Assessment of pesticide contamination in hill reservoirs: combination of a rainfed farming survey and water multiresidue monitoring (Lebna watershed, Cap Bon, Tunisia).

Due to Mediterranean climatic conditions, traditional pluvial agrosystems are widespread along the southern Mediterranean shore and were previously thought to have minimal impact on surface water resources due to low agricultural input levels. However, current pesticide applications are now considered to contribute significantly to the contamination of surface water resources, which may result in severe impacts on biodiversity and the environment. This study examined the presence and mobility risk of pesticides in the surface waters of the Lebna watershed in northeastern Tunisia, a rainfed Mediterranean agricultural region.

Adsorption and mineralization of metalaxyl-m and chlorpyrifos in irrigated Mediterranean soil under the effects of salinity.

To evaluate the effects of salinity on the fate of pesticides in a Mediterranean irrigated system, experiments were carried out under laboratory conditions to determine the adsorption, desorption, and mineralization of chlorpyrifos (CPF) and metalaxyl-M (MET) in a soil sample from an irrigated field in northern Tunisia. Adsorption/desorption isotherms and mineralization kinetics data were obtained over a realistic range of salinities via batch equilibrium and incubation techniques. On the basis of the experimental results, MET has a lower sorption capacity than CPF does, and the adsorption data for both compounds were better fitted by the Freundlich equation, with K values of 0.

Pesticide contamination pattern of surface water in an urban-agricultural mediterranean watershed (Wadi Guenniche, Bizerte Lagoon, Northern Tunisia).

Two years of monthly sampling and hydrological monitoring were performed at the outlet of a Mediterranean watershed in northern Tunisia to determine the contents of 469 pesticide active ingredients and metabolites in water and evaluate their behavior. Wadi Guenniche is a tributary of the Bizerte coastal lagoon, with a watershed area of 86 km, which exhibits pluvial cereal, legume, and orchid cultivation and irrigated market gardening. Twenty-nine pesticide active ingredients and 2 metabolites were detected in water.

Effect of salinity on the fate of pesticides in irrigated systems: a first overview.

This review investigates the impact of salinity on the fate of the active compounds of pesticides in a cultivated environment. Due to the over-exploitation of water resources and intensification of agriculture, salinity outbreaks are being observed more often in cultivated fields under pesticide treatments. Nevertheless, there is a poor understanding of the incidence of varying water salt loads on the behavior of pesticides' active ingredients in soil and water bodies.

Evidence for enhanced dissipation of chlorpyrifos in an agricultural soil inoculated with Serratia rubidaea strain ABS 10.

The insecticide C-chlorpyrifos was found mineralized in a Tunisian soil with repeated exposure to it. From this soil, a bacterial strain was isolated that was able to grow in a minimal salt medium (MSM) supplemented with 25 mg L of chlorpyrifos. It was characterized as Serratia rubidaea strain ABS 10 using morphological and biochemical analyses, as well as 16S rRNA sequencing.

Progesterone for Luteal Phase Support in In Vitro Fertilization: Comparison of Vaginal and Rectal Pessaries to Vaginal Capsules: A Randomized Controlled Study.

Background: In IVF, Luteal phase support is usually performed using vaginal progesterone. A part of patients using this route reports being uncomfortable with this route. We tried to study whether the rectal route could be an effective alternative and associated with less discomfort.

Isolation and characterisation of a bacterial strain degrading the herbicide sulcotrione from an agricultural soil.

Background: The dissipation kinetics of the herbicide sulcotrione sprayed 4 times on a French soil was studied using a laboratory microcosm approach. An advanced cultivation-based method was then used to isolate the bacteria responsible for biotransformation of sulcotrione. Chromatographic methods were employed as complementary tools to define its metabolic pathway.

Behaviour of sulcotrione and mesotrione in two soils.

The behaviour of sulcotrione, a recently introduced triketone herbicide, in various soil types was studied under laboratory conditions. In particular, degradation and sorption processes were examined on Ghent and Perpignan soils. Kinetics showed that the degradation of sulcotrione was influenced by biotic and/or abiotic factors.

Photodegradation of sulcotrione in various aquatic environments and toxicity of its photoproducts for some marine micro-organisms.

Photochemical behaviour of sulcotrione, a triketone herbicide, was studied in a variety of aqueous solutions including natural waters (sea and river) under laboratory conditions. Photodegradation experiments were carried out under two irradiation systems (UV-B and simulated solar radiation) in order to evaluate kinetics of active ingredient. The degradation kinetics, more rapid under UV-B radiation than solar simulator, followed a first-order reaction (photolysis half-lives ranged between 3 and 50 h) and appeared strongly dependent on water origin, pH value and molecular structure of the herbicide.

Influence of soil properties on the adsorption-desorption of sulcotrione and its hydrolysis metabolites on various soils.

The retention process of sulcotrione and its two hydrolysis products, 1,3-cyclohexanedione (CHD) and 2-chloro-4-methylsulfonylbenzoic acid (CMBA), were studied in four different soils (Belgium, Landes, Perpignan, and Martinique) under laboratory conditions. Adsorption isotherms were well fitted by a Freundlich relationship. The values of K(fa) ranged from 0.