•Lindane can be drained from soil by SASW using high surfactant/soil ratios.•Quality of the effluent of SASW depends strongly on the surfactant/soil ratio.•Lindane can be oxidized from SASW wastes by ...electrolysis with diamond anodes.•SDS is oxidized more slowly than lindane opening the possibility of re-use of the SWF.
In this work the complete treatment of soil spiked with lindane is studied using surfactant-aided soil-washing (SASW) to exhaust lindane from soil and electrolysis with diamond anodes to mineralize lindane from the soil washing fluid (SWF) waste. Results demonstrated that this technological approach is efficient and allow to remove this hazardous pollutant from soil. They also pointed out the significance of the ratio surfactant/soil in the efficiency of the SASW process and in the performance of the later electrolysis used to mineralize the pollutant. Larger values of this parameter lead to effluents that undergo a very efficient treatment which allows the depletion of lindane for applied charges lower than 15AhL−1 and the recovery of more than 70% of the surfactant for the regeneration of the SWF.
Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP), which is characterized by partial loss of smell (hyposmia) or total loss of smell (anosmia), is commonly associated with asthma and/or nonsteroidal ...anti-inflammatory drug-exacerbated respiratory disease (N-ERD). CRSwNP worsens disease severity and quality of life. The objective of this real-world study was to determine whether biological treatments prescribed for severe asthma can improve olfaction in patients with CRSwNP. A further objective was to compare the improvement in in olfaction in N-ERD and non-N-ERD subgroups.
We performed a multicenter, noninterventional, retrospective, observational study of 206 patients with severe asthma and CRSwNP undergoing biological treatment (omalizumab, mepolizumab, benralizumab, or reslizumab).
Olfaction improved after treatment with all 4 monoclonal antibodies (omalizumab 35.8%, mepolizumab 35.4%, reslizumab 35.7%, and benralizumab 39.1%), with no differences between the groups. Olfaction was more likely to improve in patients with atopy, more frequent use of short-course systemic corticosteroids, and larger polyp size. The proportion of patients whose olfaction improved was similar between the N-ERD (37%) and non-N-ERD (35.7%) groups.
This is the first real-world study to compare improvement in olfaction among patients undergoing long-term treatment with omalizumab, mepolizumab, reslizumab, or benralizumab for severe asthma and associated CRSwNP. Approximately 4 out of 10 patients reported a subjective improvement in olfaction (with nonsignificant differences between biologic drugs). No differences were found for improved olfaction between the N-ERD and non-N-ERD groups.
Losartan potassium and hydrochlorothiazide are often combined in pharmaceutical formulations for the treatment of hypertension. Therefore, the determination of these compounds in a single run is ...highly desirable for rapid quality control applications. The present study describes an ultra-fast (ca. 85 injections h−1) and environmentally friendly method based on capillary electrophoresis (CE) with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection for simultaneous quantification of potassium, losartan and hydrochlorothiazide. Cation (potassium) and anions (losartan and hydrochlorothiazide) were analyzed in a single run using a background electrolyte composed by 10.0 mmol L-1 boric acid (pH = 9.0, adjusted with sodium hydroxide). The limits of detection were 4.0, 3.0 and 10.0 μmol L-1 for potassium, losartan and hydrochlorothiazide, respectively. The proposed method is simple, fast, with minimal waste generation, and accurate (recovery values between 98 and 102%). The results obtained with the CE method were statistically similar (95% confidence level) to those obtained by high-performance liquid chromatography (losartan and hydrochlorothiazide) and flame photometry (potassium).
There is currently enough evidence to think that miRNAs play a role in several key points in asthma, including diagnosis, severity of the disease, and response to treatment. Cells release different ...types of lipid double-membrane vesicles into the extracellular microenvironment, including exosomes, which function as very important elements in intercellular communication. They are capable of distributing genetic material, mRNA, mitochondrial DNA, and microRNAs (miRNAs). Serum miRNA screening was performed in order to analyze possible changes in serum miRNAs in 10 patients treated with reslizumab and 6 patients with mepolizumab after 8 weeks of treatment. The expression of miR-338-3p was altered after treatment (
< 0.05), although no significant differences between reslizumab and mepolizumab were found. Bioinformatic analysis showed that miR-338-3p regulates important pathways in asthma, such as the MAPK and TGF-β signaling pathways and the biosynthesis/degradation of glucans (
< 0.05). However, it did not correlate with an improvement in lung function. MiRNA-338-3p could be used as a biomarker of early response to reslizumab and mepolizumab in severe eosinophilic asthmatic patients. In fact, this miRNA could be involved in airway remodeling, targeting genes related to MAPK and TGF-β signaling pathways.
Drug combinations are increasingly studied in the field of anticancer agents. Mathematical models, such as Loewe, Bliss, and HSA, are used to interpret drug combinations, while informatics tools help ...cancer researchers identify the most effective combinations. However, the different algorithms each software uses lead to results that do not always correlate. This study compared the performance of Combenefit (Ver. 2.021) and SynergyFinder (Ver. 3.6) in analyzing drug synergy by studying combinations involving non-steroidal analgesics (celecoxib and indomethacin) and antitumor drugs (carboplatin, gemcitabine, and vinorelbine) on two canine mammary tumor cell lines. The drugs were characterized, their optimal concentration-response ranges were determined, and nine concentrations of each drug were used to make combination matrices. Viability data were analyzed under the HSA, Loewe, and Bliss models. Celecoxib-based combinations showed the most consistent synergistic effect among software and reference models. Combination heatmaps revealed that Combenefit gave stronger synergy signals, while SynergyFinder produced better concentration-response fitting. When the average values of the combination matrices were compared, some combinations shifted from synergistic to antagonistic due to differences in the curve fitting. We also used a simulated dataset to normalize each software's synergy scores, finding that Combenefit tends to increase the distance between synergistic and antagonistic combinations. We conclude that concentration-response data fitting biases the direction of the combination (synergistic or antagonistic). In contrast, the scoring from each software increases the differences among synergistic or antagonistic combinations in Combenefit when compared to SynergyFinder. We strongly recommend using multiple reference models and reporting complete data analysis for synergy claiming in combination studies.
The presence of bioaccessible potentially-toxic elements in five different brands of temporary tattoos (packaged with bubble gums) aimed at children and three product brands used by young and adult ...audiences were analyzed in accordance with the Brazilian Organization of Technical Standards (ABNT) and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for toy’s safety standards. Bioaccessible barium, copper and strontium were found in the concentration range between 1.78–11.1 μg g–1, 0.0364–0.875 μg g–1, 0.155–9.9 μg g–1, respectively. Bioaccessible lead (2.6 ± 0.1 μg g–1 – 4.36 ± 0.06 μg g–1) and boron (2.14 ± 0.07 – 3.54 ± 0.07 μg g–1) were found in two samples whereas chromium (0.403 ± 0.004 μg g–1) in one sample aimed at children. Bioaccessible aluminum was found in six samples, mostly at products used by children. Other elements whose bioaccessibility was evaluated were Mo (< LOD), Cd (< LOD), V (0.148 ± 0.003 μg g–1) and Co (0.003 – 1.756 μg g–1). All samples met the upper limits permitted by the national toy safety standard, however, chromium, lead, cobalt and barium presented higher bioaccessibility levels than the allowed values by cosmetic regulation that controls products applied directly to the skin.
Exosomes: A Key Piece in Asthmatic Inflammation Cañas, José A; Rodrigo-Muñoz, José M; Gil-Martínez, Marta ...
International journal of molecular sciences,
01/2021, Letnik:
22, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Asthma is a chronic disease of the airways that has an important inflammatory component. Multiple cells are implicated in asthma pathogenesis (lymphocytes, eosinophils, mast cells, basophils, ...neutrophils), releasing a wide variety of cytokines. These cells can exert their inflammatory functions throughout extracellular vesicles (EVs), which are small vesicles released by donor cells into the extracellular microenvironment that can be taken up by recipient cells. Depending on their size, EVs can be classified as microvesicles, exosomes, or apoptotic bodies. EVs are heterogeneous spherical structures secreted by almost all cell types. One of their main functions is to act as transporters of a wide range of molecules, such as proteins, lipids, and microRNAs (miRNAs), which are single-stranded RNAs of approximately 22 nucleotides in length. Therefore, exosomes could influence several physiological and pathological processes, including those involved in asthma. They can be detected in multiple cell types and biofluids, providing a wealth of information about the processes that take account in a pathological scenario. This review thus summarizes the most recent insights concerning the role of exosomes from different sources (several cell populations and biofluids) in one of the most prevalent respiratory diseases, asthma.
Sustainable analytical methods are highly demanded in the modern society. Within the green principles, novel procedures that attend the sustainable development goals have been proposed and the ...internet of things (IoT) can play key role to achieve this goal. The association of IoT with analytical chemistry enables the real-time obtaining of analytical data to control industrial processes as well as for monitoring different environmental scenarios and human health by accessing remotely analytical information. In this context, this review presents the main IoT technologies used for analytical chemistry as well as a tutorial for beginners in the field.
This work reports the successful use of square‐wave voltammetry (SWV) to directly assess the controlled releasing profile of naproxen from lab‐made cellulose derivative materials (membranes and ...microparticles) in phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) at 36 °C. Particular advantage of SWV refers to the direct real‐time monitoring of released drug from cellulose derivative microparticles, which cannot be easily assessed by UV‐spectrophotometry. Moreover, SWV was able to detect modifications in the naproxen releasing profile due to morphology and processing of membranes and microparticles. The possible miniaturization and versatility of SWV suggest the promising application on the study of several drug delivery systems, including in vivo studies.
Barroso et al discuss the prevalence, characteristics, and outcome of asthmatic patients with type 2 diseases in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in Madrid, Spain. They compared clinical and ...laboratory characteristics and outcomes with those of a population of COVID-19 patients without type 2 diseases at Fundacion Jimenez Diaz University Hospital (FJDUH) in Madrid, Spain. A retrospective review of electronic medical records was performed. The demographic and clinical characteristics of this cohort are detailed in Table S1. The data analyzed and the comparisons between asthmatic patients and nonasthmatic patients are provided in the Supplementary Material.
PDF
