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This article content is aimed at characterization of urgent problematic issues, which are connected with determining the place of forensic expertise in cases related to the protection of consumer rights and the development of ways of solving emerging problems. The article emphasizes that in accordance with the current legislation, consumers have the right to protect their rights to the necessary quality, safety of goods and services, as well as the right to compensation for losses caused by goods of inadequate quality, dangerous to life and health, etc. It is determined that the main control in the sphere of trade is exercised by the State Service for Product Safety and Consumer Protection, and it is established that the problems are the inability of this service to carry out an instant check on a consumer complaint of a particular point of sale. At the present stage, the problem of citizens' rights including rights in the sphere of consumption, is extremely urgent, because accession of Ukraine to the European Union requires the application of European standards of product quality. In developed country, the consumer is a major player in market relations, which is focused on the production and improvement of the quality of goods and services. The application of sanctions to sellers, manufacturers of poor-quality products does not always give the necessary effect, because usually an unscrupulous manufacturer (seller, executor) pays a fine and continues to provide poor quality services, to supply products that are dangerous to life and health. Important factor in improving the quality of products and services provided is the legal knowledge of consumers themselves in protecting their rights. Consumer rights have a prerogative over the rights of sellers and producers, since human life and health under the Constitution of Ukraine is a fundamental value of the state. The authors described the actions that the consumer should take to protect their violated rights, and emphasized that in cases where the consumer seeks to restore justice for this issue, he should ask an expert institution to perform a forensic trade research. ; Окреслено актуальні проблемні питання, пов'язані з визначенням місця судово-товарознавчих експертиз у справах про захист прав споживачів і розробкою шляхів вирішення проблем, що виникають. Споживачі згідно з чинним законодавством мають право на захист своїх прав щодо належної якості, безпеки товарів та послуг, а також право на відшкодування збитків, завданих товарами неналежної якості, небезпечними для життя та здоров'я тощо. Визначено дії, які споживач повинен вчинити для захисту своїх порушених прав, та підкреслено, що у випадках коли споживач намагається відновити справедливість у цьому проблемному питанні, він має звернутися до експертних установ з проханням провести товарознавчі дослідження товарів.

Cover -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- Contributors -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Part I Biological Weathering -- Chapter 1 Biological Weathering in the Terrestrial System: An Evolutionary Perspective -- 1.1. INTRODUCTION -- 1.2. WEATHERING -- 1.3. THE EARLY ANOXIC EARTH -- 1.4. THE GREAT OXIDATION EVENT -- 1.5. MODERN-DAY OXIDATIVE WEATHERING -- 1.6. LIFE AND MATTER INTERACTIONS ACROSS SCALES -- 1.7. FUTURE DIRECTIONS -- REFERENCES -- Chapter 2 Plants as Drivers of Rock Weathering -- 2.1. INTRODUCTION -- 2.2. MECHANISMS OF WEATHERING BY PLANTS -- 2.3. EXPERIMENTAL AND FIELD EVIDENCE OF BIOLOGICAL WEATHERING BY PLANTS AND SYMBIOTIC FUNGI -- 2.4. CLIMATE CHANGE AND OTHER ANTHROPOGENIC EFFECTS ON PLANT WEATHERING AND CARBON FLUXES -- 2.5. SUMMARY AND FUTURE OUTLOOK/KNOWLEDGE GAPS -- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS -- REFERENCES -- Chapter 3 Microbial Weathering of Minerals and Rocks in Natural Environments -- 3.1. INTRODUCTION -- 3.2. CONCEPTS IN MICROBIAL WEATHERING STUDIES -- 3.3. MECHANISMS OF MINERAL AND ROCK WEATHERING -- 3.4. TECHNIQUES AND METHODOLOGY IN MICROBIAL WEATHERING STUDIES -- 3.5. MICROBIAL ECOLOGY OF WEATHERING ENVIRONMENTS -- 3.6. BIOSIGNATURES OF MICROBIAL MINERAL AND ROCK WEATHERING -- 3.7. SHAPING LANDSCAPES-MICROBIAL BIOGEOMORPHOLOGY -- 3.8. CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS -- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS -- REFERENCES -- Chapter 4 Micro- and Nanoscale Techniques to Explore Bacteria and Fungi Interactions with Silicate Minerals -- 4.1. INTRODUCTION -- 4.2. ELECTRON MICROSCOPY -- 4.3. HELIUM ION MICROSCOPY -- 4.4. ATOMIC FORCE MICROSCOPY -- 4.5. X-RAY-BASED SPECTROSCOPY ANALYSIS -- 4.6. SUMMARY AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVES -- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS -- REFERENCES -- Chapter 5 Modeling Microbial Dynamics and Heterotrophic Soil Respiration: Effect of Climate Change -- 5.1. INTRODUCTION.

Military training exercises can result in deposition of energetic residues on range soils, which ultimately can contaminate groundwater with munitions constituents. Column experiments followed by HYDRUS-1D modeling were conducted to evaluate dissolution and transport of energetic constituents from the new insensitive munitions (IM) formulations IMX-101, a mixture of 3-nitro-1,2,4-triazol-5-one (NTO), nitroguanidine (NQ), and 2, 4-dinitroanisole (DNAN), and IMX-104, a mixture of NTO, 1,3,5-hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) and DNAN. NTO and DNAN are emerging contaminants associated with the development of insensitive munitions as replacements for traditional munitions. Flow interruption experiments were performed to investigate dissolution kinetics and sorption non-equilibrium between soil and solution phases. The results indicated that insensitive munitions compounds dissolved in order of their aqueous solubility, consistent with prior dissolution studies conducted in the absence of soil. Initial elution of the high concentration pulse of highly soluble NTO and NQ was followed by lower concentrations, while DNAN had generally lower and more constant concentrations in leachate. The sorption of NTO and NQ was low, while RDX, 1,3,5,7-octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitrotetrazocine (HMX, an impurity in technical grade RDX), and DNAN all exhibited appreciable sorption. DNAN transformation was observed, with formation of amino-reduction products 2-ANAN (2-amino-4-nitroanisole) and 4-ANAN (4-amino-2-nitroanisole). HYDRUS-1D model, incorporating one-dimensional advective-dispersive transport with particle dissolution and first-order solute transformation was used to simulate the measured breakthrough curves. Optimized dissolution parameters varied widely but were correlated between compounds in the same formulation. Determined adsorption coefficients generally agreed with values determined from batch and column studies conducted with pure NTO and DNAN, while mass-loss rate coefficients were in better agreement with ones from batch than column studies possibly due to suppression of microbial transformation during elution of high concentrations of explosives. Even in the low organic matter soils selected in this study DNAN experienced significant retardation and transformation, indicating potential for its natural attenuation.

Live-fire military training scatters energetic compounds onto range soils. Once deposited on soil the explosives and propellants ingredients can dissolve in water (precipitation, delete), experience complex interactions with soil constituents, and migrate through subsurface soil leading to ground water contamination. While in contact with soil these chemicals are also subject to several abiotic (hydrolysis, photolysis, and reaction with metals) and biotic (biotransformation) reactions both in the solid and in the aqueous state In this review we will summarize the current state of knowledge on how energetic residues are deposited on range soils, what the residues look like and how quickly they dissolve in water. We will also describe the key physiochemical properties (Sw, pH, kow, Kd) of high explosives and propellants and discuss how these parameters influence their geo-biochemical interactions with soil and their chemical and microbial transformation routes in the environment. Knowing the reaction routes, especially the initial steps involved in the decomposition of these chemicals, will help us understand their fate, their ecological impact, and how to enhance in situ remediation. This review also identifies knowledge gaps and highlights future research needs ; NRC publication: Yes

The explosive 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) is currently a main ingredient in munitions; however the compound has failed to meet the new sensitivity requirements. The replacement compound being tested is 2,4-dinitroanisole (DNAN). DNAN is less sensitive to shock, high temperatures, and has good detonation characteristics. However, DNAN is more soluble than TNT, which can influence transport and fate behavior and thus bioavailability and human exposure potential. The objective of this study was to investigate the environmental fate and transport of DNAN in soil, with specific focus on sorption processes. Batch and column experiments were conducted using soils collected from military installations located across the United States. The soils were characterized for pH, electrical conductivity, specific surface area, cation exchange capacity, and organic carbon content. In the batch rate studies, change in DNAN concentration with time was evaluated using the first order equation, while adsorption isotherms were fitted using linear and Freundlich equations. Solution mass-loss rate coefficients ranged between 0.0002h-1 and 0.0068h-1. DNAN was strongly adsorbed by soils with linear adsorption coefficients ranging between 0.6 and 6.3Lg-1, and Freundlich coefficients between 1.3 and 34mg1-nLnkg-1. Both linear and Freundlich adsorption coefficients were positively correlated with the amount of organic carbon and cation exchange capacity of the soil, indicating that similar to TNT, organic matter and clay minerals may influence adsorption of DNAN. The results of the miscible-displacement column experiments confirmed the impact of sorption on retardation of DNAN during transport. It was also shown that under flow conditions DNAN transforms readily with formation of amino transformation products, 2-ANAN and 4-ANAN. The magnitudes of retardation and transformation observed in this study result in significant attenuation potential for DNAN, which would be anticipated to contribute to a reduced risk for contamination of ground water from soil residues.

Military training exercises can result in deposition of energetic residues on range soils, which ultimately can contaminate groundwater with munitions constituents. Column experiments followed by HYDRUS-1D modeling were conducted to evaluate dissolution and transport of energetic constituents from the new insensitive munitions (IM) formulations IMX-101, a mixture of 3-nitro-1,2,4-triazol-5-one (NTO), nitroguanidine (NQ), and 2, 4-dinitroanisole (DNAN), and IMX-104, a mixture of NTO, 1,3,5-hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) and DNAN. NTO and DNAN are emerging contaminants associated with the development of insensitive munitions as replacements for traditional munitions. Flow interruption experiments were performed to investigate dissolution kinetics and sorption non-equilibrium between soil and solution phases. The results indicated that insensitive munitions compounds dissolved in order of their aqueous solubility, consistent with prior dissolution studies conducted in the absence of soil. Initial elution of the high concentration pulse of highly soluble NTO and NQ was followed by lower concentrations, while DNAN had generally lower and more constant concentrations in leachate. The sorption of NTO and NQ was low, while RDX, 1,3,5,7-octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitrotetrazocine (HMX, an impurity in technical grade RDX), and DNAN all exhibited appreciable sorption. DNAN transformation was observed, with formation of amino-reduction products 2-ANAN (2-amino-4-nitroanisole) and 4-ANAN (4-amino-2-nitroanisole). HYDRUS-1D model, incorporating one-dimensional advective-dispersive transport with particle dissolution and first-order solute transformation was used to simulate the measured breakthrough curves. Optimized dissolution parameters varied widely but were correlated between compounds in the same formulation. Determined adsorption coefficients generally agreed with values determined from batch and column studies conducted with pure NTO and DNAN, while mass-loss rate coefficients were in better agreement with ones from batch than column studies possibly due to suppression of microbial transformation during elution of high concentrations of explosives. Even in the low organic matter soils selected in this study DNAN experienced significant retardation and transformation, indicating potential for its natural attenuation.

Seminal plasma (SP) is thought to be a crucial factor which affects the expansion of regulatory T cells (Tregs) in female reproductive tract during embryo implantation. We propose that seminal transforming growth factor (TGF) β1 is responsible for local accumulation of circulating Tregs, which manifests as changes in Treg frequency in peripheral blood, whereas seminal interleukin (IL) 18 interferes with TGF-β1-dependent cellular reactions. The purpose of the present study is to determine whether the frequency of circulating Tregs is associated with the levels of seminal cytokines and pregnancy establishment in women exposed to partner's SP during in vitro fertilization (IVF)/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycle. Twenty-nine women were exposed to SP via timed intercourse before the day of ovum pickup (day-OPU) and also subjected to intravaginal SP application just after OPU. Measurements of seminal TGF-β1 and IL-18 were made by FlowCytomix technology. The percentage of CD4+CD25+CD127low+/– Tregs among total circulating CD4+T cells was determined by flow cytometry and the difference between Treg values on the day of embryo transfer and day-OPU was calculated. The percentage of Tregs on the day-OPU, identified as a predictive factor of clinical pregnancy after IVF/ICSI, showed a positive correlation with IL-18 concentration and content of this cytokine per ejaculate ( P < .001 and P < .004, respectively) and negative correlation with the TGF-β1/IL-18 ratio ( P < .014).These findings indicate that the adverse effect of seminal IL-18 excess on implantation may be realized by the prevention of postcoital TGF-β1-related migration of circulating Tregs, which clearly manifests as elevated level of Treg frequency in peripheral blood.