Insights into current physical, chemical and hybrid technologies used for the treatment of wastewater contaminated with pharmaceuticals

Copyright © 2022 The Authors. The purpose of this article is to review the current physical, chemical and hybrid technologies practices employed in the removal of pharmaceuticals from liquid effluents originating from various resources including municipal waste, hospitals discharge with a focus on pharmaceutical manufacturing industry. Pharmaceutical pollutants are mostly persistent organic compounds that are not easily removed by conventional wastewater treatment processes. The literature reviewed shows that advanced oxidation processes are able to degrade these persistent pharmaceuticals. However, the oxidation may also introduce toxic oxidation intermediates/by-products if these processes are not properly monitored and operated. Physical treatments, like carbon adsorption and membrane filtration, can provide a barrier that prevents both parent compounds and toxic intermediates passing into treated wastewater. However, these processes are phase changing technologies in which contaminants are transferred from one phase to another hence, the retentate water and absorbent require further treatment, and properly managed disposal. The combination of different processes can be an ideal treatment scheme, for the retention and degradation of both parent and transformation compounds. Through hybrid technologies, the advantages of the methods are combined, leading to a maximization of contaminants removal. The review highlights the importance of installing combined wastewater treatment processes to reduce the amounts of pharmaceutical residues before the wastewater enters the environment. The use of advanced oxidation process, either as a pre-treatment or as a post-treatment combined with biological, adsorption, or filtration process is recommended as a promising option. Nevertheless, the optimum treatment methods for the pharmaceuticals-containing wastewater depends on the quality and quantity of wastewater, as well as on the pharmaceutical compounds residues and their hazardous effects.European Commission (Innovative Water Recovery Solutions through recycling of heat materials and water across multiple sectors: iWAYS

Laugier-Hunziker syndrome: Case report and review of the literature

Laugier-Hunziker syndrome is a rare acquired disorder characterized by diffuse pigmented macules of the oral mucosa. Other mucosal and cutaneous surfaces may be affected, and nail involvement is frequent. A case of Laugier-Hunziker syndrome in a Greek female with multiple buccal and labial mucosal lesions and unusual conjunctival involvement is presented here. In addition, a thorough review of the English language literature of this rather under-recognized syndrome is included and the main differential diagnostic possibilities are discussed. © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Absence of hotspot mutations in exons 9 and 20 of the PIK3CA gene in human oral squamous cell carcinoma in the Greek population

Objective: Phosphatidylinositol-3 kinases (PI3K) are a group of heterodimeric lipid kinases that regulate many cellular processes. Recent studies have reported high frequencies of somatic hotspot mutations in the phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase catalytic α (PIK3CA) gene, which encodes for one of these kinases, in several human solid tumors, including oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of hotspot mutations in exons 9 and 20 of the PIK3CA gene in OSCC in the Greek population. Study design: Eighty-six formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded primary tumor specimens were analyzed by direct genomic DNA sequencing. Chi-square was used for statistical analysis. Results: No hotspot mutations were detected in any of the samples. Two intronic polymorphisms IVS8 and IVS9 were detected, mainly in patients with cancer of the buccal mucosa and lower gingival and alveolus respectively. Conclusions: PIK3CA hotspot mutations are unlikely to play a major role in the pathogenesis of OSCC in the Greek population. © 2010 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved

Newborn with a solitary hairless skin defect on the scalp vertex

Aplasia cutis congenita is a rare congenital disorder usually presenting as an isolated lesion on the scalp that may be associated with genetic syndromes and congenital anomalies. Therefore, it is important to be aware of this syndrome. © 2019 The Authors. Clinical Case Reports published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Staphylococcus aureus carriage status in patients with hidradenitis suppurativa: An observational cohort study in a tertiary referral hospital in Athens, Greece

Background: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic, recurrent, auto-inflammatory disease that affects the pilosebaceous unit in apocrine gland-bearing areas. Bacteria are thought to play a role in the development and progression of disease. In addition, antibiotics are frequently used as first-line management for HS. We sought to determine the carriage status of Staphylococcus aureus and its resistance to antibiotics among patients with HS in a tertiary referral hospital in Athens, Greece. Methods: In this observational cohort study, 68 consecutive patients attending the HS clinic of "Attikon" General University Hospital in Athens, Greece, during a 9-month period were enrolled. All patients had not received any antibiotic therapy for any reason during the previous 3 months before enrollment. Nasal and oropharyngeal samplingwere obtained, and specimens were tested for the presence of S. aureus.Antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed using the VITEK 2 system. Standard statistical tests, descriptive statistics tests, and χ2 and Pearson correlation tests were performed, using IBM SPSS Statistics 25.The level of significance was set at a pvalue <0.05. Results: Sixty-eight patients with HS were studied. There were 44 females (64.7%) and 24 males (35.3%). The mean age was 36.63 ± 13.0 (IQR = 21), and the mean age at onset of disease was 23.90 ± 11.53 (IQR = 14). The mean duration of disease was 12.74 ± 10.20 years (IQR = 15). Fifteen (22.1%) of the patients were Hurley stage I, 22 (32.4%) were Hurley stage II, and 31 (45.6%) were Hurley stage III. S. aureus carriage was detected in 17 patients (25%). Six of them (35.3%) had MRSA strains. There was an increased prevalence of S. aureus colonization (p = 0.058) and MRSA (p = 0.101) in Hurley stage III patients, but this result was not statistically significant. Conclusions: We found a 25% prevalence of S. aureus colonization (17/68 patients) and a 35.3% prevalence of MRSA (6/17) among our HS patients. There was an increased prevalence of S. aureusand MRSA positivity in HS patients with Hurley stage III. Further studies are needed to clarify the possible clinical significance of S. aureus carriage in the disease development and progression as well as in the treatment outcome. © 2019 S. Karger AG, Basel