1,720,971 research outputs found
Environmental exposure to non-essential trace elements in two bat species from urbanised (Tadarida teniotis) and open land (Miniopterus schreibersii) areas in Italy
Get PDFBats are particularly suited as bioindicators of trace element pollution due to their longevity and their position in the trophic chain. In this study, the concentrations of ten non-essential trace elements (Al, As, Ba, Cd, Hg, Pb, Sb, Sr, Th, Tl) were determined in the tissues (whole body, skin-fur, skinned body, liver, kidney and bone) of lactant Tadarida teniotis from a nursery colony in Rome. A large number of bats from this nursery died before fledging and had bone deformities and fractures. The concentrations of non-essential trace elements in bone and whole body were also analysed in adult specimens of Miniopterus schreibersii from a colony located in a natural park in Northern Italy. In lactant T. teniotis, the Pb concentration decreased in the following order: bone>liver>skinned body>whole body>skin-fur>kidney, and exceeded the toxic threshold associated with negative effects reported for different mammalian species. The levels of the other non-essential trace elements were within a range indicative of low environmental contamination in both species. Significant interspecies differences (P < 0.05) were observed for concentrations of Pb and Ba, higher in the bones of T. teniotis, and of Cd, Hg and Sr, higher in the bones of M. schreibersii. In lactant T. teniotis, the different sources of Pb exposure, through inhalation and/or food, may represent a potential threat to the colony of this synanthropic European bat
Evaluation of environmental residues of ivermectin produced by swine farms
No full textIn recent years, interest in ecotoxicology has increased, especially regarding pharmaceutical residues. The toxic effect of environmental residues of ivermectin is proven in several species. Those residues may represent a possible threat to non-target organisms, among which fish and some arthropods, who suffer serious effects when in contact with the lowest doses of the drug (33.3 PPB in dung beetle 1). In this study, our aim was to follow the route of ivermectin from the animal (feces) to the sewage, ending in the soil, and to understand if the concentrations reached in the soil were capable of causing the toxic effects reported in the literature. The same number of samples were collected from two swine farms in Emilia Romagna, Italy: an intensive and an extensive organic farm, which served as the negative control. We analyzed fecal samples from the rectal ampoule of sows one day after subcutaneous treatment (300 μg per kilogram of body weight), and samples of sewage from collection tanks and soil at the time of fertilization. An analytical method recently published was used for the extraction and purification of samples 2. The method was then adapted and validated for LC/MS/MS analysis to reach PPT concentrations. The limit of detection (LOD) was 150 PPT and the limit of quantification (LOQ) was 300 PPT in the extract. Doramectin, a macrocyclic lactone like ivermectin, was used as the process standard. The samples were concentrated to the fourth or eighth power to measure the analyte in feces, sewage, and soil. The results were interpreted using a calibration curve, with intercept values, indicating excellent linearity (R2>0.999). The measured levels in the intensive farm samples were 156-589 PPB in feces, 327-674 PPT in sewage, and 150-500 PPT in soil. Even if ivermectin in feces reaches concentrations measurable in PPB, the dilution provoked by sewage stocking and distribution on the fields for fertilization may considerably reduce the environmental risk. Ivermectin was not detected in samples from the organic farm, confirming that the antiparasitic drug was not in use at the farm. These preliminary results suggest that ivermectin residues could be irrelevant to cause toxic effects on non-target species. Moreover, further studies and analysis will be necessary to deepen the knowledge of the impact of ivermectin on the swine farm
Does Ivermectin Pollute the Surroundings of Swine Farms?
No full text: Pharmaceuticals are emerging environmental pollutants, with macrocyclic lactones like ivermectin raising concerns due to their widespread use and persistence. This study investigated ivermectin residues in intensive swine farms in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, focusing on treated sows' faeces and environmental samples. Two farms using ivermectin and a control farm without antiparasitic drugs were studied. Faecal, slurry, soil, and wastewater samples were collected at three treatment points: before, and 1 and 10 days post-treatment. Ivermectin was administered either orally or by injection and analysed via liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Faecal residues varied significantly with administration route: orally treated sows had higher concentrations in faeces shortly after treatment (median = 930.25 μg kg-1) than injected sows (median = 14.84 μg kg-1). However, 10 days post-treatment, injected sows exhibited higher residue levels in faeces, indicating different excretion patterns. Soil samples fertilised with farm slurry contained ivermectin residues, sometimes exceeding ecotoxicological thresholds for non-target species like dung beetles and earthworms, with the highest concentration reaching 39.23 μg kg-1. No residues above detection limits were found in slurry or wastewater, likely due to ivermectin's hydrophobicity and dilution. The findings underscore the environmental risks of ivermectin use in swine farming and emphasise the need for sustainable drug management. Broader studies are necessary to refine residue distribution patterns and improve environmental guidelines, particularly for other livestock systems and soil types, to ensure ecological sustainability
Sustainable dairy farming and fipronil risk in circular feeds: insights from an Italian case study
Get PDFCircular feeds, such as grain dry distillers, citrus pulp, cane molasses, and potatoes peels, are co-products of biomass processes. They are currently proposed in animal nutrition to improve the environmental and economic sustainability of the food production chain. In this paper, we report a case study involving fipronil, a pesticide currently not authorized for agriculture within the EU, but used in the Americas, Eastern Europe, and Asia. Fipronil was found at a mean level of 0.49 mg/kg, in a grain dry distiller batch administered to dairy cows. This finding, along with other evidence of potential fipronil presence in feed materials, prompted us to evaluate the risk to food safety and food security from 12 different conventional and sustainable feeding regimens. To this purpose, we considered a fipronil feed-to-milk carry-over rate of 0.52, the tolerance levels in fodders and food from The EU, Codex Alimentarius, and US-EPA, and the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) of 0.0002 mg/kg body weight for adverse effects on thyroid function in dairy cows. Under a conservative scenario, fipronil-contaminated potato peels and grain distillers in the feeding regimens may play a pivotal role in exceeding the EU Maximum Residue Level (MRL) in bovine milk and fat (0.005 and 0.030 mg/kg, respectively). Hay-based diets with soybean hulls and cane molasses show negligible risks (Hazard Index ∼ 1). In all cases, the ADI exceedance suggests the need to evaluate thyroid function in dairy cows exposed to fipronil as a food security factor
Advanced LC-MS/MS Technique for Environmental Ivermectin Detection
No full textIvermectin is a widely used broad-spectrum antiparasitic agent employed in both companion animals and livestock. While generally safe for mammals, its acute and chronic toxicity has been proven in many nontarget fish and insect species at low concentrations. The present study aimed to develop, validate, and test a more accurate method for ivermectin detection in various matrices (feces, soil, and sewage) for environmental studies. The method was validated using the Eurachem network. The applicability of the method was established at 1.5-500 mu g/L for feces and 1.5-15 mu g/L for sewage and soil. No dilution effect was observed at 5000 mu g/L. The limit of detection was 0.66, 0.54, and 0.36 mu g/kg for feces, soil, and sewage, respectively. The limit of quantification was set at 1.5 mu g/kg and verified experimentally. Overall recovery was 92.27 +/- 12.01% for feces and 96.19 +/- 13.78% in soil, reaching a linearity of at least 0.99. The present method was successfully applied to 228 feces, 20 sewage, and 105 soil samples. This validated method enables the precise detection and quantification of ivermectin in the tested matrices, thereby envisaging potential applications in environmental monitoring studies with improved sensitivity and specificity
Quantitative determination of tetracyclines in medicated feed for food-producing animals by HPLC–DAD
No full textTetracyclines are a group of antibiotic substances largely administered through medicated feed to control diseases in food-producing animals. Fine dosing of antibiotics contained in medicated feed is crucial for the success of the treatment as well as minimising potential threats such as the spread of antimicrobial resistance and the transfer of antibiotic residues in food. A rapid analytical method based on HPLC with diode array detection (HPLC–DAD) was developed to quantify oxytetracycline, chlortetracycline and doxycycline in medicated feed. The reported method underwent in-house validation and was found to be suitable for the quantification of three target tetracyclines within the concentration range of 40–1000 mg kg−1 in official routine analysis. The method was applied to 103 official samples in the framework of the Italian National Plan on animal feed during the years 2021–2023 and nine non-compliant concentrations were identified in swine and fish feed samples
Iron Content, Iron Speciation and Phycocyanin in Commercial Samples of Arthrospira spp.
Get PDFCyanobacteria are characterized by high iron content. In this research, we collected ten commercial samples of Arthrospira spp. sold as food supplement to determine iron content and assess whether iron speciation showed variability among samples and changed respect to A. platensis grown in controlled conditions. Particular attention was also paid to phycocyanin, as an iron-binding protein. In six of the ten samples, 14 essential and non-essential trace elements were analysed using ICP-MS. Iron content measured in samples using atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) varied from 353 (sample S5) to 1459 (sample S7) µg g−1 dry weight and was in the range of those reported by other authors in commercial supplements. Iron speciation was studied using size exclusion chromatography followed by the analysis of the collected fraction for the determination of iron by AAS and for protein separation using SDS-PAGE. Overlapping chromatographic profiles were obtained for total proteins, phycocyanin and iron, although quantitative differences were evidenced among the samples analysed. In most samples, iron was mainly bound to ligands with high molecular mass; however, in four samples iron was also bound to ligands with low molecular mass. In fractions containing the most relevant iron burden, the principal protein was phycocyanin, confirming its role as an iron-binding protein in commercial samples
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
- …
