This study provides new information on the response of the immune system of Mytilus edulis exposed to untreated and treated sewage, linking immune response to ecologically relevant endpoints, such as disease resistance. Our goal was to assess the potential effects of sewage on the immune system (phagocytic activity and production of cytotoxic metabolites, disease resistance) and gills (light microscope) of mussels through a bioassay and field study in an estuarine receiving environment (RE). A semi-static experiment was developed in a wastewater treatment plant in New Glasgow, NS Canada.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe previously reported that long-term (54 days), repeated intraperitoneal exposure to low doses of tributyltin (TBT; 0.3 mg/kg) inhibited the metabolic activation of co-administered benzo[a]pyrene (BaP; 3 mg/kg) in the Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus); BaP, in turn, stimulated the metabolism and/or excretion of TBT. Here, we report the results of histopathological examinations of liver, kidney and pseudobranch tissue samples originating from these same fish.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTrahira (Hoplias malabaricus) used to investigate the effects of successive Pb(II) or tributyltin (TBT) dietary doses. After 70 days of acclimation, individuals were exposed to 21 microg Pbg(-1) or 0.3 microg TBTg(-1) (5-day intervals, 14 doses).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe diagnosis of Kudoa funduli (Hahn, 1915) Meglitsch, 1948 (Myxozoa), is supplemented through study of new material collected from Fundulus heteroclitus (Cyprinodontidae) in coastal waters of Nova Scotia, Canada, and Connecticut. Plasmodia normally develop intracellularly in striated muscle of the flank and head, eventually rupturing and releasing spores. Spores disperse along adjacent epimysium, sometimes as far as the skin surface.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe water-soluble fraction (WSF) of crude oil is a complex highly volatile and toxic mixture of hydrocarbon chains (polyaromatics, heterocyclics), phenols, and heterocyclic compounds containing nitrogen and sulfur. To evaluate the toxic effects of WSF in tropical freshwater teleosts and to develop methodologies that could investigate the toxic mechanisms of WSF in tropical organisms, an acute toxicity experiment was conducted with Astyanax sp. Three dilutions (15%, 33%, and 50%) of WSF obtained from Campos Bay's crude oil (Brazil) were used to study morphological and biochemical responses of the fish.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTributyltin (TBT) is widely used as a biocide in antifouling paints. Astyanax bimaculatus adult fish were acclimatized in a laboratory and isolated in groups of eight individuals. Two groups were used as a control (similar handling and corn oil control) and one group was exposed to TBTCI dissolved in corn oil (0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNihon Ika Daigaku Zasshi
August 1995
The purpose of this study is to investigate the biomechanical properties of the anterior longitudinal ligament (ALL) and the posterior longitudinal ligament (PLL) of the human cervical spine. Twenty C3-C4 and twenty C5-C6 motion segments are dissected from the spines of human cadavers. Experimental specimens of the bone-ligament-bone complex are prepared for mounting on a testing jig.
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