The preparation and characterisation of microplastics containing contaminants

Alexandra Gulizia studied the behaviours of microplastics in the environment. By investigating their degradative susceptibility, reactive properties, leaching dynamics and relationship with the microbiome, she was able to deconstruct the complexity of microplastics in aqueous matrices to improve technical accuracy for future experiments and environmental risk assessments

Evaluating the Effect of Chemical Digestion Treatments on Polystyrene Microplastics: Recommended Updates to Chemical Digestion Protocols

Establishing the toxicity and exposure consequences of microplastics (MPs) on marine organisms relies on the nondestructive isolation of plastics from biological matrices. MPs are commonly extracted from these matrices by chemical digestion using alkali (e.g., potassium hydroxide (KOH) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH)), oxidative (e.g., hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)) and/or acidic (e.g., nitric acid (HNO3)) reagents. Although these digestion conditions can be highly effective for MP extraction, they can also react with the plastics. This can attribute an inaccurate representation of plastic contamination by altering MP visual characteristics (size, shape, color), thereby impeding identification and potentially returning erroneous numbers of ingested particles. In this study, the degradative impacts are assessed of the routinely applied digestion reagents (i) KOH, (ii) NaOH, (iii) H2O2, and (iv)HNO3 on polystyrene (PS) based MPs sized between 200 μm and 5 mm. Degradation of the PS MPs is evaluated using FT-IR, gel permeation chromatography, NMR, photoluminescence spectroscopy, and microscopy. These studies reveal HNO3 to be the most destructive for PS MPs, while the alkali and oxidative reagents result in negligible changes in plastic properties. These results are recommended to be used as a guideline to update current protocols to ensure the nondestructive treatment of MPs

The Changing Landscape for Stroke\ua0Prevention in AF: Findings From the GLORIA-AF Registry Phase 2

Background GLORIA-AF (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation) is a prospective, global registry program describing antithrombotic treatment patterns in patients with newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation at risk of stroke. Phase 2 began when dabigatran, the first non\u2013vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant (NOAC), became available. Objectives This study sought to describe phase 2 baseline data and compare these with the pre-NOAC era collected during phase 1. Methods During phase 2, 15,641 consenting patients were enrolled (November 2011 to December 2014); 15,092 were eligible. This pre-specified cross-sectional analysis describes eligible patients\u2019 baseline characteristics. Atrial fibrillation disease characteristics, medical outcomes, and concomitant diseases and medications were collected. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results Of the total patients, 45.5% were female; median age was 71 (interquartile range: 64, 78) years. Patients were from Europe (47.1%), North America (22.5%), Asia (20.3%), Latin America (6.0%), and the Middle East/Africa (4.0%). Most had high stroke risk (CHA2DS2-VASc [Congestive heart failure, Hypertension, Age  6575 years, Diabetes mellitus, previous Stroke, Vascular disease, Age 65 to 74 years, Sex category] score  652; 86.1%); 13.9% had moderate risk (CHA2DS2-VASc = 1). Overall, 79.9% received oral anticoagulants, of whom 47.6% received NOAC and 32.3% vitamin K antagonists (VKA); 12.1% received antiplatelet agents; 7.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. For comparison, the proportion of phase 1 patients (of N = 1,063 all eligible) prescribed VKA was 32.8%, acetylsalicylic acid 41.7%, and no therapy 20.2%. In Europe in phase 2, treatment with NOAC was more common than VKA (52.3% and 37.8%, respectively); 6.0% of patients received antiplatelet treatment; and 3.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. In North America, 52.1%, 26.2%, and 14.0% of patients received NOAC, VKA, and antiplatelet drugs, respectively; 7.5% received no antithrombotic treatment. NOAC use was less common in Asia (27.7%), where 27.5% of patients received VKA, 25.0% antiplatelet drugs, and 19.8% no antithrombotic treatment. Conclusions The baseline data from GLORIA-AF phase 2 demonstrate that in newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation patients, NOAC have been highly adopted into practice, becoming more frequently prescribed than VKA in Europe and North America. Worldwide, however, a large proportion of patients remain undertreated, particularly in Asia and North America. (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation [GLORIA-AF]; NCT01468701

Understanding plasticiser leaching from polystyrene microplastics

Plastic pollution in our oceans is of growing concern particularly due to the presence of toxic additives, such as plasticisers. Therefore, this work aims to develop a comprehensive understanding of the leaching properties of plasticisers from microplastics. This work investigates the leaching of phthalate acid ester (dioctyl terephthalate (DEHT) and diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP)) and diphenol (bisphenol A (BPA) and bisphenol S (BPS)) plasticisers from polystyrene (PS) microplastics (mean diameter = 136 μm to 1.4 mm) under controlled aqueous conditions (temperature, agitation, pH and salinity). The leaching behaviours of plasticised polymers were quantified using gel permeation chromatography, high performance liquid chromatography and thermal gravimetric analysis, and the particle's plasticisation characterised using differential scanning calorimetry. Leaching rates of phthalate acid ester and diphenol plasticisers were modelled using a diffusion and boundary layer model, whereby these behaviours varied depending on their plasticisation efficiency of PS, the size of the microplastic particle and the surrounding abiotic conditions. Leaching behaviours of DEHT and DEHP were strongly influenced by the microplastic-surface water boundary layer properties, thus wave action (i.e., water agitation) increased the leaching rate of these plasticiser up to 66 over 21-days, whereas BPA and BPS plasticisers displayed temperature- and size-dependent leaching and were limited by molecular diffusion throughout the bulk polymer (i.e., the microplastic). This information will improve predictions of plasticiser concentration (both that remain in the plastic and released into the surrounding water) at specific time points during the lifetime of a plastic, ultimately ensuring greater accuracy in the assessment of toxicity responses and environmental water quality

Microplastic exposure interacts with habitat degradation to affect behaviour and survival of juvenile fish in the field

Coral reefs are degrading globally due to increased environmental stressors including warming and elevated levels of pollutants. These stressors affect not only habitat-forming organisms, such as corals, but they may also directly affect the organisms that inhabit these ecosystems. Here, we explore how the dual threat of habitat degradation and microplastic exposure may affect the behaviour and survival of coral reef fish in the field. Fish were caught prior to settlement and pulse-fed polystyrene microplastics six times over 4 days, then placed in the field on live or dead-degraded coral patches. Exposure to microplastics or dead coral led fish to be bolder, more active and stray further from shelter compared to control fish. Effect sizes indicated that plastic exposure had a greater effect on behaviour than degraded habitat, and we found no evidence of synergistic effects. This pattern was also displayed in their survival in the field. Our results highlight that attaining low concentrations of microplastic in the environment will be a useful management strategy, since minimizing microplastic intake by fishes may work concurrently with reef restoration strategies to enhance the resilience of coral reef populations

Patterns of oral anticoagulant use and outcomes in Asian patients with atrial fibrillation: a post-hoc analysis from the GLORIA-AF Registry

Background: Previous studies suggested potential ethnic differences in the management and outcomes of atrial fibrillation (AF). We aim to analyse oral anticoagulant (OAC) prescription, discontinuation, and risk of adverse outcomes in Asian patients with AF, using data from a global prospective cohort study. Methods: From the GLORIA-AF Registry Phase II-III (November 2011-December 2014 for Phase II, and January 2014-December 2016 for Phase III), we analysed patients according to their self-reported ethnicity (Asian vs. non-Asian), as well as according to Asian subgroups (Chinese, Japanese, Korean and other Asian). Logistic regression was used to analyse OAC prescription, while the risk of OAC discontinuation and adverse outcomes were analysed through Cox-regression model. Our primary outcome was the composite of all-cause death and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). The original studies were registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01468701, NCT01671007, and NCT01937377. Findings: 34,421 patients were included (70.0 ± 10.5 years, 45.1% females, 6900 (20.0%) Asian: 3829 (55.5%) Chinese, 814 (11.8%) Japanese, 1964 (28.5%) Korean and 293 (4.2%) other Asian). Most of the Asian patients were recruited in Asia (n = 6701, 97.1%), while non-Asian patients were mainly recruited in Europe (n = 15,449, 56.1%) and North America (n = 8378, 30.4%). Compared to non-Asian individuals, prescription of OAC and non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant (NOAC) was lower in Asian patients (Odds Ratio [OR] and 95% Confidence Intervals (CI): 0.23 [0.22-0.25] and 0.66 [0.61-0.71], respectively), but higher in the Japanese subgroup. Asian ethnicity was also associated with higher risk of OAC discontinuation (Hazard Ratio [HR] and [95% CI]: 1.79 [1.67-1.92]), and lower risk of the primary composite outcome (HR [95% CI]: 0.86 [0.76-0.96]). Among the exploratory secondary outcomes, Asian ethnicity was associated with higher risks of thromboembolism and intracranial haemorrhage, and lower risk of major bleeding. Interpretation: Our results showed that Asian patients with AF showed suboptimal thromboembolic risk management and a specific risk profile of adverse outcomes; these differences may also reflect differences in country-specific factors. Ensuring integrated and appropriate treatment of these patients is crucial to improve their prognosis. Funding: The GLORIA-AF Registry was funded by Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH

Correction to: Comparative effectiveness and safety of non-vitamin K antagonists for atrial fibrillation in clinical practice: GLORIA-AF Registry

International audienceIn this article, the name of the GLORIA-AF investigator Anastasios Kollias was given incorrectly as Athanasios Kollias in the Acknowledgements. The original article has been corrected