Male reproductive toxicity of organophosphorous compounds: a review

Fertility is declining in many countries and there has been substantial interest in the potential adverse effects of exposure to environmental hazardous chemicals, including pesticides on male reproduction. Organophosphorous compounds (organophosphates, OP) constitute a heterogeneous category of chemicals specifically designed for the control of pests or plant diseases. OP are known to produce reproductive toxicity, resulting in a decrease in the fertility levels of humans and animals. This review article mainly focused on toxicity of some OP such as acephate, chlorpyrifos, diazinon, dimethoate, fenitrothion, malathion, and monocrotophos especially dealing with reproductive toxicity in males. Furthermore, this review deals with mode of action and clinical syndromes of OP. Considerable lab studies on animals concluded that OP produce adverse effects on male reproductive system.     

Mutagenicity of diesel engine exhaust in the Ames / Salmonella assay using a direct exposure method

The aim of this study was to investigate the potential mutagenic activity of diesel engine exhaust in the Ames/Salmonella assay using a direct aerosol exposure system. So, TA 98 and TA 100 strains, with or without added S9 mix, were exposed to diesel emissions after varying degrees of filtration. Variants of these two strains, deficient in nitroreductase (TA 98NR and TA 100NR) or over-expressing O-Acetyl Transferase (YG 1024 and YG 1029), were also exposed to total (unfiltered) diesel exhaust to highlight the putative mutagenicity of any nitro-PAHs present in these emissions. Mutagenic activity of the diesel exhaust was demonstrated on Salmonella typhimurium, strains TA 100 and variants TA 100 NR and YG1029. The use of a particle filter did not modify the genotoxicity of the diesel emissions, indicating a major contribution of the gas phase to the mutagenicity of these diesel emissions. The prominent role of the particulate-associated nitro-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (nitro-PAHs) claimed by some authors working on diesel exhaust organic extracts was not confirmed by our results with native diesel exhaust exposure. Our results show that the gas phase is potentially more mutagenic than the particles alone.     

Electrochemical degradation of Acid Red I dye and its treatment by UV light

Degradation of Acid Red I (ARI) dye by electrochemical treatment and UV light irradiation was studied in this work. The effect of the current density and the concentration of NaCl and dye on the decoloration and degradation efficiency were studied and optimized. The UV irradiation was monitored by UV-Vis spectrophotometry and chemical oxygen demand. The kinetic constants for decoloration and degradation were calculated. Degradation of 86% was achieved in 160?min and the first-order kinetic constant was 0.013?min^?1. Degradation products were identified by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The mechanism for the degradation of ARI was proposed.     

Environmental human silver exposure

Environmental exposure to silver (Ag) was assessed in occupationally non-exposed adult human population by analyzing Ag in the hair (H?·?Ag) and whole blood (WB?·?Ag). H?·?Ag was analyzed in 311 (123 men, M; 188 women, W); while WB?·?Ag was determined in 235 of these individuals (90 M, 145 W). Women had more H?·?Ag than men (M 0.05 vs. W 0.076), whereas WB?·?Ag concentrations in men and women were not significantly different. A natural distribution of the median derivatives was utilized to generate the dataset to fit the logistic sigmoid curve to assess the current human body burden of environmental Ag population exposure for M and W separately. The H?·?Ag (µg?g^?1) below 0.0105 for M and 0.0145 for W, reflects low level of environmental Ag exposure. The adaptive physiological saturation phase followed where H?·?Ag rose rapidly, first for M and then for W in parallel with biological assay. Both parallel saturation curves converged and plateaued at 0.215 for M and 0.965 for W (µg?g^?1). The current level of human environmental Ag exposure is low, but cases of high Ag exposure occurred sporadically. In conjunction with the medical histories overt clinical neural toxicity may be expected for H?·?Ag at 4?µg?g^?1and higher. There were no significant correlation between the H?·?Ag and WB?·?Ag.     

Polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides in amniotic fluids of pregnant women in south-central Turkey†

The concentrations of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were determined in amniotic fluid of 200 pregnant women from the Cukurova region of Turkey. The concentrations of OCPs [hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), dichlorodiphenyl trichloroethane (p,p′-DDT), and various metabolites], and different PCB congeners (28, 52, 101, 118, 138, 153, 180) were determined by gas chromatography with electron capture detection as follows: HCB 6.6 ± 4.7, ΣHCH 21.6 ± 14.2, ΣDDT 12.5 ± 7.5, and ΣPCBs 74.0 ± 54 ng mL^?1. Correlations of maternal or gestational age and levels of OCPs and PCBs were not significant. The levels of these organochlorine compounds (OCs) were below detection limit for 5% of the samples, 80% contained more than one OC. This study illustrates that prenatal exposure of a fetus to OCs is prevalent in the Cukurova region.     

南黄海中部表层沉积物中多环芳烃分布特征及来源分析

通过对南黄海中部49个表层沉积物样品进行总有机碳,粒度,多环芳烃和甲基菲等GS-MS定量分析,探讨了研究区沉积物中多环芳烃分布特征,分子组成,评估南黄海中部多环芳烃污染水平并识别其来源.研究表明,南黄海中部14种多环芳烃总量(ΣPAHs)在81.63~6567.31 ng/g之间,其中优控多环芳烃(ΣEPA PAHs)11种,含量为29.2~1029.1 ng/g,平均含量255.1 ng/g,与国内外其他地区相比有机污染水平为中-低;苝为研究区内主要多环芳烃,分布较为广泛,其含量占所有PAHs的6.40%~88.85%,低含量苝与人为活动有关,而高含量苝代表了陆源有机质输入;多环芳烃组成,异构体分析和甲基菲特征表明,研究区优控多环芳烃主要为煤和高等植物燃烧或不完全燃烧产物以气溶胶形式输入,但部分样品表现出明显的石油源特性也证实了石油燃料,原油泄露产生的多环芳烃客观存在.     

Testicular DNA synthesis inhibition—an in vivo system for the detection of mutagenic and carcinogenic chemicals

By binding covalently to DNA chemical mutagens and carcinogens inhibit replication, which can be measured as a decrease in thymidine incorporation into DNA. This DNA synthesis inhibition (DSI) has been determined in testicular cells of mice for a large number of compounds and has been found to correlate very well with their known mutagenic and carcinogenic properties.

Not only could this test give a qualitative answer about potential carcinogenicity or mutagenicity, but, with regard to its in vivo characteristics, could furthermore give an indication of the carcinogenic and mutagenic potency and thus be of use in the risk evaluation of chemical substances; the relationship between the DNA synthesis inhibition and the underlying alkylation of guanine ‐0⁶ by different methylating agents is demonstrated.

As toxic effects decrease thymidine incorporation, too, means are discussed for distinguishing between “true”;, mutagenic, and “false”;, cytotoxic, DNA synthesis inhibition.

In conclusion, the implications of including the DSI‐test in a battery of mutagenicity tests are outlined.     

Bioavailability of copper and cadmium in sediment of nanjing section of Changjiang river to aquatic organisms

Bioavailabilities of metals in sediment to aquatic organisms depend on the strength of metal bonding to particulates. The accumulation tests of Cu and Cd in carp and in snails have been studied in vitro with the solution containing semisynthetic sediment samples in which the contents of various speciation of metal in sediment have been extended. For carp, the accumulation of Cu and Cd is related to the concentration of dissolved metal which in turn is affected by the distributions of speciations in sediment under given environmental conditions. It is another pattern for snails, various speciations of metal in sediment can contribute indirectly to metal accumulation. The contribution ratio, or relative importance of various speciations of metal in sediment can be expressed by multiple linear regression formulas. The contribution of ion‐exchangable speciation and coprecipition with carbonate speciation is 10⁵ times larger than that of residue speciation in sediment.     

Evaluation of linear alkylbenzenesulfonate (LAS) biodegradability in sediment by solid‐phase extraction and HPLC analysis

The linear alkylbenzenesulfonate (LAS) sorption on environmental sediments has been known long ago. Their high concentrations reflect the massive input of these chemicals from household and industrial uses. However few attempts were made to identify biodegradation metabolites of LAS in sediment. In this report, a method for the determination of these compounds in sediment samples by high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is described. The first step of our work was performed by solid‐phase extraction with octadecyl‐bonded silica (C18) mini‐columns and provided a suitable recovery of LAS (90 ± 5%) and most metabolites. Furthermore, laboratory investigations led to study the behaviour of LAS in sediment. The environmental samples used for this purpose were collected from a pond (named étang de Bolmon) located in the French Mediterranean coast. Our results were in agreement with an aerobic biodegradation process of LAS that occurred only with high values of sediment redox potential and needed the samples to be vigorously shaken to ensure adequate mixing and suspension of particulate material. In a stagnant sediment or under anaerobic conditions, LAS is not degraded. p‐Sulfophenylacetic acid and p‐sulfocinnamic acid were evidenced as predominant metabolites and were found not to be persistent.     

温榆河昌平段沉积物重金属影响因素分析及污染评价

温榆河是北京市重要的防洪排涝、拦污河道,每年接纳大量污水,面临严重的水环境问题. 为了解温榆河昌平段表层沉积物重金属含量、影响因素及污染状况,在温榆河昌平段采集沉积物样品28个,测定pH、w(OM)(OM有机质)、w(TN)、w(TP)、w(TK)等沉积物理化性状及w(Cu)、w(Zn)、w(Pb)和w(Cr). 通过相关性分析和因子分析,研究沉积物中pH、w(OM)、w(TN)、w(TP)、w(TK)与4种重金属质量分数的相关关系,并运用地累积指数法和潜在生态危害指数法对重金属污染状况进行评价. 结果表明:沉积物中w(Cu)、w(Zn)、w(Pb)和w(Cr)平均值分别为19.35、89.90、25.80、53.74mg/kg,变异系数分别为29.76%、43.39%、37.54%、20.90%,其中w(Zn)的空间变异程度最大. 沉积物中w(OM)与w(Cu)和w(Zn)的R(相关系数)分别为0.515(P<0.01)、0.599(P<0.01),w(TN)与w(Cu)、w(Zn)、w(Pb)的R分别为0.463(P<0.05)、0.713(P<0.01)和0.654(P<0.01).因子分析也显示,w(OM)、w(TN)、w(Cu)、w(Zn)和w(Pb)在第1因子上具有较高的载荷系数. 地累积指数评价结果表明,表层沉积物重金属污染程度顺序为Cr>Zn>Pb>Cu,Cr为轻度污染,Zn、Pb、Cu未达到污染. 潜在生态风险程度分析表明,各重金属潜在生态风险程度及综合生态风险程度均为轻微.