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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Dihydrodinophysistoxin-1 Produced By Dinophysis Norvegica In The Gulf Of Maine, Usa And Its Accumulation In Shellfish, Jonathan R. Deeds, Whitney L. Stutts, Mary Dawn Celiz, Jill Macleod, Amy E. Hamilton, Bryant J. Lewis, David W. Miller, Kohl Kanwit, Juliette L. Smith, Et Al Aug 2020

Dihydrodinophysistoxin-1 Produced By Dinophysis Norvegica In The Gulf Of Maine, Usa And Its Accumulation In Shellfish, Jonathan R. Deeds, Whitney L. Stutts, Mary Dawn Celiz, Jill Macleod, Amy E. Hamilton, Bryant J. Lewis, David W. Miller, Kohl Kanwit, Juliette L. Smith, Et Al

VIMS Articles

Dihydrodinophysistoxin-1 (dihydro-DTX1, (M-H)m/z 819.5), described previously from a marine sponge but never identified as to its biological source or described in shellfish, was detected in multiple species of commercial shellfish collected from the central coast of the Gulf of Maine, USA in 2016 and in 2018 during blooms of the dinoflagellate Dinophysis norvegica. Toxin screening by protein phosphatase inhibition (PPIA) first detected the presence of diarrhetic shellfish poisoning-like bioactivity; however, confirmatory analysis using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) failed to detect okadaic acid (OA, (M-H)m/z 803.5), dinophysistoxin-1 (DTX1, (M-H)m/z 817.5), or dinophysistoxin-2 (DTX2, (M-H) …


Single-Use Plastics And Covid-19: Scientific Evidence And Environmental Regulations, Robert C. Hale, Bk Song Jun 2020

Single-Use Plastics And Covid-19: Scientific Evidence And Environmental Regulations, Robert C. Hale, Bk Song

VIMS Articles

Waste plastics are a serious and growing environmental problem. Less than 10% of plastics are recycled, with most discarded in landfills, incinerated, or simply abandoned.1 Single-use plastics constitute about half of plastic waste. While most plastics are used and initially disposed of on land, much eventually enters aquatic ecosystems.2 Wildlife mortalities result from encounters (e.g., ingestion and entanglement) with large debris, including plastic bags. Such bags are excluded from many recycling programs, as they can entangle machinery. Most plastics do not readily biodegrade in the environment. However, they can be embrittled by UV exposure and fragment into microplastics (mm) and …


Comparing Statistical Analyses To Estimate Thresholds In Ecotoxicology, Marcos Krull Apr 2020

Comparing Statistical Analyses To Estimate Thresholds In Ecotoxicology, Marcos Krull

VIMS Articles

Different methods are used in ecotoxicology to estimate thresholds in survival data. This paper uses Monte Carlo simulations to evaluate the accuracy of three methods (maximum likelihood (MLE) and Markov Chain Monte Carlo estimates (Bayesian) of the no-effect concentration (NEC) model and Piecewise regression) in estimating true and apparent thresholds in survival experiments with datasets having different slopes, background mortalities, and experimental designs. Datasets were generated with models that include a threshold parameter (NEC) or not (log-logistic). Accuracy was estimated using root-mean square errors (RMSEs), and RMSE ratios were used to estimate the relative improvement in accuracy by each design …


Worker Exposure To Flame Retardants In Manufacturing, Construction And Service Industries, C. Fairfield Estill, J. Slone, A. Mayer, I-C Chen, Mark J. La Guardia Feb 2020

Worker Exposure To Flame Retardants In Manufacturing, Construction And Service Industries, C. Fairfield Estill, J. Slone, A. Mayer, I-C Chen, Mark J. La Guardia

VIMS Articles

Workers in several industries are occupationally exposed to flame retardants. This study characterizes flame retardant exposure for nine industries through air and hand wipe measures for 105 workers. Specifically, we analyzed 24 analytes from three chemical classes: organophosphate flame retardants (OFRs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and non-PBDE brominated flame retardants (NPBFRs). The industries were: carpet installation, chemical manufacturing, foam manufacturing, electronic scrap, gymnastics, rigid board installation, nail salons, roofing, and spray polyurethane foam. Workers wore personal air samplers for two entire workdays and provided hand wipe samples before and after the second work day. Bulk products were also analyzed. The …


Bottom-Up Control Of Parasites, David S. Johnson, Richard Heard Oct 2017

Bottom-Up Control Of Parasites, David S. Johnson, Richard Heard

VIMS Articles

Parasitism is a fundamental ecological interaction. Yet we understand relatively little about the ecological role of parasites compared to the role of free-living organisms. Bottom-up theory predicts that resource enhancement will increase the abundance and biomass of free-living organisms. Similarly, parasite abundance and biomass should increase in an ecosystem with resource enhancement. We tested this hypothesis in a landscape-level experiment in which salt marshes (60,000 m2 each) received elevated nutrient concentrations via flooding tidal waters for 11 yr to mimic eutrophication. Nutrient enrichment elevated the densities of the talitrid amphipod, Orchestia grillus, and the density and biomass of its …


Characterization Of The Dust/Smoke Aerosol That Settled East Of The World Trade Center (Wtc) In Lower Manhattan After The Collapse Of The Wtc 11 September 2001, Paul J. Lioy, Clifford P. Weisel, Et Al, Robert C. Hale Jul 2002

Characterization Of The Dust/Smoke Aerosol That Settled East Of The World Trade Center (Wtc) In Lower Manhattan After The Collapse Of The Wtc 11 September 2001, Paul J. Lioy, Clifford P. Weisel, Et Al, Robert C. Hale

VIMS Articles

The explosion and collapse of the World Trade Center (WTC) was a catastrophic event that produced an aerosol plume impacting many workers, residents, and commuters during the first few days after 11 September 2001. Three bulk samples of the total settled dust and smoke were collected at weather-protected locations east of the WTC on 16 and 17 September 200 1; these samples are representative of the generated material that settled immediately after the explosion and fire and the concurrent collapse of the two structures. We analyzed each sample, not differentiated by particle Size, for inorganic and organic composition. In the …


Research Needs For The Risk Assessment Of Health And Environmental Effects Of Endocrine Disruptors: A Report Of The Us Epa-Sponsored Workshop, Rj Kavlock, Gp Daston, C Derosa, P Fennercrisp, Le Gray, S Kaattari, Et Al Aug 1996

Research Needs For The Risk Assessment Of Health And Environmental Effects Of Endocrine Disruptors: A Report Of The Us Epa-Sponsored Workshop, Rj Kavlock, Gp Daston, C Derosa, P Fennercrisp, Le Gray, S Kaattari, Et Al

VIMS Articles

The hypothesis has been put forward that humans and wildlife species have suffered adverse health effects after exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Reported adverse effects include declines in populations, increases in cancers, and reduced reproductive function. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sponsored a workshop in April 1995 to bring together interested parties in an effort to identify research gaps related to this hypothesis and to establish priorities for future research activities. Approximately 90 invited participants were organized into work groups developed around the principal reported health effects-carcinogenesis, reproductive toxicity, neurotoxicity, and immunotoxicity--as well as along the risk assessment paradigm--hazard identification, dose-response …


Exocrine Pancreatic Neoplasms In The Mummichog (Fundulus Heteroclitus) From A Creosote-Contaminated Site, John W. Fournie, Wolfgang K. Vogelbein May 1994

Exocrine Pancreatic Neoplasms In The Mummichog (Fundulus Heteroclitus) From A Creosote-Contaminated Site, John W. Fournie, Wolfgang K. Vogelbein

VIMS Articles

A high prevalence of exocrine pancreatic neoplasms occurred in mummichog, Fundulus heteroclitus, from a creosote-contaminated site in the Elizabeth River, Virginia. A total of 20 neoplasms were found in a group of about 1,300 fish obtained at this site over a 2-yr period. Of 240 fish collected during October 1991, 3.3% had pancreatic neoplasms. Adjusted total lesion prevalence for large adult fish (Size Class III: total length = 75–85 mm; Size Class IV: total length > 85 mm) was 6.7%. Pancreatic neoplasms were not observed in 234 fish collected at this site during May 1991, nor were they found in …