Environmental risk assessment of PPP application in European soils and potential ecosystem service losses considering impacts on non-target organisms

The use of Plant Protection Products (PPPs) is leading to high exposure scenarios with potential risk to soil organisms, including non-target species. Assessment of the effects of PPPs on non-target organisms is one of the most important components of environmental risk assessment (ERA) since they play crucial functions in ecosystems, being main driving forces in different soil processes. As part of the framework, EFSA is proposing the use of the ecosystem services approach for setting specific protection goals. In fact, the services provided by soil organisms can be impacted by the misuse of PPPs in agroecosystems. The aim of this work was to assess PPPs potential risk upon ecosystem services along European soils, considering impacts on earthworms and collembola. Four well-known (2 insecticides-esfenvalerate and cyclaniliprole- and 2 fungicides - picoxystrobin and fenamidone-) worst case application (highest recommended application) were studied; exploring approaches for linked observed effects with impacts on ecosystem services, accounting for their mode of action (MoA), predicted exposure, time-course effects in Eisenia fetida and Folsomia sp. and landscape variability. The selected fungicides exerted more effects than insecticides on E. fetida, whereas few effects were reported for both pesticides regarding Folsomia sp. The most impacted ecosystem services after PPP application to crops appeared to be habitat provision, soil formation and retention, nutrient cycling, biodiversity, erosion regulation, soil remediation/waste treatment and pest and disease regulation. The main factors to be taken into account for a correct PPP use management in crops are discussed.This work has been partially funded by European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) through the grant NP/EFSA/AFSCO/2016/03. The author Miguel J.G. Santos is employed with the EFSA in the PREV Unit. The author Jose V Tarazona was employed by EFSA until October 2022. The present article is published under the sole responsibility of the au thors and may not be considered as an EFSA scientific output. The po sitions and opinions presented in this article are those of the authors alone and do not represent the views of EFSA.S

Predicting environmental concentrations and the potential risk of Plant Protection Products (PPP) on non-target soil organisms accounting for regional and landscape ecological variability in european soils

[EN] Plant Protection Products (PPP) raise concerns as their application may cause effects on some soil organisms considered non-target species which could be highly sensitive to some pesticides. The European Food and Safety Authority (EFSA), in collaboration with the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission, has developed guidance and a software tool, Persistence in Soil Analytical Model (PERSAM), for conducting soil exposure assessments. EFSA PPR Panel has published recommendations for the risk assessment of non-target soil organisms. We have used PERSAM for calculating PPPs predicted environmental concentrations (PECs); and used the estimated PEC for assessing potential risks using Toxicity Exposure Ratios (TER) for selected soil organisms and good agricultural practices. Soil characteristics and environmental variables change along a latitudinal axis through the European continent, influencing the availability of PPP, their toxicity upon soil biota, and hence, impacting on the risk characterization. Although PERSAM includes as input geographical information, the in-formation is aggregated and not further detailed in the model outputs. Therefore, there is a need to develop landscape based environmental risk assessment methods addressing regional variability. The objective was to integrate spatially explicit exposure (PECs) and effect data (biological endpoints i.e. LC50, NOEC, etc.) to estimate the risk quotient (TER) of four PPP active substances (esfenvalerate, cyclaniliprole, picoxystrobin, fenamidone) on non-target species accounting European landscape and agricultural variability. The study was focused on the effects produced by the above-mentioned pesticides on two soil organisms: E. fetida earthworms and Folsomia sp. collembolans. After running PERSAM assuming a worst case application of PPPs, PECs in total soil and pore water were obtained for different depths in northern, central and southern European soils. With this data, soil variability and climatic differences among soils divided in three large Euroregions along a latitudinal transect (Northern, Central, Southern Europe) were analysed. Summarising, a trend to accumulate higher PECs and TERs in total soil was observed in the north decreasing towards the south. Higher PECs and TERs could be expected in pore water in southern soils, decreasing towards the north. The risk disparity between pollutant concentrations at different soils compartments should be taken into account for regulatory purposes, as well as the potential landscape variabilities among different Euroregions.This work has been partially funded by European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) through the grant NP/EFSA/AFSCO/2016/03. The authors Miguel Santos and Jose V Tarazona are employed with the EFSA in the Pesticides Peer Review and the Scientific Committee and Emerging Risks Units. However, the present article is published under the sole responsibility of the authors and may not be considered as an EFSA scientific output. The positions and opinions presented in this article are those of the authors alone and do not represent the views of EFSA

Towards a Sustainable Campus: Working Together to Achieve the Green Campus Flag on the UDC Peripheral Campus of Ferrol

[Abstract] Purpose. This paper aims to present and describe the main actions carried out in six different faculties and common areas such as cultural and research centres and administrative buildings in the Ferrol campus at the University of A Coruña to achieve the second green flag on a Galician University. Design/methodology/approach. A case study describing the steps for implementing a green campus programme in a medium-size, young university campus integrated into a small city. An Environmental Campus Committee was created to assess the main factors that affect environmental footprint, discuss sustainability initiatives and develop a guide to action regarding different goals related to sustainable transport options, energy, water conservation and waste reduction. The actions included several fields such as education, circular economy and healthy life and involved the on and off-campus community. Findings. The programme achieved a decrease in water consumption and electrical energy. An important change in educational values and behaviours regarding sustainability was observed in and out of the campus community. The measurements adopted mainly in waste management, mobility and education led the Ferrol campus to achieve a green campus flag on November 2019. Originality/value. This experiment can serve as a guide to establish the Green Campus philosophy in other similar university campuses.The authors of this article want to thank the finantial and institutional support of Environmental Office of University of A Coruña to develop talks, activities and to implement different actions in Ferrol Campus. The authors of this article want to thank the finantial and institutional support of Vicerrectorado del Campus de Ferrol y Responsabilidad Social of University of A Coruña to achieve the Green Flag. Ana Ares-Pernas wants to thank the financial support of Vicerrectorado de Planificación Académica e Innovación Docente of University of A Coruña obtained in the I Edition of the Prizes for Teaching Innovation Projects in Service-Learning to develop Service-Learning activitie

Involvement of Wnt7a in the role of M2c microglia in neural stem cell oligodendrogenesis

BACKGROUND: The participation of microglia in CNS development and homeostasis indicate that these cells are pivotal for the regeneration that occurs after demyelination. The clearance of myelin debris and the inflammatory-dependent activation of local oligodendrocyte progenitor cells in a demyelinated lesion is dependent on the activation of M2c microglia, which display both phagocytic and healing functions. Emerging interest has been raised about the role of Wnt/β-catenin signaling in oligodendrogenesis and myelination. Besides, cytokines and growth factors released by microglia can control the survival, proliferation, migration, and differentiation of neural stem cells (NSCs), contributing to remyelination through the oligodendrocyte specification of this adult neurogenic niche.METHODS: TMEV-IDD model was used to study the contribution of dorsal SVZ stem cells to newly born oligodendrocytes in the corpus callosum following demyelination by (i) en-face dorsal SVZ preparations; (ii) immunohistochemistry; and (iii) cellular tracking. By RT-PCR, we analyzed the expression of Wnt proteins in demyelinated and remyelinating corpus callosum. Using in vitro approaches with microglia cultures and embryonic NSCs, we studied the role of purified myelin, Wnt proteins, and polarized microglia-conditioned medium to NSC proliferation and differentiation. One-way ANOVA followed by Bonferroni's post-hoc test, or a Student's t test were used to establish statistical significance.RESULTS: The demyelination caused by TMEV infection is paralleled by an increase in B1 cells and pinwheels in the dorsal SVZ, resulting in the mobilization of SVZ proliferative progenitors and their differentiation into mature oligodendrocytes. Demyelination decreased the gene expression of Wnt5a and Wnt7a, which was restored during remyelination. In vitro approaches show that Wnt3a enhances NSC proliferation, while Wnt7a and myelin debris promotes oligodendrogenesis from NSCs. As phagocytic M2c microglia secrete Wnt 7a, their conditioned media was found to induce Wnt/β-Catenin signaling in NSCs promoting an oligodendroglial fate.CONCLUSIONS: We define here the contribution of microglia to Wnt production depending on their activation state, with M1 microglia secreting the Wnt5a protein and M2c microglia secreting Wnt7a. Collectively, our data reveal the role of reparative microglia in NSC oligodendrogenesis with the involvement of Wnt7a.</p

The endocannabinoid 2-AG enhances spontaneous remyelination by targeting microglia

Remyelination is an endogenous process by which functional recovery of damaged neurons is achieved by reinstating the myelin sheath around axons. Remyelination has been documented in multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions and experimental models, although it is often incomplete or fails to affect the integrity of the axon, thereby leading to progressive disability. Microglia play a crucial role in the clearance of the myelin debris produced by demyelination and in inflammation-dependent OPC activation, two processes necessary for remyelination to occur. We show here that following corpus callosum demyelination in the TMEV-IDD viral murine model of MS, there is spontaneous and partial remyelination that involves a temporal discordance between OPC mobilization and microglia activation. Pharmacological treatment with the endocannabinoid 2-AG enhances the clearance of myelin debris by microglia and OPC differentiation, resulting in complete remyelination and a thickening of the myelin sheath. These results highlight the importance of targeting microglia during the repair processes in order to enhance remyelination.This work was supported by grants from the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO SAF2013-42784-R, SAF2016 76449-R), and the Red Española de Esclerosis Múltiple (REEM: RD12/0032/0008, RD16/0015/0021) sponsored by the Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria (FIS).Peer reviewe