Socioecology Research Today

The presence of human pharmaceuticals in sewage-impacted ecosystems is a growing concern that poses health risks to aquatic wildlife. Despite this, few studies have investigated the uptake of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in aquatic organisms. In this study, the uptake of 9 APIs from human drugs was examined and compared in neonate bull sharks (Carcharhinus [...]

Rechargeable lithium-ion (Li-ion) and lithium-polymer (Li-poly) batteries have recently become dominant in consumer electronic products because of advantages associated with energy density and product longevity. However, the small size of these batteries, the high rate of disposal of consumer products in which they are used, and the lack of uniform regulatory policy on their disposal [...]

Instead of burning waste wood treated with chromated copper arsenite (CCA) or disposing of it in landfills, the CCA-treated wood can be used as a raw material for the production of chemicals. Catalytic or alkaline oxidation together with very mild sulfuric acid extraction produces an easily enzymatically hydrolyzable material. Usage as a raw material for [...]

The experimental data suggest the presence of a more resistant, highly radiogenic silicate phase that survives the combustion process and is leached after the more soluble minerals are removed. Strontium isotopic homogenization of minerals in coal does not always occur during the combustion process, despite the high temperatures encountered in the boiler. Early-released Sr tends [...]

In this study, quantitative polymerase chain reaction targeting the atrazine catabolism gene, atzA, was used to detect the presence of atrazine degrading bacteria as an indicator of atrazine contamination in 11 sites in Georgia, nine coastal sites in Puerto Rico and 11 coastal sites in Trinidad. The atzA gene was detected in five stations in [...]

We report concentrations of organochlorine pesticides (HCB, HCHs, DDTs, dieldrin) and PCBs in the blubber of 43 common dolphins bycaught in fisheries operating off the SW coast of the UK from 1992 to 2006. Concentrations of ΣDDT (summed p,p′-DDT and its metabolites, p,p′-DDE and p,p′-TDE) and of 25 summed CB congeners ranged from 0.2 to [...]

http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/C3NP20120A Natural products and related structures are essential sources of new pharmaceuticals, because of the immense variety of functionally relevant secondary metabolites of microbial and plant species. Furthermore, the development of powerful analytical tools based upon genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, bioinformatics and other 21st century technologies are greatly expediting identification and characterization of these natural products. [...]

Arsenic trioxide (As2O3) is an important environmental toxin. In this study, the effect of resveratrol on As2O3-induced lung injury in rats is evaluated. The results showed that pre-treament with resveratrol protected As2O3-induced lung injury by the maintaintion of glutathione redox system and decrease in arsenic retention. These suggest supplement with resveratrol may alleviate lung injury [...]

Microplastics are present in marine habitats worldwide and laboratory studies show this material can be ingested, yet data on abundance in natural populations is limited. This study documents microplastics in 10 species of fish from the English Channel. 504 Fish were examined and plastics found in the gastrointestinal tracts of 36.5%. All five pelagic species [...]

Amphibians, a class of animals in global decline, are present in agricultural landscapes characterized by agrochemical inputs. Effects of pesticides on terrestrial life stages of amphibians such as juvenile and adult frogs, toads and newts are little understood and a specific risk assessment for pesticide exposure, mandatory for other vertebrate groups, is currently not conducted. [...]