Jacobs Eriksson (fieldsphynx3)

Methods to assess environmental impacts from episodic discharges on receiving water bodies need a more environmentally relevant and scientifically defensible toxicity test design. Many permittees are regularly required to conduct 96-h toxicity tests on discharges associated with events that are generally less than 24 h in duration. Current standardized methods do not adequately reflect these episodic discharge conditions at either the point of compliance nor as it mixes with the receiving environment. In order to evaluate more representative biological effects, an alternative toxicity approach is described incorporating pulsed exposures of effluents and subsequent transfer of test organisms to clean water for the remainder of the test. This pulsed exposure protocol incorporates a slight modification to USEPA Whole Effluent Toxicity (WET) chronic and acute methods for two marine species, purple sea urchin embryos, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, and juvenile mysid shrimp Americamysis bahia. Tests were performed with toxicants using standard static (96 h) and pulsed (6, 12, and 26 h) exposures. Following pulsed exposures, organisms were transferred to uncontaminated seawater for the remainder of the 96-h test period. Results for these species and endpoints indicated that the sensitivity of these species to copper and zinc were up to two orders of magnitude greater using standard continuous exposures compared to shorter pulsed exposures. Additional considerations assessed included timing of the onset of a pulse and latent effects following an exposure. This modified approach requires minimal modification to current standard methods and increases the realism to more accurately assess toxic effects resulting from episodic discharges.There is a growing body of evidence suggesting an association between air pollution exposure and tuberculosis (TB) incidence, but no meta-analysis has assembled all evidence so far. This review and meta-analysis aimed to derive a more reliable estimation on the association between air pollution and TB incidence. PubMed, Embase and Web of Science electronic databases were systemically searched for eligible literature. The PECO framework was used to form the eligibility criteria. Effect estimates and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) published in the included studies were pooled quantitatively. Seventeen articles met the inclusion criteria. The pooled estimates showed that long-term exposure to particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter ≤10 μm (PM10) was associated with increased incidence of TB (per 10 μg/m3 increase in concentrations of PM10 risk ratios (RR) = 1.058, 95% CI 1.021-1.095). Besides, long-term exposure to sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) were significantly associated with TB incidence (per 1 ppb increase, SO2 RR = 1.016, 95% CI 1.001-1.031; NO2 1.010, 95% CI 1.002-1.017). We did not find a significant association of PM2.5, ozone (O3) or carbon monoxide (CO) with TB risk, regardless of long-term or short-term exposure. However, in view of the 2016 ASA Statement and the biological plausibility of PM2.5 damaging host immunity, the association between PM2.5 and TB risk remains to be further established. This meta-analysis shows that long-term exposure to PM10, SO2 or NO2 is associated with increased odds of TB, and the specific biological mechanisms warrant further research.Fluorine (F) and its compounds produced from industrial production and coal combustion can cause air, water and soil contamination, which can accumulate in animals, plants and humans via food chain threatening public health. Fluoride exposure affects liver, kidney, gastrointestinal and reproductive system in humans and animals. Literature regarding fluoride influence on intestinal structure and microbiota composition in ducks is scarce. This study was designed to investigate these effects by using simple and electron microscopy and 16S rRNA sequencing techniques. Results indicated an impaired structure with