Adsorption on activated carbon for PFAS removal: should we act at the source or before the discharge into the environment?

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), used in several industrial applications, such as textile production, are gaining increasing concern due to their spread in the environment, their stability and eco-toxicity. To avoid PFAS spread in the environment, removal strategies need to be implemented at both industrial and municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). This study presents a case study in a textile district in northern Italy where PFAS removal in wastewater (WW) through adsorption on activated carbon was tested at lab and pilot-scale at different points of the system (textile companies and municipal WW treatment plant). This lab-testing was proved to be useful to identify where to apply such process in the system and to optimize process configuration and operating conditions

Impaired radial artery compliance in normotensive subjects with familial hypercholesterolemia

Hypercholesterolemia impairs arteriolar dilatation, but whether the vascular abnormalities accompanying this condition include large artery function is unknown. We addressed this issue in 13 normotensive subjects with familial hypercholesterolemia (serum cholesterol 401.6 \ub1 16.9 mg/dl, mean \ub1 S.E., FHC) and no evidence of atherosclerotic lesions, in whom radial artery (RA) diameter and blood pressure (BP) were measured beat to beat by an echotracking and a Finapres device, respectively. RA compliance (RAG) was derived from the diameter/BP relationship and expressed over the systo-diastolic BP range, both at baseline and after a 12-min brachial artery occlusion. RAC was expressed also as the area under the RAC/BP curve divided for pulse BP. Measurements included maximal forearm blood flow (plethysmography) and minimal forearm vascular resistance (FVR) which were obtained from the values following the 12-min brachial arterial occlusion. Data were collected before and after 6- and 24-month lipid lowering treatment (simvastatin 40 mg/day). Ten age-matched normotensive normocholesterolemic healthy subjects (N) served as controls. Compared to N, baseline RAC was strikingly reduced in FHC (-53.5%, P < 0.01). After ischemia RAC increased significantly and markedly in N (+38.7, P < 0.01), while only a modest and non-significant increase was observed in FHC. Minimal FVR was markedly higher in FHC than in N (3.5 \ub1 0.9 vs 1.6 \ub1 0.1 units, P < 0.01). In FHC (7 subjects) RAC remained unchanged after 6 months of lipid lowering treatment, but increased markedly (+55.2%, P < 0.05) when treatment was prolonged to 24 months. Lipid lowering treatment also reduced minimal FVR, the effect being significant bath after 6 and after 24 months. No changes in RAC and minimal FVR were seen after 6 months in controls. Thus, in subjects with a marked increase in serum cholesterol due to FHC, not only arteriolar dilatation, but also RAC and distensibility are markedly impaired. This impairment can be favourably affected by an effective lipid lowering treatment of long duration

Tumefazione orbito-temporale con enoftalmo e deformazione del volto: descrizione di un caso

La famiglia delle neurofibromatosi annovera differenti rare entità nosologiche, tra le quali, secondo la classificazione di Riccardi, si possono distinguere la neurofibromatosi di tipo 1 (NF-1) e la neurofibromatosi di tipo 2 (NF-2), aventi criteri diagnostici clinici codificati. Esistono tuttavia varianti cliniche che presentano un’espressività della malattia e delle manifestazioni fenotipiche non facilmente inquadrabili in una delle due forme codificate, risultando caratterizzate da aspetti e comportamenti clinici più sfumati o peculiari. Si descrive un paziente, giunto all’osservazione per la presenza di una tumefazione peri-orbitale ed orbitale risultata poi essere, istologicamente, un neurofibroma; attraverso la RMN si evidenziava un’estensione della neoplasia molto oltre l’aspetto visibile, fino ai piani profondi, coinvolgente tutta la zona circostante, avendo margini mal definiti. In base al dato clinico, istologico, e strumentale si poneva il sospetto diagnostico di neurofibromatosi, ascrivibile allo spettro delle varianti rare di NF-1; la revisione dei dati bibliografici ha confermato, in parte, l’ipotesi diagnostica, come viene descritto nella discussione

A novel hyperekplexia-causing mutation in the pre-transmembrane segment 1 of the human glycine receptor alpha1 subunit reduces membrane expression and impairs gating by agonists

In this study, we have compared the functional consequences of three mutations (R218Q, V260M, and Q266H) in the 1 subunit of the glycine receptor (GlyRA1) causing hyperekplexia, an inherited neurological channelopathy. In HEK-293 cells, the agonist EC50s for glycine- activated Cl currents were increased from 26 M in wtGlyRA1, to 5747, 135, and 129 M in R218Q, V260M, and Q266H GlyRA1 channels, respectively. Cl currents elicited by -alanine and taurine, which behave as agonists at wtGlyRA1, were decreased in V260M and Q266H mutant receptors and virtually abolished in GlyRA1 R218Q receptors. Gly-gated Cl currents were similarly antagonized by low concentrations of strychnine in both wild-type (wt) and R218Q GlyRA1 channels, suggesting that the Arg-218 residue plays a crucial role in GlyRA1 channel gating, with only minor effects on the agonist/ antagonist binding site, a hypothesis supported by our molecular model of the GlyRA1 subunit. The R218Q mutation, but not the V260M or the Q266H mutation, caused a marked decrease of receptor subunit expression both in total cell lysates and in isolated plasma membrane proteins. This decreased expression does not seem to explain the reduced agonist sensitivity of GlyRA1 R218Q channels since no difference in the apparent sensitivity to glycine or taurine was observed when wtGlyRA1 receptors were expressed at levels comparable with those of R218Q mutant receptors. In conclusion, multiple mechanisms may explain the dramatic decrease in GlyR function caused by the R218Q mutation, possibly providing the molecular basis for its association with a more severe clinical phenotype

The anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-37 is an inhibitor of trained immunity.

Summary Trained immunity (TI) is a de facto innate immune memory program induced in monocytes/macrophages by exposure to pathogens or vaccines, which evolved as protection against infections. TI is characterized by immunometabolic changes and histone post-translational modifications, which enhance production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. As aberrant activation of TI is implicated in inflammatory diseases, tight regulation is critical; however, the mechanisms responsible for this modulation remain elusive. Interleukin-37 (IL-37) is an anti-inflammatory cytokine that curbs inflammation and modulates metabolic pathways. In this study, we show that administration of recombinant IL-37 abrogates the protective effects of TI in vivo, as revealed by reduced host pro-inflammatory responses and survival to disseminated candidiasis. Mechanistically, IL-37 reverses the immunometabolic changes and histone post-translational modifications characteristic of TI in monocytes, thus suppressing cytokine production in response to infection. IL-37 thereby emerges as an inhibitor of TI and as a potential therapeutic target in immune-mediated pathologies

Environmental gradients and the evolution of successional habitat specialization: A test case with 14 Neotropical forest sites

© 2015 British Ecological Society. Successional gradients are ubiquitous in nature, yet few studies have systematically examined the evolutionary origins of taxa that specialize at different successional stages. Here we quantify successional habitat specialization in Neotropical forest trees and evaluate its evolutionary lability along a precipitation gradient. Theoretically, successional habitat specialization should be more evolutionarily conserved in wet forests than in dry forests due to more extreme microenvironmental differentiation between early and late-successional stages in wet forest. We applied a robust multinomial classification model to samples of primary and secondary forest trees from 14 Neotropical lowland forest sites spanning a precipitation gradient from 788 to 4000 mm annual rainfall, identifying species that are old-growth specialists and secondary forest specialists in each site. We constructed phylogenies for the classified taxa at each site and for the entire set of classified taxa and tested whether successional habitat specialization is phylogenetically conserved. We further investigated differences in the functional traits of species specializing in secondary vs. old-growth forest along the precipitation gradient, expecting different trait associations with secondary forest specialists in wet vs. dry forests since water availability is more limiting in dry forests and light availability more limiting in wet forests. Successional habitat specialization is non-randomly distributed in the angiosperm phylogeny, with a tendency towards phylogenetic conservatism overall and a trend towards stronger conservatism in wet forests than in dry forests. However, the specialists come from all the major branches of the angiosperm phylogeny, and very few functional traits showed any consistent relationships with successional habitat specialization in either wet or dry forests. Synthesis. The niche conservatism evident in the habitat specialization of Neotropical trees suggests a role for radiation into different successional habitats in the evolution of species-rich genera, though the diversity of functional traits that lead to success in different successional habitats complicates analyses at the community scale. Examining the distribution of particular lineages with respect to successional gradients may provide more insight into the role of successional habitat specialization in the evolution of species-rich taxa

Three-row versus two-row circular staplers for left-sided colorectal anastomosis: a propensity score-matched analysis of the iCral 2 and 3 prospective cohorts

Background: Since most anastomoses after left-sided colorectal resections are performed with a circular stapler, any technological change in stapling devices may influence the incidence of anastomotic adverse events. The aim of the present study was to analyze the effect of a three-row circular stapler on anastomotic leakage and related morbidity after left-sided colorectal resections. Materials and methods: A circular stapled anastomosis was performed in 4255 (50.9%) out of 8359 patients enrolled in two prospective multicenter studies in Italy, and, after exclusion criteria to reduce heterogeneity, 2799 (65.8%) cases were retrospectively analyzed through a 1:1 propensity score-matching model including 20 covariates relative to patient characteristics, to surgery and to perioperative management. Two well-balanced groups of 425 patients each were obtained: group (A) – true population of interest, anastomosis performed with a three-row circular stapler; group (B) – control population, anastomosis performed with a two-row circular stapler. The target of inferences was the average treatment effect in the treated (ATT). The primary endpoints were overall and major anastomotic leakage and overall anastomotic bleeding; the secondary endpoints were overall and major morbidity and mortality rates. The results of multiple logistic regression analyses for the outcomes, including the 20 covariates selected for matching, were presented as odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Results: Group A versus group B showed a significantly lower risk of overall anastomotic leakage (2.1 vs. 6.1%; OR 0.33; 95% CI 0.15–0.73; P = 0.006), major anastomotic leakage (2.1 vs. 5.2%; OR 0.39; 95% CI 0.17–0.87; P = 0.022), and major morbidity (3.5 vs. 6.6% events; OR 0.47; 95% CI 0.24–0.91; P = 0.026). Conclusion: The use of three-row circular staplers independently reduced the risk of anastomotic leakage and related morbidity after left-sided colorectal resection. Twenty-five patients were required to avoid one leakage

The steel–concrete interface

Although the steel–concrete interface (SCI) is widely recognized to influence the durability of reinforced concrete, a systematic overview and detailed documentation of the various aspects of the SCI are lacking. In this paper, we compiled a comprehensive list of possible local characteristics at the SCI and reviewed available information regarding their properties as well as their occurrence in engineering structures and in the laboratory. Given the complexity of the SCI, we suggested a systematic approach to describe it in terms of local characteristics and their physical and chemical properties. It was found that the SCI exhibits significant spatial inhomogeneity along and around as well as perpendicular to the reinforcing steel. The SCI can differ strongly between different engineering structures and also between different members within a structure; particular differences are expected between structures built before and after the 1970/1980s. A single SCI representing all on-site conditions does not exist. Additionally, SCIs in common laboratory-made specimens exhibit significant differences compared to engineering structures. Thus, results from laboratory studies and from practical experience should be applied to engineering structures with caution. Finally, recommendations for further research are made