Multiple headspace solid-phase microextraction (MHS-SPME) methodology applied to the determination of volatile metabolites of plasticizers in human urine

In the present work, an optimization and validation of an analytical method for the determination of two plasticizer metabolites, 2-ethylhexanol and 4-heptanone in urine, were carried out by multiple headspace solid-phase microextraction (MHS-SPME) coupled to GC-MS. The validation study was successfully performed in terms of stability, method selectivity, linearity, accuracy, recovery, intermediate precision, repeatability, limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) in urine samples. Finally, two population group studies were developed in urine samples of volunteers with plastic exposure. First group represents the common plastic exposure of general population and the second one was carried out with healthy moderately trained individuals who have received blood transfusion. This study demonstrates that significantly increased levels of 2-ethylhexanol were found (p < 0.05) in urine samples of volunteers in the early hours after receiving blood transfusion.This work was funded by University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) (project GIU19/068) . I. San Román was funded by the University of Basque Country (UPV/EHU)

Prenatal exposure to mixtures of phthalates and phenols and body mass index and blood pressure in Spanish preadolescents

Background: Pregnant women are simultaneously exposed to several non-persistent endocrine-disrupting chem-icals, which may influence the risk of childhood obesity and cardiovascular diseases later in life. Previous prospective studies have mostly examined single-chemical effects, with inconsistent findings. We assessed the association between prenatal exposure to phthalates and phenols, individually and as a mixture, and body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure (BP) in preadolescents. Methods: We used data from the Spanish INMA birth cohort study (n = 1,015), where the 1st and 3rd-trimester maternal urinary concentrations of eight phthalate metabolites and six phenols were quantified. At 11 years of age, we calculated BMI z-scores and measured systolic and diastolic BP. We estimated individual chemical effects with linear mixed models and joint effects of the chemical mixture with hierarchical Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR). Analyses were stratified by sex and by puberty status. Results: In single-exposure models, benzophenone-3 (BP3) was nonmonotonically associated with higher BMI z -score (e.g. Quartile (Q) 3: beta = 0.23 [95% CI = 0.03, 0.44] vs Q1) and higher diastolic BP (Q2: beta = 1.27 [0.00, 2.53] mmHg vs Q1). Methyl paraben (MEPA) was associated with lower systolic BP (Q4: beta =-1.67 [-3.31,-0.04] mmHg vs Q1). No consistent associations were observed for the other compounds. Results from the BKMR confirmed the single-exposure results and showed similar patterns of associations, with BP3 having the highest importance in the mixture models, especially among preadolescents who reached puberty status. No overall mixture effect was found, except for a tendency of higher BMI z-score and lower systolic BP in girls. Conclusions: Prenatal exposure to UV-filter BP3 may be associated with higher BMI and diastolic BP during preadolescence, but there is little evidence for an overall phthalate and phenol mixture effect.We thank all study participants for their generous collaboration. INMA-Sabadell: This study was funded by grants from Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Red INMA G03/176; CB06/02/0041; PI041436; PI081151 incl. FEDER funds), CIBERESP, Generalitat de CatalunyaCIRIT 1999SGR 00241, Generalitat de Catalunya-AGAUR 2009 SGR 501, Fundacio La marato de TV3 (090430), EU Commission (261357, H2020 No 874583, the ATHLETE project, and No 825712, the OBERON project). Maribel Casas holds a Miguel Servet fellowship (MS16/00128) funded by Instituto de Salud Carlos III and co-funded by European Social Fund "Investing in your future". We acknowledge support from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and the State Research Agency through the "Centro de Excelencia Severo Ochoa 2019-2023" Program (CEX2018-000806-S), and support from the Generalitat de Catalunya through the CERCA Program. INMA-Gipuzkoa: This study was funded by grants from Instituto de Salud Carlos III (FIS-PI13/02187 and FIS-PI18/01142 incl. FEDER funds), CIBERESP, Department of Health of the Basque Government (2015111065), and the Provincial Government of Gipuzkoa (DFG15/221) and annual agreements with the municipalities of the study area (Zumarraga, Urretxu, Legazpi, Azkoitia y Azpeitia y Beasain). INMA-Valencia: This study was funded by Grants from UE (FP7-ENV-2011 cod 282957 and HEALTH.2010.2.4.5-1), Spain: ISCIII (G03/176; FIS-FEDER: PI11/01007, PI11/02591, PI11/02038, PI12/00610, PI13/1944, PI13/2032, PI14/00891, PI14/01687, PI16/1288, and PI17/00663; Miguel Servet-FEDER MS11/00178, MS15/00025, and MSII16/00051), Generalitat Valenciana (AICO/2021/182, and FISABIO: UGP 15-230, UGP-15-244, and UGP-15-249), and Alicia Koplowitz Foundation 2017

Early-life dispersal traits of coastal fishes: an extensive database combining observations and growth models

Early-life stages play a key role in the dynamics of bipartite life cycle marine fish populations. Difficult to monitor, observations of these stages are often scattered in space and time. While Mediterranean coastlines have been highly surveyed, no effort was made to assemble historical observations. Here we build an exhaustive compilation of dispersal traits for coastal fish species, considering in-situ observations and growth models. Our database contains over 110 000 entries collected from 1993 to 2021 in various subregions. All observations are harmonized to inform on dates and geolocations of both spawning and settlement, along with pelagic larval durations. When applicable, missing dates and associated confidence intervals are reconstructed from Dynamic Energy Budget theory. Statistical analyses allow revisiting traits’ variability and revealing sampling biases across taxa, space and time, hence providing recommendations for future studies and sampling. Comparison of observed and modelled entries gives hints to improve the feed of observations into models. Overall, this long-term database is a crucial step to investigate how marine fish populations respond to global changes across environmental gradients