The study of the mechanisms by which mineral fibres promote adverse effects in both animals and humans is a hot topic of multidisciplinary research with many aspects that still need to be elucidated. Besides length and diameter, a key parameter that determines the toxicity/pathogenicity of a fibre is biopersistence, one component of which is biodurability. In this paper, biodurability of mineral fibres of social and economic importance (chrysotile, amphibole asbestos and fibrous erionite) has been determined for the first time in a systematic comparative way from in vitro acellular dissolution experiments. Dissolution was possible using the Gamble solution as simulated lung fluid (pH = 4 and at body temperature) so to reproduce the macrophage phagolysosome environment. The investigated mineral fibres display very different dissolution rates. For a 0.25 μm thick fibre, the calculated dissolution time of chrysotile is in the range 94-177 days, very short if compared to that of amphibole fibres (49-245 years), and fibrous erionite (181 years). Diffraction and SEM data on the dissolution products evidence that chrysotile rapidly undergoes amorphization with the formation of a nanophasic silica-rich fibrous metastable pseudomorph as first dissolution step whereas amphibole asbestos and fibrous erionite show minor signs of dissolution even after 9-12 months.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-25531-4 | DOI Listing |
Polymers (Basel)
January 2025
Binzhou Institute of Technology, Weiqiao-UCAS Science and Technology Park, Binzhou 256606, China.
Due to the high viscosity and low fluidity of viscous crude oil, how to effectively recover spilled crude oil is still a major global challenge. Although solar thermal absorbers have made significant progress in accelerating oil recovery, its practical application is largely restricted by the variability of solar radiation intensity, which is influenced by external environmental factors. To address this issue, this study created a new composite fiber that not only possesses solar energy conversion and storage capabilities but also facilitates crude oil removal.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRespir Investig
January 2025
Department of Respiratory Medicine, International Medical Center, Saitama Medical University, 1397-1 Yamane, Hidaka-City, Saitama, 350-1298, Japan. Electronic address:
Pleural mesothelioma (PM) is a rare and highly aggressive malignancy originating from the pleural lining, with a median overall survival of merely 1 year. This cancer primarily arises from mesothelial cells following exposure to carcinogenic, biopersistent mineral fibers, particularly asbestos. The histological subtypes of mesothelioma are epithelioid (approximately 60%), sarcomatoid (20%), and biphasic (20%), exhibiting epithelioid and sarcomatoid characteristics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGinekol Pol
January 2025
Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacoeconomics, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Poland, Poland.
Objectives: Hyperandrogenism is a frequently recognized endocrine imbalance in which there is excessive production of androgens. The purpose of the study was to investigate the impact of vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphisms on chosen bone metabolism and biochemical parameters in women with hyperandrogenism.
Material And Methods: Eighty young females with hyperandrogenism were enrolled in the study, in whom selected parameters of bone turnover, endocrine and metabolic parameters were determined.
Curr Protoc
January 2025
Cancer Prevention and Control Program, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Mesothelioma is a lethal cancer of the serosal lining of the body cavities. Risk factors include environmental and genetic factors. Asbestos exposure is considered the principal environmental risk factor, but other carcinogenic mineral fibers, such as erionite, also have a causal role.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFACS Nano
January 2025
Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR) - Istituto per la Sintesi Organica e la Fotoreattività (ISOF), via Piero Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy.
This study reveals the capability of nanostructured organic materials to undergo pseudomorphic transformations, a ubiquitous phenomenon occurring in the mineral kingdom that involves the replacement of a mineral phase with a new one while retaining the original shape and volume. Specifically, it is demonstrated that the postoxidation process induced by HOF·CHCN on preformed thiophene-based 1D nanostructures preserves their macro/microscopic morphology while remarkably altering their electro-optical properties by forming a new oxygenated phase. Experimental evidence proves that this transformation proceeds via an interface-coupled dissolution-precipitation mechanism, leading to the growth of a porous oxidized shell that varies in thickness with exposure time, enveloping the pristine smooth core.
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