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The sensitivity of the copepods Acartia tonsa, commonly used in standardized tests for environmental risk assessment and A. clausi, the dominant autochthonous congener species in the Mediterranean Sea, was assessed using sediment-derived elutriates from the industrial area of Bagnoli-Coroglio and nickel chloride as referent toxicant. Acute A. clausi naupliar immobilization test showed EC50 for elutriates E25, E56 and E84 of 23.3%, 80.5% and >100%, respectively, compared to 59.5%, 66.6% and >100% in A. tonsa. In the 7 day sublethal test, a reduction in A. clausi egg production rates was observed in all elutriates, but only in E56 for A. tonsa. Elutriate 56, which contained the highest amount of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, also induced 70% mortality in A. clausi females. Although A. clausi was more sensitive than A. tonsa, the two species had convergent responses to the three elutriates, thus opening the venue for a potential use of A. clausi in standardized ecotoxicity tests.

Si illustrano i principali aspetti geologici, geomorfologici, geoarcheologici e paleoecologici della Piana di Mondragone, alla base di una progettazione ambientale che sia in sintonia con i fenomeni evolutivi in atto attraverso approcci adattivi, indirizzata ad una corretta fruizione delle componenti territoriali ad alta naturalità e dei beni archeologici e culturali dell'area.

The present study was aimed at evaluating sediment pollution and toxicity in the Bay of Pozzuoli (BoP) (Tyrrhenian Sea, southern Italy), characterized by high anthropic pressure and by previous industrial facilities. Analyses were carried out to evaluate the content of metals, total hydrocarbons (CIO-C40) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sediment samples collected along five transects from the coast. Sediment samples were tested for toxicity as whole sediment (WS) suspensions to sea urchins (Arbacia lixula), or as elutriate (EL) in diatoms (Phaeodactylum tricornutum). WS-exposed sea urchin embryos and sperm underwent significant increase of developmental defects (DD), or inhibition of fertilization success and increased DD in the offspring of WS-exposed sperm. Diatoms were reared in sediment EL and the effects were evaluated as growth inhibition. Different pollution and toxicity patterns were observed along the five sediment sampling transects, without a monotonic trend vs. distance from coast, suggesting increased sediment toxicity in samples collected at intermediate distances. © 2020 Parlar Scientific Publications. All rights reserved.

The possible utilization of MFCs technology to the remediation of waters polluted by Polyclicic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) was explored in this work. Ten microbial strains, isolated in urban environment, were inoculated in a MFC (three replicates) fuelled by 400 ml Winogradsky saline solution containing no other carbon and energy sources than anthracene (100 ppm), naphthalene (200 ppm), phenantrene (100 ppm), pyrene (100 ppm), benzo(a)pyrene (50 ppm) and incubated at 25°C. The performances were evaluated in terms of Power Density (PD), Current Density (CD), PAHs degradation rate and toxicity vs Daphnia magna and Lepidium sativum. A significant variability in PD (486 μW/m3 on average) was measured along with a maximum CD of 9 mA/m3. A degradation of 53% (naphthalene), 28% (anthracene and phenanthrene), 17% (pyrene) and 25% (benzo(a)pyrene) but, an increase in ecotoxicity vs L.sativum was measured in Winogradsky solutions+PAHs after one month.

An ecotoxicological approach is used to assess the efficiency of an in-batch bioremediation process in reducing environmental toxicity of a soil polluted with Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs). Microbial strains, able to use PAHs as a sole source of carbon, were added to a soil artificially contaminated with naphthalene, anthracene, phenanthrene, pyrene, and benzo[a]pyrene, with concentrations ranging from 0.4 to 0.1 mg/g. A phytoxicity test (Lepidium sativum) a chronic assay (Ceriodaphnia dubia) and acute assays (Daphnia magna, Artemia salina and Ceriodaphnia dubia) were performed after by incubating soil spiked with selected microbial strains and PHAs for 2 months. PAHs concentration was measured monthly by High Pressure Liquid Cromatography. A decrement of PHAs was observed as result of microbial metabolism. The obtained data showed a positive correlation with the decrement of PAHs for acute and phytotoxicity tests, while an opposite result was observed for chronic assays. The opportunity to implement ecotoxicological assays in the evaluation of remediation process efficiency is discussed.

The increasing use and demand of rare earth elements in many emerging technologies is leading to a potentially higher input to the marine environment. This study compared for the first time the effect of lanthanum (La), cerium (Ce), neodymium (Nd), samarium (Sm), europium (Eu), gadolinium (Gd), dysprosium (Dy), and erbium (Er) to the microalga Phaeodactylum tricornutum Bohlin. The algal growth inhibition was investigated after 72 h of exposure. The median effect concentrations (EC50) ranged from 0.98 mg/L to 13.21 mg/L and elements were ranked as follows: Gd > Ce > Er > La > Eu > Nd > Dy > Sm. The comparison of predicted no effect concentrations (PNEC) for hazard and risk assessment with measured environmental concentrations showed that ecological risks deriving from REEs could be present, but limited to specific environments like estuarine waters. The results support evidence of actions to manage the REE impact in seawater environments, looking to improve the monitoring tailored to the different and dynamic nature of ecosystems.

We present experimental data on water repetitively brought in contact with cellophane. Although this hydrophilic polymer is insoluble in water, repetitively immersing it in water changes the liquid’s properties. We compare the physicochemical properties of the water left over after removing the cellophane to those of previously published data on water repetitively brought in contact with other in water insoluble polymers (cotton wool or Nafion). Some of the properties are similar. All the properties considerably differ from those of the Milli-Q® water used. On lyophilizing these waters, solid residues remain. The residues are soluble in water. The chemical nature of the residues differs from that of the perturbing polymers.

Tannery wastewater is considered one of the most contaminated and problematic wastes since it consists of considerable amounts of organic and inorganic compounds. These contaminants result in high chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), and total suspended solids (TSS). In this work, the heterogeneous photodegradation of recalcitrant COD in wastewater from the tanning industry was investigated, in particular the recalcitrant COD due to the presence of vegetable tannins extracted from mimosa and chestnut and from synthetic tannins based on 4,4′ dihydroxy phenyl sulfone. TiO2 Aeroxide P-25 was employed to study the photodegradation of model molecules in batch conditions under different parameters, namely initial concentration of COD, temperature, and catalyst dose. The maximum COD abatement reached was 60%. Additionally, preliminary kinetic investigation was conducted to derive the main kinetic parameters that can be useful for process scale-up. It was found to be independent of the temperature value but linearly dependent on both catalyst loading and the initial COD value.

We explored relationships between particulate matter (PM) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs) leaf concentrations, uptake rates and leaf surface functional traits in four Mediterranean evergreen trees (Chamaerops humilis, Citrus × aurantium, Magnolia grandiflora, and Quercus ilex) during a dry month. Pollutant leaf concentration at different dates and uptake rate were correlated. We quantified PM by gravimetric analysis, PAHs were extracted from intact and dewaxed leaves and analyzed by GC-MS, and cuticle thickness, number and surface of stomata (Ns and SS) and trichomes (Nt and St) were determined by optical microscopy. Infrared spectroscopy was used to investigate the leaves surfaces composition and assess esterification index (E). Studied species were characterized by unique combinations of functional traits and pollutant uptake capacities. PM10 uptake scaled positively with SS, St and upper cuticle thickness (Tc,u) across species. PM2.5 uptake scaled positively with Tc,u, and thicker cuticles were also associated with greater shares of uptake of hydrophobic PM fractions. Uptakes of different fractions of PAH were generally weakly related to different leaf functional traits, except for some correlations with E and SS. We conclude that both plant surface morphological and chemical leaf traits influence PM and PAH retention, unveiling their potential role in air phytoremediation.

Seawater represents a potential resource to ensure sustainable availability of water for population and irrigation purposes, especially in some areas of the world. Desalination processes allow the production of fresh water, but they generate also brine as waste product. Sustainable brine management should be identified to ensure proper disposal and potentially resource recovery. This experimental study showed that emerging technologies such as Microbial Desalination Cells (MDCs) may provide a valuable contribution to the sustainability of the seawater desalination sector. In this paper, we report results on lab-scale desalination brine treatments applying MDCs, which allow energy savings, resource recovery, environmental impact minimization, and reduction of the organic load in municipal wastewater. Our results showed that MDCs’ treatment allows the removal of approximately 33 g of salts (62% of the total)—including chlorides, bromides, and sulphates—from 20 mL of brine within 96 h. The MDCs, according to the source of energy and the presence of mature biofilm at the anode, spent 7.2 J, 7.9 J, and 9.6 J in the desalination process, with the higher amount of energy required by the abiotic system and the lesser by the MDCs fed with just wastewater. Our approach also showed environmental and energy reductions because of potential metal recovery instead of returning them into marine environment. We quantified the avoided life cycle of human and marine eco-toxicity impacts as well as the reduction of cumulative energy demand of recovered metals. The main benefit in terms of avoided toxicity would arise from the mercury and copper recovery, while potential economic advantages would derive from the recovered cobalt that represents a strategic resource for many products such as battery storage systems.

Sediment pollution is a major issue in coastal areas, potentially endangering human health and the marine environments. We investigated the short-term sublethal effects of sediments contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) on the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus for two months. Spiking occurred at concentrations below threshold limit values permitted by the law (TLVPAHs = 900 µg/L, TLVPCBs = 8 µg/L, Legislative Italian Decree 173/2016). A multi-endpoint approach was adopted, considering both adults (mortality, bioaccumulation and gonadal index) and embryos (embryotoxicity, genotoxicity and de novo transcriptome assembly). The slight concentrations of PAHs and PCBs added to the mesocosms were observed to readily compartmentalize in adults, resulting below the detection limits just one week after their addition. Reconstructed sediment and seawater, as negative controls, did not affect sea urchins. PAH- and PCB-spiked mesocosms were observed to impair P. lividus at various endpoints, including bioaccumulation and embryo development (mainly PAHs) and genotoxicity (PAHs and PCBs). In particular, genotoxicity tests revealed that PAHs and PCBs affected the development of P. lividus embryos deriving from exposed adults. Negative effects were also detected by generating a de novo transcriptome assembly and its annotation, as well as by real-time qPCR performed to identify genes differentially expressed in adults exposed to the two contaminants. The effects on sea urchins (both adults and embryos) at background concentrations of PAHs and PCBs below TLV suggest a need for further investigations on the impact of slight concentrations of such contaminants on marine biota.

The pervasive spread of microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) has raised significant concerns on their toxicity in both aquatic and terrestrial environments. These polymer-based materials have implications for plants, wildlife and human health, threatening food chain integrity and ultimate ecosystem resilience. An extensive – and growing – body of literature is available on MP- and NP-associated effects, including in a number of aquatic biota, with as yet limited reports in terrestrial environments. Effects range from no detectable, or very low level, biological effects to more severe outcomes such as (but not limited to) increased mortality rates, altered immune and inflammatory responses, oxidative stress, genetic damage and dysmetabolic changes. A well- established exposure route to MPs and NPs involves ingestion with subsequent incorporation into tissues. MP and NP exposures have also been found to lead to genetic damage, including effects related to mitotic anomalies, or to transmissible damage from sperm cells to their offspring, especially in echinoderms. Effects on the proteome, transcriptome and metabolome warrant ad hoc investigations as these integrated “omics” workflows could provide greater insight into molecular pathways of effect. Given their different physical structures, chemical identity and presumably different modes of action, exposure to different types of MPs and NPs may result in different biological effects in biota, thus comparative investigations of different MPs and NPs are required to ascertain the respective effects. Furthermore, research on MP and NP should also consider their ability to act as vectors for other toxicants, and possible outcomes of exposure may even include effects at the community level, thus requiring investigations in mesocosm models.

The shallow water benthic foraminiferal and ostracod assemblages of the Gulf of Pozzuoli, located in the central Tyrrhenian Sea, were studied to investigate the relationship between calcareous meiofaunas and contaminant concentrations in bottom sediments exposed to prolonged industrial pollution. Both benthic foraminifers and ostracods displayed high-diversity and low-dominance, unusual features in highly contaminated environments. High-diversity values were possibly linked to the oligotrophic, well-oxygenated, and CaCO3-supersaturated coastal Mediterranean waters. The comparison with historical data suggested that assemblage composition changed in the last decades, with an increase in the relative abundance of benthic foraminiferal (Quinqueloculina seminulum, Bulimina elongata) and ostracod (Xestoleberis,Loxoconcha, Semicytherura rarecostata) taxa. They probably represent organisms tolerant to the environmental variations in the last decades. The relationships between granulometry and diversity indices, high correlation values betweenQuinqueloculina lataand heavy metal pollution, and the preference of the ostracod generaUrocythereisandParacytherideafor very shallow marine waters were highlighted.

The microbiological monitoring of mineral bottled waters results is crucial for the prevention of outbreaks in consumers. European and International regulations establish the quality of water intended for human consumption in order to preserve human health from the negative effects deriving from water contamination. Advanced methods targeting the faster detection of potential pathogens in drinking water may consent to the creation of an early warning system, enhancing water quality management. This study aimed to suggest the implementation of standard water quality evaluations, based on the characterization of the microbial composition of mineral bottled water brands, contributing to the periodic control of the water’s microbiological stability along with the shelf life, and, consequently, the stability of the supplying sources. Bottled water microbiota analysis was combined with the qualitative and quantitative evaluation of microbial loads in time, and the monitoring was performed in two seasons and two different storage conditions for a total of sixty days. The employment of molecular microbiology techniques (NGS and Sanger sequencing), compared to standardized cultural methods and integrated with metagenomic analysis, combining chemical and physical indicators for each sample, allowing for the generation of specific fingerprints for mineral bottled waters, pointing at simplifying and improving the foreseen risk assessment strategies to ensure the adequate traceability, quality and safety management of drinking water.

The vast category of microplastics in the marine environment, encompassing among other aspects their persistence, degradation and impact on biota, has become an important topic of research. in spite of environmental health concerns, much work has yet to be done on understanding the potential roles of polymer sources, composition and particle sizes in causing adverse effects which have already been observed in a number of biota. the present study was aimed at adding to current knowledge by verifying if, and to what extent, embryogenesis in the sea urchin species Paracentrotus lividus is adversely affected by polystyrene and polymethylmethacrylate virgin microparticles over a size range 1-230 mu m and at concentrations of 0.1-10 mg L-1. Developing embryos which came in contact with the microplastics only after fertilisation did not display a significant increase of developmental defects. Unlike embryo exposures, when P. lividus sperm were exposed to the microplastics or their leachates, modest, yet significant effects were observed, both in terms of decreased fertilisation rate and increase of transmissible damage to offspring. Further, it was noted that larvae more readily ingested polymethylmethacrylate than polystyrene microparticles after 3 days which may represent a route for enhancing the toxicity of the former compared to the latter. Overall, these findings provide evidence for lesser sensitivity of P. lividus early life stages to microplastics compared to other urchins such as Sphaerechinus granularis. in turn, the more robust response of P. lividus highlights the importance of choosing an appropriate test species with the highest sensitivity when investigating mildly harmful materials., Croatian Science Foundation [IP-2018-01-5351]; Environment and Climate Change Canada, This work has been supported by the Croatian Science Foundation under grant number IP-2018-01-5351, and Environment and Climate Change Canada. the authors are grateful to Dr. Ozge Kozgus Guldu for DLS measurements.

Rare earth elements (REEs) are key constituents of modern technology and play important roles in various chemical and industrial applications. They also are increasingly used in agricultural and zootechnical applications, such as fertilizers and feed additives. Early applications of REEs in agriculture have originated in China over the past several decades with the objective of increasing crop productivity and improving livestock yield (e.g., egg production or piglet growth). Outside China, REE agricultural or zootechnical uses are not currently practiced. A number of peer-reviewed manuscripts have evaluated the adverse and the positive effects of some light REEs (lanthanum and cerium salts) or REE mixtures both in plant growth and in livestock yield. This information was never systematically evaluated from the growing body of scientific literature. The present review was designed to evaluate the available evidence for adverse and/or positive effects of REE exposures in plant and animal biota and the cellular/molecular evidence for the REE-associated effects. The overall information points to shifts from toxic to favorable effects in plant systems at lower REE concentrations (possibly suggesting hormesis). The available evidence for REE use as feed additives may suggest positive outcomes at certain doses but requires further investigations before extending this use for zootechnical purposes.

A number of aging-related disorders (ARD) have been related to oxidative stress (OS) and mitochondrial dysfunction (MDF) in a well-established body of literature. Most studies focused on cardiovascular disorders (CVD), type 2 diabetes (T2D), and neurodegenerative disorders. Counteracting OS and MDF has been envisaged to improve the clinical management of ARD, and major roles have been assigned to three mitochondrial cofactors, also termed mitochondrial nutrients (MNs), i.e., alpha-lipoic acid (ALA), Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), and carnitine (CARN). These cofactors exert essential-and distinct-roles in mitochondrial machineries, along with strong antioxidant properties. Clinical trials have mostly relied on the use of only one MN to ARD-affected patients as, e.g., in the case of CoQ10 in CVD, or of ALA in T2D, possibly with the addition of other antioxidants. Only a few clinical and pre-clinical studies reported on the administration of two MNs, with beneficial outcomes, while no available studies reported on the combined administration of three MNs. Based on the literature also from pre-clinical studies, the present review is to recommend the design of clinical trials based on combinations of the three MNs.

Exhausted woods represent a byproduct of tannin industrial production processes and their possible exploitation as a source of antioxidant compounds has remained virtually unexplored. We herein report the characterization of the antioxidant and other properties of practical interest of exhausted chestnut wood and quebracho wood, together with those of a chestnut wood fiber, produced from steamed exhausted chestnut wood. 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric reducing/antioxidant power (FRAP) assays indicated good antioxidant properties for all the materials investigated, with exhausted chestnut wood, and, even more, chestnut wood fiber exhibiting the highest activity. High efficiency was observed also in the superoxide scavenging assay. An increase of the antioxidant potency was observed for both exhausted woods and chestnut wood fiber following activation by hydrolytic treatment, with an up to three-fold lowering of the EC

Exhausted woods represent a byproduct of tannin industrial production processes and their possible exploitation as a source of antioxidant compounds has remained virtually unexplored. We herein report the characterization of the antioxidant and other properties of practical interest of exhausted chestnut wood and quebracho wood, together with those of a chestnut wood fiber, produced from steamed exhausted chestnut wood. 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric reducing/antioxidant power (FRAP) assays indicated good antioxidant properties for all the materials investigated, with exhausted chestnut wood, and, even more, chestnut wood fiber exhibiting the highest activity. High efficiency was observed also in the superoxide scavenging assay. An increase of the antioxidant potency was observed for both exhausted woods and chestnut wood fiber following activation by hydrolytic treatment, with an up to three-fold lowering of the EC50 values in the DPPH assay. On the other hand, exhausted quebracho wood was particularly effective as a nitrogen oxides (NOx) scavenger. The three materials proved able to adsorb methylene blue chosen as a model of organic pollutant and to remove highly toxic heavy metal ions like cadmium from aqueous solutions, with increase of the activity following the hydrolytic activation. These results open new perspectives toward the exploitation of exhausted woods as antioxidants, e.g., for active packaging, or as components of filtering membranes for remediation of polluted waters.

Wildfires have high frequency and intensity in the Mediterranean ecosystems that deeply modify the soil abiotic (i.e., pH, contents of water, organic matter and elements) and biotic properties (i.e., biomass and activity). In 2017, an intense wildfire occurred inside the Vesuvius National Park (Southern Italy), destroying approximately 50% of the existing plant cover. So, the research aimed to evaluate the fire effects on soil quality through single soil abiotic and biotic indicators and through an integrated index (SQI). To achieve the aim, soil samples were collected inside the Vesuvius National Park at 12 sampling field points before fire (BF) and after fire (AF). The findings highlighted that in AF soil, the contents of water and total carbon, element availability, respiration and the dehydrogenase activity were lower than in BF soil, in contrast, pH and hydrolase activity were significantly higher in AF soil. The microbial biomass and activity were affected by Al, Cr and Cu availability in both BF and AF soils. Despite the variations in each investigated soil abiotic and biotic property that occurred in AF soil, the overall soil quality did not significantly differ as compared to that calculated for the BF soil. The findings provide a contribution to the baseline definition of the properties and quality of burnt soil and highlight the short-term effects of fire on volcanic soil in the Mediterranean area.

Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) remedial technology was used for the degradation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in marine sediments taken in front of the brownfleld steelwork facility of Bagnoli, Gulf of Pozzuoli, South Western Italy. PAHs levels were quite high and up to 30 mu g/g for fluoranthene and 0.21 mu g/g d.w. L of sediments for acenaphthene. Heavy PAHs prevailed vs light PAHs in the sediment samples before, during and after the treatment by MFCs. Different degradation rates were measured according to the complexity of each PAH, as expected. Among all PAHs, naphthalene showed after four weeks the highest degradation rate (86%), while just the 10% of Indenol[1,2,3-c,d]pyrene was degraded. MFCs achieved their highest performance in terms of Power Density (PD) after two weeks, with values ranging between 20.4 mW/m(2) and 3.17 mW/m(2) of anodic surface. CD values were normalized to the anodic surface as well, falling within a maximum of 204.8 mA/m(2) and a minimum of 9.5 mA/m(2). Even though the dynamics of PAHs degradation in MFCs and the influence of other pollutants (like metals) on MFCs performance as well as the potential mobilization of pollutants in consequence of microbial activity have to be ascertained, our preliminary results prove the high potentialities of MFCs for in-situ marine sediments remediation. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The study was designed to complement the results of a previous investigation which revealed a worrying contamination scenario by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, PAHs, in the Gulf of Pozzuoli, GoP, in the south of Italy. This former study also evidenced the pyrolytic source of PAHs from the dismissed metallurgical brownfield site of Bagnoli in the east side of GoP. The environmental toxicological risk assessment was also carried out. Sampling transects were drawn in the west edge of the gulf, T1 and T2, in the east side, T5, T6, in the proximity of the industrial plant and outside GoP, MdP, where pollution was expected to be low. Σ PAHs largely exceeded, from 36 up to >220 times, the regulatory standard in the east area. Lower exceeding values were determined in all the west side. FLT and PYR were the dominant hydrocarbons and PAHs distribution profiles were quite similar from west to east sides, meaning a common pollution source. Moreover, sediments appeared enriched by 4, 5 and 6 aromatic rings, 47.2%, 25.7%, and 14.0%. PAHs diagnostic ratios for source screening confirmed the pyrolytic origin of the PAH mixtures at all sites. Σ PAHcarc/ Σ PAH showed that ∼ 50% of PAHs were of carcinogenic nature at all sites. The total benzo(a)pyrene, BaP, equivalent toxicity (TEQ) values highlighted a dramatic scenario especially in the east part of GoP, with values from twenty-four fold and six hundreds fold those reported by the literature for moderate and low ecological risk environment. The output of the risk assay assessment revealed a situation of high risk in the east side of GoP, whereas a moderate to high risk level was determined throughout all GoP.

WOS: 000497259100061, PubMed: 31629182, Two microplastic sets, polystyrene (PS) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), were tested for adverse effects on early life stages of Sphaerechinus granularis sea urchins. Microparticulate PS (10, 80 and 230 mu m diameter) and PMMA (10 and 50 mu m diameter) were tested on developing S. granularis embryos from 10 min post-fertilisation (p-f) to the pluteus larval stage (72 h p-f), at concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 5 mg L-1. Both PS and PMMA exposures resulted in significant concentration-related increase of developmental defects and of microplastic uptake in plutei. Moreover, embryo exposures to PS and PMMA (5 and 50 mg L-1) from 10 min to 5 h p-f resulted in a significant increase of cytogenetic abnormalities, expressed as significantly increased mitotic aberrations, while mitotoxicity (as % embryos lacking active mitoses) was observed in embryos exposed to PS, though not to PMMA. When S. granularis sperm suspensions were exposed for 10 min to PS or to PMMA (0.1-5 mg L-1), a significant decrease of fertilisation success was observed following sperm exposure to 0.1 mg L-1 PS, though not to higher PS concentrations nor to PMMA. Sperm pretreatment, however, resulted in significant offspring damage, as excess developmental defects in plutei, both following sperm exposure to PS and PMMA, thus suggesting transmissible damage from sperm pronuclei to the offspring. the overall results point to relevant developmental, cytogenetic and genotoxic effects of PS and PMMA microplastics to S. granularis early life stages, warranting further investigations of other microplastics and other target biota., Croatian Science Foundation [IP-2018-01-5351]; Environment and Climate Change Canada, This work has been supported by the Croatian Science Foundation under project IP-2018-01-5351. Financial support from Environment and Climate Change Canada is also gratefully acknowledged. Declarations of conflict: none.

The influence of microelectrogenesis on PAHs degradation and detoxification operated by Pseudomonadaceae, Bacillaceae, Staphylococcaceae and Enterobacteriaceae was investigated in water environment. Single chamber, air-cathode MFCs and bioreactors were filled with the microbial pool (10(7)-10(8) CFUmL(-1)) inoculated in a 400mL Winogradsky saline solution containing no other carbon and energy source than naphthalene (80 ppm), phenanthrene (40 ppm), pyrene (40 ppm), benzo(a)pyrene (20 ppm). MFCs and bioreactors operated at 25 degrees C for thirteen weeks. Power Density (PD) and Current Density (CD) outputs as well as PAHs degradation rate were measured. The toxic effect of PAHs suspension vs.Raphidocelis subcapitata was quantified by EC1, EC20, EC50, LOEC and NOEC calculations. The results showed a significant variability in PD and CD outputs, with highest PD of 300 mW m(-3) and 25 mA m(-3). After 5 weeks, the overall PAHs concentration in MFCs decreased of a 90%. COD and TOC removal respectively of 62% and 73% after 11 weeks was achieved in MFC inoculated with bacteria (MFC2). Ecotoxicological tests showed for MFCs a lower toxic effect vs.P.subcapitata when bacteria are present. Microelectrogenesis just sped up microbial metabolism rather than take advantage from the interaction of PAHs with graphite electrodes.