Phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA) are ubiquitous contaminants identified as endocrine disruptors. Phthalates are worldwide used as plasticizers, in particular to improve the mechanical properties of ...polymers such as polyvinyl chloride. Because they are not chemically bound to the polymer, they tend to leach out with time and use. Di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) and di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP) are the two most common phthalates. BPA is an estrogenic compound used to manufacture polycarbonate containers for food and drink, including baby bottles. It can migrate from container into foods, especially at elevated temperatures. Diet is a predominant source of exposure for phthalates and BPA, especially for infants. The aim of this study was to test the presence of DEHP, DnBP, and BPA in infant formulas. DEHP, DnBP, and BPA concentrations were measured in 22 liquid and 28 powder milks by gas chromatography with flame ionization detection and high performance liquid chromatography with fluorimetric detection, respectively. DEHP concentrations in our samples were between 0.005 and 5.088 μg/g (median 0.906 μg/g), DnBP concentrations were between 0.008 and 1.297 μg/g (median 0.053 μg/g), and BPA concentrations were between 0.003 and 0.375 μg/g (median 0.015 μg/g). Concentrations of the investigated contaminants in liquid and powder milks were not significantly different, even though samples were packed in different types of containers. These data point out potential hazards for infants fed with baby formulas. Contamination seems more related to the production of formulas than to a release from containers.
A patient at the fifth stage of chronic kidney disease usually needs dialysis or transplantation. The adequacy of dialysis can be assessed by the dimensionless parameter Kt/V , which depends on the ...concentration of urea in the blood. Kt/V is usually measured before and after treatment, or by an indirect measurement of dialysis fluid conductivity. For the real-time monitoring of the urea concentration during dialysis, this paper proposes a disposable biosensor that combines a pH sensitive reduced graphene oxide layer functionalized with 4-amino benzoic acid and urease. Urease is immobilized on reduced graphene oxide and catalyzes the hydrolysis of urea into carbon dioxide and ammonia. This catalysis increases the pH value locally and elicits a sensor response. Urea concentration was assessed in the plasma of five dialyzed patients using a potentiometric measurement. The response time was 120 s and the error was 6 ± 3% compared with standard clinical laboratory analysis.
Foot ulcers account for 15% of comorbidities associated with diabetes. Presently, no device allows the status of foot ulcers to be continuously monitored when patients are not hospitalized. In this ...study, we describe a temperature and a pH sensor capable of monitoring diabetic foot and venous leg ulcers developed in the frame of the seventh framework program European Union project SWAN-iCare (smart wearable and autonomous negative pressure device for wound monitoring and therapy). Temperature is measured by exploiting the variations in the electrical resistance of a nanocomposite consisting of multiwalled carbon nanotubes and poly(styrene-b-(ethylene-
-butylene)-b-styrene). The pH sensor used a graphene oxide (GO) layer that changes its electrical potential when pH changes. The temperature sensor has a sensitivity of ~85 Ω/°C in the range 25°C-50°C and a high repeatability (maximum standard deviation of 0.1% over seven repeated measurements). For a GO concentration of 4 mg/mL, the pH sensor has a sensitivity of ~42 mV/pH and high linearity (R2=0.99).
Heart failure (HF) is the main cause of mortality worldwide, particularly in the elderly. N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) is the gold standard biomarker for HF diagnosis and ...therapy monitoring. It is determined in blood samples by the immunochemical methods generally adopted by most laboratories. Saliva analysis is a powerful tool for clinical applications, mainly due to its non-invasive and less risky sampling. This study describes a validated analytical procedure for NT-proBNP determination in saliva samples using a commercial Enzyme-Linked Immuno-Sorbent Assay. Linearity, matrix effect, sensitivity, recovery and assay-precision were evaluated. The analytical approach showed a linear behaviour of the signal throughout the concentrations tested, with a minimum detectable dose of 1 pg/mL, a satisfactory NT-proBNP recovery (95-110%), and acceptable precision (coefficient of variation ≤ 10%). Short-term (3 weeks) and long-term (5 months) stability of NT-proBNP in saliva samples under the storage conditions most frequently used in clinical laboratories (4, - 20, and - 80 °C) was also investigated and showed that the optimal storage conditions were at - 20 °C for up to 2.5 months. Finally, the method was tested for the determination of NT-proBNP in saliva samples collected from ten hospitalized acute HF patients. Preliminary results indicate a decrease in NT-proBNP in saliva from admission to discharge, thus suggesting that this procedure is an effective saliva-based point-of-care device for HF monitoring.
Altered expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) hallmarks many cancer types. The study of the associations of miRNA expression profile and cancer phenotype could help identify the links between deregulation ...of miRNA expression and oncogenic pathways.
Expression profiling of 866 human miRNAs in 19 colorectal and 17 pancreatic cancers and in matched adjacent normal tissues was investigated. Classical paired t-test and random forest analyses were applied to identify miRNAs associated with tissue-specific tumors. Network analysis based on a computational approach to mine associations between cancer types and miRNAs was performed.
The merge between the two statistical methods used to intersect the miRNAs differentially expressed in colon and pancreatic cancers allowed the identification of cancer-specific miRNA alterations. By miRNA-network analysis, tissue-specific patterns of miRNA deregulation were traced: the driving miRNAs were miR-195, miR-1280, miR-140-3p and miR-1246 in colorectal tumors, and miR-103, miR-23a and miR-15b in pancreatic cancers.
MiRNA expression profiles may identify cancer-specific signatures and potentially useful biomarkers for the diagnosis of tissue specific cancers. miRNA-network analysis help identify altered miRNA regulatory networks that could play a role in tumor pathogenesis.
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•Plastic debris photo-degradation releases harmful VOCs in the environment.•VOCs are characterized by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry.•VOC profile can be exploited to ...characterize plastic debris.•Polystyrene-based plastic debris emits aromatic compounds.•Polyethylene-/polypropylene-based plastic debris emits oxygenated hydrocarbons.
Environmental pollution associated to plastic debris is gaining increasing relevance not only as a threat to ecosystems but also for its possible harmful effects on biota and human health. The release of toxic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is a potential hazard associated with the environmental weathering of plastic debris. Artificial aging of reference polymers (polystyrene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, high and low density polyethylene) was performed in a Solar Box at 40 °C and 750 W/m2. The volatile degradation products were determined before and after 1, 2, 3 and 4 weeks of aging using a validated analytical procedure combining headspace (HS) with needle trap microextraction (NTME) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC–MS). A progressive increase in VOCs was observed during artificial photo-degradation, whose chemical profile resulted polymer-dependent and included carbonyls, lactones, esters, acids, alcohols, ethers, aromatics. The amount of extractable fraction in polar solvents generally showed a similar trend. The same analytical procedure was used to determine VOCs released from plastic debris collected at a marine beach. All samples released harmful compounds (e.g. acrolein, benzene, propanal, methyl vinyl ketone, and methyl propenyl ketone), supporting the initial hypothesis that microplastics represent an unrecognized source of environmental pollution.
Sampling of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) has shown promise for detection of a range of diseases but results have proved hard to replicate due to a lack of standardization. In this work we ...introduce the 'Peppermint Initiative'. The initiative seeks to disseminate a standardized experiment that allows comparison of breath sampling and data analysis methods. Further, it seeks to share a set of benchmark values for the measurement of VOCs in breath. Pilot data are presented to illustrate the standardized approach to the interpretation of results obtained from the Peppermint experiment. This pilot study was conducted to determine the washout profile of peppermint compounds in breath, identify appropriate sampling time points, and formalise the data analysis. Five and ten participants were recruited to undertake a standardized intervention by ingesting a peppermint oil capsule that engenders a predictable and controlled change in the VOC profile in exhaled breath. After collecting a pre-ingestion breath sample, five further samples are taken at 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 h after ingestion. Samples were analysed using ion mobility spectrometry coupled to multi-capillary column and thermal desorption gas chromatography mass spectrometry. A regression analysis of the washout data was used to determine sampling times for the final peppermint protocol, and the time for the compound measurement to return to baseline levels was selected as a benchmark value. A measure of the quality of the data generated from a given technique is proposed by comparing data fidelity. This study protocol has been used for all subsequent measurements by the Peppermint Consortium (16 partners from seven countries). So far 1200 breath samples from 200 participants using a range of sampling and analytical techniques have been collected. The data from the consortium will be disseminated in subsequent technical notes focussing on results from individual platforms.
Although its first definition dates back to more than a century ago, pH and its measurement are still studied for improving the performance of current sensors in everyday analysis. The gold standard ...is the glass electrode, but its intrinsic fragility and need of frequent calibration are pushing the research field towards alternative sensitive devices and materials. In this review, we describe the most recent optical, electrochemical, and transistor-based sensors to provide an overview on the status of the scientific efforts towards pH sensing.
colorectal cancer (CRC) has a multifactorial etiology which comprises microbiota, genetic predisposition, diet, environmental factors, and last but not least, a substantial contribution by ...inflammation. The aim of this study is to conduct a systematic review of the literature regarding the strong link between inflammation and colorectal cancer.
A systematic review of the literature on PubMed (Medline), Scopus, Cochrane and EMBase databases was performed, following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Each paper was reviewed by two groups of researchers in a single-blind format by using a pre-planned Microsoft
Excel
grid.
Using automated research filters, 14,566 studies were included, but 1% was found significant by the reviewers. Seventy pathways of inflammation were described in the sequence of inflammation-carcinogenesis, and anti-tumorigenic molecules were also found.
several studies suggest a strong role of inflammation in the tumorigenesis of colorectal cancer through different pathways: this may have a diagnostic and clinical role and also therapeutic purpose in preventing carcinogenesis by treating inflammation. In vitro tests support this theory, even if many other clinical trials are necessary. The present paper was registered in the OpenScience Framework registry (Identifier: DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/2KG7T).
Background
Among cereals, rice has a genetic propensity to accumulate high levels of cadmium (Cd) in grains. Xylem-mediated root-to-shoot translocation rather than root uptake has been suggested as ...the main physiological factor accounting for the genotypic variation observed in Cd accumulation in shoots and grains. Several evidence indicate OsHMA2 – a putative zinc (Zn) transporter – as the main candidate protein that could be involved in mediating Cd- and Zn-xylem loading in rice. However, the specific interactions between Zn and Cd in rice often appear anomalous if compared to those observed in other staple crops, suggesting that root-to-shoot Cd translocation process could be more complex than previously thought. In this study we performed a complete set of competition experiments with Zn and Cd in order to analyze their possible interactions and reciprocal effects at the root-to-shoot translocation level.
Results
The competition analysis revealed the lack of a full reciprocity when considering the effect of Cd on Zn accumulation, and vice versa, since the accumulation of Zn in the shoots was progressively inhibited by Cd increases, whereas that of Cd was only partially impaired by Zn. Such behaviors were probably dependent on Cd-xylem loading mechanisms, as suggested by: i) the analysis of Zn and Cd content in the xylem sap performed in relation to the concentration of the two metals in the mobile fractions of the roots; ii) the analysis of the systemic movement of
107
Cd in short term experiments performed using a positron-emitting tracer imaging system (PETIS).
Conclusions
Our results suggest that at least two pathways may mediate root-to-shoot Cd translocation in rice. The former could involve OsHMA2 as Zn
2+
/Cd
2+
xylem loader, whereas the latter appears to involve a Zn-insensitive system that still needs to be identified.
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