Seventy-three commonly administered pharmaceuticals from twelve different therapeutic classes were investigated at a municipal wastewater treatment plant in northern Italy featuring a conventional ...activated sludge system (full-scale) and a polishing horizontal subsurface flow bed (pilot plant). Removal of these micro-pollutants by the two systems was assessed in order to evaluate their respective contributions. Mean concentrations and standard deviations were calculated and found to differ for the compounds detected, ranging from few ng/L to over 1165ng/L in the secondary effluent and from 11 to 533 in the polished effluent. Eighteen compounds were consistently below the detection limit and the remaining 55 compounds were found at a minimum of one sampling point.
Average removal efficiencies of both treatment steps and in treatment train as a whole are evaluated and discussed, highlighting the difficulties in predicting the fate of pharmaceuticals in both an activated sludge system and a horizontal subsurface flow bed. Comparison between the observed average removal efficiencies and those reported in the literature was also carried out for the pharmaceuticals of interest, and the discrepancies that emerged are discussed. The investigated constructed wetland did show efficacy in removing some of these compounds, and it contributed to the overall removal efficiency of each therapeutic class. Indeed, evaluation of the specific mass loadings of each class of PhC detected in the raw wastewaters, secondary and polished effluent evidences that the investigated constructed wetland is able to further reduce the load of micropollutants, which could become a necessity, especially where the receiving water body is an effluent-dominant river and mitigation measures of the discharge impact are required to protect and safeguard the aquatic environment.
•An activated sludge process followed by a horizontal subsurface flow bed were investigated.•73 selected pharmaceuticals of twelve therapeutic classes were analysed.•The feeding was real domestic wastewater.•Occurrence, mass load and removal efficiency of selected compounds were investigated.•Contributions of the two steps in the removal of selected compounds were assessed.
Bipolar disorder (BD) has been linked to disrupted structural and functional connectivity between prefrontal networks and limbic brain regions. Studies of patients with pediatric bipolar disorder ...(PBD) can help elucidate the developmental origins of altered structural connectivity underlying BD and provide novel insights into the aetiology of BD. Here we compare the network properties of whole-brain structural connectomes of euthymic PBD patients with psychosis, a variant of PBD, and matched healthy controls. Our results show widespread changes in the structural connectivity of PBD patients with psychosis in both cortical and subcortical networks, notably affecting the orbitofrontal cortex, frontal gyrus, amygdala, hippocampus and basal ganglia. Graph theoretical analysis revealed that PBD connectomes have fewer hubs, weaker rich club organization, different modular fingerprint and inter-modular communication, compared to healthy participants. The relationship between network features and neurocognitive and psychotic scores was also assessed, revealing trends of association between patients' IQ and affective psychotic symptoms with the local efficiency of the orbitofrontal cortex. Our findings reveal that PBD with psychosis is associated with significant widespread changes in structural network topology, thus strengthening the hypothesis of a reduced capacity for integrative processing of information across brain regions. Localised network changes involve core regions for emotional processing and regulation, as well as memory and executive function, some of which show trends of association with neurocognitive faculties and symptoms. Together, our findings provide the first comprehensive characterisation of the alterations in local and global structural brain connectivity and network topology, which may contribute to the deficits in cognition and emotion processing and regulation found in PBD.
Direct lifetime measurements via gamma -gamma coincidences using a fast timing detector array consisting of LaBr3(Ce) scintillators has been applied to determine the lifetime of low-lying states in ...the semimagic (N = 50) nucleus Ru-94. The experiment was carried out as the first in a series of "FAIR-0" experiments with the DESPEC experimental setup at the Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR). Excited states in Ru-94 were populated primarily via the beta-delayed proton emission of Pd-95 nuclei, produced in the projectile fragmentation of an 850 MeV/nucleon Xe-124 beam impinging on a 4 g/cm(2) Be-9 target. While the deduced E2 strength for the 2(+) -> 0(+) transition in the yrast cascade follows the expected behavior for conserved seniority symmetry, the intermediate 4(+) -> 2(+) transition exhibits a drastic enhancement of transition strength in comparison with pure-seniority model predictions as well as standard shell model predictions in the f pg proton hole space with respect to doubly magic Sn-100. The anomalous behavior is ascribed to a subtle interference between the wave function of the lowest seniority v = 2, I-pi = 4(+) state and that of a close-lying v = 4 state that exhibits partial dynamic symmetry. In addition, the observed strongly prohibitive 6(+) -> 4(+) transition can be attributed to the same mechanism but with a destructive interference. It is noted that such effects may provide stringent tests of the nucleon-nucleon interactions employed in state-of-the-art theoretical model calculations.
► Correlation of ultra high energy cosmic rays with nearby extragalactic matter. ► Evidence of anisotropy in ultra high energy arrival directions. ► Autocorrelation of arrival directions shows modest ...excess over broad range of small angular scales. ► The largest observed excess occurs in the region around the radiogalaxy Cen A.
Data collected by the Pierre Auger Observatory through 31 August 2007 showed evidence for anisotropy in the arrival directions of cosmic rays above the Greisen–Zatsepin–Kuz’min energy threshold, 6
×
10
19
eV. The anisotropy was measured by the fraction of arrival directions that are less than 3.1° from the position of an active galactic nucleus within 75
Mpc (using the Véron-Cetty and Véron 12th catalog). An updated measurement of this fraction is reported here using the arrival directions of cosmic rays recorded above the same energy threshold through 31 December 2009. The number of arrival directions has increased from 27 to 69, allowing a more precise measurement. The correlating fraction is
38
-
6
+
7
%
, compared with 21% expected for isotropic cosmic rays. This is down from the early estimate of
69
-
13
+
11
%
. The enlarged set of arrival directions is examined also in relation to other populations of nearby extragalactic objects: galaxies in the 2 Microns All Sky Survey and active galactic nuclei detected in hard X-rays by the Swift Burst Alert Telescope. A celestial region around the position of the radiogalaxy Cen A has the largest excess of arrival directions relative to isotropic expectations. The 2-point autocorrelation function is shown for the enlarged set of arrival directions and compared to the isotropic expectation.
To develop age-, sex-, and ethnic-appropriate normative reference ranges for standard echocardiographic measurements of the left heart by combining echocardiographic measurements obtained from adult ...volunteers without clinical cardiovascular disease or significant cardiovascular risk factors, from multiple studies around the world.
The Echocardiographic Normal Ranges Meta-Analysis of the Left heart (EchoNoRMAL) collaboration was established and population-based data sets of echocardiographic measurements combined to perform an individual person data meta-analysis. Data from 43 studies were received, representing 51 222 subjects, of which 22 404 adults aged 18-80 years were without clinical cardiovascular or renal disease, hypertension or diabetes. Quantile regression or an appropriate parametric regression method will be used to derive reference values at the 5th and 95th centile of each measurement against age.
This unique data set represents a large, multi-ethnic cohort of subjects resident in a wide range of countries. The resultant reference ranges will have wide applicability for normative data based on age, sex, and ethnicity.
Water resources are directly and indirectly affected by anthropogenic activities (e.g., changes in land use) and natural factors (e.g., climate change), that is, global change. The Mediterranean ...basin is one of the most vulnerable regions of the world to global change, and one of the “hot spots” for forthcoming problems of water availability. The present review provides an overview about the relationship between chemical quality (especially concerning organic microcontaminants) and water scarcity, particularly in the Mediterranean area. We include an overview of environmental contaminants and analytical methodologies and consider the fate and the behavior of organic contaminants, and the effects of pollutants on ecosystems.
Background. Preeclampsia is a pregnancy-specific disorder characterized by hypertension and proteinuria. In other disease states, proteinuria has been linked to altered expressions of podocyte ...foot-process proteins, but this has not been studied in women with preeclampsia. We sought to test the hypothesis that proteinuria in preeclampsia is associated with dysregulated expression of the podocyte cytoskeleton and/or tight junction proteins. Mathods. Renal tissue was obtained from autopsy material from seven women who had severe preeclampsia during the second half of their pregnancies up to 48 h after delivery, and who subsequently died. As controls, we used autopsy material from two women who died accidentally during the second half of their otherwise normal pregnancies. Immunohistochemical stains for nephrin, synaptopodin and podocin were performed on representative sections prepared from paraffin-embedded material. Results. Expression of both nephrin and synaptopodin was markedly decreased in preeclamptic compared with control kidney sections. By contrast, both cases and controls demonstrated strong staining for podocin. Conclusions. We conclude that down-regulation of nephrin and synaptopodin is associated with proteinuria in women with preeclampsia. Recent studies have demonstrated that soluble vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1 (sFlt-1) levels are elevated in preeclampsia compared with normal pregnancy. Studies in mice have shown that sFlt-1 may play a role in inducing proteinuria by neutralizing vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and suppressing nephrin. Proteinuria and elevations of sFlt-1 in preeclampsia are temporally related, further supporting a possible role of sFlt-1 in the dysregulation of podocyte foot-process proteins.
Most countries have enacted some restrictions to reduce social contacts to slow down disease transmission during the COVID-19 pandemic. For nearly two years, individuals likely also adopted new ...behaviours to avoid pathogen exposure based on personal circumstances. We aimed to understand the way in which different factors affect social contacts - a critical step to improving future pandemic responses.
The analysis was based on repeated cross-sectional contact survey data collected in a standardized international study from 21 European countries between March 2020 and March 2022. We calculated the mean daily contacts reported using a clustered bootstrap by country and by settings (at home, at work, or in other settings). Where data were available, contact rates during the study period were compared with rates recorded prior to the pandemic. We fitted censored individual-level generalized additive mixed models to examine the effects of various factors on the number of social contacts.
The survey recorded 463,336 observations from 96,456 participants. In all countries where comparison data were available, contact rates over the previous two years were substantially lower than those seen prior to the pandemic (approximately from over 10 to < 5), predominantly due to fewer contacts outside the home. Government restrictions imposed immediate effect on contacts, and these effects lingered after the restrictions were lifted. Across countries, the relationships between national policy, individual perceptions, or personal circumstances determining contacts varied.
Our study, coordinated at the regional level, provides important insights into the understanding of the factors associated with social contacts to support future infectious disease outbreak responses.
To describe the hepatotoxicity associated with ingestion of the Chinese herbal product Jin Bu Huan Anodyne Tablets (Lycopodium, serratum) and to propose possible mechanisms of injury.
Retrospective ...analysis.
Academic hepatology units and private practice facilities.
Seven previously healthy patients.
Clinical, laboratory, radiologic, and histologic studies.
Acute hepatitis occurred after a mean of 20 weeks (range, 7 to 52 weeks) of Jin Bu Huan ingestion and resolved in six patients within a mean of 8 weeks (range, 2 to 30 weeks); another patient is currently improving. Hepatitis was associated with symptoms of fever, fatigue, nausea, pruritus, and abdominal pain and with signs of jaundice and hepatomegaly. Biopsy specimens showed that one patient had hepatitis with eosinophils (consistent with a drug reaction) and the other had mild hepatitis, moderate fibrosis, and microvesicular steatosis. Decreasing the Jin Bu Huan dose in one patient improved liver test results. Reusing Jin Bu Huan in two other patients caused abrupt recrudescence of hepatitis.
Jin Bu Huan can cause liver injury. Although the hepatotoxic mechanisms are not defined, they may include hypersensitive or idiosyncratic reactions or direct toxicity to active metabolites. Hepatotoxicity caused by herbal products underscores the toxicity caused by herbal products underscores the importance of national surveillance programs and quality control of the manufacture of these products.
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