Distribution of Mercury and Other Heavy Metals in Core Sediments of the Northern Adriatic Sea

Seven sediment cores were collected along a transect about20 km off from the mouth of the Po River, in the northernAdriatic Sea (Italy). Cores were characterised by differentdepositional sequences associated with late Pleistocene-Holocene lowstand (LST), transgressive (TST) and highstand (HST) system tracts. Sediment samples were analysed for mercury, copper, nickel, chromium, manganese and iron, aswell as for total organic matter. Metal distributiongenerally showed vertical and spatial variability ascribed tograin size effects with no significant anthropogenicperturbation. Conversely, mercury showed vertical profilescharacterised by surface enrichment, with concentrations inthe upper layer (50–230 ng g^-1) exceeding 3–11 times the background value of 20 ng g^-1 determined in bottomcores. Surface maxima were attributed to anthropogenic mercurydelivered mainly by the Po River.     

"Pure" human hematopoietic progenitors: permissive action of basic fibroblast growth factor

Methodology has been developed that enables virtually complete purification and abundant recovery of early hematopoietic progenitors from normal human adult peripheral blood. A fraction of the pure progenitors is multipotent (generates mixed colonies) and exhibits self-renewal capacity (gives rise to blast cell colonies). This methodology provides a fundamental tool for basic and clinical studies on hematopoiesis. Optimal in vitro cloning of virtually pure progenitors requires not only the stimulatory effect of interleukin-3, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, and erythropoietin, but also the permissive action of basic fibroblast growth factor. These findings suggest a regulatory role for this growth factor in early hematopoiesis.     

Early life permethrin exposure leads to hypervitaminosis D,nitric oxide and catecholamines impairment

The aim of this study is to gain more knowledge on the impact of early life pesticide exposure on premature aging.