Eighteen-month-old adult female Peking Ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) were placed in the Ottawa, and St. Lawrence rivers for periods varying between 14 and 72 days during the summers of 1987, 1988 and 1989. Two stations located on Lake St. Francis were selected for establishing a time-curve for the accumulation of organochlorine pesticides (OC) and PCB in the liver. The ducks rapidly lost weight during their first 20 days in the natural environment but stabilised after about 40 days. This weight loss was caused by the stress of habitat, change, the energetic costs in searching for food and moulting. / There was a rapid increase in the number and concentration of contaminants detected in the livers of ducks exposed to pollutants in the natural environment. The concentrations found were low (99.9% of OC-PCB are under 1 mg/kg wet weight basis). These individuals were generally from 10 to 1000 times more contaminated than the control ducks for 40 days of exposure. / The use of domestic ducks as bioindicators has several advantages. They can be obtained readily and cheaply, and the sex and age of the individuals can be controlled. Since they are not very mobile and therefore are easy to locate, they provide information on the contamination (metals or OC-PCB) of specific sites. The use of Peking ducks has some limitations. There is a need for appropriate habitats to ensure their survival, and there is considerable stress caused by transferring the ducks from the breeding farm to the natural environment, thereby obliging them to search for food and exposing them to predators and poachers. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Chlorinated aromatic compounds are an important group of compounds. Many of them have been produced in large quantities and they are indispensable to technological and societal benefits. But regulatory agencies have tightened regulations on the use and release of chlorinated aromatic compounds because of the scientific understanding of their toxicity, persistence, behavior in the environment and their potential to cause adverse effects on the ecosystem and human health. / Pentachlorophenol (PCP), octachloronaphthalene and decachlorobiphenyl are all highly chlorinated aromatic compounds, of which, PCP has been used mainly as a biocide. Octachloronaphthalene and decachlorobiphenyl don't have practical use, but their congeners have been used widely as chemicals in industry. These compounds are toxic, recalcitrant and bio-accumulated within organisms. As the conventional treatment, incineration of these compounds can cause more serious problems, so that suitable alternatives need to be developed for their detoxification. / When compared with biodegradation or the thermal treatment of these compounds, chemical degradations have several merits. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Carleton University, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (M.Sc.) - Carleton University, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1970. / Typescript. Vita. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 173-180).

Orientador: Sarah Arana / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Biologia / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-15T00:25:10Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Tagliaferro_AlineFernanda_M.pdf: 13833602 bytes, checksum: 8ff9e6fc1f703f847914ff9a4284c900 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / Resumo: Dado o registro de endosulfan nas bacias do Pantanal Mato-Grossense, o risco para os organismos aquáticos que esse agrotóxico promove e a falta de informações sobre sua ação na ictiofauna dessa região, esta pesquisa objetivou verificar a sensibilidade do pacu, Piaractus mesopotamicus, ao endosulfan. Para a realização da intoxicação aguda (96h) em sistema estático, alevinos foram expostos às seguintes concentrações de endosulfan: 0; 0,71; 1,43; 2,14; 2,86; 3,57; 4,29 e 5µgL-1. Após 96h, os exemplares sobreviventes foram necropsiados e amostras de brânquia, fígado e rim foram colhidas para análise histopatológica, qualitativa e semi-quantitativa. A Concentração Letal Média (CL50) obtida foi de 5,66µgL-1 (24h) e 4,33µgL-1 (96h). Alterações branquiais e hepáticas foram perceptíveis à microscopia de luz (ML) e à microscopia eletrônica de transmissão (MET), já no rim somente alterações à MET foram detectadas. Nas brânquias, lamelas secundárias com hipertrofia do epitélio, telangectasia e destacamento epitelial foram as principais alterações. Já no fígado notaram-se degeneração hidrópica, inclusão nuclear, inclusão hialina e vacuolização citoplasmática, como as alterações mais frequentes. Entre as alterações à MET, de modo geral, as mais frequentes foram: alterações mitocondriais, presença de figura de mielina, alteração e/ou perda de microvilos e aumento do espaço intercelular. Embora, alguns exemplares apresentaram alterações celulares frequentes e severas, sugerindo sério dano induzido pelo endosulfan, a análise semi-quantitativa indicou grande variabilidade interindividual. Este último dado sugere fortemente, que a avaliação de biomarcadores histológicos de contaminação aquática deve ser acompanhada de avaliação semi-quantitativa das alterações induzidas associada à análise estatística, para uma fiel indicação do dano provocado à população de organismos-teste. Finalmente, o pacu mostrou-se um bom bioindicador de contaminação aquática por endosulfan o qual se mostrou extremamente tóxico para essa espécie. Assim, espera-se que esta pesquisa venha contribuir efetivamente para o estabelecimento de normas mais rigorosas, ou até mesmo a proibição, da utilização do endosulfan em território brasileiro à semelhança de outros países. / Abstract: The records of endosulfan in river basins of the Patanal wetlands in the state of Mato Grosso (Brazil), the risk to aquatic organisms and lack of information on the action of this pesticide on fish fauna in this region stimulated the present study, which aim was to determine the sensitivity of the pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus) to endosulfan. For the acute intoxication test (96h) in a static system, fingerlings were exposed to the following concentrations of endosulfan: 0; 0.71; 1.43; 2.14; 2.86; 3.57; 4.29 and 5µgL-1. After 96h, the specimens were necropsied and samples were taken from the gill, liver and kidney for qualitative and semi-quantitative histopathological analysis. The Mean Lethal Concentration (LC50) was 5.66µgL-1 (24h) and 4.33µgL-1 (96h). Gill and liver alterations were visible through light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM); alterations in the kidney were only detected through TEM. The main alterations in the gills were secondary lamellae with epithelial hypertrophy, telangiectasis and epithelial lifting. The most frequent alterations in the liver were hydropic degeneration, hyaline inclusion and cytoplasmic vacuolization. The most frequent TEM findings were mitochondrial alterations, the presence of myelin figure, alterations in and/or loss of microvilli and increase in intercellular space. Although some specimens frequently exhibited severe cell alterations suggesting serious damage induced by endosulfan, the semi-quantitative analysis revealed considerable interindividual variability. This strongly suggests that the evaluation of histological biomarkers of aquatic contamination should be accompanied by a semi-quantitative assessment of alterations associated with statistical analysis in order to obtain a faithful indication of the damage caused to the population of test organisms. The pacu proved to be a good bioindicator of aquatic contamination by endosulfan, which proved to be extremely toxic to this species. It is hoped that the present study can effectively to contribute toward the establishment of stricter norms or even the banning of the use of endosulfan in Brazil, as has occurred in other countries. / Mestrado / Histologia / Mestre em Biologia Celular e Estrutural

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

Experiments were undertaken to study in vivo the effect of hexachloronaphthalene in vitamin A metabolism in the rat. The status of vitamin A in the animal was determined by tissue analysis for the vitamin and by visual observation for symptoms of vitamin A deficiency. Four studies were made. The effects of dietary hexachloronaphthalene on preformed residual vitamin A, on assimilation of dietary carotene, on assimilation of a single oral dose of carotene, and on the absorption and storage of a single oral dose of vitamin A palmitate were investigated. In addition, the effect of ingested hexachloronaphthalene on calf plasma protein was studied. The following conclusions were derived from the results of the experiments. 1. The metabolism of dietary hexachloronaphthalene resulted in an increased requirement for vitamin A in peripheral tissue. This effect was apparently separate from the liver hypertrophy and fatty infiltration which are characteristic results of chlorinated naphthalene ingestion in rats. The mechanism of this increased demand for vitamin A was not discerned. Vitamin E supplementation was or no apparent value in preventing this increase in the requirement for vitamin A. 2. The addition of vitamin E to carotene-rich diets normally produces an increased yield of vitamin A. This stimulus of carotene conversion was not apparent when hexachloronaphthalene was included in the ration. 3. The ingestion of dietary hexachloronaphthalene depressed the ability of the rat to convert carotene to vitamin A. This was not true when the total dose of the toxic compound was included in the carotene solution. The addition of a bile salt to the carotene solution was not or value in preventing the depression of carotene conversion. Neither, however, did it stimulate conversion in the normal animals as was expected. 4. The ingestion of dietary hexachloronaphthalene had no apparent effect on the ability of the rat to absorb and store a single oral dose of vitamin A palmitate. 5. Paper electrophoresis studies and analysis of changes in TCA precipitable plasma protein in calves indicated that a depression of the level of the plasma proteins, especially the albumins, was a manifestation of the ingestion of hexachloronaphthalene by these animals. / Master of Science