Polar organic chemical integrative samplers as an effective tool for chemical monitoring of surface waters - Results from one-year monitoring in France.

In an effort to support European Union Water Framework Directive goals, we have set up a national demonstrator project to identify the advantages and limitations of passive samplers for regulatory monitoring of polar contaminants in surface waters. Here we carried out successive 14 day-deployments of polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS) for one year at three sites. In parallel, we used the passive sampler deployment/retrieval operations to collect spot water samples for comparative analysis. We observed that frequency of quantification was significantly higher in POCIS than spot samples for 29 contaminants, similar for 15, and lower for one, because POCIS lowered the limits of quantification for most contaminants (median value factor of 11). We built a database of sampling rates (Rs) according to quality indices to convert concentrations in POCIS to concentrations in water (23 contaminants with a high-quality median Rs value, 20 with an approximate Rs and two with no usable Rs). Several phenomena were observed over one-year monitoring period. For example, after a flood episode, dilution phenomenon in rivers is correctly observed by using POCIS sampling whereas significant concentration increased due to soil leaching is observed with both passive and spot sampling. Cases of episodic contamination that were missed by spot sampling were observed with POCIS as it was able to capture contamination of short duration but sufficient intensity. Contamination by pharmaceuticals was found to come from wastewater treatment plant discharges and showed relatively little variation over the course of the year in both POCIS and spot samples. POCIS enables more reliable annual monitoring of pesticide and pharmaceutical contamination than spot sampling. Furthermore, POCIS also improves the environmental quality standards based assessment of chemical status and on annual average concentrations compared to spot sampling. This study demonstrates the value and practicability of POCIS-based chemical monitoring for use in regulatory control networks.

Bisphenol S is present in culture media used for ART and cell culture.

STUDY QUESTION: Do plastic laboratory consumables and cell culture media used in ART contain bisphenols? SUMMARY ANSWER: The majority of human embryo culture media assessed contained bisphenol S close to the nanomolar concentration range, while no release of bisphenols by plastic consumables was detected under routine conditions. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: The deleterious effect of the endocrine disruptor bisphenol A (BPA) on female fertility raised concerns regarding ART outcome. BPA was detected neither in media nor in the majority of plastic consumables used in ART; however, it might have already been replaced by its structural analogs, including bisphenol S (BPS). STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION: Seventeen plastic consumables and 18 cell culture and ART media were assessed for the presence of bisphenols. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS: Ten different bisphenols (bisphenol A, S, AF, AP, B, C, E, F, P and Z) were measured using an isotopic dilution according to an on-line solid phase extraction/liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry method. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE: While the plastic consumables did not release bisphenols under routine conditions, 16 of the 18 cell culture and ART media assessed contained BPS. Six media exhibited BPS concentrations higher than 1 nM and reached up to 6.7 nM (1693 ng/l). LARGE SCALE DATA: N/A. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION: Further studies are required to investigate a greater number of ART media to identify less potentially harmful ones, in terms of bisphenol content. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS: As BPS has already been reported to impair oocyte quality at nanomolar concentrations, its presence in ART media, at a similar concentration range, could contribute to a decrease in the ART success rate. Thus far, there has been no regulation of these compounds in the ART context. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTERESTS: This study was financially supported by the 'Centre-Val de Loire' Region (Bemol project, APR IR 2017), INRAE, BRGM, the French National Research Agency (project ANR-18-CE34-0011-01 MAMBO) and the BioMedicine Agency (Project 18AMP006 FertiPhenol). The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest that could be perceived as prejudicing the impartiality of the reported research.

Emerging organic compounds in European groundwater.

In Europe, emerging organic compounds (EOCs) in groundwater is a growing research area. Prioritisation for monitoring EOCs in Europe was formalised in 2019 through the development of the first voluntary groundwater watch list (GWWL). Despite this, groundwater occurrence data in the peer reviewed literature for Europe has not been reviewed to date. Questions surrounding the effect, toxicity, movement in the subsurface and unsaturated zone make the process of regulating EOC use difficult. The aim in Europe is to develop a unified strategy for the classification, and prioritisation of EOCs to be monitored in groundwater. This paper compiles evidence from the recent published studies from across Europe, since 2012, when the last major literature global review of EOCs in groundwater took place. A total of 39 studies were identified for review based on specific selection criteria (geography, publication date, sample size>10, inclusion of EOCs data). Data on specific compounds, and associated meta-data, are compiled and reviewed. The two most frequently detected EOCs, carbamazepine and caffeine, occurred in groundwater at concentrations of up to 2.3 and 14.8 µg/L, respectively. The most frequently reported category of compounds were 'Pharmaceuticals'; a highly studied group with 135 compounds identified within 31 of the 39 studies. In Europe, the majority of reviewed studies (23) were at a regional scale, looking specifically at EOCs in a specific city or aquifer. The use of analytical methods is not uniform across Europe, and this inevitably influences the current assessment of EOCs in groundwater. A correlation between the number of compounds analysed for, and the number detected in groundwater highlights the need for further studies, especially larger-scale studies throughout Europe. For the development of EU and national regulation, further work is required to understand the occurrence and impacts of EOCs in groundwater throughout Europe and elsewhere.

Identification of sources of resistance in cowpea mini core accessions to Aphis craccivora Koch (Homoptera: Aphididae) and their biochemical characterization.

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L. Walp) is an important grain legume for human and livestock nutrition, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Aphid, Aphis craccivora Koch (Homoptera: Aphididae), is one of the most widespread and destructive insect pests of cowpea and host-plant resistance is an effective approach to minimize the pest damage at seedling stage. This study was aimed at identifying resistant sources to A. craccivora within the cowpea mini core collection, a set of accessions from the largest world cowpea germplasm collection maintained at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). A total of 375 lines including 373 from IITA mini core collection, one resistant (TVu-801) and one susceptible (TVx-3236) checks were evaluated through artificial infestation in screening cages during the seedling stage. In cages, genotypes were planted in single rows containing four plants. They were arranged in an augmented design in which the two checks were sown in individual cages. Scoring for aphid population and damage levels were carried out on individual plants at 7, 14, and 21 days after planting. Advanced bioassays and biochemical analyses were conducted to investigate the mechanism of resistance to A. craccivora. Overall, three genotypes TVu-6464, TVu-1583, and TVu-15445 showed good levels of resistance comparable to the resistant check TVu-801. The HPLC analyses proved that both low sucrose levels in the plant, as well as high levels of kaempferol and quercetin, aglycones of phenolic compounds, were related with high resistance to aphids. The above genotypes with promising levels of resistance to A. craccivora will be used in cowpea breeding programs to develop improved resistant lines against this pest.

Biofilms in hospital effluents as a potential crossroads for carbapenemase-encoding strains.

Bacterial resistance to carbapenem, which is mainly due to the successful dissemination of carbapenemase-encoding genes, has become a major health problem. Few studies have aimed to characterize the level of resistance in the environment, notably in hospital wastewater, which is a likely hotspot for exchange of antibiotic resistance genes. In this work, we looked for the presence of imipenem-resistant bacteria and imipenem in the effluent of the teaching hospital of Clermont-Ferrand, France. Selective growth of bacteria from 14-day old biofilms formed in the pipe sewer showed that 22.1% of the isolates were imipenem-resistant and identified as Aeromonas (n = 23), Pseudomonas (n = 10), Stenotrophomonas (n = 4) and Acinetobacter (n = 1). Fifteen of these strains harbored acquired carbapenemase-encoding genes blaVIM (n = 11), blaOXA-48 (n = 2), blaGES (n = 1), blaNDM (n = 1). All isolates also harbored associated resistances to aminoglycosides, fluoroquinolones and/or tetracyclin. S1-nuclease pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analysis of eight selected isolates showed that four of them harbored one to two plasmids of molecular weight between 48.5 Kb and 194 Kb. In vitro transformation assays evidenced the presence of blaVIM and blaNDM on plasmids with the blaVIM harboring 80 Kb plasmid having conjugative capacity. The predicted environmental concentration of imipenem in the hospital effluent was 3.16 µg/L, suggesting that biofilm bacteria are subjected to sub-MICs of imipenem within the effluent. However, no imipenem molecule was detected in the hospital effluent, probably owing to its instability: in vitro assays indicated that imipenem's biological activity was no longer detectable after 45 h of storage. However, the predictive value of the hazard quotient relative to the development of resistance was >1.0 (HQr = 28.9 ±â€¯1.9), which indicates a possible risk. The presence of carbapenemase-encoding genes in hospital effluent biofilm strains and their ability to transfer are therefore a potential hazard that should not be neglected and points to the need for monitoring antibiotic resistance in hospital wastewater.

Microbial aerobic and anaerobic degradation of acrylamide in sludge and water under environmental conditions--case study in a sand and gravel quarry.

Polyacrylamides (PAMs) are used in sand and gravel quarries as water purification flocculants for recycling process water in a recycling loop system where the flocculants remove fine particles in the form of sludge. The PAM-based flocculants, however, contain residual amounts of acrylamide (AMD) that did not react during the polymerization process. This acrylamide is released into the environment when the sludge is discharged into a settling basin. Here, we explore the microbial diversity and the potential for AMD biodegradation in water and sludge samples collected in a quarry site submitted to low AMD concentrations. The microbial diversity, analyzed by culture-dependent methods and the denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis approach, reveals the presence of Proteobacteria, Cyanobacteria, and Actinobacteria, among which some species are known to have an AMD biodegradation activity. Results also show that the two main parts of the water recycling loop-the washing process and the settling basin-display significantly different bacterial profiles. The exposure time with residual AMD could, thus, be one of the parameters that lead to a selection of specific bacterial species. AMD degradation experiments with 0.5 g L(-1) AMD showed a high potential for biodegradation in all parts of the washing process, except the make-up water. The AMD biodegradation potential in samples collected from the washing process and settling basin was also analyzed taking into account on-site conditions: low (12 °C) and high (25 °C) temperatures reflecting the winter and summer seasons, and AMD concentrations of 50 µg L(-1). Batch tests showed rapid (as little as 18 h) AMD biodegradation under aerobic and anaerobic conditions at both the winter and summer temperatures, although there was a greater lag time before activity started with the AMD biodegradation at 12 °C. This study, thus, demonstrates that bacteria present in sludge and water samples exert an in situ and rapid biodegradation of AMD at low concentration, whatever the season, and in both the aerobic and anaerobic parts of the water recycling system.

Antitussive activity of polysaccharides isolated from the Malian medicinal plants.

From the leaves of popular Malian medicinal plants Trichilia emetica (TE) and Opilia celtidifolia (OC), and fruits of Crossopteryx febrifuga (CF) water and water-ethanol soluble polysaccharide materials were isolated. The results of chemical analysis of the crude polysaccharides showed the dominance of the arabinogalactan ( approximately 54%) and the rhamnogalacturonan ( approximately 30%) in T. emetica leaves, the arabinogalactan ( approximately 60%), the rhamnogalacturonan ( approximately 14%) and the glucuronoxylan ( approximately 14%) in O. celtidifolia leaves, and pectic type of polysaccharides ( approximately 75%) with a lower content of the arabinogalactan ( approximately 17%) in C. febrifuga fruits. The plant polysaccharides showed various biological effects on the citric acid-induced cough reflex and reactivity of airways smooth muscle in vivo conditions. T. emetica and O. celtidifolia polysaccharides possessed significant cough-suppressive effect on chemically induced cough. Furthermore, values of specific airways resistance pointed on bronchodilatory property of polysaccharides isolated from O. celtidifolia. However, the crude extract from C. febrifuga in the same dose as T. emetica and O. celtidifolia did not influence the experimentally induced cough as well as reactivity of airways smooth muscle despite of the fact that the water-ethanol extract is recommended for cough therapy in Mali in the form of syrup.

Analysis of hormonal steroids in fish plasma and bile by coupling solid-phase extraction to GC/MS.

An analytical procedure for the simultaneous determination of twelve endogenous steroids (testosterone, androstenedione, 17beta-estradiol, estrone, pregnenolone, progesterone, dihydroandrostenedione, dihydrotestosterone, 11alpha-ketotestosterone, 17alpha-hydroxyprogesterone, 17alpha-hydroxypregnenolone, 17alpha,20beta-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one) in plasma and bile samples by solid-phase extraction (SPE) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS) has been developed. After enzymatic hydrolysis for bile samples only, samples were concentrated and purified using two successive SPE (C(18) and NH(2)) cartridges. Analytes were derivatized with a mixture of N-methyl-N-(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide (MSTFA) / mercaptoethanol / ammonium iodide (NH(4)I) and determined by GC-MS in selective ion monitoring mode. For most of the steroids monitored, recoveries were in the range 90-120% in plasma and in the range 60-70% in bile, and the reproducibility was below 10% for the complete procedure. Limits of detection obtained ranged from 0.1 to 0.4 ng/g in fish plasma and from 1.6 to 14 ng/g in fish bile. The developed method was successfully applied to the determination of plasma steroids in flounders (Platichthys flesus) collected from two French estuaries.