Ecotoxicological evaluation of urban wastewater treatment plants: a Sicilian study.

(1) Background: Ecotoxicological screening evaluates the acute toxicity of WWs. The Vibrio fischeri ecotoxicological assay analyses inlet and outlet wastewater samples from two urban wastewater treatment plants in Catania, Sicily, Italy. (2) Methods: The APAT CNR IRSA 8030 Man 29 method was used as method; (3) Results: The results showed toxicity values below the limit of the Italian Legislative Decree 152/06; (4) Conclusions: This monitoring study allows to verify the efficacy, and the outlet quality of WWs discharged to sea water.

Toxicological Implications of Platinum Group Elements (PGEs): A Systematic Review of and Studies Using Mammalian Models.

Background: The six Platinum group metal elements (PGEs) comprising Ruthenium, Rhodium, Palladium, Platinum, Iridium and Osmium are grouped together in the periodic table. Human activities are mostly responsible for releasing PGEs into the environment. This systematic review focused on three PGEs with the greatest anthropogenic use, including in vehicle catalytic converters: Platinum (Pt), Palladium (Pd), and Rhodium (Rh).

Glyphosate and environmental toxicity with "One Health" approach, a review.

The herbicide Glyphosate (GLY), or N-(phosphonomethyl) glycine was synthesized in 1950 and applied to control weeds in agricultural production. For a long time, it was believed that it was an inert compound, but many studies have instead demonstrated over the years the dangers of GLY to the ecosystem and human health. Among the best-known effects, it is known that GLY interferes with the metabolic pathways of plants and the main groups of microorganisms, negatively influencing their growth.

Effects of Nano and Microplastics on the Inflammatory Process: and Studies Systematic Review.

Background: Microplastics (MPs) and Nanoplastics (NPs) are plastic fragments that spread in the environment and accumulate in the human body, so they have been becoming a worldwide environmental concern because of their potential human health effects. The aim of this systematic review was to investigate the prospective impact of MPs and NPs on the inflammatory process.

Methods: Electronic article search was performed on PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science international databases from 1 Jan 2012 to 31 Dec 2021.

Possible association between PM and neurodegenerative diseases: A systematic review.

Air pollution is one of the most serious environmental problems that afflict our planet and one of the greatest risk factors for human health. In particular, PM is able to cross the blood-alveolar and blood-brain barriers, thus increasing the onset of respiratory, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. Neurodegenerative disease is a progressive neuronal dysfunction that leads to neuronal lesions in both structure and function, and includes several diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), vascular dementia (VaD), multiple sclerosis (MS), and others.

Microplastics in fillets of Mediterranean seafood. A risk assessment study.

Microplastics (MPs) are considered as emergent threat to human health. No complete data still exists on MPs presence in fish tissue and their transmission to humans. The present study aims to detect and quantify the presence of MPs (<3 μm) in several edible seafood (Sardina pilchardus, wild and farmed Sparus aurata, Mullus surmuletus, Solea solea and musselMytilus galloprovincialis) from the south coast of Mediterranean Sea.

Nicotine dosimetry and stability in cambridge filter PADs (CFPs) following different smoking regime protocols and storage conditions.

Despite the growing numbers of studies on cigarettes and electronic nicotine delivery products (ENDs), no standard assessment of nicotine stability in various matrix post exposure is currently available. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the optimal standard condition to store Cambridge Filter Pads (CFPs) before chemical analysis in order to guarantee the titer of nicotine.We further performed data normalization according to different smoking or vaping runs.

Micro- and nano-plastics in edible fruit and vegetables. The first diet risks assessment for the general population.

Microplastics (MPs) represent a current public health concern since toxicity has not yet fully investigated. They were found in several foods, but to the best of our knowledge, at this time no data was reported for the edible vegetables and fruits. We focused on diet exposure aiming to evaluate the number and the size (<10 μm) of MPs in the most commonly consumed vegetables and fruits, in relation to their recommended daily intake too.

Giant maxillary gingival fibromatosis.

We present a case of both unusual pathology and severity - giant maxillary gingival fibromatosis - and discuss the disease and its management, accompanied by clinical imaging. This represents an overlap between maxillofacial and oral surgery, and may present as demonstrated in this case.

Is Helicobacter pylori the infectious target to prevent gastric cancer? An interdisciplinary point of view.

Gastric carcinogenesis, which may well extend over decades, is characterized by a slow stepwise evolution from superficial gastritis to glandular atrophy, intestinal metaplasia, dysplasia, and finally, adenocarcinoma. This sequence provides an excellent opportunity for the prevention or early detection of the events preceding development of the neoplasm. In 1994, the International Agency for Research on Cancer defined Helicobacter pylori (H.

Susceptibilities of nonhuman primates to chronic wasting disease.

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, or prion disease, that affects deer, elk, and moose. Human susceptibility to CWD remains unproven despite likely exposure to CWD-infected cervids. We used 2 nonhuman primate species, cynomolgus macaques and squirrel monkeys, as human models for CWD susceptibility.

Characteristics of 263K scrapie agent in multiple hamster species.

Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) diseases are known to cross species barriers, but the pathologic and biochemical changes that occur during transmission are not well understood. To better understand these changes, we infected 6 hamster species with 263K hamster scrapie strain and, after each of 3 successive passages in the new species, analyzed abnormal proteinase K (PK)-resistant prion protein (PrPres) glycoform ratios, PrPres PK sensitivity, incubation periods, and lesion profiles. Unique 263K molecular and biochemical profiles evolved in each of the infected hamster species.

Role of Erk1/2 activation in prion disease pathogenesis: absence of CCR1 leads to increased Erk1/2 activation and accelerated disease progression.

Prion diseases are neurodegenerative infections with gliosis and vacuolation. The mechanisms of degeneration remain unclear, but chemokines may be important. In current experiments CCR1 knock-out (KO) mice succumbed more rapidly to scrapie infection than WT controls.

Prion protein expression differences in microglia and astroglia influence scrapie-induced neurodegeneration in the retina and brain of transgenic mice.

Activated microglia and astroglia are known to be involved in a variety of neurodegenerative diseases, including prion diseases. In the present experiments, we studied activation of astroglia and microglia after intraocular scrapie infection in transgenic mice expressing prion protein (PrP) in multiple cell types (tg7 mice) or in neurons only (tgNSE mice). In this model, scrapie infection and protease-resistant PrP deposition occurs in the retinas of both strains of mice, but retinal degeneration is observed only in tg7 mice.

Resistance to chronic wasting disease in transgenic mice expressing a naturally occurring allelic variant of deer prion protein.

Prion protein (PrP) is a required factor for susceptibility to transmissible spongiform encephalopathy or prion diseases. In transgenic mice, expression of prion protein (PrP) from another species often confers susceptibility to prion disease from that donor species. For example, expression of deer or elk PrP in transgenic mice has induced susceptibility to chronic wasting disease (CWD), the prion disease of cervids.

Transmission and adaptation of chronic wasting disease to hamsters and transgenic mice: evidence for strains.

In vitro screening using the cell-free prion protein conversion system indicated that certain rodents may be susceptible to chronic wasting disease (CWD). Therefore, CWD isolates from mule deer, white-tailed deer, and elk were inoculated intracerebrally into various rodent species to assess the rodents' susceptibility and to develop new rodent models of CWD. The species inoculated were Syrian golden, Djungarian, Chinese, Siberian, and Armenian hamsters, transgenic mice expressing the Syrian golden hamster prion protein, and RML Swiss and C57BL10 wild-type mice.

Oligodendrocytes are a major target of the toxicity of spongiogenic murine retroviruses.

The neurovirulent retroviruses FrCasE and Moloney MLV-ts1 cause noninflammatory spongiform neurodegeneration in mice, manifested clinically by progressive spasticity and paralysis. Neurons have been thought to be the primary target of toxicity of these viruses. However the neurons themselves appear not to be infected, and the possible indirect mechanisms driving the neuronal toxicity have remained enigmatic.

Anchorless prion protein results in infectious amyloid disease without clinical scrapie.

In prion and Alzheimer's diseases, the roles played by amyloid versus nonamyloid deposits in brain damage remain unresolved. In scrapie-infected transgenic mice expressing prion protein (PrP) lacking the glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) membrane anchor, abnormal protease-resistant PrPres was deposited as amyloid plaques, rather than the usual nonamyloid form of PrPres. Although PrPres amyloid plaques induced brain damage reminiscent of Alzheimer's disease, clinical manifestations were minimal.

Differences in scrapie-induced pathology of the retina and brain in transgenic mice that express hamster prion protein in neurons, astrocytes, or multiple cell types.

Prion protein (PrP) is expressed in many tissues and is required for susceptibility to scrapie and other prion diseases. To investigate the role of PrP expression in different cell types on pathology in retina and brain after scrapie infection, we examined transgenic mice expressing hamster PrP from the PrP promoter (tg7), the neuron-specific enolase promoter (tgNSE), or the astrocyte-specific glial fibrillary acidic protein promoter (tgGFAP). After intraocular inoculation with hamster scrapie, clinical disease developed in tg7 and tgNSE mice by 100 days and in tgGFAP mice by 350 days.

EsophaCoil for palliation of dysphagia in unresectable oesophageal carcinoma: short- and long-term results.

Background And Aim: Few reports have shown that EsophaCoil is an effective and safe prosthesis for palliation of malignant oesophageal dysphagia. A single centre experience using this type of prosthesis is reported.

Patients And Methods: Between January 1995 and September 2000, 42 consecutive patients, 41 with unresectable oesophageal cancer and one with oesophageal stenosis secondary to lung cancer, were treated with 44 EsophaCoils (2 patients received 2 stents).

N-terminal cleavage fragment of glycosylated Gag is incorporated into murine oncornavirus particles.

Glycosylated Gag (Glycogag) is a transmembrane protein encoded by murine and feline oncornaviruses. While the protein is dispensible for virus replication, Glycogag-null mutants of a neurovirulent murine oncornavirus are slow to spread in vivo and exhibit a loss of pathogenicity. The function of this protein in the virus life cycle, however, is not understood.

Correlation between intestinal metaplasia of the gastric cardia and gastroesophageal reflux disease.

Background/aims: IMC (intestinal metaplasia of the cardia) has been a subject of great interest, given the rapidly increasing incidence of adenocarcinoma in this location, over the past two decades. Whether this histological alteration is a consequence of gastroesophageal reflux disease, or a manifestation of an H. pylori-related multifocal atrophic gastritis, is unclear.

Increased expression of MIP-1 alpha and MIP-1 beta mRNAs in the brain correlates spatially and temporally with the spongiform neurodegeneration induced by a murine oncornavirus.

The chimeric murine oncornavirus FrCas(E) causes a rapidly progressive paralytic disease associated with spongiform neurodegeneration throughout the neuroaxis. Neurovirulence is determined by the sequence of the viral envelope gene and by the capacity of the virus to infect microglia. The neurocytopathic effect of this virus appears to be indirect, since the cells which degenerate are not infected.