Particular concern at the present stage is the health effects of wildfires’ smoke. The aim of the study was to determine the impact of paternal biomass-smoke exposure on offspring’s behavior and cognitive abilities. Male rats were exposed to biomass smoke for four hours/day, five days/week, for four weeks. Average concentration of carbon monoxide and particulate matter of 2.5 μm PM2.5 in the chamber during exposure were 28.7 ± 5.3 mg/m3 and 1.9 ± 0.5 mg/m3, respectively. At the same time, high concentrations of furfural and acetaldehyde were detected in the air environment of the exposure chambers. Offspring was obtained by mating of experimental males with untreated females, immediately after the end of the exposure and after 60 days (long-term period). Offspring were tested by using the Morris water maze and open field at three months of age. Male and female offspring born by mating immediately after exposure demonstrated decreased exploratory behavior, locomotor activity, and spatial navigation, as well as increased anxiety levels. Locomotor and exploratory activity in rats of both sexes from progeny obtained after long-term exposure to smoke had no statistically significant differences when compared to the control; however, the females showed a high level of anxiety and impaired cognitive functions. The recovery period after biomass-smoke intoxication, comparable in duration of spermatogenesis in rats, was an important factor in reducing the risk of developing central nervous system (CNS) disorders in offspring.

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The aim of our investigation was to make a comparative assessment of the biological effects of silver nanoparticles encapsulated in a natural and synthetic polymer matrix. We carried out a comparative assessment of the biological effect of silver nanocomposites on natural (arabinogalactan) and synthetic (poly-1-vinyl-1,2,4-triazole) matrices. We used 144 three-month-old white outbred male rats, which were divided into six groups. Substances were administered orally for 9 days at a dose 500 μg/kg. Twelve rats from each group were withdrawn from the experiment immediately after nine days of exposure (early period), and the remaining 12 rats were withdrawn from the experiment 6 months after the end of the nine-day exposure (long-term period). We investigated the parietal–temporal area of the cerebral cortex using histological (morphological assessments of nervous tissue), electron microscopic (calculation of mitochondrial areas and assessment of the quality of the cell nucleus), and immunohistochemical methods (study of the expression of proteins regulating apoptosis bcl-2 and caspase 3). We found that the effect of the nanocomposite on the arabinogalactan matrix causes a disturbance in the nervous tissue structure, an increase in the area of mitochondria, a disturbance of the structure of nerve cells, and activation of the process of apoptosis.

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Introduction. Lead is one of the priority factors of the environment, highly hazardous to human health and causing the greatest concern due to the accumulation in the environment. The paper presents the results of the studying the influence of lead on genotoxicity and motor activity of posterity of white rats obtained from males exposed to lead acetate. The aim of the study was to explore the effects of lead acetate action on the behavior of the offspring of the first two generations of male albino rats and to reveal the genotoxic effect. Material and methods. Male albino rats received daily lead acetate with drinking water for 7 weeks (60 mg/kg). Obtained after mating with intact females first generation offspring (males) were tested in an “open field” and the presence of DNA comets in the sex cells of the testes and nervous tissue was determined. Then the males were exposed to lead acetate in the same dose and after mating with intact females, the male offspring of the second generation was tested according to a similar scheme. In all animals receiving a lead, its content in blood and testes was determined. Results. The results of the conducted research showed that under the influence of lead acetate on male rats, the transgenerational effect was manifested in animals of the first two generations in the form of changes in the structure of behavior having a different orientation - a decrease in motor and research activity in the first generation and an increase in the second generation. The DNA comet study revealed no DNA damage in sperm cells in animals exposed to lead neither in their offspring. Along with this, the results of the study of the degree of DNA damage in animal brain cells showed a significant increase in DNA damage in the first generation after the exposure to lead. Discussion. The effect of lead acetate on adult male albino rats leads to the formation of disturbances in motor and research component of behavior and also causes an increase in DNA damage in brain cells in first and second generations.