Fluoride in the bones of foxes (Vulpes vulpes Linneaus, 1758) and raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides Gray, 1834) from North-Western Poland

Secrets of the Astute Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes, Linnaeus, 1758): An Inside-Ecosystem Secret Agent Serving One Health

An ecosystem’s health is based on a delicate balance between human, nonhuman animal, and environmental health. Any factor that leads to an imbalance in one of the components results in disease. There are several bioindicators that allow us to evaluate the status of ecosystems. The red fox (Vulpes vulpes, Linnaeus, 1758) has the widest world distribution among mammals. It is highly adaptable, lives in rural and urban areas, and has a greatly diverse diet. Being susceptible to environmental pollution and zoonotic agents, red foxes may act as sentinels to detect environmental contaminants, climatic changes and to prevent and control outbreaks of emerging or re-emerging zoonosis. This paper aims to compile the latest information that is related to the red fox as a sentinel of human, animal, and environmental health.

A Rat Experimental Study of the Relationship Between Fluoride Exposure and Sensitive Biomarkers

Chronic excessive fluoride exposure impairs human health and damages not only the skeletal system and the teeth but also the soft tissues such as the brain, liver, kidneys, pancreas and spinal cord. However, there is limited research regarding the exposure levels and sensitive biomarkers. This study was aimed to establish the relationship between fluoride exposure and sensitive biomarkers. Ninety-six rats were randomly divided into six groups, with each group exposed to 0, 2, 4, 8, 16 and 32 mg NaF/(kg.bw), respectively. Correlation analysis of the exposure levels, the tissue distributions and the effects was done, and the possible mathematical relationship between the exposure and sensitive biomarkers is discussed. Our findings revealed that the level of serum fluoride can serve as one of the sensitive indicators to reflect the ex-exposure levels (in the present article, ex-exposure means the fluoride exposure pathway from the outside, which differs from the burden of the organism). Furthermore, an equation determining the external exposure dose of serum fluoride was obtained by fitting the coefficient 0.901. Simultaneously, enzyme levels were closely compared with the burden of the tissue, which showed that the activities of alkaline phosphatase significantly correlated with serum fluoride levels (R ² = -0.259, p < 0.05), as well as with the fluoride levels of the lung (R ² = 0.463, ρ < 0.01), the thymus (R ² = 0.429, ρ < 0.05) and the ovary/testicle (R ² = 0.685, ρ < 0.01). Results suggested that excessive fluoride exposure might affect reproduction by altering the activities of alkaline phosphatase. In addition, some indicators related to immunity and calcium absorption exhibited sensitivity to tissue burden, among which activating transcriptional factor 4 (ATF4), an important indicator involved in bone metabolism, was found sensitive to the ex-exposure level. These findings highlight the gap between health effects in epidemiology research and the total intake amount of fluoride from the environment. This study presents a novel insight into the method of establishing the relationship between fluoride exposure and sensitive biomarkers.

The Effect of Risk Factors on the Levels of Chemical Elements in the Tibial Plateau of Patients with Osteoarthritis following Knee Surgery

The aim of this study was to evaluate the aforementioned chemical elements in tibial plateau samples obtained during knee arthroplasty. The gender-specific analysis of chemical element levels in the bone samples revealed that there were statistically significant differences in the concentration of Pb and Se/Pb ratio. The contents of elements in the tibial plateau in the patients with osteoarthritis (OA) can be arranged in the following descending order: F(-) > K > Zn > Fe > Sr > Pb > Mn > Se > Cd > THg. We observed statistical significant effects of environmental factors including smoking, seafood diet, and geographical distribution on the levels of the elements in tibial bone. Significant positive correlation coefficients were found for the relationships K-Cd, Zn-Sr, Zn-F(-), THg-Pb, Pb-Cd, Se-Se/Pb, Se-Se/Cd, Se/Pb-Se/Cd, Pb-Cd/Ca, Cd-Cd/Ca, and F(-)-F(-)/Ca·1000. Significant negative correlations were found for the relationships THg-Se/Pb, Pb-Se/Pb, Cd-Se/Pb, K-Se/Cd, Pb-Se/Cd, Cd-Se/Cd, THg-Se/THg, Pb-Se/THg, Se-Pb/Cd, Zn-Cd/Ca, and Se/Cd-Cd/Ca. The results reported here may provide a basis for establishing reference values for the tibial plateau in patients with OA who had undergone knee replacement surgery. The concentrations of elements in the bone with OA were determined by age, presence of implants, smoking, fish and seafood diet, and sport activity.