Algaecidal effects of tryptoline, tryptamine, and other microbial metabolites on target and non-target freshwater cyanobacteria and freshwater indicator organisms.

Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cyanoHABs) are a growing global concern due to their negative impacts on freshwater lakes and river ecosystems. HABs impact local and regional economies by restricting fisheries resources, recreational and commercial waterways, and threatening drinking water sources. To control HABs, researchers are developing short- and long-term mitigation strategies by exploiting natural, bacterial-derived products as targeted chemical control reagents to reduce the severity of HABs.

Coastal dune management affects above and belowground biotic characteristics.

Dune vegetation mediates dune-building through trapping wind-blown sand and reduces dune erosion by attenuating wave energy via above- and belowground biomass. Despite the role of vegetation in dune functions, the amount and distribution of biomass within a dune remains poorly quantified due to a lack of ample data. Our objectives were to determine the effects of management history and elevation on (1) dune belowground biotic structure and aboveground community composition and (2) to determine best predictors of belowground biomass.

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances: Impacts on Morphology, Behavior and Lipid Levels in Zebrafish Embryos.

The presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in aquatic environments is often persistent and widespread. Understanding the potential adverse effects from this group of chemicals on aquatic communities allows for better hazard characterization. This study examines impacts on zebrafish () embryo physiology, behavior, and lipid levels from exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS), and heptadecafluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS).

Semiconducting hematite facilitates microbial and abiotic reduction of chromium.

Semi-conducting Fe oxide minerals, such as hematite, are well known to influence the fate of contaminants and nutrients in many environmental settings through sorption and release of Fe(II) resulting from microbial or abiotic reduction. Studies of Fe oxide reduction by adsorbed Fe(II) have demonstrated that reduction of Fe(III) at one mineral surface can result in the release of Fe(II) on a different one. This process is termed "Fe(II) catalyzed recrystallization" and is believed to be the result of electron transfer through semi-conducting Fe (hydr)oxides.

Developmental, Behavioral and Transcriptomic Changes in Zebrafish Embryos after Smoke Dye Exposure.

(1) Background: Disperse Blue 14, Disperse Red 9, Solvent Red 169 and Solvent Yellow 33 have been used to color smoke; however, they have not been comprehensively assessed for their potential health hazards. (2) Methods: To assess the effects of these dyes, zebrafish embryos were exposed from 6 to 120 h post fertilization (hpf) to 10-55 µM Disperse Red 9, 1-50 µM Solvent Red 169, 7.5-13.

Translatable pathways classification (TransPath-C) for inferring processes germane to human biology from animal studies data: example application in neurobiology.

How to translate insights gained from studies in one organismal species for what is most likely to be germane in another species, such as from mice to humans, is a ubiquitous challenge in basic biology as well as biomedicine. This is an especially difficult problem when there are few molecular features that are obviously important in both species for a given phenotype of interest. Neuropathologies are a prominent realm of this complication.

Morphological and Behavioral Effects in Zebrafish Embryos after Exposure to Smoke Dyes.

Solvent Violet 47 (SV47) and Disperse Blue 14 (DB14) are two anthraquinone dyes that were previously used in different formulations for the production of violet-colored smoke. Both dyes have shown potential for toxicity; however, there is no comprehensive understanding of their effects. Zebrafish embryos were exposed to SV47 or DB14 from 6 to 120 h post fertilization (hpf) to assess the dyes' potential adverse effects on developing embryos.

Perfluorooctanesulfonic Acid-Induced Toxicity on Zebrafish Embryos in the Presence or Absence of the Chorion.

Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) is a perfluorinated compound used in many industrial and consumer products. It has been linked to a broad range of adverse effects in several species, including zebrafish (Danio rerio). The zebrafish embryo is a widely used vertebrate model to elucidate potential adverse effects of chemicals because it is amenable to medium and high throughput.

Instrumenting (Paddlefish) Rostra in Flowing Water with Strain Gages and Accelerometers.

The prominent rostrum of the North American Paddlefish, supported by a lattice-like endoskeleton, is highly durable, making it an important candidate for bio-inspiration studies. Energy dissipation and load-bearing capacity of the structure from extreme physical force has been demonstrated superior to that of man-made systems, but response to continuous hydraulic forces is unknown and requires special instrumentation for in vivo testing on a live fish. A single supply strain gage amplifier circuit has been combined with a digital three-axis accelerometer, implemented in a printed circuit board (PCB), and integrated with the commercial-off-the-shelf Adafruit Feather M0 datalogger with a microSD card.

Regulation of endocrine systems by the microbiome: Perspectives from comparative animal models.

The microbiome regulates endocrine systems and influences many aspects of hormone signaling. Using examples from different animal taxa, we highlight the state of the science in microbiome research as it relates to endocrinology and endocrine disruption research. Using a comparative approach discussing fish, birds, and mammals, we demonstrate the bidirectional interaction between microbiota and hormone systems, presenting concepts that include (1) gastrointestinal microbiome regulation of the neuroendocrine feeding axis; (2) stress hormones and microbial communities; (3) the role of site-specific microbiota in animal reproduction; (4) microbiome effects on the neuroendocrine systems and behavior; and (5) novel mechanisms of endocrine disruption through the microbiome.

Multiomic Analysis of Zebrafish Models of Acute Organophosphorus Poisoning With Different Severity.

Organophosphorus compounds are acetylcholinesterase inhibitors used as pesticides and chemical warfare nerve agents. Acute organophosphorus poisoning (acute OPP) affects 3 million people, with 300 000 deaths annually worldwide. Severe acute OPP effects include overstimulation of cholinergic neurons, seizures, status epilepticus, and finally, brain damage.

A modular approach for assembly of quantitative adverse outcome pathways.

The adverse outcome pathway (AOP) framework is a conceptual construct that mechanistically links molecular initiating events to adverse biological outcomes through a series of causal key events (KEs) that represent the perturbation of the biological system. Quantitative, predictive AOPs are necessary for screening emerging contaminants and potential substitutes to inform their prioritization for testing. In practice, they are not widely used because they can be costly to develop and validate.

Tissue-Based Mapping of the Fathead Minnow () Transcriptome and Proteome.

Omics approaches are broadly used to explore endocrine and toxicity-related pathways and functions. Nevertheless, there is still a significant gap in knowledge in terms of understanding the endocrine system and its numerous connections and intricate feedback loops, especially in non-model organisms. The fathead minnow () is a widely used small fish model for aquatic toxicology and regulatory testing, particularly in North America.

Incorporating Suborganismal Processes into Dynamic Energy Budget Models for Ecological Risk Assessment.

A working group at the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS) explored the feasibility of integrating 2 complementary approaches relevant to ecological risk assessment. Adverse outcome pathway (AOP) models provide "bottom-up" mechanisms to predict specific toxicological effects that could affect an individual's ability to grow, reproduce, and/or survive from a molecular initiating event. Dynamic energy budget (DEB) models offer a "top-down" approach that reverse engineers stressor effects on growth, reproduction, and/or survival into modular characterizations related to the acquisition and processing of energy resources.

Synergistic antifungal effect of chitosan-stabilized selenium nanoparticles synthesized by pulsed laser ablation in liquids against biofilms.

Background: is a major opportunistic fungal pathogen. One of the most important virulence factors that contribute to the pathogenesis of candidiasis is its ability to form biofilms. A key characteristic of biofilms is their resistance to antifungal agents.

Effects of soot by-product from the synthesis of engineered metallofullerene nanomaterials on terrestrial invertebrates.

The synthesis of carbon-based nanomaterials is often inefficient, generating large amounts of soot with metals as waste by-product. Currently, there are no specific regulations for disposal of engineered nanomaterials or the waste by-products resulting from their synthesis, so it is presumed that by-products are disposed of in the same way as the parent (bulk) materials. We studied the terrestrial toxicity of soot from gadolinium metallofullerene nanomanufacturing on earthworms (Eisenia fetida) and isopods (Porcellio scaber).

Coupling Light Emitting Diodes with Photocatalyst-Coated Optical Fibers Improves Quantum Yield of Pollutant Oxidation.

A photocatalyst-coated optical fiber was coupled with a 318 nm ultraviolet-A light emitting diode, which activated the photocatalysts by interfacial photon-electron excitation while minimizing photonic energy losses due to conventional photocatalytic barriers. The light delivery mechanism was explored via modeling of evanescent wave energy produced upon total internal reflection and photon refraction into the TiO surface coating. This work explores aqueous phase LED-irradiated optical fibers for treating organic pollutants and for the first time proposes a dual-mechanistic approach to light delivery and photocatalytic performance.

The clandestine organs of the endocrine system.

This review analyzes what could be regarded as the "clandestine organs" of the endocrine system: the gut microbiome, the immune system, and the stress system. The immune system is very closely related to the endocrine system, with many intertwined processes and signals. Many researchers now consider the microbiome as an 'organ' that affects the organism at many different levels.

Multivariate soil fertility relationships for predicting the environmental persistence of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) and 1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-tricyclohexane (RDX) among taxonomically distinct soils.

After nearly a century of use in numerous munition platforms, TNT and RDX contamination has turned up largely in the environment due to ammunition manufacturing or as part of releases from low-order detonations during training activities. Although the basic knowledge governing the environmental fate of TNT and RDX are known, accurate predictions of TNT and RDX persistence in soil remain elusive, particularly given the universal heterogeneity of pedomorphic soil types. In this work, we proposed overcoming this problem by considering the environmental persistence of these munition constituents (MC) as multivariate mathematical functions over a variety of taxonomically distinct soil types, instead of a single constant or parameter of a specific absolute value.

Estrogen signaling through both membrane and nuclear receptors in the liver of fathead minnow.

Estradiol is a potent sex steroid hormone that controls reproduction and other cellular pathways in fish. It is known to regulate important proteins such as vitellogenin, the egg yolk precursor protein, and zona radiata proteins that form the eggshell for fish eggs. These proteins are made in the liver and transported out into the blood from where they are taken up into the ovary during oogenesis.