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The science of the total environment 845, 157338 (2022). doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157338, Published by Elsevier Science, Amsterdam [u.a.]

Introduction Although the investigation of chronic kidney disease of uncertain etiology (CKDu) has identified many possible influencing factors in recent years, the exact pathomechanism of this disease remains unclear. Methods In this study, we collected 13 renal biopsies from patients with symptomatic CKDu (Sym-CKDu) from Sri Lanka with well-documented clinical and socioeconomic factors. We performed light microscopy and electron microscopic evaluation for ultrastructural analysis which was compared to 100 biopsies from German patients with 20 different kidney diseases. Results Of the Sri Lankan patients, most were men (12/13), frequently employed in agriculture (50%), and showed symptoms such as feverish feeling (83.3%), dysuria (83.3%), and arthralgia (66.6%). Light microscopic evaluation using activity and chronicity score revealed that cases represented early stages of CKDu except for two biopsies which showed additional signs of diabetes. Most glomeruli showed only mild changes, such as podocyte foot process effacement on EM. We found a spectrum of early tubulointerstitial changes including partial loss of brush border in proximal tubules, detachment of tubular cells, enlarged vacuoles, and mitochondrial swelling associated with loss of cristae and dysmorphic lysosomes with electron-dense aggregates. None of these changes occurred exclusively in Sym-CKDu, however they were significantly more frequent in these cases than in the control cohort. Conclusion In conclusion, our findings confirm the predominant and early alterations of tubular structure in CKDu that can occur without significant glomerular changes. The ultrastructural changes do not provide concrete evidence of the cause of CKDu but were significantly more frequent in Sym-CKDu compared to the controls.

Water and water bodies are vital for people and nature. They provide both important resources and valuable habitats for life. The conservation and use of water systems must hence be reconciled to ensure the best possible path to sustainable development. Pressure on water resources and aquatic ecosystems increases continuously both in Germany and worldwide. Agriculture, industries, the energy and water economy, settlements and traffic, as well as recreation contribute to this development. Climate change, including increases in the frequency and severity of extreme events such as droughts and intense precipitation, exacerbates the situation. Water is becoming scarce for people and ecosystems or is getting out of control during extreme rainfall. Increased damage to infrastructure, water pollution and degraded ecosystems limited in their functionality ensue. Water policy must cope with conflicting goals of water resource use and conservation. The resulting conflicts are serious and complex, and have evident repercussions for practical water management, calling for new approaches to solve the pressing issues. In view of the complex task and rapidly changing framework conditions, a comprehensive understanding of water systems is imperative to implementing viable prevention and adaptation strategies. The topics to consider must range from individual hydrological, ecological and technical processes to system interrelationships and dynamics, and to economic, social and political issues. This breadth is a challenge for water research. Accordingly, the German Water Science Alliance aspires to link fundamental scientific insights across disciplines to practical solutions of water issues with a view to promote evidence-based water policy supporting sustainable water resource and ecosystem management – in Germany, Europe and worldwide. The present framework paper identifies four central thematic challenges along these lines: 1. Hydrological extremes - developing sustainable adaptation options to cope with increasingly frequent and intense heat, drought and heavy rainfall events 2. Water quality - ensuring a lasting high quality of water resources and aquatic ecosystems that are subject to increasing user demands 3. Biodiversity - preserving and restoring ecological structures and processes to maintain and restore a multifunctional aquatic biodiversity 4. Water infrastructures - adapting water infrastructures and optimizing management networks to ensure the long-term performance of water systems. These four thematic challenges are embedded in a whole-systems context to derive insights into water research and management needs that go beyond the individual themes. In addition to the goal of fostering scientific understanding of the complex interrelationships and emergent system properties, this framework paper focuses on the requirements of integrated water resource and aquatic ecosystem management. There is a particular need for investigations into the collation, mobilization, provision and integrative use of comprehensive data on water systems, as well as for developing simulation models capturing changes in water systems and their societal repercussions. This critically involves multi-, inter- and transdisciplinary cooperation in research and water management, and the blending of knowledge and methods from science, engineering and social science. Networking between university and non-university research institutions is necessary, just as a systematic dialogue between the scientific community, authorities, associations, and other stakeholders, including policy makers. The methodological challenges shared by the complementary disciplines contributing to integrative water systems research, are addressed in a separate section, as are the challenges of inter- and transdisciplinary cooperation and the transfer of knowledge to diverse target groups in society. The present framework paper provides an overview of the challenges and current and future research needs relating to water. Emphasis is on Germany, including suggestions on how the framework conditions for water research can be improved. Future so-called „Water Views“ will build on this framework to elaborate on selected topics. These position papers written by members of the water science community will address topical water research and management issues to serve as a basis for in-depth discussions. To this end, the Water Science Alliance invites all representatives of the German water research community to join competencies in order to provide answers to the most urgent water issues emerging at the national level, but also at the European and global scale., Unter Mitarbeit von u.a. Rita Adrian, Ilona Bärlund, Arne Beermann, Thomas U. Berendonk, Viktoria Berger, Felix Bilek, Mareike Braeckevelt, Christoph Czichy, Michael Eisinger, Jörg Freyhof, Claudia Freimuth, Nadine Gerner, Georg Guggenberger, Daniel Hering, Sonja Jähnig, Ralf Klingbeil, Klaus Kümmerer, Marius Mohr, Insa Neuweiler, André Niemann, Torsten C. Schmidt, Ulrike Scherer, Ralf Schüle, Thomas Sommer, Kerstin Stahl, Stefan Stolte, Bernd Sures, Katja Tielbörger, Jale Tosun, Rita Triebskorn, Hans-Jürgen Ulonska, Barbara Waelkens und Markus Weitere.

Depression is a serious health issue and, being such, treatment for it has become a topic of increasing concern. Consequently, the prescription rates of antidepressants have increased by about 50% over the past decade. Among antidepressants, citalopram and venlafaxine are the most frequently prescribed in Germany. Due to the high consumption and low elimination rates of both antidepressants during wastewater purification, they are frequently found in surface waters, where they may pose a risk to the aquatic environment. For the present study, we conducted experiments with the big ramshorn snail, which we exposed to environmentally relevant and explicitly higher concentrations (1–1000 µg/L) of the antidepressants citalopram and venlafaxine. We investigated apical endpoints, such as weight, mortality, behavioural changes, B-esterase activity, Hsp70 stress protein level and superoxide dismutase activity, as well as the tissue integrity of the hepatopancreas in the exposed snails. Citalopram and venlafaxine had no effects on the B-esterase activity, Hsp70 level and superoxide dismutase activity. Citalopram exposure resulted in weight reduction and tissue reactions in the hepatopancreas of snails exposed to 1000 µg/L. In contrast, venlafaxine did not induce comparable effects, but impacted the behaviour (sole detachment) of snails exposed to 100 µg/L and 1000 µg/L of the antidepressant. These results revealed that venlafaxine can affect snails at concentrations 10 times lower than citalopram. For this, in 2020 venlafaxine was introduced in the “Surface Water Watch List”, a list of potential pollutants that should be carefully monitored in surface water by the EU Member States.