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Toxicant Effects (toxicant + effects)
Selected AbstractsShort-term responses by the German cockroach, Blattella germanica, to insecticidal baits: behavioural observationsENTOMOLOGIA EXPERIMENTALIS ET APPLICATA, Issue 1 2002Stephen A. Jones Abstract Toxicants may cause insects to avoid a bait, and yet bait efficacy is dependent upon insects ingesting it in adequate quantities. Amounts ingested are, in turn, determined by meal frequency, meal durations and ingestion rate within meals, but to date no report has been made of these variables for domestic cockroaches. We report an experiment in which sixth instar German cockroach, Blattella germanica, nymphs were initially able to self-select their protein and carbohydrate intake independently, then daily at the start of the scotophase some insects had their choice of foods replaced by a single treatment food, which varied through the presence or absence of protein, carbohydrate, and insecticide. Insect behaviour was recorded for the following 5 h, and the data were subsequently subjected to bout analysis in order to identify discrete meals. The age of insects in days on first exposure to a treatment food (,age') and the amount of food eaten in the observation period were both recorded and included in the analysis. Amounts eaten were affected by insect age and food nutrient content, but not by the presence of insecticide. Toxicant effects were, however, seen on average meal duration and meal frequency, in interactions with age and food nutrient effects. These results suggest ways in which direct observations of behaviours may lead to improved bait design. [source] Disruption effects of monophthalate exposures on inter-Sertoli tight junction in a two-compartment culture modelENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY, Issue 3 2008Yun-Hui Zhang Abstract Phthalates are suspect environmental endocrine disruptors that may affect male reproduction and development by disturbing androgen synthesis and cell,cell interactions in the seminiferous epithelium. The in vivo metabolites, monophthalates, are thought to be the active agents, and toxicant effects including testicular damage and decreased sperm motility have been described previously. In this study, the aim was to investigate the effect of monophthalates on Sertoli cells using a two-compartment cell culture model, asking whether tight junction protein structures are affected, compromising the blood-testis barrier and contributing to male-mediated toxicity. Sertoli cells were isolated from Sprague Dawley rat testes and seeded onto the filters of two-compartment wells. A Sertoli cell monolayer was allowed to form, whereupon the cultures were treated with 0, 10, 30, 150, and 600 ,mol/L monobutyl phthalate (MBP) or mono-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (MEHP) for 24 h. Effects on the tight junctions between adjacent Sertoli cells were studied by light and transmission electron microscopy, the transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) assay, and immunofluorescence localization. Results showed that exposures to monophthalates destroyed tight junctional structure in Sertoli cell monolayers in a dose-depended manner, as evidenced by a loss of single-cell layer organization in the cultures, decline of TEER value, and decreased expression of proteins associated with tight junctions such as zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1), F-actin, and Occludin. The changes were observed at doses of 150 and 600 ,mol/L, which is 10,100 times higher relative to estimated human exposures from the environment. These results are consistent with monophthalate-induced damage to tight junctions between adjacent Sertoli cells, suggesting that damage to Sertoli cell tight junctions induced by monophthalates may be an underlying mechanism of their male-mediated reproductive toxicity. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol, 2008. [source] Relative sensitivity distribution of aquatic invertebrates to organic and metal compoundsENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY & CHEMISTRY, Issue 1 2004Peter Carsten von der Ohe Abstract In the field, a multitude of species can be exposed to numerous toxicants; thus, the sensitivity of individual species to particular toxicants must be known to predict effects and to analyze changes in species composition. For most species, no information about their toxicant sensitivity is available. To address this limitation, we have grouped the available information to assign sensitivities to aquatic invertebrate taxa relative to Daphnia magna. With respect to organic compounds, most taxa of the orders Anisoptera, Basommatophora, Coleoptera, Decapoda, Diptera, Ephemeroptera, Eulamellibranchiata, Heteroptera, Hirudinea, Isopoda, Oligochaeta, Prosobranchia, Trichoptera, Tricladida, and Zygoptera are less sensitive than D. magna. Some taxa of the Amphipoda, Plecoptera, and Cladocera (other than D. magna) are significantly more sensitive. For organic compounds, approximately 22% of the investigated taxa were more sensitive than D. magna. Most taxa of the orders Amphipoda, Basommatophora, Diptera, Ephemeroptera, Eulamellibranchiata, Heteroptera, Isopoda, Oligochaeta, and Tricladida are significantly less sensitive than D. magna to metal compounds. The taxa belonging to the Crustacea, with the exception of the order Isopoda, are much more sensitive. For metal compounds, approximately 30% of the investigated taxa were more sensitive than D. magna. Hence, D. magna is among the most sensitive taxa regarding both groups of toxicants. The sensitivities for several taxa are listed, and use of the relative sensitivity distribution to link toxicant effects in mesocosm studies and field investigations is discussed. [source] Adjusting for mortality effects in chronic toxicity testing: Mixture model approachENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY & CHEMISTRY, Issue 1 2000Shin Cheng David Wang Abstract Chronic toxicity tests, such as the Ceriodaphnia dubia 7-d test are typically analyzed using standard statistical methods such as analysis of variance or regression. Recent research has emphasized the use of Poisson regression or more generalized regression for the analysis of the fecundity data from these studies. A possible problem in using standard statistical techniques is that mortality may occur from toxicant effects as well as reduced fecundity. A mixture model that accounts for fecundity and mortality is proposed for the analysis of data arising from these studies. Inferences about key parameters in the model are discussed. A joint estimate of the inhibition concentration is proposed based on the model. Confidence interval estimation via the bootstrap method is discussed. An example is given for a study involving copper and mercury. [source] How closely do acute lethal concentration estimates predict effects of toxicants on populations?INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2005John D. Stark Abstract Acute lethal dose/concentration estimates are the most widely used measure of toxicity and these data often are used in ecological risk assessment. However, the value of the lethal concentration (LC50) as a toxicological endpoint for use in ecological risk assessment recently has been criticized. A question that has been asked frequently is how accurate is the LC50 for prediction of longer-term effects of toxicants on populations of organisms? To answer this question, Daphnia pulex populations were exposed to nominal concentrations equal to the 48-h acute LC50 of 6 insecticides, Actara, Aphistar diazinon, pymetrozine, Neemix, and Spinosad; and 8 agricultural adjuvants, Bond, Kinetic, Plyac, R-11, Silwet, Sylgard 309, Water Maxx, and X-77; for 10 d. None of the D. pulex populations exposed to the acute LC50 of these insecticides were 50% lower than the control populations at the end of the study; exposure to diazinon resulted in populations that were higher than expected (91% of the control). Exposure to Actara and Aphistar resulted in populations that were <1 and 29% of the control, respectively. Exposure to Fulfill, Neemix, and Spinosad resulted in extinction. Extinction occurred after exposure to all of the adjuvants, except Silwet L-77 where the population was 31% of the control. These results corroborate other studies that indicate that the LC50 is not a good predictor of effects on population growth. Although lethal concentration estimates have their place in toxicology, namely to compare intrinsic toxicity of chemicals among species or susceptibility of a species to different chemicals over short time periods, population growth and growth-rate studies are necessary to predict toxicant effects on populations. [source] | ||||||||||