Coadsorption of carbofuran and lead at the air/water interface. Possible occurrence of non-volatile pollutant cotransfer to the atmosphere

The weak solubility of carbofuran allows adsorption at the air/water interface. Carbofuran-rich layers can then induce the coadsorption of metallic salts such as lead nitrate; on the other hand, when carbofuran is missing, no adsorption of this salt takes place. This phenomenon was quantitatively studied through surface tension measurements under concentration conditions close to the environmental ones. Heavy metal salt adsorbed about ten times more than carbofuran. Evidence was then provided that the simultaneous presence of both pollutants in water favours their adsorption and passing from water to the atmosphere through mechanisms such as bubbling.     

Essential oil components decrease pulmonary and hepatic cells inflammation induced by air pollution particulate matter

Outdoor air pollution and fine particulate matter (PM) were recently classified as carcinogenic to humans by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. The exposure to airborne particulate matter also contributes to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, which are major public health concerns. Up to now, no work has evaluated the ability of essential oils as an alternative medicine to relieve the adverse health effects caused by airborne particulate matter. Here, we investigated for the first time the effects of four essential oil components, trans-anethole, estragole, eugenol and isoeugenol, on the reduction in inflammation induced by particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter below 2.5 μm (PM_2.5), in human bronchial epithelial (BEAS-2B) and human liver carcinoma (HepG2) cell lines. Anethole is a flavor component of anise and fennel, estragole is occurring in basil, eugenol occurs in clove bud oil and isoeugenol occurs in ylang-ylang. Essential oil components were tested either as free or hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin-encapsulated forms. Control experiments showed that particulate matter (PM_2.5) induced inflammation by secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and IL-8. Our results show that the addition of either free or encapsulated essential oil components to particulate matter exposed cells decreased up to 96 % the cytokine IL-6 level, and by up to 87 % the cytokine IL-8 level. Overall our findings evidence for the first time that natural essential oil components counteract the inflammatory effects of particulate matter and that encapsulation in cyclodextrins preserved their properties.     

Association between low fetal fraction in cell-free DNA screening and fetal chromosomal aberrations: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective

To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of the available literature on low fetal fraction (LFF) in cell-free DNA (cfDNA) screening and the risk of fetal chromosomal aberrations.

Method

We searched articles published between January 2010 and May 2021 in PubMed and EMBASE databases. Risk of bias was assessed using QUADAS-2.

Results

Twenty-seven studies met the inclusion criteria, comprising data of 243,700 singleton pregnancies. Compared to normal fetal fraction, LFF was associated with a higher risk of trisomy 13 (OR 5.99 [3.61–9.95], I ² of heterogeneity = 0%, n = 22 studies), trisomy 18 (OR 4.46 [3.07–6.47], I ² = 0%, n = 22 studies), monosomy X (OR 5.88 [2.34–14.78], I ² = 18%, n = 10 studies), and triploidy (OR 36.39 [9.83–134.68], I ² = 61%, n = 6 studies), but not trisomy 21 (OR 1.25 [0.76–2.03], I ² = 36%, n = 23 studies). LFF was also associated with a higher risk of various other types of fetal chromosomal aberrations (OR 4.00 [1.78–9.00], I ² = 2%, n = 11 studies). Meta-analysis of proportions showed that absolute rates of fetal chromosomal aberrations ranged between 1% and 2% in women with LFF. A limitation of this review is the potential risk of ascertainment bias because of differences in outcome assessment between pregnancies with LFF and those with normal fetal fraction. Heterogeneity in population characteristics or applied technologies across included studies may not have been fully addressed.

Conclusion

An LFF test result in cfDNA screening is associated with an increased risk of fetal trisomy 13, trisomy 18, monosomy X, and triploidy, but not trisomy 21. Further research is needed to assess the association between LFF and other specific types of fetal chromosomal aberrations.     

Non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) in twin pregnancies affected by early single fetal demise: A systematic review of NIPT and vanishing twins

The screening performance of non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) in vanishing twin (VT) pregnancies is relatively unknown. To close this knowledge gap, we conducted a systematic review of the available literature. Studies describing the test performance of NIPT for trisomy 21, 18, 13, sex chromosomes and additional findings in pregnancies with a VT were retrieved from a literature search with a publication date until October 4, 2022. The methodological quality of the studies was assessed with the quality assessment tool for diagnostic accuracy studies-2 (QUADAS-2). The screen positive rate of the pooled data and the pooled positive predictive value (PPV) were calculated using a random effects model. Seven studies, with cohort sizes ranging from 5 to 767, were included. The screen positive rate of the pooled data for trisomy 21 was 35/1592 (2.2%), with a PPV of 20% (confirmation in 7/35 cases [95% CI 9.8%–36%]). For trisomy 18, the screen positive rate was 13/1592 (0.91%) and the pooled PPV 25% [95% CI 1.3%–90%]. The screen positive rate for trisomy 13 was 7/1592 (0.44%) and confirmed in 0/7 cases (pooled PPV 0% [95% CI 0%–100%]). The screen positive rate for additional findings was 23/767 (2.9%), of which none could be confirmed. No discordant negative results were reported. There is insufficient data to fully evaluate NIPT performance in pregnancies with a VT. However, existing studies suggest that NIPT can successfully detect common autosomal aneuploidies in pregnancies affected by a VT but with a higher false positive rate. Further studies are needed to determine the optimal timing of NIPT in VT pregnancies.