OBJECTIVES Titanium dioxide (TiO(2)), a common nanoparticle widely used in industrial production, is one of nano-sized materials. The purpose of this study was to determine the acute and chronic toxicity of TiO(2) using different size and various concentrations on Daphnia magna. METHODS In the acute toxicity test, four concentrations (0, 0.5, 4, and 8 mM) for TiO(2) with 250 or 500 nm and fiv...

Immunity in vertebrates is well established to develop with time, but the ontogeny of defence in invertebrates is markedly less studied. Yet, age-specific capacity for defence against pathogens, coupled with age structure in populations, has widespread implications for disease spread. Thus, we sought to determine the susceptibility of hosts of different ages in an experimental invertebrate host...

According to the European REACH Directive, the acute toxicity towards Daphnia magna should be assessed for any industrial chemical with a market volume of more than 1 t/a. Therefore, it is highly recommended to determine the toxicity at a certain confidence level, either experimentally or by applying reliable prediction models. To this end, a large dataset was compiled, with the experimental ac...

Room-temperature ionic liquids (ILs) are considered to be green chemicals that may replace volatile organic solvents currently used by industry. However, IL effects on aquatic organisms and ecosystems are currently unknown. We studied the acute effects of imidazolium-based ILs on survival of the crustacean Daphnia magna and their chronic effects on number of first-brood neonates, total number o...

The novel lanthanum-modified clay water treatment technology (Phoslock seems very promising in remediation of eutrophied waters. Phoslock is highly efficient in stripping dissolved phosphorous from the water column and in intercepting phosphorous released from the sediments. The active phosphorous-sorbent in Phoslock is the Rare Earth Element lanthanum. A leachate experiment revealed that lanth...

Mothers are expected to use environmental cues to modify maternal investment to optimize their fitness. However, when the environment varies unpredictably, cues may not be an accurate proxy of future conditions. Under such circumstances, selection favors a diversifying maternal investment strategy. While there is evidence that the environment is becoming more uncertain, the extent to which moth...

In this article we propose a Bayesian hierarchical model for the identification of differentially expressed genes in Daphnia magna organisms exposed to chemical compounds, specifically munition pollutants in water. The model we propose constitutes one of the very first attempts at a rigorous modeling of the biological effects of water purification. We have data acquired from a purification syst...