Environmental relevance of adsorption of doxycycline, enrofloxacin, and sulfamethoxypyridazine before and after the removal of organic matter from soils.

In this work batch-type experiments were used to study the adsorption of the antibiotics doxycycline (DC), enrofloxacin (ENR), and sulfamethoxypyridazine (SMP) in cultivation soils, before and after the removal of soil organic matter. Organic matter removal by calcination resulted not only in C and N removal, but also in increased soil pH, exchangeable basic cations and surface area values. The results indicate a very different behavior depending on the type of antibiotic, showing the adsorption sequence DC > ENR > SMP. Specifically, DC adsorption was very high in untreated soil samples (with organic matter), and was still high (although decreased) after the removal of soil organic matter. Furthermore, the adsorption behavior of DC was clearly dependent on the pH of the medium. Regarding ENR, it also showed high adsorption, although to a lesser extent than DC. However, when soil organic matter was removed, ENR adsorption significantly decreased in all soil samples. As regards SMP, it was adsorbed to a much lesser extent, and the removal of soil organic matter caused an additional drastic decrease in adsorption, reaching negligible values in some samples. Desorption followed the reverse sequence of adsorption, specifically in the order DC < ENR < SMP. In the case of DC, desorption was negligible, both in samples with and without organic matter, while for ENR and SMP, desorption clearly increased for soil samples where organic matter was removed. These results may be of relevance as regards environmental quality and public health, especially to facilitate a correct use of soils and organic amendments in areas that receive the application of substances containing the investigated antibiotics.

Sulfadiazine, sulfamethazine and sulfachloropyridazine removal using three different porous materials: Pine bark, "oak ash" and mussel shell.

This work focuses on studying the efficacy of three different by-products to adsorb three antibiotics (sulfadiazine, SDZ; sulfamethazine, SMT; sulfachloropyridazine, SCP). These antibiotics can be considered pollutants of the environment when they reach water, as well as in cases where they are spread on soils through irrigation or contained in sewage sludge or livestock manure. In this study, batch-type adsorption/desorption experiments were performed for each of the three sulfonamides, adding 7 different concentrations of the antibiotics, going from 1 to 50 µmol L-1, and with contact time of 24 h. The results indicate that pine bark is the most efficient bioadsorbent among those studied, as it adsorbs up to 95% of the antibiotics added, while desorption is always less than 11%. However, for "oak ash" and mussel shell the adsorption is always lower than 45 and 15%, respectively, and desorption is high, reaching up to 49% from "oak ash" and up to 81% from mussel shell. Adsorption data showed good fitting to the Linear and Freundlich models, with R2 values between 0.98 and 1.00 in both cases. Kd and KF adsorption parameters showed similar values for the same sorbent materials but were much higher for pine bark than for the other two bioadsorbents. The Freundlich's n parameter showed values in the range 0.81-1.28. The highest KF values (and therefore the highest adsorption capacities) were obtained for the antibiotic SCP in pine bark. Pine bark showed the highest capacity to adsorb each of the antibiotics, increasing as a function of the concentration added. When the concentration of sulfonamide added was 50 µM, the amounts adsorbed were 780 µmol kg-1 for SDZ, 890 µmol kg-1 for SMT, and 870 µmol kg-1 for SCP. "Oak ash" and mussel shell have low adsorption capacity for all three sulfonamides, showing values always lower than 150 µmol kg-1 (oak ash) and 20 µmol kg-1 (mussel shell) when a concentration of 50 µmol L-1 of antibiotic is added. The results of this study could aid to make an appropriate management of the by-products studied, in order to facilitate their valorization and recycling in the treatment of environmental compartments polluted with sulfonamide antibiotics.

Single and simultaneous adsorption of three sulfonamides in agricultural soils: Effects of pH and organic matter content.

Veterinary antibiotics reaching the environment have become a matter of global concern, since they can cause serious negative impacts on human and ecological health. Therefore, a deep understanding of their behavior and fate once they reach the soil environment is of utmost importance to design and implement appropriate measures that could reduce their potential risks. With this aim, batch-type experiments were carried out to study competitive adsorption and desorption for three sulfonamide antibiotics (sulfadiazine -SDZ-, sulfamethazine -SMT-, and sulfachloropyridazine -SCP-) in six crop soils presenting different characteristics. The results obtained showed that sulfonamides have a low retention in soils, with average adsorption percentages of 40% for SDZ, 44% for SMT and 54% for SCP, and with desorption percentages up to 36% for SDZ and SCP and up to 29% for SMT. The retention of sulfonamides was strongly influenced by the soil organic carbon content (SOC), with higher adsorption and less desorption associated to higher SOC contents. In addition, the hydrophobicity of sulfonamides also had an influence, as higher hydrophobicity resulted in higher affinity for soils, showing the affinity sequences: SDZ ~ SMT

Use of biomass ash to reduce toxicity affecting soil bacterial community growth due to tetracycline antibiotics.

Tetracycline antibiotics (TA) used in veterinary medicine reach terrestrial ecosystems mostly via the repeated applications of animal manures and slurries on agricultural soils, where they may cause toxic effects on bacterial communities. In the current work, we studied the efficacy of adding doses of 0, 6, 24 and 48 g kg-1 of biomass ash (BA) to four different soils to reduce potential negative effects of tetracycline antibiotics. Specifically, soil samples were polluted with different concentrations of tetracycline, oxytetracycline or chlortetracycline, and the bacterial community growth was estimated using the 3H leucine incorporation technique. Soil amendment with BA increased soil pH (1.3-4.8 units), total carbon (0.7-5.8 g kg-1) and Fe and Al oxides concentrations (0.25-3.98 g kg-1), as well as bacterial activity (1-9 times compared to the control). In addition, BA amendment at high doses (24 or 48 g kg-1) resulted in a similar toxicity decrease for the three antibiotics, but with variations among soils. The reductions in antibiotics toxicity were very variable, ranging between 5% and 100% (total recovery). In view of that, the spreading of BA could be interesting as management practice to reduce risks of soil pollution and subsequent toxicity on bacterial communities due to tetracycline antibiotics.

Adsorption-desorption of doxycycline in agricultural soils: Batch and stirred-flow-chamber experiments.

With the aim of obtaining information about the environmental fate and dynamics of the antibiotic doxycycline (DC) when it reaches soil, adsorption and desorption processes were studied for this compound in 20 agricultural soils, by means of batch-type and stirred-flow-chamber experiments. The results indicate that the studied soils adsorbed high amounts of DC, with adsorption percentages >91% in all cases. In addition, adsorption results were satisfactorily modeled, with good fittings to the Langmuir and Freundlich equations, with the values for Langmuir's maximum adsorption capacity (qmax) varying between 14,692 and 26,141 µmol kg-1 (average 17,816), and between 1,906 and 13,120 Ln µmol1-n kg-1 (average 6,969) for the Freundlich affinity coefficient, which are very high. The soil variables most related to the adsorption of the antibiotic were linked to organic matter (specifically, soil organic carbon-SOC- and soil nitrogen -N- contents), and to the clay fraction, as well as to cation exchange capacity, being the soils with a greater content in these variables those that presented a greater adsorption. FTIR results shown that DC adsorption mechanisms were based on interactions such as hydrogen bonds and π-π interactions between the antibiotic and soils. Desorption was very low, reaching values between 1 and 2% in batch experiments, and between 5 and 15% in stirred flow chamber experiments, which indicates a strong hysteresis affecting adsorption and desorption processes. This fact can be considered positively, as these soils could retain DC very strongly, thus reducing risks to human and ecological health.

Estimation of adsorption/desorption Freundlich's affinity coefficients for oxytetracycline and chlortetracycline from soil properties: Experimental data and pedotransfer functions.

Tetracycline antibiotics spread in the environment constitute a real threat, causing risks that should be controlled. Retention/release of these compounds after interacting with soil components are the main process governing their entry into water bodies, plant uptake, and availability for soil microorganisms. In this work, batch-type experiments were performed to study adsorption/desorption of oxytetracycline (OTC) and chlortetracycline (CTC) in 63 crop soils. The Freundlich model satisfactory described adsorption curves, showing strong affinity of both antibiotics to soils, with adsorption coefficient (KF(ads)) values between 1015 and 9733 Ln µmol1-n kg-1 for OTC, and between 1099 and 11344 Ln µmol1-n kg-1 for CTC. Desorption percentages were always lower than 10%, indicating that adsorption is highly irreversible. Furthermore, the desorption coefficient (KF(des)) correlated positive and significantly with KF(ads), showing that those soils characterized by higher adsorption were also those showing less desorption. Soil organic carbon (SOC) was the soil characteristic that most explained the variance of KF, both for adsorption and desorption, which caused that soils with higher SOC scores showed higher adsorption and lower desorption for both antibiotics. Pedotransfer functions were developed for OTC and CTC, and resulted effective to satisfactory predict KF(ads) and KF(des) values. These equations would facilitate an easy identification of soils vulnerable to antibiotics pollution, which would allow to program appropriate management practices to decrease undesirable effects on the environment and on public health.

Influence of mussel shell, oak ash and pine bark on the adsorption and desorption of sulfonamides in agricultural soils.

Taking into account the high mobility and environmental risks due to sulfonamide antibiotics as emerging pollutants, batch-type experiments were performed to study adsorption/desorption of three sulfonamides (sulfadiazine -SDZ-, sulfamethazine -SMT- and sulfachloropyridazine -SCP-) in three agricultural soils. The study was carried out both for un-amended and amended soil samples, using different doses (0, 12, 24 and 48 Mg ha-1) of three different by-products (mussel shell, oak ash and pine bark). Adsorption on un-amended soils was rather low, with percentages between 11 and 45% for SDZ, 20-64% for SMT, and 19-65% for SCP. Both the Linear and Freundlich models fitted well to adsorption curves. In the case of un-amended soils, and regarding the Linear model, the values of the coefficient of distribution (Kd, expressed in L kg-1) were between 0.6 and 1.3 for SDZ, between 0.7 and 1.1 for SMT, and between 0.6 and 2.6 for SCP. As regards the Freundlich model, the values of the adsorption constant (KF, expressed in L1/n µmol1-1/n kg-1), were in the range 0.4-1.9 for SDZ, 0.9-2.9 for SMT, and 1.2-3.8 for SCP. Simultaneously, desorption percentages were high, reaching 13.7-47.7% for SDZ, 12.6-35.1% for SMT, and 13.7-34.3% for SCP, when the highest initial antibiotic concentration (50 µmol L-1) was added, thus indicating low retention and high mobility for these compounds in soils. Mussel shell and oak ash amendments did not increase retention of any of the three sulfonamides. However, the incorporation of pine bark resulted in an increase in the adsorption and decrease in desorption for all three antibiotics. Specifically, for soils amended with pine bark at 48 Mg ha-1, Kd values (expressed in L kg-1) were between 2.1 and 2.9 for SDZ, between 3.4 and 3.6 for SMT, and between 2.5 and 8.2 for SCP. Regarding KF (expressed in L1/n µmol1-1/n kg-1), its values ranged from 5.6 to 6.3 for SDZ, 6.2-8.8 for SMT, and 5.3-7.1 for SCP. These scores were clearly higher than those of un-amended soils, and pine bark amendment also resulted in lower desorption percentages, ranging 8.7-11.4% for SDZ, 4.0-10.7% for SMT, and 6.5-16.9% for SCP. This positive effect on the retention of sulfonamides due to pine bark can be attributed to its high organic carbon content (48.6%), as well as to its acidic pHw (4.0). Therefore, pine bark amendment can be considered an effective alternative to increase the retention of sulfonamides in soils, thus reducing their bioavailability and transport to other environmental compartments, and subsequent risks of negative impacts on human and environmental health.

Effects of pine bark amendment on the transport of sulfonamide antibiotics in soils.

In the present work, laboratory column experiments were carried out to study the effect of pine bark amendment (at doses of 0, 12, 48 and 96 Mg ha-1) on the transport of three sulfonamide antibiotics (sulfadiazine -SDZ-, sulfamethazine -SMT-, and sulfachloropyridazine -SCP-) through two crop soils. All three sulfonamides showed high mobility in the unamend soils, with absence of retention in most cases. However, some differences were detected regarding the degree of interactions between sulfonamides and soils, being higher for soil 1, which was attributed to its higher organic carbon content. For both soils, interactions with the antibiotics studied followed the sequence SDZ < SMT < SCP, indicating an increase as a function of the hydrophobicity of sulfonamides. Pine bark amendment significantly increased the retention of the three sulfonamides in both soils. Specifically, in the case of soil 1, the incorporation of the highest dose of pine bark (96 Mg ha-1) caused that retention increased from 0% to 70.3% for SDZ, from 2.7% to 71.3% for SMT, and from 0% to 85.4% for SCP. This effect of pine bark is mainly attributed to its high organic carbon content (48.6%), including substances with potential to interact and retain antibiotics, as well as to its acidic pH (4.5). Therefore, pine bark amendment would be an effective alternative to reduce the transport of sulfonamides in soils and, thus, decrease risks of passing to other environmental compartments, as well as harmful effects on the environment and public health.

Adsorption/desorption of sulfamethoxypyridazine and enrofloxacin in agricultural soils.

Adsorption and desorption processes were studied for the antibiotics sulfamethoxypyridazine (SMP) and enrofloxacin (ENR) in 20 agricultural soils devoted to wheat-potato and vine cultivation. Batch experiments were used to conduct kinetic studies, as well as to evaluate adsorption and desorption for different concentrations of antibiotics. The results indicated that adsorption curves were linear for SMP, while presented a certain curvature in the case of ENR. The adsorption of both antibiotics was fitted to a linear equation and to the Freundlich model. In the case of the linear equation, the values of the distribution coefficient Kd were lower for SMP (0.9-26.0 L kg-1) than for ENR (121-2345 L kg-1). In the Freundlich model, the values of the adsorption constant KF ranged between 1.7 and 34.0 Ln µmol1-n kg-1 for SMP, and between 829 and 3019 Ln µmol1-n kg-1 for ENR. A multiple regression analysis showed that, in the case of SMP, 78% of the variance of the adsorption parameter Kd was explained by soil organic carbon (SOC) and exchangeable magnesium (Mge) contents, while for ENR no significant relation was found. In addition, for SMP, 66% of the variance of KF was explained by SOC, and for ENR 45% of the variability of KF was explained by nitrogen content. Desorption rates were higher for SMP (reaching up to 24%) than for ENR (which reached up to 7%). Desorption percentages showed a potential relation with the adsorption parameter Kd for both SMP and ENR. These results could be useful to elucidate the evolution and dynamics of these emerging pollutants in soils and other environmental compartments, which could be of aid in controlling public health risks associated to them.

Hepatitis C virus infection and the role of a pharmaceutical care program.

PURPOSE: The design, implementation, and assessment of a comprehensive pharmaceutical care program (CPCP) for hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected patients treated with direct-acting antivirals (DAA) are described. SUMMARY: The advent of DAA regimens has caused the evolution of the role of hospital pharmacists, leading to the development of more specialized models of pharmaceutical care. Three clinical pharmacists were incorporated into the pharmacy department of a general tertiary teaching hospital in Madrid, Spain, with the aim of developing and implementing a CPCP for HCV-infected patients. Pharmacists were responsible for proposing standards and local guidelines to physicians, monitoring adherence to guidelines, managing drug interactions and adverse drug events (ADEs), providing patient education, and evaluating health outcomes and costs. Implementation steps included (1) estimation of the healthcare demand and pharmacy resources, (2) definition of the workflow of the CPCP, (3) definition of the treatment care plan, for which tools were developed to support pharmaceutical validation, detection, and management of ADEs and drug-drug interactions, and (4) program assessment in terms of safety and cost-effectiveness. The pharmacists' interventions performed, severity of errors intercepted, and patients' satisfaction with the CPCP were also assessed. This CPCP demonstrates that the involvement of the pharmacist throughout the care plan prevents harmful medication errors in this population (0.1 per patient) and prompts significant cost savings (€1.2 million for 1,930 treated patients). CONCLUSION: The implementation of a CPCP developed by hospital pharmacists for patients treated with DAA for HCV infection is an effective approach for preventing harmful medication errors and improving cost- effectiveness.

Adsorption/desorption and transport of sulfadiazine, sulfachloropyridazine, and sulfamethazine, in acid agricultural soils.

Batch-type experiments were used to study adsorption-desorption of three sulfonamides: sulfadiazine (SDZ) sulfachloropyridazine (SCP), and sulfamethazine (SMT), in five crop soils, whereas laboratory soil column experiments were employed to obtain data on transport processes. Adsorption results were satisfactorily adjusted to Linear and Feundlich equations, with R2 values above 0.95. Adsorption followed the sequence SDZ < SMT < SCP, showing higher values for soils with higher levels of organic carbon (OC) content. Conversely, desorption was higher in soils with less OC, and lower in soils with higher OC contents. The temporal moment analysis method gave values for the transport parameters τ and R which were significantly correlated with soil parameters related to organic matter, specifically OC and N concentrations. The higher retention of the three sulfonamides in soils with high organic matter content is a relevant fact, with value when programming management practices in agricultural soils, and specifically in relation to the spreading of animal manures, slurries, or waste containing these emerging pollutants.

Experimental data and model prediction of tetracycline adsorption and desorption in agricultural soils.

In this work, tetracycline (TC) adsorption and desorption were studied, and the soil properties that most influenced the process were identified. Batch experiments were carried out on 63 crop soil samples, which showed a wide range of values in their physicochemical characteristics. Adsorption curves fit well to the Freundlich equation, with KF values varying between 901 and 9202 Ln µmol1-n kg-1. Kd values ranged between 53 and 6899 L kg-1 for an initial concentration (Co) of 400 µM, whereas the adsorption capacity (qa) ranged from 8541 to 14,852 µmol kg-1. TC retention on soils was high, with adsorption values always higher than 58%, and desorption values lower than 9%. Bivariate correlations and multiple linear regressions were performed to identify those soil variables having a greater influence on TC adsorption and desorption. The results indicate that organic carbon, clay, exchangeable aluminum, available phosphorus, effective cation exchange capacity content, and pH are the main characteristics affecting TC adsorption and desorption. The models, developed by means of multiple linear regression, gave satisfactory and robust predictions for TC adsorption and desorption, using easily determinable soil characteristics as input.

Pedotransfer functions to estimate the adsorption and desorption of sulfadiazine in agricultural soils.

Batch-type experiments were used to study adsorption-desorption of sulfadiazine in 50 crop soils exposed to antibiotic pollution due to the spreading of animal manure or slurry. Adsorption and desorption curves were linear, and were satisfactorily described using the linear and Freundlich equations. The Freundlich adsorption constant (KF(ad)) showed low values (between 0.4 and 9.0 L1/n µmol1-1/n kg-1), which were similar to those of the adsorption constant for the linear model (Kd(ad), between 0.3 and 12.0 L kg-1). Furthermore, the desorption constant for the linear model (Kd(des)) showed higher values than those of Kd(ad), ranging between 1.6 and 29.3 L kg-1, while the values of the Freundlich desorption constant (KF(des)) ranged from 0.10 to 36.8 L1/n µmol1-1/n kg-1. The percentages of adsorption were very variable, ranging from 10 to 87%. The soil characteristics that most influenced adsorption-desorption were those related to soil organic matter (organic carbon and nitrogen contents), as well as the effective cation exchange capacity, and pH. In addition, statistically robust pedotransfer functions were obtained, allowing prediction of adsorption-desorption behavior for sulfadiazine from readily determinable soil parameters, such as pH or organic carbon content.

Copper and zinc in rhizospheric soil of wild plants growing in long-term acid vineyard soils. Insights on availability and metal remediation.

Total and available Cu and Zn levels were assessed in plant biomass, as well as in two rhizosphere fractions (tightly adhering rhizosphere (TAR), and loosely adhering rhizosphere (LAR)), in wild plants species from vineyard soils. Both TAR and LAR fractions were enriched in total Cu and Zn (1.7 and 1.6 times, respectively), and in available Cu and Zn (2.2 and 19.5 times, respectively), with the former being significantly higher for TAR than for LAR fractions. Mean values for total Cu accumulation in root and aerial biomass of the studied wild plants were 84 and 66 mg kg-1, respectively, being 57 and 79 mg kg-1 for Zn. No correlations were found among metal contents in plant biomass and available Cu and Zn concentrations in the rhizosphere fractions. Translocation factor (TF) values for Zn (range 1.0-3.5) indicate preferential accumulation in the aerial biomass in all the studied wild plants. On the contrary, TF for Cu shows a greater variability, depending on plant species, and ranging from 0.2 to 5.9. Regarding bioaccumulation factor (BAF), ranges were 0.03-0.27 and 0.13-0.58, for Cu and Zn, respectively. Results suggest that D. sanguinalis, P. hieracioides, S. viridis, and T. barbata could be useful for Cu remediation in the studied soils, by means of phytostabilization processes.

Direct costs of a home parenteral nutrition programme.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Home parenteral nutrition (HPN) is a lifesaving treatment for people with chronic intestinal failure and its cost has been reported to be very high. The purpose of the present paper was to study the direct healthcare and non-healthcare costs associated with the HPN programme managed by a tertiary hospital. METHODS: Observational, retrospective study of all adult patients on HPN from 11.1.2014 to 10.31.2015 treated at Gregorio Marañón University Hospital (Madrid, Spain). An economic evaluation was undertaken to calculate the direct healthcare (HPN provision, outpatient monitoring and management of complications) and non-healthcare costs (transportation process) of the HPN programme. The variables were collected from medical records, the dispensary and the hospital's financial services. The unit costs were taken from official price lists. RESULTS: Thirty-two patients met the inclusion criteria. Total direct healthcare and non-healthcare costs amounted to €13,363.53 per patient (€124.02 per patient per day). The direct healthcare costs accounted for 98.32% of overall costs, while the non-healthcare costs accounted for the remaining 1.68%. HPN provision accounted for the majority of the costs (74.25%), followed by management of complications (21.85%) and outpatient monitoring (2.23%). CONCLUSIONS: The direct healthcare costs accounted for the majority of HPN expenditure, specifically HPN provision was the category with the highest percentage.

Degradation of sulfadiazine, sulfachloropyridazine and sulfamethazine in aqueous media.

Antibiotics discharged to the environment constitute a main concern for which different treatment alternatives are being studied, some of them based on antibiotics removal or inactivation using by-products with adsorbent capacity, or which can act as catalyst for photo-degradation. But a preliminary step is to determine the general characteristics and magnitude of the degradation process effectively acting on antibiotics. A specific case is that of sulfonamides (SAs), one of the antibiotic groups most widely used in veterinary medicine, and which are considered the most mobile antibiotics, causing that they are frequently detected in both surface- and ground-waters, facilitating their entry in the food chain and causing public health hazards. In this work we investigated abiotic and biotic degradation of three sulfonamides (sulfadiazine -SDZ-, sulfachloropyridazine -SCP-, and sulfamethazine -SMT-) in aqueous media. The results indicated that, in filtered milliQ water and under simulated sunlight, the degradation sequence was: SCP > SDZ ≈ SMT. Furthermore, the rate of degradation clearly increased with the raise of pH: at pH 4.0, half-lives were 1.2, 70.5 and 84.4 h for SCP, SDZ and SMT, respectively, while at pH 7.2 they were 2.3, 9.4 and 13.2 h for SCP, SMT and SDZ. The addition of a culture medium hardly caused any change in degradation rates as compared to experiments performed in milliQ water at the same pH value (7.2), suggesting that in this case sulfonamides degradation rate was not affected by the presence of some chemical elements and compounds, such as sodium, chloride and phosphate. However, the addition of bacterial suspensions extracted from a soil and from poultry manure increased the rate of degradation of these antibiotics. This increase in degradation cannot be attributed to biodegradation, since there was no degradation in the dark during the time of the experiment (72 h). This indicates that photo-degradation constitutes the main removal mechanism for SAs in aqueous media, a mechanism that in this case was favored by humic acids supplied with the extracts from soil and manure. The overall results could contribute to the understanding of the environmental fate of the three sulfonamides studied, aiding to program actions that could favor their inactivation, which is especially relevant since its dissemination can involve serious environmental and public health risks.

Biotic and abiotic dissipation of tetracyclines using simulated sunlight and in the dark.

Veterinary antibiotics reaching soils and water bodies are considered emerging pollutants deserving special attention. In this work, dissipation of tetracycline (TC), oxytetracycline (OTC) and chlortetracycline (CTC) is investigated. Dissipation experiments in filtered water, using simulated sunlight, resulted in the following degradation sequence: TC < OTC ≈ CTC, with half-life values of 229, 101 and 104 min, respectively; however, no dissipation took place in the dark. Dissipation of the three tetracyclines in culture medium and with simulated sunlight was much higher, giving the sequence TC ≈ OTC < CTC, with half-lives of 9, 10 and 7 min, respectively; in the dark, TC and OTC did not suffer dissipation, but it was around 28% for CTC at the end of the experiment (480 min). The variable explaining a higher dissipation in culture medium and with light was pH, as this parameter caused changes in the distribution of species of tetracyclines, affecting degradation. Adding bacterial suspensions extracted from soil and poultry manure increased dissipation, giving the sequence: TC ≈ OTC < CTC, which is attributed to the presence of humic acids, which adsorb these antibiotics. These results could facilitate understanding the fate of antibiotics reaching environmental compartments and causing public health hazards.

Genes differentially expressed by methylprednisolone in vivo in CD4 T lymphocytes from multiple sclerosis patients: potential biomarkers.

Intravenous methylprednisolone (IVMP) is the gold standard treatment in acute relapses of multiple sclerosis. Knowing the response to IVMP in advance could facilitate earlier selection of patients for subsequent courses of therapy. However, molecular mechanisms and changes in gene expression induced by methylprednisolone remain unknown. The aim of the study was to identify in vivo differentially expressed genes in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients after 3-6 days of treatment with IVMP. For this purpose, whole-genome transcription profiling of CD4+ T lymphocytes was performed before and after treatment with IVMP in 8 relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients during relapse using Human GE 4x44K v2 microarrays. Differentially expressed genes were identified using a paired t test on GeneSpring v13.0 software. A P-value <0.001 and a twofold change were considered significant. Microarray data were confirmed using real-time PCR. Microarray revealed changes in gene expression: four genes were downregulated (B3GNT3, ZNF683, IFNG and TNF) and seven upregulated (DEFA4, CTSG, DEFA8P, AZU1, MPO, ELANE and PRTN3). Pathway analysis revealed the transforming growth factor-ß signaling pathway to be affected. Comparison with previously published data on in vitro methylprednisolone-regulated genes showed that SMAD7, TNF and CHI3L1 were also downregulated in vivo in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients. In summary, we performed the first in vivo transcriptome analysis in CD4+ T lymphocytes before and after the treatment with IVMP in patients with multiple sclerosis. Identification of differentially expressed genes in patients receiving IVMP could improve our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of IVMP and highlight potential biomarkers of the response to IVMP.

Removal of anionic pollutants by pine bark is influenced by the mechanism of retention.

The use of organic biosorbents for anion removal from water has been less studied than for cationic compounds. In this work, the removal capacity of pine bark for potential anionic pollutants (fluoride, phosphate, arsenate and dichromate) was assessed in column experiments, designed to study the process of transport. The results showed that pine bark has a very low retention capacity for phosphate, arsenate or fluoride, and in turn, very high for dichromate, with retention values close to 100% and less than 2% desorption of the adsorbed dichromate. The large differences observed between anions suggest that differences in the retention mechanism of each anion exist. In the case of phosphate and arsenate, electrostatic interactions with the mostly negatively charged functional groups of the pine bark determine the low retention capacity. Dichromate retention might proceed through reduction of chromium (VI) to chromium (III), what improves the efficiency of the removal.

Tuberculosis infantil: estudio de tendencia en la Región Sanitaria V de la provincia de Buenos Aires, años 2000-2014 / Childhood tuberculosis: A trend analysis in Public Health Region V of the Province of Buenos Aires, 2000-2014

La prevención, el diagnóstico y el tratamiento de la Tuberculosis Infantil (TBI), no ha sido suficientemente reconocida como causa importante de enfermedad y muerte entre los 0 a 14 años. El objetivo del presente trabajo fue analizar la situación epidemiológica de la TBI en la Región Sanitaria V (RSV), provincia de Buenos Aires. Es un estudio observacional longitudinal, realizado entre el 1º de enero del 2000 y el 31 de diciembre de 2014. Se efectuó un análisis de tendencia sobre un total de 2.142 casos de Tuberculosis Infantil, calculada por regresión lineal simple y expresada como variación anual promedio (VAP). Se analizó el número de casos notificados y tasas de incidencia(TI) por 100.000 habitantes de todas las formas de TBI, TBI pulmonar (TBIP) y TBIP confirmada por bacteriología. La TBP se estudió desagregada en dos grupos de edad: 0 a 4 y 5 a 14 años. Resultados: La tasa de incidencia de TBI y la tasa de incidencia de la TBIP presentaron una tendencia neta al descenso, con una declinación mayor al 5% y similar a la TBIP entre los 0 a 4 años y entre los 5 a 14 años. En cambio, la tasa de incidencia de la TBIP confirmada del total de los casos y en los dos subgrupos, la tendencia al descenso fue mínima y no resultó estadísticamente significativa. La TB se mantiene como un riesgo de salud en la RSV, con la mayor afectación en edades jóvenes, hecho que refleja la tendencia de una transmisión reciente y que se asocia cuando no se ha logrado controlar la enfermedad (AU)

Prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of childhood tuberculosis (childhood TB) is underrecognized as an important cause of disease and death between 0 and 14 years of age. The aim of this study was to analyze the epidemiological situation of childhood TB in the Public Health Region V (PHRV), the province of Buenos Aires. In a longitudinal, observational study conducted between January 1, 2000 and December, 2014.A trend analysis was performed in a total of 2,142 cases of childhood TB, calculated by simple linear regression and expressed as average annual rate (AAR). The number of reported cases and incidence rate (IR) were calculated per 100,000 inhabitants of all forms of childhood TB, childhood lung TB, and childhood lung TB confirmed by bacteriological tests. Lung TB was assessed according to age group: 0 to 4 and 5 to 14 years. Results: IR of childhood TB and IR of childhood lung TB showed a net downward trend, with a greater than 5% decrease and similar to childhood lung TB between children between 0 and 4 years and those between 5 and 14 years of age. However, the IR of confirmed childhood lung TB of the total of cases and in the two subgroups showed a minimal downward trend and was not statistically significant. TB remains a health risk in PHRV, with a higher incidence in children, reflecting a trend of recent transmission and associated with a lack of disease control (AU)