Suchergebnisse

We aimed to show how the predicted pH decrease in the ocean would alter the toxicity, bioconcentration and dietary transfer of trace metal copper on seagrass ecosystems, on a short-term basis. Seagrass Zostera noltei was exposed to two pH levels (8.36 and 8.03) and three copper levels (nominal concentrations, < 3, 30 and 300 mu g Cu L-1) in a factorial design during 21 days, while Gammarus Iocusta amphipods were continuously fed with the treated seagrass leaves. We found that the toxicity and bioconcentration of copper in seagrasses were not affected by pH, yet complex copper-pH interactions were observed in the seagrass photosynthesis. We demostrated that seagrasses can act as a copper source in the food web via direct consumption by herbivores. Future research need to investigate the interactive effects on a long-term basis, and to include biochemical and molecular endpoints to provide additional insights to the complex phisiological interactions observed. ; project "Ecological risk assessment of oils and hazardous and noxious substances in the NW Portuguese coast (ECORISK)" - North Portugal Regional Operational Programme (ON.2-O Novo Norte), under the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) [NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000054] ; European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)European Union (EU) ; Portuguese Science and Technology FoundationPortuguese Foundation for Science and Technology [SFRH/BPD/119344/2016, SFRH/BPD/77912/2011] ; ARCOPOL plus - Improving maritime safety and pollution response through technology transfer, training & innovation project [2011-1/150]

The hypothesis that exposure to certain environmental chemicals during early life stages may disrupt reproduction across multiple non-exposed generations has significant implications for understanding disease etiology and adverse outcomes. We demonstrate here reproductive multi and transgenerational effects, at environmentally relevant levels, of one of the most prescribed human pharmaceuticals, simvastatin, in a keystone species, the amphipod Gammarus locusta. The transgenerational findings has major implications for hazard and risk assessment of pharmaceuticals and other contaminants of emerging concern given that transgenerational effects of environmental chemicals are not addressed in current hazard and risk assessment schemes. Considering that the mevalonate synthesis, one of the key metabolic pathways targeted by simvastatin, is highly conserved among metazoans, these results may also shed light on the potential transgenerational effects of simvastatin on other animals, including humans. ; This research was funded by COMPETE 2020, Portugal 2020, the European Union through the ERDF and the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology – FCT (Transobesogen project – Trans-phyletic obesogenic responses: from epigenetic modules to transgenerational environmental impacts, reference: PTDC/CTA-AMB/31544/2017 – NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-031544). This research was also supported by the National Funds through FCT under the projects (UIDB/04423/2020; UIDP/04423/2020), by the Spanish Agencia Estatal de Investigación (CTM2017-84763-C3-2-R), and by the Galician Council of Culture, Education and Universities (ED431C2017/36), cofounded by ERDF. A PhD grant awarded to Susana Barros (PD/BD/143090/2018) was funded by the FCT ; SI

This is the accepted manuscript of the following article: Espíndola et al. Science of the Total Environment, 2019, 667, 197-207. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.02.335 ; An innovative photoreactor, FluHelik, was used to promote the degradation of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) by a photochemical UVC/H2O2 process. First, the system was optimized for the oxidation of a model antibiotic, oxytetracycline (OTC), using both ultrapure water (UPW) and a real urban wastewater (UWW) (collected after secondary treatment) as solution matrices. Following, the process was evaluated for the treatment of a UWW spiked with a mixture of OTC and 10 different pharmaceuticals established by the Swiss legislation at residual concentrations (∑CECs <660 μg L−1). The performance of the FluHelik reactor was analyzed both at lab and pre-pilot scale in multiple and single pass flow modes. The efficiency of the FluHelik photoreactor, at lab-scale, was evaluated at different operational conditions (H2O2 concentration, UVC lamp power (4, 6 and 11 W) and flow rate) and further compared with a conventional Jets photoreactor. Both photoreactors exhibited similar OTC removal efficiencies at the best conditions; however, the FluHelik reactor showed to be more efficient (1.3 times) in terms of mineralization when compared with the Jets reactor. Additionally, the efficiency of the UVC/H2O2 photochemical system using the FluHelik photoreactor in reducing the toxicity of the real effluent containing 11 pharmaceuticals was evaluated through zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryo toxicity bioassays. FluHelik scale-up from laboratory to pre-pilot to promote UVC/H2O2 photochemical process proved to be feasible ; This work was financially supported by: Associate Laboratory LSRE-LCM - UID/EQU/50020/2019 - funded by national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC). V.J.P. Vilar acknowledges the FCT Investigator 2013 Programme (IF/00273/2013). J.C.A. Espíndola acknowledges CNPq (Brazil) for his scholarship (205781/2014-4). R. Montes, R. Rodil and J.B. ...