Dissolved silver in the Baltic Sea

The increased use of silver as a biocide in nanoparticle formulations has heightened concern on possible environmental implications owing to its toxicity. There is however very little data on the concentration levels of silver in marine and freshwaters. Here, I report data on dissolved (<0.4 μm filter) silver concentration in the surface waters of the Baltic Sea, the first such data reported for a European coastal water body. Levels of dissolved silver in the Baltic are comparable to those reported for other American estuarine waters and range from non-detectable in the open Baltic Sea Proper (<1 pM) to 9.4 pM (1 ng/L) in the Stockholm Archipelago, with a mean of 2.8 pM (0.2 ng/L). Inputs from wastewater treatment are clearly discernable and might constitute the main source of silver to the Stockholm Archipelago and possibly the Baltic Sea Proper.     

Metallothionein cDNA cloning, metallothionein expression and heavy metals in Scapharca inaequivalvis along the Northern Adriatic coast of Italy

The aims of this work were: (1) identification of the metallothionein (MT) gene coding sequence in order to prepare an MT probe in Scapharca inaequivalvis and (2) quantification of Cd, Zn, Cu, MT and MTmRNA expression in tissues of molluscs from three areas along the Northern Adriatic coast of Italy. By RT-PCR we cloned the MTcDNA of S. inaequivalvis using the RNA extracted from hepatopancreas of specimens exposed to Cd. The 61 amino acids sequence of MT was deduced and was 70% identical to S. brughtonii MT. Cd concentration in molluscs from the wild was significantly higher in gills from specimens sampled near Ravenna. Zn concentration in the same tissue was significantly higher in Ravenna with respect to Porto Garibaldi while no difference with respect to Cesenatico was detected. Cu levels showed significant differences among sites in gills and mantle whereas values in the hepatopancreas were similar in all sites. The low MT levels were indicative of a low metal exposure; few differences were found in MTmRNA concentrations, which resulted significantly higher in hepatopancreas of molluscs from Porto Garibaldi.     

消解方式对氢化物原子荧光法测定虾粉中总砷的影响

研究了三种不同消解方式——干法消解、湿法消解和微波消解,对氢化物发生原子荧光光谱法测定虾粉中微量砷的含量的影响,证明采用微波消解—氢化物发生原子荧光光谱法并不适用于虾粉中总砷的测定,只有用干法消解,或硝酸—硫酸—高氯酸湿法消解才能准确测定虾粉中的总砷。在优化实验条件下,砷的线性范围为1.0~20.0μg/L,相关系数为0.9997,样品的加标回收率为96%~107%,相对标准偏差小于10%,具有较高的测量灵敏度,稳定可靠,可应用于海产品中总砷的检测。     

黄瓜子生炮制品活血效果比较及活血部位的筛选

目的：考察黄瓜子生品及炮制品的活血作用并对黄瓜子生品不同极性部位的活血作用进行考察,筛选有效部位。方法：采用胶原蛋白-肾上腺素诱导血栓法观察黄瓜子生品及炮制品对小鼠抗血栓作用的影响。采用剪尾法、玻片法观察黄瓜子生品不同极性部位对小鼠出血时间和凝血时间的影响。结果：黄瓜子生品和炮制品均有抗血栓作用,黄瓜子生品、炮制品和乙酸乙酯层具有明显延长小鼠出血时间和凝血时间的作用。结论：黄瓜子生品和炮制品均有活血作用,黄瓜子乙酸乙酯层是黄瓜子活血的主要活性部位。     

海参硫酸软骨素抑制小鼠Lewis肺癌生长和转移作用的研究

目的探讨海参硫酸软骨素(sea cucumber chondroitin sulfate,SC-CHS)对小鼠肿瘤生长和转移的抑制作用及其机制。方法建立C57 BL/6J小鼠Lewis肺癌自发性肺转移模型,连续腹腔注射给药21 d,剥离原位肿瘤和双侧肺,分别称瘤重和计数肺表面转移灶结节数;分离血清,ELISA法检测小鼠血清中肿瘤坏死因子-α(tumornecrosis factor-α,TNF-α)和γ-干扰素(γ-interferon,γ-IFN)的含量;采用RT-PCR法检测肿瘤组织中缺氧诱导因子(hypoxia inducible factor-1α,HIF-1α)、血管内皮生长因子(vascular endothelial growth factor,VEGF)、乙酰肝素酶(heparanase,Hpa)mRNA的表达。结果 SC-CHS可以显著抑制荷瘤小鼠肿瘤的生长,其平均抑制率为31.5%,并可以显著减少肺表面转移灶结节数(P<0.01),平均抑制率为42.3%;SC-CHS可以显著提高血清中TNF-α和γ-IFN的含量(P<0.05),降低荷瘤小鼠肿瘤组织中HIF-1α、VEGF、Hpa mRNA的表达(P<0.05)。结论 SC-CHS能显著抑制肿瘤细胞在小鼠体内的生长和转移,其机制可能与抑制肿瘤血管新生,提高机体免疫力有关。     

Amino-functionalized mesoporous silica nanoparticles (NH2-MSiNPs) impair the embryonic development of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus

Nanoparticles have found use in a wide range of applications, mainly as carriers of active biomolecules. It is thus necessary to assess their toxicity for human health, as well as for the environment, on which there is still a gap of knowledge. In this work, sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus, a widely used model for embryotoxicity and spermiotoxicity, has been used to assess potential detrimental effects of amino-functionalized mesoporous silica nanoparticles (NH₂-MSiNPs) on embryonic development. Specifically, gametes quality, embryogenesis morphological and timing alterations, and cellular stress markers, such as mitochondrial functionality, were assessed in presence of different concentrations of NH₂-MSiNPs in filtered seawater (FSW). Furthermore, dorsal-ventral axis development and skeletogenesis were characterized by microscopy imaging and gene expression analysis. NH₂-MSiNPs determined a strong reduction in the egg fertilization rate. Consequently, the presence of NH₂-MSiNPs resulted detrimental in P. lividus embryonic development, with severe morphological alterations correlated with an increased embryos mortality. Finally, NH₂-MSiNPs treatment was responsible for other toxic effects, such as reduced mitochondrial function and skeletogenesis alterations, according to the reduced mineralization sites in the endoskeleton formation and the related genes altered expression. Taken together, these results suggest the potential toxic effects of NH₂-MSiNPs on the marine ecosystem, with consequences for the development and reproduction of its organisms. Despite their promising potential as carriers of biomolecules, it is pivotal to consider that their uncontrolled use may result harmful to the environment and, consequently, to living organisms.     

La maladie de l’oreille du surfeur : l’imaginaire du soi naturalisé à partir d’une pathologie due à l’immersion en milieu aquatique

GoalsStarting from the example of the exostosis of the external auditory canal, a modification due to the impact of the sea on the body, this article considers how this pathology is experienced and interpreted by those who contract it. After defining “surfer's ear” from an anthropo-medical point of view, we will address the meaning that individuals give to it, such as the belief of becoming fish.MethodologyOver the course of several years of field observation and interviews, mainly on the beaches of the Atlantic Pyrenees, we were able to compare different individuals’ discourses about how the surfing body, immersed in nature, is perceived and experienced.ResultsThis helps to understand thoughts that can link people to the ocean, and more widely to nature, in our contemporary Western society. Thus, penetrating and being penetrated by this living water implies a sensual relationship with the environment, in a search both for erotic pleasure and an enveloping maternal security, lost from birth.DiscussionThis relationship to the environment implements a sensory ecology where the human becomes nature, and nature takes human form. This is an occasion for the reinvention of links, not in an opposition between human and non-human, but by reminding humans that they can find balance in abandoning themselves to nature.ConclusionPathologies of the ear define an imaginary clinic of the body. The body is thus rendered unfit by the physical sensations of marine pathology but, above all, by the belief in a psychic envelopment in water.     

2013-2018年山东省食品镉污染状况调查与分析

目的 了解2013-2018年山东省食品中镉污染状况。方法 2013-2018年在山东省范围内应用完全随机采样法采集市售18类28 867份食品,按照国家标准操作程序进行实验室检测。结果 镉含量合格率为98.85%（28 535/28 867）。镉含量较高的食品为藻类、水产品、坚果及籽类和食用菌,均值分别为0.7085 mg/kg、0.2656 mg/kg、0.0633 mg/kg和0.0633 mg/kg;镉含量较低的食品为饮料酒类、乳类和水果类,均值分别为0.0021 mg/kg、0.0027 mg/kg和0.0030 mg/kg。408份海蟹的镉检出率为92.89%（379/408）,超标率为42.65%（174/408）,蟹膏、蟹黄镉超标率分别为90.24%、82.86%,最高超标38.80倍。结论 山东省市售食品镉超标率较低。水产品特别是海蟹的蟹膏、蟹黄部分超标严重,建议居民谨慎食用海蟹蟹膏、蟹黄。     

Effects of salinity on food intake and macronutrient selection in European sea bass

Salinity is one of the most relevant environmental parameters in regards to fish physiology, modifying food intake and growth performance in many fish species; however, its possible effects on macronutrient selection are still unknown. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of three salinity levels (25‰, 7‰, and 0‰) on total food intake and encapsulated macronutrient selection in a euryhaline teleost, European sea bass. A total of 40 fish (five per tank) with an average body weight of 52.4 ± 7.1 g were used. Lowering the salinity level from 25‰ to 7‰ and 0‰ reduced food intake by 27% and 42%, respectively. Regarding macronutrient selection, these salinity changes significantly decreased the percentage of CH intake by 31% and 27%, while increasing that of P by 30% and 25%, respectively. Fat selection remained unaltered, with an average value of 22% for all tested salinities. Specific growth rate (SGR) and feed conversion efficiency (FCE) were affected by macronutrient selection pattern, which in turn was salinity-dependent. These results indicate a strong influence of salinity on European sea bass food intake and macronutrient selection.     

The onset of phagocytosis and identity in the embryo of Lytechinus variegatus

The stage at which phagocytosis can first be characterized in the embryos of the sea urchin Lytechinus variegatus was investigated by microinjecting the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae into its blastocoele. Secondary mesenchyme cells were first observed phagocytosing during the mid-gastrula stage. Subsequently, as the incubation time increased, the number of yeast per phagocyte rose. Using vital fluorescence dyes, stained free yeast were seen in the blastocoele during late-gastrula stage, indicating cell death and suggesting specific factors, such as proteases, in the extracellular environment. The starting point of phagocytic activity reflects a biological capacity for distinguishing between self and nonself. Thus, the phagocytosis of yeast by mesenchymal cells beginning in the mid-gastrula stage in L. variegatus may indicate the moment of acquisition of ‘identity’ (self) in this organism. Comparative aspects of embryo and adult phagocytes in L. variegatus are also discussed.