Metal and Trace Element Burdens in Two Shorebird Species at Two Sympatric Wintering Sites in Southern California

In January and November, 1994, ten willets (Catoptrophorus semipalmatus) and ten black-bellied plovers (Pluvialis squatarola) were collected at a south-facing sandy beach at the North Island Naval Air Station (NASNI) and ten willets and three plovers were collected at the Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge (TSNWR), 16 km to the southeast. Concentrations of 19 inorganic analytes were determined in the livers. Differences between sexes in diet or abilities to retain some analytes are indicated because male willets tend to have greater levels of Cd than females and male plovers tend to have greater levels of Fe, Hg, and Mn than females. Concentrations of Hg and Mg in willets decreased from January to November. If this decrease is a part of an annual cycle, then the birds may be acquiring those elements while at NASNI. The differences between sites shows higher levels of As and Se but lower levels of Mn in willets at NASNI while plovers have lower levels of Cu, Mg and Zn at NASNI. There were no correlations between Hg and Se concentrations in the livers of any sample group of birds.     

Effect of ambient polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and nicotine on the structure of Aβ42 protein

● B[a]P, nicotine and phenanthrene molecules altered the secondary structure of Aβ₄₂. ● β-content of the peptide was significantly enhanced in the presence of the PAHs. ● Nicotine made stable cluster with Aβ₄₂ peptide via hydrogen bonds. ● Phenanthrene due to its small size, interfered with the Aβ₄₂ monomer more strongly. Recent studies have correlated the chronic impact of ambient environmental pollutants like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with the progression of neurodegenerative disorders, either by using statistical data from various cities, or via tracking biomarkers during in-vivo experiments. Among different neurodegenerative disorders, PAHs are known to cause increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease, related to the development of amyloid beta (Aβ) peptide oligomers. However, the complex molecular interactions between peptide monomers and organic pollutants remains obscured. In this work, we performed an atomistic molecular dynamics study via GROMACS to investigate the structure of Aβ₄₂ peptide monomer in the presence of benzo[a]pyrene, nicotine, and phenanthrene. Interestingly the results revealed strong hydrophobic, and hydrogen-bond based interactions between Aβ peptides and these environmental pollutants that resulted in the formation of stable intermolecular clusters. The strong interactions affected the secondary structure of the Aβ₄₂ peptide in the presence of the organic pollutants, with almost 50 % decrease in the α-helix and 2 %–10 % increase in the β-sheets of the peptide. Overall, the undergoing changes in the secondary structure of the peptide monomer in the presence of the pollutants under the study indicates an enhanced formation of Aβ peptide oligomers, and consequent progression of Alzheimer’s disease.     

蛋白组学技术的发展及在水生态毒理学中的应用

作为后基因组时代重要的研究工具,蛋白组学技术的发展对水生态毒理学研究产生了巨大的促进作用。对近年来应用于水生态毒理学研究中的蛋白组学技术的发展历程和应用现状进行了全面的阐述。从蛋白提取、蛋白分离和鉴定、蛋白定量等方面对蛋白组学研究技术的发展进行了系统的介绍,重点介绍和比较了蛋白分离和鉴定技术中的基于胶的技术和非胶技术。在简介蛋白组学技术发展的基础上,以蛋白的识别和定量,特定功能蛋白的研究,蛋白相互作用研究这3个蛋白组学的研究方向为切入点,详细阐述了各类技术在水生态毒理学研究中的应用,如蛋白组学在阐明各种污染物对水生生物的毒性作用机制方面的应用,以及在水体污染状况的监测和评价方面的应用等。最后,指出了目前蛋白组学研究的不足,并有针对性地提出了水生态毒理学研究中蛋白组学的发展方向。     

农药对秀丽隐杆线虫毒性效应及其机制的研究进展

随着大量农药被广泛的使用并最终汇聚到环境介质中,对生态环境和人体健康产生潜在影响。秀丽隐杆线虫(Caenorhabditis elegans)是土壤中最丰富的后生动物,在土壤生态系统中具有重要地位,并作为一种重要的模式生物广泛应用于环境毒理学研究。本文从秀丽隐杆线虫常用的毒理学研究方法入手,以致死率、生长发育、运动行为、繁殖、活性氧自由基(ROS)水平、细胞凋亡水平、相关基因表达量和蛋白水平等作为测试指标,归纳总结农药对秀丽隐杆线虫的衰老性、神经及生殖系统的毒性效应,分析探索其毒性机理,并展望了未来的研究重点。     

Optimization of gas detector placement considering scenario probability and detector reliability in oil refinery installation

Gas detection system is a critical layer of protection in process safety. Leak scenario probability and detector reliability are two key factors in the optimization of gas detector placement. However, they are easily neglected in previous studies, which may lead to an inaccurate evaluation of the optimization solutions. In this study, a stochastic programming (SP) optimization method is proposed considering these two factors. In order to quantitatively represent the probability of leak scenarios, a complete accident scenario set (CASS) is built combining leak sources and wind fields. Then, the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method is adopted for consequence modeling of gas dispersion. The Markov model is developed to predict the detector reliability. With the objective of minimal cumulative detection time (MCDT), the SP formulation considering scenario probability and detector reliability (MCDT-SPR) is proposed. By introducing the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm, the optimization formulations can be solved. A case study is investigated on a diesel hydrogenation refining unit. Results validate this approach is promising to improve the detection efficiency. This method is more practical and matching with the actual industrial environment, where the leak scenarios and the detector reliability can change dynamically in real process setting.     

稀有鮈鲫Dmrt基因家族13个成员的克隆与序列分析

已经发现果蝇Doublesex、线虫Mab-3、青DMRT1Y/DMY和人类DMRT1等性别决定与分化基因均含有一个具有DNA结合能力的保守基序--DM结构域,对性别决定和性别分化具有调控功能.利用简并PCR,从稀有鲫基因组DNA中克隆了13个具有不同DM结构域的Dmrt基因家族成员.基于DM保守基序,建立了各物种的进化树.结果表明,稀有鲫基因组存在多个Dmrt基因成员,该基因在脊椎动物和非脊椎动物中具有高度保守性,是一种理想的环境内分泌干扰物研究的分子模型,在分子生态毒理学研究中具有很好的应用前景.     

Robust benchmark dose determination based on profile score methods

We investigate several methods commonly used to obtain a benchmark dose and show that those based on full likelihood or profile likelihood methods might have severe shortcomings. We propose two new profile likelihood-based approaches which overcome these problems. Another contribution is the extension of the benchmark dose determination to non full likelihood models, such as quasi-likelihood, generalized estimating equations, which are widely used in settings such as developmental toxicity where clustered data are encountered. This widening of the scope of application is possible by the use of (robust) score statistics. Benchmark dose methods are applied to a data set from a developmental toxicity study.     

石油污染对非洲鲫鱼血清蛋白的影响

本文通过分析非洲鲫鱼清蛋白含量的变化，研究油对鱼类的致毒效应，试验结果表明，对血清蛋白影响的方式为：（１）油既能提高血清总蛋白和球蛋白含量，又能降低血清白蛋白含量和白蛋白／球蛋白的比值；（２）油对非洲鲫鱼血清蛋白产生作用的浓度阈值为０．０５ｍｇ／Ｌ。     

“大数据”预测分析与三丁基锡暴露有关疾病

通过毒理学“大数据”,挖掘三丁基锡（TBT）潜在的生物影响信息,预测分析TBT暴露与人类相关疾病的关系.通过比较毒理组学数据库（CTD）搜集到488个和TBT具有相互作用的基因.基因相互作用网络图显示TP53拥有相关联基因最多,处于中心地位;其次是ESR1和FN1.CTD分析与TBT相关的疾病,发现前10类疾病分别是癌症、神经系统疾病、心血管疾病、泌尿生殖系统疾病（女）、消化系统疾病、代谢疾病、泌尿生殖系统疾病（男）、内分泌系统疾病、免疫系统疾病、呼吸道疾病.KEGG通路和DAVID基因功能注释分析,发现TBT不仅和代谢性疾病有较高的关联性,其相互作用基因在糖代谢途径上亦有较密集的基因功能注释.PASS的活性预测也发现TBT可能影响多种与糖代谢相关的酶生物活性.这提示TBT对糖代谢相关疾病的影响应引起人们的注意.     

应用体内和体外方法评价原油水溶性组分和原油污染的地表水对淡水生物的内分泌干扰潜力

目前关于原油对淡水水生脊椎动物内分泌信号的潜在影响的认知有限。本文以非洲爪蟾(爪蟾属，X. laevis)蝌蚪和莫桑比克罗非鱼幼鱼(口孵非鲫属，O. mossambicus)为研究对象，选择风化原油和未风化提炼后的原油这2种原油的水溶性组分(WAFs)进行暴露实验，选择出可作为内分泌信号改变的生物标志物的基因，对其表达进行了研究。此外，将X. laevis蝌蚪暴露于靠近地下石油库的地表水中，对上述基因表达做了定量分析。利用重组酵母对原油、原油水溶性组分和地表水的(抗)雌激素和(抗)雄激素性进行了评价。在X. laevis对2种原油WAFs的响应中，甲状腺激素受体β表达均显著下调，而另一种与甲状腺相关的基因，2型脱碘酶，在O. mossambicus暴露于高浓度的原油WAF时被上调。此外，这2种WAFs都改变了与脂肪生成相关的过氧化物酶体增殖物激活受体γ在X. laevis中的表达。原油和WAFs在体外表现出抗雌激素和抗雄性激素的活性。然而，O. mossambicus雄激素受体2作为唯一一个代表生殖系统的基因，受到WAF暴露的影响显著。在地表水样品中发现了雌激素、抗雌激素和抗雄激素的作用；但是，在暴露于地表水的X. laevis中没有观察到任何基因表达的明显变化。在所用的2种模式生物以及2种原油中，响应各不相同。尽管如此，这些数据提供了证据证明原油污染可能会因内分泌信号转变对淡水鱼和两栖动物的健康造成不利影响。
精选自Truter, J. C., van Wyk, J. H., Oberholster, P. J., Botha, A.-M. and Mokwena, L. M. (2017), An evaluation of the endocrine disruptive potential of crude oil water accommodated fractions and crude oil contaminated surface water to freshwater organisms using in vitroand in vivo approaches. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 36: 1330–1342. doi: 10.1002/etc.3665
详情请见http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/etc.3665/full