In this book, editor G Rasul Chaudhry presents a wide range of topics authored by researchers at the cutting edge of biodegradation and bioremediation. The book includes recent research describing how microorganisms clean soil and water, and how they remove toxic substances. It also presents information on how genetics and molecular biological methods are used to improve the ability of microorganisms to degrade a variety of substances.

For investigators engaged in the study of toxins generally, and host-specific toxins in particular, it is a rare treat to attend a meeting in which toxins involved in plant pathogenesis are emphasized. A gathering of this type provides opportunity to consider the discovery of new toxins, their chemical structures, genes encoding enzymes that control their biosyntheses, their sites of action and physiological effects on plants, and their roles (if any) in pathological processes. Having acknowledged the inspiration fostered by a 'toxin meeting', however, it is important to point out that the program of this symposium was generously sprinkled with 'nontoxin' talks. These contributions generated cross-disciplinary discussion and promoted new ways of thinking about relationships among factors required for plant disease development. The point can be illustrated by considering just one example. We have in the past often regarded diseases mediated by host-specific toxins and diseases involving 'gene-for-gene' relationships as representing two different classes of fungal/plant interaction. This is largely because the key molecular recognition event in so-called 'toxin' diseases leads to compatibility, whereas the corresponding event in 'gene-for-gene' diseases leads to incompatibility. Yet the race specific elicitors produced by the 'gene-for-gene' fungi Cladosporium fulvum (De Wit, Adv. Bot. Res. 21:147- 185, 1995) and Rhynchosporium secalis (Rohe et a1. , EMBO J.

Molecular Toxicology Protocols, Second Edition aims to bring together a series of articles describing validated methods to elucidate specific molecular aspects of toxicology, the emphasis being on the application of molecular methods to genetic toxicology. The volume is divided into ten parts, roughly corresponding to the spectrum of biomarkers intermediate between exposure and disease outcomes as proposed in molecular epidemiology models. Subjects of these new chapters range from preparation of fluid specimens for analysis of cellular inflammatory responses to genotoxic insults to sensitive methods for proteomic analysis and aberrant DNA methylation patterns. Written in the successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible protocols, and notes on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and easily accessible, Molecular Toxicology Protocols, Second Edition addresses not only the needs of molecular biologists and toxicologists, but also those of individuals interested in applying molecular methods to clinical applications, such as geneticists, pathologists, biochemists, and epidemiologists.

Protection of human health by prevention of environmental hazards has become a major concern in all European countries. This concern is reflected in the regional strategy of Health for All by the Year 2000, as developed in 1984, and in the 1989 European Charter on Environment and Health. However, despite considerable progress, most efforts are related to single sources of exposure and to a small number of 'priority' chemicals. In protecting the population against chemical hazards, attention must also be paid to the fact that subgroups are particularly susceptible to the adverse effects of certain chemicals. This hypersusceptibility may be genetically determined. Such individual predisposition to toxic effects must be taken into account in the efforts to prevent adverse effects of environmental exposures to toxic chemicals. To help address these problems the Regional Office, in co-operation with the Institute of Human Genetics and Anthropology of the Univer sity of Dusseldorf and with financial support from the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety of the Federal Republic of Germany, organized a consultation in Krefeld in October 1989. The meeting was attended by 17 experts from 12 coun tries, three representatives of the host government, two representatives of other organizations and five staff members from the WHO Regional Office for Europe and WHO Headquarters. The list of participants is included as an appendix to the present volume."

International concern in scientific, industrial, and governmental communities of xenobiotics in foods and in both abiotic and biotic environments over traces has justified the present triumvirate of specialized publications in this field: comprehensive reviews, rapidly published research papers and progress reports, and archival documentations. These three international publications are inte grated and scheduled to provide the coherency essential for nonduplicative and current progress in a field as dynamic and complex as environmental contamina tion and toxicology. This series is reserved exclusively for the diversified litera ture on "toxic" chemicals in our food, our feeds, our homes, recreational and working surroundings, our domestic animals, our wildlife and ourselves. Tre mendous efforts worldwide have been mobilized to evaluate the nature, pres ence, magnitude, fate, and toxicology of the chemicals loosed upon the earth. Among the sequelae of this broad new emphasis is an undeniable need for an articulated set of authoritative publications, where one can find the latest impor tant world literature produced by these emerging areas of science together with documentation of pertinent ancillary legislation. Research directors and legislative or administrative advisers do not have the time to scan the escalating number of technical publications that may contain articles important to current responsibility. Rather, these individuals need the background provided by detailed reviews and the assurance that the latest infor mation is made available to them, all with minimal literature searching."

The aim of this book is to give an overview of the most important aspects of physiological and biochemical basis for metal toxicity and tolerance in plants. The book is expected to serve as a reference to university and college teachers, students of plant sciences, environmental biology, environmental biotechnology, agriculture, horticulture, forestry, plant molecular biology, and genetics.

Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology attempts to provide concise, critical reviews of timely advances, philosophy, and significant areas of accomplished or needed endeavor in the total field of xenobiotics, in any segment of the environment, as well as toxicological implications.

The concern over the entry of agrochemicals and other xenobiotics into drinking water resources and over the general quality of drinking water is increasing. The topic of water quality and water supply will continue to be of great interest during the next two decades in developed as well as in developing countries. The new volume discusses in an authoritative way the key issues of drinking water and its often necessary treatment.

Pesticides have contributed impressively to our present-day agricultural productivity, but at the same time they are at the center of serious concerns about safety, health, and the environment. Increasingly, the public wonders whether the benefits of pesticides - the perfect red apple' - outweigh the costs of environmental pollution, human illness, and the destruction of animals and our habitat. Scientists and government officials are suspected of promoting commercial interests rather than protecting human welfare.

This volume presents a broad compendium of techniques used in biodegradation and toxicological research. Through both legacy and up-to-date approaches to practical methodologies with proven results, the book examines the role and applications of analytical biodegradation quantification as it applies to the environmental sciences, particularly in the range of byproducts that are usually linked to toxicology, and the test organisms most often used in toxicity testing. Topics include scientific and technical feasibility studies, contaminant impacts evaluation, study design and analytical techniques, key methodologies required to prepare the biodegradation and toxicology protocols, as well as the handling of microbial communities related to such processes. Written for the Methods in Pharmacology and Toxicology series, chapters deal with a critical discussion of laboratory scale experiments, as well as full scale in situ and ex situ apparatus, with each chapter containing both a discursive section along with a detailed methods section. Detailed and authoritative, Toxicity and Biodegradation Testing is primarily focused toward the environmental sciences researcher, while the range of techniques also provides an introduction to biodegradation and toxicology methods for researchers outside of the field.

Applications of nanoparticles to the human life and tools in diagnosis and therapy in field of clinical medicine holds importance and has been an prime focus of biomedical and clinical research for quite sometime, though their application in veterinary medicine is a relatively new focus area of research. Prior to human applications, studies are initially conducted on animals models. Thus toxicity based studies and study of impact of nanoparticles on animal immune system finds importance. In the second volume of the book we discuss the immune system in animals across invertebrates and vertebrate phylas and discuss the impact of nanoparticles in animals life, health, survival and immune system. The book highlights the toxic effects of nanoparticles as environmental pollutants and their adverse impact on animal life forms. Both volumes are also included in a set ISBN 978-3-11-065666-4.

This book comprises of the edited proceedings of a seminar on environmental modelling. It provides a comprehensive overview of current environmental problems and the progress achieved in their numerical simulation.

This is the first publication to offer a comprehensive and balanced view of atmospheric acidity. It is organised in three sections. The first part consists of reviews of sources of acidic compounds, the second part outlines the environmental consequences and the final part discusses the technological, legal and political aspects of control strategies.

Ecotoxicology is a relatively new scientific discipline. Indeed, it might be argued that it is only during the last 5-10 years that it has come to merit being regarded as a true science, rather than a collection of procedures for protecting the environment through management and monitoring of pollutant discharges into the environment. The term 'ecotoxicology' was first coined in the late sixties by Prof. Truhaut, a toxicologist who had the vision to recognize the importance of investigating the fate and effects of chemicals in ecosystems. At that time, ecotoxicology was considered a sub-discipline of medical toxicology. Subsequently, several attempts have been made to portray ecotoxicology in a more realistic light. Notably, both Moriarty (1988) and F. Ramade (1987) emphasized in their books the broad basis of ecotoxicology, encompassing chemical and radiation effects on all components of ecosystems. In doing so, they and others have shifted concern from direct chemical toxicity to humans, to the far more subtle effects that pollutant chemicals exert on natural biota. Such effects potentially threaten the existence of all life on earth. Although I have identified the sixties as the era when ecotoxicology was first conceived as a coherent subject area, it is important to acknowledge that studies that would now be regarded as ecotoxicological are much older.

Poisonous mushrooms have fascinated scientists and laypersons alike for thousands of years. Almost all mushroom fatalities are due to the genus Amanita, whose poetic common names (death cap, destroying angel) attest to their lethality. In his classic 1986 book, Theodor Wieland covered the state of our knowledge about the chemistry and biochemistry of the toxins of Amanita mushrooms up until that time, with a particular focus on the decades of chemical research by him and the Wieland dynasty (including his father, brother, brother-in-law, and cousin). Wieland's book is now mainly of historical interest, with its exhaustive overview of the early chemical studies done without benefit of methods taken for granted by modern chemists. This book is a complete top-to-bottom revision of Wieland's 1986 book. The material covers history, chemistry, and biology with equal thoroughness. It should be of interest to natural products chemists and biologists, professional and amateur mycologists, and toxicologists. The three scientific fields that are most relevant to the book are natural products chemistry, mycology, and fungal molecular genetics. Dr. Walton is an expert in all three. To maximize the broad utility and appeal of the book, care has been taken to define all technical terms specific to a particular discipline, so that, for example, mycologists will be able to understand the relevant chemistry, and chemists will be able to understand the relevant fungal biology.

A well-structured and comprehensive summary of the strategies and several case studies for applying molecular plant genomics in the fields of plant ecotoxicology and plant ecology. With an increasing number of plant genome projects now being completed, there arises the need to develop plant functional genomics. The book concentrates on ecological functions and relates molecular stress responses and signalling pathways to environmental interactions. This paves the way for uncovering new mechanisms of plant fitness, population dynamics and evolution, and new possibilities for plant breeding and sustainable agriculture. Topics covered include: definition and up-scaling of molecular ecotoxicology; signalling substances, enzymes and genes involved in defence against pathogens, xenobiotics, ozone, UV-B and further environmental stressors; and manipulation of plant signal transduction by soil bacteria.

This book provides information on best practices and new thinking regarding the validation of alternative methods for toxicity testing. It covers the validation of experimental and computational methods and integrated approaches to testing and assessment. Validation strategies are discussed for methods employing the latest technologies such as tissue-on-a-chip systems, stem cells and transcriptomics, and for methods derived from pathway-based concepts in toxicology. Validation of Alternative Methods for Toxicity Testing is divided into two sections, in the first, practical insights are given on the state-of-the-art and on approaches that have resulted in successfully validated and accepted alternative methods. The second section focuses on the evolution of validation principles and practice that are necessary to ensure fit-for-purpose validation that has the greatest impact on international regulatory acceptance of alternative methods. In this context validation needs to keep pace with the considerable scientific advancements being made in toxicology, the availability of sophisticated tools and techniques that can be applied in a variety of ways, and the increasing societal and regulatory demands for better safety assessment. This book will be a useful resource for scientists in the field of toxicology, both from industry and academia, developing new test methods, strategies or techniques, as well as Governmental and regulatory authorities interested in understanding the principles and practicalities of validation of alternative methods for toxicity testing.

There are various species of fungi which like to grow on food, thereby releasing toxins which might bear a health risk for the consumer. All foods which have been reported to be contaminated with mycotoxins are listed, including data on the degree of contamination, the concentration of the toxins and the country of origin and/or detection of the contaminated food. All relevant toxin producing fungi, their natural occurence, the possible mycotoxicosis, further the biochemical and physiological effects of mycotoxins, their chemical data and toxicity are treated comprehensively. For each mycotoxin, reference is given to the food at risk.

The proliferation of chemical substances in commerce poses significant scientific and philosophical problems. The scientific challenge is to develop data, methodologies and techniques for identifying and assessing toxic substances before they cause harm to human beings or the environment. The philosophical problem is to determine how much scientific information we should demand for this task consistent with the pursuit of other social goals. In this book, Carl Cranor utilizes material from ethics, philosophy of law, epidemiology, tort law, regulatory law, and risk assessment to argue that the evidentiary standards for science used in the law to control toxics ought to be evaluated with the purposes of the law in mind. Demanding too much for this purpose will slow the evaluation and lead to an excess of toxic substances left unidentified and unassessed, thus leaving the public at risk. Demanding too little may impose other costs. Analyzing this tension philosophically, Cranor argues for an appropriate balance between these social concerns. Although the use of somewhat less stringent evidentiary standards for expert testimony in tort law cases and the use of expedited procedures in the regulatory field might in some cases lead to mistakes of overcompensation or overregulation, the overall social costs would be less than the alternatives. Justice requires that we tolerate the chance of such errors and that we resist the temptation to demand the most science intensive evaluation of each substance in order to protect individuals better from mistakes of undercompensation and underregulation. The role of science in the control of toxic substances is an important public philosophical issue, yetuntil now has received little discussion by philosophers. Regulating Toxic Substances addresses this subject in a way that speaks both to a well-informed public and to experts in several disciplines, including philosophy, risk assessment, environmental and tort law, environmental studies, and public health policy.

Proceedings of the Third Annual Conference, Washington, DC, USA, 3-4 December 1986

Preface When you write a book like this after ten years' working as an environmental specialist, you end up with something that reflects your career. Of course, when I started working at the Ministry of the Environment in the Netherlands, I could not foresee that I would now be at TNO, nor that I would have performed research into chlorine, PVC, waste, etc. , that would come to form the basis for this book. But step by step, with some coincidence and with the support of several people - who were probably unaware of the crucial role that, with hindsight, they played - I arrived at a position where I could start to consider this enterprise. At this point I shall try something dangerous - thanking a few of those people who gave that support. At the same time, it is obvious that I cannot mention them all. I hope that those whom I do not mention will forgive me. A first, crucial moment in this sequence of events came quite soon after I joined TNO in 1990. Just a few weeks later, all the senior staff in my section decided to leave in order to set up their own company. I decided to stay at TNO. As a consequence, I had to manage it on my own.

During the past five years work has been in progress to examine and treat the acidity of Loch Fleet in south west Scotland and its catchment waters. This text describes the background to the research, the application and effects of liming, and relates the experience gained in the project to practice and research in other parts of the world. In particular the success achieved in restoring fish populations to the loch is described as well as the consequences for other flora and fauna.

A mycotoxin is a toxin produced by a fungus under special conditions of moisture and temperature. These fungi are aerobic and microscopic and, moreover, may colonize many kinds of food from the field to the table. Mycotoxins are not only a spoilage issue for food, but in high doses can be a serious health threat for humans. The book will be similar to Weidenborner's previous two books - "Mycotoxins in Feedstuffs" and "Mycotoxins in Foodstuffs" - in that it will be a review of the literature to create a comprehensive reference for mycotoxin levels. It will be his third (and last) book on the topic, this time focusing on the incidence of a mycotoxin in humans and/or animals (natural or artificial incidence). Each entry will include contamination, concentration rate, mean concentration of organs (humans and animals) with a mycotoxin, as well as sample constitution (where possible) and country of origin of the sample.

The purpose of this third edition of Developmental and Reproductive Toxicology is to provide a practical guide to developmental and reproductive toxicology in a regulatory environment. In addition to a comprehensive update of current chapters, the third edition been revised to reflect recent changes in the field. It contains new chapters that reflect emerging topics of interest, including testing of biologics (including vaccines), nonhuman primates as nonclinical models, developmental immunotoxicity testing, in vitro assays (such as use of zebrafish and stem cells, as well as high throughput screening), in silico systems modelling, evaluating mechanisms of reproductive toxicity, in-depth coverage of neurobehavioral testing, and testing under the EU's REACH regulations, as well as updated chapters on nonclinical juvenile toxicity testing, endocrine disruptor screening, and on functional and computational genomics. The study of hazard and risk associated with exposure to toxicants during prenatal development has been expanded in recent years to include effects on development until the time of puberty. Concern over the adverse effects of chemical or physical agents on the reproductive processes of both sexes has increased, and progress has been made in identifying the causes and mechanisms eliciting congenital defects and determining the genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors involved. This book provides up-to-date guidance on the use and interpretation of the newest research techniques in developmental and reproductive toxicology, as well as the more traditional approaches. Developmental and Reproductive Toxicology, Third Edition: Contains valuable insights gained from hands-on experience, together with a critical evaluation of current testing strategies. Includes guidance for the design, conduct, and interpretation of tests in all areas of developmental and reproductive toxicity. Contains reprinted guidelines from major regulatory agencies, as well as terminology for description of developmental abnormalities in laboratory animals, for easy reference. Provides guidance for planning and conducting preclinical toxicity studies and follow-up studies, and interpreting their results in a regulatory environment. This book continues to be the ideal practical reference for developmental and reproductive toxicologists who perform research in industry, government, and academia and for anyone who intends to enter these research areas.

Adds three new chapters (constructed wetlands, stream sediments, and rice production systems) and is updated throughout Examines the adaptation of wetland plants to varying anaerobic soil conditions Provides the basic concepts involved in biogeochemical cycling of nutrients and contaminants in wetlands as related to environmental significance and ecological functions Examines the role of microbial processes in sulfate reduction, denitrification, and methane production Provides case studies for key biogeochemical processes governing wetland function in freshwater wetlands