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    Hitting Reset on Sediment Toxicity: Sediment Homogenization Alters the Toxicity of Metal‐Amended Sediments

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    Laboratory testing of sediments frequently involves manipulation by amendment with contaminants and homogenization, which changes the physicochemical structure of sediments. These changes can influence the bioavailability of divalent metals, and field and mesocosm experiments have shown that laboratory‐derived thresholds are often overly conservative. We assessed the mechanisms that lead to divergence between laboratory‐ and field‐derived thresholds; specifically, we assessed the importance of slow equilibration to solid‐phase ligands and vertical stratification. To mimic natural physicochemical conditions, we uniquely aged sediment with a flow‐through exposure system. These sediments were then homogenized and compared, toxicologically, with freshly metal‐amended sediments in a 28‐d chronic toxicity bioassay with the amphipod Hyalella azteca. We assessed concentration–response relationships for 3 metals (copper, nickel, and zinc) and 5 geochemically distinct sediments. We observed minimal differences in growth and survival of H. azteca between aged and freshly spiked sediments across all sediments and metals. These trends suggest that a loss of toxicity observed during long‐term sediment aging is reversed after sediment homogenization. By comparison with mesocosm experiments, we demonstrate that homogenizing sediment immediately before toxicity assays may produce artificially high toxicity thresholds. We suggest that toxicity assays with sediments that maintain vertical redox gradients are needed to generate field‐relevant sediment metal toxicity thresholds. Environ Toxicol Chem 2019;38:1995–2007. © 2019 SETAC.Aging of sediment alone does not alter metal toxicity to amphipods, but it is the combination of aging and preserving natural redox gradients that can lower toxicity.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151311/1/etc4512.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151311/2/etc4512_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151311/3/etc4512-sup-0001-EMBOSST2_supp_31May2019.pd

    Imazapic and diuron availability and toxicity in different soils

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    Take home message ‱ Herbicide residue levels can be measured in soil, but to interpret what soil analysis results mean for the subsequent crop, information about crop toxicity thresholds, and soil-specific herbicide availability is needed. ‱ An approach has been developed to derive toxicity thresholds and predict herbicide availability in different soils to provide a prediction of safety for cropping. ‱ Soil analysis for herbicide residues is not a replacement for using herbicides according to label requirements. ‱ Additional ground truthing of this proof-of-concept research across a wider range of soil types and environments will strengthen the predictions

    Opportunities for improving the efficiency of paediatric HIV treatment programmes

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    Objectives: To conduct two economic analyses addressing whether to: routinely monitor HIV-infected children on antiretroviral therapy (ART) clinically or with laboratory tests; continue or stop cotrimoxazole prophylaxis when children become stabilized on ART. Design and methods: The ARROW randomized trial investigated alternative strategies to deliver paediatric ART and cotrimoxazole prophylaxis in 1206 Ugandan/Zimbabwean children. Incremental cost-effectiveness and value of implementation analyses were undertaken. Scenario analyses investigated whether laboratory monitoring (CD4 tests for efficacy monitoring; haematology/biochemistry for toxicity) could be tailored and targeted to be delivered cost-effectively. Cotrimoxazole use was examined in malaria-endemic and non-endemic settings. Results: Using all trial data, clinical monitoring delivered similar health outcomes to routine laboratory monitoring, but at a reduced cost, so was cost-effective. Continuing cotrimoxazole improved health outcomes at reduced costs. Restricting routine CD4+ monitoring to after 52 weeks following ART initiation and removing toxicity testing was associated with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of 6084perquality−adjustedlife−year(QALY)acrossallagegroups,butwasmuchlowerforolderchildren(12+yearsatinitiation;incrementalcost−effectivenessratio=6084 per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) across all age groups, but was much lower for older children (12+ years at initiation; incremental cost-effectiveness ratio = 769/QALY). Committing resources to improve cotrimoxazole implementation appears cost-effective. A healthcare system that could pay 600/QALYshouldbewillingtospendupto600/QALY should be willing to spend up to 12.0 per patient-year to ensure continued provision of cotrimoxazole. Conclusion: Clinically driven monitoring of ART is cost-effective in most circumstances. Routine laboratory monitoring is generally not cost-effective at current prices, except possibly CD4 testing amongst adolescents initiating ART. Committing resources to ensure continued provision of cotrimoxazole in health facilities is more likely to represent an efficient use of resources

    Linking landscape characteristics, streamwater acidity and brown trout (Salmo trutta) distributions in a boreal stream network

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    Perturbations of stream ecosystems are often mediated by the terrestrial watershed, making the understanding of linkages between watersheds and streams essential. In this thesis I explore the connections between landscape characteristics, streamwater acidity and brown trout (Salmo trutta) distributions in Krycklan, a 67 km2 boreal stream network in northern Sweden. The study focuses on hydrochemical changes during the snowmelt-driven spring flood, a period of episodic acidity which is thought to place a restraint on acid-sensitive biota such as brown trout. pH ranged from 4.5-7.0 at different stream sites during winter baseflow, and declined by 0-2 pH units during spring flood. The magnitude of the pH drop at a given site was in large part controlled by changes in acid neutralizing capacity (ANC) and in natural organic acids associated with dissolved organic carbon (DOC). pH, ANC and DOC were all correlated with landscape characteristics such as proportion of peat wetlands, and stream hydrochemical response during spring flood could be explained by altered hydrological flowpaths through the catchment. The impact of acidity on brown trout distributions within the stream network was evaluated and compared to the apparent influence of other site and catchment-scale environmental factors. In situ bioassays demonstrated a strong relationship between spring flood pH and juvenile brown trout mortality, with a toxicity threshold at pH 4.8-5.4. In field surveys brown trout were not found at any sites which had pH <5.0 during spring flood, and were rare at sites which had pH <5.5 during spring flood, suggesting limitation by acidity for some streams. However, over the whole of the Krycklan stream network brown trout were more consistently associated with alluvial sediment deposits than with high pH or low inorganic aluminum concentrations. Acidity thus apparently influences trout distributions by setting a maximum potential distribution; within that potential distribution, actual dispersal is influenced by other factors, notably presence of physical substrate suitable for feeding and spawning habitat. Fulfilling chemical thresholds is therefore necessary but not sufficient for sustaining brown trout populations. In the context of environmental monitoring or stream restoration, consideration of physical habitat together with chemical conditions is advised

    Innovative in vivo and in vitro bioassays for the establishment of toxicity thresholds of pollutants in sediment quality assessment using polychaetes and their immune cells.

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    Sediment toxicity testing has become a crucial component for assessing the risks posed by contaminated sediments and for the development of sediment quality assessment strategies. Commonly used organisms for bioassays with estuarine sediments include amphipods, Arenicola marina polychaetes and echinoids. Among the latter, the Sea Urchin Embryo test (SET) is the most widely used. However, one relevant limitation of this bioassay is the unavailability of gametes all year-round, particularly outside the natural spawning seasons. Consequently, the establishment of an appropriate and complementary model organism for a continuous assessment of sediment quality is recommended. A reliable assessment of the hazards resulting from pollutants in sediments or pore water, can be achieved with ecologically relevant species of sediment such as the polychaete Hediste diversicolor, which is widespread in estuaries and has the capacity to accumulate pollutants. The aim of this work was to develop reliable in vivo and in vitro bioassays with H. diversicolor and its coelomocytes (immune cells) to determine the toxicity thresholds of different contaminants bounded to sediments or resuspended into water. Polychaetes were exposed to sublethal concentrations of CuCl2 (in vivo) and a non-invasive method for collection of polychaetes coelomocytes was applied for the in vitro bioassay, exposing cells to a series of CuCl2 and AgNPs concentrations. Same reference toxicants were used to expose Paracentrotus lividus following the SET (ICES N 51; Beiras et al., 2012) and obtained toxicity thresholds were compared between the two species. In vivo exposure of polychaetes to high concentrations of Cu produced weight loss and histopathological alterations. After in vitro approaches, a significant decrease in coelomocytes viability was recorded for both toxicants, in a monotonic dose-response curve, at very short-exposure times (2h). The toxicity thresholds obtained with polychaetes were in line with the ones obtained with the SET, concluding that their sensitivity is similar. In conclusion, in vivo and in vitro bioassays developed with H. diversicolor are accurate toxicity screenings of pollutants that could be bounded to sediments or dissolved in the pore water, and may complement the SET outside the spawning period of the echinoderms. The bioassays herein developed could be applied not only to establish the toxicity thresholds of individual compounds or mixtures, but also to assess the toxicity of field collected sediments.The authors thank Basque Government (Grant to Consolidated Research Groups; IT1302-19, IT1213-19) and Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (SEAdimenTOX project, CTM 2017-87766-R)

    A decade of monitoring and management of freshwater algae, in particular Cyanobacteria, in England and Wales

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    Although the toxicity of cyanobacteria has been known for many years, cyanobacteria-related problems in the UK were generally limited in frequency. However, this all changed and became of national concern following the exceptional environmental conditions in the autumn of 1989, when widespread cyanobacterial blooms and scums developed in fresh waters. This paper summarises the Environment Agency's monitoring programme for freshwater algae since 1991 and describes the actions the Environment Agency has taken as a result of the monitoring data

    Vinyl Chloride : acute toxicity thresholds in the context of controlling urban development or land use planning

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    The objective of this paper is to present, based on the example of vinyl Chloride , the french procedure to set acute toxicity thresholds in the context of controlling urban development or land use planning. Vinylchloride is a good example because it has never been until now examined for its acute toxicity and it is a carcinogenic chemical for humans chronically exposed at low concentration
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