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Endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) as emerging contaminants have accumulated in the aquatic environment at concentration levels that have been determined to be significant to humans and animals. Several compounds belong to this family, from natural substances (hormones such as estrone, 17-estradiol, and estriol) to synthetic chemicals, especially pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and plastic-derived compounds (phthalates, bisphenol A). In this review, we discuss recent works regarding EDC occurrence in the aquatic compartment, strengths and limitations of current analytical methods used for their detection, treatment technologies for their removal from water, and the health issues that they can trigger in humans. Nowadays, many EDCs have been identified in significant amounts in different water matrices including drinking water, thus increasing the possibility of entering the food chain. Several studies correlate human exposure to high concentrations of EDCs with serious effects such as infertility, thyroid dysfunction, early puberty, endometriosis, diabetes, and obesity. Although our intention is not to explain all disorders related to EDCs exposure, this review aims to guide future research towards a deeper knowledge of EDCs’ contamination and accumulation in water, highlighting their toxicity and exposure risks to humans.

The impact of allergens emitted by urban green spaces on health is one of the main disservices of ecosystems. The objective of this work is to establish the potential allergenic value of some tree species in urban environments, so that the allergenicity of green spaces can be estimated through application of the Index of Urban Green Zones Allergenicity (IUGZA). Multiple types of green spaces in Mediterranean cities were selected for the estimation of IUGZ. The results show that some of the ornamental species native to the Mediterranean are among the main causative agents of allergy in the population; in particular, Oleaceae, Cupressaceae, Fagaceae, and Platanus hispanica. Variables of the strongest impact on IUGZA were the bioclimatic characteristics of the territory and design aspects, such as the density of trees and the number of species. We concluded that the methodology to assess the allergenicity associated with urban trees and urban areas presented in this work opens new perspectives in the design and planning of urban green spaces, pointing out the need to consider the potential allergenicity of a species when selecting plant material to be used in cities. Only then can urban green areas be inclusive spaces, in terms of public health.

Using available official data we found 248 epidemics curves caused worldwide by the 2019-nCoV in the period December 2019–March 31st 2020. The analysis of this material allowed two main observations: 1) it is possible to describe the main geographical pathway of the diffusion of the virus in different directions. This strongly suggests a unique point of origin of the pandemics in Wuhan, China, from where it spread in many different directions. 2) of the 74 epidemics which were characterized by at least 1000 cases, 65 (90%) were located in the geographic region of the world delimitated by 52–30 degrees latitude North. Viceversa 110 (60%) of the 176 epidemics with less than 1000 cases were located outside the cited geographical world region. These results suggest considerations on the pandemic characteristics of 2019-nCoV.

Several studies indicate that semen quality has strongly declined in the last decades worldwide. Air pollution represents a significant co-factor with the COVID-19 impact and has negative effects on the male reproductive system, through pro-oxidant, inflammatory and immune-dysregulating mechanisms. It has recently been reported that chronic exposure to PM2.5 causes overexpression of the alveolar ACE2 receptor, the entry route of SARS-CoV-2 into the organism shared by the lungs and testis where expression is highest in the body. In the testis, the ACE2/Ang-(1–7)/MasR pathway plays an important role in the regulation of spermatogenesis and an indirect mechanism of testicular damage could be due to the blockade of the ACE2 receptor by SARS-CoV-2. This prevents the conversion of specific angiotensins, and their excess causes inflammation with the overproduction of cytokines. PM2.5-induced overexpression of the alveolar ACE2 receptor, in turn, could increase local viral load in patients exposed to pollutants, producing ACE2 receptor depletion and compromising host defenses. By presenting an overall view of epidemiological data and molecular mechanisms, this manuscript aims to interpret the possible synergistic effects of both air pollution and COVID-19 on male reproductive function, warning that the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in the fertile years may represent a significant threat to global reproductive health. All of this should be of great concern, especially for men of the age of maximum reproductive capacity, and an important topic of debate for policy makers. Altered environmental conditions, together with the direct and indirect short- and long-term effects of viral infection could cause a worsening of semen quality with important consequences for male fertility, especially in those areas with higher environmental impact.

The epidemic of the new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has impacted worldwide with its infectious spread and mortality rate. Thousands of articles have been published to tackle this crisis and many of these have indicated that high air pollution levels may be a contributing factor to high outbreak rates of COVID-19. Atmospheric pollutants, indeed, producing oxidative stress, inflammation, immuno-unbalance, and systemic coagulation, may be a possible significant co-factor of further damage, rendering the body prone to infections by a variety of pathogens, including viruses. Spermatozoa are extremely responsive to prooxidative effects produced by environmental pollutants and may serve as a powerful alert that signals the extent that environmental pressure, in a specific area, is doing damage to humans. In order to improve our current knowledge on this topic, this review article summarizes the relevant current observations emphasizing the weight that environmental pollution has on the sensitivity of a given population to several diseases and how semen quality, may be a potential indicator of sensitivity for virus insults (including SARS-CoV-2) in high polluted areas, and help to predict the risk for harmful effects of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic. In addition, this review focused on the potential routes of virus transmission that may represent a population health risk and also identified the areas of critical importance that require urgent research to assess and manage the COVID-19 outbreak.

Image-based identification of circulating tumor cells in microfluidic cytometry condition is one of the most challenging perspectives in the Liquid Biopsy scenario. Here we show a machine learning-powered tomographic phase imaging flow cytometry system capable to provide high-throughput 3D phase-contrast tomograms of each single cell. In fact, we show that discrimination of tumor cells against white blood cells is potentially achievable with the aid of artificial intelligence in a label-free flow-cyto-tomography method. We propose a hierarchical machine learning decision-maker, working on a set of features calculated from the 3D tomograms of the cells’ refractive index. We prove that 3D morphological features are adequately distinctive to identify tumor cells versus the white blood cell background in the first stage and, moreover, in recognizing the tumor type at the second decision step. Proof-of-concept experiments are shown, in which two different tumor cell lines, namely neuroblastoma cancer cells and ovarian cancer cells, are used against monocytes. The reported results allow claiming the identification of tumor cells with a success rate higher than 97% and with an accuracy over 97% in discriminating between the two cancer cell types, thus opening in a near future the route to a new Liquid Biopsy tool for detecting and classifying circulating tumor cells in blood by stain-free method.

Single-cell phase-contrast tomography promises to become decisive for studying 3D intracellular structures in biology. It involves probing cells with light at wide angles, which unfortunately requires complex systems. Here we show an intriguing concept based on an inherent natural process for plants biology, i.e., dehydration, allowing us to easily obtain 3D-tomography of onion-epidermal cells’ nuclei. In fact, the loss of water reduces the turgor pressure and we recognize it induces significant rotation of cells’ nuclei. Thanks to the holographic focusing flexibility and an ad-hoc angles’ tracking algorithm, we combine different phase-contrast views of the nuclei to retrieve their 3D refractive index distribution. Nucleolus identification capability and a strategy for measuring morphology, dry mass, biovolume, and refractive index statistics are reported and discussed. This new concept could revolutionize the investigation in plant biology by enabling dynamic 3D quantitative and label-free analysis at sub-nuclear level using a conventional holographic setup.

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are rare tumor cells released from primary, metastatic, or recurrent tumors in the peripheral blood of cancer patients. CTCs isolation from peripheral blood and their molecular characterization represent a new marker in cancer screening, a diagnostic tool called “liquid biopsy” (LB). Compared to traditional tissue biopsy that is invasive and does not reveal tumor heterogeneity, LB is noninvasive and reflects in “real‐time” tumor dynamism and drug sensitivity. In the frame of LB, a new paradigm based on single‐cell and label‐free analysis based on morphological analysis is emerging. Here, we review the latest research developments in this emerging vision of LB. In particular, we survey and discuss recent improvements in microfluidics, imaging label‐free diagnosis and cell classification by artificial intelligence and how to combine them to realize an intelligent platform based on lab‐on‐chip technology. This prospect appears to open up promising and intriguing new scenarios for cancer management through single‐cell analysis that will revolutionize the future of early cancer diagnosis and therapeutic choice with disruptive impact on the society. The most promising approach to liquid biopsy has its roots in the smart integration between label‐free quantitative phase microscopy, accurate manipulation of microfluidic streams, and artificial intelligence. Lab‐on‐a‐chip devices with embedded imaging functions can now rely on robust deep learning architectures to generate accurate classification results from single‐cell analysis of blood flows. Flow engineering allows sorting and controlling the rotation of blood components, thus permitting added‐value high‐throughput tomographic inspection of circulating tumor cells.

Ocrelizumab is a recombinant humanized monoclonal antibody selectively targeting CD20-expressing B cells. The effect of ocrelizumab on primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) has been evaluated during phase 3 trials that enrolled patients under 55 years with a maximum Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) of 6.5. However, little is known on older disabled patients with longer disease duration. We aimed to assess the clinical effectiveness of ocrelizumab in PPMS patients out of the ORATORIO eligibility criteria. This multicenter retrospective study collected data about the effectiveness of ocrelizumab in PPMS patients who received treatment between May 2017 and June 2022 in the Italian MS centers contributing to the Italian MS Registry who adhered to the Compassionate Use Program. The confirmed EDSS worsening (CEW) (defined as either a ≥ 1-point or ≥ 2-point increase in EDSS score from baseline that was confirmed at T12 and T24) was calculated. At the date of data extraction, out of 887 PPMS patients who had received ocrelizumab, 589 (mean age 49.7 ± 10.7 years, 242 (41.1%) females) were enrolled. The mean follow-up period was 41.3 ± 12.3 months. A total of 149 (25.3%) received ocrelizumab according to the ORATORIO criteria (ORATORIO group) and 440 (74.7%) outside the ORATORIO criteria (non-ORATORIO group). No differences in terms of cumulative probabilities of 12 and 24 months of CEW of ≤ 1 point were found between ORATORIO and non-ORATORIO groups. Cox regression analyses showed that age older than 65 years (HR 2.51, 25% CI 1.07–3.65; p = 0.01) was associated with higher risk of CEW at 24 months. Patients not responding to ORATORIO criteria for reimbursability may benefit from ocrelizumab treatment, as disease activity, disease duration, and EDSS seem to not impact the disability outcome. Our results may suggest to extend the possible use of this powerful agent in selected patients under the age of 65 years.

Scanning large tissue slides for digital pathology, while necessary for large area coverage, can suffer from ambiguities, biased interpretations, and the inherent limitations of the staining procedure. Here we show that phase-shifting space-time digital holography (PS-STDH) could serve as an efficient digitalization of histopathology slides, encoding their 3D content into 2D wide-field quantitative phase images, while avoiding staining processes. In fact, PS-STDH approach, unlike other interferometric scanning modalities, provides an unambiguous and continuous phase distribution across the entire slide. It resolves phase unwrapping issues as it enables seamless stitching of multiple space-time holograms without phase ambiguities, directly resulting from perfect fringe matching in our hybrid hologram reprojection. Reported results demonstrate a continuous, unambiguous phase mapping over cm-long scans tested on breast cancer and fibroadenoma histopathology slides, while achieving a resolution of 0.98 μ m along the scanning direction and 1.38 μ m perpendicular to it.