86,573 research outputs found

    Strutture ambientali ed esperienza umoristica

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    Publ. in: G. Carrus, F. Fornara, M. Scopelliti (a cura di), La psicologia ambientale in Italia. Secondo incontro Nazionale. Roma, 2002. Riassunti delle comunicazioni. Università di Roma "La Sapienza

    Analysis of 2,5-dimethoxy-amphetamines and 2,5-dimethoxy-phenethylamines aiming their determination in biological matrices: a review

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    Purpose: The present review aims to provide an overview of methods for the quantification of 2,5-dimethoxy-amphetamines and -phenethylamines in different biological matrices, both traditional and alternative ones. Methods: A complete literature search was carried out with PubMed, Scopus and the World Wide Web using relevant keywords, e.g., designer drugs, amphetamines, phenethylamines, and biological matrices. Results: Synthetic phenethylamines represent one of the largest classes of “designer drugs”, obtained through chemical structure modifications of psychoactive substances to increase their pharmacological activities. This practice is also favored by the fact that every new synthetic compound is not considered illegal by existing legislation. Generally, in a toxicological laboratory, the first monitoring of drugs of abuse is made by rapid screening tests that sometimes can occur in false positive or false negative results. To reduce evaluation errors, it is mandatory to submit the positive samples to confirmatory methods, such as gas chromatography or liquid chromatography combined to mass spectrometry, for a more specific qualitative and quantitative analysis. Conclusions: This review highlights the great need for updated comprehensive analytical methods, particularly when analyzing biological matrices, both traditional and alternative ones, for the search of newly emerging designer drugs

    An overview of antibiotics as emerging contaminants: Occurrence in bivalves as biomonitoring organisms

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    Antibiotics are used for therapeutic and prophylactic purposes in both human and veterinary medicine and as growth promoting agents in farms and aquaculture. They can accumulate in environmental matrices and in the food chain, causing adverse effects in humans and animals including the development of antibiotic resistance. This review aims to update and discuss the available data on antibiotic residues, using bivalves as biomonitoring organisms. The current research indicates that antibiotics’ presence in bivalves has been investigated along European, American and Asian coasts, with the majority of studies reported for the last. Several classes of antibiotics have been detected, with a higher frequency of detection reported for macrolides, sulfonamides and quinolones. The highest concentration was instead reported for tetracyclines in bivalves collected in the North Adriatic Sea. Only oxytetracycline levels detected in this latter site exceeded the maximum residual limit established by the competent authorities. Moreover, the risk that can be derived from bivalve consumption, calculated considering the highest concentrations of antibiotics residues reported in the analyzed studies, is actually negligible. Nevertheless, further supervisions are needed in order to preserve the environment from antibiotic pollution, prevent the development of antimicrobial resistance and reduce the health risk derived from seafood consumption

    Can Fecal T3 Metabolite Level Fluctuations in European Roe Deer (Capreolus capreolus) Give Insights on Body Condition and Thermal Stress?

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    Mammals can use a variety of physiological mechanisms to adapt to changes in their environment. Thyroid hormones (THs) are key modulators of growth and mediators of environmental conditions by regulating developmental processes and metabolism in animals. In recent years, advancements in non-invasive sampling have allowed monitoring of the fluctuations of THs and their metabolites in wild mammals. Triiodothyronine (T3) represents the major metabolite of THs excreted in feces so that it can be monitored in fecal samples. In this study, fecal samples collected during the hunting season from legally culled European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus; n = 160) were assayed to investigate the potential fluctuations of fecal TH metabolites (FTMs) in response to environmental (e.g., the temperature, local densities) and individual (e.g., sex, age, body, and nutritional conditions) variables. For this aim, we validated a TH enzyme immunoassay in the feces of roe deer. Our results show that FTMs can be successfully measured with satisfactory accuracy and precision. Extraction recovery (70%–120%), intra- and inter-day repeatability (<15%), linearity dilutions (80%–120%), and parallelism (<20%) were consistent with international guidelines. Environmental temperature (p < 0.001) showed a strong inverse correlation with FTM levels. THs can thus represent a reliable indicator in studying animals’ adaptative responses to environmental temperature changes, providing perspectives for the study of the impact of climate change on ungulates and mammals. Further analyses, comparing samples collected all year round, are needed to investigate the correlations of TH values versus the other investigated variables
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