Environmental Conditions as Determinants of Kidney Stone Formation.

Urolithiasis is a disease characterized by the presence of stones in the urinary tract, whether in the kidneys, ureters, or bladder. Its origin is multiple, and causes can be cited as hereditary, environmental, dietary, anatomical, metabolic, or infectious factors. A kidney stone is a biomaterial that originates inside the urinary tract, following the principles of crystalline growth, and in most cases, it cannot be eliminated naturally. In this work, 40 calculi from the Don Benito, Badajoz University Hospital are studied and compared with those collected in Madrid to establish differences between both populations with the same pathology and located in very different geographical areas. Analysis by cathodoluminescence offers information on the low crystallinity of the phases and their hydration states, as well as the importance of the bonds with the Ca cation in all of the structures, which, in turn, is related to environmental and social factors of different population groups such as a high intake of proteins, medications, bacterial factors, or possible contamination with greenhouse gases, among other factors.

Reactivity of Binary Construction and Demolition Waste Mix as Supplementary Cementitious Materials.

Calcareous and siliceous CDW wastes from concrete and glass wastes when mixed in binary mixtures has been analyzed in this study. Fine CDW fractions (<5 mm) of different sorts are selected: siliceous waste (HsT), calcareous waste (HcG) and laminated glass waste. The binary mixtures HsT/glass and HcG/glass at mix-proportions of 1:1, 2:1 and 1:2, respectively, are analyzed with a range of characterization techniques (XRD, TG/DTA, SEM-EDX, NMR, FT-IR) in the pure pozzolan/lime system over a reaction time of 90 days. The results showed that the incorporation of highly reactive recycled glass modified the pozzolanic reaction of the binary mixtures with respect to each particular concrete waste (of low activity). The principal mineralogical phases of the reaction were calcite and C-S-H gel, the latter modifying the C/S and A/S ratios as a function of either the silica or the lime-based concrete waste and the glass content of the mixtures. A higher degree of polymerization, morphology, and sodium content of C-H-S gel formed when glass was added.

Ecological and Health Risk Assessments of an Abandoned Gold Mine (Remance, Panama): Complex Scenarios Need a Combination of Indices.

The derelict Remance gold mine is a possible source of pollution with potentially toxic elements (PTEs). In the study area, diverse mine waste has been left behind and exposed to weather conditions, and poses risks for soil, plants and water bodies, and also for the health of local inhabitants. This study sought to perform an ecological and health risk assessment of derelict gold mining areas with incomplete remediation, including: (i) characterizing the geochemical distribution of PTEs; (ii) assessing ecological risk by estimating the pollution load index (PLI) and potential ecological risk index (RI); (iii) assessing soil health by dehydrogenase activity; and iv) establishing non-carcinogenic (HI) and carcinogenic risks (CR) for local inhabitants. Soil health seems to depend on not only PTE concentrations, but also on organic matter (OM). Both indexes (PLI and RI) ranged from high to extreme near mining and waste accumulation sites. As indicated by both the HI and CR results, the mining area poses a health risk for local inhabitants and particularly for children. For this reason, it will be necessary to set up environmental management programs in the areas that are most affected (tailings and surrounding areas) and accordingly establish the best remediation strategies to minimize risks for the local population.

Occurrence and environmental constraints of gray monazite in red soils from the Campo de Montiel area (SW Ciudad Real province, south central Spain).

Monazite ((Ce, La, Nd, Th) PO4) is a rare and strategic mineral that occurs naturally as an accessory and minor mineral in diverse igneous and metamorphic rocks. This mineral does not frequently form mineable ore deposits and it has different typologies, including those formed by endogenous processes (generally "yellow monazite" mineralizations) and those formed by exogenous processes ("gray monazite" mineralizations). The mineral is an important ore of Rare Earth Elements (REEs), which have been identified by the European Union as critical raw materials. Monazite can be considered a weathering-resistant mineral, and the mobility of the REE and associated elements is low. The study reported here concerns a mineralogical and geochemical assessment of the occurrence and risks associated with the presence of concentrations of monazite in a typical, well-developed, and representative red Mediterranean soil, in order to establish the associated risk with their future mining. The results confirmed that monazite ore is particularly poor in radioactive elements, and it is concentrated in the most surficial soil horizons. The chemical mobility of REEs present in the soil, as assessed by selective extraction with ammonium acetate in acidic media, follows the order Y > Dy > U > Tb > Gd > Eu > Sm > La > Th > Ce. The mobility of REEs contained in monazite proved to be higher than that of the REE compounds in the upper horizons of the soil profile suggesting the immobilization in other REE-containing minerals, while light REEs show lower mobility rates than heavy REEs, due to an immobilization of LREE by sorption with iron oxy-hydroxides. Further studies are required in order to obtain better speciation data for REEs in soils aimed to identify soluble and insoluble compounds.

Mineralogical and Geochemical Nature of Calcareous Vineyard Soils from Alcubillas (La Mancha, Central Spain).

The mineralogical and geochemical patterns of calcareous vineyard soils located in Alcubillas (La Mancha, Central Spain) have been evaluated; also their variability has been studied. The information provided by this study supports the assessment of geochemical spatial variability, the origin of these soils, their elements and the factors that control their distribution. The presence of quartz, calcite, feldspar and, in particular, illite and kaolinite is due to their inheritance from surrounding lithologies (and pedological processes), which mostly include limestones, marls and other sedimentary rocks, as well as metasedimentary rocks of Hercynian origin. Furthermore, since the presence and accumulation of certain trace elements in vineyard soils is a relevant global hazard (in particular with respect to wine production quality), the spatial distributions of Ba, Cr, Cu, Pb, Rb, Sr, V and Zr (carried out using geostatistical techniques and geometry-based interpolation methods) were investigated in order to determine the origin of these trace elements. The presence of these elements can be interpreted as being due to geogenic, pedogenic and, in certain cases, anthropic influences. The nature of certain agricultural practices, including the use of fertilizers, phytosanitary products and machinery, could explain the local increases in some trace element contents.

Biomonitoring of chemical elements in an urban environment using arboreal and bush plant species.

PURPOSE: The aim of this work was to investigate the possibility of using several bush and arboreal plant species, usually present as ornamental plants in street and parks, as environmental indicators of pollution. This is a research paper that evaluates the real possibility of using a fast and low-cost procedure to evaluate the pollution degree through data obtained from plant species growing within an urban environment. METHODS: Leaves of six different bush and arboreal species were collected from different parts of Madrid (Spain), ranging from highly polluted considered areas to medium and low contaminated ones. A total of 66 chemical elements, from major to minor and trace, were determined for every leaf sample by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Statistical analyses were carried out using mainly box and whisker plots, linear discriminant analysis and cluster analysis. RESULTS: The pollution by different elements of the studied areas of Madrid cannot be considered generally dangerous for human health. The level detected for the contaminants, in general, is similar or lower than other urban cities. Pb and V concentrations in plant samples tend to increase as traffic density increases. The different studied plant species showed a different capability of accumulation of certain elements. Cedrus deodara accumulates specially Ag, Hg, Mo and V; Cupressus sempervirens, Zr; Pinus pinea, As and Sb; Nerium oleander Ni, Pb, Mo and Se; Ligustrum ovalifolium, Sc and V; and Pittosporum tobira, Ag, Cd, Rb and Sc. CONCLUSIONS: The leaves and needles collected from bush and arboreal plants common in this city have demonstrated to be useful to evaluate the level of pollution not only through the chemical analysis but also through the recognition of the visual injury symptoms. The application of multivariate statistical techniques combined with determining of element concentration and correlation analysis has been proved to be an effective tool for reach the objectives of the present work. This allows visualising quickly the damages and leading the sampling through the points of high-level pollution, saving analysis, time and money.