Cadmium, manganese, nickel and lead contents in surface sediments of the lower Ulla River and its estuary (northwest Spain)

The authors determined the total contents of cadmium, manganese, nickel and lead in 16 surface sediment samples along the last 7 km of the Ulla River and in its estuary. Prior to chemical analysis, the grain-size fractions below 500, 63 and 2 μm were separated. The metal concentrations were analysed in the fraction below 63 μm, and in selected samples from the clay fraction ( 2 μm). The soil samples were digested with a HF + HNO₃ + HCl mixture and the total concentrations of Cd, Mn, Ni and Pb were analysed with the AAS method. The highest contents of metals were found in the riverine sediments, near the town of Padrón, and in the estuary. The enrichment of metals in the sediments was mainly related to the proximity of the industrial sources, and to the fine particles transported and deposited in the sediments. The Ni and Mn contents found are considered very high, at some points reaching values of up to 357 mg kg⁻¹ and 2 110 mg kg⁻¹, respectively. Lead and Cd were mainly found within the range considered as natural background levels in the sediments of the Galician rias, with concentrations of 25-68 mg kg⁻¹ for Pb and 0.01-0.92 mg kg⁻¹ for Cd. The lower part of the Ulla River and its estuary present: l) moderate to high contamination levels of Mn and Ni; 2) moderate Pb pollution levels; and 3) no Cd contamination. The highest concentrations of metals were obtained in the river, near the wastewater discharges, and in the estuary, associated with fine particles.El contenido total de cadmio, manganeso, níquel y plomo se determinó en 16 muestras de sedimentos superficiales a lo largo de los últimos 7 km del río Ulla y en su estuario. Previamente a los análisis químicos, se realizó la separación granulométrica de los sedimentos en las fracciones inferiores a 500, 63 y 2 μm. La concentración de metales se determinó en la fracción inferior a 63 μm y, para algunas muestras, en la fracción arcilla ( 2 μm). La digestión del sedimento se realizó en una mezcla ácida de HF + HNO₃ + HCl y se analizó la concentración total de Cd, Mn, Ni y Pb por espectroscopia de absorción atómica. Los contenidos más altos en metales se encontraron en los sedimentos del río, en las inmediaciones de Padrón y en los del estuario. El enriquecimiento de los sedimentos en metales se ha relacionado con la proximidad a las zonas industriales y con el material fino transportado y depositado en los sedimentos. Se han encontrado contenidos muy altos de Ni y Mn con valores de 357 mg kg⁻¹ y 2 110 mg kg⁻¹, respectivamente. Las concentraciones de Cd y Pb son comparables a los valores establecidos como niveles naturales en los sedimentos de las rías gallegas: 25-68 mg kg⁻¹ para el Pb y 0.01-0.92 mg kg⁻¹ para el Cd. El sedimento de la parte baja del río Ulla y su estuario presentan niveles moderados-altos de contaminación para Mn y Ni, moderados para Pb y nulos para Cd. Las mayores concentraciones de estos metales en el sedimento fueron medidas asociadas con las fracciones finas ( 63 μm): cerca de Padrón, zona de influencia fluvial y, también, aunque con valores más bajos, en la desembocadura del Ulla, zona de influencia marina.Instituto Español de Oceanografí

The g-factor of the 21/2+^{+} state in 91^{91}Nb

The $^{89}$Y($\alpha$, 2n$\gamma$)$^{91}$Nb reaction was used to populate excited states in $^{91}$Nb. The rotation of the angular distribution of the 357 keV gamma-transition from the 21/2$^{+}$ state was measured in an external magnetic field. The IPAD method was used. By applying $\tau$ =(1.33$\pm$ 0.14) ns for the lifetime of the 21/2$^{+}$ state at 3467 keV, the value of the g-factor 1.18 $\pm$ 0.18 was derived

Self-assembled hydrogel fibers for sensing the multi-compartment intracellular milieu

Targeted delivery of drugs and sensors into cells is an attractive technology with both medical and scientific applications. Existing delivery vehicles are generally limited by the complexity of their design, dependence on active transport, and inability to function within cellular compartments. Here, we developed self-assembled nanofibrous hydrogel fibers using a biologically inert, low-molecular-weight amphiphile. Self-assembled nanofibrous hydrogels offer unique physical/mechanical properties and can easily be loaded with a diverse range of payloads. Unlike commercially available E. coli membrane particles covalently bound to the pH reporting dye pHrodo, pHrodo encapsulated in self-assembled hydrogel-fibers internalizes into macrophages at both physiologic (37°C) and sub-physiologic (4°C) temperatures through an energy-independent, passive process. Unlike dye alone or pHrodo complexed to E. coli, pHrodo-SAFs report pH in both the cytoplasm and phagosomes, as well the nucleus. This new class of materials should be useful for next-generation sensing of the intracellular milieu

MicroRNA expression patterns in canine mammary cancer show significant differences between metastatic and non-metastatic tumours

Background: MicroRNAs may act as oncogenes or tumour suppressor genes, which make these small molecules potential diagnostic/prognostic factors and targets for anticancer therapies. Several common oncogenic microRNAs have been found for canine mammary cancer and human breast cancer. On account of this, large-scale profiling of microRNA expression in canine mammary cancer seems to be important for both dogs and humans. Methods: Expression profiles of 317 microRNAs in 146 canine mammary tumours of different histological type, malignancy grade and clinical history (presence/absence of metastases) and in 25 control samples were evaluated. The profiling was performed using microarrays. Significance Analysis of Microarrays test was applied in the analysis of microarray data (both unsupervised and supervised data analyses were performed). Validation of the obtained results was performed using real-time qPCR. Subsequently, predicted targets for the microRNAs were searched for in miRBase. Results: Results of the unsupervised analysis indicate that the primary factor separating the samples is the metastasis status. Predicted targets for microRNAs differentially expressed in the metastatic vs. non-metastatic group are mostly engaged in cell cycle regulation, cell differentiation and DNA-damage repair. On the other hand, the supervised analysis reveals clusters of differentially expressed microRNAs unique for the tumour type, malignancy grade and metastasis factor. Conclusions: The most significant difference in microRNA expression was observed between the metastatic and non-metastatic group, which suggests a more important role of microRNAs in the metastasis process than in the malignant transformation. Moreover, the differentially expressed microRNAs constitute potential metastasis markers. However, validation of cfa-miR-144, cfa-miR-32 and cfa-miR-374a levels in blood samples did not follow changes observed in the non-metastatic and metastatic tumours. © 2017 The Author(s)

Monosodium urate crystals promote innate anti-mycobacterial immunity and improve BCG efficacy as a vaccine against tuberculosis

A safer and more effective anti-Tuberculosis vaccine is still an urgent need. We probed the effects of monosodium urate crystals (MSU) on innate immunity to improve the Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccination. Results showed that in vitro MSU cause an enduring macrophage stimulation of the anti-mycobacterial response, measured as intracellular killing, ROS production and phagolysosome maturation. The contribution of MSU to anti-mycobacterial activity was also shown in vivo. Mice vaccinated in the presence of MSU showed a lower number of BCG in lymph nodes draining the vaccine inoculation site, in comparison to mice vaccinated without MSU. Lastly, we showed that MSU improved the efficacy of BCG vaccination in mice infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), measured in terms of lung and spleen MTB burden. These results demonstrate that the use of MSU as adjuvant may represent a novel strategy to enhance the efficacy of BCG vaccination

Effect of Systemic Hypertension With Versus Without Left Ventricular Hypertrophy on the Progression of Atrial Fibrillation (from the Euro Heart Survey).

Hypertension is a risk factor for both progression of atrial fibrillation (AF) and development of AF-related complications, that is major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE). It is unknown whether left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) as a consequence of hypertension is also a risk factor for both these end points. We aimed to assess this in low-risk AF patients, also assessing gender-related differences. We included 799 patients from the Euro Heart Survey with nonvalvular AF and a baseline echocardiogram. Patients with and without hypertension were included. End points after 1 year were occurrence of AF progression, that is paroxysmal AF becoming persistent and/or permanent AF, and MACCE. Echocardiographic LVH was present in 33% of 379 hypertensive patients. AF progression after 1 year occurred in 10.2% of 373 patients with rhythm follow-up. In hypertensive patients with LVH, AF progression occurred more frequently as compared with hypertensive patients without LVH (23.3% vs 8.8%, p = 0.011). In hypertensive AF patients, LVH was the most important multivariably adjusted determinant of AF progression on multivariable logistic regression (odds ratio 4.84, 95% confidence interval 1.70 to 13.78, p = 0.003). This effect was only seen in male patients (27.5% vs 5.8%, p = 0.002), while in female hypertensive patients, no differences were found in AF progression rates regarding the presence or absence of LVH (15.2% vs 15.0%, p = 0.999). No differences were seen in MACCE for hypertensive patients with and without LVH. In conclusion, in men with hypertension, LVH is associated with AF progression. This association seems to be absent in hypertensive women

Progression From Paroxysmal to Persistent Atrial Fibrillation. Clinical Correlates and Prognosis

Objectives: We investigated clinical correlates of atrial fibrillation (AF) progression and evaluated the prognosis of patients demonstrating AF progression in a large population. Background: Progression of paroxysmal AF to more sustained forms is frequently seen. However, not all patients will progress to persistent AF. Methods: We included 1,219 patients with paroxysmal AF who participated in the Euro Heart Survey on AF and had a known rhythm status at follow-up. Patients who experienced AF progression after 1 year of follow-up were identified. Results: Progression of AF occurred in 178 (15%) patients. Multivariate analysis showed that heart failure, age, previous transient ischemic attack or stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and hypertension were the only independent predictors of AF progression. Using the regression coefficient as a benchmark, we calculated the HATCH score. Nearly 50% of the patients with a HATCH score >5 progressed to persistent AF compared with only 6% of the patients with a HATCH score of 0. During follow-up, patients with AF progression were more often admitted to the hospital and had more major adverse cardiovascular events. Conclusions: A substantial number of patients progress to sustained AF within 1 year. The clinical outcome of these patients regarding hospital admissions and major adverse cardiovascular events was worse compared with patients demonstrating no AF progression. Factors known to cause atrial structural remodeling (age and underlying heart disease) were independent predictors of AF progression. The HATCH score may help to identify patients who are likely to progress to sustained forms of AF in the near future. \ua9 2010 American College of Cardiology Foundation