Presence of multidrug-resistant bacteria on ready-to-use laryngoscope blades and handles: a cross-sectional study.

Background: The presence of microorganisms in laryngoscopes emphasizes the risk to patient safety during orotracheal intubations.

Methods: Cross-sectional study was carried out in university hospital in the inpatient, emergency, intensive care and surgical center sectors. Microorganisms were recovered from the blades using a filter membrane and from the handles using swab.

Construction and validation of an instrument for event-related sterility of processed healthcare products.

Objective: To construct and validate an instrument to assess events related to maintaining the sterility of processed healthcare products.

Methods: This methodological study developed the instrument through analysis by a panel of experts, focusing on the integrity of commonly used packaging: spunbond-meltblown-spunbond and medical-grade paper. The instrument was analyzed using the Content Validity Index and Content Validity Ratio (≥ 0.

Particulate matter-induced oxidative stress - Mechanistic insights and antioxidant approaches reported in in vitro studies.

Inhaled particulate matter (PM) is a key factor in millions of yearly air pollution-related deaths worldwide. The oxidative potential of PM indicates its ability to promote an oxidative environment. Excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) can cause cell damage via oxidative stress, leading to inflammation, endoplasmic reticulum stress, airway remodeling, and various cell death modes (apoptosis, ferroptosis, pyroptosis).

Interleukin 33 supports squamous cell carcinoma growth via a dual effect on tumour proliferation, migration and invasion, and T cell activation.

Interleukin (IL)-33 is an important cytokine in the tumour microenvironment; it is known to promote the growth and metastasis of solid cancers, such as gastric, colorectal, ovarian and breast cancer. Our group demonstrated that the IL-33/ST2 pathway enhances the development of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Conversely, other researchers have reported that IL-33 inhibits tumour progression.

Differential impact of diesel exhaust particles on glutamatergic and dopaminergic neurons in Caenorhabditis elegans: A neurodegenerative perspective.

The growing body of evidence links exposure to particulate matter pollutants with an increased risk of neurodegenerative diseases. In the present study, we investigated whether diesel exhaust particles can induce neurobehavioral alterations associated with neurodegenerative effects on glutamatergic and dopaminergic neurons in Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans).

Ultrasonography as an instrument to evaluate lymphedema secondary to breast cancer: systematic review.

Lymphedema is a chronic and progressive disease characterized by fluid accumulation, causing tissue edema as a result of a compromised lymphatic system. Diagnostic ultrasound (DUS) is a method capable of assessing soft tissue characteristics that can be used reliably to diagnose lymphedema as well as for measuring tissue compliance in a clinical setting. This is a systematic review, aiming to evaluate articles that made use of DUS in management of lymphedema secondary to breast cancer.

Microfluidic-based skin-on-chip systems for safety assessment of nanomaterials.

The skin is the body's largest organ, continuously exposed to and affected by natural and anthropogenic nanomaterials (materials with external and internal dimensions in the nanoscale range). This broad spectrum of insults gives rise to irreversible health effects (from skin corrosion to cancer). Organ-on-chip systems can recapitulate skin physiology with high fidelity and potentially revolutionize the safety assessment of nanomaterials.

Expression of connexins and pannexins in diseased human liver.

Connexin proteins can form hexameric hemichannels and gap junctions that mediate paracrine and direct intercellular communication, respectively. Gap junction activity is crucial for the maintenance of hepatic homeostasis, while connexin hemichannels become particularly active in liver disease, such as hepatitis, fibrosis, cholestasis or even hepatocellular carcinoma. Channels consisting of connexin-like proteins named pannexins have been directly linked to liver inflammation and cell death.

Nanosafety: An Evolving Concept to Bring the Safest Possible Nanomaterials to Society and Environment.

The use of nanomaterials has been increasing in recent times, and they are widely used in industries such as cosmetics, drugs, food, water treatment, and agriculture. The rapid development of new nanomaterials demands a set of approaches to evaluate the potential toxicity and risks related to them. In this regard, nanosafety has been using and adapting already existing methods (toxicological approach), but the unique characteristics of nanomaterials demand new approaches (nanotoxicology) to fully understand the potential toxicity, immunotoxicity, and (epi)genotoxicity.

Adverse Outcome Pathways as Versatile Tools in Liver Toxicity Testing.

Adverse outcome pathways (AOPs) are tools to capture and visualize mechanisms driving toxicological effects. They share a common structure consisting of a molecular initiating event, a series of key events connected by key event relationships and an adverse outcome. Development and evaluation of AOPs ideally comply with guidelines issued by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Primary Human Hepatocyte Spheroids as Tools to Study the Hepatotoxic Potential of Non-Pharmaceutical Chemicals.

Drug-induced liver injury, including cholestasis, is an important clinical issue and economic burden for pharmaceutical industry and healthcare systems. However, human-relevant in vitro information on the ability of other types of chemicals to induce cholestatic hepatotoxicity is lacking. This work aimed at investigating the cholestatic potential of non-pharmaceutical chemicals using primary human hepatocytes cultured in 3D spheroids.

Hepatotoxicity induced by nanomaterials: mechanisms and in vitro models.

The unique physicochemical properties of materials at nanoscale have opened a plethora of opportunities for applications in the pharmaceutical and medical field, but also in consumer products from food and cosmetics industries. As a consequence, daily human exposure to nanomaterials through distinct routes is considerable and, therefore, may raise health concerns. Many nanomaterials have been described to accumulate and induce adversity in the liver.

Magnetic Hyperthermia for Cancer Treatment: Main Parameters Affecting the Outcome of In Vitro and In Vivo Studies.

Magnetic hyperthermia (MHT) is being investigated as a cancer treatment since the 1950s. Recent advancements in the field of nanotechnology have resulted in a notable increase in the number of MHT studies. Most of these studies explore MHT as a stand-alone treatment or as an adjuvant therapy in a preclinical context.

Robustness testing and optimization of an adverse outcome pathway on cholestatic liver injury.

Adverse outcome pathways (AOPs) have been recently introduced as tools to map the mechanisms underlying toxic events relevant for chemical risk assessment. AOPs particularly depict the linkage between a molecular initiating event and an adverse outcome through a number of intermediate key events. An AOP has been previously introduced for cholestatic liver injury.

Cholestatic liver injury induced by food additives, dietary supplements and parenteral nutrition.

Cholestasis refers to the accumulation of toxic levels of bile acids in the liver due to defective bile secretion. This pathological situation can be triggered by drugs, but also by ingredients contained in food, food supplements and parenteral nutrition. This paper provides an overview of the current knowledge on cholestatic injury associated with such ingredients, with particular emphasis on the underlying mechanisms of toxicity.

Increased Expression of Adherens Junction Components in Mouse Liver following Bile Duct Ligation.

Adherens junctions, consisting of cadherins and catenins, are a group of cell-to-cell junctions that mediate mechanistic linkage between neighboring cells. By doing so, adherens junctions ensure direct intercellular contact and play an indispensable role in maintaining tissue architecture. Considering these critical functions, it is not surprising that adherens junctions are frequently involved in disease.

Portable sensing system based on electrochemical impedance spectroscopy for the simultaneous quantification of free and total microcystin-LR in freshwaters.

Microcystins are the most worldwide extended and common toxins produced by cyanobacteria in freshwater. Microcystin-leucine arginine (MC-LR), associated with the most toxic incidents involving microcystins, are within the cyanobacteria (intracellular) until released into the surrounding waters (extracellular) during cell lysis. Therefore, the relationship between intracellular and extracellular cyanotoxins will allow a comprehensive risk of cyanobacteria-containing waters, preventing disease and improving human safety.

Primary hepatocytes and their cultures for the testing of drug-induced liver injury.

Drug-induced liver injury is a major reason for discontinuation of drug development and withdrawal of drugs from the market. Intensive efforts in the last decades have focused on the establishment and finetuning of liver-based in vitro models for reliable prediction of hepatotoxicity triggered by drug candidates. Of those, primary hepatocytes and their cultures still are considered the gold standard, as they provide an acceptable reflection of the hepatic in vivo situation.

Industrial, Biocide, and Cosmetic Chemical Inducers of Cholestasis.

A frequent side effect of many drugs includes the occurrence of cholestatic liver toxicity. Over the past couple of decades, drug-induced cholestasis has gained considerable attention, resulting in a plethora of data regarding its prevalence and mechanistic basis. Likewise, several food additives and dietary supplements have been reported to cause cholestatic liver insults in the past few years.

Mechanisms and in vitro models of drug-induced cholestasis.

Cholestasis underlies one of the major manifestations of drug-induced liver injury. Drug-induced cholestatic liver toxicity is a complex process, as it can be triggered by a variety of factors that induce 2 types of biological responses, namely a deteriorative response, caused by bile acid accumulation, and an adaptive response, aimed at removing the accumulated bile acids. Several key events in both types of responses have been characterized in the past few years.

Biocompatibility and Bioimaging Potential of Fruit-Based Carbon Dots.

Photo-luminescent carbon dots (CD) have become promising nanomaterials and their synthesis from natural products has attracted attention by the possibility of making the most of affordable, sustainable and, readily-available carbon sources. Here, we report on the synthesis, characterization and bioimaging potential of CDs produced from diverse extensively produced fruits: kiwi, avocado and pear. The in vitro cytotoxicity and anticancer potential of those CDs were assessed by comparing human epithelial cells from normal adult kidney and colorectal adenocarcinoma cells.

ST2/IL-33 signaling promotes malignant development of experimental squamous cell carcinoma by decreasing NK cells cytotoxicity and modulating the intratumoral cell infiltrate.

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the second most common form of skin cancer and the mechanism(s) involved in the progression of this tumor are unknown. Increases in the expression of IL-33/ST2 axis components have been demonstrated to contribute to neoplastic transformation in several tumor models and interleukin-33 is correlated with poor prognosis of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue. Based on these observations, we sought to determine the role of the IL-33/ST2 pathway during the development of SCC.

Microbial Load of Trocars: Potential Source of Contamination and Surgical Site Infection.

Surgical site infection (SSI) is a common complication that is associated with delayed recovery, prolonged length of hospital stay, exorbitant cost, and mortality. The present prospective longitudinal study aimed to evaluate the relationships between the microbial load of trocars used in laparoscopic gynecological surgery, microbiota in surgical sites, and SSI. The final sample consisted of 24 patients, including 68 swab samples and 48 trocars.

Green synthesis of fluorescent carbon dots from spices for in vitro imaging and tumour cell growth inhibition.

Carbon dots have demonstrated great potential as luminescent nanoparticles in bioapplications. Although such nanoparticles appear to exhibit low toxicity compared to other metal luminescent nanomaterials, today we know that the toxicity of carbon dots (C-dots) strongly depends on the protocol of fabrication. In this work, aqueous fluorescent C-dots have been synthesized from cinnamon, red chilli, turmeric and black pepper, by a one-pot green hydrothermal method.

Combining CXCR4-targeted and nontargeted nanoparticles for effective unassisted in vitro magnetic hyperthermia.

The use of targeted nanoparticles for magnetic hyperthermia (MHT) increases MHT selectivity, but often at the expense of its effectiveness. Consequently, targeted MHT is typically used in combination with other treatment modalities. This work describes an implementation of a highly effective monotherapeutic in vitro MHT treatment based on two populations of magnetic particles.