Search

Chlorinated ethene (CE) contaminants are widespread in groundwater, and the occurrence of vinyl chloride (VC), among others, is a well-known issue due to its mobility, persistence, and carcinogenicity. Human exposure to VC may occur through inhalation after soil vapor intrusion into buildings at sites with shallow underground contamination. Soil vapor intrusion risk is traditionally assessed through indoor air and sub-slab sampling (direct evidence) or soil gas and groundwater surveys (indirect evidence). Phytoscreening (sampling and analysis of tree trunk matrices) was proven as a cost-effective alternative technique to indirectly detect shallow underground contamination by higher chlorinated ethenes and subsequent vapor intrusion risk. However, the technique has appeared barely capable to screen for the lower chlorinated VC, likely due to its fugacity and aerobic bio-degradability, with only one literature record to date showing successful detection in trees. We applied phytoscreening at two sites with severe CE contamination nearby residential buildings caused by illegal dumping of chlorinated pitches from petrochemical productions. The two sites show variable amounts of VC in the shallow groundwater (1e2 to 1e4 μg/L), posing potential sanitary risk issues. Former soil gas surveys did not detect VC in the vadose zone. At both sites, we sampled trunk micro-cores and trunk gas from poplar trees close to contaminated piezometers in different seasons. VC was detected in several instances, disproving the shared literature assumption of the inefficacy of phytoscreening towards this compound. Factors influencing the detectability of VC and other CEs in trees were analyzed through linear regressions. Two different conceptual models were proposed to explain the effective uptake of VC by trees at the two sites, i.e., direct uptake of contaminated groundwater at the first site and uptake of VC from an anoxic vadose zone at the second site. In planta reductive dechlorination of CEs is not expected based on current literature knowledge. Thus, the detection of VC in trunks would indicate its occurrence in the shallow underground, suggesting higher screening effectiveness of phytoscreening compared to soil gas; this has implications for indirect vapor intrusion risk assessment., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Applications and acceptance of phytoscreening, i.e., the use of trees as screening tools for underground contamination, are still limited in many countries due to the lack of awareness of application policies, the intrinsic qualitative nature of the technique, and the paucity of critical analyses on available data. To date, the conditions influencing the effectiveness of the technique have been descriptively discussed, yet rarely quantified. This review will contribute to filling this knowledge gap, shedding light on the most suitable approaches to apply phytoscreening. The focus was placed specifically on chlorinated ethene compounds since they are among the main organic contaminants in groundwater and have been the most studied in the field of phytoscreening. Chlorinated ethenes' behavior and biodegradation potential largely depend on their physicochemical properties as well as the hydrogeological features of the system in which they migrate. Besides, their fate and transport in surface ecosystems are still poorly understood. Here, phytoscreening data from sites contaminated by chlorinated ethenes were extracted from relevant literature to form a global-scale database. Data were statistically analyzed to identify the major drivers of variability in tree-cores concentration. Correlation between tree-core and groundwater concentration was quantified through Spearman's rank coefficients, whilst detectability potential was determined based on tree-cores showing non-detection of contaminants. The influence on such parameters of factors like contaminant properties, hydrogeology, tree features, and sampling/analytical protocols was assessed. Results suggest that factors controlling plant uptake and contaminant phytovolatilization regulate correlation and detectability, respectively. Conditions increasing the correlation (e.g., sites with shallow and permeable aquifers) are recommended for phytoscreening applications aimed at mapping and monitoring contaminant plumes, whereas conditions increasing detectability (e.g., sampling tree-cores near ground level) are recommended to preliminary screen underground contamination in poorly investigated areas., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Myoelectric Computer Interfaces (MCIs) are a viable option to promote the recovery of movements following spinal cord injury (SCI), stroke, or other neurological disorders that impair motor functions. We developed and tested a MCI interface with the goal of reducing abnormal muscular activations due to compensatory strategies or undesired co-contraction after SCI. The interface mapped surface electromyographic signals (sEMG) into the movement of a cursor on a computer monitor. First, we aimed to reduce the co-activation of muscles pairs: the activation of two muscles controlled orthogonal directions of the cursor movements. Furthermore, to decrease the undesired concurrent activation of a third muscle, we modulated the visual feedback related to the position of the cursor on the screen based on the activation of this muscle. We tested the interface with six unimpaired and two SCI participants. Participants were able to decrease the activity of the targeted muscle when it was associated with the visual feedback of the cursor, but, interestingly, after training, its activity increased again. As for the SCI participants, one successfully decreased the co-activation of arm muscles, while the other successfully improved the selective activation of leg muscles. This is a first proof of concept that people with SCI can acquire, through the proposed MCI, a greater awareness of their muscular activity, reducing abnormal muscle simultaneous activations.