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Scientific and technological innovation is increasingly playing a role for promoting the transition towards a circular economy and sustainable development. Thanks to its dual function of harvesting energy from waste and cleaning up waste from organic pollutants, microbial fuel cells (MFCs) provide a revolutionary answer to the global environmental challenges. Yet, one key factor that limits the implementation of larger scale MFCs is the high cost and low durability of current electrode materials, owing to the use of platinum at the cathode side. To address this issue, the scientific community has devoted its research efforts for identifying innovative and low cost materials and components to assemble lab-scale MFC prototypes, fed with wastewaters of different nature. This review work summarizes the state-of the-art of developing platinum group metal-free (PGM-free) catalysts for applications at the cathode side of MFCs. We address how different catalyst families boost oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in neutral pH, as result of an interplay between surface chemistry and morphology on the efficiency of ORR active sites. We particularly review the properties, performance, and applicability of metal-free carbon-based materials, molecular catalysts based on metal macrocycles supported on carbon nanostructures, M-N-C catalysts activated via pyrolysis, metal oxide-based catalysts, and enzyme catalysts. We finally discuss recent progress on MFC cathode design, providing a guidance for improving cathode activity and stability under MFC operating conditions.

To understand the characteristic features of the Mongolian gerbil, Meriones unguiculatus, as an animal model of ascarid infections, the migration behaviour and pathogenesis of larvae were investigated in experimentally infected gerbils. Embryonated eggs from each of Toxocara canis,Baylisascaris procyonis, B. transfuga, Ascaris suum, and A. lumbricoides were orally inoculated into gerbils and larvae were recovered from various organs at designated periods. In T. canis-infected gerbils, larvae were present in the liver 3 days after infection and in the skeletal muscle and brain via the heart and lungs at a similar rate. In B. procyonis- and B. transfuga-infected gerbils, larvae were present in the lungs within 24 h after infection, with some having reached the brain by that time. After 24 h, larvae of B. procyonis tended to accumulate in the brain, while those of B. transfuga accumulated in skeletal muscles. In A. suum- and A. lumbricoides-infected gerbils, larvae remained in the liver on day 5 post-infection and elicited pulmonary haemorrhagic lesions, which disappeared 7 days after initial infection. Thereafter, no larvae of any type were recovered. Ocular manifestations were frequently observed in T. canis- and B. procyonis infected gerbils, but were rare in B. transfuga-infected gerbils. In the cases of A. suum and A. lumbricoides, migration to the central nervous system and eyes was extremely rare, and larvae had disappeared by 2 weeks post-infection. Fatal neurological disturbances were observed in B. procyonis-infected gerbils, whereas irreversible non-fatal neurological symptoms were observed in the case of B. transfuga.

The association of trivalent f‐elements—Eu(III), Am(III), and Cm(III)—with cellulose, chitin, and chitosan was determined by batch experiments and time‐resolved, laser‐induced fluorescence spectroscopy (TRLFS). The properties of these biopolymers as an adsorbent were characterized based on speciation calculation of Eu(III). The adsorption study showed that an increase of the ionic strength by NaCl did not affect the adsorption kinetics of Eu(III), Am(III), and Cm(III) for all the biopolymers, but the addition of Na2CO3 significantly delayed the kinetics because of their trivalent f‐element complexation with carbonate ions. It also was suggested from the speciation calculation study that all the biopolymers were degraded under alkaline conditions, leading to their masking of the adsorption of Eu(III), Am(III), and Cm(III) on the nondegraded biopolymers. The masking effect was higher for cellulose than for chitin and chitosan, indicating that of the three, cellulose was degraded most significantly in alkaline solutions. Desorption experiments suggested that some portion of the adsorbed Eu(III) penetrated deep into the matrix, being isolated in a cavity‐like site. The TRLFS study showed that the coordination environment of Eu(III) is stabilized mainly by the inner spherical coordination in chitin and by the outer spherical coordination in chitosan, with less association in cellulose in comparison to chitin and chitosan. These results suggest that the association of these biopolymers with Eu(III), Am(III), and Cm(III) is governed not only by the affinity of the functional groups alone but also by other factors, such as the macromolecular steric effect. The association of degraded materials of the biopolymers also should be taken into consideration for an accurate prediction of the influence of biopolymers on the migration behavior of trivalent f‐elements.

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2010 in Portland, Oregon, USA, August 1 – August 5, 2010.

Cri-du-chat syndrome is caused by haploinsufficiency of the genes on the distal part of the short arm of chromosome 5, and characteristic features include microcephaly, developmental delays, and a distinctive high-pitched mewing cry. Most cri-du-chat syndrome cases result from a sporadic de novo deletion that is associated with a low recurrence risk. On rare occasions, however, cri-du-chat syndrome with 5p monosomy can be accompanied by 5q trisomy. This combination is virtually always associated with parental large pericentric inversions. Among previously reported cri-du-chat syndrome cases with 5p monosomy accompanied by 5q trisomy, the aneusomy of chromosome 5 in all but one case was cytogenetically visible using G-banding. When an accompanying 5q trisomy is detected, a significant recurrence risk is expected. We here report on a patient with cri-du-chat syndrome phenotype who initially exhibited a normal karyotype on G-banding but in whom molecular analysis using multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification and array comparative genomic hybridization revealed a 5p deletion accompanied by a 5q duplication. Parental chromosomal testing led to the identification of a very large pericentric inversion, of which breakpoints resided at the terminal regions of 5p15.31 and 5q35.1. This information was vital for counseling the family regarding the significantly high recurrence risk. Copyright © 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

A case‐control study was conducted in Miyagi and Gunma prefectures, Japan, to evaluate the effectiveness of breast cancer screening by clinical breast examination (CBE) alone in reducing breast cancer mortality. Case subjects, who were female and had died of breast cancer, were collected from residential registry files and medical records. Control subjects matched in sex, age and residence were randomly selected from residential registry files. The screening histories during 5 years prior to the cases having been diagnosed as breast cancer were surveyed using the examinee files of the screening facilities. Finally, the data of 93 cases and 375 controls were analyzed. The odds ratio (OR) of breast cancer death for participating in screening at least once during 5 years was 0.93 (95% confidence interval (95%CI) 0.48‐1.79). The cases were more symptomatic than the controls when screened. If the participants who had had symptoms in their breasts were classified as not screened, the OR decreased to 0.56 (95%CI 0.27‐1.18). The case control study suggests that the current screening modality (CBE) lacks effectiveness (OR=0.93), although it might be effective for an a symptomatic population (OR=0.56). The number of cases was small, and a larger case‐control study is desirable to define whether CBE is effective or not. However, it is necessary to consider the introduction of mammographic screening to reduce breast cancer mortality in Japan.

In isolated porcine coronary arteries, concentrations of 5-HT (10 –8 to 3 × 10 –5  mol/l), α-methylserotonin (α-Me-5-HT, 10 –8 to 3 × 10 –5  mol/l) and ergonovine (10 –9 to 3 × 10 –4  mol/l) produced contraction, whereas high concentrations (10 –5 to 10 –4  mol/l) of these drugs produced relaxation. Both sarpogrelate and ketanserin produced rightward shifts of contraction concentration-response curves induced by 5-HT and α-Me-5-HT at the concentration from 10 –9 to 3 × 10 –5  mol/l, and only sarpogrelate inhibited the relaxation at high concentrations of 5-HT and displayed 155% of maximal contraction at 10 –4  mol/l 5-HT. On the other hand, sarpogrelate and ketanserin did not show any inhibitory effects on the relaxation induced by high concentrations of ergonovine. These results suggested that sarpogrelate and ketanserin show different inhibitory effects on the relaxation induced by high concentrations of 5-HT, indicating that these two drugs may have different affinities to 5-HT receptor subtypes that may be involved in relaxation.

Although pituitary adenomas often recur, a reliable predictor for their recurrences has not yet been established. The aim of this study is to assess the utility of the nuclear accumulation of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) as a predictor for the recurrence of pituitary adenomas. We studied 64 patients who had primary pituitary adenomas and underwent operations. The immunohistochemistry for bFGF and MIB-1 was retrospectively examined in paraffin-embedded tissues. The bFGF immunoreactivity in the cytoplasm was assigned one of four grades and the bFGF immunoreactivity in the nucleus was recorded as the bFGF nuclear index (NI), which was calculated as a percentage of tumor cells with the bFGF immunoreactivity in the nuclei in more than 1000 tumor cells. Recurrent adenomas were found in 7 patients during follow-up periods ranging from 8 to 134 months (mean: 57.3). Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated that high bFGF NI (>30%) correlated with poor recurrence free rate (p < 0.02). We assessed the relative contribution of bFGF NI to recurrence free by using multivariate (Cox's proportional hazards model) analyses with variable factors. Multivariate analysis showed that only bFGF NI was a potential predictor of recurrence free, independent of all other variables. High bFGF NI (>30%) had a relative risk of 8.9, with a 95% confidence interval of 1.0-74.9 (p < 0.05). We suggest that the bFGF NI may be a potentially useful predictor for the recurrence of pituitary adenomas.