Assessment of gonadal and thyroid histology in Gulf killifish (Fundulus grandis) from Barataria Bay Louisiana one year after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

A review of the toxicology of oil in vertebrates: what we have learned following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

In the wake of the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill, a number of government agencies, academic institutions, consultants, and nonprofit organizations conducted lab- and field-based research to understand the toxic effects of the oil. Lab testing was performed with a variety of fish, birds, turtles, and vertebrate cell lines (as well as invertebrates); field biologists conducted observations on fish, birds, turtles, and marine mammals; and epidemiologists carried out observational studies in humans. Eight years after the spill, scientists and resource managers held a workshop to summarize the similarities and differences in the effects of DWH oil on vertebrate taxa and to identify remaining gaps in our understanding of oil toxicity in wildlife and humans, building upon the cross-taxonomic synthesis initiated during the Natural Resource Damage Assessment. Across the studies, consistency was found in the types of toxic response observed in the different organisms. Impairment of stress responses and adrenal gland function, cardiotoxicity, immune system dysfunction, disruption of blood cells and their function, effects on locomotion, and oxidative damage were observed across taxa. This consistency suggests conservation in the mechanisms of action and disease pathogenesis. From a toxicological perspective, a logical progression of impacts was noted: from molecular and cellular effects that manifest as organ dysfunction, to systemic effects that compromise fitness, growth, reproductive potential, and survival. From a clinical perspective, adverse health effects from DWH oil spill exposure formed a suite of signs/symptomatic responses that at the highest doses/concentrations resulted in multi-organ system failure.

Enhanced removal and detection of benzo[a]pyrene in environmental water samples using carbon dots-modified magnetic nanocomposites

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) have already proven their efficacy in the disposal of a wide array of environmental contaminants in recent years. However, the difficulties in dispersibility and agglomeration of MNPs arising from its own physical and chemical properties limit its large-scale application. Herein, we fabricated the carbon dots/fatty acid-coated MNPs (CDs/C₁₁-Fe₃O₄) through a facile and simple method. To utilize the advantage of carbon dots, these limitations can be mitigated by diminishing the size of MNPs and modifying the surface of MNPs. Detailed characterization including VSM, FT-IR, XPS and TEM conformed that the higher adsorption capacity of CDs/C₁₁-Fe₃O₄ is mainly attributed to low average size (<8 nm), which is obviously lower than that of C₁₁-Fe₃O₄ (about 13 nm). The CDs/C₁₁-Fe₃O₄ showed higher adsorption performance than that of C₁₁-Fe₃O₄ nanocomposites (76.23 ng mg^-1 for CDs/C₁₁-Fe₃O₄ and 59.89 ng mg^-1 for C₁₁-Fe₃O₄). The adsorption processes of BaP on both C₁₁-Fe₃O₄ and CDs/C₁₁-Fe₃O₄ nanocomposites are exothermic, and well simulated by pseudo-second-order model. Moreover, the CDs/C₁₁-Fe₃O₄ were also applied for the detection of BaP in large-volume water samples, which satisfies the China environmental protection standard, are promising candidates for water remediation.