PFAS Exposure is Associated with a Lower Spermatic Quality in an Arctic Seabird.

Several studies have reported an increasing occurrence of poly- and perfluorinated alkyl substances (PFASs) in Arctic wildlife tissues, raising concerns due to their resistance to degradation. While some research has explored PFAS's physiological effects on birds, their impact on reproductive functions, particularly sperm quality, remains underexplored. This study aims to assess (1) potential association between PFAS concentrations in blood and sperm quality in black-legged kittiwakes (), focusing on the percentage of abnormal spermatozoa, sperm velocity, percentage of sperm motility, and morphology; and (2) examine the association of plasma levels of testosterone, corticosterone, and luteinizing hormone with both PFAS concentrations and sperm quality parameters to assess possible endocrine disrupting pathways.

Winter Tracking Data Suggest that Migratory Seabirds Transport Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances to Their Arctic Nesting Site.

Seabirds are often considered sentinel species of marine ecosystems, and their blood and eggs utilized to monitor local environmental contaminations. Most seabirds breeding in the Arctic are migratory and thus are exposed to geographically distinct sources of contamination throughout the year, including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Despite the abundance and high toxicity of PFAS, little is known about whether blood concentrations at breeding sites reliably reflect local contamination or exposure in distant wintering areas.

Does contaminant exposure disrupt maternal hormones deposition? A study on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in an Arctic seabird.

Maternal effects are thought to be essential tools for females to modulate offspring development. The selective deposition of avian maternal hormones could therefore allow females to strategically adjust the phenotype of their offspring to the environmental situation encountered. However, at the time of egg formation, several contaminants are also transferred to the egg, including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) which are ubiquitous organic contaminants with endocrine disrupting properties.

A Bad Start in Life? Maternal Transfer of Legacy and Emerging Poly- and Perfluoroalkyl Substances to Eggs in an Arctic Seabird.

In birds, maternal transfer is a major exposure route for several contaminants, including poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Little is known, however, about the extent of the transfer of the different PFAS compounds to the eggs, especially for alternative fluorinated compounds. In the present study, we measured legacy and emerging PFAS, including Gen-X, ADONA, and F-53B, in the plasma of prelaying black-legged kittiwake females breeding in Svalbard and the yolk of their eggs.

Hydrolysis of FTOH precursors, a simple method to account for some of the unknown PFAS.

There is a growing concern over a suspected presense of unknown perfluoroaliphatic substances (PFAS) in consumer goods and in the environment. Such unknown substances, possibly with high molecular weight, might be precursors of hazardous or controlled known PFAS. Recent studies confirmed that total organic fluorine (TOF) content often can not be explained by the measured target PFAS.

Expression of DNA repair genes in arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) from Bjørnøya in the Norwegian Arctic.

High levels of organochlorines (OCs) have been measured in arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) from Lake Ellasjøen on Bjørnøya, Norway (74.30°N, 19.0°E).

DNA Double-Strand Breaks in Arctic Char (Salvelinus alpinus) from Bjørnøya in the Norwegian Arctic.

High levels of organochlorine contaminants (OCs) have been found in arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) from Lake Ellasjøen, Bjørnøya (Norwegian Arctic). The aim of the present study was to investigate the potential genotoxic effect of environmental organochlorine contaminant exposure in arctic char from Ellasjøen compared with arctic char from the low-contaminated Lake Laksvatn nearby. Blood was analyzed using agarose gel electrophoresis and image data analysis to quantify the fraction of total DNA that migrated into the gel (DNA-FTM) as a relative measure of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs).

Management of pharmaceutical substances in the environment: Lithuanian case study.

Investigation on the sources, discharges and related risks for the environment of the pharmaceutical substance (PhS) diclofenac (DCF) was performed in Lithuania, a country of the Baltic Sea region, for the first time. The investigation only refers to DCF as a PhS for human use; emissions from animal husbandry were not considered. In the first stage of the research, the main sources and pathways of DCF via substance flow analysis were identified within the country.

A computationally feasible quantum chemical model for 13C NMR chemical shifts of PCB-derived carboxylic acids.

Two quantum chemical models have been derived for the prediction of 13C NMR chemical shifts of novel PCB acids obtained from PCBs by catalytic carbonylation. 13C isotropic shielding constants were calculated employing the GIAO (gauge-independent atomic orbital) method with density functional theory (DFT). The best results were obtained by cluster calculations, which took the solvent effects into account properly.