Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, chlorinated pesticides (DDTs), hexachlorocyclohexane, and hexachlorobenzene residues in smoked seafood.

Smoked seafoods were screened for the presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and other organochlorine compounds. Total PAH concentrations ranged from 46.5 ng/g (wet weight) for smoked swordfish to 124.0 ng/g (wet weight) for smoked herring. Among the carcinogenic PAHs, benzo(a)pyrene ranged from undetectable levels for several smoked fish to 0.7 ng/g for Scottish salmon, dibenzo(ah)anthracene was not present in any of the samples analyzed, and benzo(a)anthracene was found in all samples and at particularly high levels in salmon (23.2 ng/g). Benzo(a)pyrene concentrations were below the tolerance limit for all samples. PCB concentrations for the different samples ranged from 2 to 30 ng/g. Chlorinated pesticides (DDTs: p,p'-DDE, p,p'-DDT, o,p'-DDT, p,p'-DDD, and o,p'-DDD) were detected at levels ranging from 0.2 ng/g (wet weight) in bluefin tuna to 17.5 ng/g (wet weight) in salmon. Hexachlorocyclohexane isomers (alphaHCH + betaHCH + gammaHCH) were present in higher amounts in eels (6.5 ng/g) than in the other smoked fish. For 40% of the samples, PCB concentrations exceeded the limit fixed by the European Union, while pesticide levels were below the maximum acceptable limit proposed by the Food and Agriculture Organization

Relationship between total mercury concentration and fish size in two pelagic fish species: implications for consumer health.

Total mercury concentrations were determined in different size classes of two pelagic fish species of great commercial importance, horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus) and Mediterranean horse mackerel (Trachurus mediterraneus), to evaluate the relationship between total mercury concentration and fish size and to determine whether any differences might affect the quantitative assessment of mercury exposure for consumers. Mercury concentrations in horse mackerel and in Mediterranean horse mackerel were between 0.16 and 2.41 microg g(-1) of weight wet (mean, 0.68 microg g(-1)) and between 0.09 and 1.62 microg g(-1) (mean, 0.51 microg g(-1)), respectively. The regression curves revealed a significant relationship between mercury concentration and fish size (length and weight) for both species. Concentrations exceeding the proposed limit for human consumption were observed in 33.3% of the samples of both species and were associated with larger specimens. The consumption of the larger specimens could lead to an increase in mercury exposure for consumers. Estimated weekly intakes, calculated on the basis of concentrations relative to each size class, revealed a high exposure associated with the consumption of fish larger than 30 cm (horse mackerel, 11.63 to 20.16 microg/kg of body weight; Mediterranean horse mackerel, 5.86 to 13.55 microg/kg of body weight). An understanding of the factors leading to an increase in mercury exposure can help consumers make informed decisions about eating fish

Health risk of coplanar polychlorinated biphenyl congeners in edible fish from the Mediterranean Sea.

The muscle tissue of different species of fish was analyzed for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in order to estimate the daily intake of these contaminants. Contamination levels among the different species varied between 108 and 678 ng/g lipid weight. Isomer-specific analysis in the muscle tissue of the various fish revealed a profile dominated by hexa- and pentachlorobiphenyls, followed by hepta- and tetrachlorobiphenyls. Other congeners, including those with fewer than four or more than nine chlorine atoms, were below the instrumental limit of detection in all samples. PCB dietary intake was below the range of 1 to 4 pg 2,3,7,8-tetrachloro-p-dioxin equivalents per kg body weight per day set by the World Health Organization. From a public health point of view, there is no indication of important risks associated with the consumption of these seafoods

Raman spectroscopy - A powerful tool for in situ planetary science

This paper introduces Raman spectroscopy and discusses various scenarios where it might be applied to in situ planetary missions. We demonstrate the extensive capabilities of Raman spectroscopy for planetary investigations and argue that this technique is essential for future planetary missions

Cellular Prion Protein Expression in the Brain Tissue from Brucella ceti-Infected Striped Dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba)

Brucella ceti, a zoonotic pathogen of major concern to cetacean health and conservation, is responsible for severe meningo-encephalitic/myelitic lesions in striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba), often leading to their stranding and death. This study investigated, for the first time, the cellular prion protein (PrPc) expression in the brain tissue from B. ceti-infected, neurobrucellosis-affected striped dolphins. Seven B. ceti-infected, neurobrucellosis-affected striped dolphins, found stranded along the Italian coastline (6) and in the Canary Islands (1), were investigated, along with five B. ceti-uninfected striped dolphins from the coast of Italy, carrying no brain lesions, which served as negative controls. Western Blot (WB) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) with an anti-PrP murine monoclonal antibody were carried out on the brain parenchyma of these dolphins. While PrPc IHC yielded inconclusive results, a clear-cut PrPc expression of different intensity was found by means of WB analyses in the brain tissue of all the seven herein investigated, B. ceti-infected and neurobrucellosis-affected cetacean specimens, with two dolphins stranded along the Italian coastline and one dolphin beached in Canary Islands also exhibiting a statistically significant increase in cerebral PrPc expression as compared to the five Brucella spp.-negative control specimens. The significantly increased PrPc expression found in three out of seven B. ceti-infected, neurobrucellosis-affected striped dolphins does not allow us to draw any firm conclusion(s) about the putative role of PrPc as a host cell receptor for B. ceti. Should this be the case, an upregulation of PrPc mRNA in the brain tissue of neurobrucellosis-affected striped dolphins could be hypothesized during the different stages of B. ceti infection, as previously shown in murine bone marrow cells challenged with Escherichia coli. Noteworthy, the inflammatory infiltrates seen in the brain and in the cervico-thoracic spinal cord segments from the herein investigated, B. ceti-infected and neurobrucellosis-affected striped dolphins were densely populated by macrophage/histiocyte cells, often harboring Brucella spp. antigen in their cytoplasm, similarly to what was reported in macrophages from mice experimentally challenged with B. abortus. Notwithstanding the above, much more work is needed in order to properly assess the role of PrPc, if any, as a host cell receptor for B. ceti in striped dolphins

Hyperspectral remote sensing of cyanobacterial pigments as indicators for cell populations and toxins in eutrophic lakes

The growth of mass populations of toxin-producing cyanobacteria is a serious concern for the ecological status of inland waterbodies and for human and animal health. In this study we examined the performance of four semi-analytical algorithms for the retrieval of chlorophyll a (Chl a) and phycocyanin (C-PC) from data acquired by the Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager-2 (CASI-2) and the Airborne Imaging Spectrometer for Applications (AISA) Eagle sensor. The retrieval accuracies of the semi-analytical models were compared to those returned by optimally calibrated empirical band-ratio algorithms. The best-performing algorithm for the retrieval of Chl a was an empirical band-ratio model based on a quadratic function of the ratio of re!ectance at 710 and 670 nm (R2=0.832; RMSE=29.8%). However, this model only provided a marginally better retrieval than the best semi-analytical algorithm. The best-performing model for the retrieval of C-PC was a semi-analytical nested band-ratio model (R2=0.984; RMSE=3.98 mg m−3). The concentrations of C-PC retrieved using the semi-analytical model were correlated with cyanobacterial cell numbers (R2=0.380) and the particulate and total (particulate plus dissolved) pools of microcystins (R2=0.858 and 0.896 respectively). Importantly, both the empirical and semi-analytical algorithms were able to retrieve the concentration of C-PC at cyanobacterial cell concentrations below current warning thresholds for cyanobacteria in waterbodies. This demonstrates the potential of remote sensing to contribute to early-warning detection and monitoring of cyanobacterial blooms for human health protection at regional and global scales

Immunohistochemical investigations on Brucella ceti-infected, neurobrucellosis-affected striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba)

Bacteria of the genus Brucella cause brucellosis, an infectious disease common to humans as well as to terrestrial and aquatic mammals. Since 1994 several cases of Brucella spp. infection have been reported in marine mammals worldwide. Indeed, since human brucellosis ranks as one of the most common bacterial zoonotic infections on a global scale, it is necessary to increase our knowledge about it also in the marine environment. Brucella ceti, which is phenotypically similar to other smooth brucellae as B. abortus and B. melitensis, shares with the latter two the same surface antigens that are routinely used for the serological diagnosis of Brucella spp. infection. Marine mammal Brucella spp. infections are characterized by a pathogenicity similar to their terrestrial counterparts, with the occurrence of abortion, stillbirth and orchitis and an involvement of the host’s central nervous system (CNS), similarly to what happens in mankind. While sero-epidemiological data suggest that Brucella spp. infection is widespread globally, detecting Brucella spp.-associated antigens by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in tissues from infected animals is often troublesome. The present study was aimed at investigating, by means of IHC based upon the utilization of an anti-Brucella LPS monoclonal antibody (MAb), the CNS immunoreactivity (IR) shown by B. ceti-infected, neurobrucellosis-affected striped dolphins