Environmental risks of breakdown nanoplastics from synthetic football fields.

The widespread use of synthetic turf in sports has raised health concerns due to potential risks from nanoplastic inhalation or ingestion. Our research focused on detecting nanoplastics in drainage water from a synthetic football field and evaluating the toxicity of these materials after mechanical fragmentation. We collected and analysed drainage water samples for polymer content and subjected high-density polyethylene (HDPE) straws and ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) granules used on synthetic football fields, to mechanical breakdown to create nanoplastics. The results indicated the presence of trace amounts of EPDM in the water samples. Furthermore, the toxicological assessment revealed that the broken-down nanoplastics and leachate from the surface of EPDM rubber granules exhibited high toxicity to Daphnia magna, while nanoplastics from the inner material exhibited no significant toxicity. The findings highlight the urgent need for future research to identify these specific toxic agents from the surface of EPDM granules.

Evaluation of antidiabetic potential of oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) in alloxan-induced diabetic mice.

OBJECTIVES: To study the antidiabetic activity of Pleurotus ostreatus in normal and alloxan-induced diabetic mice. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ethanolic extract of fruiting bodies of P. ostreatus was tested for their antidiabetic activity. BALB/C mice (25-30 g) were divided into four groups of six animals each normal control mice, diabetic control mice, diabetic mice posttreated with standard drug glibenclamide and diabetic mice treated with P. ostreatus ethanolic extract. Blood glucose level, biochemical parameters such as serum total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, VLDL, triglyceride creatinine, urea, and Serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase and Serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase were studied in alloxan-induced diabetic mice after 15 days of treatment. RESULTS: Animals treated with the ethanolic extract of P. ostreatus showed a significant decrease in serum glucose level (p < 0.01). The posttreatment with P. ostreatus extract reduced serum cholesterol, triglyceride and LDL-cholesterol. The serum HDL cholesterol was significantly increased in posttreated groups. The serum creatinine, urea levels were significantly reduced in posttreated group, whereas the decrease in the body weight was arrested by administration of P. ostreatus extract to the animals. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The consumption of P. ostreatus produced a significant hypoglycemic effect in diabetic mice and it is capable of improving hyperlipidemia and the impaired kidney functions in alloxan-induced diabetic mice. Thus, indicating that the ethanolic extract of P. ostreatus could be added in the list of medicinal preparations beneficial in diabetes mellitus.

Coronary artery bypass grafting with or without cardiopulmonary bypass in patients with preoperative non-dialysis dependent renal insufficiency: a randomized study.

OBJECTIVE: Preoperative renal insufficiency is a predictor of acute renal failure in patients undergoing coronary artery revascularization with cardiopulmonary bypass. Off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting has been shown to be less deleterious than on-pump bypass in patients with normal renal function, but the effect of this technique in patients with non-dialysis dependent renal insufficiency in a randomized study is unknown. METHODS: From August 2004 through October 2005, 116 consecutive patients with preoperative non-dialysis-dependent renal insufficiency (glomerular filtration rate measured using the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease equation [MDRD GFR] < or = 60 mL x min(-1) x 1.73 m(-2)) undergoing primary coronary artery bypass grafting were randomized to on-pump (n = 60) and off-pump (n = 56) groups. MDRD GFR and serum creatinine levels were measured preoperatively and postoperatively at days 1 and 5. The changes in renal function and clinical outcomes were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: Preoperative characteristics were comparable between the two groups. The repeated-measures analysis of variance was performed on the data that showed worsening of renal function in the on-pump group compared with the off-pump group (serum creatinine, P < .000; glomerular filtration rate, P < .000). Further analysis of subgroups of patients with diabetes alone, hypertension alone, and combined hypertension and diabetes also showed significant deterioration renal function in the on-pump group compared with the off-pump group. In covariate analysis, diabetes has emerged as a significant covariate by serum creatinine criteria while compromised left ventricular function has emerged as a significant covariate by glomerular filtration rate criteria. These analyses showed that the use of cardiopulmonary bypass is significantly associated with adverse renal outcome (P < .000). Three patents required hemodialysis in the on-pump group and none in the off-pump group. The mean number of grafts per patient was 3.85 +/- 0.86 and 3.11 +/- 0.89 in the on-pump and off-pump groups, respectively (P < .001), but the indices of completeness of revascularization, 1.00 +/- 0.08 for off-pump coronary bypass and 1.01 +/- 0.08 for on-pump coronary bypass, were similar (P = .60). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that on-pump as compared with off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting is more deleterious to renal function in diabetic patients with non-dialysis dependent renal insufficiency. MDRD GFR is a more sensitive investigation than serum creatinine levels to assess renal insufficiency in patients undergoing coronary bypass.