Endocrine-disrupting chemicals used as common plastic additives: Levels, profiles, and human dietary exposure from the Indian food basket.

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) such as phthalic acid esters (PAEs) and bisphenol A (BPA) are the most widely used plastic additives in polymeric materials. These EDCs are ubiquitously distributed in the environment. Hence selected PAEs and BPA were investigated in twenty-five food types and drinking water (supply and packaged) from the metropolitan city, Delhi, and the peri-urban areas of a non-metropolitan city, Dehradun.

Line ferries and cargo ships for the monitoring of marine contaminants of emerging concern: Application along a Europe-Arctic transect.

Contaminants of emerging concern (CEC) are a focus in marine protection. Several CECs are released with wastewater effluents to coastal environments and their offshore occurrence has been recently documented. Routine monitoring is key for implementing marine protection acts, however infrastructural, financial, and technical limitations hinder this task along broad spatial transects.

Cyanobacteria Contributes to the Severity of Fish Diseases: A Study on Spring Viraemia of Carp.

Fish are exposed to numerous stressors in the environment including pollution, bacterial and viral agents, and toxic substances. Our study with common carps leveraged an integrated approach (i.e.

Dynamics of PCB exposure in the past 50 years and recent high concentrations in human breast milk: Analysis of influencing factors using a physiologically based pharmacokinetic model.

In this study we reconstruct the long-term exposure of Czech mothers to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and determine the causes of high contamination of breast milk by indicator PCBs (iPCBs). A data set containing information from more than 1000 primiparous women from the Czech Republic was used, including iPCB concentrations in breast milk, individual physiology and living characteristics. The time series of PCB intakes for the whole period from the beginning of PCB production in 1958 until 2011 were reconstructed.

Hexabromocyclododecane: concentrations and isomer profiles from sources to environmental sinks.

Concentrations and isomer compositions of hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) were measured in six matrices in the Czech Republic (HBCD technical mixture; consumer products; indoor and outdoor air at industrial, urban and background locations; soils; and sediments) to provide insight into changes in concentrations and isomer profiles between environmental sources and environmental sinks. A distinct gradient of air concentrations was observed, from 1600 ng/m in the industrial area to < 10 pg/m in urban and background air. Isomer profiles also showed a distinct gradient in air, from 95% γ-HBCD in industrial air to 40% γ-HBCD in background air, suggesting the influence of differential atmospheric transport and phototransformation of γ- to α-HBCD.

Tumor-promoting cyanotoxin microcystin-LR does not induce procarcinogenic events in adult human liver stem cells.

HL1-hT1 cell line represents adult human liver stem cells (LSCs) immortalized with human telomerase reverse transcriptase. In this study, HL1-hT1 cells were found to express mesenchymal markers (vimentin, CD73, CD90/THY-1 and CD105) and an early hepatic endoderm marker FOXA2, while not expressing hepatic progenitor (HNF4A, LGR5, α-fetoprotein) or differentiated hepatocyte markers (albumin, transthyretin, connexin 32). In response to microcystin-LR (MC-LR), a time- and concentration-dependent formation of MC-positive protein bands in HL1-hT1 cells was observed.

Estrogenic activity and contributing compounds in stagnant water bodies with massive occurrence of phytoplankton.

Stagnant water bodies have generally received little attention regarding the presence of endocrine disruptive compounds, although they can integrate diverse pollutants from multiple different sources. Many compounds of anthropogenic as well as natural origin can contribute to the overall estrogenicity of surface waters and some of them can exhibit adverse effects on aquatic biota even in very low concentrations. This study focused on freshwater ponds and reservoirs affected by water blooms and determined the estrogenic activity of water by in vitro bioassay as well as concentrations of several important groups of estrogenic compounds (estrogenic hormones, alkylphenols, and phytoestrogens) by LC-MS/MS analyses.

Intracellular and extracellular retinoid-like activity of widespread cyanobacterial species.

Cyanobacterial species produce wide range of bioactive compounds. This study characterized production of retinoid-like compounds with embryotoxic and teratogenic potential by commonly occurring cyanobacterial species with tendency to form massive water blooms. The major goal was to simultaneously assess the intracellular and extracellular retinoid-like activity from several independent cultivations of one coccal (Microcystis aeruginosa) and four filamentous cyanobacteria (Aphanizomenon gracile, Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii, Limnothrix redekeii, and Planktothrix agardhii) and characterize the variability in its production among cultivations.

A novel screening method to identify air pollution by genotoxic compounds.

Genotoxic compounds, as common contaminants of the air environment, are of interest in air pollution monitoring. There are several methods to determine the level of these contaminants in different localities, many of which may be difficult to access with the use of conventional active and passive samplers. In the present study, the needles Pinus mugo Turra and Picea abies were used to monitor sampling localities in Austria, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic.

Investigation of cis-trans isomer dependent dermatotoxicokinetics of UV filter ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate through stratum corneum in vivo.

2-Ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate (EHMC) is one of the most used ultraviolet filters in personal care products. It undergoes cis/trans isomerization in sunlight, and there is limited toxicological understanding of the effects of the cis-isomer. It is known that two geometric isomers of one compound can have different physico-chemical properties and effects.

Contaminants of emerging concern in the open sea waters of the Western Mediterranean.

Pollution by chemical substances is of concern for the maintenance of healthy and sustainable aquatic environments. While the occurrence and fate of numerous emerging contaminants, especially pharmaceuticals, is well documented in freshwater, their occurrence and behavior in coastal and marine waters is much less studied and understood. This study investigates the occurrence of 58 chemicals in the open surface water of the Western Mediterranean Sea for the first time.

Long-term time trends in human intake of POPs in the Czech Republic indicate a need for continuous monitoring.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) from the group of persistent organic pollutants are detected in human tissues years or even decades after their ban. Exposure to PCBs and OCPs can pose risks to human health. In the present study, we calculated the daily intakes of PCBs and OCPs in the Czech population and investigated the long-term trends of human exposure to POPs.

Early inflammatory profiling of schwannoma cells induced by lipopolysaccharide.

Inflammatory profiling of Schwann cells manifested as an upregulation of cytokines is present after traumatic or disease injury of the peripheral nerves. Inflammatory activation of Schwann cells via Toll-like receptors (TLRs) can be triggered by exogenous pathological molecules or endogenous ligands produced during Wallerian degeneration. We investigated the early period of inflammatory reactions by following the levels of TLR4, NFκB, IL-1β, pSTAT3, and IL-6 proteins after LPS treatment of RT4 schwannoma cells under in vitro conditions.

Modulation of Bambusuril Anion Affinity in Water.

Neutral and negatively charged anion receptors functioning in pure water are rare in supramolecular chemistry. Moreover, studies on adjusting the affinity of such receptors toward anions in water are absent from the literature. Two new bambusurils, 1 a and 2 a, were prepared to demonstrate that the affinity of bambusurils towards anions can be altered by the length of carboxyalkyl groups attached to the macrocycles.

Assessment of seasonal variations in persistent organic pollutants across the region of Tuscany using passive air samplers.

Concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) were measured for an entire year in the region of Tuscany, Italy. Passive air samplers consisting of polyurethane foam (PUF) disks were deployed over four sampling periods of 3-5 months from April 2008 to July 2009 in urban (n = 6) and rural (n = 4) sites. The aim of the study was to characterize the spatial and seasonal variations in selected POPs.

Characterization of total retinoid-like activity of compounds produced by three common phytoplankton species.

Phytoplankton can produce various bioactive metabolites, which may affect other organisms in the aquatic environment. This study provides the first information on the total retinoid-like activity associated with both intracellular and extracellular metabolites produced by selected phytoplankton species that could play a role in teratogenic effects and developmental disruption in exposed organisms. The studied species included a coccoid cyanobacteria (Microcystis aeruginosa), a filamentous cyanobacteria (Aphanizomenon gracile) and a green alga (Desmodesmus quadricauda), all of which commonly occur in freshwater bodies in Europe.

Gap Junctional Intercellular Communication: A Functional Biomarker to Assess Adverse Effects of Toxicants and Toxins, and Health Benefits of Natural Products.

This protocol describes a scalpel loading-fluorescent dye transfer (SL-DT) technique that measures intercellular communication through gap junction channels, which is a major intercellular process by which tissue homeostasis is maintained. Interruption of gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) by toxicants, toxins, drugs, etc. has been linked to numerous adverse health effects.

Retinoid-like compounds produced by phytoplankton affect embryonic development of Xenopus laevis.

Teratogenic effects, which were remarkably similar to those induced by retinoic acids, have been seen in wild frogs indicating possible source of retinoids in the environment. Recent studies indicate that some cyanobacterial species can contain teratogenic retinoic acids (RAs) and their analogues. Retinoids are known to regulate important processes such as differentiation, development, and embryogenesis.

Phytoestrogens and sterols in waters with cyanobacterial blooms - Analytical methods and estrogenic potencies.

Compounds with estrogenic potencies and their adverse effects in surface waters have received much attention. Both anthropogenic and natural compounds contribute to overall estrogenic activity in freshwaters. Recently, estrogenic potencies were also found to be associated with cyanobacteria and their blooms in surface waters.