Effect of wastewater chlorination on endocrine disruptor removal.

Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are compounds of mainly anthropogenic origin that interfere with the endocrine system of animals and humans thus causing a series of disorders. Wastewater treatment plants are one of the major routes for transporting such chemicals to the water courses. In the context of this study, several chlorination batch tests were performed in order to assess the effectiveness of chlorination to remove bisphenol A (BPA), triclosan (TCS), nonylphenol (NP) and its ethoxylates (NP1EO and NP2EO) from secondary effluent. According to the results, an appreciable removal of NP, BPA and TCS to the order of 60-84% was observed as an effect of moderate chlorination doses. This was not the case for NP1EO and NP2EO as even at high chlorine doses, removal efficiencies were lower (37% for NP1EO and 52% for NP2EO). Removal efficiencies of NP, BPA and TCS are practically independent of contact time, although this was not the case for NP1EO and NP2EO. Based on toxicity experiments, it is anticipated that following chlorination of the target chemicals, production of more toxic metabolites is taking place. Therefore the effectiveness of chlorination to remove EDCs is questionable and more research is needed to guarantee safe wastewater reuse.

Sox11 expression in astrocytic gliomas: correlation with nestin/c-Met/IDH1-R132H expression phenotypes, p-Stat-3 and survival.

BACKGROUND: Sox11 is a transcription factor expressed in foetal and neoplastic brain tissue, including gliomas. It has been shown to suppress the tumourigenicity of glioma stem cells in vivo, thereby being hypothesised to function as a tumour suppressor. METHODS: We investigated the expression of Sox11 in 132 diffuse astrocytomas in relation to the regulator cell marker nestin, c-Met and IDH1-R132H, which have shown to be differentially expressed among the molecular subgroups of malignant gliomas, as well as to an inducer of astrocytic differentiation, that is, signal transducer and activator of transcription (p-STAT-3), clinicopathological features and survival. RESULTS: Sox11 immunoreactivity was identified in all tumours irrespective of grade, but being correlated with p-STAT-3. Three out of seven cases showed partial Sox11 promoter methylation. In >50% of our cases neoplastic cells coexpressed Sox11 and nestin, a finding further confirmed in primary glioblastoma cell cultures. Furthermore, nestin, c-Met and IDH1-R132H expression differed among grade categories. Cluster analysis identified four groups of patients according to c-Met, nestin and IDH1-R132H expression. The c-Met/nestin high-expressor group displayed a higher Sox11 expression. Sox11 expression was an indicator of favourable prognosis in glioblastomas, which remained in multivariate analysis and validated in an independent set of 72 cases. The c-Met/nestin high-expressor group was marginally with shorter survival in univariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: We highlight the importance of Sox11 expression as a favourable prognosticator in glioblastomas. c-Met/nestin/IDH1-R132H expression phenotypes recapitulate the molecular subgroups of malignant glioma.

Trace element availability in a sewage sludge-amended cotton grown Mediterranean soil.

Long-term field investigations on the use of biosolids are scarce in the Mediterranean region, especially on non-food high-profit crops. Thus we studied the effects of repeated sludge application for 4 yr on trace element (both essential and non-essential) availability to cotton, by applying sludge at four increasing rates up to 50 Mg ha(-1). Although sludge had low metal concentrations, sludge-added trace element availability (assessed with soil-to-plant transfer coefficient) was higher in the first year compared to those in the subsequent years of experiment, but it decreased with time to the value of the unamended control. This shows that trace element mobility can be reduced within a time-scale of a few years, provided soils have a relatively sufficient retention capacity (high CEC, clay, and non-acidic pH) and applied sludge has low heavy metal content. We also found that sludge-borne organic matter greatly affected metal availability, since metal transfer coefficients decreased with elevated organic matter content.

Atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor of the central nervous system in an 18-year-old patient.

OBJECTIVE: Atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors are aggressive neoplasms of the central nervous system occurring mainly in the early childhood and rarely in adults. We described a case of this tumor in an 18-year-old male patient without previous medical history. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The neoplasm was localized in the right frontotemporal area of the brain and was totally excised. The specimen was fixed in formalin and embedded in paraffin. The histological and immunohistochemical features of the neoplasm were assessed, while sequencing analysis as well as interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) were performed. RESULTS: Histological and immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated atypical rhabdoid cells strongly and diffusely positive for EMA and Vimentin as well as focally immunoreactive for SMA and GFAP. Additionally, though no abnormalities detected in the coding sequence of the INI1 gene, interphase FISH studies were consistent with a homozygous deletion of the INI1 gene in the majority of examined nuclei. INI1 immunostaining demonstrated diffuse loss of nuclear INI1 expression in tumor cells. Taken together, the results were consistent with a diagnosis of atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor (ATRT). CONCLUSIONS: 26 previous cases of ATRT have been reported in adults, thus far. To our knowledge, this is the eighth case of an ATRT reported in an adult patient having genetic confirmation and the first one in which the tumor is, partly, localized in the right temporal area of the brain. This unusual presentation underlines the necessity of considering this devastating neoplasm in the differential diagnosis of malignant brain tumors of young adults.

Cadmium uptake by tobacco as affected by liming, N form, and year of cultivation.

Tobacco is able to accumulate cadmium and reduction of cadmium content can reduce health hazards to smokers. Soil pH and form of N fertilizers are among the factors affecting Cd uptake by tobacco. This hypothesis was tested in an acid soil in northern Greece by a four year field experiment. The variability of Cd uptake by tobacco was attributed to the variation of soil Cd availability as affected by soil pH. Liming with 3000 kg Ca(OH)(2) ha(-1) increased soil pH by 0.8 units and decreased extractable with DTPA soil and leaf Cd by 40% and 35%, respectively. The ammonium fertilizer caused the opposite, but weaker, effects. Liming reduced soil Cd more in the ammonium treatment than in nitrate or combined N treatments. The year of cultivation strongly affected soil and leaf Cd. Four years after tobacco cultivation, soil pH was reduced by 0.5 units, whereas soil and leaf Cd reduction was more than 60% in the limed treatments. Liming affected Cd uptake only in the first three years of cultivation.

Calcitonin concentrations in lung cancer and non-malignant pulmonary diseases.

The serum immunoreactive calcitonin (ICT) concentration was estimated in 107 patients with lung cancer of various cell types, 46 normal subjects and 24 non-cancer patients with various pulmonary diseases. Eighty-one of the cancer patients had localized lung cancer and the rest 26 primary lung cancer with metastases to other organs. The ICT was found significantly increased in the lung cancer patients. The highest ICT values were found in patients with lung cancer and metastases to other organs, especially to the liver. In localized disease, patients with small-cell carcinoma of the lung showed the highest, while those with adenocarcinoma and squamous-cell type demonstrated the lowest ICT concentrations. In 46 patients with lung cancer, serial determinations of serum ICT levels showed significantly decreased calcitonin levels in the patients who responded well to therapy with cytostatics, X-rays or both after more than 2 months of therapy. Fluctuations of ICT levels were in agreement with the regression or progression of the disease.

[Angioscintigraphy of the aortic arch and the origin of the cerebral vessels in cerebro-vascular diseases (author's transl)]. / La gamma angioscintigraphie de la crosse de l'aorte et de l'émergence des vaisseaux cérébraux dans l'étude des affections cérébrales.

Gamma-angioscintigraphy of the cerebral vessels starting from the aortic arch localises better the level of an eventual vascular lesion preventing a "false positive" aspect, possible by the usual technique as in the case reported. By starting the examination at the level of the aortic arch or by the use of a diverging collimator it is easy to decide of the necessity of an angiographic study, simple carotidography or angiography of the aortic arch and its branches.