Pesticides in Worldwide Aquatic Systems: Part II

Contamination by pesticides is a worldwide problem that can greatly disturb the biota, directly and/or indirectly. Nonetheless, few efforts were done so far to present review-style publications that analyse and integrate monitoring data—in a global scale—and evaluate possible environmental risks. Herein, we assessed possible environmental risks through theoretical calculations, using worldwide data published at least during the last 17 years and considering different trophic levels and the maximum average environmental concentrations (in water) observed in each continent. Furthermore, hazard quotients—using the estimated average daily intake, theoretical maximum daily intake and the maximum residue limits—were calculated to estimate the potential risks to humans through direct consumption of molluscs, crustaceans and fish. In summary, several pesticides were quantified at concentrations capable to affect low to medium trophic level species, which through the food web can affect higher trophic levels; theoretical approaches considering the environmental mixtures showed that algae and invertebrates are the most sensitive groups. Moreover, fish and crustaceans evidenced the highest body concentrations. To evaluate a potential risk through direct consumption, human health risk assessments were done, and in spite of no direct risk, some hazard quotients indicate a potential risk for developing carcinogenic effects

Pesticides in Worldwide Aquatic Systems: Part I

The occurrence of pesticides in aquatic environments is registered worldwide, but few or no approaches have been used to summarize and integrate the data. In this work, 30 countries and 95 aquatic systems were taken into consideration, using the data collected in the past 17 years. Data were evaluated by continent, with a special focus on Europe, as the continent with the most information available. However, in terms of analyzed pesticides, the insecticides were the most common category of pesticides being applied in excess in several Asian countries. Moreover, priority pesticides settled for elimination were/are still present in almost all the continents, demonstrating that those compounds continue to be used. This leads to the existence of environmental mixtures containing both legal and illegal pesticides, which are able to affect different trophic levels, including humans. Thus, action plans like international discussions and pacts should exist to regulate the adequate usage of pesticides, and a continuous environmental monitoring should be enforced to understand potential toxicological risks promoted by these compounds. Further considerations, based on the Stockholm Convention list and European Directive 2013/39/EU as references, were used to evaluate the degree of contamination in the studied aquatic systems

Determination of seventeen endocrine disruptor compounds and their spatial and seasonal distribution in Ria Formosa Lagoon (Portugal)

In spite of its outstanding ecological and touristic importance the Ria Formosa Lagoon shows signs of anthropogenic pollution. Nonetheless, until the present survey no studies had ever documented the measurement of natural and pharmaceutical estrogens (17β-estradiol, estrone, and 17α-ethynylestradiol), xenoestrogenic industrial pollutants (4-octylphenol, 4- nonylphenol, and their mono and diethoxylates and bisphenol A), phytoestrogens (formononetin, biochanin A, daidzein, genistein), and sitosterol in this area. The 17 compounds measured herein are known as endocrine disrupters (EDCs) and act over the endocrine system even in few amounts (ng L−1–μg L−1). Thus to conclude about the influx of EDCs in the lagoon, water samples were taken every 2 months, during 1 year (2010), in low tide at nine sites distributed along the coastline. Water samples (1 L) were preconcentrated in the Oasis HLB cartridges and cleaned in silica cartridges before their analysis by GC-MS. Data showed the ubiquitous presence of potentially hazardous amounts of estrogens (particularly of ethynylestradiol, up to 24.3 ng L−1), nonylphenol (up to 547 ng L−1), and sitosterol (up to 12,300 ng L−1), mainly in summer, suggesting that the increase of the local number of inhabitants (tourists), the rise of the water temperature (up to 26 °C), and the blooming of local flora may interfere with the water quality parameters. This makes the lagoon a potential model to study. Taking into account the data, it was concluded that there are conditions for the occurrence of endocrine disruption in aquatic animals, even in areas included in the natural park of the Formosa. Besides, both the high amounts of un-ionized ammonia (up to 0.3 mg L−1) and phosphates (up to 1.6 mg L−1) my pose risks for local fauna and humans.This work was financially supported by FEDER funds through the Competitiveness and Trade Expansion Program—COMPETE and by National Funds provided by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), via the project PTDC/MAR/70436/2006

Estudio de caso de una intervención artística e investigación en espacios públicos

UIDB/00417/2020 UIDP/00417/2020 SFRH/BPD/116916/2016Este artículo explora el legado histórico de la vanguardia del arte a través de algunas de las manifestaciones artísticas del siglo XX en espacios públicos. Al mismo tiempo, discutirá la incorporación de dicho legado histórico en las prácticas contemporáneas de investigación colaborativa. Lo hace abordando el estudio de caso del colectivo Situ_Acção asociado al tema de las artes públicas. El colectivo Situ_Acção es un grupo de artistas e investigadores de diferentes campos de las artes y la comunicación, cuya actividad se centra en la intervención en la ciudad, basada en la acción y la investigación colaborativa y la reflexión compartida sobre fenómenos urbanos. Primero, se describirá cómo Situ_Acção ha encontrado un terreno común para la investigación: el legado de los murales urbanos en la ciudad de Lisboa. Al investigar los archivos digitales portugueses de murales urbanos de los años setenta y ochenta, Situ_Acção aplicó técnicas artísticas espaciales para suplir la información que faltaba sobre los lugares de intervención. Además, el uso del performance y la instalación site specific implementa enfoques alternativos para comunicar la investigación a un público más amplio. Este ejercicio permitirá diferentes grados de participación dentro de la obra de arte en progreso. Para explorar tales grados de interacción, se describirá el proyecto Memoria En los Muros (MOWS –Memory in the Walls) en el capítulo final. This article explores the embodiment of the art historical avant-garde legacy through some of the artistic manifestations across the 20th century, in public spaces. At the same time, it discusses the incorporation of such historical background in contemporary collaborative research practices. It does so by addressing the case study of the collective Situ_Acção, a group of artists and researchers from different fields of arts and communication, whose activity is focused on intervention in the city, based on action and collaborative research and shared reflection on urban phenomena, associated with public arts. First, it will be described how Situ_Acção started a common ground for the inquiry: the legacy of urban murals in Lisbon. By investigating the Portuguese digital archives of urban murals of the 1970s and 1980s, Situ_Acção applied spatial artistic techniques to overcome the missing information regarding the places of intervention. In addition, the use of performance and on-site installation implements alternative approaches to communicate research to a wider audience. This exercise will allow different degrees of participation within the work of art in progress. The project Memory in the Walls (MOWS) will be described in the concluding chapter, in order to explore such degrees of interaction.publishersversionpublishe

revista de Ciências da Arte

Depois do editorial anterior, em reflexões sobre o lugar do saber e da verdade na cultura actual, enquanto problematização política, assumimos a estranheza por a Universidade estar a deixar de ser um lugar crítico e, portanto, político. Este editorial, do segundo volume com dossier temático sobre Arte e Activismo, propõe-se, em continuidade, a reflectir sobre o lugar da Universidade, atendendo às suas recentes transformações, no estado actual da política: qual o lugar da universidade contemporânea, enquanto espaço de reflexão livre e crítica, perante o estranho mundo político que habitamos actualmente, ou seja, se há lugar para uma activismo político na Universidade e qual? E se a metamorfose (ou mesmo revolução) que os últimos anos têm exercido, exteriormente e sobre a Universidade, vão no sentido da sua agilização ou, mesmo, da sua anuência? Observamos hoje em dia uma grande transformação da Universidade, acompanhada de uma carência de reflexão sobre si própria, um défice de «una reflexión crítica sobre sus propias experiencias», exactamente numa altura em que essa reflexão seria mais necessária.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

revista de ciências da arte

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Estimating volumes from common carp hepatocytes using design-based stereology and examining correlations with profile areas: Revisiting a nutritional assay and unveiling guidelines to microscopists

Assessing fish liver status is common in aquaculture nutrition assays. This often implies determining hepatocytes profile areas in routine thin (5-7 mu m) histological sections. However, there are theoretical problems using planar morphometry in thin sections: inherent sampling cells biases, too small numbers of sampled cells, under/overestimation of size, measuring size as areas when cells are three-dimensional (3D) entities. The gold standard for assessing/validate cell size is stereology using thick sections (20-40 mu m). Here, we estimated the volume of hepatocytes and their nuclei by the nucleator and optical disector stereological probes (in thick sections), and, innovatively, in thin sections too (using single-section disectors). The liver of common carp eating feed containing either low or high level of lipids was targeted. Results were compared with prior profile areas from planar morphometry using thin sections, and with profile areas estimated here with the two-dimensional (2D) nucleator. Ratios between nucleus and cell/cytoplasm (N/C) areas and volumes were calculated and compared. There was high positive correlation between volumes in thin and thick sections (r = .85 to .89; p lt .001), empirically validating the single-section disector. Strong correlations existed between profile-derived versus 2D-nucleator areas (r = .74 to .83; p lt .001). There was systematic underestimation of cells and nucleus size using planar morphometry. The N/C ratios derived from the 2D-nucleator data were higher than those from planar morphometry. Despite theoretical premises for using simple planar morphometry in thin sections are flawed, our results support that such morphometry on carp/fish hepatocytes may offer some valid biological conclusions. Anyway, we advanced guidelines for implementing proper methods

Uncovering seasonal patterns of 56 pesticides in surface coastal waters of the Ria Formosa lagoon (Portugal), using a GC-MS method

<div><p>ABSTRACT</p><p>This study describes the simultaneous quantification of 56 pesticides in surface coastal water, supported by the development and validation of a gas chromatography (GC)–ion trap (IT) mass spectrometry (MS) method. Samples (500 mL) were pre-concentrated 2500 times by solid phase extraction (OASISTMHLB). The compounds were identified and quantified, within 35 minutes, by GC tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) and GC-MS, respectively. The methodology proved to be highly specific for all target pesticides, with an average linearity of 0.99. Detection limits and recovery rates ranged from 0.4 to 1.3 ng L⁻¹ and 71% to 120%, respectively. The performance of the method was checked using water samples collected from nine sampling sites along the Ria Formosa Lagoon Natural Park (south of Portugal, n = 54) in each season (2010). The total annual concentrations of all pesticides in each category (fungicides, herbicides and insecticides) were 1.4, 0.6 and 9.0 µg L⁻¹, respectively. Moreover, 89% of the pesticides tested for were detected, 84% could be quantified and 25% had concentrations above the European recommended levels (2013/39/EU). The highest total loads of pesticides were found in the spring, which is in agreement with their seasonal application. Physicochemical parameters such as, nitrites, nitrates, ammonia and phosphates, also indicate poor water quality, supporting the fact that the Ria Formosa lagoon actually needs an effective monitoring programme for effective preservation of its natural reserve status.</p></div