Congenital syphilis: A contemporary update on an ancient disease

Congenital syphilis (CS) rates reached a 20-year high in the United States in 2018. Unlike previous years, most babies diagnosed with CS were born to mothers who received prenatal care, indicative of the need for better provider education and guideline adherence. Current rates suggest that screening for syphilis should be performed at the first prenatal care visit and twice during the third trimester. There are two diagnostic algorithms available for use in the United States (traditional and reverse) and providers must understand how to perform each algorithm. Treatment should be administered according to stage of syphilis per Centers for Disease Control recommendations with best neonatal outcomes seen when treatment is initiated >30 days before delivery. Benzathine Penicillin G remains the only recommended treatment of syphilis during pregnancy. In viable pregnancies, a pretreatment ultrasound is recommended to identify sonographic evidence of fetal infection and treatment should be initiated with continuous fetal monitoring to evaluate for the Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction which can cause preterm labor and fetal distress. After adequate syphilotherapy, a fourfold decline in maternal nontreponemal titers may not be observed by delivery and does not correlate with rates of CS.     

Dechlorination and organohalide-respiring bacteria dynamics in sediment samples of the Yangtze Three Gorges Reservoir

Several groups of bacteria such as Dehalococcoides spp., Dehalobacter spp., Desulfomonile spp., Desulfuromonas spp., or Desulfitobacterium spp. are able to dehalogenate chlorinated pollutants such as chloroethenes, chlorobenzenes, or polychlorinated biphenyls under anaerobic conditions. In order to assess the dechlorination potential in Yangtze sediment samples, the presence and activity of the reductively dechlorinating bacteria were studied in anaerobic batch tests. Eighteen sediment samples were taken in the Three Gorges Reservoir catchment area of the Yangtze River, including the tributaries Jialing River, Daning River, and Xiangxi River. Polymerase chain reaction analysis indicated the presence of dechlorinating bacteria in most samples, with varying dechlorinating microbial community compositions at different sampling locations. Subsequently, anaerobic reductive dechlorination of tetrachloroethene (PCE) was tested after the addition of electron donors. Most cultures dechlorinated PCE completely to ethene via cis-dichloroethene (cis-DCE) or trans-dichloroethene. Dehalogenating activity corresponded to increasing numbers of Dehalobacter spp., Desulfomonile spp., Desulfitobacterium spp., or Dehalococcoides spp. If no bacteria of the genus Dehalococcoides spp. were present in the sediment, reductive dechlorination stopped at cis-DCE. Our results demonstrate the presence of viable dechlorinating bacteria in Yangtze samples, indicating their relevance for pollutant turnover.     

Contributions to ecological chemistry CXII balance of conversion of buturon‐14C in wheat under outdoor conditions 1

Abstract

The urea herbicide buturon (N‐[p‐chlorophenyl] ‐N’ ‐methyl‐N’ ‐isobutinyl‐urea), ¹⁴C‐labeled, was sprayed on winter wheat as an aqueous formulation (2.98 kg/ha) under outdoor conditions. Upon harvest (three months after application), a total of 49. 2% of the applied radiocarbon was recovered: 2.0% in the plants, 46.9% in the soil, and 0.3% in the leaching water (depth > 50 cm); less than 0.1% was in the grains (0.464 ppm). Only about half of the radioactivity present in plants could be recovered under mild extraction conditions; about half of this was unchanged buturon. In straw and husk extracts, the following metabolites were identified by gaschromatography/mass spectrometry: N‐(p‐chlorophenyl)‐N‐methyl‐O‐methyl‐carbamate (metabolite I), N‐phenyl‐N’ ‐formyl‐urea (metabolite II), two unstable metabolites giving (p‐chlorophenyl)‐isocyanate upon purification (metabolites III and IV), N‐(p‐chlorophenyl)‐N’ ‐methyl‐N’ ‐isobutenylol‐urea (metabolite V), p‐chloroformanilide (metabolite VI) and biologically bound p‐chloroaniline (metabolite VII). In the root and basal stem extract, the following metabolites were identified by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry: N‐(p‐chlorophenyl)‐O‐methyl‐carbamate (metabolite VIII) and N‐(p‐chlorophenyl)‐N’ ‐methyl‐urea (metabolite IX).     

Traffic and catalytic converter - related atmospheric contamination in the metropolitan region of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

In this work, 24-h PM10 samples were collected in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and analysed for trace elements (Cd, Ce, Cu, La, Mo, Ni, Pb, Pd, Rh, Sb and Sn). The sampling was carried out at five locations (Bonsucesso; Centro, downtown city; Copacabana; Nova Igua?u and Sumaré) with different traffic densities and anthropogenic activities. An analytical method based on the EPA method for the determination of trace elements in airborne particulate matter (PM), using ultrasonic-assisted extraction and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was applied. Our results suggest that vehicular traffic is the most important source of environmental pollution at the studied sites. The presence of Mo, Pd and Rh in the analysed filters reflects an additional source of pollution caused by the erosion and deterioration of automotive catalytic converters.     

Potential physiological effects of pharmaceutical compounds in Atlantic salmon (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Salmo salar</Emphasis>) implied by transcriptomic analysis

Background, aim, and scope  

Pharmaceuticals are emerging pollutants widely used in everyday urban activities which can be detected in surface, ground, and drinking waters. Their presence is derived from consumption of medicines, disposal of expired medications, release of treated and untreated urban effluents, and from the pharmaceutical industry. Their growing use has become an alarming environmental problem which potentially will become dangerous in the future. However, there is still a lack of knowledge about long-term effects in non-target organisms as well as for human health. Toxicity testing has indicated a relatively low acute toxicity to fish species, but no information is available on possible sublethal effects. This study provides data on the physiological pathways involved in the exposure of Atlantic salmon as representative test species to three pharmaceutical compounds found in ground, surface, and drinking waters based on the evaluation of the xenobiotic-induced impairment resulting in the activation and silencing of specific genes.     

Protective shade, tree diversity and soil properties in coffee agroforestry systems in the Atlantic Rainforest biome

Sustainable production and biodiversity conservation can be mutually supportive in providing multiple ecosystem services to farmers and society. This study aimed to determine the contribution of agroforestry systems, as tested by family farmers in the Brazilian Rainforest region since 1993, to tree biodiversity and evaluated farmers’ criteria for tree species selection. In addition, long-term effects on microclimatic temperature conditions for coffee production and chemical and biological soil characteristics at the field scale were compared to full-sun coffee systems. A floristic inventory of 8 agroforests and 4 reference forest sites identified 231 tree species in total. Seventy-eight percent of the tree species found in agroforests were native. The variation in species composition among agroforests contributed to a greater γ-diversity than α-diversity. Monthly average maximum temperatures were approximately 6 °C higher in full-sun coffee than in agroforests and forests. Total soil organic C, N mineralization and soil microbial activity were higher in forests than in coffee systems, whereas the chemical and biological soil quality in agroforests did not differ significantly from full-sun coffee after 13 years. Given its contribution to the conservation of biodiversity and its capacity to adapt coffee production to future climate change, coffee agroforestry offers a promising strategy for the area.     

Using shell middens to assess effects of fishing on queen conch ( Strombus gigas ) populations in Los Roques Archipelago National Park, Venezuela

Queen conch, Strombus gigas, is a commercially important gastropod that has been exploited throughout the Caribbean islands for thousands of years. Shell middens in the region are the physical record of a long-term fishery and their study can provide valuable information on selectivity patterns followed by fishermen and on resulting morphological shifts reflected by shells. In this study, we surveyed 27 middens located at Los Roques, Venezuela, to assess pre-Columbian and modern fisheries and measure their impact on local populations of queen conch. Pre-Columbian middens, covering a period of approximately 350 years of exploitation (1160–1540 A.D.), were mostly composed of adult shells (89%) and mean length of catch was estimated at 22.4 ± 0.2 cm (mean ± SE). A decrease in mean length of catch was observed throughout the modern fishery regime, estimated at 22.2 ± 0.3 cm in 1950–1971 and 20.0 ± 0.3 cm in 1990–1995. Higher proportions of immature individuals ranging from 48 to 67% were found in modern middens. Additionally, a decrease in mean length of mature individuals was detected throughout the modern fishery regime. The appearance of younger and smaller specimens is considered as a sign of heavy exploitation of local populations of queen conch during modern fisheries. Pre-Columbian middens in contrast, permitted to establish a relative baseline from which to compare values registered throughout modern times.