Toxics最新文献

The lanthanide series elements are transition metals used as critical components of electronics, as well as rechargeable batteries, fertilizers, antimicrobials, contrast agents for medical imaging, and diesel fuel additives. With the surge in their utilization, lanthanide metals are being found more in our environment. However, little is known about the health effects associated with lanthanide exposure. Epidemiological studies as well as studies performed in rodents exposed to lanthanum (La) suggest neurological damage, learning and memory impairment, and disruption of neurotransmitter signaling, particularly in serotonin and dopamine pathways. Unfortunately, little is known about the neurological effects of heavier lanthanides. As dysfunctions of serotonergic and dopaminergic signaling are implicated in multiple neurological conditions, including Parkinson's disease, depression, generalized anxiety disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder, it is of utmost importance to determine the effects of La and other lanthanides on these neurotransmitter systems. We therefore hypothesized that early-life exposure of light [La (III) or cerium (Ce (III))] or heavy [erbium (Er (III)) or ytterbium (Yb (III))] lanthanides in Caenorhabditis elegans could cause dysregulation of serotonergic and dopaminergic signaling upon adulthood. Serotonergic signaling was assessed by measuring pharyngeal pump rate, crawl-to-swim transition, as well as egg-laying behaviors. Dopaminergic signaling was assessed by measuring locomotor rate and egg-laying and swim-to-crawl transition behaviors. Treatment with La (III), Ce (III), Er (III), or Yb (III) caused deficits in serotonergic or dopaminergic signaling in all assays, suggesting both the heavy and light lanthanides disrupt these neurotransmitter systems. Concomitant with dysregulation of neurotransmission, all four lanthanides increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and decreased glutathione and ATP levels. This suggests increased oxidative stress, which is a known modifier of neurotransmission. Altogether, our data suggest that both heavy and light lanthanide series elements disrupt serotonergic and dopaminergic signaling and may affect the development or pharmacological management of related neurological conditions.

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia and cognitive decline in the elderly. Although the etiology of AD is unknow, an increase in amyloid precursor protein (APP) leads to the toxic aggregation of Aβ plaques. Several factors, such as hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, smoking, hormonal changes, and metal exposure, could increase the risk of developing AD. In this review, we will examine the role of copper (Cu) in the pathophysiology of AD, as well as the mechanisms involved in neurotoxicity and cognitive decline.

Methods: This review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. We performed a comprehensive literature analysis over the last ten years on AD and Cu. Only late-onset Alzheimer's disease was considered; only studies on elderly people of both sexes were included.

Results: A total of seven articles were picked for this review, three studies focused on non-ceruloplasmin-bound Copper (non-Cp-Cu) and four on ceruloplasmin-bound Copper (Cp-Cu). The results showed higher Cu concentrations in patients compared to healthy controls.

Conclusions: Elevated concentrations of Cu may contribute to the progression of AD, potentially interacting with ATP7B mutations, oxidative stress (OS), and amyloid-β plaques. Future research is needed to provide more robust evidence and better characterize the relationship between AD and Cu.

Heavy metal contamination in agricultural soils presents serious environmental and health risks. This study assessed the bioaccumulation and spatial distribution of nickel, cadmium, zinc, lead, and copper within a sheep-based food chain in the Baia Mare region, Romania, which includes soil, green grass, sheep serum, and dairy products. Using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), we analyzed the concentrations of these metals and calculated bioconcentration factors (BCFs) to evaluate their transfer through trophic levels. Spatial analysis revealed that copper (up to 2528.20 mg/kg) and zinc (up to 1821.40 mg/kg) exceeded permissible limits, particularly near former mining sites. Elevated lead (807.59 mg/kg) and cadmium (2.94 mg/kg) were observed in industrial areas, while nickel and cobalt showed lower concentrations, but with localized peaks. Zinc was the most abundant metal in grass, while cadmium transferred efficiently to milk and cheese, raising potential health concerns. The results underscore the complex interplay between soil properties, contamination sources, and biological processes in heavy metal accumulation. These findings highlight the importance of continuous monitoring, risk assessment, and mitigation strategies to protect public health from potential exposure through contaminated dairy products.

Minamata disease, caused by ingesting seafood contaminated with methylmercury dumped by corporations, was discovered in 1956; however, there has been no continued investigation to determine the full extent of the damage. Since 2004, it has been discovered that affected patients can be found in areas further away from Minamata than previously known. In the present study, we investigated various symptoms and somatosensory disturbances in western Miyanokawachi District, northern Himedo District, southwestern Nagashima District, and the uncontaminated Amami district and calculated the proportion of patients with sensory disturbances as a percentage of the population in each area. Both touch and pain sensations, with a predominance of the peripheral extremities, were observed in 58.6% of patients in Miyanokawachi, 53.9% in Himedo, 37.8% in Nagashima, and 1.4% in Amami. The lowest estimates of attributable fractions of the exposed group for four-limb-predominant sensory disturbance in the population of the contaminated districts were 94.1% in Miyanokawachi, 94.6% in Himedo, and 91.4% in Nagashima, and general and perioral sensory disturbances were also high. This suggests that the presence or absence of these sensory disturbances is useful in the diagnosis of Minamata disease, even in more distant parts of the Yatsushiro Sea area.

Predicting the toxicity of nanoparticles plays an important role in biomedical nanotechnologies, in particular in the creation of new drugs. Safety analysis of nanoparticles can identify potentially harmful effects on living organisms and the environment. Advanced machine learning models are used to predict the toxicity of nanoparticles in a nutrient solution. In this article, we performed a comparative analysis of the current state of research in the field of nanoparticle toxicity analysis using machine learning methods; we trained a regression model for predicting the quantitative toxicity of nanoparticles depending on their concentration in the nutrient solution at a fixed point in time with the achieved metrics values of MSE = 2.19 and RMSE = 1.48; we trained a multi-class classification model for predicting the toxicity class of nanoparticles depending on their concentration in the nutrient solution at a fixed point in time with the achieved metrics values of Accuracy = 0.9756, Recall = 0.9623, F1-Score = 0.9640, and Log Loss = 0.1855. As a result of the analysis, we concluded the good predictive ability of the trained models. The optimal dosages for the nanoparticles under study were determined as follows: ZnO = 9.5 × 10^-5 mg/mL; Fe₃O₄ = 0.1 mg/mL; SiO₂ = 1 mg/mL. The most significant features of predictive models are the diameter of the nanoparticle and the nanoparticle concentration in the nutrient solution.

Human exposure to arsenic and other toxic elements such as cadmium, lead and mercury may lead to a wide range of adverse health effects. In relation to this, it is well established that the diet is the main route of exposure to both essential and toxic trace elements. In recent years, the levels of toxic elements in foodstuffs have been measured in numerous studies conducted all over the world. Scientific databases show that, in the current century, China and Spain have been the countries where the most surveys on this topic have been carried out. Regarding Spain, Catalonia is the region where most studies aimed at determining the concentrations of trace elements in food have been performed. The objective of this paper was to review the studies carried out in Catalonia on the concentrations of As and toxic metals (including Cd, Hg and Pb) in food, as well as their estimated dietary intakes (EDIs). The results of total diet studies (TDSs) and duplicate diet (DD) studies have been included. For most toxic elements, a continued reduction in the EDI has been observed. This reduction is associated with a decrease in their concentrations in food, and with certain changes in dietary habits. Fish and seafood is the food group showing the highest content of toxic elements. However, none of the adult groups exceeded-in general-the safety thresholds for As, Cd, Hg and Pb established by the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA).

2,2',4,4'-tetrabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-47) is a widely used brominated flame retardant belonging to persistent organic pollutants (POPs). After being released into the marine environment, BDE-47 can cause a range of toxic effects on marine organisms through bioaccumulation, biomagnification, and intergenerational transmission. These effects include lethality, impaired motility, photosynthetic toxicity, immune damage, liver toxicity, developmental impairments, and reproductive toxicity. This article reviews the latest research progress on the toxic effects and molecular mechanisms of BDE-47 mentioned above. The primary mechanisms underlying its toxicity include oxidative stress, DNA damage, cellular apoptosis, impaired metabolism, and activation of the MAPK signaling cascade.

Lead (Pb) is a well-known neurotoxin with established adverse effects on the neurological functions of children and younger adults, including motor, learning, and memory abilities. However, its potential impact on older adults has received less attention. Using the zebrafish model, our study aims to characterize the dose-response relationship between environmentally relevant Pb exposure levels and their effects on changes in behavior and transcriptomics during the geriatric periods. We exposed two-year-old zebrafish to waterborne lead acetate (1, 10, 100, 1000, or 10,000 µg/L) or a vehicle (DMSO) for 5 days. While lower concentrations (1-100 µg/L) reflect environmentally relevant Pb levels, higher concentrations (1000-10,000 µg/L) were included to assess acute toxicity under extreme exposure scenarios. We conducted adult behavior assessment to evaluate the locomotor activity following exposure. The same individual fish were subsequently sacrificed for brain dissection after a day of recovery in the aquatic system. RNA extraction and sequencing were then performed to evaluate the Pb-induced transcriptomic changes. Higher (1000-10,000 ug/L) Pb levels induced hyperactive locomotor patterns in aged zebrafish, while lower (10-100 ug/L) Pb levels resulted in the lowest locomotor activity compared to the control group. Exposure to 100 µg/L led to the highest number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs), while 10,000 µg/L induced larger fold changes in both directions. The neurological pathways impacted by Pb exposure include functions related to neurotransmission, such as cytoskeletal regulation and synaptogenesis, and oxidative stress response, such as mitochondrial dysfunction and downregulation of heat shock protein genes. These findings emphasize a U-shape dose-response relationship with Pb concentrations in locomotor activity and transcriptomic changes in the aging brain.

The widespread occurrence of atrazine (ATZ) in water environments presents a considerable risk to human health and ecosystems. Herein, the performance of dielectric barrier discharge integrated with periodate (DBD/PI) for ATZ decomposition was evaluated. Results demonstrated that the DBD/PI system improved ATZ decomposition efficiency by 18.2-22.5% compared to the sole DBD system. After 10 min treatment, the decomposition efficiency attained 82.4% at a discharge power of 68 W, a PI dosage of 0.02 mM, and an initial ATZ concentration of 10 mg/L. As the PI dosage increased, the decomposition efficiency exhibited a trend of initially increasing, followed by a decrease. Acidic conditions were more favorable for ATZ removal compared to alkaline and neutral conditions. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) was adopted for characterizing the active species produced in the DBD/PI system, and quenching experiments revealed their influence on ATZ decomposition following a sequence of ¹O₂ > O₂^-• > IO₃• > OH•. The decomposition pathways were proposed based on the theoretical calculations and intermediate identification. Additionally, the toxic effects of ATZ and its intermediates were assessed. This study demonstrates that the DBD/PI treatment represents an effective strategy for the decomposition of ATZ in aquatic environments.