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Salt marshes are crucial eco-geomorphic features of tidal environments as they provide important ecological functions and deliver a wide range of ecosystem services. Being controlled by the interplay between hydrodynamics, geomorphology, and vegetation, the contribution of both organic matter (OM) and inorganic sediments drives salt marsh vertical accretion. This allows marshes to keep pace with relative sea level rise and likewise capture and store carbon, making them valuable allies in climate mitigation strategies. Thus, soil organic matter (SOM), i.e. the organic component of the soil, plays a key role within salt marsh environments, directly contributing to soil formation and supporting carbon storage. This study aims at inspecting spatial patterns of OM in surface salt marsh soils (top 20 cm), providing further insights into the physical and biological factors driving OM dynamics that affect salt marsh survival and carbon sink potential. Our results reveal two scales of variations in SOM content in marsh environments. At the marsh scale, OM variability is influenced by the interplay between surface elevation and changes in sediment supply linked with the distance from the marsh edge. At the system scale, OM content distribution is dominated by the gradient generated by marine and fluvial influence. The observed variations in SOM are explained by the combination of inorganic and organic input, preservation conditions, and sediment grain size. Our results highlight the importance of marshes as carbon sink environments, further emphasising that environmental conditions within a tidal system may generate strongly variable and site-specific carbon accumulation patterns, enhancing blue carbon assessment complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salt marshes are crucial eco-geomorphic features of tidal environments as they provide numerous important ecological functions and deliver a wide range of ecosystem services that contribute to human well-being. Being controlled by the interplay between hydrodynamics, geomorphology and vegetation, the deposition of both organic matter (OM) and inorganic sediments drives salt-marsh vertical accretion. This allows marshes to keep pace with relative sea-level rise, and likewise capture and store carbon, making them valuable allies in climate mitigation strategies. Thus, Soil Organic Matter (SOM), i.e. the organic component of the soil, plays a key role within salt-marsh environments, directly contributing to soil formation and supporting carbon storage. This study aims at inspecting spatial patterns of OM in surface salt-marsh soils, providing further insights into the physical and biological factors driving OM dynamics, affecting salt-marsh survival and carbon sink potential. Our results reveal two scales of variations in sedimentary OM content in salt-marsh soils. At the marsh scale OM variability is influenced by the interplay between surface elevation and changes in sediment supply linked with the distance from tidal channels. At the system scale, OM content distribution is dominated by the gradient generated by marine and fluvial influence. Variations in inorganic and organic inputs, both autochthonous and allochthonous, sediment grain size, and preservation conditions may explain the observed variations in SOM. Our results highlight marsh importance as carbon sink environments, furthermore emphasizing that environmental conditions within a tidal system may generate strongly variable and site-specific carbon accumulation patterns, enhancing blue carbon assessment complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Preparation of injectable anticancer drugs in hospital pharmacies is a high-risk activity that requires a proper risk assessment (RA) and quality assurance system (QAS) to ensure both a decrease in risk associated with chemotherapy compounding and high quality of the final product, especially in terms of its microbiological stability. Methods. At the centralized compounding unit (UFA) of the Italian Hospital IOV-IRCCS, a quick and deductive method was applied to evaluate the "added value" provided by each prescribed preparation, and its RA was calculated applying a formula that integrates different pharmacological, technological and organizational aspects. According to specific RA range values, the preparations were divided into different risk levels, in order to determine the QAS to be adopted, according to the Italian Ministry of Health guidelines, whose adherence was meticulously evaluated through a specific self-assessment procedure. A review of the scientific literature was carried out to integrate the risk-based predictive extended stability (RBPES) of drugs with data concerning their physiochemical and biological stability. Results. Based on the self-assessment comprising all microbiological validations of the working area, personnel and products, the microbiological risk level within the IOV-IRCCS' UFA was defined through the creation of a transcoding matrix, conferring a microbiological stability to preparations and vial leftovers of a maximum of 7 days. The calculated RBPES were successfully integrated with stability data from the literature, leading to the drafting of a stability table of drugs and preparations in use in our UFA. Conclusions. Our methods allowed us to perform an in-depth analysis of the highly specific and technical process of anticancer drug compounding in our UFA, ensuring a certain grade of quality and safety to preparations, especially in terms of microbiological stability. The resulting RBPES table represents an invaluable tool with positive repercussions at organizational and economic levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this narrative review was to assess the use of nanoparticles (NPs) to deliver radionuclides to targets, focusing on systems that have been tested in pre-clinical and, when available, clinical settings. A literature search was conducted in PubMed and Web of Science databases using the following terms: "radionuclides" AND "liposomes" or "PLGA nanoparticles" or "gold nanoparticles" or "iron oxide nanoparticles" or "silica nanoparticles" or "micelles" or "dendrimers". No filters were applied, apart from a minimum limit of 10 patients enrolled for clinical studies. Data from some significant studies from pre-clinical and clinical settings were retrieved, and we briefly describe the information available. All the selected seven classes of nanoparticles were highly tested in clinical trials, but they all present many drawbacks. Liposomes are the only ones that have been tested for clinical applications, though they have never been commercialized. In conclusion, the application of NPs for imaging has been the object of much interest over the years, albeit mainly in pre-clinical settings. Thus, we think that, based on the current state, radiolabeled NPs must be investigated longer before finding their place in nuclear medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the atrial fibrillation treatment guidelines have been updated to now recommend Non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) as the preferred alternative to warfarin for systemic embolism and stroke prevention in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation. NOACs have major pharmacologic advantages over warfarin, although the most common complications are gastrointestinal bleeding and NOAC-induced nephropathy within 6 weeks after starting therapy, as several recent case-reports stated. We are reporting for the first time a chronic delayed adverse reaction (regularly reported to Authorities) observed in an 82-year-old woman 27 months after starting dabigatran (110 mg twice a day), characterized by concomitant gastrointestinal bleeding and nephropathy. Idarucizumab administration immediately improved both bleeding and renal parameters. Moreover, we are going to highlight the importance of the compliance, the adherence to the therapeutic plan and the supervision of the Hospital Pharmacy on drug prescriptions. In fact in our case, dabigatran was firstly prescribed by the neurologist and delivered by the hospital pharmacy, but the patient continued the treatment for 27 months, prescribed by general practitioner without any laboratory control. This lack of supervision certainly contributed to the onset of the adverse reaction reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vegetable soups are complex mixtures containing vegetables in different percentages, thickeners, salt, fat, and emulsifying/wetting agents. When prepared as dehydrated powders in convenience foods, they need to be rehydrated before consumption and this can lead to formation of undesired lumps when carried out in hot water. Elimination of lumps and simplification of the preparation procedure were reached by granulating three different vegetable mixtures, each with a predominant vegetable (spinach, beetroot, and carrot), using an alternative liquid binder besides water. The use of an oil‐in‐water emulsion affected positively some technological properties of the dry products like granule strength and flowability, and the rehydrated soups in terms of complete dispersion in hot water. Also, the interplay between starches and soluble sugars, naturally present in vegetables, was found to impact the complete rehydration of the soups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]