Phylogenetic tree of nuclear receptor homologs RXR, RAR and PPAR among various phyla.

<p>The alignment was constructed using the DBD plus portion of LBD and phylogenetic relationship was conducted by Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian Inference. Maximum Likelihood bootstrap support values (percentage of 1000 BS) and Bayesian posterior probabilities are provided above the nodes separated by slash. The <i>Suberitus domuncula</i> SdNR1 receptor was used as outgroup. Bf: <i>Branchiostoma florida</i>; Bg: <i>Biomphalaria glabrata</i>; Cc: <i>Ciona intestinalis</i>; Cf: <i>Chlamys farreri</i>; Cg: <i>Crassostrea gigas;</i> Dm: <i>Drosophila melanogaster</i>; Hd: <i>Haliotis diversicolor</i>; Hr: <i>Halocynthia roretzi</i>; Hs: <i>Homo sapiens</i>; Lg: <i>Lottia gigantea</i>; Ls: <i>Lymnaea stagnalis</i>; Nl: <i>Nucella lapillus</i>; Pm: <i>Polyandrocarpa misakiensis</i>; Sj: <i>Schistosoma japonicum</i>; Sk: <i>Saccoglossus kowalesvski</i>; Sm: <i>Schistosoma mansoni</i>; Sp: <i>Strongylocentrotus purpuratus</i>; Ta: <i>Trichoplax adhearens</i>; Rc: <i>Reishia clavigera</i>; Tcy: <i>Tripedalia cystophora</i>. ER: estrogen receptor. Red: <i>C</i>. <i>gigas</i> receptors; Orange: Deuterostomia; Purple: Lophotrochozoa; Blue: Ecdysozoa; Green: other metazoans.</p

Tracing engineered nanomaterials in biological tissues using coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microscopy – A critical review

<div><p></p><p>Nanomaterials (NMs) are used in an extremely diverse range of products and are increasingly entering the environment, driving a need to better understand their potential health effects in both humans and wildlife. A major challenge in nanoparticle (eco)toxicology is the ability to localise NMs post exposure, to enable more targeted biological effects analyses. A range of imaging techniques have been applied to do so, but they are limited, requiring either extensive processing of the material, staining or use of high intensity illumination that can lead to photo damage and/or have limited tissue penetration. Coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microscopy is a label-free imaging technique, providing contrast based on the intrinsic molecular vibrations of a specimen, circumventing the need for chemical perturbation by exogenous labels. CARS uses near infra-red excitation wavelengths which allow microscopy at depths of several hundred microns in intact tissues and minimises photo-damage to live and delicate samples. Here we provide an overview of the CARS process and present a series of illustrative examples demonstrating its application for detecting NMs within biological tissues, ranging from isolated cells to whole organisms and including materials spanning metals to polymers. We highlight the advantages of this technique which include chemically selective live imaging and substantial depth penetration, but we also discuss its limitations when applied to nanotoxicology, which most notably include the lack of resolution for studies on single nanoparticles.</p></div

Role of Marine Snows in Microplastic Fate and Bioavailability

Microplastics contaminate global oceans and are accumulating in sediments at levels thought sufficient to leave a permanent layer in the fossil record. Despite this, the processes that vertically transport buoyant polymers from surface waters to the benthos are poorly understood. Here we demonstrate that laboratory generated marine snows can transport microplastics of different shapes, sizes, and polymers away from the water surface and enhance their bioavailability to benthic organisms. Sinking rates of all tested microplastics increased when incorporated into snows, with large changes observed for the buoyant polymer polyethylene with an increase in sinking rate of 818 m day^–1 and for denser polyamide fragments of 916 m day^–1. Incorporation into snows increased microplastic bioavailability for mussels, where uptake increased from zero to 340 microplastics individual^–1 for free microplastics to up to 1.6 × 10⁵ microplastics individual^–1 when incorporated into snows. We therefore propose that marine snow formation and fate has the potential to play a key role in the biogeochemical processing of microplastic pollution

Stereo view of ATRA bound to the ligand binding pocket of a CgRAR model.

<p>Superimposition of model CgRAR (purple) on the crystal structure of HsRARγ LBD (green) bound to human RAR agonist ATRA. Original ATRA (grey) bound to HsRARγ LBD template (pdb ID: 2LBD); ATRA (light blue) to CgRAR wildtype, ATRA (dark blue) bound to mutated CgRAR. Divergent residues as well as arginines binding to the COOH group of ATRA including hydrogen bonds are indicated.</p

Exon/intron structure, coding sequence and protein organization of CgRXR-1, CgRXR-2, CgRAR and CgPPAR.

<p>Blue line: genomic sequence (bp); red rectangles: exons forming CDS (bp); roman numerals: number of exon; Arabic numbers: position and length for either CDS (bp) or protein (aa). Green boxes/numbers: DBD position in protein; purple boxes/numbers: LBD position in protein.</p

Oyster embryo development after 21 h of exposure to TBTO, rosiglitazone (Rosi).

<p><b>All-<i>trans</i> retinoic acid (ATRA) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). a–k)</b> Example of oyster development under a light (grey) and differential interference contrast (blue) microscope. <b>l)</b> Percentage of perfect developed D-shaped larvae and abnormal developed larvae grouped in in four abnormal development categories. Bold numbers next to pie charts: percentage perfect D-shaped (left) and total abnormal D-shaped (right) larvae. Non-bold numbers: percentage of abnormal developed categories to total percentages of abnormal developed D-shaped larvae. The standard error of percentage larval development did not exceed ±6% (not shown). Italic numbers: swimming larvae in the water column per ml (la/ml). Oyster individual categories: perfectly developed D-shaped larvae (<b>a, g;</b> blue), extruding velum (<b>b, h;</b> red), protruding soft tissue, (<b>c, I;</b> green), shell partly developed (<b>d;</b> purple), arrested shell/shell not developed (<b>e-f, k;</b> orange).</p

Distribution of Bisphenol A concentration (ng/ml) in NHANES 2003/04 and 2005/06.

<p>Note: Boxes represent upper and lower quartiles with median line, whiskers end at 5^th percentile (below LLOD) and 95^th percentile of distribution. Data from adults aged 18 to 74 years.</p

Is There a Causal Association between Genotoxicity and the Imposex Effect?-6

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Is There a Causal Association between Genotoxicity and the Imposex Effect?"</p><p></p><p>Environmental Health Perspectives 2005;114(S-1):20-26.</p><p>Published online 21 Oct 2005</p><p>PMCID:PMC1874168.</p><p>This is an Open Access article: verbatim copying and redistribution of this article are permitted in all media for any purpose, provided this notice is preserved along with the article's original DOI</p>nital organs such as penis and vas deferens in males () and females (). Values for 149 samples analyzed with 2,945 males and 2,321 females are shown, including calculated regressions: () = 6.82 + (77.7 + 6.82) / (1 + 10 ); = 0.745; < 0.0005. () = 6.85 + (79.0 + 6.85) / (1 + 10 ); = 0.788; < 0.0005

Fully adjusted^* survey weighted model estimates (odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals) of disease associations per standard deviation increase of Bisphenol A concentration: adults aged 18 to 74.

*<p>models adjusted for age, gender, ethnicity, education, income, BMI, waist circumference, smoking status and urinary creatinine.</p

Scanning electron micrographs of depicting () imposex stage 3a with a penis and an anterior section of the vas deferens and () imposex stage 5a with a fully developed penis, vas deferens, and a prostate gland supplanting the vagina

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Is There a Causal Association between Genotoxicity and the Imposex Effect?"</p><p></p><p>Environmental Health Perspectives 2005;114(S-1):20-26.</p><p>Published online 21 Oct 2005</p><p>PMCID:PMC1874168.</p><p>This is an Open Access article: verbatim copying and redistribution of this article are permitted in all media for any purpose, provided this notice is preserved along with the article's original DOI</p> Abbreviations: gp, genital papilla; p, penis; pr, prostate gland; vd, vas deferens