Glyphosate formulations cause mortality and diverse sublethal defects during embryonic development of the amphibian Xenopuslaevis.

The human impact on environmental landscapes, such as land use, climate change or pollution, is threatening global biodiversity and ecosystems maintenance. Pesticides like the herbicide glyphosate have garnered considerable attention due to their well-documented harmful effects on non-target species. During application, the active ingredient glyphosate is utilized in various formulations, each containing different additive adjuvants.

Anoxic seagrass leaf environments as potential hotspots for toxin production and NO emission.

Epiphytes on seagrass leaves can render parts of the leaf phyllosphere anoxic in darkness owing to leaf/epiphyte respiration and O diffusion constraints. In such anoxic microenvironments, anaerobic microbes can potentially produce phytotoxins and greenhouse gases, but the actual occurrence of such processes in seagrass epiphytic biofilms remain uncertain. We used microsensors to measure O, NO, NO and HS concentration gradients, as well as NO and O dynamics within epiphytic biofilms on seagrass (Zostera marina) leaves under changing environmental conditions.

Novel Approach for Lifetime-Proportional Luminescence Imaging Using Frame Straddling.

Optode-based chemical imaging is a rapidly evolving field that has substantially enhanced our understanding of the role of microenvironments and chemical gradients in biogeochemistry, microbial ecology, and biomedical sciences. Progress in sensor chemistry has resulted in a broadened spectrum of analytes, alongside enhancements in sensor performance (e.g.

Lifetime Imaging of the Internal O Dynamics in Corals with near-Infrared-Emitting Sensor Nanoparticles.

Mapping of O with luminescent sensors within intact animals is challenging due to attenuation of excitation and emission light caused by tissue absorption and scattering as well as interfering background fluorescence. Here we show the application of luminescent O sensor nanoparticles (∼50-70 nm) composed of the O indicator platinum(II) tetra(4-fluoro)phenyltetrabenzoporphyrin (PtTPTBPF) immobilized in poly(methyl methacrylate--methacrylic acid) (PMMA-MA). We injected the sensor nanoparticles into the gastrovascular system of intact colony fractions of reef-building tropical corals that harbor photosynthetic microalgae in their tissues.

Light management by algal aggregates in living photosynthetic hydrogels.

Rapid progress in algal biotechnology has triggered a growing interest in hydrogel-encapsulated microalgal cultivation, especially for the engineering of functional photosynthetic materials and biomass production. An overlooked characteristic of gel-encapsulated cultures is the emergence of cell aggregates, which are the result of the mechanical confinement of the cells. Such aggregates have a dramatic effect on the light management of gel-encapsulated photobioreactors and hence strongly affect the photosynthetic outcome.

Choice of medium affects PBMC quantification, cell size, and downstream respiratory analysis.

High-resolution respirometry (HRR) can assess peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) bioenergetics, but no standardized medium for PBMC preparation and HRR analysis exist. Here, we study the effect of four different media (MiR05, PBS, RPMI, Plasmax) on the count, size, and HRR (Oxygraph-O2k) of intact PBMCs. Remarkably, the cell count was 21 % higher when PBMCs were resuspended in MiR05 than in PBS or Plasmax, causing O flux underestimation during HRR due to inherent adjustments.

Comparing the effects of three neonicotinoids on embryogenesis of the South African clawed frog .

Neonicotinoids (NEOs) are widely used insecticides that are ubiquitous in agricultural use. Since NEOs are found in natural waters as well as in tap water and human urine in regions where NEOs are widely used, NEOs pose a potential hazard to non-target organisms such as animals and humans. Some of the commonly detected NEOs are imidacloprid (IMD), thiamethoxam (TMX), and its metabolite clothianidin (CLO).

Contrasting effects of increasing dissolved iron on photosynthesis and O availability in the gastric cavity of two Mediterranean corals.

Iron (Fe) plays a fundamental role in coral symbiosis, supporting photosynthesis, respiration, and many important enzymatic reactions. However, the extent to which corals are limited by Fe and their metabolic responses to inorganic Fe enrichment remains to be understood. We used respirometry, variable chlorophyll fluorescence, and O microsensors to investigate the impact of increasing Fe(III) concentrations (20, 50, and 100 nM) on the photosynthetic capacity of two Mediterranean coral species, and .

Multiparameter Sensing of Oxygen and pH at Biological Interfaces via Hyperspectral Imaging of Luminescent Sensor Nanoparticles.

Chemical dynamics in biological samples are seldom stand-alone processes but represent the outcome of complicated cascades of interlinked reaction chains. In order to understand these processes and how they correlate, it is important to monitor several parameters simultaneously at high spatial and temporal resolution. Hyperspectral imaging is a promising tool for this, as it provides broad-range spectral information in each pixel, enabling the use of multiple luminescent indicator dyes, while simultaneously providing information on sample structures and optical properties.

Intra-colony spatial variance of oxyregulation and hypoxic thresholds for key coral species.

Oxygen (O) availability is essential for healthy coral reef functioning, yet how continued loss of dissolved O via ocean deoxygenation impacts performance of reef building corals remains unclear. Here, we examine how intra-colony spatial geometry of important Great Barrier Reef (GBR) coral species may influence variation in hypoxic thresholds for upregulation, to better understand capacity to tolerate future reductions in O availability. We first evaluate the application of more streamlined models used to parameterise Hypoxia Response Curve data, models that have been used historically to identify variable oxyregulatory capacity.

Seafloor primary production in a changing Arctic Ocean.

Phytoplankton and sea ice algae are traditionally considered to be the main primary producers in the Arctic Ocean. In this Perspective, we explore the importance of benthic primary producers (BPPs) encompassing microalgae, macroalgae, and seagrasses, which represent a poorly quantified source of Arctic marine primary production. Despite scarce observations, models predict that BPPs are widespread, colonizing ~3 million km of the extensive Arctic coastal and shelf seas.

Seagrass-mediated rhizosphere redox gradients are linked with ammonium accumulation driven by diazotrophs.

Unlabelled: Seagrasses can enhance nutrient mobilization in their rhizosphere via complex interactions with sediment redox conditions and microbial populations. Yet, limited knowledge exists on how seagrass-derived rhizosphere dynamics affect nitrogen cycling. Using optode and gel-sampler-based chemical imaging, we show that radial O loss (ROL) from rhizomes and roots leads to the formation of redox gradients around below-ground tissues of seagrass (), which are co-localized with regions of high ammonium concentrations in the rhizosphere.

Unlocking human-robot synergy: The power of intent communication in warehouse robotics.

As autonomous mobile robots (AMR) are introduced into workspace environments shared with people, effective human-robot communication is critical to the prevention of injury while maintaining a high level of productivity. This research presents an empirical study that evaluates four alternative methods for communicating between an autonomous mobile robot and a human at a warehouse intersection. The results demonstrate that using an intent communication system for human-AMR interaction improves objective measures of productivity (task time) and subjective metrics of trust and comfort.

Biofilm formation and cell plasticity drive diazotrophy in an anoxygenic phototrophic bacterium.

The contribution of non-cyanobacterial diazotrophs (NCDs) to total N fixation in the marine water column is unknown, but their importance is likely constrained by the limited availability of dissolved organic matter and low O conditions. Light could support N fixation and growth by NCDs, yet no examples from bacterioplankton exist. In this study, we show that the phototrophic NCD, sp.

Non-invasive investigation of the morphology and optical properties of the upside-down jellyfish with optical coherence tomography.

The jellyfish largely cover their carbon demand via photosynthates produced by microalgal endosymbionts, but how holobiont morphology and tissue optical properties affect the light microclimate and symbiont photosynthesis in remain unexplored. Here, we use optical coherence tomography (OCT) to study the morphology of medusae at high spatial resolution. We include detailed 3D reconstructions of external micromorphology, and show the spatial distribution of endosymbionts and white granules in the bell tissue.

The impact of the insecticide acetamiprid on the embryogenesis of the aquatic model organism Xenopus laevis.

Acetamiprid (ACT) is used extensively in agriculture worldwide, although data on ACT concentrations in natural water bodies and its impact on aquatic organisms are limited. To study whether ACT influences the embryogenesis of the South African clawed frog Xenopus laevis, embryos were incubated in ACT solutions from 0.01 to 100 mg/L.

Microscale imaging sheds light on species-specific strategies for photo-regulation and photo-acclimation of microphytobenthic diatoms.

Intertidal microphytobenthic (MPB) biofilms are key sites for coastal primary production, predominantly by pennate diatoms exhibiting photo-regulation via non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) and vertical migration. Movement is the main photo-regulation mechanism of motile (epipelic) diatoms and because they can move from light, they show low-light acclimation features such as low NPQ levels, as compared to non-motile (epipsammic) forms. However, most comparisons of MPB species-specific photo-regulation have used low light acclimated monocultures, not mimicking environmental conditions.

A hidden curriculum for environmental topics in medical education: Impact on environmental knowledge and awareness of the students.

Objective: Climate change constitutes a major challenge. The higher education sector plays an important role in regard to climate change and the adaptation to its consequences. Various approaches toward the integration of environmental subject areas to higher education teaching have already been described in other studies, but there is a lack of data supporting the effectiveness of these approaches in changing not only the environmental knowledge of students, but also their awareness.

Climate change and health: Changes in student environmental knowledge and awareness due to the implementation of a mandatory elective at the Medical Faculty of Ulm?

Background And Objectives: According to the World Health Organization, climate change constitutes the single greatest threat to human health. However, the health care system contributes to climate change worldwide through its high CO emissions. In order to make future physicians more aware of this issue and to expand medical education to include climate-related aspects, the mandatory 28 academic hours elective "Climate Change and Health" for students of human medicine in the preclinical study stage was implemented at the Medical Faculty of Ulm in the 2020/21 winter semester.

Glyphosate without Co-formulants affects embryonic development of the south african clawed frog Xenopus laevis.

Background: Glyphosate (GLY) is the most widely used herbicide in the world. Due to its mode of action as an inhibitor of the 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase, an important step in the shikimate pathway, specifically in plants, GLY is considered to be of low toxicity to non-target organisms. However, various studies have shown the negative effects of GLY on the mortality and development of different non-target organisms, including insects, rodents, fish and amphibians.

Photosynthetic capacity in seagrass seeds and early-stage seedlings of Zostera marina.

In many terrestrial seeds, photosynthetic activity supplies O to the developing plant embryo to sustain aerobic metabolism and enhance biosynthetic activity. However, whether seagrass seeds possess similar photosynthetic capacity to alleviate intra-seed hypoxic stress conditions is unknown. We used a novel combination of microscale variable chlorophyll fluorescence imaging, a custom-made O optode microrespirometry system and planar optode O imaging, to determine the O microenvironment and photosynthetic activity in developing seeds and seedlings of seagrass (Zostera marina).

[Environmental knowledge and environmental awareness among Generation Z students: An online survey at the University of Ulm].

Background: The issues of climate change, environmental pollution and species extinction play an increasingly central role in the public debate. At the same time, however, there is a significant gap between environmental knowledge and sustainable action (so-called value-action gap). The education system, especially at the university level, is an important institution for imparting well-founded knowledge on this topic and, as a consequence, for deriving targeted options for action.

The neonicotinoid thiacloprid leads to multiple defects during early embryogenesis of the South African clawed frog (Xenopuslaevis).

There is increasing concern about the health effects of pesticides that pollute natural waters. In particular, the use of neonicotinoids, such as thiacloprid (THD), is causing unease. THD is considered non-toxic to non-target vertebrates.