Toxicity of lanthanides on various fish cell lines.

The growing use of Lanthanides in new technologies has increased their anthropogenic releases into the aquatic environment over the last decades. However, knowledge on their ecotoxicological impacts is still incomplete, especially with regard to biological effects of Lanthanides mixtures and the possible regular variation in toxicity along the Lanthanides series. The present study evaluated the individual toxicity of all Lanthanides and the toxicity of mixtures of three of them, namely Neodymium (Nd), Gadolinium (Gd), and Ytterbium (Yb) on Danio rerio fibroblast-like cells (ZF4).

Effects and bioaccumulation of Cr(III), Cr(VI) and their mixture in the freshwater mussel Corbicula fluminea.

Chromium has two main oxidation states, Cr(III) and Cr(VI), that can occur simultaneously in natural waters. Current consensus holds that Cr(VI) is of high ecotoxicological concern, but regards Cr(III) as poorly bioavailable and relatively non-toxic. In this work, the effects and bioaccumulation of Cr(III), Cr(VI) and their mixture were studied using the freshwater clam Corbicula fluminea as a model organism.

Variability in molecular characteristics of Hepatitis E virus quasispecies could modify viral surface properties and transmission.

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) usually causes self-limited liver diseases but can also result in severe cases. Genotypes 1 (G1) and 2 circulate in developing countries are human-restricted and waterborne, while zoonotic G3 and G4 circulating in industrialized countries preferentially infect human through consumption of contaminated meat. Our aims were to identify amino acid patterns in HEV variants that could be involved in pathogenicity or in transmission modes, related to their impact on antigenicity and viral surface hydrophobicity.

F-Specific RNA Bacteriophages Model the Behavior of Human Noroviruses during Purification of Oysters: the Main Mechanism Is Probably Inactivation Rather than Release.

Noroviruses (NoV) are responsible for many shellfish outbreaks. Purification processes may be applied to oysters before marketing to decrease potential fecal pollution. This step is rapidly highly effective in reducing ; nevertheless, the elimination of virus genomes has been described to be much slower.

Nano-exploration of organic conditioning film formed on polymeric surfaces exposed to drinking water.

Adsorption of organic macromolecules onto surfaces in contact with waters forms a so-called conditioning film and induces modifications of the surface properties. Here, we characterized conditioning films formed onto two hydrophobic materials (used as pipe liner) and immersed for 24 h in tap water. Using combination of atomic force microscopy (AFM), and chemical force microscopy (CFM), we detected some changes in roughness and hydrophilic/hydrophobic balance of the surface of the tested coupons, and also the deposition of numerous organic polymers (few millions/cm) randomly distributed on the surface.

From laboratory to environmental conditions: a new approach for chemical's biodegradability assessment.

With thousands of organic chemicals released every day into our environment, Europe and other continents are confronted with increased risk of health and environmental problems. Even if a strict regulation such as REgistration, Authorization and restriction of CHemicals (REACH) is imposed and followed by industry to ensure that they prove the harmlessness of their substances, not all testing procedures are designed to cope with the complexity of the environment. This is especially true for the evaluation of persistence through biodegradability assessment guidelines.

Heterogeneity: a major factor influencing microbial exposure and risk assessment.

Microbial risk assessment is dependent on several biological and environmental factors that affect both the exposure characteristics to the biological agents and the mechanisms of pathogenicity involved in the pathogen-host relationship. Many exposure assessment studies still focus on the location parameters of the probability distribution representing the concentration of the pathogens and/or toxin. However, the mean or median by themselves are insufficient to evaluate the adverse effects that are associated with a given level of exposure.

New concepts in the evaluation of biodegradation/persistence of chemical substances using a microbial inoculum.

The European REACH Regulation (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization of CHemical substances) implies, among other things, the evaluation of the biodegradability of chemical substances produced by industry. A large set of test methods is available including detailed information on the appropriate conditions for testing. However, the inoculum used for these tests constitutes a "black box.

Occurrence, survival, and persistence of human adenoviruses and F-specific RNA phages in raw groundwater.

Detection of specific genetic markers can rapidly identify the presence of enteric viruses in groundwater. However, comparison of stability characteristics between genetic and infectivity markers is necessary to better interpret molecular data. Human adenovirus serotype 2 (HAdV2), in conjunction with MS2 phages or GA phages, was spiked into raw groundwater microcosms.

Occurrence and persistence of enteroviruses, noroviruses and F-specific RNA phages in natural wastewater biofilms.

Enteroviruses and noroviruses are pathogenic viruses excreted by infected individuals. Discharged in wastewaters, some of these viruses can be captured by biofilms. In the present study, we assessed the occurrence and persistence of these viruses in wastewaters and in corresponding biofilms.

Relationship between F-specific RNA phage genogroups, faecal pollution indicators and human adenoviruses in river water.

Recent studies have shown the increasing interest of F-specific RNA phage genotyping to identify major sources of faecal contamination in waters. This study, conducted in a river located in an urbanized watershed with recognized anthropogenic influences, was aimed at evaluating the relevance of direct phage genotyping by real-time RT-PCR. One hundred percent of positive results were obtained with a 5 mL aliquot of river water (n=31).

Predicting uncertainty in the ecotoxicological assessment of solid waste leachates.

Environmental managers need suitable technological methods to use in optimization studies to improve management of hazardous waste. One of the challenges to achieving a reliable hazardous waste classification is the improvement of procedures used forthe ecotoxicological characterization of solid waste leachates. Indeed, this step requires data that meet levels of acceptable quality if scientifically based decisions are to be made.

Drugs and chronic alcohol abuse in drivers.

Blood specimens from 210 drivers (179 male and 31 female) apprehended in Luxembourg from autumn 2001 to spring 2002 and requested for the determination of their blood alcohol concentration (BAC) were tested for medicinal drugs, illicit drugs, and chronic alcohol abuse (by quantification of the carbohydrate-deficient transferrin: CDT). These additional analyses were performed anonymously and with permission of state prosecutor. The 22.

Relationship between blood alcohol concentration and carbohydrate-deficient transferrin among drivers.

Carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) was quantified in 408 blood specimens, randomly selected from 1260 drivers apprehended and submitted to blood alcohol concentration (BAC) determination. The first step of the study was to observe whether a BAC based pre-evaluation was relevant for deciding to test drivers for chronic alcohol abuse. For this purpose, the diagnosis of chronic alcohol abuse was verified by CDT quantification, with a voluntary high positive cut-off fixed at 3% for high specificity.

Standard use conditions of terrestrial gastropods in active biomonitoring of soil contamination.

The rehabilitation of contaminated sites is becoming a rising preoccupation which requires the knowledge of their past before realization of a suitable remediation. Physicochemical analysis must be realized jointly with the use of bioindicator organisms, which, owing to their bioaccumulation capacities, will reveal the bioavailability of metals in soils. Among terrestrial invertebrates, gastropods like Helix aspersa aspersa possess an important organotropism for metals in their digestive gland and they can be used in active biomonitoring.