BioRisk最新文献

{"title":"Environmental impact assessment of discharge of treated wastewater effluent in Upper Iskar sub-catchment","authors":"Veronika Yordanova, Y. Todorova, M. Belouhova, L. Kenderov, Valentina Lyubomirova, Y. Topalova","doi":"10.3897/biorisk.17.77381","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3897/biorisk.17.77381","url":null,"abstract":"The upper Iskar sub-catchment is one of Bulgaria’s most important economic and socially significant water sources because of its role in supplying Sofia with drinking water. Among the critical factors that carry potential high-risk levels for water quality in this hydrosystem are the discharge from the Samokov Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), diffuse pollution from agriculture, and the percolation of untreated sewage from the small villages. In this study, we assessed the effect of treated wastewater effluent on water quality, and on the ecological state and microbial communities in the river sector of Samokov’s WWTP discharge area. The assessment was based on the complex use of chemical and microbiological indicators and biological quality elements. The concentrations of organics, nutrients and microcomponents were determined with results confirming the expected increase for parameters associated with the discharge of urban wastewater. The ecological state, according to macrozoobenthos indicators, was “good” throughout the river sector but local deterioration was registered in a proximal location downstream of the WWTP outfall. The analysis of stream water and bed sediment microbial communities by a fluorescent technique showed the high metabolic activity and intensive transformation processes in addition to high abundance registered with standard cultivation methods. The importance of the studied sub-catchment for the functioning of the urban water cycle, and for the quality of Sofia’s drinking water, underlines the need to extend an existing monitoring program with a more detailed assessment of the environmental impact of wastewater discharge.","PeriodicalId":38674,"journal":{"name":"BioRisk","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-04-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46735273","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cellular susceptibility and oxidative stress response to menadione of logarithmic, quiescent, and nonquiescent Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell populations","authors":"P. Marinovska, T. Todorova, K. Boyadzhiev, E. Pisareva, A. Tomova, P. Parvanova, M. Dimitrova, S. Chankova, V. Petrova","doi":"10.3897/biorisk.17.77320","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3897/biorisk.17.77320","url":null,"abstract":"The aim of the present study was to compare cellular susceptibility and oxidative stress response of S. cerevisiae logarithmic (log), quiescent (Q), and non-quiescent (NQ) cell populations to menadione – a well-known inducer of oxidative stress. Three main approaches were used: microbiological – cell survival, molecular – constant field gel electrophoresis for detection of DNA double-strand breaks (DSB), and biochemical – measurement of reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, oxidized proteins, lipid peroxidation, glutathione, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase on S. cerevisiae haploid strain BY4741. The doses causing 20% (LD20) and 50% (LD50) lethality were calculated. The effect of menadione as a well-known oxidative stress inducer is compared in the log, Q, and NQ cells. Survival data reveal that Q cells are the most susceptible to menadione with LD50 corresponding to 9 µM menadione. On the other hand, dose-dependent DSB induction is found only in Q cells confirming the results shown above. No effect on DSBs levels is observed in log and NQ cells. Further, the oxidative stress response of the cell populations is clarified. Results show significantly higher levels of SOD and ROS in Q cells than in log cells after the treatment with 100 µM menadione. On the other side, higher induction of oxidized proteins, malondialdehyde, and glutathione is observed after menadione treatment of log cells. Our study provides evidence that Saccharomyces cerevisiae quiescent cells are the most susceptible to the menadione action. It might be suggested that the DNA damaging and genotoxic action of menadione in Saccharomyces cerevisiae quiescent cells could be related to ROS production.","PeriodicalId":38674,"journal":{"name":"BioRisk","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-04-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46917818","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Development of accurate chemical thermodynamic database for geochemical storage of nuclear waste. Part III: Models for predicting solution properties and solid-liquid equilibrium in cesium binary and mixed systems","authors":"Tsvetan Tsenov, Stanislav Donchev, C. Christov","doi":"10.3897/biorisk.17.77523","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3897/biorisk.17.77523","url":null,"abstract":"The models described in this study are of high importance in the development of thermodynamic database needed for nuclear waste geochemical storage as well as for technology for extracting cesium resources from saline waters. In this study we developed new not concentration restricted thermodynamic models for solution behavior and solid-liquid equilibrium in CsF-H2O CsOH-H2O and Cs2SO4-H2O systems at 25 °C. To parameterize models we used all available experimental osmotic coefficients data for whole concentration range of solutions and up to saturation point. The new models are developed on the basis of Pitzer ion interactions approach. The predictions of new developed here models are in excellent agreement with experimental osmotic coefficients data (ϕ) in binary solutions from low to extremely high concentration (up to 21.8 mol.kg-1 for CsOH-H2O and up to 35.6 mol.kg-1 for CsF-H2O). The previously developed by Christov by Christov and co-authors and by other authors Pitzer approach based thermodynamic models for five (5) cesium binary systems (CsCl-H2O CsBr- H2O CsI-H2O CsNO3-H2O and Cs2SeO4- H2O) are tested by comparison with experimental osmotic coefficients data and with recommendations on activity coefficients (γ±) in binary solutions. The models which give the best agreement with (ϕ)- and (γ±) -data from low to high concentration up to m(sat) are accepted as correct models which can be used for solubility calculations in binary and mixed systems and determination of thermodynamic properties of precipitating cesium solid phases. The thermodynamic solubility products (ln Kosp) and the Deliquescence Relative Humidity (DRH) of solid phases precipitating from saturated cesium binary solutions (CsF(cr) CsCl(cr) CsBr(cr) CsI(cr) CsOH(cr) CsNO3(cr) Cs2SO4(cr) and Cs2SeO4(cr)) have been determined on the basis of evaluated and accepted binary parameters and using experimental solubility data. The reported mixing parameters [θ(Cs M2+) and ψ(Cs M2+ X)] evaluated by solubility approach for 15 cesium mixed ternary systems (CsCl-MgCl2-H2O CsBr-MgBr2-H2O CsCl-NiCl2-H2O CsBr-NiBr2-H2O CsCl-MnCl2-H2O CsCl-CoCl2-H2O CsCl-CuCl2-H2O CsCl-CsBr-H2O CsCl-RbCl-H2O Cs2SO4-CoSO4-H2O Cs2SeO4-CoSeO4-H2O Cs2SO4-NiSO4-H2O Cs2SeO4-NiSeO4-H2O Cs2SO4-ZnSO4-H2O and Cs2SeO4-ZnSeO4-H2O) are tabulated.","PeriodicalId":38674,"journal":{"name":"BioRisk","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-04-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42447645","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaluation of viral infection levels in intensive and organic poultry farming","authors":"Plamen M. Kirov, R. Alexandrova","doi":"10.3897/biorisk.17.77398","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3897/biorisk.17.77398","url":null,"abstract":"Whereas early organic farming was mainly focused on plant production, in the last decade, the number of organically-managed poultry farms within the European Union has increased significantly. Similar to organic crop production, organic animal farming is based on the same principles: welfare-friendly, sustainable production and resource utilisation without or with very little addition of synthetic substances, such as antibiotics and antiparasitic treatments. These practices, as well as the access to wild animals, make the free-range poultry production systems predisposed to different viral diseases and, thus, associated with potentially higher public health risks or reduction in production quality. On the other hand, intensive farming amplifies the impact of viral diseases due to high density, low genetic diversity and elevated immunodeficiency. The aim of this analytical study is to compare free-range with intensive poultry systems and the occurrence of different viral diseases in these types of farms in the EU over the past decade. The research is based on official data from the statistical office of the European Union, as well as official data from the Member countries. The results were similar in each country and demonstrate that free-range production has a higher incidence of viral diseases with high zoonotical potential. This makes year-round surveillance absolutely necessary, as well as the need for implementation of additional criteria and requirements towards free-range systems.","PeriodicalId":38674,"journal":{"name":"BioRisk","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-04-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44671068","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Pollinators of Lavandula angustifolia Mill., an important factor for optimal production of lavender essential oil","authors":"Hristo Valchev, Z. Kolev, Bilyana Stoykova, E. Kozuharova","doi":"10.3897/biorisk.17.77364","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3897/biorisk.17.77364","url":null,"abstract":"Lavender essential oil is widely used in pharmacy, perfumery and the food industry. It is one of the key essential oils in aromatherapy due to its valuable pharmacological properties. The producers of lavender essential oil are well aware that the greatest quantity of oil is obtained near the end of the inflorescence anthesis and that oil quantity is correlated with the pollination as unpollinated flowers drop down. In addition, it has been demonstrated that oil quality is also highest at the end of the flowering period, related to the gradual increase of monoterpenes (particularly the valuable linalool) and the decrease of sesquiterpenes during flower ontogenesis. The aim of this preliminary study was to measure the occurrence of spontaneous self-pollination in Lavandula angustifolia Mill. and to identify external pollinators. The field experiments were performed in a lavender plantation near Gorna Lipnitza Village, north Bulgaria and in the ex-situ lavender collection in the experimental plot of the Botanical Garden of Sofia University. It was revealed that spontaneous self-pollination did not occur in flowers from which external pollinators had been excluded. Exposed flowers were pollinated by polylectic insects, such as honeybees, several species of bumblebees and butterflies. Wild pollinators (particularly bumblebees) dominated over honeybees at both study sites. Our observations showed that all pollinators actively collected nectar. The pollen baskets of most bees were full, indicating the active consolidation of pollen adhering to the pollinators’ bodies. Although lavender growers tend to place beehives in the fields for optimal essential oil production, it is also crucial to conserve wild pollinators.","PeriodicalId":38674,"journal":{"name":"BioRisk","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-04-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48645142","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Monitoring bumblebee pollinator visits to the medicinal plant Gentiana asclepiadea L. (Gentianacese) – a comparison between the periods 1990–1994 and 2017–2020","authors":"E. Kozuharova, V. Simeonov","doi":"10.3897/biorisk.17.76577","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3897/biorisk.17.76577","url":null,"abstract":"Ever increasing data continue to indicate the decline of bumblebee populations. The key factors causing declines in their abundance and diversity are: 1) habitat destruction, 2) loss of floral resources, 3) emerging diseases, 4) increased use of pesticides (particularly neonicotinoids).\u0000 The aim of this study is to monitor bumblebee visits to Gentiana asclepiadea L, recording pollinator species, and taking measurements of seed set. This plant species is chosen for two reasons: 1) similar data is available from our previous research in the 1990’s and 2) this montane plant species is supposed to be less exposed to hazards from pesticides and habitat destruction. Three study sites were chosen in Mt. Vitosha (SW Bulgaria) where natural populations of G. asclepiadea occur in 1990. The observations of bumblebee activity in the flowers of G. asclepiadea were conducted during the flowering seasons (August and September) of 2017 – 2020 at the same study sites and compared to the data obtained in the previous period (1990–1994). The free pollination fruit set was tested by monitoring of 100 G. asclepiadea flowers each year for development of fruit capsules. The seed set was tested by counting the matured seeds and non-fertilised ovules of 10 fruit capsules each year. A slight decline in bumblebee activity was recorded in 2017 – 2020 in comparison to 1990–1994. This is reflected in the fruit set and the seed set. Our data demonstrates that even in a mountain habitat, where there are fewer direct hazards to bumblebees, that pollination effectiveness has been suppressed over time. This corresponds to a research study which provides evidence that insect biomass fell by 76% in German nature reserves between 1989 and 2016.","PeriodicalId":38674,"journal":{"name":"BioRisk","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-04-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48366896","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"State of the antioxidant defense system in wedge clams from Bulgarian Black Sea as a measure of resistance to environmental impacts","authors":"A. Georgieva, E. Tsvetanova, N. Chipev, A. Alexandrova","doi":"10.3897/biorisk.17.77384","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3897/biorisk.17.77384","url":null,"abstract":"Pollution and climate change can induce oxidative stress (OS) in aquatic organisms. Reduced activity or incoordination between antioxidant enzymes in marine bivalves may cause cellular impairment with effects on higher levels of ecological organization. The present study aims to assess the condition factor and the activity of antioxidant enzymes catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), and glutathione concentration (GSH) in soft tissues of Donax trunculus (Linnaeus, 1758) as indicators of the state of marine ecosystems along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. The wedge clams were sampled manually from different localities in June and in September. The activity of antioxidant enzymes and GSH concentrations varied both seasonally and among localities. Higher values of GSH, SOD and GPx were registered in wedge clams collected in autumn compared to those collected in summer. In wedge clams higher activity of the major phase II detoxification enzyme GST was observed in summer at localities with intensive tourism, suggesting an activation of the cell detoxification processes, presumably in response to increased environmental pressure. In conclusion, the observed presence of elevated enzyme activities suggested activation of the antioxidant protection system of the wedge clams in response to environmental pressure, indicating their ability to cope with induced OS and adapt to local conditions, and thus maintain ecosystem health.","PeriodicalId":38674,"journal":{"name":"BioRisk","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-04-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42168532","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Selection of non-target Lepidoptera species to test Bt maize effects in the laboratory: which species and how to breed them?","authors":"A. Lang, M. Dolek, Marina S. Lee, Anja Freese-Hager, M. Otto","doi":"10.3897/biorisk.15.59823","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3897/biorisk.15.59823","url":null,"abstract":"Bt maize targeting Lepidopteran pests poses potential risks for non-target (NT) butterflies and moths which are addressed in the environmental risk assessment of genetically modified crop plants. For this purpose, eco-toxicological tests are often conducted with specific NT species in the laboratory in order to assess possible adverse effects. As only a limited number of surrogate species can be addressed, the choice of focal species to be tested is an important decision. However, practical and standardised selection procedures have hardly been developed and applied for NTLepidoptera, so far. Here, we present a transparent and systematic selection process of suitable test species for Germany, involving selection criteria such as exposure to Bt maize, habitat range and laboratory maintenance of the species. As a result, we compiled a list of 15 lepidopteran species particularly appropriate for testing the adverse effects of Bt maize in the laboratory. In addition, we collected and reviewed published reports for breeding methods of Lepidoptera, which provides essential information on maintaining lab stocks of NTLepidoptera. The presented selection procedure allows focusing on the relevant test species in a transparent and reproducible way, and supplies the breeding knowledge required to breed and maintain them, which will be of great utility for the future assessment on possible risks of Bt maize cultivation to non-target Lepidoptera.","PeriodicalId":38674,"journal":{"name":"BioRisk","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46868109","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Impact of hydromorphological pressures on the macrophytes bioindicators of the ecological water quality in Mediterranean rivers","authors":"Maissour Abdellah, Benamar Saad","doi":"10.3897/BIORISK.14.30319","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3897/BIORISK.14.30319","url":null,"abstract":"One of the important tools to evaluate the ecological quality of surface water is the Macrophytes indices based on the bioindication capacity of aquatic plants. In Mediterranean rivers (France, Spain, and Portugal), the development of some macrophytes indices like l’Indice Biologique Macrophytes Rivières (IBMR), the biological metric score (BMS), as well as the Fluvial Macrophyte Index (IMF) are founded on the determination of the indicator values of the floristic reference lists.\u0000 The aim of this study was to test the impact of the eco-Mediterranean differences (from one country to another) on the indicator taxa by comparing the indicator values of the Euro‐ Mediterranean macrophyte indices. With this in mind, we explore the possibility of the introduction of the Euro‐Mediterranean macrophytes-based indices in Morocco (i.e. the hydrological basin of Sebou (HBS)) as a part of a preliminary attempt to develop the first Afro-Mediterranean macrophyte index.\u0000 We confirm that the ecological amplitude and species optima vary between Mediterranean ecoregions, and indicator taxa differ between countries: There are medium to small correlations between Mediterranean indices: IBMR/BMS (p = 0.000, R2 = 0.57), IMF/BMS (p = 0.000, R2 = 0.34), and IBMR/IMF (p = 0.000, R2 = 0.30). Five species exhibit major differences in indicator values: Zannichelliapalustris and Potamogetonpectinatus have more eutrophic indicator values in France (IBMR) than in Spain (IMF). Potamogetonnodosus, Amblystegiumriparium and Lycopuseuropaeus have broader ecological amplitudes in Portugal (BMS) than in France (IBMR) and in Spain (IMF), where it is restricted to eutrophic conditions. Furthermore, the three indicator systems include different indicator-taxon numbers.\u0000 The comparison of the HBS elaborated list with the Euro‐Mediterranean indices revealed the low level of common taxa approximately 6.76% of all indicator species used in the French index (IBMR), 10.48% in the Portuguese index (IMF) and 12.38% in the Spanish index (BMS).\u0000 These results show the inadequacy of the trophic indices approach with the HBS conditions and thus the need for the development of an index based on biotic indices approach.","PeriodicalId":38674,"journal":{"name":"BioRisk","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47991587","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"What about biological corridors? A review on some problems of concepts and their management","authors":"R. Moreno, C. Guerrero-Jiménez","doi":"10.3897/BIORISK.14.32682","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3897/BIORISK.14.32682","url":null,"abstract":"Natural ecosystems are increasingly being affected by climate change and fragmentation, which have a strong impact on biodiversity thus affecting habitats and species diversity of flora and fauna at all levels. As a response to this situation the idea of biological corridors was developed.\u0000 This review relates the problems associated with the main concepts and definitions of the biological corridors, seeking to highlight the advantages of this tool and describing its potential applicability, and showing the importance of the biological corridors as a solution to improve the conservation of species and so as to support sustainable development in areas of high biodiversity. Examples of biological corridors in several countries are cited and its application guidelines and conservation benefits are described.\u0000 In conclusion, the need to improve information on habitat and its association with wild species is highlighted through adaptive forestry that is part of a comprehensive management of forest ecosystems. In addition, it is important to monitor the effects of corridors implemented in a feedback process that allows a greater analysis and evaluation of the overall positive effects of their implementation. Finally, some management actions are proposed to improve the conservation of ecosystems.","PeriodicalId":38674,"journal":{"name":"BioRisk","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-04-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42353421","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}