Addressing chemical pollution in biodiversity research.

Climate change, biodiversity loss, and chemical pollution are planetary-scale emergencies requiring urgent mitigation actions. As these "triple crises" are deeply interlinked, they need to be tackled in an integrative manner. However, while climate change and biodiversity are often studied together, chemical pollution as a global change factor contributing to worldwide biodiversity loss has received much less attention in biodiversity research so far. Here, we review evidence showing that the multifaceted effects of anthropogenic chemicals in the environment are posing a growing threat to biodiversity and ecosystems. Therefore, failure to account for pollution effects may significantly undermine the success of biodiversity protection efforts. We argue that progress in understanding and counteracting the negative impact of chemical pollution on biodiversity requires collective efforts of scientists from different disciplines, including but not limited to ecology, ecotoxicology, and environmental chemistry. Importantly, recent developments in these fields have now enabled comprehensive studies that could efficiently address the manifold interactions between chemicals and ecosystems. Based on their experience with intricate studies of biodiversity, ecologists are well equipped to embrace the additional challenge of chemical complexity through interdisciplinary collaborations. This offers a unique opportunity to jointly advance a seminal frontier in pollution ecology and facilitate the development of innovative solutions for environmental protection.

Conflicts of Interest in the Assessment of Chemicals, Waste, and Pollution.

Pollution by chemicals and waste impacts human and ecosystem health on regional, national, and global scales, resulting, together with climate change and biodiversity loss, in a triple planetary crisis. Consequently, in 2022, countries agreed to establish an intergovernmental science-policy panel (SPP) on chemicals, waste, and pollution prevention, complementary to the existing intergovernmental science-policy bodies on climate change and biodiversity. To ensure the SPP's success, it is imperative to protect it from conflicts of interest (COI). Here, we (i) define and review the implications of COI, and its relevance for the management of chemicals, waste, and pollution; (ii) summarize established tactics to manufacture doubt in favor of vested interests, i.e., to counter scientific evidence and/or to promote misleading narratives favorable to financial interests; and (iii) illustrate these with selected examples. This analysis leads to a review of arguments for and against chemical industry representation in the SPP's work. We further (iv) rebut an assertion voiced by some that the chemical industry should be directly involved in the panel's work because it possesses data on chemicals essential for the panel's activities. Finally, (v) we present steps that should be taken to prevent the detrimental impacts of COI in the work of the SPP. In particular, we propose to include an independent auditor's role in the SPP to ensure that participation and processes follow clear COI rules. Among others, the auditor should evaluate the content of the assessments produced to ensure unbiased representation of information that underpins the SPP's activities.

Association of Thoracic Skeletal Muscle Index with Clinical Outcome and Response to Nutritional Interventions in Patients at Risk of Malnutrition-Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Trial.

BACKGROUND: Measurement of skeletal muscle index (SMI) in computed tomography has been suggested to improve the objective assessment of muscle mass. While most studies have focused on lumbar vertebrae, we examine the association of SMI at the thoracic level with nutritional and clinical outcomes and response to nutritional intervention. METHODS: We conducted a secondary analysis of EFFORT, a Swiss-wide, multicenter, randomized trial. We investigated the association of low SMI at the 12th thoracic vertebra (T12) with adverse outcome within 30 days after hospital admission (primary endpoint). RESULTS: 663 of 2028 patients from the EFFORT trial had available CT scans for T12, and 519 among them also had available L3 scans. Mean SMI at T12 was 22.4 ± 5.8 cm2/m2 and 19.6 ± 5.5 cm2/m2 in male and female patients, respectively, and correlated well with nutritional parameters, including nutritional risk based on NRS 2002 (adjusted coefficient -0.63, 95%CI -1.25 to -0.01, p = 0.047), BMI (adjusted coefficient 0.74, 95%CI 0.66 to 0.82, p < 0.001) and handgrip strength (adjusted coefficient 0.15, 95%CI 0.11 to 0.2, p < 0.001). In multivariate regression analyses, low SMI was not a significant predictor for either clinical outcome or for treatment response. Results for SMI measured at L3 were similar, with only little prognostic value. CONCLUSIONS: Within medical patients at risk for malnutrition, SMI at thoracic vertebra provided low prognostic information regarding clinical outcomes and nutritional treatment response.

Comparative toxicity assessment of in situ burn residues to initial and dispersed heavy fuel oil using zebrafish embryos as test organisms.

In situ burning (ISB) is discussed to be one of the most suitable response strategies to combat oil spills in extreme conditions. After burning, a highly viscous and sticky residue is left and may over time pose a risk of exposing aquatic biota to toxic oil compounds. Scientific information about the impact of burn residues on the environment is scarce. In this context, a comprehensive ISB field experiment with approx. 1000L IFO 180 was conducted in a fjord in Greenland. The present study investigated the toxicity of collected ISB residues to early life stages of zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a model for potentially exposed pelagic organisms. The toxicity of ISB residues on zebrafish embryos was compared with the toxicity of the initial (unweathered) IFO 180 and chemically dispersed IFO 180. Morphological malformations, hatching success, swimming behavior, and biomarkers for exposure (CYP1A activity, AChE inhibition) were evaluated in order to cover the toxic response on different biological organization levels. Across all endpoints, ISB residues did not induce greater toxicity in zebrafish embryos compared with the initial oil. The application of a chemical dispersant increased the acute toxicity most likely due to a higher bioavailability of dissolved and particulate oil components. The results provide insight into the adverse effects of ISB residues on sensitive life stages of fish in comparison with chemical dispersant application.