Nuclear techniques and the particulate matter pollution in big harbours

The impact of big harbours on the air quality is an important issue both from the environmental and the economical point of view. The harbour of Genoa is the largest in Italy and one of the major ports of the Mediterranean. We have determined the fraction of Particulate Matter (PM) concentration in town due to the heavy oil combustion of the diesel engines of the vessels in the harbour. This turned out to be 12% in PM10 and 25% in PM2.5 and PM1, with about 85% of the PM from this source concentrated in particles with aerodynamic diameter, Dae < 1 μm. We could also point out a link between concentration peaks of the tracers of heavy oil combustion (V and Ni) and the ferryboats traffic. The key tool in this work was the coupling between particular sampling devices and some Ion Beam Analysis (IBA) techniques, in particular Particle Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE), which belong to the broader category of nuclear techniques in applied physics

Source apportionment of PM10 in the Western Mediterranean based on observations from a cruise ship

Abstract Two intensive PM10 sampling campaigns were performed in the summers of 2009 and 2010 on the ship Costa Pacifica during cruises in the Western Mediterranean. Samples, mainly collected on an hourly basis, were analysed with different techniques (Particle Induced X-Ray Emission, PIXE; Energy Dispersive - X Ray Fluorescence, ED-XRF; Ion Chromatography, IC; Thermo-optical analysis) to retrieve the PM10 composition and its time pattern. The data were used for obtaining information about the sources of aerosol, with a focus on ship emissions, through apportionment using chemical marker compounds, correlation analysis and Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) receptor modelling. For the campaign in 2010, 66% of the aerosol sulphate was found to be anthropogenic, only minor contributions of dust and sea salt sulphate were observed while the biogenic contribution, estimated based on the measurements of MSA, was found to be more important (26%), but influenced by large uncertainties. V and Ni were found to be suitable tracers of ship emissions during the campaigns. Four sources of aerosol were resolved by the PMF analysis; the source having the largest impact on PM10, BC and sulphate was identified as a mixed source, comprising emissions from ships. The correlations between sulphate and V and Ni showed the influence of ship emissions on sulphate in marine air masses. For the leg Palma–Tunis crossing a main ship route, the correlations between aerosol sulphate and V and Ni were particularly strong (r2 = 0.9 for both elements)

Liver disease in chelated transfusion-dependent thalassemics: the role of iron overload and chronic hepatitis C.

Abstract Iron overload and hepatitis virus C infection cause liver fibrosis in thalassemics. In a monocentric retrospective analysis of liver disease in a cohort of 191 transfusion-dependent thalassemics, in 126 patients who had undergone liver biopsy (mean age 17.2 years; 58 hepatitis virus C-RNA positive and 68 hepatitis virus C-RNA negative) the liver iron concentration (median 2.4 mg/gr dry liver weight) was closely related to serum ferritin levels (R = 0.58; p<0.0001). Male gender (OR 4.12) and serum hepatitis virus C-RNA positivity (OR 11.04) were independent risk factors for advanced liver fibrosis. The majority of hepatitis virus C-RNA negative patients with low iron load did not develop liver fibrosis, while hepatitis virus C-RNA positive patients infected with genotype 1 or 4 and iron overload more frequently developed advanced fibrosis. Hepatitis virus C infection is the main risk factor for liver fibrosis in transfusion-dependent thalassemics. Adequate chelation therapy usually prevents the development of liver fibrosis in thalassemics free of hepatitis virus C-infection and reduces the risk of developing severe fibrosis in thalassemics with chronic hepatitis C

Re-irradiation with carbon ion radiotherapy for pelvic rectal cancer recurrences in patients previously irradiated to the pelvis

Background/Aim: Re-irradiation of locally recurrent rectal cancer poses challenges due to the proximity of critical organs, such as the bowel. This study aimed at evaluating the safety and efficacy of re-irradiation with Carbon Ion Radiotherapy (CIRT) in rectal cancer patients with local recurrence. Patients and Methods: Between 2014 and 2018, 14 patients were treated at the National Center of Oncological Hadrontherapy (CNAO Foundation) with CIRT for locally recurrent rectal cancer. Results: All patients concluded the treatment. No G≥3 acute/late reaction nor pelvic infections were observed. The 1-year and 2-year local control rates were, 78% and 52%, respectively, and relapse occurred close to the bowel in 6 patients. The 1-year and 2-year overall survival rates were 100% and 76.2% each; while the 1-year and 2-year metastasis free survival rates were 64.3% and 43%. Conclusion: CIRT as re-irradiation for locally recurrent rectal cancer emerges as a safe and valid treatment with an acceptable rate of morbidity of surrounding healthy tissue

Long-term treatment with deferiprone enhances left ventricular ejection function when compared to deferoxamine in patients with thalassemia major

Transfusion and iron chelation treatment have significantly reduced morbidity and improved survival of patients with thalassemia major. However, cardiac disease continues to be the most common cause of death. We report the left-ventricular ejection fraction, determined by echocardiography, in one hundred sixtyeight patients with thalassemia major followed for at least 5 years who received continuous monotherapy with deferoxamine (N = 108) or deferiprone (N = 60). The statistical analysis, using the generalized estimating equations model, indicated that the group treated with deferiprone had a significantly better left-ventricular ejection fraction than did those treated with deferoxamine (coefficient 0.97; 95% CI 0.37; 1.6, p = 0.002). The heart may be particularly sensitive to iron-induced mitochondrial damage because of the large number of mitochondria and its low level of antioxidants. Deferiprone, because of its lower molecular weight, might cross into heart mitochondria more efficiently, improving their activity and, thereby, myocardial cell function. Our findings indicate that the long-term administration of deferiprone significantly enhances left-ventricular function over time in comparison with deferoxamine treatment. However, because of limitations related to the design of this study, these findings should be confirmed in a prospective, randomized clinical trial

Hepatitis B immunity in teenagers vaccinated as infants: an Italian 17-year follow-up study

AbstractWe assessed the persistence of hepatitis B surface antigen antibody (anti-HBs) and immune memory in a cohort of 571 teenagers vaccinated against hepatitis B as infants, 17 years earlier. Vaccinees were followed-up in 2003 and in 2010 (i.e. 10 years and 17 years after primary vaccination, respectively). When tested in 2003, 199 vaccinees (group A) had anti-HBs <10 mIU/mL and were boosted, 372 (group B) were not boosted because they had anti-HBs ≥10 mIU/mL (n = 344) or refused booster (n = 28) despite anti-HBs <10 mIU/mL. In 2010, 72.9% (416/571) of participants had anti-HBs ≥10 mIU/mL (67.3% in group A vs. 75.8% in group B; p 0.03). The geometric mean concentrations (GMCs) were similar in both groups. Between 2003 and 2010, anti-HBs concentrations in previously boosted individuals markedly declined with GMC dropping from 486 to 27.7 mIU/mL (p <0.001). Fifteen vaccinees showed a marked increase of antibody, possibly due to natural booster. In 2010, 96 individuals (37 of group A and 59 of group B) with anti-HBs <10 mIU/mL were boosted; all vaccinees of the former group and all but two of the latter had an anamnestic response. Post-booster GMC was higher in group B (895.6 vs. 492.2 mIU/mL; p 0.039). This finding shows that the immune memory for HBsAg persists beyond the time at which anti-HBs disappears, conferring long-term protection