Week Exposure (week + exposure)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Exposure of three generations of the estuarine sheepshead minnow (Cyprinodon variegatus) to the androgen, 17,-trenbolone: Effects on survival, development, and reproduction

ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY & CHEMISTRY, Issue 9 2010
Geraldine M. Cripe
Abstract Estimating long-term effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals on a species is important to assessing the overall risk to the populations. The present study reports the results of a 42-week exposure of estuarine sheepshead minnows (Cyprinodon variegatus) to the androgen, 17,-trenbolone (Tb) conducted to determine if partial-(F0) or single-generation (F1) fish exposures identify multigenerational (F0,F3) effects of androgens on fish. Adult F0 fish were exposed to 0.007, 0.027, 0.13, 0.87,and 4.1,µg Tb/L, the F1 generation to ,0.87,µg Tb/L, the F2 fish to ,0.13,µg Tb/L, and the F3 fish to ,0.027,µg Tb/L. The highest concentrations with reproducing populations at the end of the F0, F1, and F2 generations were 4.1, 0.87, and 0.027,µg Tb/L, respectively. Reproduction in the F0, F1, and F2 generations was significantly reduced at 0.87, 0.027, and 0.027,µg Tb/L, respectively. Fish were significantly masculinized in the F1 generation exposed to 0.13 µg Tb/L or greater. Female plasma vitellogenin was significantly reduced in F0 fish exposed to ,0.87,µg Tb/L. Gonadosomatic indices of the F0 and F1 generations were significantly increased at 0.87 and 0.13 µg Tb/L in the F0 and F1 generation, respectively, and were accompanied by ovarian histological changes. Reproduction was the most consistently sensitive measure of androgen effects and, after a life-cycle exposure, the daily reproductive rate predicted concentrations affecting successive generations. The present study provides evidence that a multiple generation exposure of fish to some endocrine-disrupting chemicals can result in developmental and reproductive changes that have a much greater impact on the success of a species than was indicated from shorter term exposures. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2010;29:2079,2087. © 2010 SETAC [source]


A novel amphibian tier 2 testing protocol: A 30-week exposure of Xenopus tropicalis to the antiandrogen flutamide

ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY & CHEMISTRY, Issue 3 2007
Paul L. Knechtges
Abstract In 1996, the U.S. Congress mandated the development of a screening program for endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) using validated test systems. Subsequently, the Endocrine Disruptor Screening and Testing Advisory Committee recommended the development of a standardized amphibian assay for tier 2 testing of EDCs. For that reason, a tier 2 testing protocol using Xenopus (Silurana) tropicalis and a 30-week, flow-through exposure to the antiandrogen flutamide from stage 46 tadpoles through sexually mature adult frogs were developed and evaluated in this pilot study. The endpoints for this study included measurements of frog body lengths and weights, liver weights, ovary/egg mass weights, testicular and ovarian histopathology, plasma vitellogenin levels, and notes on any abnormalities observed at necropsy. Increasing exposure concentrations to flutamide caused significant increases in frogs with no recognizable gonadal tissue and increased body and liver weights in male frogs, whereas the body lengths and weights decreased significantly in female frogs. Important issues must be resolved before a tier 2 amphibian assay can be further developed and validated, including the establishment of baseline values in the controls for the parameters under study; the maintenance, measurement, and timing of exposure concentrations; and the development of additional biomolecular markers of effect. This study demonstrated the feasibility of conducting long-term EDC exposure studies using X. tropicalis. [source]


Ecotoxicological effects of hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine on soil microbial activities,

ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY & CHEMISTRY, Issue 5 2001
Ping Gong
Abstract Although hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (also called RDX or hexogen) is a potentially toxic explosive compound that persists in soil, its ecotoxicological effects on soil organisms have rarely been assessed. In this study, two uncontaminated garden soils were spiked with 10 to 12,500 mg RDX/kg dry soil. Soil microbial activities, i.e., potential nitrification, nitrogen fixation, dehydrogenase, basal respiration, and substrate-induced respiration were chosen as bioindicators and were determined after 1-, 4-, and 12-weeks of exposure. Experimental results indicate that RDX showed significant inhibition (up to 36% of control) on indigenous soil microbial communities over the period of this study. All five bioindicators responded similarly to the RDX challenge. The length of exposure also affected the microbial toxicity of RDX, with 12-week exposure exerting more significant effects than the shorter exposure periods, suggesting that soil microorganisms might become more vulnerable to RDX when exposure is extended. The estimated lowest observable adverse effect concentration of RDX was 1,235 mg/kg. No biodegradation products of RDX were detected at all three sampling times. Compared with 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), RDX is less toxic to microbes, probably because of its resistance to biodegradation under aerobic conditions, which precludes metabolic activation of nitro groups. [source]


ORIGINAL ARTICLE: Ileal endogenous amino acid flow of broiler chickens under high ambient temperature

JOURNAL OF ANIMAL PHYSIOLOGY AND NUTRITION, Issue 5 2010
A. F. Soleimani
Summary High environmental temperature has detrimental effects on the gastrointestinal tract of poultry. An experiment was conducted to determine the effect of acute heat stress on endogenous amino acid (EAA) flow in broiler chickens. A total of 90, day-old broiler chicks were housed in battery cages in an environmentally controlled chamber. Chicks were fed a nitrogen-free diet on day 42 following either no heat exposure (no-heat) or 2 weeks exposure to 35 ± 1 °C for 3 h from days 28 to 42 (2-week heat) or 1 week exposure to 35 ± 1 °C for 3 h from days 35 to 42 (1 week heat). The most abundant amino acid in the ileal flow was glutamic acid, followed by aspartic acid, serine and threonine in non-heat stressed group. The EAA flow in 1-week heat and 2-week heat birds were significantly (p < 0.05) higher than those under no heat exposure (14682, 11161 and 9597 mg/kg of dry matter intake respectively). Moreover, the EAA flow of 2-week heat group was less than 1-week heat group by approximately 36%. These observations suggest that the effect of heat stress on EAA flow is mostly quantitative; however, heat stress may also alter the content of EAA flow qualitatively. [source]


Bioaccessibility studies of ferro-chromium alloy particles for a simulated inhalation scenario: A comparative study with the pure metals and stainless steel

INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2010
Klara Midander
Abstract The European product safety legislation, REACH, requires that companies that manufacture, import, or use chemicals demonstrate safe use and high level of protection of their products placed on the market from a human health and environmental perspective. This process involves detailed assessment of potential hazards for various toxicity endpoints induced by the use of chemicals with a minimum use of animal testing. Such an assessment requires thorough understanding of relevant exposure scenarios including material characteristics and intrinsic properties and how, for instance, physical and chemical properties change from the manufacturing phase, throughout use, to final disposal. Temporary or permanent adverse health effects induced by particles depend either on their shape or physical characteristics, and/or on chemical interactions with the particle surface upon human exposure. Potential adverse effects caused by the exposure of metal particles through the gastrointestinal system, the pulmonary system, or the skin, and their subsequent potential for particle dissolution and metal release in contact with biological media, show significant gaps of knowledge. In vitro bioaccessibility testing at conditions of relevance for different exposure scenarios, combined with the generation of a detailed understanding of intrinsic material properties and surface characteristics, are in this context a useful approach to address aspects of relevance for accurate risk and hazard assessment of chemicals, including metals and alloys and to avoid the use of in vivo testing. Alloys are essential engineering materials in all kinds of applications in society, but their potential adverse effects on human health and the environment are very seldom assessed. Alloys are treated in REACH as mixtures of their constituent elements, an approach highly inappropriate because intrinsic properties of alloys generally are totally different compared with their pure metal components. A large research effort was therefore conducted to generate quantitative bioaccessibility data for particles of ferro-chromium alloys compared with particles of the pure metals and stainless steel exposed at in vitro conditions in synthetic biological media of relevance for particle inhalation and ingestion. All results are presented combining bioaccessibility data with aspects of particle characteristics, surface composition, and barrier properties of surface oxides. Iron and chromium were the main elements released from ferro-chromium alloys upon exposure in synthetic biological media. Both elements revealed time-dependent release processes. One week exposures resulted in very small released particle fractions being less than 0.3% of the particle mass at acidic conditions and less than 0.001% in near pH-neutral media. The extent of Fe released from ferro-chromium alloy particles was significantly lower compared with particles of pure Fe, whereas Cr was released to a very low and similar extent as from particles of pure Cr and stainless steel. Low release rates are a result of a surface oxide with passive properties predominantly composed of chromium(III)-rich oxides and silica and, to a lesser extent, of iron(II,III)oxides. Neither the relative bulk alloy composition nor the surface composition can be used to predict or assess the extent of metals released in different synthetic biological media. Ferro-chromium alloys cannot be assessed from the behavior of their pure metal constituents. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2010;6:441,455. © 2009 SETAC [source]


ORIGINAL ARTICLE: Ileal endogenous amino acid flow of broiler chickens under high ambient temperature

JOURNAL OF ANIMAL PHYSIOLOGY AND NUTRITION, Issue 5 2010
A. F. Soleimani
Summary High environmental temperature has detrimental effects on the gastrointestinal tract of poultry. An experiment was conducted to determine the effect of acute heat stress on endogenous amino acid (EAA) flow in broiler chickens. A total of 90, day-old broiler chicks were housed in battery cages in an environmentally controlled chamber. Chicks were fed a nitrogen-free diet on day 42 following either no heat exposure (no-heat) or 2 weeks exposure to 35 ± 1 °C for 3 h from days 28 to 42 (2-week heat) or 1 week exposure to 35 ± 1 °C for 3 h from days 35 to 42 (1 week heat). The most abundant amino acid in the ileal flow was glutamic acid, followed by aspartic acid, serine and threonine in non-heat stressed group. The EAA flow in 1-week heat and 2-week heat birds were significantly (p < 0.05) higher than those under no heat exposure (14682, 11161 and 9597 mg/kg of dry matter intake respectively). Moreover, the EAA flow of 2-week heat group was less than 1-week heat group by approximately 36%. These observations suggest that the effect of heat stress on EAA flow is mostly quantitative; however, heat stress may also alter the content of EAA flow qualitatively. [source]


Fiberboards Based on Sugarcane Bagasse Lignin and Fibers

MACROMOLECULAR MATERIALS & ENGINEERING, Issue 7 2006
William Hoareau
Abstract Summary: Fiberboards were prepared using phenolic type resins (phenol-formaldehyde) and sugarcane bagasse fibers. Lignin extracted through an organosolv process from sugarcane bagasse was used as substitute of phenol in phenolic resins from 40 (lignin-phenol-formaldehyde) to 100 wt.-% (lignin-formaldehyde) substitution. Some of the fibers were chemically modified by oxidation with chlorine dioxide and treatment with furfuryl alcohol (FA), leading to fibers coated with polyfurfuryl alcohol. Thermal analysis (DSC and TGA) of the prepolymers allowed setting up an efficient curing to prepare fiberboards. Impact strength and water absorption were measured showing the importance of the curing pressure to obtain good performance. When chemically modified fibers were used to prepare board samples, enhanced durability against white root fungi is observed, and to a less degree against brown root fungi. Sugarcane bagasse fiberboards were prepared from prepolymers where lignin substituted phenol up to 100%. This replaces these materials in advantageous position, relating to those prepared from phenol-formaldehyde resins, due to their high content of renewable raw materials. The results obtained are promising for the utilization of sugarcane bagasse as raw materials for preparing fiberboards to be used in tropical areas. Stabilization of sugarcane bagasse fiberboards made with unmodified and modified (ClO2,+,furfuryl alcohol) fibers and phenolic resin after 8 weeks exposure against fungi. [source]


Evaluation of different sealing methods for anodized aluminum-silicon carbide (Al/SiC) composites using EIS and SEM techniques

MATERIALS AND CORROSION/WERKSTOFFE UND KORROSION, Issue 11 2007
H. Herrera-Hernandez
Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and the scanning electron microscope (SEM) have been used in an investigation of the effectiveness of various sealing methods that can be used to improve the corrosion resistance of an anodized aluminum-silicon carbide (Al/SiC) composite. Anodic oxide films were grown on Al7075-T6 and the Al/SiC composite by sulfuric acid anodizing and sealing in a cold saturated solution of nickel acetate. Other samples were sealed using the traditional method of boiling water or hot nickel acetate for comparison. The results revealed a uniform anodized layer on Al7075-T6 that resisted pitting corrosion for more than 2,weeks exposure to NaCl, whereas a cracked oxide film with variations in thickness was observed on the composite material. Pit initiation occurred in less than 5,days on the anodized Al/SiC that was sealed in the hot solutions. This study suggests that the traditional hot sealing methods did not provide sufficient corrosion protection for aluminum metal,matrix composites (MMCs) because the reinforcing SiC particles deteriorated the surface film structure. However, this defective film can be repaired by nickel hydrate precipitation during cold sealing or by applying a thick polyurethane coating. [source]


Metabolism of dimethylarsinic acid in rats: production of unidentified metabolites in vivo

APPLIED ORGANOMETALLIC CHEMISTRY, Issue 6 2001
Kaoru Yoshida
Abstract Our previous study revealed that two unidentified metabolites, M-1 and M-2, were excreted in urine after long-term oral administration of dimethylarsinic acid (DMA), the main metabolite of inorganic arsenic. In the present study, we attempted to clarify the mechanism of production of these unknown metabolites. Male F344/DuCrj rats were administered a single dose of DMA (50,mg kg,1) orally or intraperitoneally with or without pretreatment with L -buthionine-SR-sulfoximine (BSO), which inhibits glutathione (GSH) synthesis. Urine was collected by forced urination at various time points after administration of DMA. Arsenic metabolites in urine were analyzed by ion chromatography with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (IC,ICP-MS). The unidentified metabolites M-1 and M-2 were excreted later than elimination of DMA and trimethylarsine oxide (TMAO). GSH depletion decreased in TMAO elimination, suggesting that GSH plays important roles in the methylation of DMA to TMAO in rats. There was no difference in the amount of production of either M-1 or M-2 between BSO-pretreated rats and controls, suggesting that M-1 and M-2 cannot be formed during methylation in the liver. The amounts of elimination of M-1 and M-2 were less after intraperitoneal administration than after oral administration. Male F344/DuCrj rats were given 100,mg As l,1 DMA via drinking water for 20 weeks. Urine and feces were collected forcibly and were analyzed by IC,ICP-MS. A new unidentified metabolite, M-3, was detected only in feces as a metabolite of DMA after 20 weeks exposure to DMA, although M-1 and M-2 were found in both urine and feces. The unidentified metabolites M-1, M-2, and M-3 were excreted mainly as fecal metabolites along with unmetabolized DMA. This finding also suggests that M-1, M-2, and M-3 might be produced in the intestinal tract. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Effects of crushed conspecifics on growth and survival of Penaeus monodon Fabricius post larvae

AQUACULTURE RESEARCH, Issue 3 2006
Bui Tui Nga
Abstract In the present study, the hypothesis tested was that Penaeus monodon post-larvae (PL) experience lower growth when exposed to crushed conspecifics, which was achieved by exposing individual P. monodon PL with abundant food for 4 weeks to a gradient from 0 to 100 crushed conspecific PL L,1. Both dry weight (48.5±7.2 mg) and body size (28.0±1.3 mm) of animals exposed to 1 macerated PL L,1 were significantly (P,0.011) higher than those of animals in treatments with 0, 5 and 10 crushed PL L,1 (average over treatments: 25.6±3.2 mg; 23.4±0.5 mm). All animals died within 1 week when exposed to 70 and 100 crushed PL L,1, and within 3,4 weeks when exposed to 50 and 30 crushed PL L,1. Exposure time affected mortality and it appeared that LC50 values decreased from 60 to 13 crushed PL L,1 from 1 to 4 weeks' exposure. Survival of P. monodon PL was negatively correlated to pH, biological oxygen demand, ammonia and nitrate. In conclusion, low dose of crushed conspecifics has a stimulatory effect on P. monodon PL, as larvae were heavier and larger, while high doses cause high mortality. [source]