Interactions between blood lead (Pb) concentration, oxidative stress, cellular immune response and reproductive status in livestock from a mining area.

Chronic exposure to lead (Pb) in livestock grazing in abandoned mining areas affects animal welfare and productivity, as well as represents a significant food safety risk. Here, we evaluate the physiological effects of Pb exposure in goats maintained under extensive farming conditions in a non-remediated mining area. We monitored blood, fecal, and milk Pb levels in two groups of goats, pregnant (n = 17) and lactating (n = 24), kept in different enclosures with high soil Pb concentrations (geometric means of 270 and 143 μg/g, respectively) in Sierra Madrona mining district (Spain).

Impact of organic contaminants in soils from Important Bird and Biodiversity areas.

Soils act as sinks for many organic contaminants, posing a threat to biodiversity and essential ecosystem services. In this study, we assessed the contamination status of soils in 140 Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) in Spain. Fifty-two organic contaminants including organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and plasticizers or plastic related such as phthalates, bisphenol A, nonylphenol, and organophosphate esters (OPEs) were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS).

Impaired Pre-operative Ambulatory Capacity in Patients Undergoing Elective Endovascular Infrarenal Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair is Associated with Increased Peri-operative Death.

Objective: While ambulatory capacity is a readily assessable clinical indicator of functional status, its association with outcomes after endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) remains underexplored. This study aimed to investigate the association between pre-operative ambulatory status and outcomes following elective EVAR.

Methods: A retrospective review of the multi-institutional Vascular Quality Initiative database was conducted for all patients who underwent elective infrarenal EVAR from 2009 - 2022.

Eight-year efficacy and safety of tenofovir alafenamide for treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus infection: Final results from two randomised phase 3 trials.

Background: In two phase 3 studies, tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) showed non-inferior efficacy versus tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF), with more favourable renal and bone safety in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB).

Aims: Here, we report the studies' final 8-year results.

Methods: CHB patients (hepatitis B e antigen [HBeAg]-negative and HBeAg-positive) were randomised (2:1) to double-blind TAF 25 mg/day or TDF 300 mg/day for up to 3 years, followed by open-label (OL) TAF through year 8.

Could alternative pathways for carotenoid transformation affect colour production efficiency? A correlative study in wild common crossbills (Loxia curvirostra).

In many vertebrates, dietary yellow carotenoids are enzymatically transformed into 4C-ketocarotenoid pigments, leading to conspicuous red colourations. These colourations may evolve as signals of individual quality under sexual selection. To evolve as signals, they must transmit reliable information benefiting both the receiver and the signaler.