ABSTRACT
(1) Background: Despite the high number of cases of COVID-19 during pregnancy, SARS-CoV-2 congenital infection is rare. The role of the placenta as a barrier preventing the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from the mother to the fetus is still being studied. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on placental tissue. (2) Methods: This was a transversal monocentric observational study. In the study, we included pregnant women with COVID-19 who delivered at "Sfântul Pantelimon" Clinical Emergency Hospital between 1 April 2020 and 30 March 2022. Histological analyses, both macroscopic and microscopic, were performed for placentas that came from these cases. (3) Results: To date, a characteristic placental lesion has not been clearly demonstrated, but most findings include features of maternal and fetal vascular malperfusion, which probably reflect the reduction in placental blood flow due to low oxygen level from the hypoxic respiratory disease and underlying hypercoagulable state induced by the COVID-19 infection. (4) Conclusions: The histopathological aspects found in placentas that came from COVID-19-positive pregnant women are common for many other diseases, but when they are found together, they are highly suggestive for viral infectious involvement of the placenta.
ABSTRACT
The rate of introduction of man-made habitats in coastal environments is growing at an unprecedented pace, as a consequence of the expansion of urban areas. Floating installations, due to their unique hydrodynamic features, are able to provide great opportunities for enhancing water detoxification through the use of sessile, filtering organisms. We assessed whether the application of sponges to floating pontoons could function as a tool for biomonitoring organic and inorganic pollutants and for improving water quality inside a moderately contaminated marina in the NW Mediterranean. Fragments of two common Mediterranean sponges (Petrosia (Petrosia) ficiformis and Ircinia oros) were fixed to either suspended natural fibre nets beneath a floating pontoon or to metal frames deployed on the sea bottom. We assessed the accumulation of organic and inorganic contaminants in sponge fragments and, in order to provide an insight into their health status, we examined changes in their metabolic and oxidative stress responses and associated microbiomes. Fragments of both sponge species filtered out pollutants from seawater on both support types, but generally showed a better physiological and metabolic status when fixed to nets underneath the pontoon than to bottom frames. P. (P) ficiformis maintained a more efficient metabolism and exhibited a lower physiological stress levels and higher stability of the associated microbiome in comparison with I. oros. Our study suggests that the application of sponges to floating pontoon represents a promising nature-based solution to improve the ecological value of urban environments.
