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Mining operations generate sediment erosion rates above those of natural landscapes, causing persistent contamination of floodplains. Riparian vegetation in mine-impacted river catchments plays a key role in the storage/remobilization of metal contaminants. Mercury (Hg) pollution from mining is a global environmental challenge. This study provides an integrative assessment of Hg storage in riparian trees and soils along the Paglia River (Italy) which drains the abandoned Monte Amiata Hg mining district, the 3rd former Hg producer worldwide, to characterize their role as potential secondary Hg source to the atmosphere in case of wildfire or upon anthropic utilization as biomass. In riparian trees and nearby soils Hg ranged between 0.7 and 59.9 μg/kg and 2.2 and 52.8 mg/kg respectively. In trees Hg concentrations were below 100 μg/kg, a recommended Hg limit for the quality of solid biofuels. Commercially, Hg contents in trees have little impact on the value of the locally harvested biomass and pose no risk to human health, although higher values (195-738 μg/kg) were occasionally found. In case of wildfire, up to 1.4*10 -3  kg Hg/ha could be released from trees and 27 kg Hg/ha from soil in the area, resulting in an environmentally significant Hg pollution source. Data constrained the contribution of riparian trees to the biogeochemical cycling of Hg highlighting their role in management and restoration plans of river catchments affected by not-remediable Hg contamination. In polluted river catchments worldwide riparian trees represent potential sustainable resources for the mitigation of dispersion of Hg in the ecosystem, considering i) their Hg storage capacity, ii) their potential to be used for local energy production (e.g. wood-chips) through the cultivation and harvesting of biomasses and, iii) their role in limiting soil erosion from riparian polluted riverbanks, probably representing the best pragmatic choice to minimize the transport of toxic elements to the sea., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Fluvial ecosystems are among the main drivers of microparticles (MPC) in the form of both synthetic polymers (i.e. microplastics; MPs) and natural-based textile fibers (MF TEX ) to the seas. A wide dimensional range of MPC (5 to 5000 μm, hereafter MPC TOT ) were investigated for the first time in the Arno River waters, one of the principal rivers of Central Italy, crossing a highly anthropized landscape. Fluxes of MPC TOT discharging to the Mediterranean Sea, one the most polluted Sea worldwide, were estimated as well. A specific sampling and analytical protocol was set up to distinguish between microplastics (MPs) and natural-based textile fibers (MF TEX ) contribution for MPC larger than 60 μm (MPC >60 ), and investigate MPC smaller than 60 μm (MPC <60 ) as well. Results suggest extreme MPC TOT contamination all along the river (up to 6 × 10 4 particles/L), strongly driven by MPC <60 , which account for >99 % of total particles found and whose abundance increases inversely with particle size. The MPC >60 fraction (<0.5 % of MPC TOT ) highlighted a predominance (76 % of the total) of MF TEX and synthetic polymers microfibers (e.g., PET) suggesting strong contributions from laundry effluents. Specifically, MF TEX represent around 70 % of all MPC >60 . The metropolitan area of Florence was identified as an MPC TOT hotspot as a consequence of the intense urbanization and possibly of over-tourism phenomenon affecting the city. The Arno River discharges approximately 4.6 × 10 15 MPC TOT annually to the Mediterranean Sea. Fluxes are highly dependent on the seasonality, with a MPC TOT delivery of 2.4 × 10 13 particles/day and 1.2 × 10 12 particles/day during wet and dry season, respectively. The total mass of discharged MPC TOT is estimated at about 29 tons/year (t/y); the MPC >60 fraction amounts to about 8 t/y, and MF TEX to about 1 t/y., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: We examined the time-dependent effects of atorvastatin and rosuvastatin on in vivo oxidative stress and platelet activation, to assess whether these phenomena are related to any pleiotropic effect of any statin or to their LDL-lowering effect. We also asked whether the presence of specific allele frequencies in carriers of the 3'UTR/lectin-like oxidized LDL receptor-1 (LOX-1) polymorphism may influence the effect of either statin., Methods: We included 60 hypercholesterolemic subjects, previously screened for LOX-1 3'UTR polymorphism, randomized, according to genetic profile (15 T and 15 C carriers for each arm), to atorvastatin 20mg/day or rosuvastatin 10mg/day., Results: After 8 weeks, atorvastatin and rosuvastatin were associated with comparable, significant reductions in LDL cholesterol (40.8% and 43.6%, respectively), plasma hs-CRP (9.5% vs. 13.8%), urinary 11-dehydro-thromboxane (TX) B(2) (38.9% vs. 27.1%) and 8-iso-prostaglandin (PG) F(2α) (39.4% vs. 19.4%). The impact of rosuvastatin or atorvastatin on CRP, 8-iso-PGF(2α), and 11-dehydro-TXB(2) did not differ according to the LOX-1 haplotype. On multiple regression analyses, only CRP and LDL were independent predictors of 11-dehydro-TXB(2), and only LDL was a significant predictor of 8-iso-PGF(2α)., Conclusions: Both atorvastatin and rosuvastatin cause comparable reductions of thromboxane-dependent platelet activation, lipid peroxidation and inflammation. The presence of 3'UTR/LOX-1 polymorphism does not affect the changes induced by either statin., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Cryopreservation of gametes is an important tool in assisted reproduction programs to optimise captive breeding programmes of selected felid species. In this study the vitrification was evaluated in order to cryopreserve the immature domestic cat oocytes by assessing the survival of cumulus-oocyte complexes (COC), and the development competence after IVM and IVF by fresh cat epididymal sperms. From a total of 892 COC obtained from queens after ovariectomy were divided into two groups: Experiment 1 for viability evaluation (150 vitrified and 100 control COC) and Experiment 2 for assessing the developmental competence (414 vitrified and 228 control COC). The viability was evaluated by double staining with carboxyfluorescein and Trypan blue, while the developmental competence was evaluated by in vitro maturation (IVM), in vitro fertilisation (IVF) by fresh epididymal spermatozoa and in vitro culture (IVC). The vitrification was performed in OPS into sucrose medium (1M sucrose in HSOF+6% BSA) containing dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) (16.5% final concentration) and ethylene glycol (EG) (16.5% final concentration) as cryoprotectants. Percentage of non-viable COC was significantly higher in Experimental 1 vs Control 1 (11% vs 54.5%; P<0.01), while cleavage rate were significantly lower for vitrified oocytes (Experimental 2) than control 2 (18.6% vs 48.2%; P<0.01). Blastocyst rate on day 8 was higher for control oocytes than vitrified counterparts (4.3% vs 20.6% P<0.01). This vitrification protocol ensured a development to blastocyst stage and it is the first report of development of vitrified GV COC., (Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Oxidized-LDL (ox-LDL) are involved in atherothrombosis by induction of endothelial dysfunction and thrombosis. The specific receptor lectin-like oxidized-LDL receptor-1 (LOX-1) is expressed in endothelial cells, monocytes and platelets. LOX-1 gene allelic variants (3'UTR/T) have been related with cardiovascular events and reduced anti-platelet activity induced by statins., Objectives: To detect whether LOX-1 polymorphisms could affect statins effectiveness in cardiovascular prevention., Patients/methods: The present was a retrospective study performed in 751 white hypercholesterolemic subjects treated with increasing doses of atorvastatin (n=382, 247 male, 135 female) or simvastatin (n=369, 244 male, 125 female) up to 4 years, whose LDL target was 3.36 mmol/L according to the National Cholesterol Education Program, Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATPIII). Single nucleotide polymorphism were evaluated by allelic discrimination assays (PCR), lipid profile by enzymatic-colorimetric methods and C-reactive protein (CRP) by a nephelometric technique., Results: Twenty-three non-ST elevation (NSTEMI) and eleven ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) were encountered in the observational period without differences between treatments (p=0.175) and sex (p=0.139). Each symptomatic subject (10 reaching the appropriate LDL target and 24 with still undesirable LDL) had the 3'UTR/T allelic variant (adjusted O.R. 4.63, 95% C.I. 3.46-6.70, p<0.0001). Among patients not reaching LDL target the C allele resulted protective with respect to T carriers (p<0.00001). Also, similar changes of CRP resulted in different event rate between T and C carriers (p<0.001) in the whole cohort., Conclusions: In the studied population LOX-1 genetic variants influence cardiovascular risk reduction induced by statins also in patients not reaching the LDL target. The previously described LOX-1-related antithrombotic actions of both statins employed could have a specific role in what observed, suggesting a genetic influence in statins LDL-lowering partially related actions.

Oxidized-low density lipoproteins (ox-LDL) and the specific receptor LOX-1 are involved in atherogenesis and atherothrombosis. LOX-1 downregulation is associated with the anti-platelet action of atorvastatin. 3'UTR/T LOX-1 polymorphism has been associated with increased risk of coronary artery disease. This study was planned to determine whether LOX-1 genetic variations could affect anti-platelet action of atorvastatin. We studied by platelet P-selectin (P-sel), CD36 and LOX-1 expression (cytofluorimetric detection) whether differences in cellular activation could be suitable in 109 3'UTR/T carriers out of 201 hypercholesterolemic subjects treated with atorvastatin 20mg/day. Hyperactivated platelets (P-sel in resting cells and % variation upon thrombin activation, p<0.001) were detected at baseline in patients without significant differences between T or C carriers. P-sel and platelet-associated ox-LDL, were significantly decreased (all p<0.001) in C carriers after one week of treatment before LDL reduction. In 3'UTR/T carriers P-sel was reduced (p<0.01) after 6 weeks of treatment according to LDL and ox-LDL reduction. In 3'UTR/T carriers atorvastatin reduced platelet activity by LDL and ox-LDL lowering and not by rapid CD36 and LOX-1 downregulation as in C carriers. Such data suggest that in T carriers LDL lowering is needed to achieve anti-platelet action.

Objective: The aim of our randomized, controlled trial was to verify the effect of folic acid supplementation on homocysteine levels in postmenopausal women., Study Design: Thirty-six women were divided randomly into 2 groups as follows: a placebo group (n = 18) and a group receiving 500 microg folic acid per day for 4 weeks (n = 18). To assess concentrations of plasma homocysteine, venous blood samples were taken on enrollment and after 4 weeks of treatment., Results: Mean plasma homocysteine levels were 10.9 +/- 2.7 micromol/L in the placebo group and 7.8 +/- 2.35 micromol/L (P <.01) in the group receiving 500 microg folic acid per day for 4 weeks. The thirds (referred to as tertiles) of women with the highest baseline homocysteine plasma levels showed the greatest reduction in homocysteine, with a mean decrease of 4.35 micromol/L (32%; P <.01), in comparison with a decrease of 3.35 micromol/L (29%; P <.01) in the middle tertile and 1.3 micromol/L (22.4%; P =.09) in the lower tertile., Conclusions: The results show that low doses of folic acid are associated with a significant reduction in plasma concentrations of homocysteine. The highest initial levels of homocysteine showed the most important reduction after therapy.

We describe a case of methylmalonic aciduria (MMA) occurred in a 22-month-old boy whose diet was exclusively based upon breast-feeding from a mother following a long-lasting strict vegetarian diet. Clinical picture showed a dramatic onset, with a profound drowsiness associated with a severe metabolic acidosis, hyperammonemia, macrocytic anemia, ketonuria, and massive methylmalonic aciduria without homocystinuria. Both symptoms and biochemical findings quickly improved thanks to prompt vitamin B(12)parenteral therapy. Biochemical and enzymatic findings allowed a diagnosis of mild mutase deficiency, which only and inadequate dietary B(12)contribution might have revealed. Our case highlights the risk of a prolonged strictly vegetarian diet of lactating mother for providing inadequate amounts of some nutrients to the breast-fed baby. Moreover, such a dietary behaviour could dramatically unmask otherwise clinically unapparent metabolic defects in the baby., (Copyright 2000 Harcourt Publishers Ltd.)