Determination of pesticides in the respirable fraction of airborne particulate matter by high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

Potential harmful effects of pesticides include risks to human health of workers involved in the wet spray application in cultivated areas. Inhalation exposure depends on several factors including pesticide concentrations in the respirable fraction of airborne particulate matter (PM4). To ensure a high level of protection, the use of tractors with cabins provides protection against dust, aerosols, and vapors. Since tractors not providing maximum protection are still in use, PM4 was sampled during spreading operations in agricultural fields inside and outside tractor cabins. Sample preparation technique based on accelerated solvent extraction and solid-phase extraction cleanup was optimized before analysis of nine pesticides in PM4. Meptyldinocap, deltamethrin, myclobutanil, fluopyram, methoxyfenozide, dimethomorph, fluopicolide, cyflufenamid, and metrafenone were simultaneously determined by high-performance liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization–tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC–ESI–MS–MS). The results demonstrated the efficacy of the tractor cabs used in the sampling sites. © 2017 Taylor & Francis

NANOREGULAÇÃO: AVALIAÇÃO DOS CENÁRIOS INTERNACIONAL E BRASILEIRO

O artigo temático, além de destacar a importância do desenvolvimento tecnológico em nanomaterias, reflete criticamente o entendimento do impacto das nanopartículas à saúde humana e ao meio ambiente. A importância de uma regulação específica em nanotecnologia tornou-se um desafio para as agências reguladoras. Os mecanismos de gestão de risco de nanoprodutos foram analisados, com o intuito de avaliar a atual situação mundial em nanoregulação.   Os impactos científicos, tecnológicos, econômicos e sociais das nanotecnologias e as implicações à curto e longo prazos foram avaliados, a partir de estratégias internacionais e brasileiras. No âmbito internacional pôde-se observar uma evolução em termos de diretrizes, decisões e recomendações em nanosegurança provenientes da academia, organizações não-governamentais, agências reguladoras, indústrias e consumidores. Porém, no cenário brasileiro não há um plano de ação em legislação/fiscalização de nanoprodutos, e, os impactos nanotoxicológicos são pouco difundidos no país

Effect of oxidizing and reducing atmospheres on Ba(Ti0.90Zr0.10)O3:2V ceramics as characterized by piezoresponse force microscopy

The effect of annealing atmospheres (At amb, N2 and O2) on the electrical properties of Ba(Ti0.90Zr0.10)O3:2V (BZT10:2V) ceramics obtained by the mixed oxide method was investigated. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis indicates that oxygen vacancies present near Zr and Ti ions reduce ferroelectric properties, especially in samples treated in an ambient atmosphere (At amb). BZT10:2V ceramics sintered in a nitrogen atmosphere showed better dielectric behaviour at room temperature with a dielectric permittivity measured at a frequency of 10 kHz equal to 16800 with dielectric loss of 0.023. Piezoelectric force microscopy (PFM) images reveal improvement in the piezoelectric coefficient by sintering the sample under nitrogen atmosphere. Thus, BZT10:2V ceramics sintered under a nitrogen atmosphere can be useful for practical applications which include nonvolatile digital memories, spintronics and data-storage media

La scatola a sorpresa. Studi e poesie per Maria Antonietta Grignani

Miscellanea di studi linguistici e letterari in onore di Maria Antonietta Grignan

Audio-Vestibular Alterations During the Phases of the Menstrual Cycle in Patients with Cochlear Implant

Background: The female hormones fluctuations in woman’s life play a dominant role in homeostasis of the body and can influence the psycho-neurological processes in different body systems. In particular, in the auditory system seems that hormonal alterations during the menstrual cycle can compromise the homeostasis of the labyrinthine fluids altering balance and/or hearing. Aims/Objectives: Our study aims to verify if hormonal changes during different menstrual phases may have an influence, in females with cochlear implants, on the trend of auditory and vestibular performances. Materials and methods: Tonal, speech audiometry, vestibular examination and a measure of cochlear implants electrodes impedances were realized in the follicular and luteal phases on a group of eight women who are at a fertile age, affected by profound sensorineural form of hearing loss and carrying a monolateral cochlear implant. Results: Audio-vestibular alterations, as well as, an increase of impedance electrodes are reported in the luteal phase. Conclusions: Our work suggests that audio-vestibular alterations are related to the different phases of the menstrual cycle with consequent variation also of the performances of the implant. It is very important to keep in mind this aspect to avoid negative results during rehabilitation

Gut microbiota profile in infants with milk and/or egg allergy and evaluation of intestinal colonization and persistence of a probiotic mixture

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Impact of a mediterranean dietary pattern and its components on cardiovascular risk factors, glucose control, and body weight in people with type 2 diabetes: A real-life study

This study evaluates the relation of a Mediterranean dietary pattern and its individual components with the cardiovascular risk factors profile, plasma glucose and body mass index (BMI) in people with type 2 diabetes. We studied 2568 participants at 57 diabetes clinics. Diet was assessed with the EPIC (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition) questionnaire, adherence to the Mediterranean diet was evaluated with the relative Mediterranean diet score (rMED). A high compared to a low score was associated with a better quality of diet and a greater adherence to the nutritional recommendations for diabetes. However, even in the group achieving a high score, only a small proportion of participants met the recommendations for fiber and saturated fat (respectively 17% and 30%). Nonetheless, a high score was associated with lower values of plasma lipids, blood pressure, glycated hemoglobin, and BMI. The relationship of the single food items components of the rMED score with the achievement of treatment targets for plasma lipids, blood pressure, glucose, and BMI were also explored. The study findings support the Mediterranean dietary model as a suitable model for type 2 diabetes and the concept that the beneficial health effects of the Mediterranean diet lie primarily in its synergy among various nutrients and foods rather than on any individual component

Insight in cognitive impairment assessed with the Cognitive Assessment Interview in a large sample of patients with schizophrenia

The Cognitive Assessment Interview (CAI) is an interview-based scale measuring cognitive impairment and its impact on functioning in subjects with schizophrenia (SCZ). The present study aimed at assessing, in a large sample of SCZ (n = 601), the agreement between patients and their informants on CAI ratings, to explore patients' insight in their cognitive deficits and its relationships with clinical and functional indices. Agreement between patient- and informant-based ratings was assessed by the Gwet's agreement coefficient. Predictors of insight in cognitive deficits were explored by stepwise multiple regression analyses. Patients reported lower severity of cognitive impairment vs. informants. A substantial to almost perfect agreement was observed between patients' and informants' ratings. Lower insight in cognitive deficits was associated to greater severity of neurocognitive impairment and positive symptoms, lower severity of depressive symptoms, and older age. Worse real-life functioning was associated to lower insight in cognitive deficit, worse neurocognitive performance, and worse functional capacity. Our findings indicate that the CAI is a valid co-primary measure with the interview to patients providing a reliable assessment of their cognitive deficits. In the absence of informants with good knowledge of the subject, the interview to the patient may represent a valid alternative

Serum Albumin Is Inversely Associated With Portal Vein Thrombosis in Cirrhosis

We analyzed whether serum albumin is independently associated with portal vein thrombosis (PVT) in liver cirrhosis (LC) and if a biologic plausibility exists. This study was divided into three parts. In part 1 (retrospective analysis), 753 consecutive patients with LC with ultrasound-detected PVT were retrospectively analyzed. In part 2, 112 patients with LC and 56 matched controls were entered in the cross-sectional study. In part 3, 5 patients with cirrhosis were entered in the in vivo study and 4 healthy subjects (HSs) were entered in the in vitro study to explore if albumin may affect platelet activation by modulating oxidative stress. In the 753 patients with LC, the prevalence of PVT was 16.7%; logistic analysis showed that only age (odds ratio [OR], 1.024; P = 0.012) and serum albumin (OR, -0.422; P = 0.0001) significantly predicted patients with PVT. Analyzing the 112 patients with LC and controls, soluble clusters of differentiation (CD)40-ligand (P = 0.0238), soluble Nox2-derived peptide (sNox2-dp; P < 0.0001), and urinary excretion of isoprostanes (P = 0.0078) were higher in patients with LC. In LC, albumin was correlated with sCD4OL (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient [r(s)], -0.33; P < 0.001), sNox2-dp (r(s), -0.57; P < 0.0001), and urinary excretion of isoprostanes (r(s), -0.48; P < 0.0001) levels. The in vivo study showed a progressive decrease in platelet aggregation, sNox2-dp, and urinary 8-iso prostaglandin F2 alpha-III formation 2 hours and 3 days after albumin infusion. Finally, platelet aggregation, sNox2-dp, and isoprostane formation significantly decreased in platelets from HSs incubated with scalar concentrations of albumin. Conclusion: Low serum albumin in LC is associated with PVT, suggesting that albumin could be a modulator of the hemostatic system through interference with mechanisms regulating platelet activation