Indirect daylight oxidative degradation of polyethylene microplastics by a bio-waste modified TiO2-based material

Microplastics are recognized as an emerging critical issue for the environment. Here an innovative chemical approach for the treatment of microplastics is proposed, based on an oxidative process that does not require any direct energy source (irradiation or heat). Linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) was selected as target commodity polymer, due to its widespread use, chemical inertness and inefficient recycling. This route is based on a hybrid material coupling titanium oxide with a bio-waste, rosin, mainly constituted by abietic acid, through a simple sol-gel synthesis procedure. The ligand-to-metal charge transfer complexes formed between rosin and Ti4+ allow the generation of reactive oxygen species without UV irradiation for its activation. In agreement with theorical calculations, superoxide radical ions are stabilized at ambient conditions on the surface of the hybrid TiO2. Consequently, an impressive degradation of LLDPE is observed after 1 month exposure in a batch configuration under indirect daylight, as evidenced by the products revealed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis and by chemical and structural modifications of the polymer surface. In a context of waste exploitation, this innovative and sustainable approach represents a promising cost-effective strategy for the oxidative degradation of microplastics, without producing any toxic by-products

Effects of sex hormones on bronchial reactivity during the menstrual cycle

Background: Many asthmatic women complain of symptom exacerbations in particular periods, i.e. during pregnancy and menstrual cycles (perimenstrual asthma: PMA)". The goal of this study was to study the effect of the luteal and follicular phases of the menstrual cycle on bronchial reactivity (BR) in a group of asthmatic women. Methods: For this purpose, 36 pre-menopausal women were enrolled and underwent testing for resting pulmonary function, measurement of the diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DLCO), and airway responsiveness to methacholine in the follicular and luteal phases of their menstrual cycles. We also measured plasma hormone levels and levels of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP; a mediator of bronchial smooth muscle contraction) and testosterone in induced sputum samples. Results: Our study showed that about 30% of the asthmatic women had decreased PC20FEV1.0 in the follicular phase of menstrual cycle with a significant correlation between PC20FEV1.0 and serum testosterone levels. Moreover, marked increases in sputum testosterone levels (mean = 2.6-fold increase) together with significant increases in sputum cAMP concentrations (mean = 3.6-fold increases) were observed during the luteal phase of asthmatic patients, suggesting that testosterone contributes to the pathophysiology of PMA. We excluded the possibility that testosterone directly inhibits phosphodiesterase (PDE) activity as incubating PDE with testosterone in vitro did not reduce PDE catalytic activity. Conclusions: In conclusion, our data show that PC20FEV1.0 was decreased in the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle in about 30% of women and was associated with lower cAMP levels in sputum samples, which may contribute to bronchoconstriction. Our results also suggest a link between PMA and testosterone levels. However, whether these findings are of clinical significance in terms of the management of asthma or asthma worsening during the menstrual cycle needs further investigation

Electrochemotherapy of cutaneous metastastes from breast cancer in elderly patients: a preliminary report

BACKGROUND: The management of cutaneous metastases often represents a challenge because they may be widespread and may recur after radiotherapy or chemotherapy; breast cancer accounts for 51% of the total cases of cutaneous metastases. When surgical excision of chest wall recurrences is not possible and other local treatments such as radiotherapy or radiotherapy with hyperthermia fail, topical chemotherapy and electrochemotherapy (ECT) might be taken into account. ECT is a new local treatment of solid tumors which can be defined as the local potentiation, by means of permeabilizing electric pulses, of the antitumor activity of a non permeating anticancer drug with high intrinsic cytotoxicity. METHODS: This prospective observational study took place throughout March 2010 to October 2011. Twelve consecutive elderly patients (1 man and 11 women, median age of 76 years) with regional or distant skin or subcutaneous metastases from breast cancer, with or without visceral disease, were included in the study. Patient enrollment was carried out according to the ESOPE criteria. Bleomycin administration was followed by the application of brief electric pulses to each tumor nodule within 8 min after intravenous infusion of the drug. Electric currents were delivered by means of a 2–3 cm long needle electrode according to lesion size. All treatments were performed using the Cliniporator(TM) device. RESULTS: We observed Complete Response(CR) in 75.3% (107 metastases), Partial Response(PR) in 17% (24 metastases), no change in 7.7% (11 metastases) . No serious ECT-related adverse events were reported; adverse events consisted of pain in the treated area one to two days after treatment (1 patient, 8.3%) and ulceration of treated area (1 patient, 8.3%). CONCLUSION: ECT could be suggested as a primary local therapy in patients not suitable for surgical removal of the primary tumor, and clinicians should not hesitate to use it even in the elderly

Comparison among different dairy cattle welfare monitoring schemes

The study aimed to investigate the degree of agreement among three different dairy cattle welfare monitoring schemes. Animal welfare was evaluated in 17 dairy cattle farms using the following monitoring systems: 1) the Animal Needs Index 35L/2000 developed in Austria (ANI); 2) a welfare index developed in Italy by the Lombardy Extension Service (IBS); 3) the Welfare Quality® (WQ) assessment protocol for dairy cows. The ANI and IBS mainly use resource-based measures, whereas the WQ system rely on animal-based measures. As IBS is exclusively devoted to cubicle housing all the selected farms were loose housed with cubicles in the resting area to make comparisons possible. Data were collected by one trained assessor. Each farm was assessed by the three systems in the same day. The mean herd size was 93 cows (range 40÷180). Spearman rank correlation coefficients (rs) were used to determine the correlation between pairs of schemes. For each farm the time taken for the assessment was approximately 1, 1 and 5 h for ANI, IBS and WQ schemes, respectively. Total scores are reported in Table 1. Only 4 farms presented an IBS score (scores can range from 0 to 100) lower than 50. All farms presented an ANI score (scores can range from -9 to 46) greater than 21, which is considered as a fairly suitable level of welfare, with 8 farms showing a score greater than 28, which is considered as a very suitable level of welfare. According to the WQ scoring system a given farm can be assigned to four welfare categories (excellent, enhanced, acceptable and not classified. In our sample 7 farms were classified as acceptable and the remaining 10 as enhanced. A positive correlation was found between ANI and IBS total scores (rs=0.568; P=0.0174), thus ranking the farms in the same order possibly because they both rely on resource-based measures. Conversely, no correlations were found between WQ vs. ANI (rs =-0.002) and vs. IBS (rs =0.173) as WQ mostly relies on animal-based measures. We conclude that for a valid assessment of animal welfare a combination of resource and animal based measure is recommended

What's new on primary Hodgkin's lymphoma of the breast? A case report and review of the literature

Introduction According to literature, primary Hodgkin's lymphomas of the breast represent one of the rarer entity in the primary breast lymphoma (PBL) scenario. This is the reason why these tumors are insidious in mammary oncology. Presentation of the case We report a case of HL primitive breast in an elderly patient in whom radiology suspected an advanced breast cancer with ipsilateral axillary involvement and in which the fine-needle aspiration came back not significant. Discussion Eighteen cases of primary Hodgkin's lymphoma of the breast has been described in Literature in a very large period of time: from 1928 to 2016. The nodular sclerosis type is the most frequent histological variant. Conclusion Their rarity together with the fact that radiological investigations are not significant for the purpose of an exact diagnosis, make these lesions extremely difficult to identify

Recumbent deoxygenation in mild/moderate liver cirrhosis: the “Clinodeoxia”. The ortho-clino paradigm

BACKGROUND: While the effects of postural change on arterial oxygenation have been well documented in normal subjects, and attributed to the relationship of closing volume (CV) to the tidal volume, in liver cirrhosis such postural changes have been evaluated mainly in a rare, peculiar clinical end-stage condition which is characterized by increased dyspnea shifting from supine to upright position ("platypnea"). The latter is associated with worsening of PaO2 ("orthodeoxia"). We evaluated the effects of postural changes on arterial oxygenation in patients affected by mild/moderate liver cirrhosis. METHODS: We performed pulmonary function tests and arterial blood gas evaluation in sitting and supine positions in 22 patients with mild/moderate liver cirrhosis, biopsy-proved, and 22 matched non-smokers control subjects. RESULTS: Recumbency elicited a decrease of PaO2 (Δ(sup-sit)PaO2) in 19 out of 22 controls and in all but one cirrhotics. The magnitude of this postural change was significantly (p = 0.04) greater in cirrhotics (9.6 ± 5.3%) compared to controls (6.7 ± 3.7%). In the subset of cirrhotics younger than 60 yrs and with PaO2 greater than 80 mmHg in sitting position, the Δ(sup-sit)PaO2 in recumbency further increased to 12 ± 5.8%, significantly (p = 0.014) greater than in same subgroup of controls (7.1 ± 3.8%). CONCLUSIONS: In mild/moderate liver cirrhosis the postural variations in PaO2 follow the normal trends, but are of greater magnitude probably as a consequence of hypoventilated units of lung for postural and disease-linked tidal airway closure, resulting in more pronounced recumbent hypoxemia ("clinodeoxia")

The combined use of spectroscopic techniques for the characterisation of Late Roman common wares from Benevento (Italy)

This paper reports the results of an archaeometric characterisation carried out on nineteen samples of Late Roman table and cooking ware by means of the combined use of spectroscopic techniques (colorimetry, FT-IR and μ-Raman). The study attempts at defining the technology adopted in the manufacturing of these ceramics, unearthed during archaeological surveys carried out within the Ancient Appia Landscapes project. Successful results were achieved and the reconstruction of the productive process was carried out. Second derivative profiles of IR spectra and μ-Raman analyses allowed defining the mineralogy of ceramic pastes, inferring the local provenance of raw materials and the low attention paid in their manufacturing. If good technological standards were achieved in the production of tableware, cooking ware shows colorimetric and mineralogical evidences of uncontrolled firing conditions, testifying a not-well standardized technological process

Geomorphological and Pedo-Stratigraphical Approach as a Tool for Understanding the Archaeological Landscapes and Environments: The Case-Study of the Ancient Laos Territory

International audienceThe preliminary results of the «Landscape archaeology in the territory of ancient Laos» project, run by the Superintendency of Calabria, the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, the Centre Jean Bérard in Naples (USR 3133 CNRS– École Française de Rome) and the Department of Heritage Science of University of Salerno, are discussed. The aims of the project, started in the 2009 and still in progress, are the understanding of the dynamics, the times and the forms of the landscape changes in relation to the ancient coastal territories of the northern Calabria (southern Italy), between the Scalea and Cirella promontories, and in particular the strip of territory comprising between the Lao river and the Abatemarco stream

Antibiotico profilassi in Chirurgia Senologica.Risultati preliminari di uno studio multicentrico randomizzato su 1400 casi trattati

Breast surgery is classified among the procedures performed in clean surgery and is associated with a low incidence of wound infection (3-15%). The objective of this study was to evaluate the advantages antibiotic prophylaxis in patients undergoing breast surgery. A multicenter randomized controlled study was performed between January 2008 and November 2008. One thousand four hundred patients were enrolled in prospective randomized study; surgical wound infection was found in 41 patients (2.93%). In our RCT we have shown that in breast surgery antibiotic prophylaxis does not present significant advantages in patients with potential risk of infection (17 patients, 2.42%, subjected to antibiotic prophylaxis vs 24 patients, 3.43%, without antibiotic prophylaxis) (P = 0.27). In patients with drainage there is a significant minor incidence of wound infections in patients receiving antibiotic prophylaxis (5 patients, 0.92%, subjected to antibiotic prophylaxis vs 14 patients, 3.09%, without antibiotic prophylaxis) (P = 0.02). CONCLUSION: This study is only a preliminary RCT to be followed by a study which should be enrolled more patients in order to get the results as statistically significant