The double face of metals: The intriguing case of chromium

Chromium (Cr) is a common element in the Earth’s crust. It may exist in different oxidation states, Cr(0), Cr(III) and Cr(VI), with Cr(III) and Cr(VI) being relatively stable and largely predominant. Chromium’s peculiarity is that its behavior relies on its valence state. Cr(III) is a trace element in humans and plays a major role in glucose and fat metabolism. The beneficial effects of Cr(III) in obesity and types 2 diabetes are known. It has been long considered an essential element, but now it has been reclassified as a nutritional supplement. On the other hand, Cr(VI) is a human carcinogen and exposure to it occurs both in occupational and environmental contexts. It induces also epigenetic effects on DNA, histone tails and microRNA; its toxicity seems to be related to its higher mobility in soil and swifter penetration through cell membranes than Cr(III). The microorganisms Acinetobacter sp. Cr1 and Pseudomonas sp. Cr13 have been suggested as a promising agent for bioremediation of Cr(VI). This review intends to underline the important role of Cr(III) for human health and the dangerousness of Cr(VI) as a toxic element. The dual and opposing roles of this metal make it particularly interesting. An overview of the recent literature is reported in support

Thallium use, toxicity, and detoxification therapy: An overview

Thallium (Tl) is released into the environment, where is present at very low levels, from both natural and anthropogenic sources. Tl is considered as one of the most toxic heavy metals; it is a non‐essential metal, present in low concentrations in humans. Tl toxicity causes dermatological and gastrointestinal diseases and disorders of the nervous system, and may even result in death. Many isotopes of Tl exist, with different uses. One of the isotopes of this metal (201Tl) is used in cardiovascular scintigraphy and for the diagnosis of malignant tumors such as breast or lung cancer and osteosarcoma bone cancer. Many Tl compounds are tasteless, colorless, and odorless. Due to these characteristics and their high toxicity, they have been used as poisons in suicides and murders for criminal purposes, as well as instances of accidental poisoning. Impaired glutathione metabolism, oxidative stress, and disruption of potassium‐regulated homeostasis may play a role in the mechanism of Tl toxicity. Solanum nigrum L. and Callitriche cophocarpa have been suggested as promising agents for the phytoremediation of Tl. In addition, macrocyclic compounds such as crown ethers (18‐crown‐6) are good candidates to absorb Tl from wastewater. Through this review, we present an update to general information about the uses and toxicity of Tl. Furthermore, the attention is focused on detoxification therapies

Studies of Li2Fe0.9M0.1SO Antiperovskite Materials for Lithium–Ion Batteries: The Role of Partial Fe2+ to M2+ Substitution

Cubic Li2Fe0.9M0.1SO antiperovskites with M–Co2+, or Mn2+ were successfully synthesized by a solid-state technique, and studied as cathode materials in Li-batteries. The influence of the Co, and Mn cation substitution of Fe in Li2FeSO on the resulting electrochemical performance was evaluated by galvanostatic cycling, while the reaction mechanism was explored by applying operando X-ray absorption and X-ray diffraction techniques using synchrotron radiation facilities. Even 10% Fe-substitution by these metals completely changes the structural behavior of the material upon Li-removal and insertion, in comparison to Li2FeSO. The Co-substitution significantly improves cyclability of the material at high current densities in comparison to the non-substituted material, reaching a specific capacity of 250 mAh/g at 1C current density. In contrast, the Mn-substitution leads to deterioration of the electrochemical performance because of the impeded kinetics, which may be caused by the appearance of a second isostructural phase due to formation of Jahn-Teller Mn3+ cations upon delithiation

Syphilis with HIV in Florence, 2003-2009: a 7-year epidemiological study.

SUMMARYThe aims of this study were to describe the trend of acquired syphilis in the city of Florence and its province over a 7-year period, to investigate sexual behaviours in the syphilis-infected population and to analyse syphilis/HIV co-infection. A total of 259 patients were classified according to age, sex and HIV infection. We estimated that from 2004 to 2008 cases increased by 248%. Most patients with concurrent HIV infection were male (31–45 years), but 40- to 60-year-old men who had sex with men predominated in both male and HIV-positive patients. Oral sex was identified as the most significant route of transmission, although most patients did not consider it so. Late-presenters with HIV accounted for 33% of HIV-positive patients: they were unaware of their HIV status and showed syphilis lesions only. In these cases, syphilis heralded the presence of HIV infection and allowed earlier diagnosis

Anti-biofilm inhibitory synergistic effects of combinations of essential oils and antibiotics

In recent years, the increase of bacteria antibiotic-resistance has been a severe problem for public health. A useful solution could be to join some phytochemicals naturally present in essential oils (EOs) to the existing antibiotics, with the aim to increase their efficacy in therapies. According to in vitro studies, EOs and their components could show such effects. Among them, we studied the activity of Cinnammonum zeylanicum, Mentha piperita, Origanum vulgare, and Thymus vulgaris EOs on bacterial biofilm and their synergism when used in association with some common antibiotics such as norfloxacin, oxacillin, and gentamicin. The chemical composition of EOs was determined using gas chromatography (GC) coupled with mass spectrometry (MS) techniques. The EOs drug efficacy was evaluated on four different strains of Gram-positive bacteria forming biofilms. The synergistic effects were tested through the chequerboard microdilution method. The association EOs-antibiotics showed a strong destruction of the biofilm growth of the four bacterial species considered. The interaction of norfloxacin with EOs was the most effective in all the tested combinations against the strains object of this study. These preliminary results suggest the formulation of a new generation of antimicrobial agents based on a combination of antimicrobial compounds with different origin

Synergistic activity of new diclofenac and essential oils combinations against different candida spp

According to recent studies, Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) have shown a good antimicrobial and antifungal activity. Their association with essential oils (EOs) could be useful for the treatment of infections caused by Candida spp. The aim of this studyis to evaluate the synergistic antifungal activity of new combinations between Diclofenac Sodium Salt (DSS), a widely used NSAID, with EOs of Mentha × piperita, Pelargonium graveolens and Melaleuca alternifolia. The in-vitro antifungal activity was determined on different Candida strains. The determination of the chemical composition of EOs was carried out by gaschromatography-massspectrometry (GC-MS). Susceptibility testing of planktonic cells was performed by using the broth microdilution assay and checkerboard methods. Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations (MIC) of DSS was in a range from 1.02 to 2.05 µg/mL reaching a MIC value of 0.05 µg/mL when combined with Pelargonium graveolens (FICI = 0.23–0.35) or Menthapiperita (FICI = 0.22–0.30) EOs. These preliminary results show thatthe combination of the EOs with DSS improves the antifungal activity on all the tested Candida strains

Pomegranate: Nutraceutical with promising benefits on human health

Pomegranate is an old plant made up by flowers, roots, fruits and leaves, native to Central Asia and principally cultivated in the Mediterranean and California (although now widespread almost all over the globe). The current use of this precious plant regards not only the exteriority of the fruit (employed also for ornamental purpose) but especially the nutritional and, still potential, health benefits that come out from the various parts composing this one (carpellary membranes, arils, seeds and bark). Indeed, the phytochemical composition of the fruit abounds in compounds (flavonoids, ellagitannins, proanthocyanidins, mineral salts, vitamins, lipids, organic acids) presenting a significant biological and nutraceutical value. For these reasons, pomegranate interest is increased over the years as the object of study for many research groups, particularly in the pharmaceutical sector. Specifically, in-depth studies of its biological and functional properties and the research of new formulations could be applied to a wide spectrum of diseases including neoplastic, cardiovascular, viral, inflammatory, metabolic, microbial, intestinal, reproductive and skin diseases. In this review, considering the increasing scientific and commercial interest of nutraceuticals, we reported an update of the investigations concerning the health-promoting properties of pomegranate and its bioactive compounds against principal human pathologies

N-(Phenoxyalkyl)amides as MT1 and MT2 ligands: Antioxidant properties and inhibition of Ca2+/CaM-dependent kinase II

Recently a series of chiral N-(phenoxyalkyl)amides have been reported as potent MT(1) and MT(2) melatonergic ligands. Some of these compounds were selected and tested for their antioxidant properties by measuring their reducing effect against oxidation of 2',7'-dichlorodihydrofluorescein (DCFH) in the DCFH-diacetate (DCFH-DA) assay. Among the tested compounds, N-[2-(3-methoxyphenoxy)propyl]butanamide displayed potent antioxidant activity that was stereoselective, the (R)-enantiomer performing as the eutomer. This compound displayed strong cytoprotective activity against H(2)O(2)-induced cytotoxicity resulting slightly more active than melatonin, and performed as Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaMKII) inhibitor, to

Bioisosteric Modification of To042: Synthesis and Evaluation of Promising Use-Dependent Inhibitors of Voltage-Gated Sodium Channels

Three analogues of To042, a tocainide-related lead compound recently reported for the treatment of myotonia, were synthesized and evaluated in vitro as skeletal muscle sodium channel blockers possibly endowed with enhanced use-dependent behavior. Patch-clamp experiments on hNav1.4 expressed in HEK293 cells showed that N-[(naphthalen-1-yl)methyl]-4-[(2,6-dimethyl)phenoxy]butan-2-amine, the aryloxyalkyl bioisostere of To042, exerted a higher use-dependent block than To042 thus being able to preferentially block the channels in over-excited membranes while preserving healthy tissue function. It also showed the lowest active transport across BBB according to the results of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) interacting activity evaluation and the highest cytoprotective effect on HeLa cells. Quantum mechanical calculations and dockings gave insights on the most probable conformation of the aryloxyalkyl bioisostere of To042 in solution and the target residues involved in the binding, respectively. Both approaches indicated the conformations that might be adopted in both the unbound and bound state of the ligand. Overall, N-[(naphthalen-1-yl)methyl]-4-[(2,6-dimethyl)phenoxy]butan-2-amine exhibits an interesting toxico-pharmacological profile and deserves further investigation

Electrochemotherapy with cisplatin enhances local control after surgical ablation of fibrosarcoma in cats: an approach to improve the therapeutic index of highly toxic chemotherapy drugs

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cancer is one of the most difficult current health challenges, being responsible for millions of deaths yearly. Systemic chemotherapy is the most common therapeutic approach, and the prevailing orientation calls for the administration of the maximum tolerated dose; however, considerable limitations exist including toxicities to healthy tissues and low achievable drug concentrations at tumor sites. Electrochemotherapy (ECT) is a tumor treatment that combines the systemic or local delivery of anticancer drugs with the application of permeabilizing electric pulses. In this article we evaluate the capability of ECT to allow the use of cisplatin despite its high toxicity in a spontaneous feline model of soft tissue sarcoma.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cohort of sixty-four cats with incompletely excised sarcomas were treated with cisplatin-based adjuvant ECT and monitored for side effects. Their response was compared to that of fourteen cats treated with surgery alone.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The toxicities were minimal and mostly treated symptomatically. ECT resulted in increased local control (median not reached at the time of writing) with a mean time to recurrence of 666 days versus 180 of controls.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We conclude that ECT is a safe and efficacious therapy for solid tumors; its use may be considered as part of strategies for the reintroduction of drugs with a narrow therapeutic index in the clinical protocols.</p