante, confirmant l’importance relative des émissions diffuses par volatilisation passive. Les résultats obtenus à partir des capteurs passifs démontrent l’intérêt de cet outil complémentaire pour la réalisation d’études à grande échelle spatio-temporelle. L’interprétation de l’état du milieu (IEM) à partir des analyses d’air, de sols, de retombées atmosphériques et de bio-accumulateurs végétaux, indiquent cependant que la contamination au voisinage de zones industrielles demeure le plus souvent du niveau de celle du milieu urbain dense. Les résultats révèlent que les émissions diffuses de COSV non halogénés (phtalates et HAP) par volatilisation passive, constituent un enjeu environnemental et sanitaire qui pourrait dépasser celui des anciens POP (PCB, PBDE). / The objective was to characterize the indirect emissions of SVOCs (PCB, HCB, PeCB, PAHs, phthalates and PBDE) on potentially contaminated environments by their uses (underground railway zones, traffic roads) and waste treatment sites (wastewater treatment plants, elimination, vehicle destruction sites). Measuring networks including "large volume" active air samplers, passive samplers and environmental bio-accumulators have been used to acquire data in the vicinity of potential sources. The results reveal an ubiquity of all the measured compounds in the air, where their presence in the gas phase prevails. The air contamination of the study sites shows a common ranking (phthalates> PAHs> HCB> PeCB> PCBs> PBDEs), where air contamination in summer is more important, confirming the relative importance of diffuse emissions by passive volatilization The results from passive sensors demonstrate the value of this complementary tool for the realization of large spatio-temporal scale study. The interpretation of environmental state from air, soil, atmospheric deposition and plant bio-accumulators analyzes indicates that the contamination remains mostly equivalent to urban area.. The results reveal that diffuse emissions of non-halogenated SVOCs (phthalates and PAHs) by passive volatilization, represent an environmental and health challenge where that could exceed those of past POPs (PCBs, PBDE, ...).

La pollution des eaux superficielles et souterraines par des composés organiques est bien connue comme une préoccupation majeure de l'environnement dans de nombreux pays. Si les polluants prioritaires sont actuellement surveillés par la directive cadre européenne sur l'eau, il est désormais urgent de prendre en considération les nouveaux polluants dérivés de principes actifs des produits pharmaceutiques et d'identifier leurs produits de transformation à risque. Ce travail de thèse propose une étude globale sur l'état et l'avenir des produis pharmaceutiques dans l'environnement, sur l'exemple de deux pharmaceutiques choisis, dans le cadre de cette importante problématique environnementale. Nous avons donc appliqué les procédés électrochimiques d'oxydation avancée, électro-Fenton (EF), oxydation anodique(OA) et photoélectro-Fenton solaire (PEFS), ainsi que le couplage électro-Fenton/traitement biologique pour une élimination effective des polluants médicamenteux furosémide et ranitidine. Les résultats obtenus confirment l'efficacité de ces technologies électrochimiques pour la minéralisation quasi-totale des produits pharmaceutiques étudiés. En outre, l'utilisation du pré-traitement par EF suivi d'un procédé biologique confirme la capacité de l'EF de transformer les polluants organiques en produits biodégradables qui peuvent être consommés par des microorganismes lors d'un traitement biologique, démontrant ainsi l'applicabilité potentiel de cette technique combinée, en termes d'une consommation énergétique réduite. L'identification des produits de transformation (PTs) des pharmaceutiques étudiés par voie électrochimique (électro-oxydation) et biologique (bioconversion) a été effectuée par différentes techniques d'analyse physico-chimiques. La biotransformation du FRSM a conduit à la formation de trois PT principales; saluamide, pyridinium et un dérivé céto-alcool. Les deux premiers ont aussi été détectés lors du traitement électrochimique, ce qui suggère la probabilité de les trouver dans l'environnement comme les produits de transformation les plus plausibles par des différentes conditions de dégradation. Les tests de toxicité basés sur l'inhibition de la bioluminescence des bactéries marines Vibrio fischeri ont montré que certains PT formés lors de traitement électrochimiques sont plus toxique que la molécule mère, car une augmentation de la toxicité globale de la solution a été observée au début des électrolyses. Néanmoins, la toxicité de la solution est complètement éliminée à la fin des traitements électrochimiques, ce qui indique l'efficacité de ces technologies aussi pour la détoxification des solutions des médicaments traités. Par conséquent, cette étude constitue une contribution importante à l'évaluation des risques environnementaux des produits pharmaceutiques / The present project contributes with valuable data for a better fundamental understanding on the fate of pharmaceutical residues in the environment, dealing with the main challenges concerning this increasingly worrying environmental issue. The used Electrochemical Advanced Oxidation Processes (EAOPs), electro-Fenton (EF) and anodic oxidation (AO), showed to be a very efficient alternative for the mineralization of acid solutions of the pharmaceuticals RNTD and FRSM, attaining almost complete mineralization of the drugs after 6h of electrolysis. A comparative study on the mineralization of RNTD solutions by EF and SPEF processes in a 2.5 L capacity pre-pilot flow plant demonstrates the higher oxidation capacity of SPEF, achieving very good mineralization rates, thus evidencing the potentiality of this technology at greater scale for the treatment of wastewaters containing pharmaceutical products. The application of an EF pre-treatment coupled with a biological process for the degradation of both drugs was conducted. EF pre-pretreatment was capable of enhancing the solution biodegradability envisaging a biological treatment, which efficiently removed the short-chain carboxylic acids that had been formerly generated during the pre-applied electrolysis. In this way, the combination of both processes was confirmed as a very promising technology for the treatment of pharmaceuticals-containing wastewater. Several transformation products (TPs) were detected and identified during the electrochemical oxidation of the studied drugs. Toxicity tests based on the bioluminescence of the marine bacteria V. fischeri. evidenced the toxicity some of these oxidation by-products, since the toxicity of the solution increased on the first stages of the electrolysis. However, the abatement of the toxicity in the final stages of the electrochemical treatments, demonstrated the effectiveness of these technologies for both the mineralization and detoxification of the RNTD and FRSM solutions. The use of the fungi Cunninghanella echinulate for the bioconversion of FRSM led to the formation of three main bio-transofrmation products: the previously identified saluamide and pyridinium, and the new detected keto-alcohol derivate. These TPs were generated by both, biological and electrochemical approches, evidencing their high probability to be found in environmental compartments as the most likely TPs of FRSM by different oxidation conditions. This study is thus presented as a very useful alternative for the assessment of the fate of pharmaceutical residues in the environment

Les objectifs de cette thèse est d'examiner l'hypothèses selon laquelle les caractéristiques psychologiques constituent modificateur de la relation entre l'exposition aux polluants atmosphériques et l'asthme infantile. A cet effet, nous avons utilisé les données de l'Etude des 6 villes avec dessein transversale, et l'étude de cohorte mère-enfant de type longitudinale EDEN (Étude sur les Déterminants pré et postnatalsdu développement de la santé l'ENfant) pour examiner cette hypothèse.Les données ont montré qu'à la fois les polluants atmosphériques mesurés subjectivement et les polluants atmosphériques mesurés objectivement étaient associés à l'asthme infantile. Les analyses sur les relations entre les facteurs psychologiques et de l'asthme infantile ont montré une association entre les problèmes comportementaux et la prévalence de l'asthme et de l'eczéma, l'asthme sévère et l'apparition de l'asthme précoce dans l'Etude des 6 villes et la dépression pendant la grossesse était associée au developpement de la rhino-conjonctivite allergique au cours des 5 premières années de vie chez les enfants de l'étude EDEN. La prise en compte des interactions entre les polluants de l'air et les facteurs psychologiques ont montré que les relations entre les polluants de l'air et l'asthme infantile étaient modifiées par les facteurs psychologiques. En conclusion, nos résultats fournissent de nouvelles données sur les relations entre les polluants atmosphériques mesurés subjectivement et objectivement et/ou des facteurs psychologiques (problèmes comportementaux et de dépression maternelle pendant la grossesse) et l'asthme infantile, ce qui suggère de considérer les enfants ayant des problèmes psychologiques comme une population sensible aux effets néfastes des polluants atmosphériques et de prendre en compte ces ces facteurs simultanément dans le paradigme de la prévention de l'asthme infantile . / The purposes of this thesis are to examine the hypothesis according to which psychological features are a modifier of the relation between exposure to air pollution and childhood asthma. To this extent, we used the data from the cross-sectional French 6 Cities Study and the longitudinal EDEN (Study of pre- and post-natal determinants of children?s growth and development) mother-child cohort study to examine the hypothesis. The data show that both subjectively and objectively measured air pollutants were related to childhood asthma. The analyses on the relationships between psychological factors and childhood asthma and allergies yielded that children with behavioral problems had a higher odds ratio in relation to prevalences of asthma and eczema, asthma severity and early asthma onset in the French 6 Cities study and maternal depression during pregnancy was associated with the development of allergic rhinoconjunctivitis in the first 5 years of life in children of the EDEN mother-child cohort study. Taking into account the interactions between air pollutants and psychological factors, results showed that the relationships between air pollutants and childhood asthma were modified by psychological factors. In conclusion, our results add new evidence on the relationships between subjectively and objectively measured air pollutants and/or psychological factors (behavioral problems and maternal depression during pregnancy) and childhood asthma and imply to consider children with psychological problems as a population susceptible to the detrimental effects of air pollutants and take into account these factors simultaneously into the paradigm of childhood asthma prevention.

This study was designed to accomplish two primary objectives: (1) to compare two test methods commonly used to evaluate toxicity of inhaled air pollutants, and (2) to observe the response as measured by each of the methods, of pulmonary alveolar macrophages exposed to 2μg hexavalent chromium. The firs t method evaluated featured use of intratracheal injections to simulate live inhalation exposures, and the second required exposure of macrophages cultured on petri plates. Pulmonary alveolar macrophages harvested from Long Evans rats were used. The two cell function parameters measured in the evaluations were chemiluminescence and oxygen consumption (which was determined for cells at rest and during phagocytosis). These two tests have been shown to be sensitive indicators of macrophage damage. Results of CL output and oxygen consumption revealed the two methods were significantly different. Evaluation of macrophages from live animals treated with CrO3 or CaCrO4showed no differences between their respective untreated controls as determined by measurement of their chemiluminescence production or of oxygen consumption rates. Alveolar macrophages that were cultured in media during treatment with the same two forms of hexavalent chromium showed statistically significant differences from untreated controls. These comparisons indicate that choices of investigative toxicological models influence interpretation of data recorded.

Pannes are rare intradunal wetlands. Though small, they are known to exhibit extremely diverse and sensitive vegetation and are home to a number of reptile and amphibian species. In the United States, pannes are known to occur only around the Great Lakes Basin and Cape Cod. At Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, the fifteen known pannes have an unusually large variety of plant species for such a small geographic area and provide habitat for plant species found nowhere else in Indiana. However, these sensitive ecosystems have been exposed to over a century of atmospheric pollutants from the surrounding steel and coal industries. Since 1986, the native vegetation of the area is slowly being replaced by invasive species like Phragmites australis and Typha spp. This study attempts to explain the shift in vegetation. Pannes in two other locations, at a distance from the industrial complex, were used as control sites as they were not expected to be exposed to the same levels of heavy metal concentrations. Four of the fifteen pannes at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, two of the four pannes at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan, and two of the three pannes at Warren Dunes State Park, Michigan, were studied, resulting in a total of eight pannes. The pannnes were stratified and sampled by hydroperiod. Surface soil samples and sediments at depth, were recovered from each of the pannes considered in this study and analyzed for heavy metal, phosphorus, carbon and nitrogen content. Results show that high levels of organic matter coupled with high nutrients and high metals, in the soil, are a combination that may be considered a risk factor for future invasion of pannes by invasive species. It appears to be difficult for the native vegetation to deal with the high metals and high nutrients which are deleterious to the native vegetation and facilitate establishment of invasive vegetation which is more tolerant to the altered geochemical conditions.

No description available.

Environmental pollution represents one of the most pressing problems in developed countries and in recent years has raised concern and doubts also from the scientific perspective. In fact, an ever-growing number of epidemiologic-observational studies, carried out on population at risk, correlated the exposure to environmental chemicals with the incidence of several pathological conditions, ranging from metabolic to cardiological and reproductive diseases, until the development of cancers. These evidences have made more urgent the need for further investigations on the biological mechanism at the basis of pollutants toxicity. In particular, significant attention has been paid to evaluating the impact of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) on human health. OCPs belong to a large class of organic compounds that the Stockholm Convention catalogued as “POPs” (Persistent Organic Pollutants). The list of banned chemicals includes dioxins and their derivatives, hexachlorocyclohexane, polychlorinated biphenyls and aldrin, whereas many other similar substances are subjected to restrictions. OCPs are widely distributed in the biosphere and their hazardousness is mostly related to physicochemical properties such as lipophilia and energetic stability, that allow these molecules to be resistant to biodegradation and to bio-accumulate into the adipose tissue. Information about the molecular mechanisms of the most popular OCPs (i.e. dioxins, DDT) is already present in scientific literature and several studies indicated them as endocrine disrupting chemicals as well as oncogenes. On the other hand, not much is known about a dangerous and widely diffused compound: the hexachlorocyclohexane. Hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) is a chlorinated cyclic saturated hydrocarbon that exists in four isomers: α, β, γ and δ hexachlorocyclohexane. The g-isomer of HCH, also known as lindane, is a broad-spectrum insecticide that has been extensively used for the control of agricultural pests and for health purposes. Among HCH isomers, which are by-products of lindane industrial synthesis, β-HCH is the most recalcitrant because of its higher energetic stability due to the equatorial position of all six chlorine atoms in the chair cyclohexane conformation; in addition, few reports are available about its metabolic breakdown. For this characteristic, it is usually the predominant isomer remaining in soils and in animal tissue and can still be detected at low background environmental levels. The improper disposal of huge amounts of β-HCH led to the generation of contaminated sites in several parts of the world (Italy, Turkey, Spain, Kazakhstan, Canada, India, China, Russia, Poland, Germany, Argentine): this classifies “lindane’s contamination” as one of the environmental catastrophe of global proportions on the planetary scale. A detailed epidemiological study, ongoing since 2006, has found correlation between high blood levels of β-HCH and the occurrence of a wide range of diseases in a sample of 660 exposed patients living close the Valle del Sacco, south of Rome. The Valle del Sacco, in fact, is characterized by the presence of a large industrial conglomerate in which lindane production has been stopped in 70’s. Although the biomonitoring study highlighted a link between β-HCH contamination and the incidence of several pathological conditions, few data are currently available in the scientific literature regarding the molecular mechanism of β-HCH. For this reason, our laboratory is investigating since 2015 the intracellular effects of β-HCH with a particular focus on its impact on cancer cells. In a first published study, experiments were carried out on a panel of cells representing different human tumor types (i.e. liver, lungs, prostate, breast) associated with the expression and activation of specific receptors or kinases that are related to STAT3 activity. The experimental concentration of 10 µM for β-HCH was chosen averaging across all the plasma concentration values detected in patients under the biomonitoring study carried out in the Valle del Sacco, in order to reproduce the real exposure conditions. After evaluating the effects of β-HCH on cellular viability, different types of analysis were performed to identify the transduction cascades involved in the molecular responses to β-HCH. Obtained results established that β-HCH can activate cell-line specific pathways that all converge in STAT3 activation. Then, a special focus was placed on investigating the putative role of β-HCH in prostate cancer progression; in fact, literature data, together with our previous findings, suggest that β-HCH could have an endocrine disrupting activity by interfering with Androgen Receptor (AR) signaling. To confirm this hypothesis, LNCaP cells (hormone-sensitive prostate cancer cell line) were treated with β-HCH or testosterone in the presence or absence of the chemotherapeutic agent bicalutamide. The outcomes show that AR nuclear translocation occurs upon both β-HCH and testosterone treatment, whereas is inhibited in the presence of bicalutamide, as evidenced by immunoblotting analysis on nuclear extracts and immunofluorescence experiments. Subsequently, was verified whether β-HCH could affect the activity of AhR (Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor), the xenobiotic sensor par excellence, in both hormone-dependent and independent tumor types. Immunofluorescence analysis evidenced the capability of β-HCH to induce AhR nuclear translocation. In addition, immunoblotting analysis were performed on cells treated with β-HCH in the presence or not of MG-132 (proteasome inhibitor) and CH223191 (AhR inhibitor) and obtained results clearly highlighted the influence of β-HCH on AhR signaling. Then, experiments were performed to investigate whether β-HCH, on par with other organochlorine pesticides, can induce oxidative stress. For this purpose, ROS production and GSSG/GSH ratio were measured, evidencing the impact of β-HCH on cellular redox homeostasis. In parallel, variations in cellular bioenergetic profile were monitored, demonstrating that β-HCH promote a metabolic shift toward aerobic glycolysis. In this altered context, β-HCH can also induce DNA damage through H2AX phosphorylation. Subsequently, the potential role of β-HCH as a contributor in tumor initiation was inspected. Experiments were carried out on a continuous normal bronchial epithelium cell line to investigate whether β-HCH could trigger cellular malignant transformation toward cancer development. For this reason, β-HCH impact was evaluated on cells viability and morphology and some markers for tumorigenesis, as Ki67 positive-cells and EGF secretion, were studied along with β-HCH activation pathways. Experimental outcomes strongly support the oncogenic potential of this molecule. Considering the capability of β-HCH to promote cell growth and tumor progression, the next question to answer is whether the exposure to β-HCH may lead to a loss of response to chemotherapeutic agents such as tyrosine kinases inhibitors. Experiments carried out on a HER2-positive lung cancer cell line revealed that β-HCH can counteract the inhibitory activity of lapatinib, leading to a higher cell proliferation rate via STAT3 activation. Further investigations were conducted using other chemotherapeutic agents (cisplatin, camptothecin and paclitaxel) and preliminar results seem to confirm the loss of sensitivity to drugs in the presence of β-HCH. From an environmental point of view, the persistence of β-HCH still represents an open question for the presence of massive illegal repositories all around the world. For this reason, β-HCH degradation through a copper-based Fenton-like method was explored by setting up a HPLC protocol under different experimental conditions. The process focused on the quantitative degradation of the parental β-HCH, since the detection of its breakdown products or transformed molecules would need a mass-spectrometry for their qualitative characterization. In parallel with the β-HCH research topic, the role of the protein STAT3 in prostate cancer was further deepened. STAT3 (Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3) is a converging point for many signaling cascades and has been reported constitutively activated in a wide range of solid tumors and hematological malignancies. STAT3 is a latent cytosolic transcription factor and upregulates the expression of genes involved in cell survival and proliferation upon a wide variety of stimuli, including cytokines, oncogenes, growth factors or cytosolic kinases. The dynamic biological behavior of STAT3 can explain the higher proliferation rate triggered by β-HCH through the activation of STAT3-mediated pathways. STAT3 fulfils its multifaceted molecular functions through two different intracellular mechanisms, generally referred as canonical and non-canonical pathways. The canonical activation of STAT3 is strictly dependent on its phosphorylation at the tyrosine residue 705; upon phosphorylation at Y705, induced by the binding of a ligand to its receptor, STAT3 undergoes homodimerization to form an active dimer that can translocate to nucleus and mediates its transcriptional activity. Besides its well-described canonical signaling, STAT3 can be subjected to alternative post-translational modifications. In addition, recent studies assessed the involvement of STAT3, by means of both its canonical and non-canonical pathway, in the metabolic shift toward aerobic glycolysis known as Warburg Effect, which is typical of the more aggressive tumor phenotypes. On the basis of these premises, the existence of a link between PTMs and specific STAT3-mediated pathways was investigated in LNCaP (less aggressive PCa form) and DU-145 (more aggressive) cells performing experiments that simulated inflammatory and oxidative-stress conditions. Cells were treated with IL-6 to induce an inflammatory response, whereas tert-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BHP) was used to simulate oxidative stress. Obtained results on cellular models confirmed the relationship between STAT3 PTMs and cellular conditions, thereby reinforcing the hypothesis that PTMs can drive intracellular responses through STAT3-mediated signaling pathways. Thus, it is possible to identify STAT3 PTMs and STAT3 modulators as suitable markers or targets for PCa prevention, diagnosis and therapy. Then the role of STAT3 in prostate cancer energy metabolism was further investigated, with particular focus on the protein SHMT2 (Serine-Hydroxymethyltransferase). Results indicate that SHMT2 is an active player in STAT3 signaling and that its expression is upregulated by the JAK2/STAT3 canonical pathway upon IL-6 stimulation. Experiments were carried out on two different prostate cancer cell lines, LNCaP (less aggressive) and DU145 (more aggressive). The observation was extended to PCa formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue sections obtained from total prostatectomies: collected specimens are characterized by a different Gleason score, ranging from 6 (less aggressive) to 9 (more aggressive). In both cell lines, STAT3 activation mode, the amount and distribution of PKM2, SHMT2, and HIF-1a proteins, as well as the cellular metabolic conditions, were evaluated in the presence or absence of IL-6-induced inflammation. Expression levels of PKM2, SHMT2, and HIF-1a, together with interleukin-6, were also analyzed utilizing normal and tumor FFPE tissues. / Doctorat en Sciences agronomiques et ingénierie biologique / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Two adsorption/microcoulometric methods have been investigated for total organic halogen (TOX) in water. TOX, a proposed water-quality parameter, is a rapid, surrogate method to detect halides microcoulometrically and does not require compound identification before water quality can be judged. An XAD resin is used to concentrate organic halides that are eluted by a two-step, two-solvent procedure, followed by analysis using :chromatography or pyrolysis to convert organic halides to halide. In the granular activated carbon (GAC) method, the entire GAC-organic halide sample is pyrolyzed. TOX measurements of model compounds are comparable by both methods, but GAC was found to be superior to XAD for adsorption of chlorinated humics in drinking water and chlorinated lake water.