Highlights ► We perform a survey among Italian women aged 18–26 years. ► We detect poor awareness regarding HPV and cervical cancer prevention. ► Appropriate and adequate information dissemination is ...required ► Guidance from health professionals appear to be a crucial element.
The Orcia River basin lies north of the Mt. Amiata mining district and may receive potentially harmful/toxic elements such as mercury (Hg) and arsenic (As) therefrom. The Orcia River eventually flows ...to the Ombrone River, which in turn flows to the Tyrrhenian Sea. The analysis of stream sediments collected in the Orcia River and its main tributaries, as well as in the Ombrone River, indicates moderate concentrations of both Hg and As (median values, Hg 118 μg/kg and As 5.25 mg/kg), rarely exceeding Italian environmental quality standards. Exceptionally high values for both elements are observed only in close proximity to the former Pietrineri Hg mine (Hg 195 mg/kg and As 35 mg/kg). Travertine and unconsolidated deposits associated with thermal springs in the area generally exhibit low Hg concentrations (4–320 μg/kg), with a significant exception of 23 mg/kg at Bagni San Filippo. Arsenic concentration in the same deposits is more variable with a peak level of 358 mg/kg. Surface waters collected at the same sites as stream sediments show Hg and As concentrations below the Italian mandatory limits for drinking waters (1 μg/L for Hg and 10 μg/L for As). Likewise, in thermal springs, Hg concentrations are low, whereas As concentrations are relatively high (up to 23.4 μg/L), which is in agreement with previous studies. At present, the input of toxic elements from the mining district into the Orcia and Ombrone watersheds is lower than inputs documented in the Paglia and Tiber catchments south of Mt. Amiata and does not pose an immediate environmental threat. However, the possible remobilization of Hg-contaminated sediments during flash flood events cannot be dismissed.
Context. Gravitational waves from black-hole (BH) merging events have revealed a population of extra-galactic BHs residing in short-period binaries with masses that are higher than expected based on ...most stellar evolution models – and also higher than known stellar-origin black holes in our Galaxy. It has been proposed that those high-mass BHs are the remnants of massive metal-poor stars. Aims. Gaia astrometry is expected to uncover many Galactic wide-binary systems containing dormant BHs, which may not have been detected before. The study of this population will provide new information on the BH-mass distribution in binaries and shed light on their formation mechanisms and progenitors. Methods. As part of the validation efforts in preparation for the fourth Gaia data release (DR4), we analysed the preliminary astrometric binary solutions, obtained by the Gaia Non-Single Star pipeline, to verify their significance and to minimise false-detection rates in high-mass-function orbital solutions. Results. The astrometric binary solution of one source, Gaia BH3, implies the presence of a 32.70 ± 0.82 M ⊙ BH in a binary system with a period of 11.6 yr. Gaia radial velocities independently validate the astrometric orbit. Broad-band photometric and spectroscopic data show that the visible component is an old, very metal-poor giant of the Galactic halo, at a distance of 590 pc. Conclusions. The BH in the Gaia BH3 system is more massive than any other Galactic stellar-origin BH known thus far. The low metallicity of the star companion supports the scenario that metal-poor massive stars are progenitors of the high-mass BHs detected by gravitational-wave telescopes. The Galactic orbit of the system and its metallicity indicate that it might belong to the Sequoia halo substructure. Alternatively, and more plausibly, it could belong to the ED-2 stream, which likely originated from a globular cluster that had been disrupted by the Milky Way.
Several lines of evidence support the involvement of the lectin pathway of complement (LP) in the pathogenesis of acute ischemic stroke. The aim of this multicenter observational study was to assess ...the prognostic value of different circulating LP initiators in acute stroke.
Plasma levels of the LP initiators ficolin-1, -2, and -3 and mannose-binding lectin (MBL) were measured in 80 stroke patients at 6 h only and in 85 patients at 48 h and later. Sixty-one age- and sex-matched healthy individuals served as controls. Stroke severity was measured on admission using the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS). The outcome was measured at 90 days by the modified Rankin Scale (mRS).
Ficolin-1 was decreased in patients compared with controls measured at 6 h (median 0.13 vs 0.33 μg/ml, respectively, p < 0.0001). At 48 h, ficolin-1 was significantly higher (0.45 μg/ml, p < 0.0001) compared to the 6 h samples and to controls. Likewise, ficolin-2 was decreased at 6 h (2.70 vs 4.40 μg/ml, p < 0.0001) but not at 48 h. Ficolin-3 was decreased both at 6 and 48 h (17.3 and 18.23 vs 21.5 μg/ml, p < 0.001 and <0.05, respectively). For MBL no difference was detected between patients and controls or within patients at the different time points. In multivariate analysis, early ficolin-1 was independently associated with unfavorable mRS outcome (adjusted odds ratio (OR): 2.21, confidence interval (CI) 95 % 1.11-4.39, p = 0.023). Early ficolin-1 improved the discriminating ability of an outcome model including NIHSS and age (area under the curve (AUC) 0.95, CI 95 % 0.90-0.99, p = 0.0001).
The ficolins are consumed within 6 h after stroke implicating activation of the LP. Early ficolin-1 is selectively related to 3-month unfavorable outcome.
Hydrozincite Zn5(CO3)2(OH)6 precipitation from Naracauli waters (SW Sardinia) is, among other things, promoted by a microbial community made up of a filamentous cyanobacterium (Scytonema sp.) and a ...microalgae (Chlorella sp.). Hydrozincite bioprecipitation is responsible for the natural removal of harmful metals, especially Zn, from the stream waters. Thus, hydrozincite could be used to attenuate metal pollution in mining waters. Information on environmental conditions which promote the biomineralization process is fundamental for the development of remediation strategies. This paper aims to investigate the variables controlling the biomineralization process, and seasonal variation of the hydrochemical factors that affect hydrozincite precipitation. Hydrozincite morphology varies depending on the environmental conditions. Specifically, changes were observed between samples collected in late spring and samples collected in summer, and among samples precipitated under different water flow conditions. According to field observations, correlated with speciation and equilibrium calculation, the maximum intensity in hydrozincite precipitation occurs in the late spring during rainy years. In these conditions, the hydraulic regime in the stream reaches stationary conditions, and saturation index values with respect to hydrozincite reach their highest values. Concomitantly, the Zn2+/CO32- molar ratio reaches values close to 1, indicating that kinetic processes have a role on the hydrozincite biomineralization process.
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