Identification of Compounds Contributing to Glucocorticoid Activity in Indoor Dust Supported by Orthogonal Fractionation.

Indoor dust contains various endocrine-disrupting contaminants, yet the effect drivers of observed glucocorticoid activity are completely unknown. This study conducted an effect-directed analysis using orthogonal fractionation to identify effect drivers of glucocorticoid activity in indoor dust. After the detection of bioactivity using a human cell line stably transfected with a reporter gene, the sample underwent parallel HPLC fractionations with octadecyl, pentafluorophenyl, and aminopropyl columns to obtain orthogonal fractions.

Spatial-economic scenarios to increase resilience to urban flooding.

Due to accelerating climate change and the need for new development to accommodate population growth, adaptation of urban drainage systems has become a pressing issue in cities. Questions arise whether decentralised urban drainage systems are a better alternative to centralised systems, and whether Nature Based Solutions' (NBS) multifunctionality also brings economic benefits. This research aims to develop spatio-economic scenarios to support cities in increasing their resilience to urban flooding with NBS.

Novel Flame Retardants (NFRs) in E-waste: Environmental burdens, health implications, and recommendations for safety assessment and sustainable management.

Novel flame retardants (NFRs) have emerged as chemicals of environmental health concern due to their widespread use as an alternative to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) in electrical and electronic devices. Humans and ecosystems are under threat because of e-waste recycling procedures that may emit NFRs and other anthropogenic chemicals into the e-waste workplace and the surrounding environment. The individual toxicity of NFRs including novel brominated flame retardants (NBFRs), their combined effects and the underlying mechanisms of toxicity have remained poorly understood.

Molecular-Level Insights into Recalcitrant Ozonation Products from Effluent Organic Matter.

Wastewater ozonation is commonly employed to enhance the subsequent biodegradation of effluent organic matter (EfOM) and contaminants of concern. However, there is evidence suggesting the formation of recalcitrant ozonation products (OPs) from EfOM. To investigate the biodegradability of OPs we conducted batch biodegradation experiments using wastewater effluent ozonated with mass-labeled (O) ozone.

Feels Like Home: A Biobased and Biodegradable Plastic Offers a Novel Habitat for Diverse Plant Pathogenic Fungi in Temperate Forest Ecosystems.

Poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate) (PBSA), a biodegradable plastic, is significantly colonized and degraded by soil microbes under natural field conditions, especially by fungal plant pathogens, raising concerns about potential economic losses. This study hypothesizes that the degradation of biodegradable plastics may increase the presence and abundance of plant pathogens by serving as an additional carbon source, ultimately posing a risk to forest ecosystems. We investigated (i) fungal plant pathogens during the exposure of PBSA in European broadleaved and coniferous forests (two forest types), with a specific focus on potential risk to tree health, and (ii) the response of such fungi to environmental factors, including tree species, soil pH, nutrient availability, moisture content, and the physicochemical properties of leaf litter layer.

Unravelling a Latent Pathobiome Across Coral Reef Biotopes.

Previous studies on disease in coral reef organisms have neglected the natural distribution of potential pathogens and the genetic factors that underlie disease incidence. This study explores the intricate associations between hosts, microbial communities, putative pathogens, antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and virulence factors (VFs) across diverse coral reef biotopes. We observed a substantial compositional overlap of putative bacterial pathogens, VFs and ARGs across biotopes, consistent with the 'everything is everywhere, but the environment selects' hypothesis.

Bioactivity Profiling of Chemical Mixtures for Hazard Characterization.

The assessment and regulation of chemical toxicity to protect human health and the environment are done one chemical at a time and seldom at environmentally relevant concentrations. However, chemicals are found in the environment as mixtures, and their toxicity is largely unknown. Understanding the hazard posed by chemicals within the mixture is critical to enforce protective measures.

Draft genome sequences of strain BW1 and sp. strain MK2 isolated from oil sands process-affected water.

Draft genomes of two phenanthrene-degrading bacterial isolates from oil sands process-affected water (OSPW) in Alberta, Canada were sequenced. Both isolates grew in close association on agar plates and were difficult to obtain axenically. They represent novel and sp.

Calibration of a Tube Passive Sampler in Wastewater Effluent with Adjustable Volumetric Flow for the Assessment of Micropollutants with Fluctuating Concentrations.

We present a versatile flow-through tube passive sampling device (TPS), with a controllable feedwater volumetric flow, that can be calibrated against the feedwater load of organic micropollutants (OMPs). This semipassive approach has the advantage of a determinable water load feeding the sampling device. The design of the TPS allows for new sampling scenarios in closed piping while providing stable and controlled sampling conditions.

Acanthocephalans as pollutant sinks? Higher pollutant accumulation in parasites may relieve their crustacean host.

Increasing chemical pollution calls for a closer look at ecologically highly relevant host-parasite interactions to understand the persistence of organisms and populations in a polluted environment. The impact of chemical exposure within the host-parasite interactions - particularly the distinctive bioaccumulation behavior of organic micropollutants - can substantially influence the persistence of a species. This significance has been emphasized by previous research showing a higher tolerance of Gammarus roeselii (Amphipoda, Crustacea) infected with acanthocephalans during acute exposure to a pyrethroid.

Reactivation and long-term stabilization of the [NiFe] Hox hydrogenase of Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 by glutathione after oxygen exposure.

Hydrogenases are key enzymes forming or consuming hydrogen. The inactivation of these transition metal biocatalysts with oxygen limits their biotechnological applications. Oxygen-sensitive hydrogenases are distinguished from oxygen-insensitive (tolerant) ones by their initial hydrogen turnover rates influenced by oxygen.

Multiple stressor effects act primarily on microbial leaf decomposers in stream mesocosms.

At the global level, stream ecosystems are influenced by multiple anthropogenic stressors such as eutrophication, habitat deterioration, and water scarcity. Multiple stressor effects on stream biodiversity are well documented, but multiple stressor effects on stream ecosystem processes have received only limited attention. We conducted one mesocosm (stream channel) and one microcosm (feeding trial) experiment to study how combinations of reduced flow, increased nutrient concentrations, and increased fine sediment coverage would influence fungal and macroinvertebrate decomposer assemblages and their active contribution to leaf decomposition.

Quantification and occurrence of 39 tire-related chemicals in urban and rural aerosol from Saxony, Germany.

Tire and road wear particles (TRWP) are a major contributor to non-exhaust traffic emissions, but their contribution to and dynamics in urban aerosol is not well known. Urban particulate matter (PM) in the size fraction below 10 µm (PM) from two German cities was collected over 2 weeks and analysed for 39 tire-related chemicals, including amines, guanidines, ureas, benzothiazoles, p-phenylenediamines, quinolines and several transformation products (TPs). Of these, 37 compounds were determined in PM at median concentrations of 212 pg/m for 1,3-diphenylguanidine (DPG) and 132 pg/m for benzothiazole-2-sulfonic acid (BTSA); 10 of the compounds have not been reported in urban aerosol before.

The pH-dependence of efflux ratios determined with bidirectional transport assays across cellular monolayers.

MDCK/Caco-2 assays serve as essential in vitro tools for evaluating membrane permeability and active transport, especially mediated by P-glycoprotein (P-gp). Despite their utility, challenges remain in quantifying active transport and using the efflux ratio (ER) to determine intrinsic values for active efflux. Such an intrinsic value for P-gp facilitated efflux necessitates knowing whether this transporter transports the neutral or ionic species of a compound.

Genome size influences plant growth and biodiversity responses to nutrient fertilization in diverse grassland communities.

Experiments comparing diploids with polyploids and in single grassland sites show that nitrogen and/or phosphorus availability influences plant growth and community composition dependent on genome size; specifically, plants with larger genomes grow faster under nutrient enrichments relative to those with smaller genomes. However, it is unknown if these effects are specific to particular site localities with speciifc plant assemblages, climates, and historical contingencies. To determine the generality of genome size-dependent growth responses to nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization, we combined genome size and species abundance data from 27 coordinated grassland nutrient addition experiments in the Nutrient Network that occur in the Northern Hemisphere across a range of climates and grassland communities.

Acetate Shock Loads Enhance CO Uptake Rates of Anaerobic Microbiomes.

Pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass commonly produces syngas, a mixture of gases such as CO, CO and H, as well as an aqueous solution generally rich in organic acids such as acetate. In this study, we evaluated the impact of increasing acetate shock loads during syngas co-fermentation with anaerobic microbiomes at different pH levels (6.7 and 5.

Changes in reproduction mediate the effects of climate change and grassland management on plant population dynamics.

Climate change is one of the largest threats to grassland plant species, which can be modified by land management. Although climate change and land management are expected to separately and interactively influence plant demography, this has been rarely considered in climate change experiments. We used a large-scale experiment in central Germany to quantify the effects of grassland management, climate change, and their joint effect on the demography and population growth rate of 11 plant species all native to this temperate grassland ecosystem.

Oxidative purification of microplastics in riverine suspended matter samples - Solving the challenge of plant debris removal for microplastic analysis.

Riverine suspended matter (river-SPM) contains large amounts of natural particles consisting of cellulose and lignin, posing a challenge for microplastic (MPs) analysis. Additionally, organic matter composition under seasonal and discharge-related dynamics varies for each river. Therefore, this study attempted to identify a universally applicable clean-up procedure to remove matrix particles with high organic matter content, mainly plant debris, from the river-SPM samples.

Avenues towards reconciling wild and managed bee proponents.

Bees are crucial for food security and biodiversity. However, managed bees are increasingly considered drivers of wild bee declines, leading to stakeholder conflicts and restrictive policies. We propose avenues to reconcile wild and managed bee proponents and point out knowledge gaps that hinder the development of evidence-based policies.

Multi-compartment impact of micropollutants and particularly antibiotics on bacterial communities using environmental DNA at river basin-level.

Bacterial communities respond to environmental conditions with diverse structural and functional changes depending on their compartment (water, biofilm or sediment), type of environmental stress, and type of pollution to which they are exposed. In this study, we combined amplicon sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes from water, biofilm, and sediment samples collected in the anthropogenically impacted River Aconcagua basin (Central Chile, South America), in order to evaluate whether micropollutants alter bacterial community structure and functioning based on the type and degree of chemical pollution. Furthermore, we evaluated the potential of bacterial communities from differently polluted sites to degrade contaminants.

The identification and quantification of tire and road wear particles in Osaka Bay, Japan, by two analytical methods.

Tire and road wear particles (TRWP) are generated at the frictional interface between tires and the road surface. This mixture of tire tread and road pavement materials can migrate from roads into nearby water bodies during precipitation events. The absence of mass-based measurements in marine environments introduces uncertainty in environmental risk assessments and fate and transport models.

Summer drought enhances diurnal amplitude of CO in two German rivers of different size.

Drought is becoming increasingly prevalent globally, stimulating research into its effects on river ecosystems. However, our understanding of how droughts affect riverine CO dynamics on a daily scale remains limited, particularly considering the likelihood of future drought occurrence. Here, we seize the opportunity to compare daily CO cycles between a non-drought summer and an unprecedented drought summer.