Quantification of pharmaceuticals in hospital effluent: Weighted ranking of environmental risk using a fuzzy hybrid multicriteria method.

An analytical method for quantification of seventeen pharmaceuticals and one metabolite was validated and applied in the analysis of hospital effluent samples. Two different sampling strategies were used: seasonal sampling, with 7 samples collected bimonthly; and hourly sampling, with 12 samples collected during 12 h. Thus, the variability was both seasonal and within the same day.

Qualitative evaluation of pharmaceuticals and metabolites in hospital effluent: Influence of sample preparation technique and outranking by environmental risk using the ELECTRE method.

The presence of pharmaceuticals and metabolites in effluents has become a serious environmental problem, so it is essential to be able to monitor these microcontaminants using qualitative approaches, as well as to assess the potential environmental risks that such compounds may present. Therefore, in this study, suspect screening analysis was performed of 2030 pharmaceuticals and metabolites in hospital effluent samples, applying different sample preparation techniques. Additionally, a pioneering association of (Q)SAR assessment of identified contaminants with the ELECTRE multi-criteria decision analysis technique made it possible to prioritize analytes according to their environmental risk, in order to enable their inclusion in environmental monitoring programs.

Barrier lipid composition and response to plasma lipids: A direct comparison of mouse dorsal back and ear skin.

The skin of the ear and the back are frequently selected sites in skin research using mouse models. However, distinct responses to treatment have been described between these two sites in several studies. Despite the crucial role of the stratum corneum (SC) in the skin barrier function of both dorsal back and ear skin, it remains unclear whether differences in lipid composition might underlie altered responses.

Complement Receptor Targeted Liposomes Encapsulating the Liver X Receptor Agonist GW3965 Accumulate in and Stabilize Atherosclerotic Plaques.

Atherosclerosis is characterized by the retention of lipids in foam cells in the arterial intima. The liver X receptor (LXR) agonist GW3965 is a promising therapeutic compound, since it induces reverse cholesterol transport in foam cells. However, hepatic LXR activation increases plasma and liver lipid levels, inhibiting its clinical development.

Hypercholesterolemia in young adult APOE mice alters epidermal lipid composition and impairs barrier function.

Long-term exposure to hypercholesterolemia induces the development of skin xanthoma's characterized by the accumulation of lipid-laden foam cells in humans and in mice. Early skin changes in response to hypercholesterolemia are however unknown. In this study, we investigated the skin lipid composition and associated barrier function in young adult low-density lipoprotein receptor knockout (LDLR) and apolipoprotein E knockout (APOE) mice, two commonly used hypercholesterolemic mouse models characterized by the accumulation of apolipoprotein B containing lipoproteins.