Simultaneous removal of neonicotinoid insecticides by a microbial degrading consortium: Detoxification at reactor scale

Neonicotinoid insecticides show high persistence in the environment, and standard biological approaches such as biopurification systems have shown mostly inefficient removal of such compounds. In this work, soil pre-exposed to imidacloprid was used to obtain presumptive imidacloprid-degrading consortia. Cometabolic enrichment yielded a microbial consortium composed of eight bacterial and one yeast strains, capable of degrading not only this compound, but also thiamethoxam and acetamiprid, as demonstrated in cross-degradation assays. The biological removal process was scaled-up to batch stirred tank bioreactors (STBR); this configuration was able to simultaneously remove mixtures of imidacloprid + thiamethoxam or imidacloprid + thiamethoxam + acetamiprid, reaching elimination of 95.8% and 94.4% of total neonicotinoids, respectively. Removal rates in the bioreactors followed the pattern imidacloprid > acetamiprid > thiamethoxam, including >99% elimination of imidacloprid in 6 d and 17 d (binary and ternary mixtures, respectively). A comprehensive evaluation of the detoxification in the STBR was performed using different biomarkers: seed germination (Lactuca sativa), bioluminescence inhibition (Vibrio fischeri), and acute oral tests in honeybees. Overall, ecotoxicological tests revealed partial detoxification of the matrix, with clearer detoxification patterns in the binary mixture. This biological approach represents a promising option for the removal of neonicotinoids from agricultural wastewater; however, optimization of the process should be performed before application in farms.UCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Básicas::Centro en Investigación en Contaminación Ambiental (CICA

VIII Informe Estado de los Derechos de la Niñez y la Adolescencia en Costa Rica

El informe EDNA es gestionado por el Proyecto Estado de los Derechos de la Niñez y la Adolescencia (Proyecto EDNA), que es una actividad inscrita en la Vicerrectoría de Acción Social y de la Escuela de Estudios Generales y adscrito al Programa Institucional sobre los Derechos de la Niñez y la Adolescencia (PRIDENA), de la Universidad de Costa Rica (UCR). El Proyecto EDNA tiene como objetivo realizar la coordinación académica para la elaboración y la divulgación de un informe sobre el curso del cumplimiento de los Derechos de la Niñez y la Adolescencia en Costa Rica, en el marco de un convenio de cooperación firmado con el Fondo de las Naciones Unidas para la Infancia (UNICEF).El VIII Informe del Estado de los Derechos de la Niñez y la Adolescencia ofrece un balance sobre la situación de los niños, niñas y adolescentes en Costa Rica, en el marco del vigésimo quinto aniversario de la ratificación de la Convención sobre los Derechos del Niño (CDN) por parte de Costa Rica, el 2 de septiembre de 1990.UCR::Vicerrectoría de Acción Social::Extensión Docent

Toxicoproteomics, from finding molecular targets to evaluating the impact on human health

The exposome refers to all exposures, including exposures to chemicals, that an individual may encounter over the whole life, from conception to death, that influence the individual’s health. To date, over 200,000 chemicals have been registered under the legislative framework of the European Union. Exposomics studies have revealed that individuals are exposed to chemical mixtures consisting of hundreds of compounds simultaneously. The risks to human health posed by many of these chemicals and chemical mixtures are still unknown and require evaluation. Traditional methods for assessing chemicals and chemical mixtures have been inadequate in addressing the increasing number of potentially toxic compounds in the environment. Current high-throughput toxicology methods, which involve the application of batteries of in vitro bioassays, can reduce the time and costs of analysis. However, these methods evaluate the impact on well-established pathways that have already been identified as being affected by exposure, making it difficult to discover new modes of action. The goal of this thesis is to provide a method to unravel the targets of chemicals for a better understanding of the mechanisms of action of chemicals and chemical mixtures under the scenario of the exposome. The proteome integral solubility alteration (PISA) assay is a proteome-wide approach for drug-target identification. However, implementing the PISA assay to address toxicological challenges requires different experimental considerations from chemical properties and toxicology principles. Moreover, it is necessary to translate the data from target identification to an understanding of the potential impact on human health. Therefore, three steps were followed to implement the PISA method in the field of toxicology: i) experimental considerations of the method for toxicology and chemical assessment purposes, ii) analysis of the method capability in the field of toxicology, and iii) development of pipelines from the target identification to the understanding of potential impact on human health. The results showed the capability of the PISA assay to identify the protein targets of single chemicals and chemical mixtures, extending, in an unbiased manner, the list of evaluated biological pathways in current available methodologies. The approach presented here reduces the time and cost associated with experimental and data analysis work, which could aid in the chemical risk assessment process in the context of the exposome

Diseño de un modelo de negocio colaborativo para la integración de servicios de esparcimiento por medio de una plataforma digital

Proyecto de graduación (licenciatura en ingeniería industrial)UCR::Vicerrectoría de Docencia::Ingeniería::Facultad de Ingeniería::Escuela de Ingeniería Industria

Removal of triazines, triazoles and organophophates in biomixtures and application of a biopurification system for the treatment of laboratory wastewaters - ScienceDirect

Biopurification systems (BPS) have been barely explored for removing complex mixtures of pesticides. In this study, the potential of a biomixture to remove simultaneously a mixture of herbicides (triazines), fungicides (triazoles) and insecticides (organophosphates) is presented. Also, a BPS using the same biomixture was used for treating a pesticide testing laboratory wastewater containing a mixture of 38 compounds. Ecotoxicological assays were conducted on the BPS elutriates to investigate the mixture detoxification. A mixture (concentrations of 4–8 mg kg−1) run in small–scale biomixture systems (SSB) for 128 d showed 59.3% removal of triazines, 68.5% of organophosphates and no elimination of triazoles. The treatment of the laboratory wastewater (individual concentrations range: 0.0036–0.25 mg kg−1) in the pilot-scale BPS for 281 d resulted in the elimination pattern of organophosphates (90.0%) > triazoles (73.4%) > carbamates (71.3%) > triazines (54.3%). Complete detoxification towards Daphnia magna and partial detoxification in Lactuca sativa seeds germination occurred in the BPS. Although the pesticide mixture complexity is higher in the BPS, the lower concentrations found in this matrix, could explain removal differences between SSB and BPS and the apparent inhibition in the elimination of carbamates and some triazines observed in the latter. These findings suggest that disposal of pesticide–containing laboratory–wastewater should be done in separate containers, according to chemical groups before their treatment in separate BPS, in order to reduce treatment periods. Monitoring the treatment process in the BPS with a battery of ecotoxicological tests is strongly recommended.UCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Básicas::Centro en Investigación en Contaminación Ambiental (CICA

Simultaneous removal of structurally different pesticides in a biomixture: Detoxification and effect of oxytetracycline

The biopurification systems (BPS) used for the treatment of pesticide-containing wastewater must present a versatile degrading ability, in order to remove different active ingredients according to the crop protection programs. This work aimed to assay the simultaneous removal of several pesticides (combinations of herbicides/insecticides/fungicides, or insecticides/fungicides) in a biomixture used in a BPS over a period of 115 d, and in the presence of oxytetracycline (OTC), an antibiotic of agricultural use that could be present in wastewater from agricultural pesticide application practices. The biomixture was able to mostly remove the herbicides during the treatment (removal rates: atrazine ≈ linuron > ametryn), and suffered no inhibition by OTC (only slightly for ametryn). Two fungicides (carbendazim and metalaxyl) were removed, nonetheless, in the systems containing only fungicides and insecticides, a clear increase in their half-lives was obtained in the treatments containing OTC. The neonicotinoid insecticides (imidacloprid and thiamethoxam) and the triazole fungicides (tebuconazole and triadimenol) were not significantly eliminated in the biomixture. Globally, the total removal of active ingredients ranged from 40.9% to 61.2% depending on the system, following the pattern: herbicides > fungicides > insecticides. The ecotoxicological analysis of the process revealed no detoxification towards the microcrustacean Daphnia magna, but a significant decay in the phytotoxicity towards Lactuca sativa in some cases, according to seed germination tests; in this case, OTC proved to be partially responsible for the phytotoxicity. The patterns of pesticide removal and detoxification provide inputs for the improvement of BPS use and their relevance as devices for wastewater treatment according to specific pesticide application programs.Universidad de Costa Rica/[802-B4-503]/UCR/Costa RicaUniversidad de Costa Rica/[802-B6-137]/UCR/Costa RicaUCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Básicas::Centro en Investigación en Contaminación Ambiental (CICA

Removal of herbicides in a biopurification system is not negatively affected by oxytetracycline or fungally pretreated oxytetracycline

UCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Básicas::Centro en Investigación en Contaminación Ambiental (CICA

Low-cost approaches for the removal of terbuthylazine from agricultural wastewater: Constructed wetlands and biopurification system

UCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Básicas::Centro en Investigación en Contaminación Ambiental (CICA