Detection of naproxen and its metabolites in fish bile following intraperitoneal and aqueous exposure

Purpose  

The anti-inflammatory drug naproxen (NPX) has been found as a micropollutant in river water downstream the discharge points of wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). In this study, rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) was exposed to NXP and the uptake and metabolism of the drug was studied.     

Nontargeted evaluation of the fate of steroids during wastewater treatment by comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography–time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Emerging organic contaminants in wastewater are usually analyzed by targeted approaches, and especially estrogens have been the focus of environmental research due to their high hormonal activity. The selection of specific target compounds means, however, that most of the sample components, including transformation products and potential new contaminants, are neglected. In this study, the fate of steroidal compounds in wastewater treatment processes was evaluated by a nontargeted approach based on comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography–time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The potential of the nontargeted approach to generate comprehensive information about sample constituents was demonstrated with use of statistical tools. Transformation pathways of the tentatively identified compounds with steroidal four-ring structure were proposed. The purification efficiency of the wastewater treatment plants was studied, and the distribution of the compounds of interest in the suspended solids, effluent water, and sludge was measured. The results showed that, owing to strong adsorption of hydrophobic compounds onto the solid matter, the steroids were mostly bound to the suspended solids of the effluent water and the sewage sludge at the end of the treatment process. The most abundant steroid class was androstanes in the aqueous phase and cholestanes in the solid phase. 17β-estradiol was the most abundant estrogen in the aqueous phase, but it was only detected in the influent samples indicating efficient removal during the treatment process. In the sludge samples, however, high concentrations of an oxidation product of 17β-estradiol, estrone, were measured.     

Stomatal characteristics and infection biology of Pyrenopeziza betulicola in Betula pendula trees grown under elevated CO2 and O3

Two silver birch clones were exposed to ambient and elevated concentrations of CO₂ and O₃, and their combination for 3 years, using open-top chambers. We evaluated the effects of elevated CO₂ and O₃ on stomatal conductance (g_s), density (SD) and index (SI), length of the guard cells, and epidermal cell size and number, with respect to crown position and leaf type. The relationship between the infection biology of the fungus (Pyrenopeziza betulicola) causing leaf spot disease and stomatal characteristics was also studied. Leaf type was an important determinant of O₃ response in silver birch, while crown position and clone played only a minor role. Elevated CO₂ reduced the g_s, but had otherwise no significant effect on the parameters studied. No significant interactions between elevated CO₂ and O₃ were found. The infection biology of P. betulicola was not correlated with SD or g_s, but it did occasionally correlate positively with the length of the guard cells.     

Nitrification in polluted soil fertilized with fast- and slow-releasing nitrogen: a case study at a refinery landfarming site

The nitrifying activity and the effect of fertilization with urea and methylene urea were studied in a landfarming site. The site has been operative over 20 years and maintained by heavy nitrogen fertilization. The landfarming soil contained 4-6% (w/w) oil. The nitrate accumulation was 20-50mg NO3-N day(-1)kg(-1) observed after methylene urea fertilization of 889 g Nm(-2). Nitrification ex situ (in laboratory conditions) was 8.8 mg NO3-N day(-1) kg(-1) in the presence of 380 mg kg(-1) NH4+-N. The half-saturation concentration of nitrification was more than 200 mg NH4+-N kg(-1). The results show that nitrification was active in soil with high oil concentration. Urea fertilization of 893 g Nm(-2) caused an increase of soil NH4+-N concentration up to 5500 mg kg(-1) and pH>8.5. This led to inhibition of nitrification, which persisted after NH4+ concentration decreased below 200mg NH4+ kg(-1).     

Mild fetal cerebral ventriculomegaly as a prenatal sonographic marker for Kartagener syndrome

Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD), also referred to as immotile-cilia syndrome or Kartagener syndrome, is a group of genetic disorders caused by defective cilia leading to chronic sinupulmonary infection, situs inversus and reduced fertility. Some PCD patients also have cerebral ventriculomegaly or hydrocephalus. We report here two fetuses and one newborn with mild cerebral ventriculomegaly and a suspected and/or confirmed diagnosis of PCD. These cases demonstrate that mild fetal cerebral ventriculomegaly can be a prenatal sonographic marker of PCD, certainly in fetuses with situs inversus or a history of a previous sib with PCD. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Landscape pattern and census area as determinants of the diversity of farmland avifauna in Estonia

Landscape structure affects farmland bird species richness and diversity at different scales. We develop a predictive, metric-based model for farmland bird species richness in different bird guilds and study how the research area size influences the relationship between bird diversity and landscape metrics. Thirty research locations (randomly selected, each containing four counting points) were located in three counties of Estonia. In early summer 2002 and 2004, two bird counts per point were carried out in each research location. Three landscape metrics (patch density, edge density and Shannon’s diversity index) were calculated at three spatial scales: 100- and 200-m buffer zones around the count points and in a 1 km² at 1 m × 1 m grain size. Using generalized additive mixed models with repeated measures, we found in most cases that the proportion of variance explained between the bird variables and landscape metrics increased with an increased study area thus demonstrating the effect of scale. Thus, a larger research area is recommended for landscape metrics. At large scales, however, all used landscape metrics were equally good predictors for bird species richness.     

Identification and dose dependency of ibuprofen biliary metabolites in rainbow trout

The biotransformation of the anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen (IBF) was studied by exposing rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) to IBF via intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection, and via water at four (0.17, 1.9, 13 and 145 μg L⁻¹) exposure levels for 4 d. Following exposure, the bile was collected and analyzed by LC–MS/MS methods. The identification of the formed metabolites in i.p. injected fish bile was based on the exact mass determinations by a time-of-flight mass analyzer (Q–TOF–MS) and on the studies of fragments and fragmentation patterns of precursor ions by ion trap mass analyzer (IT-MS). In addition to unmetabolized IBF, several phase I and phase II metabolites were found in the bile. The main metabolites were acyl glucuronides and taurine conjugates of IBF and of hydroxylated IBFs. The bioconcentration factors (BCF_bile), defined as the ratio of the sum of IBF and its metabolites in fish bile to the concentration of IBF in water, was determined following enzymatic deconjugation and was found to range from 14 000 to 49 000. The highest BCF_bile was found at the lowest exposure concentration (0.17 μg L⁻¹). The results show that rainbow trout has a high capacity for biotransformation of IBF, and the exposure of fish to sub μg L⁻¹ concentrations of IBF can be determined by the analyses of the biliary metabolites of the compound.     

Pharmaceuticals in settleable particulate material in urban and non-urban waters

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) are important sources of settleable particulate material (SPM), heading to sediments with natural suspended solids. To date, there is little information about the fate of pharmaceuticals in sediment systems. In this study, the objective was to determine if pharmaceuticals are detected in SPM at locations near WWTPs or even in rural areas, thus being susceptible for sedimentation.SPM samples were collected from 10 sites in Finland, grouped as reference, rural and wastewater effluent sites. SPM collectors were placed about 35 cm above bottom for about 2 months during summer. After extraction, a set of 17 pharmaceuticals was analyzed.Several pharmaceuticals were detected in SPM accumulated at sites next to WWTPs. The concentration of citalopram was notably high (300-1350 ng g⁻¹ dw). Also bisoprolol and ciprofloxacin were detected at high concentrations (6-325 and 9-390 ng g⁻¹ dw, respectively). In contrast, none of the pharmaceuticals were detected from reference sites and only two were found from a single rural site.There is no previous information about the presence of pharmaceuticals in SPM. The results showed that pharmaceuticals are sorbed to particles in WWTP and nearby, eventually ending up in sediments. These results also indicate that pharmaceuticals are not markedly contaminating sediments of rural areas in Finland.     

Lead poisoning and other human-related factors cause significant mortality in white-tailed eagles

The white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) suffered a severe population decline due to environmental pollutants in the Baltic Sea area ca. 50 years ago but has since been recovering. The main threats for the white-tailed eagle in Finland are now often related to human activities. We examined the human impact on the white-tailed eagle by determining mortality factors of 123 carcasses collected during 2000–2014. Routine necropsy with chemical analyses for lead and mercury were done on all carcasses. We found human-related factors accounting for 60% of the causes of death. The most important of these was lead poisoning (31% of all cases) followed by human-related accidents (e.g. electric power lines and traffic) (24%). The temporal and regional patterns of occurrence of lead poisonings suggested spent lead ammunition as the source. Lead shot was found in the gizzards of some lead-poisoned birds. Scavenging behaviour exposes the white-tailed eagle to lead from spent ammunition.