Legacy and emerging contaminants in marine mammals from Argentina.

Marine mammals are recognized sentinels of ecosystem health. They are susceptible to the accumulation and biomagnification of pollutants, which constitute one of the greatest threats to their survival. Legacy, such as organochlorine pesticides, and emerging contaminants, like microplastics and pharmaceuticals, may have effects on marine mammals' health at individual and population levels.

Reduced levels of plasma selenium are associated with increased inflammation and cardiovascular disease in an Italian elderly population.

Selenium (Se) is an essential micronutrient for human health that protects from oxidative damage. Se deficiency has been associated with the development of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). In this study we aimed to investigate the association between Se status, CVD risk, cardio-metabolic and inflammatory markers in elderly population.

The Feasibility of Underwater Computerised Strain Gauge Plethysmography and the Effects of Hydrostatic Pressure on the Leg Venous Haemodynamics.

Background: Strain gauge plethysmography (SGP) is employed to evaluate venous drainage of the lower leg.

Methods: In this study, SGP was used to evaluate the effects of the hydrostatic pressure (HP) of water on venous volume (VV), expelled volume, and ejection fraction (EF) in 22 healthy legs before and during immersion in water.

Results: HP reduced VV by 100% and even more during underwater (UW) exercise, making calculation of the UW EF possible.

Continuous thoracic spinal anesthesia with local anesthetic plus midazolam and ketamine is superior to local anesthetic plus fentanyl in major abdominal surgery.

Background: Limited studies have applied thoracic continuous spinal anesthesia in abdominal surgery, relying exclusively on opioids. This retrospective study analyzes 2 different schemes of thoracic continuous spinal anesthesia and postoperative analgesia in elderly patients undergoing major abdominal surgery.

Methods: A total of 98 patients aged ≥ 75 years were divided into 2 groups.

ZnT8 Arg325Trp polymorphism influences zinc transporter expression and cytokine production in PBMCs from patients with diabetes.

Aims: ZnT8 Arg325Trp polymorphism has been associated with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) susceptibility. The Arg-325 risk variant shows accelerated zinc (Zn) transport kinetic and reduced glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in pancreatic cells. However, it remains unexplored the role of Znt8 polymorphism in the regulation of Zn homeostasis and inflammatory response in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from T2DM patients.