Age and Synchronization of Daphnia magna Affect Sensitivity to Teflubenzuron in Acute Standardized Toxicity Tests

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Diversity of cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins in Hartbeespoort Dam, South Africa

The South African Hartbeespoort Dam is known for the occurrence of heavy Microcystis blooms. Although a few other cyanobacterial genera have been described, no detailed study on those cyanobacteria and their potential toxin production has been conducted. The diversity of cyanobacterial species and toxins is most probably underestimated. To ascertain the cyanobacterial composition and presence of cyanobacterial toxins in Hartbeespoort Dam, water samples were collected in April 2011. In a polyphasic approach, 27 isolated cyanobacterial strains were classified morphologically and phylogenetically and tested for microcystins (MCs), cylindrospermopsin (CYN), saxitoxins (STXs) and anatoxin-a (ATX) by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) and screened for toxin-encoding gene fragments. The isolated strains were identified as Sphaerospermopsis reniformis, Sphaerospermopsis aphanizomenoides, Cylindrospermopsis curvispora, Raphidiopsis curvata, Raphidiopsis mediterrranea and Microcystis aeruginosa. Only one of the Microcystis strains (AB2011/53) produced microcystins (35 variants). Forty-one microcystin variants were detected in the environmental sample from Hartbeespoort Dam, suggesting the existence of other microcystin producing strains in Hartbeespoort Dam. All investigated strains tested negative for CYN, STXs and ATX and their encoding genes. The mcyE gene of the microcystin gene cluster was found in the microcystin-producing Microcystis strain AB2011/53 and in eight non-microcystin-producing Microcystis strains, indicating that mcyE is not a good surrogate for microcystin production in environmental samples.publishedVersio

Using Passive Samplers to Track per and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Emissions From the Paper Industry: Laboratory Calibration and Field Verification

Per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are becoming more stringently regulated and as such, a more diverse suite of environmental monitoring methods is needed. In this work a polar organic chemical integrative sampler (POCIS) with a nylon membrane and a combination of Oasis WAX and Fluoroflash® sorbents was calibrated in the laboratory and deployed in the field. A static renewal system was used to determine sampling rates for 12 PFAS which ranged between 0.69 ± 0.27 to 5.68 ± 1.80 L/day. POCIS devices were deployed for 10 days in lake Tyrifjorden, Norway which is known to be contaminated by a closed down factory producing paper products, in order to track the evolution of the PFAS contamination in a river system draining into the lake. Th sampling campaign enabled the stretch of the river which was responsible for the emissions of PFAS to lake Tyrifjorden to be identified. Freely dissolved concentrations determined with the POCIS were lowest at the site considered to reflect a diffuse PFAS contamination and highest at the site located downstream the factory. Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA) and perfluorooctane sulfonamidoacetic acid (EtFOSAA) dominated the concentration profile at this site. Emissions of PFAS to lake Tyrifjorden were estimated to be 3.96 g/day for the sum of the 12 investigated PFAS.publishedVersio

You can not force me!

Bacheloroppgave sykepleie, 2013Innen år 2040 kan antall pasienter med en demenssykdom være doblet. Derfor vil det også stilles høyere krav om rekruttering og kompetanse hos oss som sykepleiere (Sosial- og helsedirektoratet, 2007). Disse tallene viser at vi som sykepleiere bør ha større kompetanse innenfor demensomsorgen i årene fremover. Fagartikkelen Communication bridges for patients with dementia skriver også om viktigheten med god opplæring og ferdigheter hos sykepleiere som jobber med personer med demens (Elkins, 2011). Pasienter med demens som bor i sykehjem er sårbare mennesker. Disse personene kan utvikle angst, forvirring, vrangforestillinger og depresjoner, som igjen kan føre til en manglende følelse av kontroll over egen situasjon. Dette kan føles truende for pasientene, og kan bidra til å skape verbal og fysisk motstand i situasjoner hvor pleiepersonell skal yte omsorg (Hem, Gjerberg, Pedersen & Førde, 2010). Vårt tema omhandler bruk av tvang i forhold til medisinering hos personer med demens. Studien Bruk av tvang i sykehjem viser at 45% av pasientene som bor i skjermede enheter for demente og 37% av pasientene som bor i somatiske avdelinger ble utsatt for minst et tvangstiltak hver uke. Et av de vanligste tvangstiltakene var skjult medisinering (Kirkevold, 2012). Hvordan vi som sykepleiere kan forebygge bruk av tvang hos personer med demens kan være et stort og omfattende tema. Men det vil likevel være svært viktig å reflektere over dette i rollen som sykepleiere, da vi vil møte situasjoner hvor vi kan måtte yte tvang i alle helseinstitusjoner. Studien Is Covert Medication in Norwegian Nursing Homes Still a Problem viser at problematikken med skjult medisinering fortsatt er et problem blant pasienter i norske sykehjem (Kirkevold & Engedal, 2009). Vår interesse for faget har kommet gjennom de ulike praksisperiodene gjennom studiet, hvor vi flere ganger har opplevd bruk av tillitskapende tiltak og tvang. Vi har også jobb på et sykehjem begge to, hvor vi har utøvd tillitskapende tiltak med både positive og negative resultater

Assessing Stress Resilience After Smolt Transportation by Waterborne Cortisol and Feeding Behavior in a Commercial Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) Grow-Out Recirculating Aquaculture System

Sampling protocols and water quality sensors have been developed to assess fish health and welfare in recirculating aquaculture systems (RASs). Still, the use of fish-based non-invasive welfare indicators, reflecting the physiological state of the fish, is limited in this type of system. Cortisol, the major stress-coping hormone in fish, diffuses through the gills. Consequently, waterborne cortisol is a potential fish-based non-invasive welfare indicator in RAS. However, its use in commercial rearing systems is sparse. In this study, we evaluated water cortisol levels and feeding behavior as welfare indicators of newly inserted smolt in a commercial RAS for harvest size Atlantic salmon. The RAS consisted of two parallel fish rearing raceways, raceways 1 and 2, sharing the same water treatment with common outlets and inlets. The smolts were inserted in raceway 1 while salmon that have been in the system for 6 months or more were kept in raceway 2. The smolt insertion period was 3 days. Samples for water cortisol levels were withdrawn the day before, 1 and 3 days after the smolt insertion period. Smolt insertion resulted in elevated water cortisol concentrations in the entire system, with the highest values in raceway 1, one day after smolt insertion. Estimated cortisol production in newly inserted smolt decreased over time, was similar to what has been reported in salmon adapting to experimental tanks. Feeding behavior indicated that the appetite was not fully resumed in the newly inserted smolts, while the appetite of fish in raceway 2 was unaffected by smolt insertion. These results, obtained in a highly intensive commercial RAS, suggest that waterborne cortisol together with feeding behavior can be used as indicators for adaptive processes associated with stress resilience in farmed fish. Thus, they are promising non-invasive indicators for assessing the impact of potential stressors on fish welfare in this type of rearing system.publishedVersio

Environmental Contaminants in an Urban Fjord, 2022

Prosjektleder: Anders RuusThis report presents data from the second year of a new 5-year period of the Urban Fjord programme. The programme started in 2013 and has since been altered/advanced. In 2022 the programme covers sampling and analyses of sediment, polychaetes, krill, shrimps, blue mussels, herring, cod, eider, and herring gull from the Inner Oslofjord. In addition, samples of Harbour seals from the Outer Oslofjord are analysed. A total of 300 single compounds/isomers were analysed, and frequent detection was found of certain PFAS compounds (such as PFOS) in most matrices, certain QACs in sediment, MCCPs in most matrices (also SCCPs in birds and seals, as well as LCCPs in seals), D5 (siloxane) in all matrices, certain PBDEs (such as BDE 100) in most matrices, PCBs in all matrices, BCPS (phenolic) in seals and certain metals in all matrices. Biomagnification was observed for 28 PCB congeners and 6 PBDEs (lipid wt. basis). Furthermore, biomagnification was observed for 5 PFAS compounds, as well as for the metals As, Ag and Hg (wet wt. basis).MiljødirektoratetpublishedVersio

Investigation of Pectenotoxin Profiles in the Yellow Sea (China) Using a Passive Sampling Technique

Pectenotoxins (PTXs) are a group of lipophilic algal toxins. These toxins have been found in algae and shellfish from Japan, New Zealand, Ireland, Norway and Portugal. PTX profiles vary with geographic location of collection site. The aim of the present study was to investigate PTX profiles from the Yellow Sea, China. The sampling location was within an aquatic farm (N36°12.428′, E120°17.826′) near the coast of Qingdao, China, in the Yellow Sea from 28 July to 29 August 2006. PTXs in seawater were determined using a solid phase adsorption toxin tracking (SPATT) method. PTXs were analyzed by HPLC-MSMS. PTX-2, PTX-2 sec acid (PTX-2 SA) and 7-epi-PTX-2 SA were found in seawater samples. The highest levels of PTXs (107 ng/g of resin PTX-2, 50 ng/g of resin PTX-2 SA plus 7-epi-PTX-2 SA) in seawater were found on 1 August, 2006. From 1 August to 29 August, the levels of PTX-2 and PTX-2 SA decreased. In the same area, the marine algae, Dinophysis acuminata was found in the seawater in the summer months of 2006. This indicated that Dinophysis acuumuta might be the original source of PTXs. PTX-11 and PTX-12a/b were not found in seawater

Environmental Contaminants in an Urban Fjord, 2018

This programme, “Environmental Contaminants in an Urban Fjord” has covered sampling and analyses of sediment and organisms in a marine food web of the Inner Oslofjord, in addition to samples of blood and eggs from herring gull and eider duck. The programme also included inputs of pollutants via surface water (storm water), and effluent water and sludge from a sewage treatment plant. The bioaccumulation potential of the contaminants in the Oslo fjord food web was evaluated. The exposure to/accumulation of the contaminants was also assessed in birds. A vast number of chemical parameters have been quantified, in addition to some biological effect parameters in cod, and the report serves as valuable documentation of the concentrations of these chemicals in different compartments of the Inner Oslofjord marine ecosystem.publishedVersio

Do DOM quality and origin affect the uptake and accumulation of lipid-soluble contaminants in coastal filter feeders? An experimental simulation of teflubenzuron exposure to blue mussels

The increased export of terrestrial dissolved organic matter (terrDOM) to coastal marine ecosystems may affect local filter feeders and the local food web via the altered uptake of organic material and associated contaminants. To compare terrDOM to marine DOM (marDOM) as contaminant vectors to coastal biota, we exposed blue mussels (Mytilus sp.) to the different DOM types in combination with teflubenzuron, a widely applied lipophilic aquaculture medicine targeting salmon lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis). A 16-day exposure of the blue mussels to DOM and teflubenzuron was followed by a depuration phase of 20 days without teflubenzuron. We calculated teflubenzuron adsorption rates and bioaccumulation factors (BAF) using a Bayesian model, expecting teflubenzuron uptake to be greater with terrDOM than marDOM due to the higher prevalence of large amphipathic humic acids in terrDOM. Humic acids have strong absorption properties and are able to envelope lipophilic molecules. Thus, humic acids can function as an efficient contaminant vector when taken up by filter feeders. Although there were varying degrees of overlap, the mussels tended to accumulate higher amounts of teflubenzuron in the DOM treatments than in the seawater control (bioaccumulation factor [BAF] in seawater: median 106 L/kg; 2.5 %–97.5 % percentile: 69–160 L/kg). Contrary to expectations, mussels exposed to marDOM showed a trend toward more bioaccumulation of teflubenzuron than those exposed to terrDOM (BAF marine 144 L/kg; 102–221 L/kg versus BAF terrestrial: 121 L/kg; 82–186 L/kg). The highest teflubenzuron accumulation was observed with the 50:50 mixture of marDOM and terrDOM (BAF mix: 165 L/kg; 117–244 L/kg). The slight difference in DOM-type accumulation rates observed in this experiment—especially the accumulation rate of terrDOM compared to that of the seawater-only treatment type—was not considered environmentally relevant. Further studies are necessary to see if the observed trends transfer to complex environmental systems.publishedVersio

Screening program 2014: Fosfitter, utvalgte PBT stoffer og hypotesefri miljøscreening

The occurrence and environmental risk of a number of phosphites and selected PBT substances are reported for wastewater effluents and leachates, as well as sediments and biota from Oslofjord and Lake Mjøsa. In addition a suspect and non-target screening approach was applied to approximatley half of the biota samples.publishedVersio