The effects of partial mortality on the fecundity of three common Caribbean corals

The recent intensification of human disturbances in the Caribbean has increased the prevalence of partial mortality on coral colonies. Partial mortality can change colony size by directly shrinking colonies or by splitting colonies into fragments. A reduction in colony size can also adversely affect fecundity and fitness as internal resources shift away from reproduction toward colony maintenance. This study aimed to determine whether three Caribbean coral species, Siderastrea siderea, Montastraea faveolata, and Diploria strigosa, along the reef tract in Puerto Morelos, Mexico (20^o52′N, 86^o51′W), continued to dedicate resources to reproduction when colonies were fragmented to pre-maturation size. Contrary to expectations, eggs were found in colonies that were smaller than the maturation size and had been subjected to partial mortality. The continued dedication of resources toward reproduction, even in the smallest colonies, suggests that resource trade-offs away from reproduction are not as rigid as previously suggested in stressed corals.     

Proteomic insights into Lysinibacillus sp.-mediated biosolubilization of manganese

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - There has been alarming depletion of manganese (Mn) reserves owing to the ongoing extensive mining operations for catering the massive industrial...     

Influence of coagulation mechanisms and floc formation on filterability

Minimizing particles in water is a key goal for improving drinking water quality and safety.The media filtration process,as the last step of the solid–liquid separation process,is largely influenced by the characteristics of flocs,which are formed and controlled within the coagulation process.In a laboratory-based study,the impacts of the physical characteristics of flocs formed using aluminum sulfate on the filtration treatment of two comparative water samples were investigated using a photometric dispersion analyzer and a filterability apparatus.In general,the optimum dosage for maximizing filterability was higher than that for minimizing turbidity under neutral p H conditions.For a monomeric aluminum-based coagulant,the charge neutralization mechanism produced better floc characteristics,including floc growth speed and size,than the sweep flocculation mechanism.In addition,the charge neutralization mechanism showed better performance compared to sweep flocculation in terms of DOC removal and floc filterability improvement for both waters,and showed superiority in turbidity removal only when the raw water had high turbidity.For the different mechanisms,the ways that floc characteristics impacted on floc filterability also differed.The low variation in floc size distribution obtained under the charge neutralization mechanism resulted in the flocs being amenable to removal by filtration processes.For the sweep flocculation mechanism,increasing the floc size improved the settling ability of flocs,resulting in higher filter efficiency.     

Electrochemical treatment of olive mill wastewater: Treatment extent and effluent phenolic compounds monitoring using some uncommon analytical tools

Problems related with industrials effluents can be divided in two parts: (1) their toxicity associated to their chemical content which should be removed before discharging the wastewater into the receptor media; (2) and the second part is linked to the difficulties of pollution characterisation and monitoring caused by the complexity of these matrixes. This investigation deals with these two aspects, an electrochemical treatment method of an olive mill wastewater (OMW) under platinized expanded titanium electrodes using a modified Grignard reactor for toxicity removal as well as the exploration of the use of some specific analytical tools to monitor effluent phenolic compounds elimination. The results showed that electrochemical oxidation is able to remove/mitigate the OMW pollution. Indeed, 87% of OMW color was removed and all aromatic compounds were disappeared from the solution by anodic oxidation. Moreover, 55% of the chemical oxygen demand (COD) and the total organic carbon (TOC) were reduced. On the other hand, UV- Visible spectrophotometry, Gaz chromatography/mass spectrometry, cyclic voltammetry and 13 C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) showed that the used treatment seems efficaciously to eliminate phenolic compounds from OMW. It was concluded that electrochemical oxidation in a modified Grignard reactor is a promising process for the destruction of all phenolic compounds present in OMW. Among the monitoring analytical tools applied, cyclic voltammetry and 13 C NMR are among the techniques that are introduced for the first time to control the advancement of the OMW treatment and gave a close insight on polyphenols disappearance.     

Triterpene saponin hemi-biosynthesis of a leaf beetle’s (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Platyphora kollari</Emphasis>) defensive secretion

The adults of the leaf beetle Platyphora kollari (Chrysomelidae) are able to metabolise the oleanane triterpene β-amyrin (1) into the glycoside 3-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-(1→4)-β-d-glucuronopyranosyl-hederagenin (2) that is stored in their defensive glands. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that oleanolic acid (3) is an intermediate in the conversion of 1 into 2 and to check whether the sequestration of pentacyclic triterpenes is selective in favour of β-amyrin (1). To this end, adults of P. kollari were fed with Ipomoea batatas leaf disks painted with a solution of [2,2,3-²H₃]oleanolic acid or [2,2,3-²H₃]α-amyrin and the secretion of their defensive glands analysed by HPLC–ESIMS. The data presented in this work indicated that the first step of the transformation of β-amyrin (1) into the sequestered glycoside 2 is its oxidation into oleanolic acid (3) and that this conversion is selective but not specific in favour of β-amyrin (1).     

Perfluorinated chemicals in blood of residents in Catalonia (Spain) in relation to age and gender: a pilot study

Fluorinated organic compounds (FOCs) are a group of chemicals widely used as surfactants, lubricants, polymers, and fire-fighting foams. Recent studies have shown the ubiquitous distribution of FOCs in the environment, wildlife, and humans. We here report the results of a pilot study conducted to provide preliminary data on the levels of 13 FOCs in the blood of 48 residents in Catalonia, Spain, in relation to gender and age (25+/-5 and 55+/-5 years). The highest mean concentration was obtained for perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS, 7.64 ng/ml), followed by perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS, 3.56 ng/ml) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA, 1.80 ng/ml). Four other FOCs showed mean levels between 0.30 and 0.44 ng/ml, whereas those of the remaining 6 compounds were below the detection limit. Regarding gender, the blood levels of PFHxS and PFOA were significantly higher (p<0.05) in men than in women, while differences according to age were only noted for PFHxS (p<0.05) and perfluorooctane sulfonamide (PFOSA) (p<0.001), for which the levels were higher in the younger (25+/-5 years) group of subjects. A significant correlation between PFOS levels and those of the remaining detected FOCs (except PFDA) was found. In general terms, the current FOC concentrations were lower than those found in recent studies concerning levels of these chemicals in human blood and serum of subjects from different countries.     

An in vitro/in vivo screening assay as a sensitive tool to assess endocrine disruptive activity in surface water

Adult male fathead minnow were exposed for 14 or 28-days under flow-through conditions to undiluted filtered water samples from the rivers Meuse and Rhine in the Netherlands. The experiment included two vessels per treatment each containing 10 fish and samples of five fish were taken after 14 and 28 days. Additional groups were exposed to 17alpha-ethinylestradiol (EE2) as a reference and untreated drinking water as a negative control. Major endpoints examined included induction of vitellogenin (VTG) synthesis, VTG mRNA activity, hepato- and gonadosomatic indices (HSI and GSI) and gonadal histology. No significant difference was recorded in body weight or mean GSI values between the various treatments. Only exposure to Meuse water resulted in significantly higher HSI means after 14 days. Histological examination showed no apparent effects on gonadal tissue except for eosinophilic blood plasma in fish exposed to Meuse water or EE2. After 14 and 28 days, elevated VTG and VTG mRNA levels were measured in most livers of the fish exposed to Meuse water, but not in the fish exposed to Rhine water. This was confirmed by measuring estrogenic responses in the in vitro ER CALUX assay. Induction of VTG synthesis proved to be the most sensitive endpoint in the Non Spawning Male Fish Assay for in vivo detection of bio-available estrogenic activity supplementary to a sensitive in vitro assay. The other endpoints examined varied too much and required a higher number of fish or replicates to achieve sufficient power for statistical testing making them less animal friendly.