Regulatory aspects of nanotechnology in the agri/feed/food sector in EU and non-EU countries

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Outcome of relapsed/refractory acute promyelocytic leukaemia in children, adolescents and young adult patients — a 25‐year Italian experience

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Disease-Modifying Therapies and Coronavirus Disease 2019 Severity in Multiple Sclerosis

Objective: This study was undertaken to assess the impact of immunosuppressive and immunomodulatory therapies on the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS). Methods: We retrospectively collected data of PwMS with suspected or confirmed COVID-19. All the patients had complete follow-up to death or recovery. Severe COVID-19 was defined by a 3-level variable: mild disease not requiring hospitalization versus pneumonia or hospitalization versus intensive care unit (ICU) admission or death. We evaluated baseline characteristics and MS therapies associated with severe COVID-19 by multivariate and propensity score (PS)-weighted ordinal logistic models. Sensitivity analyses were run to confirm the results. Results: Of 844 PwMS with suspected (n = 565) or confirmed (n = 279) COVID-19, 13 (1.54%) died; 11 of them were in a progressive MS phase, and 8 were without any therapy. Thirty-eight (4.5%) were admitted to an ICU; 99 (11.7%) had radiologically documented pneumonia; 96 (11.4%) were hospitalized. After adjusting for region, age, sex, progressive MS course, Expanded Disability Status Scale, disease duration, body mass index, comorbidities, and recent methylprednisolone use, therapy with an anti-CD20 agent (ocrelizumab or rituximab) was significantly associated (odds ratio [OR] = 2.37, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.18-4.74, p = 0.015) with increased risk of severe COVID-19. Recent use (<1 month) of methylprednisolone was also associated with a worse outcome (OR = 5.24, 95% CI = 2.20-12.53, p = 0.001). Results were confirmed by the PS-weighted analysis and by all the sensitivity analyses. Interpretation: This study showed an acceptable level of safety of therapies with a broad array of mechanisms of action. However, some specific elements of risk emerged. These will need to be considered while the COVID-19 pandemic persists

Relationships between Quercus ilex L. litter characteristics and soil microarthropod community in an urban environment at different climatic conditions

In urban environments, climatic conditions and air pollution affect metal content, morphology and physiology of leaves with implications for litter morphology and palatability affecting structural and functional diversity of the soil microarthropod community. As leaf morphology rapidly responds to different environmental factors, recently, functional leaf traits are considered good indicators of plant health status. Aim of the research was to relate Quercus ilex (good monitor of air pollution) leaf, litter and soil microarthropod community characteristics taking into account metal pollution and climatic conditions. The research was performed in an urban environment of the Mediterranean area. Leaves an litter were characterized for Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni and Pb concentrations and for the main functional traits. The soil microarthropod community was investigated for abundance and richness as well as for habitat and diet preferences. The main results were that leaf metal accumulation and climatic condition contextuall affected the litter characteristics both in terms of metal composition and morphological traits. Litter quality discriminated different microarthropod taxa assemblages according trophic preferences whereas climatic conditions strongly affected microarthropod habitat distribution

Oxygen-defect-induced magnetism to 880 K in semiconducting anatase TiO 2−δ films

Abstract We demonstrate a semiconducting material, TiO 2−δ , with ferromagnetism up to 880 K, without the introduction of magnetic ions. The magnetism in these films stems from the controlled introduction of anion defects from both the filmsubstrate interface as well as processing under an oxygen-deficient atmosphere. The room-temperature carriers are n-type with n ∼ 3 × 10 17 cm −3 . The density of spins is ∼10 21 cm −3 . Magnetism scales with conductivity, suggesting that a double exchange interaction is active. This represents a new approach in the design and refinement of magnetic semiconductor materials for spintronics device applications. (Some figures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version) Recent research efforts on the growth of magnetically ordered semiconductor material

18F-FDG PET/CT in the post-operative monitoring of patients with adrenocortical carcinoma

Context: The role of 18F-labeled 2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) in the post-operative monitoring of patients with adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is still unclear. Objective: To assess the accuracy of FDG PET/CT to diagnose ACC recurrence in a real world setting. Design and methods: Retrospective evaluation of data of 57 patients with presumed ACC recurrence at CT scan who underwent FDG PET/CT within a median time of 20 days. We compared the results of either FDG PET/CT or CT with a gold standard confirmation of recurrence (positive histopathology report of removed/biopsied lesions or radiological progression of target lesions at follow-up) to assess their diagnostic performance at different body sites to correctly categorize target lesions. We also assessed whether FDG PET/CT findings may be useful to inform the management strategy. Results: In 48 patients with confirmed ACC recurrence, we found that FDG PET/CT had lower sensitivity than CT in diagnosing liver and lung recurrences of ACC. FDG PET/CT had higher specificity than CT in categorizing liver lesions. FDG PET/CT had a greater positive likelihood ratio than CT to identify liver and abdominal ACC recurrences. The management strategy was changed based on FDG PET/CT findings in 12 patients (21.1%). Conclusions: The greater sensitivity of CT may be partly expected due the specific inclusion criteria of the study; however, the greater specificity of FDG PET/CTwas particularly useful in ruling out suspected ACC recurrences found by CT. Thus, use of FDG PET/CT as a second-line test in the post-operative surveillance of ACC patients following CT finding of a potential recurrence may have a significant impact on patient management

Nanomaterials in Food – Current and Future Applications and Regulatory Aspects

Nanotechnology can contribute to the development of innovative applications in the agriculture, food and feed sector by e.g. enabling improved delivery of nutrients or increased efficacy of agrichemicals. It is expected that applications will increase in the near future and may therefore become a relevant source of human exposure to nanomaterials (NM). To gain more up-to date information, RIKILT and the Joint Research Centre (JRC) were commissioned by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to prepare an inventory of currently used and reasonably foreseen applications of NM in agriculture and food/feed production and carried out a review of regulatory aspects concerning NM in both EU and non-EU countries. An analysis of the information records in the inventory shows that nano-encapsulates, silver and titanium dioxide are the most frequent type of NM listed and that food additives and food contact materials are the most frequent types of application. A comparison between marketed applications and those in development indicates a trend from inorganic materials (e.g. silver) towards organic materials (nano-encapsulates, nanocomposites). Applications in novel food, feed additives, biocides and pesticides are currently mostly at a developmental stage. The review of EU and non-EU legislation shows that currently a few EU legal acts incorporate a definition of a nanomaterial and specific provisions for NM, whereas in many non-EU countries a broader approach is applied, which mainly builds on guidance for industry.JRC.I.5-Systems Toxicolog

Regulatory aspects of nanotechnology in the agri/feed/food sector in EU and non-EU countries

Nanotechnology has the potential to innovate the agricultural, feed and food sectors (hereinafter referred to as agri/feed/food). Applications that are marketed already include nano-encapsulated agrochemicals or nutrients, antimicrobial nanoparticles and active and intelligent food packaging. Many nano-enabled products are currently under research and development, and may enter the market in the near future. As for any other regulated product, applicants applying for market approval have to demonstrate the safe use of such new products without posing undue safety risks to the consumer and the environment. Several countries all over the world have been active in examining the appropriateness of their regulatory frameworks for dealing with nanotechnologies. As a consequence of this, different approaches have been taken in regulating nano-based products in agri/feed/food. The EU, along with Switzerland, were identified to be the only world region where nano-specific provisions have been incorporated in existing legislation, while in other regions nanomaterials are regulated more implicitly by mainly building on guidance for industry. This paper presents an overview and discusses the state of the art of different regulatory measures for nanomaterials in agri/feed/food, including legislation and guidance for safety assessment in EU and non-EU countries.JRC.I.4-Nanobioscience

Nanomaterials for products and application in agriculture, feed and food

Background: Nanotechnology applications can be found in agricultural production, animal feed, food processing, food additives and food contact materials (hereinafter referred to as agri/feed/food). A great diversity of nanomaterials is reported to be currently used in various applications, while new nanomaterials and applications are reported to be in development. Scope and approach: It is expected that applications of nanomaterials in agri/feed/food will increase in the future and thereby increase the human and environmental exposure to such materials. To gain up-to-date knowledge we explored and reviewed the already marketed and in-development applications of nanomaterials in the agri/feed/food sectors upon the request of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). In this paper the results of the project are highlighted and discussed in more detail. Key findings and conclusions: The majority of the applications of nanomaterials that we identified concerned application in food as food additives and food contact materials, while much fewer applications seem to be developed for agriculture and feed. Nano-encapsulates, silver, titanium dioxide and silica are the most often mentioned nanomaterials in the literature. About half of the identified applications are claimed to be already in use. In-development applications are found for nano-encapsulates and nano-composites in novel foods, food and feed additives, biocides, pesticides and food contact materials

Neuroprem: the Neuro-developmental outcome of very low birth weight infants in an Italian region

The survival of preterm babies has increased worldwide, but the risk of neuro-developmental disabilities remains high, which is of concern to both the public and professionals. The early identification of children at risk of neuro-developmental disabilities may increase access to intervention, potentially influencing the outcome