Search results for " Toxicology"
showing 10 items of 2991 documents
Urbanization, trace metal pollution, and malaria prevalence in the house sparrow.
2013
10 pages; International audience; Anthropogenic pollution poses a threat for the environment and wildlife. Trace metals (TMs) are known to have negative effects on haematological status, oxidative balance, and reproductive success in birds. These pollutants particularly increase in concentration in industrialized, urbanized and intensive agricultural areas. Pollutants can also interfere with the normal functioning of the immune system and, as such, alter the dynamics of host-parasite interactions. Nevertheless, the impact of pollution on infectious diseases has been largely neglected in natural populations of vertebrates. Here, we used a large spatial scale monitoring of 16 house sparrow (P…
Innovative alternative technologies to extract carotenoids from microalgae and seaweeds
2016
Marine microalgae and seaweeds (microalgae) represent a sustainable source of various bioactive natural carotenoids, including β-carotene, lutein, astaxanthin, zeaxanthin, violaxanthin and fucoxanthin. Recently, the large-scale production of carotenoids from algal sources has gained significant interest with respect to commercial and industrial applications for health, nutrition, and cosmetic applications. Although conventional processing technologies, based on solvent extraction, offer a simple approach to isolating carotenoids, they suffer several, inherent limitations, including low efficiency (extraction yield), selectivity (purity), high solvent consumption, and long treatment times, w…
Biochemical characterization of cassiopea andromeda (Forsskål, 1775), another red sea jellyfish in the western mediterranean sea
2021
Increasing frequency of native jellyfish proliferations and massive appearance of non-indigenous jellyfish species recently concur to impact Mediterranean coastal ecosystems and human activities at sea. Nonetheless, jellyfish biomass may represent an exploitable novel resource to coastal communities, with reference to its potential use in the pharmaceutical, nutritional, and nutraceutical Blue Growth sectors. The zooxanthellate jellyfish Cassiopea andromeda, Forsskål, 1775 (Cnidaria, Rhizostomeae) entered the Levant Sea through the Suez Canal and spread towards the Western Mediterranean to reach Malta, Tunisia, and recently also the Italian coasts. Here we report on the biochemical characte…
First Assessment of Plasticizers in Marine Coastal Litter-Feeder Fauna in the Mediterranean Sea
2021
Micro and nanoplastics are harmful to marine life due to their high level of fragmentation and resistance to degradation. Over the past two decades, marine coastal sediment has shown an increasing amount of microplastics being a sort of trap for debris wastes or chemicals. In such an environment some species may be successful candidates to be used as monitors of environmental and health hazards and can be considered a mirror of threats of natural habitats. Such species play a key role in the food web of littoral systems since they are litter-feeders, and are prey for fishes or higher trophic level species. A preliminary investigation was conducted on five species of small-sized amphipod cru…
Survey on the presence of non-dioxine-like PCBs (NDL-PCBs) in loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) stranded in south Mediterranean coasts (Sicily, So…
2017
A total of 71 loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) stranded along the coasts of Sicily (Southern Italy) were examined for non-dioxine like polychlorinated biphenyl (NDL-PCB) levels in muscle and adipose tissue by a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) method. The results revealed 6 high-indicator congener (∑6 PCBIND ) levels in 45% of the loggerhead turtles examined, with mean values of 980.39 ± 2508.39 ng/g wet weight in adipose tissue and 102.53 ± 238.58 ng/g wet weight in muscle tissue. The hexachloro and heptachloro PCB congeners were the most abundant in both the sample types. The highest NDL-PCB levels were reached in an adipose tissue sample of a loggerhe…
Diapause as escape strategy to exposure to toxicants: response of Brachionus calyciforus to arsenic
2016
Invertebrate organisms commonly respond to environmental fluctuation by entering diapause. Production of diapause in monogonont rotifers involves a previous switch from asexual to partial sexual reproduction. Although zooplankton have been used in ecotoxicological assays, often their true vulnerability to toxicants is underestimated by not incorporating the sexual phase. We experimentally analyzed traits involved in sexual reproduction and diapause in the cyclically parthenogenetic freshwater rotifer, Brachionus calyciflorus, exposed to arsenic, a metalloid naturally found in high concentrations in desert zones, focusing on the effectiveness of diapause as an escape response in the face of …
Proposed Environmental Risk Management Elements in a Carpathian Valley Basin, within the Roşia Montană European Historical Mining Area
2021
Non-ferrous metals mining activities have long accompanied people, and began in the study area of South East Europe over 2000 years ago. The environment quality is significantly affected by both historic mining activities and contemporary impacts. All these problems, inducing synergic negative effects on local organism communities, have created a chronic state of pollution. The Corna Valley has one of the oldest historical human impacts in Romania due to the influence of mining. Fish and benthic macroinvertebrates have exhibited significant responses to long term mining effects on lotic systems. The analysis of macroinvertebrate communities, correlated with the lack of fish and some biotope…
Evaluation and comparison of trace metal accumulation in different tissues of potential bioindicator organisms: Macrobenthic filter feedersStyela pli…
2016
Trace metal concentrations were measured in different tissues of Sabella spallanzanii, Styela plicata, and Mytilus galloprovincialis collected in the Termini Imerese Harbor (Sicily, Italy) to evaluate the potential use of these species as bioindicators. Higher bioaccumulation factors (BAFs) were calculated in the tube of S. spallanzanii, except for As, which had a higher BAF in the branchial crown of the same species. Regarding the other species analyzed, higher BAFs were found in the digestive gland of M. galloprovincialis. An exception was Pb, which was significantly more concentrated in the branchial basket and tunic of S. plicata. The BAFs calculated in the present study show that all t…
Annual post-market environmental monitoring (PMEM) report on the cultivation of genetically modified maize MON 810 in 2014 from Monsanto Europe S.A.
2016
Requestor: European CommissionQuestion number: EFSA-Q-2015-00650; Following a request from the European Commission, the Panel on Genetically Modified Organisms of the European Food Safety Authority (GMO Panel) assessed the annual post-market environmental monitoring (PMEM) report for the 2014 growing season of maize MON 810 provided by Monsanto Europe S.A. The GMO Panel concludes that the insect resistance monitoring data do not indicate a decrease in susceptibility of field Iberian populations of corn borers to the Cry1Ab protein over the 2014 season. However, as the methodology for insect resistance monitoring remained unchanged compared to previous PMEM reports, the GMO Panel reiterates …
Photoreceptors and respiratory electron flow involvement in the activity of acifluorfen-methyl and LS 82-556 on nonchlorophyllous soybean cells
1987
Abstract The diphenyl ether acifluorfen-methyl [AFM; methyl 5-[2-chloro-4-(trifluoromethyl)phenoxy]-2-nitrobenzoate] and the pyridine derivative LS 82-556 [( S )-3- N -(methylbenzyl)carbamoyl-5-propionyl-2,6-lutidine] induce light-dependent polyunsaturated fatty acid peroxidation, leading to general membrane disruption. Although devoid of functional chloroplasts, cultured soybean cells are sensitive to AFM and LS 82-556 only in the light. The possible involvement of carotenoids and respiratory electron flow was examined by monitoring ethane evolution, fluorescein release, and dry weight/fresh weight ratio alteration. Herbicide effects on cells exposed to white light or blue light (380–540 n…