Pop, heavy metal and the blues: secondary analysis of persistent organic pollutants (POP), heavy metals and depressive symptoms in the NHANES National Epidemiological Survey

Persistent environmental pollutants, including heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants (POPs), have a ubiquitous presence. Many of these pollutants affect neurobiological processes, either accidentally or by design. The aim of this study was to explore the associations between assayed measures of POPs and heavy metals and depressive symptoms. We hypothesised that higher levels of pollutants and metals would be associated with depressive symptoms.

Allium cepa test in environmental monitoring: A review on its application

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Integrated analysis of halogenated organic pollutants in sub-millilitre volumes of venous and umbilical cord blood sera

A rapid, robust and economical method for the analysis of persistent halogenated organic compounds in small volumes of human serum and umbilical cord blood is described. The pollutants studied cover a broad range of molecules of contemporary epidemiological and legislative concern, including polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs), polychlorobenzenes (CBs), hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs), DDTs, polychlorostyrenes (PCSs) and polybromodiphenyl ethers (PBDEs). Extraction and clean-up with n-hexane and concentrated sulphuric acid was followed with analysis by gas chromatography coupled to electron capture (GC-ECD) and GC coupled to negative ion chemical ionisation mass spectrometry (GC-NICI-MS). The advantages of this method rest in the broad range of analytes and its simplicity and robustness, while the use of concentrated sulphuric acid extraction/clean-up destroys viruses that may be present in the samples. Small volumes of reference serum between 50 and 1000 μL were extracted and the limits of detection/quantification and repeatability were determined. Recoveries of spiked compounds for the extraction of small volumes (≥300 μL) of the spiked reference serum were between 90% and 120%. The coefficients of variation of repeatability ranged from 0.1-14%, depending on the compound. Samples of 4-year-old serum and umbilical cord blood (n = 73 and 40, respectively) from a population inhabiting a village near a chloro-alkali plant were screened for the above-mentioned halogenated pollutants using this method and the results are briefly described. © 2010 Springer-Verlag.

Synthesis and characterisation of organo-beidellite

Today, there are growing concerns about the presence of environmental pollutants in many parts of the world. In particular, a lot of attention has been drawn to the levels of water and soil contaminants (de Paiva et al., 2008). The majority of these contaminants consist of NOCs (non-ionic organic compounds) and can enter our waterways through industrial activities, mining operations, crop and animal production, waste disposal and accidental leakage (de Paiva et al., 2008; Park et al., 2011). Therefore, there is an increased interest in the synthesis of new materials that can be used to remove potentially carcinogenic and toxic water contaminants. Smectite type organoclays are widely used in numerous applications, such as sorbent agents for environmental remediation, due to their unique properties (Jiunn-Fwu et al., 1990; Sheng et al., 1996; Zhou et al., 2007; Bektas et al., 2011; Park et al., 2011). This investigation focuses on beidellite (SBId-1), which belongs to the smectite clay family. Their properties include high cation exchange capacity (CEC), swelling properties, porous, high surface area and consequential strong adsorption/absorption capacity (Xi et al., 2007). However, swelling clays in general are not an effective sorbent agent in nature due to their hydrophilic properties. The hydrophilic properties of the clay can be changed to organophilic by intercalating a cationic surfactant. Many applications of organoclays are strongly dependent on their structural properties and hence, a better understanding of the configuration and structural change of organoclay is crucial. Organoclays were synthesised through ion exchange of 21CODTMA (MW: 392.5 g mol-1) and characterised using XRD and FTIR spectroscopy. This study investigates the structural and conformational changes of beidellite intercalated with octadecyltrimethylammonium bromide.

Setting water quality objectives for the health of freshwater fish

An important responsibility of the Environment Protection Authority, Victoria, is to set objectives for levels of environmental contaminants. To support the development of environmental objectives for water quality, a need has been identified to understand the dual impacts of concentration and duration of a contaminant on biota in freshwater streams. For suspended solids contamination, information reported by Newcombe and Jensen [ North American Journal of Fisheries Management , 16(4):693--727, 1996] study of freshwater fish and the daily suspended solids data from the United States Geological Survey stream monitoring network is utilised. The study group was requested to examine both the utility of the Newcombe and Jensen and the USA data, as well as the formulation of a procedure for use by the Environment Protection Authority Victoria that takes concentration and duration of harmful episodes into account when assessing water quality. The extent to which the impact of a toxic event on fish health could be modelled deterministically was also considered. It was found that concentration and exposure duration were the main compounding factors on the severity of effects of suspended solids on freshwater fish. A protocol for assessing the cumulative effect on fish health and a simple deterministic model, based on the biology of gill harm and recovery, was proposed. References D. W. T. Au, C. A. Pollino, R. S. S Wu, P. K. S. Shin, S. T. F. Lau, and J. Y. M. Tang. Chronic effects of suspended solids on gill structure, osmoregulation, growth, and triiodothyronine in juvenile green grouper epinephelus coioides . Marine Ecology Press Series , 266:255--264, 2004. J.C. Bezdek, S.K. Chuah, and D. Leep. Generalized k-nearest neighbor rules. Fuzzy Sets and Systems , 18:237--26, 1986. E. T. Champagne, K. L. Bett-Garber, A. M. McClung, and C. Bergman. {Sensory characteristics of diverse rice cultivars as influenced by genetic and environmental factors}. Cereal Chem. , {81}:{237--243}, {2004}. S. G. Cheung and P. K. S. Shin. Size effects of suspended particles on gill damage in green-lipped mussel perna viridis. Marine Pollution Bulletin , 51(8--12):801--810, 2005. D. H. Evans. The fish gill: site of action and model for toxic effects of environmental pollutants. Environmental Health Perspectives , 71:44--58, 1987. G. C. Grigg. The failure of oxygen transport in a fish at low levels of ambient oxygen. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. , 29:1253--1257, 1969. G. Holmes, A. Donkin, and I.H. Witten. {Weka: A machine learning workbench}. In Proceedings of the Second Australia and New Zealand Conference on Intelligent Information Systems , volume {24}, pages {357--361}, {Brisbane, Australia}, {1994}. {IEEE Computer Society}. D. D. Macdonald and C. P. Newcombe. Utility of the stress index for predicting suspended sediment effects: response to comments. North American Journal of Fisheries Management , 13:873--876, 1993. C. P. Newcombe. Suspended sediment in aquatic ecosystems: ill effects as a function of concentration and duration of exposure. Technical report, British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, Habitat Protection branch, Victoria, 1994. C. P. Newcombe and J. O. T. Jensen. Channel suspended sediment and fisheries: A synthesis for quantitative assessment of risk and impact. North American Journal of Fisheries Management , 16(4):693--727, 1996. C. P. Newcombe and D. D. Macdonald. Effects of suspended sediments on aquatic ecosystems. North American Journal of Fisheries Management , 11(1):72--82, 1991. K. Schmidt-Nielsen. Scaling. Why is animal size so important? Cambridge University Press, NY, 1984. J. S. Schwartz, A. Simon, and L. Klimetz. Use of fish functional traits to associate in-stream suspended sediment transport metrics with biological impairment. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment , 179(1--4):347--369, 2011. E. Al Shaw and J. S. Richardson. Direct and indirect effects of sediment pulse duration on stream invertebrate assemb ages and rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ) growth and survival. Canadian Journal of Fish and Aquatic Science , 58:2213--2221, 2001. P. Tiwari and H. Hasegawa. {Demand for housing in Tokyo: A discrete choice analysis}. Regional Studies , {38}:{27--42}, {2004}. Y. Tramblay, A. Saint-Hilaire, T. B. M. J. Ouarda, F. Moatar, and B Hecht. Estimation of local extreme suspended sediment concentrations in california rivers. Science of the Total Environment , 408:4221--

Determination of the levels of Polybrominated Diphenylethers (PBDEs) in pooled blood sera obtained from Australians aged 31-45 years

Polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs) are widely used as flame retardants in polymer materials, textiles, electronic boards and various other materials. Technical PBDE preparations are produced as mixtures of mainly penta-, octa- or decabrombiphenyl ethers1,2. PBDEs are structurally similar to other environmental pollutants like dioxins and PCBs, they are lipophilic and persistent compounds and are widespread in the environment. To date, no information is available on the levels of PBDEs in human serum in Australia. In 2003, more than 9000 blood samples were collected in Australia as part of the National Dioxins Program. The aim of this study was to evaluate PBDE concentrations in these samples, focusing on one age group.

Bioremediation of diesel oil contaminated soil and water

Diesel spills contaminate aquatic and terrestrial environments. To prevent the environmental and health risks, the remediation needs to be advanced. Bioremediation, i.e., degradation by microbes, is one of the suitable methods for cleaning diesel contamination. In monitored natural attenuation technique are natural processes in situ combined, including bioremediation, volatilization, sorption, dilution and dispersion. Soil bacteria are capable of adapting to degrade environmental pollutants, but in addition, some soil types may have indigenous bacteria that are naturally suitable for degradation. The objectives for this work were (1) to find a feasible and economical technique to remediate oil spilled into Baltic Sea water and (2) to bioremediate soil contaminated by diesel oil. Moreover, the aim was (3) to study the potential for natural attenuation and the indigenous bacteria in soil, and possible adaptation to degrade diesel hydrocarbons. In the aquatic environment, the study concentrated on diesel oil sorption to cotton grass fiber, a natural by-product of peat harvesting. The impact of diesel pollution was followed in bacteria, phytoplankton and mussels. In a terrestrial environment, the focus was to compare the methods of enhanced biodegradation (biostimulation and bioaugmentation), and to study natural attenuation of oil hydrocarbons in different soil types and the effect that a history of previous contamination may have on the bioremediation potential. (1) In the aquatic environment, rapid removal of diesel oil was significant for survival of tested species and thereby diversity maintained. Cotton grass not only absorbed the diesel but also benefited the bacterial growth by providing a large colonizable surface area and hence oil-microbe contact area. Therefore use of this method would enhance bioremediation of diesel spills. (2) Biostimulation enhances bioremediation, and (3) indigenous diesel-degrading bacteria are present in boreal environments, so microbial inocula are not always needed. In the terrestrial environment experiments, the combination of aeration and addition of slowly released nitrogen advanced the oil hydrocarbon degradation. Previous contamination of soil gives the bacterial community the potential for rapid adaptation and efficient degradation of the same type of contaminant. When the freshly contaminated site needs addition of diesel degraders, previously contaminated and remediated soil could be used as a bacterial inoculum. Another choice of inoculum could be conifer forest soil, which provides a plentiful population of degraders, and based on the present results, could be considered as a safe non-polluted inoculum. According to the findings in this thesis, bioremediation (microbial degradation) and monitored natural attenuation (microbial, physical and chemical degradation) are both suitable techniques for remediation of diesel-contaminated sites in Finland.

New pathway for the biodegradation of indole in Aspergillus niger

Indole and its derivatives form a class of toxic recalcitrant environmental pollutants. The growth of Aspergillus niger was inhibited by very low concentrations (0.005 to 0.02%) of indole, even when 125- to 500-fold excess glucose was present in the medium. When 0.02% indole was added, the fungus showed a lag phase for about 30 h and the uptake of glucose was inhibited. Indole was metabolized by a new pathway via indoxyl (3-hydroxyindole), N-formylanthranilic acid, anthranilic acid,2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid, and catechol, which was further degraded by ortho cleavage. The enzymes N-formylanthranilate deformylase, anthranilate hydroxylase, 2,3-dihydroxybenzoate decarboxylase, and catechol dioxygenase were induced by indole as early as after 5 h of growth, and their activities were demonstrated in a cell-free system.

Recognition of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Their Derivatives by the 1,3-Dinaphthalimide Conjugate of Calix4]arene: Emission, Absorption, Crystal Structures, and Computational Studies

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are environmental pollutants as well as well-known carcinogens. Therefore, it is important to develop an effective receptor for the detection and quantification of such molecules in solution. In view of this, a 1,3-dinaphthalimide derivative of calix4]arene (L) has been synthesized and characterized, and the structure has been established by single crystal XRD. In the crystal lattice, intermolecular arm-to-arm pi center dot center dot center dot pi overlap dominates and thus L becomes a promising receptor for providing interactions with the aromatic species in solution, which can be monitored by following the changes that occur in its fluorescence and absorption spectra. On the basis of the solution studies carried out with about 17 derivatives of the aromatic guest molecular systems, it may be concluded that the changes that occur in the fluorescence intensity seem to be proportional to the number of aromatic rings present and thus proportional to the extent of pi center dot center dot center dot pi interaction present between the naphthalimide moieties and the aromatic portion of the guest molecule. Though the nonaromatic portion of the guest species affects the fluorescence quenching, the trend is still based on the number of rings present in these. Four guest aldehydes are bound to L with K-ass of 2000-6000 M-1 and their minimum detection limit is in the range of 8-35 mu M. The crystal structure of a naphthaldehyde complex, L.2b, exhibits intermolecular arm-to-arm as well as arm-to-naphthaldehyde pi center dot center dot center dot pi interactions. Molecular dynamics studies of L carried out in the presence of aromatic aldehydes under vacuum as well as in acetonitrile resulted in exhibiting interactions observed in the solid state and hence the changes observed in the fluorescence and absorption spectra are attributable for such interactions. Complex formation has also been delineated through ESI MS studies. Thus L is a promising receptor that can recognize PAHs by providing spectral changes proportional to the aromatic conjugation of the guest and the extent of aromatic pi center dot center dot center dot pi interactions present between L and the guest.

Synopsis of biological data on the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus Rathbun

This synopsis reviews taxonomy, morphology, distribution, life history, commercial hard and soft shell crab fisheries, physiology, diseases, ecology, laboratory culture methodology, and influences of environmental pollutants on the blue crab, Callinecles sapidus. Over 300 selected, published reports up to and including 1982 are covered. (PDF file contains 45 pages.)

Different patterns of uptake and depuration of cadmium by periphyton community and a grazer species (Physa sp.): A mesocosm evalution

Widespread pollution by heavy metals generated by various industries has serious adverse effects on human health and the environment. Cadmium is a heavy metal recognised as one of the most hazardous environmental pollutants. It is a non-essential and non-beneficial element to organisms, causing toxicity and other deleterious effects on various components of the aquatic environment. The ability of algal periphyton to concentrate cadmium from fresh water is well known. Moreover, periphyton communities are able to accumulate large amounts of cadmium despite its low concentration in fresh water. Many researchers use algal periphyton as an indicator of water quality in aquatic environments. In the present study, the authors ask two basic questions: Does cadmium accumulate along a food chain consisting of the periphyton community and a grazer species (Physa sp.) under semi-natural conditions provided by artificial streams? If not, which one can better indicate the water quality?

Avaliação de novos processos de limpeza para quantificação de pireno em amostra de mexilhão

Os hidrocarbonetos policíclicos aromáticos (HPA) constituem um grupo de poluentes ambientais persistentes são moléculas com dois ou mais anéis aromáticos condensados, pouco solúveis em água e estão presentes no ambiente como resultante de processos naturais e também de atividades antrópicas; desta forma, os HPA podem ser encontrados em diversas matrizes ambientais. No presente trabalho foram utilizados mexilhões da região de Búzios, no Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Esse organismo foi selecionado devido à facilidade de acumulação de HPA nos tecidos, decorrente das propriedades hidrofóbicas dos HPA. O presente projeto teve como objetivo estudar um novo material de limpeza capaz de minimizar os compostos interferentes da matriz. Os cartuchos de SPE Florisil 5 g, são convencionalmente usados na limpeza de amostras de organismos, porém para diminuir os custos foram testados outros materiais adsorventes que pudessem ser eficientes na remoção dos interferentes presentes nos tecidos de mexilhão. Sendo assim, na etapa de limpeza conhecida como clean-up, foi estudada a recuperação do pireno após a extração por micro-ondas através de duas abordagens diferentes; a) utilização de cartuchos de SPE comerciais de 5 g de Florisil; b) cartuchos preenchidos com argila comercial K-10 bentonite, simulando os cartuchos comerciais. A recuperação e eficiência dos procedimentos de limpeza foram testadas e comparadas. A clean-up com argila K-10 apresentou uma recuperação de até 77% de pireno, sendo eficiente na remoção de compostos de colesteróis; confirmando a eficiência do material escolhido para a limpeza da amostra. A técnica de Cromatografia Gasosa e detecção por Espectrometria de Massas (GC-MS) foi aplicada para identificação e quantificação do contaminante pireno no extrato finaa

Responses of plasma transaminase activity in Cyprinus carpio var. communis to mercury toxicity

The present study reports the behavioural and enzymological responses in a freshwater teleost fish, Cyprinus carpio var. communis, exposed to acute and sublethal toxicities of mercuric chloride. During acute treatment, significant behavioural changes like erratic swimming, excess mucus secretion and increased opercular movements were noticed. During acute and sublethal treatments, both aspartate amino transferase and alanine amino transferase activity increased throughout the study period. Comparing the treatments, the changes in enzyme activities were found high in acute treatment and all the values were significant at 5% level. The above findings can be used as non-specific biomarkers of environmental pollutants.

Inhibition of progesterone receptor activity in recombinant yeast by soot from fossil fuel combustion emissions and air particulate materials

Numerous environmental pollutants have been detected for estrogenic activity by interacting with the estrogen receptor, but little information is available about their interactions with the progesterone receptor. In this study, emission samples generated by fossil fuel combustion (FFC) and air particulate material (APM) collected from an urban location near a traffic line in a big city of China were evaluated to interact with the human progesterone receptor (hPR) signaling pathway by examining their ability to interact with the activity of hPR expressed in yeast. The results showed that the soot of a petroleum-fired vehicle possessed the most potent anti-progesteronic activity, that of coal-fired stove and diesel fired agrimotor emissions took the second place, and soot samples of coal-fired heating work and electric power station had lesser progesterone inhibition activity. The anti-progesteronic activity of APM was between that of soot from petroleum-fired vehicle and soot from coal-fired establishments and diesel fired agrimotor. Since there was no other large pollution source near the APM sampling sites, the endocrine disrupters were most likely from vehicle emissions, tire attrition and house heating sources. The correlation analysis showed that a strong relationship existed between estrogenic activity and anti-progesteronic activity in emissions of fossil fuel combustion. The discoveries that some environmental pollutants with estrogenic activity can also inhibit OR activity indicate that further studies are required to investigate potential mechanisms for the reported estrogenic activities of these pollutants. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of soot particles of biomass fuels with endocrine-modulating activity in yeast-based bioassay

Exposure to indoor air pollution (IAP) from the combustion of biomass fuels is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in developing countries. In the work discussed in this paper we evaluated the endocrine activity of soot particles from biomass fuels by using yeast bioassay. These pollutants could have beta-galactosidase activity with a relative potency (RP) about 10(-7)-10(-9) that of estradiol. Soot particles from wood and straw combustion only partially induced beta-galactosidase activity whereas others produced fully inductive activity in the yeast assay system. These pollutants did not have estrogen antagonist and progesterone agonist activity within the defined concentration range. However, these pollutants require 2-4 orders of magnitude higher IC50 to inhibit the activity of progesterone in a similar dose-response manner to mifepristone. We therefore propose that the endocrine activity of some environmental pollutants may be because of inhibition of the progesterone receptor (hPR). GC-MS results showed that substituted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) compounds, substituted phenolic compounds and derivatives, aromatic carbonyl compounds, and phytosteroids in these soot particles may be mimicking endogenous hormones.