Antlers as biomonitors of environmental pollution by lead and fluoride: A review

Antlers are periodically cast and re-grown cranial appendages of deer. Both endochondral and intramembranous ossification are involved in the formation of antler bone. After velvet shedding, antlers are completely bony structures which are referred to as hard antlers. Growing antlers accumulate substances with an affinity to mineralized tissues. Among these substances are lead and fluoride. Due to the seasonally limited life span of antlers, the concentrations of lead and fluoride in hard antlers reflect uptake by the forming bone during a defined, species-specific period of some months. Antlers can thus be viewed as naturally standardized environmental samples that are well suited as biomonitors of environmental pollution by bone-seeking contaminants. Because hard antlers are collected by hunters as trophies and kept in private or public collections, material for study can be obtained rather easily. So far, lead concentrations in hard antlers have been reported only from Europe, whereas data for fluoride are available from both Europe and North America. Some studies compared contaminant concentrations in antlers from different regions, while others analyzed time-trends in contaminant levels in antlers from a single region. Using the latter approach, a pronounced drop of lead concentrations during recent decades has been reported for antlers from various European countries. This indicates a marked decline of environmental lead levels that can be attributed mainly to the phase-out of leaded gasoline and, in addition, to a reduction of lead emissions also from stationary sources. In Germany, a corresponding drop has also been recorded for fluoride concentrations in antlers, which is attributed to a decline of fluoride emissions from stationary sources due to improved emission-control measures. There is some evidence that exposure to higher levels of fluoride may lead to an impaired antler mineralization. Using antlers as biomonitors has been shown to be an efficient method for assessing environmental pollution by lead and fluoride at low cost. Further studies using this now well established approach are therefore encouraged.This revised version was published online in May 2005. The following errors were eliminated:1. In the chapter Antler growth and mineralization in the last sentence of the first paragraph a slash was missing between the words reindeer and caribou; 2. In the second paragraph of the same chapter the word reiudees was corrected to reindeer; 3. In the chapter Accumulation of lead and fluoride in growing antlers the word lightest was corrected to highest.     

Fluoride Ingestion After Brushing with a Gel Containing a High Concentration of Fluoride

The aim of the study was to evaluate the amount of fluoride remaining in the oral cavity of children after brushing with fluoride gel (1.25% F). The study involved six groups of 7-year-old and six groups of 11-year-old children. The procedure was carried out according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. Fluoride concentrations were determined using ion-selective fluoride electrode. No statistically significant difference was found between the amount of fluorides that remained in the oral cavity of younger and older age group (1.2 and 1.3 mg, respectively; p > 0.05). The amount of fluorides swallowed during the procedure in both age groups proves to be within acceptable limit, as far as risk of acute poisoning symptoms is concerned. The individual daily fluoride exposure during the day of procedure seems to be twice as high compared to average fluoride intake from diet and dentifrice, and it does not exceed Tolerable Upper Intake Level for children more than 8. In younger children, it seems justifiable to reduce the amount of the preparation applied on a toothbrush, especially when daily use of the gel is recommended.     

微生物固定化及其在环境污染治理中的应用研究进展

微生物固定化技术广泛应用于食品、轻化以及环保领域,其具有微生物密度高、生物活性好、环境适应性强、可反复利用等优点。本文对微生物固定化技术进行了概述,并通过典型案例重点阐释了其在水、土和大气等环境污染治理领域的应用进展。在水环境中,固定化载体可为不同类型微生物提供生存微环境和各自所需的生态位,提高了系统负荷和处理效能;在土壤环境中,其重要作用在于提高土壤中污染物的生物有效性,从而提升微生物修复效果;空气污染治理领域则更注重载体的机械强度及气液传质能力的提高。本文比较总结了微生物固定化技术在不同环境治理领域中的应用特点和优势,以期为今后的环境污染治理提供一定的参考。     

快速发展中的环境微生物科学与技术—“第十二次全国环境微生物学学术研讨会”专刊序言

第十二次全国环境微生物学术研讨会于2009年11月在武汉华中科技大学顺利召开,本次会议围绕"环境微生物与人类健康"的主题,在环境微生物学前沿、微生物与环境健康及人类健康、环境微生物资源挖掘与利用,以及环境微生物技术与环境污染防治、生态修复、废弃物资源化利用和再生能源等诸多领域展开深入研讨,充分反映了我国环境微生物学界取得的最新进展,为了展现国内环境微生物及相关交叉领域科研工作者取得的最新进展,《微生物学通报》针对"第十二次全国环境微生物学术研讨会"组织出版了这期"环境微生物专刊",期望该专刊的出版有助于促进我国环境微生物学相关领域的交流和发展。     

Where the wild things are: environmental preservation and human nature

Environmental philosophers spend considerable time drawing the divide between humans and the rest of nature. Some argue that humans and our actions are unnatural. Others allow that humans are natural, but maintain that humans are nevertheless distinct. The motivation for distinguishing humans from the rest of nature is the desire to determine what aspects of the environment should be preserved. The standard view is that we should preserve those aspects of the environment outside of humans and our influence. This paper examines the standard view by asking two questions. First, are the suggested grounds for distinguishing humans from the rest of the environment viable? Second, is such a distinction even needed for determining what to preserve? The paper concludes that debates over whether humans are natural and whether humans are unique are unhelpful when deciding what to preserve.     

环境雄激素的危害、来源与环境行为

内分泌干扰物(EDCs)因低剂量即可导致严重的生理效应而成为研究的热点,环境雄激素就是典型的内分泌干扰物之一,它主要来源于畜禽粪尿的排放以及造纸厂和城市污水处理厂处理不彻底的废水排放,污染源的连续性排放致使环境雄激素物质在各类环境介质中被不断检出,并导致一些地区出现鱼类的雄性化现象,对环境健康和生态安全构成严重威胁。综述了环境雄激素的暴露危害、主要来源以及环境雄激素在不同环境中的浓度水平和分布特征,介绍了环境雄激素的分析检测手段,阐述了环境雄激素在环境中的迁移、吸附、降解等过程,并对环境雄激素的研究进行了展望。     

Fluoride profiles in the cementum and root dentine of human permanent anterior teeth extracted from adult residents in a naturally fluoridated and a non-fluoridated area

Objectives: To determine the effect of water fluoride concentration on the fluoride profile across the entire thickness of the cementum and root dentine of human permanent anterior teeth in adults. Subjects: Twenty-eight human permanent anterior teeth from individuals aged from 30 to over 60 years were studied. Setting: Teeth were obtained from a natural high-fluoride area (West Hartlepool, UK; 1.0–1.3 ppm F in drinking water, WHP) and the other from a non-fluoridated naturally low fluoride area (Leeds, UK; 0.1 ppm F in drinking water, LDS). Design: Cementum and root dentine were sampled using an abrasive micro-sampling technique from the cementum surface to the pulpal surface of root dentine. Results: Fluoride concentration was higher in tooth roots (the cementum and dentine) taken from the naturally fluoridated area (WHP) than from the non-fluoridated area (LDS). Age and average fluoride concentration showed a positive correlation in WHP dentine, middle region of the root (r = 0.78, P < 0.001) and in the apical region of the root (r = 0.67, P < 0.05). WHP cementum had the strongest fluoride concentration correlation with age in the cervical region of the root (r = 0.67, P < 0.01). An analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that the area (water fluoride content), age and number of years lived in the area combined with total age were significant. Conclusions : The fluoride content of cementum and root dentine in adult residents is related to fluoride content in drinking water.     

Urinary Fluoride Reference Values Determined by a Fluoride Ion Selective Electrode

As fluoride has a very short half-life in the body and the major route for fluoride excretion is via the kidney, human exposure is best measured in urine, where the concentration is expected to be highest. The urinary fluoride concentrations of 167 healthy Japanese adults were determined by means of a fluoride ion selective electrode. When the results were corrected for a specific gravity ρ = 1.024 g cm⁻³, the histogram of urinary fluoride concentrations highly skewed toward low values with sharp peakedness (skewness = 1.56, kurtosis = 3.08). The normality of the log-transformed histogram (skewness = 0.12, kurtosis = 0.07) and the straight line on log-probability paper clearly showed a key feature of lognormal distribution of urinary fluoride. A geometric mean (GM) of 613.8 μg/l and 95% confidential interval (CI) of 241.0–1633.1 μg/l were established as reference values for urinary fluoride. The results presented in this study will be useful as guidelines for the biological monitoring of fluoride in normal subjects and individuals at risk of occupational or environmental fluoride exposure.     

Inhibitors of topoisomerase II enzymes: a unique group of environmental mutagens and carcinogens

Many inhibitors of topoisomerase II enzymes are potent mutagens, leading to major chromosomal deletions, illegitimate recombination and aneuploidy. There is increasing evidence that they are also human carcinogens. However, their lack of chemical reactivity means that they may give weak or negative results in commonly used mutagenicity tests, or may give data with characteristics quite distinct from chemicals that alkylate DNA. They do not form DNA adducts and assays such as ³²P-postlabelling will not detect their presence in the body. They are generally not point mutagens and may fail to provide distinctive fingerprints in mutation spectra. These characteristics may be limiting a realistic evaluation of their role in human carcinogenesis using current methodologies.     

肠道微生物代谢产物—S-雌马酚与 人类健康关系研究进展

大豆异黄酮是一种年销量很大、市场普及率较高的保健品。具有抗氧化、抗肿瘤等功能,对延缓女性衰老和改善更年期综合征有很好效果。但研究表明,大豆异黄酮的保健功能主要归功于其肠道代谢产物S-雌马酚。S-雌马酚是豆类食品在肠道内经特定微生物代谢后产生的一种高度稳定小分子,其与雌激素的结构和功能高度相似,能与β-雌激素(ER-β)受体结合。具有防治更年期综合征、心血管疾病和多种雌素依赖性癌症的功能。到目前为止,雌马酚的功能及其与人类健康之间的关系还有待进一步研究。本文结合国内外最新研究进展,着重介绍雌马酚的生理功能及其与各类疾病的研究进展,展望雌马酚在各类疾病防治中可能发挥的重要作用。     

Public health and carrageenan regulation: a review and analysis

The status of carrageenan in the regulatory sphere influences how and where it may be used, with implications for seaweed farmers, carrageenan manufacturers and consumers. Over the period 1935 to the present the status of carrageenan has been effected by changes in the regulatory environment that reflect new understandings about carrageenan, health and health risks as well as broader trade, social and political changes. This paper reviews regulatory progress from the 1930s to the present. It reflects, in particular, the shifting priorities in public health and their effects on the regulatory status of carrageenan. Four case studies of public controversies about carrageenan safety are discussed in relation to regulatory responses and their public health significance. It is concluded that current assessments of risk associated with carrageenan have, in some contexts, failed to take into account the full spectrum of safety assessments that have been carried out and the maturing of food additive regulations thereby allowing a myth of risk to continue.     

A review of microcystin detections in Estuarine and Marine waters: Environmental implications and human health risk

Toxin production by harmful cyanobacteria blooms (CyanoHABs) constitutes a major, worldwide environmental threat to freshwater aquatic resources that is expected to expand in scale and intensity with global climate change. Extensive literature exists on the most frequently encountered cyanotoxin, microcystin, in freshwater environments. Yet, the expansion of microcystin producing CyanoHABs and the transport of contaminated inland waters to estuarine and coastal marine waters has only recently received attention. This paper synthesizes information on the salinity tolerance of microcystin producing cyanobacteria and summarizes available case reports on microcystin presence in estuarine and coastal waters. We highlight a potential food-borne exposure route to humans by reviewing the growing body of evidence that shows microcystins can accumulate in coastal seafood. These cases reinforce the importance of freshwater nutrient reduction and the need for freshwater management efforts to look beyond lacustrine and riverine systems. Events reviewed here likely only represent a small proportion of cases where microcystins affect estuarine and coastal waters. We strongly suggest increased monitoring and research efforts to understand, react to, and prevent ecological and health problems associated with the growing problem of toxic CyanoHABs in coastal environments.     

Economic growth and environmental impacts: An analysis based on a composite index of environmental damage

The conflict between economic growth and the environment is complex and sharper today than ever before. Indeed, the relationship between economic growth and the sustainability of ecosystems has been extensively discussed in the literature, but the results remain controversial.This paper reviews the use of single and composite indicators of environmental damage and questions whether the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis sufficiently mirrors the relationship between economic growth and ecological damage. Ecological Indicators are relevant when they potentially inform society about ecological developments in a reliable way. We use the modified composite index of environmental performance (mCIEP) to measure environmental damage, and GDP per capita to represent economic growth. The econometric model is developed using panel data composed of 152 countries and a period of 6 years. The model is estimated for the full sample, for three different sets of countries, by level of development, and a decomposition analysis is carried out, which corresponds to the study of the CIEP individual dimensions.Our results reveal that, at present, the EKC hypothesis is not proved. We conclude that it is critical to be clear that economic growth alone is not enough to improve environmental quality. Therefore, creating a consistent, coherent and effective environmental policy framework is essential in order to improve environmental quality that supports wellbeing and enables long-term economic development.     

茶树铝、氟富集研究进展

茶树是铝、氟超富集植物,过量铝、氟累积于叶片严重威胁了人类健康,了解铝、氟在茶树体内的代谢机理对降低茶叶中的铝、氟含量很有必要。本文系统阐述了茶树对铝、氟吸收、转运、累积和解毒的最新研究进展,推测了茶树对铝、氟吸收、转运及解毒的机制,提出了今后茶树铝、氟富集研究的方向。     

Multilevel grouped regression for analyzing self-reported health in relation to environmental factors: the model and its application

A method for modeling the relationship of polychotomous health ratings with predictors such as area characteristics, the distance to a source of environmental contamination, or exposure to environmental pollutants is presented. The model combines elements of grouped regression and multilevel analysis. The statistical model describes the entire response distribution as a function of the predictors so that any measure that summarizes this distribution can be calculated from the model. With the model, polychotomous health ratings can be used, and there is no need for a priori dichotomizing such variables which would lead to loss of information. It is described how, according to the model, various measures describing the response distribution are related to the exposure, and the confidence and tolerance intervals for these relationships are presented. Specific attention is given to the incorporation of random factors in the model. The application that here serves as an example, concerns annoyance from transportation noise. Exposure-response relationships obtained with the described method of modeling are presented for aircraft, road traffic, and railway noise.     

Geochemical assessment of fluoride enriched groundwater and health implications from a part of Yavtmal District,India

Abstract

A comprehensive study was conducted from a semi-arid part of Yavtmal District, Maharashtra, India through combination approaches of geochemical modeling and its health consequences. The groundwater quality assessment shows that 55% of groundwater samples have the concentration of fluoride above the desirable limit. The high Na⁺/Ca⁺ ratio (>1.0) suggest the occurrence of cation exchange, which is further supported by Scholler’ chloro-alkaline indices. The geochemical modeling reveals that the existence of CaCO₃ precipitation and CaF₂ in groundwater. Simulation analysis indicates the dissolution of calcite, gypsum, and albite and precipitation of dolomite, fluorite, halite, and K-feldspar along with cation exchange as the main water–rock interactions influencing the groundwater chemistry. This is further significantly supported by pollution index of groundwater (PIG). PIG indicates about 18% of total samples fall in very high pollution zone, 3% in high pollution zone, 8% in moderate pollution zone, 24% in low pollution zone, and remaining (47%) express insignificant pollution. The 28% of subject studied have skeletal fluorosis varying from mild to severe type. In different pollution zones, the affected persons by dental fluorosis are varying from 15% to 41%. A proper monitoring and treatment are required for high fluoride water before its use for drinking and cooking.     

Political violence and child health: Results from Zimbabwe

This paper examines how the health of Zimbabwean children was affected by political and election-related violence and land reform in Zimbabwe during the period from 2000 to 2005. These events impacted Zimbabwean livelihoods and increased food insecurity in the country. Our study combines individual child data from the Demographic and Health Surveys that bracket these violent events with information on the location and date of violence from the Armed Conflict Location and Event dataset. To understand how the increase in violence impacted children’s health, the empirical analysis exploits temporal and spatial variation in child height across birth cohorts. Children born after the spike in violence in 2000 had lower height-for-age z-scores than children from earlier cohorts. The results are robust to a placebo test for parallel trends, alternative control groups, selective mortality, and migration. The paper adds to the literature on election-related violence, armed conflict, and land reform. Additionally, it provides guidance on differentiating between timing of violence during multiple political and electoral events, and estimating the impact on rural communities.     

大气氟污染源附近食桑昆虫中氟的积累和分布

对大气F污染源附近野桑蚕,桑赤蠖和桑蚕体内的氟化物含量和器官分布进行了研究,结果表明,污染源附近食桑昆虫体有较高的氟化物含量,且食桑昆虫体的氟化物含量随着离污染源的距离增大而降低,野桑蚕,桑赤蠖和桑蚕的氟化物含量与桑叶的氟化物含量有极显著的线性正相关性,食桑昆虫不同器官间的氟化物积累量也存在较大差异,其消化管是食桑昆虫的主要氟化物积累器官。     

Bioindicators of changes in water quality on coral reefs: review and recommendations for monitoring programmes

Effective environmental management requires monitoring programmes that provide specific links between changes in environmental conditions and ecosystem health. This article reviews the suitability of a range of bioindicators for use in monitoring programmes that link changes in water quality to changes in the condition of coral-reef ecosystems. From the literature, 21 candidate bioindicators were identified, whose responses to changes in water quality varied spatially and temporally; responses ranged from rapid (hours) changes within individual corals to long-term (years) changes in community composition. From this list, the most suitable bioindicators were identified by determining whether responses were (i) specific, (ii) monotonic, (iii) variable, (iv) practical and (v) ecologically relevant to management goals. For long-term monitoring programmes that aim to quantify the effects of chronic changes in water quality, 11 bioindicators were selected: symbiont photophysiology, colony brightness, tissue thickness and surface rugosity of massive corals, skeletal elemental and isotopic composition, abundance of macro-bioeroders, micro- and meiobenthic organisms such as foraminifera, coral recruitment, macroalgal cover, taxonomic richness of corals and the maximal depth of coral-reef development. For short-term monitoring programmes, or environmental impact assessments that aim to quantify the effects of acute changes in water quality, a subset of seven of these bioindicators were selected, including partial mortality. Their choice will depend on the specific objectives and the timeframe available for each monitoring programme. An assessment framework is presented to assist in the selection of bioindicators to quantify the effects of changing water quality on coral-reef ecosystems.