Search results for "POLLUTION"
showing 10 items of 2765 documents
Prenatal Ambient Air Pollution, Placental Mitochondrial DNA Content, and Birth Weight in the INMA (Spain) and ENVIRONAGE (Belgium) Birth Cohorts
2016
The research leading to these results was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Health (FIS-PI11/00610, FIS-PI041436, FIS-PI081151, FIS-PI042018, and FIS-PI09/02311), the European Union (EU) (FP7-ENV-2011 cod 282957 and HEALTH.2010.2.4.5-1), the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Red INMA G03/176, CB06/02/0041, FIS-FEDER 03/1615, 04/1509, 04/1112, 04/1931, 05/1079, 05/1052, 06/1213, 07/0314, 09/02647, 11/01007, 11/02591, CP11/00178, FIS-PI06/0867, and FIS-PS09/00090), the Conselleria de Sanitat Generalitat Valenciana, the Generalitat de Catalunya-CIRIT (1999SGR 00241), the Obre Social Cajastur, the Universidad de Oviedo, the Department of Health of the Basque Government (2005111093 and 2009111069),…
Prenatal Air Pollution and Reduced Birth Weight: Decline in Placental Mitochondria as a Potential Mechanism.
2016
Strong epidemiological evidence links prenatal exposure to ambient air pollution and outcomes including low birth weight, intrauterine growth restriction, and preterm birth.1,2 A new study finds evidence that the association between prenatal air pollution exposure and reduced birth weight may be mediated in part by a decline in the mitochondrial content of the placenta.3 During pregnancy, the placenta supports the nourishment, growth, and development of the fetus, and mitochondria within the cells of the placenta are essential to these processes.4 Mitochondria, the cellular organelles that regulate energy production, are easily damaged by reactive oxygen species generated by oxidative stres…
Oxidative Stress: A Unifying Mechanism for Cell Damage Induced by Noise, (Water-Pipe) Smoking, and Emotional Stress-Therapeutic Strategies Targeting …
2018
Modern technologies have eased our lives but these conveniences can impact our lifestyles in destructive ways. Noise pollution, mental stresses, and smoking (as a stress-relieving solution) are some environmental hazards that affect our well-being and healthcare budgets. Scrutinizing their pathophysiology could lead to solutions to reduce their harmful effects. Recent Advances: Oxidative stress plays an important role in initiating local and systemic inflammation after noise pollution, mental stress, and smoking. Lipid peroxidation and release of lysolipid by-products, disturbance in activation and function of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), induction of stress hormones …
Effects of Apirolio Addition and Alfalfa and Compost Treatments on the Natural Microbial Community of a Historically PCB-Contaminated Soil
2018
Abstract Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are ubiquitous and persistent organic pollutants generated exclusively from human sources and found in the environment as several congeners (e.g. Apirolio, produced in Italy and used for electrical transformers). To evaluate the ability of the natural microbial community of historically PCB-contaminated soil to transform or degrade PCBs after fresh contamination through the addition of Apirolio, a microcosm experiment was conducted in a greenhouse for approximately 8 months. Compost and Medicago sativa (alfalfa) were additionally used in the microcosms to stimulate microbial PCB degradation. Chemical analyses were performed to evaluate PCB concentra…
The ascidian Styela plicata hemocytes as a potential biomarker of marine pollution: In vitro effects of seawater and organic mercury.
2017
Toxic metals, such as mercury, contribute substantially to anthropogenic pollution in many estuarine environments. Animals living in those environments, particularly invertebrate filter feeders like tunicates, can be used as bioindicators. In an attempt to identify cellular markers for revealing pollution, this study examined in vitro the effects of different concentrations of methyl mercury on Styela plicata hemocytes. The harvested hemocytes from S. plicata that were exposed to the metal had a significant mortality, cellular count and morphometric alterations. These findings provided evidence of MeHg immunotoxic effects on S. plicata, resulting in hemocyte death and morphological changes …
Human-Driven Microbiological Contamination of Benthic and Hyporheic Sediments of an Intermittent Peri-Urban River Assessed from MST and 16S rRNA Gene…
2017
International audience; Rivers are often challenged by fecal contaminations. The barrier effect of sediments against fecal bacteria was investigated through the use of a microbial source tracking (MST) toolbox, and by Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) of V5-V6 16S rRNA gene (rrs) sequences. Non-metric multi-dimensional scaling analysis of V5-V6 16S rRNA gene sequences differentiated bacteriomes according to their compartment of origin i.e., surface water against benthic and hyporheic sediments. Classification of these reads showed the most prevalent operating taxonomic units (OTU) to be allocated to Flavobacterium and Aquabacterium. Relative numbers of Gaiella, Haliangium, and Thermoleophilu…
Effects of air pollution particles (ultrafine and fine particulate matter) on mitochondrial function and oxidative stress – Implications for cardiova…
2020
Environmental pollution is a major cause of global mortality and burden of disease. All chemical pollution forms together may be responsible for up to 12 million annual excess deaths as estimated by the Lancet Commission on pollution and health as well as the World Health Organization. Ambient air pollution by particulate matter (PM) and ozone was found to be associated with an all-cause mortality rate of up to 9 million in the year 2015, with the majority being of cerebro- and cardiovascular nature (e.g. stroke and ischemic heart disease). Recent evidence suggests that exposure to airborne particles and gases contributes to and accelerates neurodegenerative diseases. Especially, airborne t…
Assessing the effect of mercury pollution on cultured benthic foraminifera community using morphological and eDNA metabarcoding approaches
2018
Mercury (Hg) is a highly toxic element for living organisms and is known to bioaccumulate and biomagnify. Here, we analyze the response of benthic foraminifera communities cultured in mesocosm and exposed to different concentrations of Hg. Standard morphological analyses and environmental DNA metabarcoding show evidence that Hg pollution has detrimental effects on benthic foraminifera. The molecular analysis provides a more complete view of foraminiferal communities including the soft-walled single-chambered monothalamiids and small-sized hard-shelled rotaliids and textulariids than the morphological one. Among these taxa that are typically overlooked in morphological studies we found poten…
Induction of skeletal abnormalities and autophagy in Paracentrotus lividus sea urchin embryos exposed to gadolinium.
2017
Abstract Gadolinium (Gd) concentration is constantly increasing in the aquatic environment, becoming an emergent environmental pollutant. We investigated the effects of Gd on Paracentrotus lividus sea urchin embryos, focusing on skeletogenesis and autophagy. We observed a delay of biomineral deposition at 24 hours post fertilization (hpf), and a strong impairment of skeleton growth at 48 hpf, frequently displayed by an asymmetrical pattern. Skeleton growth was found partially resumed in recovery experiments. The mesodermal cells designated to biomineralization were found correctly migrated at 24 hpf, but not at 48 hpf. Western blot analysis showed an increase of the LC3-II autophagic marker…
Influence of environmental pollution with creosote oil or its vapors on biomass and selected physiological groups of microorganisms
2017
Survival of microorganisms in soils from treatment facility and landfill of wooden railway sleepers contaminated with creosote oil as well as in two types of soils with different content of organic carbon, treated with creosote oil vapors, was assessed. Microbiological assays including determination of: the biomass of living microorganisms method and the number of proteolytic, lipolytic and amylolytic microorganisms were carried out under laboratory conditions. Chromatography analysis of the soil extract from railway sleepers treatment facility was performed using GC/MS. The highest biomass and the number of tested microorganisms were determined in soils from wooden railway sleepers landfil…