Many toxic substances in the workplace can modify human health and quality of life and there is still insufficient data on respiratory outcomes in adults exposed to phthalates. The aim of this work was to assess in waste management workers from the Nitra region of Slovakia (n = 30) the extent of exposure to phthalates and health-related outcomes. Four urinary phthalate metabolites mono(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP), monobutyl phthalate (MnBP), monoethyl phthalate (MEP) and monoisononyl phthalate (MiNP) were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). Urinary concentration of MEHP was positively associated with ratio of forced expiratory volume in 1 s to forced vital capacity % (FEV1/FVC) (r = 0.431; p = 0.018) and MiNP with fat free mass index (FFMI) (r = 0.439; p = 0.015). The strongest predictor of pulmonary function was the pack/year index as smoking history that predicted a decrease of pulmonary parameters, the FEV1/FVC, % of predicted values of peak expiratory flow (PEF % of PV) and FEV1 % of PV. Unexpectedly, urinary MEHP and MINP were positively associated with pulmonary function expressed as PEF % of PV and FEV1/FVC. We hypothesize that occupational exposure to phthalates estimated from urinary metabolites (MEHP, MiNP) can modify pulmonary function on top of lifestyle factors.

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Vanková V., Petluš P.: Water temperature influence on selected properties of surface river water throughout the year (river Nitra). Ekológia (Bratislava), Vol. 33, No. 2, p. 151-159, 2014.Assessment of chosen surface water properties was realised as a part of broader research on environmental aspects of urban environment. Analyses of selected physical and chemical water properties, oxygen and temperature regime, neutralisation capacity, selected nutrients and measurements of air temperature was done in monthly intervals during 2012 at three localities. Two of the assessed localities are at river Nitra: Nitra Communal Services and housing estate Chrenová I. The third locality is the oxbow lake of Malá Hangócka river at Nitra City Park. We have assessed the volume of oxygen concentration (O2, mg/l) and oxygen regime, phosphates (P-PO4 -3, mg/l), ammoniac nitrogen (N-NH4 +, mg/l), nitrites (N-NO2 -, mg/l), pH and water temperature (°C) from the collected samples. Out of these analyses the values of the above mentioned indicators, their annual fluctuation and water quality of observed localities were obtained. The influence of human activities on water properties and its quality was further assessed. Statistical methods such as two-factor dispersion analysis without replication and correlation coefficient were applied to validate the correlation of selected surface water properties, water and air temperature and to compare observed localities.

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Silicon on insulator (SOI) substrates will be required to reduce capacitive coupling and other parasitic effects as device scaling continues. ITRS projections point to a future need for SOI buried oxide layers as thin as 10 nm, and Si channel thickness potentially as low as 5 nm for fully- depleted ultra-thin-body devices. For such thin layers, conventional SOI fabrication processes become increasingly difficult. Progress towards fabricating ultra-thin SOI on Si (001) through an all-growth approach is presented. All steps are performed sequentially in situ, with no wet chemical processing. Starting with a Si wafer as large as 8 , our approach is to: 1) deposit a thin commensurate epitaxial oxide layer such as Ca1-xSrxTiO3; 2) oxidize to grow an interface SiO2 layer ('floating' the epitaxial oxide) for stress relief and lowering of the dielectric constant; and 3) deposit epitaxial Si or Si1-xGex to complete the fabrication process.