Detection of pathogenic viruses in the urban wastewater in Kuwait-implications for monitoring viral disease outbreaks.

Effective surveillance for epidemic-prone viral diseases is essential for emergency preparedness to respond to threats and occurrences of pandemics. While it is difficult and expensive to conduct health facility-based surveillance, there is a growing interest in conducting sewage-based epidemiological studies to monitor the health of the urban population because of the relative ease of sample collection and the availability of advanced molecular techniques for the detection of pathogens in the sewage. Sewage samples offer unique means to study the aggregate health of the population as opposed to the monitoring of the health of any individual by traditional methods.

Impact of endocrine disrupting compounds in sewage impacted coastal area on seabream.

The pollution of coastal regions worldwide has been of a great concern due to the presence of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). These chemicals find their way to the marine environment via the sewage treatment plants (STPs). Hence, this study was designed to investigate the status and sources of EDCs and their effect on fish in Kuwait's coastal areas, from the chemical and biological perspectives.

Are reproduction impairments of free spawning marine invertebrates exposed to zero-valent nano-iron associated with dissolution of nanoparticles?

Studies were carried out to assess the effects of coating applied to zero-valent nano-iron (nZVI) on early life stage development of three key marine invertebrate species Mytilus galloprovincialis, Ciona intestinalis and Psammechinus milliaris. Embryo development was assessed following a 2-h exposure of the sperm to concentrations of two nZVIs of up to 10 mg l(-1) followed by in vitro fertilisation. Disruption of embryo development was most severe in sea squirts followed by mussel, while the urchin embryos were not significantly affected as compared with controls.

Merging nano-genotoxicology with eco-genotoxicology: an integrated approach to determine interactive genotoxic and sub-lethal toxic effects of C(60) fullerenes and fluoranthene in marine mussels, Mytilus sp.

Whilst there is growing concern over the potential detrimental impact of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) on the natural environment, little is known about their interactions with other contaminants. In the present study, marine mussels (Mytilus sp.) were exposed for 3 days to C(60) fullerenes (C(60); 0.

A multiple biomarker approach to investigate the effects of copper on the marine bivalve mollusc, Mytilus edulis.

While copper (Cu) is considered to be an essential trace element for many organisms, overexposure to this metal can induce a wide spectrum of effects including DNA damage. Given that Cu is a highly relevant contaminant in the marine environment, we aimed to evaluate the induction of DNA strand breaks (using the comet assay) in haemocytes and concurrently also determined biological responses at higher levels of biological organisation in bivalve molluscs, Mytilus edulis, following exposure for 5 days to a range of environmentally realistic levels of Cu (18-56 μg l(-1)). Prior to evaluation of genetic damage, the maximum tolerated concentration (MTC) was also determined, which was found to be (100 μg l(-1)) above which complete mortality over the exposure period was observed.

Hypoxia-induced oxidative DNA damage links with higher level biological effects including specific growth rate in common carp, Cyprinus carpio L.

Both hypoxia and hyperoxia, albeit in different magnitude, are known stressors in the aquatic environment. Adopting an integrated approach, mirror carp (Cyprinus carpio L.), were exposed chronically (i.

Stabilization of engineered zero-valent nanoiron with Na-acrylic copolymer enhances spermiotoxicity.

Studies were carried out to assess the effects of stabilized (i.e., coated with organic polyacrylic stabilizer) and nonstabilized forms of zero-valent nanoiron (nZVI) on the development of Mytilus galloprovincialis embryos following 2 h exposure of the sperm prior to in vitro fertilization.

Contamination of bivalve haemolymph samples by adductor muscle components: implications for biomarker studies.

Haemolymph samples and haemocytes collected via the adductor muscles of bivalve molluscs are extensively used in ecotoxicological studies. Withdrawal of haemolymph from mussels, Mytilus edulis, via the posterior adductor muscle, may lead to contamination with the intracellular contents of adductor myocytes. Lysopine dehydrogenase (LyDH) activity, an adductor myocyte marker, was used to investigate the impact of this potential contamination on levels of total glutathione, glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) measured in cell-free haemolymph.