Occurrence of Natural and Synthetic Micro-Fibers in the Mediterranean Sea: A Review

Among microplastics (MPs), fibers are one of the most abundant shapes encountered in the aquatic environment. Growing attention is being focused on this typology of particles since they are considered an important form of marine contamination. Information about microfibers distribution in the Mediterranean Sea is still limited and the increasing evidence of the high amount of fibers in the aquatic environment should lead to a different classification from MPs which, by definition, are composed only of synthetic materials and not natural. In the past, cellulosic fibers (natural and regenerated) have been likely included in the synthetic realm by hundreds of studies, inflating “micro-plastic” counts in both environmental matrices and organisms. Comparisons are often hampered because many of the available studies have explicitly excluded the micro-fibers (MFs) content due, for example, to methodological problems. Considering the abundance of micro-fibers in the environment, a chemical composition analysis is fundamental for toxicological assessments. Overall, the results of this review work provide the basis to monitor and mitigate the impacts of microfiber pollution on the sea ecosystems in the Mediterranean Sea, which can be used to investigate other basins of the world for future risk assessment

Occurrence of Natural and Synthetic Micro-Fibers in the Mediterranean Sea: A Review

Among microplastics (MPs), fibers are one of the most abundant shapes encountered in the aquatic environment. Growing attention is being focused on this typology of particles since they are considered an important form of marine contamination. Information about microfibers distribution in the Mediterranean Sea is still limited and the increasing evidence of the high amount of fibers in the aquatic environment should lead to a different classification from MPs which, by definition, are composed only of synthetic materials and not natural. In the past, cellulosic fibers (natural and regenerated) have been likely included in the synthetic realm by hundreds of studies, inflating “micro-plastic” counts in both environmental matrices and organisms. Comparisons are often hampered because many of the available studies have explicitly excluded the micro-fibers (MFs) content due, for example, to methodological problems. Considering the abundance of micro-fibers in the environment, a chemical composition analysis is fundamental for toxicological assessments. Overall, the results of this review work provide the basis to monitor and mitigate the impacts of microfiber pollution on the sea ecosystems in the Mediterranean Sea, which can be used to investigate other basins of the world for future risk assessment

Low dose rate brachytherapy (LDR-BT) as monotherapy for early stage prostate cancer in Italy: practice and outcome analysis in a series of 2237 patients from 11 institutions

OBJECTIVE: Low-dose-rate brachytherapy (LDR-BT) in localized prostate cancer is available since 15 years in Italy. We realized the first national multicentre and multidisciplinary data collection to evaluate LDR-BT practice, given as monotherapy, and outcome in terms of biochemical failure. METHODS: Between May 1998 and December 2011, 2237 patients with early-stage prostate cancer from 11 Italian community and academic hospitals were treated with iodine-125 ((125)I) or palladium-103 LDR-BT as monotherapy and followed up for at least 2 years. (125)I seeds were implanted in 97.7% of the patients: the mean dose received by 90% of target volume was 145 Gy; the mean target volume receiving 100% of prescribed dose (V100) was 91.1%. Biochemical failure-free survival (BFFS), disease-specific survival (DSS) and overall survival (OS) were estimated using Kaplan-Meier method. Log-rank test and multivariable Cox regression were used to evaluate the relationship of covariates with outcomes. RESULTS: Median follow-up time was 65 months. 5- and 7-year DSS, OS and BFFS were 99 and 98%, 94 and 89%, and 92 and 88%, respectively. At multivariate analysis, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network score (p < 0.0001) and V100 (p = 0.09) were correlated with BFFS, with V100 effect significantly different between patients at low risk and those at intermediate/high risk (p = 0.04). Short follow-up and lack of toxicity data represent the main limitations for a global evaluation of LDR-BT. CONCLUSION: This first multicentre Italian report confirms LDR-BT as an excellent curative modality for low-/intermediate-risk prostate cancer. ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE: Multidisciplinary teams may help to select adequately patients to be treated with brachytherapy, with a direct impact on the implant quality and, possibly, on outcome

Interweaving Monitoring Activities and Model Development towards Enhancing Knowledge of the Soil-Plant-Atmosphere Continuum

The study of water pathways from the soil to the atmosphere through plants-the so-called soil-plant-atmosphere continuum (SPAC)-has always been central to agronomy, hydrology, plant physiology, and other disciplines, using a wide range of approaches and tools. In recent years, we have been witnessing a rapid expansion of interweaving monitoring activities and model development related to SPAC in climatic, ecological, and applications other than the traditional agrohydrological, and it is therefore timely to review the current status of this topic and outline future directions of research. The initiative for the special section of Vadose Zone Journal on SPAC emanated from several sessions we recently organized in international conferences and meetings. With a view to the specific research questions covered in this special section, this article introduces and reviews SPAC underlying issues and then provides a brief overview of the invited contributions. We have grouped together the 15 contributions under three main sections related to the local, field, and landscape spatial scales of interests. Within these sections, the papers present their innovative results using different measuring techniques (from classic tensiometers and TDR sensors to more advanced and sophisticated equipment based on tomography and geophysics) and different modeling tools (from mechanistic models based on the Richards equation to more parametrically parsimonious hydrologic balance models). They provide a snapshot of the current state of the art while emphasizing the significant progress attained in this field of research. New technological developments and applications are also highlighted

Trace and Treat: Biodistribution and Therapeutic Potential of Radiolabeled Molecular and Supramolecular Carriers

Molecules able to specifically accumulate in tumor tissue have greatly improved the detection of tumor tissue via molecular imaging and the delivery of drugs for therapeutic purposes. The results obtained in this field have strongly encouraged novel research leading to a huge proliferation of novel tumor-targeting compounds, able to accumulate in the tumor via different mechanisms. Besides molecular probes, supramolecular particles are also being developed, including, polymers, polymeric micelles, nanoparticles, liposomes, and micro bubbles. They represent emerging molecular imaging instruments because of their high versatility to serve as imaging agents. In this thesis, we describe our studies on biological properties of two categories of biomolecules, i.e. peptides and nanoparticles, that were labeled with a radionuclide or dual-labeled with a radionuclide and an fluorochrome, thereby describing some main biological barriers these compounds have to overcome to reach the tumor tissue

Inserimento del podologo e implementazione del percorso diagnostico terapeutico assistenziale del piede diabetico nell'area di Cesena/Insertion of podiatrist and implementation of the diagnostic and therapeutic care path for the diabetic foot in Cesena

I progressi nella cura della malattia diabetica hanno portato a un allungamento dell'aspettativa di vita dei diabetici. I problemi principali sono legati alle complicanze croniche del diabete sia microangiopatiche sia macroangiopatiche; in particolare, il piede diabetico sta assumendo un ruolo rilevante, poiché si stima che il 15% dei pazienti diabetici andrà incontro nella vita a un'ulcera agli arti inferiori. Inoltre, su 100 diabetici, circa 84 hanno avuto come causa di amputazione un'ulcera cronica aggravatasi nel tempo. Questo lavoro nasce dalla necessità di definire un percorso condiviso nell'AUSL di Cesena che prevede la fase di prevenzione e cura dell'aspetto podologico della malattia diabetica, basato sulle ultime linee guida internazionali. Il Podologo, infatti, pur essendo una figura professionale di recente istituzione, è un operatore sanitario che si occupa non solo di diabete ma anche di tutte le altre affezioni a carico del piede. In diverse realtà diabetologiche italiane è già inserito a pieno regime; a Cesena, nonostante sia presente dal 2012, non è mai stato strutturato nel percorso diagnostico terapeutico assistenziale del piede diabetico. Advances in the treatment of diabetic disease have led to an increase in the life expectancy of diabetics. The main problems are related to chronic complications of both microangiopathic and macroangiopathic diabetes; in particular, the diabetic foot is assuming an important role, since it is estimated that 15% of diabetic patients will experience a lower limb ulcer in life. Furthermore, out of 100 diabetics, about 84 had a chronic ulcer aggravated over time as a cause of amputation. This work stems from the need to define a shared path in the AUSL of Cesena that provides for the prevention and treatment of the podiatry aspect of diabetic disease, based on the latest international guidelines. The Podiatrist, in fact, despite being a newly established professional figure, is a health worker who deals not only with diabetes but also with all the other diseases affecting the foot. In several Italian diabetological realities it is already in full swing, in Cesena despite being present since 2012, it has never been integrated into the diabetic foot diagnostic and therapeutic care path