Waste barrel contamination and macrobenthic communities in the San Pedro Basin DDT dumpsite.

Industrial waste barrels were discarded from 1947 to 1961 at a DDT dumpsite in the San Pedro Basin (SPB) in southern California, USA at ~890 m. The barrels were studied for effects on sediment concentrations of DDX, PCBs, PAHs and sediment properties, and on benthic macrofaunal assemblages, including metazoan meiofaunal taxa >0.3 mm.

Contaminant concentrations and risks associated with the Pacific oyster in the highly urbanized San Diego Bay.

Contaminant concentrations in filter-feeding shellfish may indicate the health of coastal waters and consumption risks. Widespread expansion of the Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) and its popularity as food make it a useful sentinel. We surveyed intertidal Pacific oysters in San Diego Bay, California for contaminants during summer 2018 and winter 2019.

Persistent organic pollutants in green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) inhabiting two urbanized Southern California habitats.

Within Southern California, east Pacific green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) forage year-round, taking advantage of diverse food resources, including seagrass, marine algae, and invertebrates. Assessing persistent organic pollutants (POP) in green turtle aggregations in the Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge (SBNWR, n = 17) and San Diego Bay (SDB, n = 25) can help quantify contamination risks for these populations. Blood plasma was analyzed for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorinated pesticides (OCPs), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs).

Trace metals in green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) inhabiting two southern California coastal estuaries.

Foraging aggregations of east Pacific green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) inhabit the Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge (SBNWR) and San Diego Bay (SDB), two habitats in southern California, USA, located near urbanized areas. Both juvenile and adult green turtles forage in these areas and exhibit high site fidelity, which potentially exposes green turtles to anthropogenic contaminants. We assessed 21 trace metals (TM) bioaccumulated in green turtle scute and red blood cell (RBC) samples collected from SBNWR (n = 16 turtles) and SDB (n = 20 turtles) using acid digestion and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.

Application of sediment toxicity identification evaluation techniques to a site with multiple contaminants.

Sediment toxicity identification evaluations (TIEs) are conducted to determine causes of adverse effects observed in whole-sediment toxicity tests. However, in multiple contaminant scenarios, it is problematic to partition contributions of individual contaminants to overall toxicity. Using data from a site with multiple inputs and contaminants of concern, the authors describe a quantitative approach for the TIE process by tracking toxicity units to determine whether all toxicity is accounted for.

Caffeine and agricultural pesticide concentrations in surface water and groundwater on the north shore of Kauai (Hawaii, USA).

Caffeine has been associated with wastewater pollution in temperate and subtropical locations, but environmental caffeine concentrations in tropical locations have not been reported. The objectives of this study were to measure caffeine and agricultural pesticide (carbaryl, metalaxyl, and metribuzin) concentrations in environmental waters on the tropical north shore of Kauai (Hawaii, USA) and assess whether patterns in caffeine concentration were consistent with a wastewater caffeine source. Groundwater, river, stream and coastal ocean samples were collected in August 2006 and February 2007.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers in pinnipeds stranded along the southern California coast.

Little to no information exists for polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in marine mammals frequenting the highly urbanized southern California (USA) coast. Fourteen PBDE congeners were determined by GC-ECNI-MS in blubber of pinnipeds stranded locally between 1994 and 2006. Total PBDE concentrations (SigmaPBDE) in California sea lion (n = 63) ranged from 0.

Three cases of canine bile peritonitis with mucinous material in abdominal fluid as the prominent cytologic finding.

Background: Bile peritonitis is a severe, nonseptic inflammatory response to bile in the peritoneal cavity. It may result from generalized or localized leakage of bile due to spontaneous rupture of the biliary system or as a complication of biliary tract inflammation, obstruction, manipulation, or trauma. Cytologically, bile in abdominal fluid appears as golden-green granular pigment.

Making performance-based chemistry work: how we created comparable data among laboratories as part of a Southern California marine regional assessment.

Quality assurance procedures to ensure consistency among chemistry laboratories typically involves the use of standard methods and state certification programs that require laboratories to demonstrate their ability to attain generic performance criteria. To assess whether these procedures are effective for ensuring comparability when processing local samples with potentially complex matrices, seven experienced, state-certified laboratories participated in an intercalibration exercise. Each laboratory was permitted to use their typical methodology for quantifying PAH, PCB and DDT on shared samples collected from Santa Monica Bay and the Palos Verdes Shelf, two sites with a complex mix of constituents.

Structure and function of normal and transformed murine acyl-CoA binding proteins.

Acyl-CoA binding protein (ACBP) is a ubiquitous cytosolic protein found in high levels in tumorigenic cells. However, the molecular basis for the elevated levels of ACBP in malignant cells, ligand binding characteristics, and function in microsomal phospholipid synthesis have not been resolved. To address whether tumorigenic ACBP differs from the native protein, ACBP was purified from LM cells, a tumorigenic subline of mouse L-929 fibroblasts, and its primary structure was examined by delayed-extraction MALDI-linear TOF mass spectrometry.

Expression of fatty acyl-CoA binding proteins in colon cells: response to butyrate and transformation.

Fatty acyl-CoA affect many cellular functions as well as serving as cellular building blocks. Several families of cytosolic fatty acyl-CoA binding proteins may modulate the activities of fatty acyl-CoA. Intestinal enterocytes contain at least three unique families of cytosolic proteins that bind fatty acyl-CoA: acyl-CoA binding protein (ACBP), fatty acid binding proteins (including the liver, L-FABP and intestinal, I-FABP), and sterol carrier protein-2 (SCP-2).

Cycloheximide-induced apoptosis in melanoma cells derived from regressing cutaneous tumours of Sinclair swine.

The role of apoptosis in the spontaneous regression of Sinclair swine melanoma was investigated in vitro with swine melanoma cell lines. Growth characteristics and sensitivity to cycloheximide-induced apoptosis were determined in melanoma cell lines derived from tumours that were progressing or undergoing regression in vivo. In contrast to cell lines derived from progressing tumours, those derived from regressing tumours showed induction of apoptosis; this phenomenon was dependent on dose but independent of cell growth stage in culture.

Acyl-CoA binding proteins: multiplicity and function.

The physiological role of long-chain fatty acyl-CoA is thought to be primarily in intermediary metabolism of fatty acids. However, recent data show that nM to microM levels of these lipophilic molecules are potent regulators of cell functions in vitro. Although long-chain fatty acyl-CoA are present at several hundred microM concentration in the cell, very little long-chain fatty acyl-CoA actually exists as free or unbound molecules, but rather is bound with high affinity to membrane lipids and/or proteins.

Liver and intestinal fatty acid binding proteins in control and TGF beta 1 gene targeted deficient mice.

The effect of transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGF beta 1) expression on fatty acid binding proteins was examined in control and two strains of gene targeted TGF beta 1-deficient mice. Homozygous TGF beta 1-deficient 129 x CF-1, expressing multifocal inflammatory syndrome, had 25% less liver fatty acid binding protein (L-FABP) when compared to control mice. The decrease in L-FABP expression was not due to multifocal inflammatory syndrome since homozygous TGF beta 1-deficient/immunodeficient C3H mice on a SCID background had 36% lower liver L-FABP than controls.

Acute myelomonocytic leukemia in a calf.

In a 2-month-old crossbred calf with paraplegia, results of neurologic evaluation were suggestive of a spinal cord lesion caudal to L3. The calf bled from the blood sampling site for an extended period after venipuncture. Leukocytosis, anemia, and thrombocytopenia were observed.