An update of the Worldwide Integrated Assessment (WIA) on systemic insecticides. Part 2: impacts on organisms and ecosystems

New information on the lethal and sublethal effects of neonicotinoids and fipronil on organisms is presented in this review, complementing the previous WIA in 2015. The high toxicity of these systemic insecticides to invertebrates has been confirmed and expanded to include more species and compounds. Most of the recent research has focused on bees and the sublethal and ecological impacts these insecticides have on pollinators. Toxic effects on other invertebrate taxa also covered predatory and parasitoid natural enemies and aquatic arthropods. Little, while not much new information has been gathered on soil organisms. The impact on marine coastal ecosystems is still largely uncharted. The chronic lethality of neonicotinoids to insects and crustaceans, and the strengthened evidence that these chemicals also impair the immune system and reproduction, highlights the dangers of this particular insecticidal classneonicotinoids and fipronil. , withContinued large scale – mostly prophylactic – use of these persistent organochlorine pesticides has the potential to greatly decreasecompletely eliminate populations of arthropods in both terrestrial and aquatic environments. Sublethal effects on fish, reptiles, frogs, birds and mammals are also reported, showing a better understanding of the mechanisms of toxicity of these insecticides in vertebrates, and their deleterious impacts on growth, reproduction and neurobehaviour of most of the species tested. This review concludes with a summary of impacts on the ecosystem services and functioning, particularly on pollination, soil biota and aquatic invertebrate communities, thus reinforcing the previous WIA conclusions (van der Sluijs et al. 2015)

Bioavailability of Macro and Micronutrients Across Global Topsoils: Main Drivers and Global Change Impacts

Understanding the chemical composition of our planet\u27s crust was one of the biggest questions of the 20th century. More than 100 years later, we are still far from understanding the global patterns in the bioavailability and spatial coupling of elements in topsoils worldwide, despite their importance for the productivity and functioning of terrestrial ecosystems. Here, we measured the bioavailability and coupling of thirteen macro- and micronutrients and phytotoxic elements in topsoils (3–8 cm) from a range of terrestrial ecosystems across all continents (∼10,000 observations) and in response to global change manipulations (∼5,000 observations). For this, we incubated between 1 and 4 pairs of anionic and cationic exchange membranes per site for a mean period of 53 days. The most bioavailable elements (Ca, Mg, and K) were also amongst the most abundant in the crust. Patterns of bioavailability were biome-dependent and controlled by soil properties such as pH, organic matter content and texture, plant cover, and climate. However, global change simulations resulted in important alterations in the bioavailability of elements. Elements were highly coupled, and coupling was predictable by the atomic properties of elements, particularly mass, mass to charge ratio, and second ionization energy. Deviations from the predictable coupling-atomic mass relationship were attributed to global change and agriculture. Our work illustrates the tight links between the bioavailability and coupling of topsoil elements and environmental context, human activities, and atomic properties of elements, thus deeply enhancing our integrated understanding of the biogeochemical connections that underlie the productivity and functioning of terrestrial ecosystems in a changing world

Resorption of the calcium phosphate layer on S53P4 bioactive glass by osteoclasts

Clinically, S53P4 bioactive glass (BAG) has shown very promising results in bone infection treatment, but it is also known to degrade very slowly in vivo. To evaluate which mechanisms (cellular or dissolution) can play a role in the degradation of S53P4 BAG and S53P4 BAG putty, in vitro degradation experiments at different pH (7.4 and 4.6) were performed. Micro computed tomography showed a rapid dissolution of the synthetic binder in the putty formulation, within 12 h is simulated body fluid (pH = 7.4), leaving behind only loose granules. Therefore the degradation of the loose granules was investigated further. Significant weight loss was observed and ion chromatography showed that Ca2+, Na+ and PO43- ions were released from S54P4 BAG granules in the two fluids. It was observed that the weight loss and ion release were increased when the pH of the fluid was decreased to 4.6. Osteoclasts are known to create such a low pH when resorbing bone and therefore their capacity to degrade S53P4 surfaces were studied as well. Scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy confirmed that osteoclasts were able to create resorption pits in the calcium phosphate layer on S53P4 BAG surfaces. The silica of the BAG, located underneath the calcium phosphate, seemed to hinder further osteclastic resorption of the material. To our knowledge we were the first to observe actively resorbing osteoclasts on S53P4 bioactive glass surfaces, in vitro. Future research is needed to define the specific role osteoclasts play in the degradation of BAG in vivo. [GRAPHICS]

Assessment of Growth Reduction of Five Clinical Pathogens by Injectable S53P4 Bioactive Glass Material Formulations

The one-stage treatment of chronic osteomyelitis with S53P4 bioactive glass (BAG) granules has shown excellent results. However, these granules possess suboptimal handling properties. Therefore, new injectable S53P4 putty materials have been developed by the incorporation of a synthetic binder to contain glass granules. The goal of the current study was to assess their potential to eradicate five clinically relevant pathogens: methicillin sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA), methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Enterococcus coli (E. coli), Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa). As a control, S53P4 granules (500-800 μm) and S66 glass (< 45 μm) were used. To evaluate the antimicrobial properties, the materials were cultured with the pathogens in a Müller-Hinton II broth for a week with daily colony forming unit (CFU) counting. One of the tested putty formulations was observed to reduce the number of CFU/mL compared to a negative control (no material, only pathogen in broth) for E. coli, E. faecalis and P. aeruginosa. However, none of the tested putty formulations was able to completely eradicate the pathogens in the broths, which would be needed for safe infection treatment. The results obtained for the control materials were unexpected. S66 glass showed full eradication of P. aeruginosa and reduced the number of CFUs of other pathogens, while the S53P4 granules did not show eradication. The observations on the loose S53P4 granules in this study contradict available literature, which needs further investigation. The results obtained in this study also stretch the importance for a better understanding of the underlying antimicrobial mechanism of S53P4 BAG and how this is related to the dosage. In addition, it should be elucidated how these antimicrobial properties are affected by changes in the material formulation, for example by addition of binders to improve the handling properties or by changing the surface area

Multimodal pore formation in calcium phosphate cements

\u3cp\u3eCalcium phosphate cements (CPCs) are commonly used as bone substitute materials. However, their slow degradation rate and lack of macroporosity hinders new bone formation. Poly(dl-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) incorporation is of great interest as, upon degradation, produces acidic by-products that enhance CPC degradation. Yet, new bone formation is delayed until PLGA degradation occurs a few weeks after implantation. Therefore, the aim of this study was to accelerate the early stage pore formation within CPCs in vitro. With that purpose, we incorporated the water-soluble porogen sucrose at different weight percentages (10 or 20 wt %) to CPC and CPC/PLGA composites. The results revealed that incorporation of sucrose porogens increased mass loss within the first week of in vitro degradation in groups containing sucrose compared to control groups. After week 1, a further mass loss was observed related to PLGA and CPC degradation. Macroporosity analysis confirmed that macroporosity formation is influenced by the dissolution of sucrose at an early stage and by the degradation of PLGA and CPC at a later stage. We concluded that the combination of sucrose and PLGA porogens in CPC is a promising approach to promote early stage bone tissue ingrowth and complete replacement of CPC through multimodal pore formation.\u3c/p\u3