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Abstracts / Toxicology L

t potentially harmful concentrations. Method: Detailed reports ofecropsy analysis were available for 22 wild boars and 3 coypus. Allossible causes of sudden death, such as poisoning by pesticides,

ngestion of water containing cyanobacteria and inhalation of toxicas, were discussed in light of necropsy findings. Results and conclu-ion: Necropsies of wild boars showed conjunctivitis (10/22), lungdema (16/22) and heart congestion (8/22). Acute toxicity values bynhalation of H2S are similar among species, thus toxic doses werextrapolated from rodents to coypus and from pigs to wild boars.he lung concentrations of H2S (4/8) were compatible with toxicffects. Location of dead animals in the estuary showed possiblexposure to high H2S environmental levels, through emissions ofas in mudflats containing high levels of organic substances. Theseesults are in favour of wild boars exposure to high concentrationsf H2S, as was reported in humans, following professional or acci-ental exposure. Such acute poisoning events are interesting inerms of comparative clinical toxicology and demonstrate the rolef wild mammals as warning signals for environmental hazards.

oi:10.1016/j.toxlet.2012.03.349

11-46oxicology and emergency response information from the USational Library of Medicine

eanne Goshorn 1, Pertti Hakkinen 2

National Library of Medicine, United States, 2 NLM/NIH/HHS, Unitedtates

The Toxicology and Environmental Health Information ProgramTEHIP) was established at the US National Library of Medicinen 1967. Since that time many well-known databases have beeneveloped and maintained, with improved access provided ton ever wider group of users as computer and communica-ions technology evolved. We have developed several apps forPhone, Android, and Blackberry users, as well as Web sites thatllow optimal use of many of our Web resources by mobileevices. Most recently, NLM has focused on disaster informa-ion, and a Disaster Information Management Research Centerhttp://disasterinfo.nlm.nih.gov) has been established to help withational preparedness and response to disasters of natural, acci-ental, or deliberate origin. NLM resources have evolved to meethe needs of disaster response. The information in the Haz-rdous Substances Data Bank (HSDB, part of the TOXNET systemhttp://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov) provides content for the Wireless Infor-

ation System for Emergency Responders (WISER), which providesnformation on handheld devices. HSDB also provides backgroundnformation for a comprehensive tool on management of radia-ion emergencies, the Radiation Emergency Medical Managementystem (REMM), (http://www.remm.nlm.gov). A similar tool forhe management of chemical exposure emergencies (CHEMM,ttp://chemm.nlm.nih.gov) was released in 2011. Another TEHIPool especially useful to toxicology researchers is ALTBIB, annhanced Web portal to information resources on alternatives tohe use of live vertebrates in biomedical research and testing,

ncluding canned PubMED searches and links to important orga-izations and resources.

oi:10.1016/j.toxlet.2012.03.350

211S (2012) S43–S216 S93

P11-47Bacteria from Tagus Estuary: Characterization and mercurytransformation potential

Cristina Carvalho 1, Neusa Figueiredo 1, João Canário 2, AidaDuarte 1

1 Faculty of Pharmacy, Univ. of Lisbon, Portugal, 2 Ipimar/IRNB,Portugal

High level of contamination by inorganic mercury (Hg) (II) andmethylmercury (MeHg) has been showed in Tagus Estuary, as aresult of past industrial activities.

The objective of this study was the characterization of bacte-ria isolated from the sediments of two hot spots of Tagus Estuary(North Channel and Barreiro) and one low contaminated area (Alco-chete) and the evaluation of their potential in mercury cycling inTagus Estuary.

Mercury-resistant bacteria (HgR-bacteria) were isolated fromsediments of the selected areas through the collection of samplesfrom a 50 cm core. To identify the aerobic microbial communitypresent in these areas, biochemical and microbiological tests wereused. Mercury resistance was evaluated by the determination ofminimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of HgCl2 and MeHgCl. PCRwas performed to detect the presence of mer operon in HgR-bacteria and their mercury transformation capacities were alsoevaluated. The results showed a stratified distribution of differ-ent types of aerobic HgR-bacteria along the depth of the sedimentsaccording to specie and mercury resistance. In the two contami-nated areas the bacteria community presented a wider diversityincluding Aeromonas, Vibrio, Bacillus, Streptococcus, Serratia, Cit-robacter and Shewanella spp., whereas in Alcochete mostly Bacillusspp. were found. MIC values of Hg2+ and MeHg ranged from 0.1 to13.6 �g/ml (0.4–50 �M) and 0.02 to 1.3 �g/ml (0.1–5 �M), respec-tively, and bacteria isolated from North Channel were the mostresistant. Only one bacterium showed a positive result for meroperon amplification. In presence of HgCl2, bacteria showed abilityto transform it into Hg0 and MeHg.

doi:10.1016/j.toxlet.2012.03.351

P11-48Fetal exposure to MAM in rats induces life-lastingnon-progressive neural impairment

Didima De Groot 1, Didima De Groot 1,2, Donald Fox 2,3, IneWaalkens 3,4, Jan Lammers 3,4

1 TNO EELS, The Netherlands, 2 TNO EELS, Zeist, The Netherlands,3 Univ. of Houston, Coll. of Optometry, United States, 4 TNO Triskelionbv, Zeist, The Netherlands

Methylazoxymethanol (MAM) is a potent neurotoxin takenup by the brain and metabolized to compounds with genotoxicproperties. MAM is present in cycad seed kernels causing pro-gressive western Pacific amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) andParkinson-dementia complex (PDC). Researchers hypothesize thatcellular-malignancy and ‘propelling’ (progressive) neurodegener-ation are two sides of the same coin, the outcome depending onwhether the genotoxin acts on a cycling or non-cycling cell (neu-rons) (Kisby and Spencer, 2011). Here, we re-evaluate results of

prenatal exposure to MAM in light of this hypothesis. Mated femalerats (14/dose) were dosed ip with MAM (gestation day 13–15;0, 1.25, 2.5, 5, 7.5 mg MAM/kg bw/day). Neuropathology-survey(n = 10 litters/dose; 1 animal/sex/litter) included gross abnormali-