A multigeneration toxicity test on Chironomus riparius was performed with the aim of investigating the evolutionary consequences of exposure to perfluoralkyl substances (perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, PFOS; perfluorooctanoic acid, PFOA; perfluorobutane sulfonate, PFBS). Six-hundred larvae were bred per treatment and per generation until emergence and egg deposition under a nominal concentration...

7-Deoxy-uniflorine A (6), synthesized ex novo with a straightforward and simple strategy, and the analogues 4, 5 and 7, were evaluated as potential inhibitors of insect trehalase from Chironomus riparius and Spodoptera littoralis. All the compounds were tested against porcine trehalase as the mammalian counterpart and α-amylase from human saliva as a relevant glucolytic enzyme. The aim of this ...

"Continuous-time correlated random walks" are now gaining traction as models of scale-finite animal movement patterns because they overcome inherent shortcomings with the prevailing paradigm - discrete random walk models. Continuous-time correlated random walk models are founded on the classic Langevin equation that is driven by purely additive noise. The Langevin equation is, however, changed ...

In the course of this study 37 sediment samples were analyzed. They were taken after the flooding in September 2002 along the Elbe and at the mouths of its major tributaries. The sampling program covered the entire river stretch that was affected by the floods, from Obristvi (Czech Republic) to the Elbe estuary (North Sea) on the German coast. Analyses were performed for dioxins, nonylphenols, ...

Results of previous laboratory studies suggest that high population density often buffers the effects of chemical stressors that predominately increase mortality. Mortality stressors act to release more resources for the survivors and, therefore, produce less-than-additive effects. By contrast, growth stressors are expected to have opposite results or more-than-additive effects. We investigated...

Some chironomid (non-biting) midges contain potent human allergens, principally in the form of insect haemoglobins. In view of previously demonstrated immunological cross-reactivity between some different midge species, the possible role of British midges in allergic disease was studied. The chosen site, Farmoor near Oxford, is a village that has been subject to several annual nuisance midge sw...

Effects of 2,4,5-trichlorophenol (TCP) on life-cycle traits of the midge Chironomus riparius and the ability of the midge to evolve tolerance to TCP were assessed using a reference group and a group preexposed to TCP during three generations, both originating from the same laboratory culture. F1 larvae of these groups were then exposed to nominal TCP concentrations of 51, 177, 355, and 532 micr...