ABSTRACT
In recent years, a growing body of literature on seafloor macro-litter has been produced worldwide. However, the spatial coverage of these studies is still limited and highly unbalanced, resulting in considerable knowledge gaps in some regions. To address this lack of information in Oceania, we extracted data from the Citizen Science project Dive Against Debris® to characterize marine debris collected by volunteer scuba divers on the coastal seafloor. Overall, the average litter density was 58.22 items/100m2, with plastics accounting for approximately 50 % of the total abundance and Single Use Plastics accounting for nearly 17 %. Notably, 36 % of the total litter abundance consisted of lost Fishing Gear including fishing lines, sinkers, baits and hooks as the most abundant debris items. To reduce lost fishing gear, clean-up initiatives by divers along with management actions such as education programs for fishermen, gear restrictions and the identification of designated fishing sites are recommended.
Subject(s)
Citizen Science , Diving , Humans , Environmental Monitoring/methods , Waste Products/analysis , PlasticsABSTRACT
In a previous paper the preparation has been described, by three different techniques, of microparticles made of Eudragit RS 100 and RL 100 containing a NSAI agent, Tolmetin. Freely flowing microparticles failed to affect significantly the in vitro drug release, which displayed a similar dissolution profile after micro-encapsulation to the free drug powder. Microparticles were then converted into tablets and the effect of compression on drug delivery, as well as that of the presence of co-additives, was studied in the present work. Furthermore, microparticles were also prepared by adding MgO to the polymer matrix, to reduce the sensitivity of the drug to pH changes during its dissolution. Similarly, magnesium stearate was also used for microparticle formation as a droplet stabilizer, in order to reduce particle size and hinder rapid drug release. A mathematical evaluation, by using two semi-empirical equations, was applied to evaluate the influence of dissolution and diffusion phenomena upon drug release from microparticle tablets.
Subject(s)
Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal/chemistry , Tolmetin/chemistry , Acrylic Resins , Algorithms , Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal/administration & dosage , Drug Compounding , Excipients , Hydrogen-Ion Concentration , Kinetics , Magnesium Oxide/chemistry , Microspheres , Solubility , Solvents , Stearic Acids/chemistry , Tablets , Tolmetin/administration & dosageABSTRACT
The existence of a professional disease caused by exposure to general anesthetics has been reported by a number of studies, but opinions still differ as to the effective implications of this type of exposure. The aim of the present study was to analyse alterations in cellular and humoral immunity in anesthetists regularly exposed to general anesthetics. Regression analysis showed that IgA and NK lymphocytes were significantly increased whereas total T lymphocytes reduced in parallel with age and length of service. It can therefore be supposed that the increase in IgA might suggest chronic liver disease, while alterations in the lymphocyte populations, even if closely associated to chronic exposure leading to the hypothesis of a cause-and-effect relationship, do not alter immune system functions since they are similar to those that occur with ageing.
Subject(s)
Air Pollutants, Occupational/pharmacology , Anesthetics/pharmacology , Antibody Formation/drug effects , Immunity, Cellular/drug effects , Occupational Exposure , Operating Rooms , Adult , Anesthesia, Inhalation , Female , Humans , Male , Retrospective StudiesABSTRACT
In S. Camillo Hospital, Rome, the Apheresis Center (CNTS-CRI) and the Haematological Division, Authors treated 17 patients affected by haematologic malignances and solid tumours with leukoapheresis procedures for PBSC collection. Nine patients were treated with continuous-flow cell separator Dideco Vivacell, performing a total of 50 collection procedures. Mean values of total collected NC and MNC were 6.5 x 10(9) and 5.5 x 10(9), with a mean recovery 24% and 52%. Authors took patient's blood samples during the procedure, in order to analyze the MNC collection and to optimize the separation efficiency. Haemopoietic reconstitution values of the eight patients submitted to APBSCT showed the effectiveness of our method of cell collection.
Subject(s)
Blood Component Removal/methods , Cell Separation/instrumentation , Hematopoietic Stem Cells , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Specimen Handling/methodsSubject(s)
Hepatitis/therapy , Plasmapheresis , Acute Disease , Adolescent , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Middle AgedABSTRACT
Parenteral hyperalimentation is an important means of nutritional support for critical care patients. Calculation of the amount of calories, components and additives necessary for the appropriate compounding of hyperalimentation solutions is a lengthy, tedious process with many potential opportunities for computation error. A new computer program written in Pascal has been created in order to reduce calculation time and error. Menus and single-keystroke entry are implemented wherever practicable. A review screen is employed to reduce user input errors. A hard-copy printout is generated on command. Program testing has resulted in a 90% reduction in processing time.
