Evaluation of asbestos dispersion during laser ablation of rocks containing Naturally Occurring Asbestos (NOA).

Health risks are often overlooked when the short-term consequences are not immediately apparent. During restoration work, cleaning actions can generate particles that pose health risks to workers through inhalation. This is particularly true in the case of asbestos fibres that might be spread out from the laser cleaning of buildings or heritage artifacts made of stone, such as serpentinite and other ultramafic rocks, that have a high probability of containing asbestos (e.

Sensitization of melanoma cells to standard chemotherapy: G-quadruplex binders as synergistic agents.

The use of chemotherapeutics has achieved considerable success in cancer therapy; however, their toxicity can severely impact patients' health. In this study, aiming to reduce the doses and potential side effects of traditional chemotherapeutics, we systematically treated A375MM human melanoma cells with seven clinically approved antineoplastic drugs, in combination with three well-characterized G-quadruplex (G4) ligands, using either simultaneous or sequential dosing schedules. Interestingly, the G4 binders synergized with most of the investigated anticancer drugs, with the degree of synergism being strictly dependent on both the treatment schedule and the drug sequence employed.

Bioactive Ag(I) coordination complexes as dopants for castor oil plasticized ethylcellulose films.

The effects exerted by new bioactive acylpyrazolonate Ag(I) derivatives of the general formula [Ag(QPy,CF3)(R-Im)] containing different substituents on the imidazole (R-Im) ancillary ligands and the natural plasticizer castor oil when both are added to the ethylcellulose (EC) biopolymer in the preparation of thin films as potential active food packaging materials are presented. The Ag(I) complexes [Ag(QPy,CF3)(Bn-Im)] and [Ag(QPy,CF3)(Bu-Im)], having benzyl and butyl substituents, whose single crystal molecular structures are reported, have proved to be highly compatible for efficient incorporation between the EC polymer and the hydrophobic plasticizer chains, giving rise, even at low concentrations, to homogeneous, robust and elastic films. The concomitant presence of these Ag(I) complexes and castor oil in the polymer EC matrix gives rise to thin films with improved antibacterial activity against () as a model of Gram-negative bacterial strains when compared to the non-plasticized ones, with very low Ag(I) migration in the three food simulants used (distilled water, ethanol 10% v/v and acetic acid 3% v/v) under two assay conditions (70 °C for 2 h and 40 °C for 10 days).

Circadian clock gene polymorphisms implicated in human pathologies.

Circadian rhythms, ~24 h cycles of physiological and behavioral processes, can be synchronized by external signals (e.g., light) and persist even in their absence.

Hybrid Ethylcellulose Polymeric Films: Ag(I)-Based Components and Curcumin as Reinforcing Ingredients for Enhanced Food Packaging Properties.

Bio-active ethylcellulose (EC) polymeric films have been obtained by incorporating curcumin (curc) and Ag(I)-based compounds, known for their antioxidant and antimicrobial activity, respectively, within the polymeric matrix. The recently reported Ag(I) coordination polymer, in both its structural forms (α-[(bpy)Ag(OTf)] and β-{[(bpy)Ag][OTf]}), and the [(bpy)Ag(OTf)]-curc polymeric co-crystal (bpy=2,2'-bipyridine; OTf=trifluoromethanesulfonate) have been selected as Ag(I) species. The hybrid composite films have been prepared through the simple solvent casting method and characterized through Powder X-Ray Diffraction (PXRD), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), UV-vis spectroscopy.