Surface sediments collected from the Savannah River, located in the southeastern state of Georgia, USA, in June-July 1994 were analyzed for individual polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Three subdivisions of the river were identified for the study: upstream from, adjacent to, and downstream from the city of Savannah. There was high spatial variability in the total PAH (SigmaPAH) concentrations that ranged from 29 to 5,375 ng/g with an average concentration of 1,216 +/- 1,161 (SD). Of the three subdivisions, the highest SigmaPAH concentrations were in the middle segment, which was adjacent to urban and industrial areas. To elucidate sources, molecular indices based on indices among phenanthrene versus anthracene and fluoranthene versus pyrene were used to determine pyrogenic and petrogenic sources, respectively. These indices have been used by other authors to differentiate sources. In most cases, PAHs in sediments nearest the city of Savannah were of high temperature and pyrogenic origin. These pyrogenic PAHs were highly associated with toxicity to benthic organisms. The two-ringed naphthalene and substituted naphthalenes, which are petroleum-related PAHs, were significantly higher in the lower section of the river relative to the subdivisions. This river segment receives inputs primarily from shipping and boating traffic. Perylene, which is indicative of nonanthropogenic terrestrial inputs of carbon, had the highest concentration among the individual PAHs measured. High perylene concentrations were found at stations located upstream and adjacent to forested terrain and where salinity level was low. To discriminate pattern differences and similarities of individual PAHs among samples, principal component analysis (PCA) was performed on the more hydrophobic and persistent nonalkylated PAHs. These differences and similarities were used to infer perylene origin. PCA was performed on 14 nonalkylated PAHs that was normalized to the sum of nonalkylated PAHs, using a correlation matrix. Generally, the PAHs were separated into group patterns according to chemical and physical properties associated with log K(OW), except perylene. Perylene, a five-ringed PAH, was distinctly separated from the other five-ringed PAHs. The sources for perylene are likely from biogenic, terrestrial precursors. The collected data show that pyrogenic PAHs were highly associated with biological effects on benthic organisms, based on bioassay results. Perylene, a nonanthropogenic PAH, was found throughout the river and constituted a large percentage of total PAHs in the upper river.

Aims:  The utility of coliphages to detect and track faecal pollution was evaluated using South Carolina surface waters that exceeded State faecal coliform standards. Methods and Results:  Coliphages were isolated from 117 surface water samples by single agar layer (SAL) and enrichment presence/absence (EP/A) methods. Confirmed F+RNA coliphages were typed for microbial source tracking using a library‐independent approach. Concentrations of somatic coliphages using 37 and 44·5°C incubation temperatures were found to be significantly different and the higher temperature may be more specific for faecal contamination. The EP/A technique detected coliphages infecting Escherichia coli Famp in 38 (66%) of the 58 surface water samples negative for F+ coliphages by the SAL method. However, coliphages isolated by EP/A were found to be less representative of coliphage diversity within a sample. Among the 2939 coliphage isolates tested from surface water and known source samples, 813 (28%) were found to be F+RNA. The majority (94%) of surface water F+RNA coliphage isolates typed as group I. Group II and/or III viruses were identified from 14 surface water stations, the majority of which were downstream of wastewater discharges. These sites were likely contaminated by human‐source faecal pollution. Conclusions:  The results suggest that faecal contamination in surface waters can be detected and source identifications aided by coliphage analyses. Significance and Impact of the Study:  This study supports the premise that coliphage typing can provide useful, but not absolute, information to distinguish human from animal sources of faecal pollution. Furthermore, the comparison of coliphage isolation methods detailed in this study should provide valuable information to those wishing to incorporate coliphage detection into water quality assessments.

With increased climate change pressures likely to influence harmful algal blooms, exposure to microcystin, a known hepatotoxin and a byproduct of cyanobacterial blooms can be a risk factor for NAFLD associated comorbidities. Using both in vivo and in vitro experiments we show that microcystin exposure in NAFLD mice cause rapid alteration of gut microbiome, rise in bacterial genus known for mediating gut inflammation and lactate production. Changes in the microbiome were strongly associated with inflammatory pathology in the intestine, gut leaching, tight junction protein alterations and increased oxidative tyrosyl radicals. Increased lactate producing bacteria from the altered microbiome was associated with increased NOX-2, an NADPH oxidase isoform. Activationof NOX2 caused inflammasome activation as shown by NLRP3/ASCII and NLRP3/Casp-1 colocalizations in these cells while use of mice lacking a crucial NOX2 component attenuated inflammatory pathology and redox changes. Mechanistically, NOX2 mediated peroxynitrite species were primary to inflammasome activation and release of inflammatory mediators. Thus, in conclusion, microcystin exposure in NAFLD could significantly alter intestinal pathology especially by the effects on microbiome and resultant redox status thus advancing our understanding of the co-existence of NAFLD-linked inflammatory bowel disease phenotypes in the clinic.

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