Characterization of microplastics in water bottled in different packaging by Raman spectroscopy

Raman spectroscopy was applied to quantitatively and qualitatively characterize microplastics (MPs) in bottled water packaged in three different materials: polyethylene terephthalate (PET), recycled PET (rPET) and glass. The results showed a low mean concentration of MPs in all samples, with higher values in glass bottles (8.65 +/- 5.39 p L-1) than in PET (5.09 +/- 3.28 p L-1) or rPET (3.33 +/- 1.34 p L-1) bottles. Through the use of a method capable of detecting smaller particles, MPs of 20-100 mu m were dominant and fragments were the most abundant particle shape. PET was the prevalent polymer in PET bottles underlying the possible contribution of packaging in MP contamination, while polyethylene (PE) with additives prevailed in rPET and glass bottles, suggesting a contribution from the cap. A standardized protocol would allow comparable data to be obtained and allow an objective assessment of exposure, in view of plans to monitor contaminants of emerging concern (including MPs) under recent European legislation.MPs were detected by Raman spectroscopy in bottled water from different packaging

O Programa Institucional de Bolsa de Iniciação à Docência (PIBID): uma avaliação da relação entre os princípios norteadores do programa e a prática realizada na Universidade de Ribeirão Preto (UNAERP) / The Institutional Teaching Initiation Grant Program (PIBID): an evaluation of the relationship between the program's guiding principles and the practice carried out at the University of Ribeirão Preto (UNAERP)

This article addresses the issue of evaluation of  Institutional Teaching Initiation Program - PIBID of the University of Ribeirão Preto. The objective is to evaluate the relationship of the guiding principles of the program with the work done in the HEI (Higher Education Institution), so that it is possible to identify its impact on the future licentiates, participants in this project. In order to achieve the goal, it was used a documentary analysis methodology, referring to the official documents of PIBID / CAPES and the annual report of the activities of PIBID UNAERP activities. It is concluded that the activities developed by the HEI program are aligned with the guiding principles, contributing effectively to the formation of undergraduate students, promoting the articulation and (re) evaluation of theoretical and practical activities

Dynamics of a vortex lattice in a non-equilibrium polariton superfluid

If a quantum fluid is put in motion with enough angular momentum, at equilibrium the ground state of the system is given by an array of quantised vortices. In a driven-dissipative polariton fluid, we demonstrate that the reverse process is also possible. Upon initially imprinting a static and regular vortex array, the quantum fluid starts rotating. By tracking on picosecond time scales many quantized vortices, we present the first measure of rigid-body rotation in a polariton condensate. Such many-body motion agrees with the Feynman quantization of superfluid velocity, which we show to be valid even if our system is expanding and equilibrium is never attained

Cartographies of the Body in Pandemic Times Cartografias do corpo em tempos pandêmicos

Como Fox e Alldred (2020) consideram, o dualismo Cultura / Natureza forneceu aos filósofos, cientistas e cientistas sociais pós-iluministas uma maneira elegante de estabelecer limites para as respectivas preocupações das ciências sociais e naturais (ver também Barad, 2007; Braidotti, 2013; Fullagar et al., 2019). Este dualismo tem permitido a criação de distinções entre corpos e modos de estar no mundo “modernos” (leia-se “civilizados”) e “tradicionais” (leia-se “primitivos”). No entanto, quando questões pertencentes à incorporação do social são exploradas criticamente, a influência sobre o bem-estar do entorno construído, as transições climáticas e a pandemia de Covid-19 em curso começam a problematizar tais formas, como é argumentado nas últimas três décadas por autores com perspectivas feministas, pós-humanas, novo-materialistas e político-ecológicas, entre outras. Dando continuidade a um diálogo permanente iniciado em 2018 entre acadêmicos e ativistas da América Latina e Europa, organizamos o seminário online “Religando o nexo natureza-cultura-corpo: práticas e epistemologias”. O evento virtual desenvolvido em duas partes explorou como os territórios inter-relacionados de saúde, atividade física e educação podem ser repensados a partir de perspectivas que desestabilizam as fronteiras ontológicas estabelecidas entre natureza, cultura e corpo, e suas possíveis articulações. Este artigo é a transcrição da segunda sessão, denominada “Cartografias do corpo em tempos de pandemia”, e apresenta os diálogos entre Alice del Gobbo, Carla Panico, Gianluca De Fazio, Alexandre Fernandez Vaz e Eduardo Galak, pesquisadores da Itália, Portugal, Brasil e Argentina.As Fox and Alldred (2020) note, culture/nature dualism has supplied post-Enlightenment philosophers, scientists and social scientists with a neat way to set limits on the respective concerns of the social and natural sciences (see also Barad, 2007; Braidotti, 2013; Fullagar et al., 2019). This dualism has also enabled the creation of distinctions between “modern” (read “civilised”) and “traditional” (read “primitive”) bodies and ways of being-in-the-world (Denowski and Viveiros de Castro, 2014). Yet, when critically exploring issues of embodiment, the influence of the built environment on well-being, climate transitions and/or the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic such distinctions start to become problematic, as eloquently argued in the last three decades by feminist, post-human, new-materialist and political ecological –among others– debates and propositions. Giving continuity to an ongoing dialogue started in 2018 between scholars and activists from Latin America and Europe (see Donato, Tonelli, Galak, 2019) this seminar explored how the interrelated domains of health, physical activity, and education can look like from perspectives that de-stabilise established ontological boundaries between nature, culture, the body, and their relationship. It did so through a dialogue between Alessandro Bortolotti, Simone Fullagar, Bruno Mora, Niamh Ni Shuilleabhain, four scholars from Australia, Italy, United Kingdom and Uruguay. The online event took place as the first of a two-parts online seminar series on Re-assembling the nature-culture-body nexus: practices and epistemologies

Antibody Response in Healthcare Workers before and after the Third Dose of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine: A Pilot Study

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic led to the development of various vaccines. The BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine was the first approved due to its efficacy in eliciting a humoral immunity response after the second dose. However, a decrease in the antibody concentration was observed over time. Therefore, the administration of a third dose was scheduled, primarily for frail people and workers of essential public activities. The aim of this study was to assess the level of antibodies against the spike (S) RBD of SARS-CoV-2 in healthcare workers before and after the third dose of BNT162b2 vaccine, according to sex, age, and the time interval between vaccine doses and tests. All 37 (12 males, 25 females, 19 < 50 years old, 18 ≥ 50 years old) healthcare workers recruited showed a consistent antibody titer increase after the third dose. Data analysis showed that the antibody concentration before the third dose significantly decreased as the time interval up to the test increased, and a significantly higher level was shown in young than older people. Cluster analysis revealed that young females had a higher antibody level than older females before the third dose (p < 0.05). This study indicated the benefit of the third dose of BNT162b2 vaccine and its effect on leveling up the humoral immune response

Skin Safety and Health Prevention: an Overview of Chemicals in Cosmetic Products

Introduction. Cosmetic products contain a wide range of chemicals to which we are exposed every day. The aim of the study was to determine the presence of potential dangerous substances which can cause adverse health effects by examining product labels.Methods. A total of 283 products were collected from various shops in Lecce (Italy) and divided into 3 categories: rinse-off, leave-on and make-up. The label of every product was examined and a list including fragrances, preservatives and other chemicals of concern was created.Results. Fragrances were present in 52.3% of the examined products, mostly limonene (76.9%) and linalool (64.6%) but also citronellol (34.1%), geraniol (31.5%), coumarin (30%) and hexyl cinnamal (29.2%). Preservatives showed a rate of 60% and the most frequently identified were phenoxyethanol (48.7%), sodium benzoate (35.6%), potassium sorbate (22%), methylparaben (15.2%) and MI/MCI (9.9%). The other chemicals of concern were detected in 58% of products; included PEGs (62.3%), acrylate copolymer (34%), petrolatum (17.2%), polysorbates (14,8%), BHT (14.7%), ethylhextyl methoxycinnamate (13.6%), benzophenone-1 (3.7%), benzophenone-3 (4.9%), BHA (1.6%), cocamide DEA and toluene (1.2%).Conclusions. The use of many of these substances is allowed within certain limits, due to their toxicity at higher concentrations. Other important aspects should be considered as, for instance, the possibility of long-term effects. On the other hand, other substances may induce several acute adverse side-effects, i.e. contact dermatitis and allergic reactions. For these reasons, an enhancement of the criteria used for cosmetics formulation is required since many chemicals used singularly or combined are potentially unsafe

T-Cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma Arising in the Setting of Myeloid/Lymphoid Neoplasms with Eosinophilia: LMO2 Immunohistochemistry as a Potentially Useful Diagnostic Marker

Simple Summary Rarely, T-lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-LBL) may develop in the setting of myeloid/lymphoid neoplasms with eosinophilia. Given important therapeutic implications, it is crucial to identify T-LBL arising in this particular context. LIM domain only 2 (LMO2) is known to be overexpressed in almost all sporadic T-LBL and not in immature TdT-positive T-cells in the thymus and in indolent T-lymphoblastic proliferations. We retrospectively evaluated the clinical, morphological, immunohistochemical and molecular features of 11 cases of T-LBL occurring in the setting of myeloid/lymphoid neoplasms with eosinophilia and investigated the immunohistochemical expression of LMO2 in this setting of T-LBL. Interestingly, 9/11 cases were LMO2 negative, with only 2 cases showing partial expression. In our study, we would suggest that LMO2 immunostaining, as part of the diagnostic panel for T-LBL, may represent a useful marker to identify T-LBL developing in the context of myeloid/lymphoid neoplasms with eosinophilia. Background: Rarely, T-lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-LBL) may develop in the setting of myeloid/lymphoid neoplasms with eosinophilia (M/LNs-Eo), a group of diseases with gene fusion resulting in overexpression of an aberrant tyrosine kinase or cytokine receptor. The correct identification of this category has relevant therapeutic implications. LIM domain only 2 (LMO2) is overexpressed in most T-LBL, but not in immature TdT-positive T-cells in the thymus and in indolent T-lymphoblastic proliferations (iT-LBP). Methods and Results: We retrospectively evaluated 11 cases of T-LBL occurring in the context of M/LNs-Eo. Clinical, histological, immunohistochemical and molecular features were collected and LMO2 immunohistochemical staining was performed. The critical re-evaluation of these cases confirmed the diagnosis of T-LBL with morphological, immunohistochemical and molecular features consistent with T-LBL occurring in M/LNs-Eo. Interestingly, LMO2 immunohistochemical analysis was negative in 9/11 cases, whereas only 2 cases revealed a partial LMO2 expression with a moderate and low degree of intensity, respectively. Conclusions: LMO2 may represent a potentially useful marker to identify T-LBL developing in the context of M/LNs-Eo. In this setting, T-LBL shows LMO2 immunohistochemical profile overlapping with cortical thymocytes and iT-LBP, possibly reflecting different molecular patterns involved in the pathogenesis of T-LBL arising in the setting of M/LNs-Eo

Dietary intake of animal and plant proteins and risk of all cause and cause-specific mortality: The Epic-Italy cohort

BACKGROUND: To examine the associations of animal and plant protein intake with all-cause, cardiovascular and cancer mortality risk in middle-aged Italian men and women with substantially lower animal protein intake than North Americans. METHODS AND RESULTS: Food consumption was assessed by validated Epic semiquantitative FFQs. Multivariable Cox models stratified by center, age, and sex, and adjusted for confounders, estimated associations of animal and plant protein consumption with mortality for all causes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. After a median follow-up of 15.2 years, 2,449 deaths were identified in 45,009 participants. No significant association between intake of total, animal or plant protein and mortality was found in the fully adjusted models. Substitution of plant protein for animal protein was inversely associated with cardiovascular mortality (HR, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.24–0.92) only in people with at least 1 unhealthy lifestyle risk factor and poor adherence to a Mediterranean diet. Participants in the highest quintile group of animal protein intake had higher glucose, total and LDL cholesterol levels than those in the lowest quintile. In contrast, higher plant protein intake was negatively associated with fasting insulin and cholesterol, despite higher BMI, physical inactivity and starch consumption. CONCLUSIONS: Replacing plant protein for animal protein was associated with lower cardiovascular mortality among individuals with unhealthy lifestyle risk factors. High animal but not plant protein intake is associated with impaired fasting glucose and hypercholesterolemia, despite lower calorie and carbohydrate intake, suggesting that protein source plays crucial roles in modulating cardiometabolic health independently of body weight

A multi-stage genome-wide association study of bladder cancer identifies multiple susceptibility loci.

We conducted a multi-stage, genome-wide association study of bladder cancer with a primary scan of 591,637 SNPs in 3,532 affected individuals (cases) and 5,120 controls of European descent from five studies followed by a replication strategy, which included 8,382 cases and 48,275 controls from 16 studies. In a combined analysis, we identified three new regions associated with bladder cancer on chromosomes 22q13.1, 19q12 and 2q37.1: rs1014971, (P = 8 × 10⁻¹²) maps to a non-genic region of chromosome 22q13.1, rs8102137 (P = 2 × 10⁻¹¹) on 19q12 maps to CCNE1 and rs11892031 (P = 1 × 10⁻⁷) maps to the UGT1A cluster on 2q37.1. We confirmed four previously identified genome-wide associations on chromosomes 3q28, 4p16.3, 8q24.21 and 8q24.3, validated previous candidate associations for the GSTM1 deletion (P = 4 × 10⁻¹¹) and a tag SNP for NAT2 acetylation status (P = 4 × 10⁻¹¹), and found interactions with smoking in both regions. Our findings on common variants associated with bladder cancer risk should provide new insights into the mechanisms of carcinogenesis

Serum Extracellular Vesicle-Derived microRNAs as Potential Biomarkers for Pleural Mesothelioma in a European Prospective Study

Simple Summary Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is an aggressive and still incurable cancer. There is an urgent need to identify effective and reliable tools for detecting and diagnosing the early onset of MPM. In our study, we investigated the whole miRNAs expression profile from serum extracellular vesicles to identify early changes related to MPM development. miR-11400, miR-148a-3p, and miR-409-3p levels were increased in pre-clinical MPM patients up to five years before their diagnosis. The three-miRNA pattern showed a good discrimination capacity to distinguish pre-clinical MPM from cancer-free controls. The three miRNAs also displayed high diagnostic capabilities for differentiating between MPM patients and controls. This study identified a potential EV miRNA signature in preclinical MPM up to five years before diagnosis and raises the possibility of early intervention. Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is an aggressive cancer with a dismal prognosis. Early therapeutic interventions could improve patient outcomes. We aimed to identify a pattern of microRNAs (miRNAs) as potential early non-invasive markers of MPM. In a case-control study nested in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort, we screened the whole miRNome in serum extracellular vesicles (EVs) of preclinical MPM cases. In a subgroup of 20 preclinical samples collected five years prior MPM diagnosis, we observed an upregulation of miR-11400 (fold change (FC) = 2.6, adjusted p-value = 0.01), miR-148a-3p (FC = 1.5, p-value = 0.001), and miR-409-3p (FC = 1.5, p-value = 0.04) relative to matched controls. The 3-miRNA panel showed a good classification capacity with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.81 (specificity = 0.75, sensitivity = 0.70). The diagnostic ability of the model was also evaluated in an independent retrospective cohort, yielding a higher predictive power (AUC = 0.86). A signature of EV miRNA can be detected up to five years before MPM; moreover, the identified miRNAs could provide functional insights into the molecular changes related to the late carcinogenic process, preceding MPM development