Using lysosomal membrane stability of haemocytes in Ruditapes philippinarum as a biomarker of cellular stress to assess contamination by caffeine, ibuprofen, carbamazepine and novobiocin

Although pharmaceuticals have been detected in the environment only in the range from ng/L to g/L, it has been demonstrated that they can adversely affect the health status of aquatic organisms. Lysosomal membrane stability (LMS) has previously been applied as an indicator of cellular well-being to determine health status in bivalve mussels. The objective of this study is to evaluate LMS in Ruditapes philippinarum haemolymph using the neutral red retention assay (NRRA). Clams were exposed in laboratory conditions to caffeine (0.1, 5, 15, 50 μg/L), ibuprofen (0.1, 5, 10, 50 μg/L), carbamazepine and novobiocin (both at 0.1, 1, 10, 50 μg/L) for 35 days. Results show a dose-dependent effect of the pharmaceuticals. The neutral red retention time measured at the end of the bioassay was significantly reduced by 50% after exposure to environmental concentrations (p < 0.05) (caffeine = 15 μg/L; ibuprofen = 10 μg/L; carbamazepine = 1 μg/L and novobiocin = 1 μg/L), compared to controls. Clams exposed to these pharmaceuticals were considered to present a diminished health status (retention time < 45 min), significantly worse than controls (96 min) (p < 0.05). The predicted no environmental effect concentration (PNEC) results showed that these pharmaceuticals are very toxic at the environmental concentrations tested. Measurement of the alteration of LMS has been found to be a sensitive technique that enables evaluation of the health status of clams after exposure to pharmaceuticals under laboratory conditions, thus representing a robust Tier-1 screening biomarker.     

Antimicrobial activity of thin metallic silver flakes, waste products of a manufacturing process

The aim of the research was to develop new products and processes from a manufacturing waste from an Italian metallurgic company. The company produced thin silver metallic films and the production scraps were silver flakes. The possibility to use the silver flakes in water disinfection processes was studied. The antimicrobial activity of the flakes was investigated in batch using Escherichia coli as Gram-negative microorganism model. The flakes did not show any antimicrobial activity, so they were activated with two different processes: thermal activation in reducing atmosphere and chemical activation, obtaining, respectively, reduced flakes (RF) and chemical flakes (CF). The flakes, activated with either treatment, showed antimicrobial activity against E. coli. The kill rate was dependent on the type of activated flakes. The chemical flakes were more efficient than reduced flakes. The kill rate determined for 1 g of CF, 1.0 ± 0.2 min⁻¹, was greater than the kill rate determined for 1 g of RF, 0.069 ± 0.004 min⁻¹. This was confirmed also by the minimum inhibitory concentration values. It was demonstrated that the antimicrobial capability was dependent on flakes amount and on the type of aqueous medium. Furthermore, the flakes maintained their properties also when used a second time. Finally, the antimicrobial activities of flakes were tested in an effluent of a wastewater treatment plant where a variety of heterotrophic bacteria were present.     

Unusually high-pitched neonate distress calls of the open-habitat Mongolian gazelle (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Procapra gutturosa</Emphasis>) and their anatomical and hormonal predictors

In neonate ruminants, the acoustic structure of vocalizations may depend on sex, vocal anatomy, hormonal profiles and body mass and on environmental factors. In neonate wild-living Mongolian gazelles Procapra gutturosa, hand-captured during biomedical monitoring in the Daurian steppes at the Russian-Mongolian border, we spectrographically analysed distress calls and measured body mass of 22 individuals (6 males, 16 females). For 20 (5 male, 15 female) of these individuals, serum testosterone levels were also analysed. In addition, we measured relevant dimensions of the vocal apparatus (larynx, vocal folds, vocal tract) in one stillborn male Mongolian gazelle specimen. Neonate distress calls of either sex were high in maximum fundamental frequency (800–900 Hz), but the beginning and minimum fundamental frequencies were significantly lower in males than in females. Body mass was larger in males than in females. The levels of serum testosterone were marginally higher in males. No correlations were found between either body mass or serum testosterone values and any acoustic variable for males and females analysed together or separately. We discuss that the high-frequency calls of neonate Mongolian gazelles are more typical for closed-habitat neonate ruminants, whereas other open-habitat neonate ruminants (goitred gazelle Gazella subgutturosa, saiga antelope Saiga tatarica and reindeer Rangifer tarandus) produce low-frequency (<200 Hz) distress calls. Proximate cause for the high fundamental frequency of distress calls of neonate Mongolian gazelles is their very short, atypical vocal folds (4 mm) compared to the 7-mm vocal folds of neonate goitred gazelles, producing distress calls as low as 120 Hz.     

Mesophilic and thermophilic anaerobic biodegradability of water hyacinth pre-treated at 80 °C

Water hyacinth (Eichornia crassipes) is a fast growing aquatic plant which causes environmental problems in continental water bodies. Harvesting and handling this plant becomes an issue, and focus has been put on the research of treatment alternatives. Amongst others, energy production through biomethanation has been proposed. The aim of this study was to assess the anaerobic biodegradability of water hyacinth under mesophilic and thermophilic conditions. The effect of a thermal sludge pre-treatment at 80 °C was also evaluated. To this end, anaerobic biodegradability tests were carried out at 35 °C and 55 °C, with raw and pre-treated water hyacinth. According to the results, the thermal pre-treatment enhanced the solubilisation of water hyacinth (i.e. increase in the soluble to total chemical oxygen demand (COD)) from 4% to 12% after 30 min. However, no significant effect was observed on the methane yields (150–190 L CH₄/kg volatile solids). Initial methane production rates for thermophilic treatments were two fold those of mesophilic ones (6–6.5 L vs. 3–3.5 L CH₄/kg COD·day). Thus, higher methane production rates might be expected from thermophilic reactors working at short retention times. The study of longer low temperature pre-treatments or pre-treatments at elevated temperatures coupled to thermophilic reactors should be considered in the future.     

Soil Phosphorus Concentrations in Dane County,Wisconsin, USA: An Evaluation of the Urban–Rural Gradient Paradigm

Understanding the magnitude and location of soil phosphorus (P) accumulation in watersheds is a critical step toward managing runoff of this pollutant to aquatic ecosystems. Here, I examine the usefulness of urban–rural gradients, an emerging experimental design in urban ecology, for predicting extractable soil P concentrations across a rapidly urbanizing agricultural watershed in southern Wisconsin. I compare several measures of an urban–rural gradient to predictors of soil P such as soil type, slope, topography, land use, land cover, and fertilizer and manure use. Most of the factors that were expected to drive differences in soil P concentrations were found to be poor predictors of Bray-1 (extractable) soil P, which ranged from 4 to 660 ppm; while there were several significant relationships, most explained only a small proportion of the variation. A multiple linear regression model captured approximately 37% of the variation in the data using the urban–rural gradient, topography, land use, land cover, manure use, and soil type as predictors. There was a significant relationship between Bray-1 P concentration and each of the urban–rural gradients, but these relationships explained only between 2.6% and 3.3% of the variation in P concentrations. Extractable P concentration in soils, unlike some other ecosystem properties, is not well predicted by urban–rural gradients.     

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans in River Po sediments

The River Po is the main Italian river draining one of the most populated and industrialised regions in Italy. As part of a monitoring project to assess environmental quality in the River Po, we measured the concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and dibenzofurans (PCDFs) in bottom sediments collected along the whole course of the river, from the spring to the delta, downstream from the confluence of its main tributaries. The aim was to investigate the level of contamination in the main Italian river and the contribution of contaminant loads from the subbasins. Composite sediment samples were collected in summer and winter surveys in low-flow water conditions and analysed by HRGC-HRMS for PCDD and PCDF homologue groups and for the 2,3,7,8-substituted congeners. The spatial trend observed in the Po River for PCDD and PCDF concentrations varied depending on the load of contaminants received from the tributaries and the processes of sedimentation. The sum of PCDD and PCDF concentrations, and the toxic equivalent content, ranged from 121 to 814 and from 1.3 to 13 ng/kg dry weight sediment, respectively. These levels of contamination seem lower than in the sediments of rivers draining highly industrialised areas. The PCDD and PCDF homologue profiles in all the samples were very similar, suggesting a common source of this contamination in the River Po. Principal component analysis suggested that widespread sources, such as urban runoff and domestic wastewaters, are probably the main cause of these levels of PCDDs and PCDFs.