Asbestos in drinking water and hazards to human health: a narrative synthesis

The term asbestos refers to six unique fibrous minerals mostly used in the production of asbestos cement sheets and pipes. According to the World Health Organization and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), there exists at least "sufficient evidence" that all types of asbestos may cause cancer in humans (mesothelioma, lung cancer, laryngeal tumor and ovarian cancer). The only asbestos limit in drinking water is 7 million fiber/liter. This study is a narrative synthesis about the possible hazards to human health related to the presence of asbestos in drinking water. The various scientific studies and epidemiological reports examined highlight that there is an ongoing debate on the possible carcinogenic risk associated with asbestos exposure through ingestion. Nevertheless, considering the latency with which diseases caused by asbestos may emerge, control measures should be adopted

Serum Albumin Is Inversely Associated With Portal Vein Thrombosis in Cirrhosis

We analyzed whether serum albumin is independently associated with portal vein thrombosis (PVT) in liver cirrhosis (LC) and if a biologic plausibility exists. This study was divided into three parts. In part 1 (retrospective analysis), 753 consecutive patients with LC with ultrasound-detected PVT were retrospectively analyzed. In part 2, 112 patients with LC and 56 matched controls were entered in the cross-sectional study. In part 3, 5 patients with cirrhosis were entered in the in vivo study and 4 healthy subjects (HSs) were entered in the in vitro study to explore if albumin may affect platelet activation by modulating oxidative stress. In the 753 patients with LC, the prevalence of PVT was 16.7%; logistic analysis showed that only age (odds ratio [OR], 1.024; P = 0.012) and serum albumin (OR, -0.422; P = 0.0001) significantly predicted patients with PVT. Analyzing the 112 patients with LC and controls, soluble clusters of differentiation (CD)40-ligand (P = 0.0238), soluble Nox2-derived peptide (sNox2-dp; P < 0.0001), and urinary excretion of isoprostanes (P = 0.0078) were higher in patients with LC. In LC, albumin was correlated with sCD4OL (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient [r(s)], -0.33; P < 0.001), sNox2-dp (r(s), -0.57; P < 0.0001), and urinary excretion of isoprostanes (r(s), -0.48; P < 0.0001) levels. The in vivo study showed a progressive decrease in platelet aggregation, sNox2-dp, and urinary 8-iso prostaglandin F2 alpha-III formation 2 hours and 3 days after albumin infusion. Finally, platelet aggregation, sNox2-dp, and isoprostane formation significantly decreased in platelets from HSs incubated with scalar concentrations of albumin. Conclusion: Low serum albumin in LC is associated with PVT, suggesting that albumin could be a modulator of the hemostatic system through interference with mechanisms regulating platelet activation

Pathogen-sugar interactions revealed by universal saturation transfer analysis

Many pathogens exploit host cell-surface glycans. However, precise analyses of glycan ligands binding with heavily modified pathogen proteins can be confounded by overlapping sugar signals and/or compounded with known experimental constraints. Universal saturation transfer analysis (uSTA) builds on existing nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to provide an automated workflow for quantitating protein-ligand interactions. uSTA reveals that early-pandemic, B-origin-lineage severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike trimer binds sialoside sugars in an “end-on” manner. uSTA-guided modeling and a high-resolution cryo–electron microscopy structure implicate the spike N-terminal domain (NTD) and confirm end-on binding. This finding rationalizes the effect of NTD mutations that abolish sugar binding in SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern. Together with genetic variance analyses in early pandemic patient cohorts, this binding implicates a sialylated polylactosamine motif found on tetraantennary N-linked glycoproteins deep in the human lung as potentially relevant to virulence and/or zoonosis

Generation of a human induced pluripotent stem cell line (FSMi001-A) from fibroblasts of a patient carrying heterozygous mutation in the REEP1 gene

Hereditary spastic paraplegias (HSPs) a group of rare, clinically, and genetically heterogeneous disorders characterized by progressive degeneration of the corticospinal tract. Among these HSPs, SPG31 is due to autosomal dominant mutations in the receptor expression-enhancing protein 1 (REEP1) gene. Over 80 genes have been associated with HSPs, and the list is constantly growing as research progresses. This study is aimed to create a patient-derived human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) line with a specific nonsense mutation to better characterize the etiopathogenesis of the disease

Evaluation of disposable pre-impregnated wipes versus a standard two-step protocol for cleaning and disinfection of high-touch surfaces in intensive care

Aim(s)/Objective(s):Toevaluatetheeffectivenessofpre-impregnated wipesinreducingenvironmental bacterialburdenwhencompared to the current standard protocol (SP). Method(s): High-touch surfaces in a 12-bed Intensive Care Unit were cleanedanddisinfectedeitherbythedailystandardtwo-stepprotocol, application of an alcohol-based detergent Keradet (Kiehl), followed by a chlorine-based disinfectant Antisapril 2% (Angelini), or by using disposable wipes impregnated with quaternary ammonium compounds/Biguanide (Clinell Universal Wipes, GAMA). Effectiveness in reducingmicrobialburdenof hightouch near-patient surfaces was assessed by a contact plate method on five sites immediately pre- procedure and post- at 0.5, 2.5, 4.5 and 6.5 hours. The study was repeated five times over three months, sampling 11 beds for each protocol (560 sampling sites). Results: Pre-impregnated wipes demonstrated a decrease in mean TotalBacterialCount (TBC)from43to16CFU/24 cm2 (63.9%)after0.5 hours vs. a reduction from 27 to 16 CFU/24 cm2 (40.3%) for the SP. In subsequent 2.5, 4.5 and 6.5-hour tests, mean TBCs decreased respectively by 64.1%, 65.6% and 74.1% with disposable wipes, while for SP methods, TBCs showed increases of 8.3%, 20.7% and 24.3%. According to the Italian hygiene standard (ISPESL, 2009), when using pre-impregnated wipes 14 of 180 sites of sites showed TBC >50 CFU/ 24cm2 (Hygiene Failures) whereas for SP 32 of 176 sites were classed as failed (Chi squared, p<0.05). Discussion and/or Conclusion(s): Disposable wipes used on nearpatient inanimate surfaces provide a more effective alternative to the usualtwo-stepprocedures,consideringthepotentialresidualactivit

Evaluation and control of microbial and chemical contamination in dialysis water plants of Italian nephrology wards

Patients receiving haemodialysis are exposed to a large volume of dialysis fluid. The Italian Society of Nephrology (ISN) published guidelines and microbial quality standards on dialysis water (DW) and solutions to ensure patient safety