The discovery of antibiotics is considered one of the most significant scientific achievements of the 20th century, revolutionizing both human and veterinary medicine. However, antibiotics have been ...recently recognized as an emerging class of environmental contaminants since they have been massively administrated in humans and animals and persist in the environment through a complex vicious cycle of transformation and bioaccumulation. The diffusion of antibiotics in the environment, particularly in natural water systems, contributes to the development and global dissemination of antibiotic resistance. This phenomenon is one of the most important challenges to the health care sector in the 21st century. As a result, studies on the occurrence, fate, and effects of antibiotics in European aqueous environments have increased in the last years. Nevertheless, their potential aquatic ecotoxicity and human toxicity via environmental exposure routes remain unknown. Consequently, antibiotics are not regulated through the current European environmental water quality standards, which requires evidence concerning their widespread environmental contamination and intrinsic hazard. In this context, this literature review summarizes the state of knowledge on the occurrence of antibiotics in the different aqueous environmental systems across the Europe, as reported since 2000. Relating this subject to antibiotic consumption and their dynamic behavior in the environment, the acquired insights provide an improved understanding on aquatic pollution by antibiotics to outline the European scenario. Moreover, it addresses challenges, prospects for future research, and typical topics to stimulate discussion.
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•Antibiotics in aquatic environments are a serious threat to ecological sustainability and human health.•Aqueous environments across the Europe are contaminated by antibiotics.•Quinolones, sulfonamides, and trimethoprim are the most studied and detected antibiotics.•Europeans can be exposed to low levels of antibiotics by drinking water consumption.•Monitoring the European water pollution by antibiotics is crucial to assess the risks.
Summary
Throughout lifetime, the teeth are continuously exposed to numerous chemical and physical impacts, which cause the wear of the dental hard tissues, gingival recession and other oral changes ...with sometimes subsequent problems. Age‐related wear of tooth surfaces reduces the dental enamel thickness and exposes deeper layers of enamel, which have different physical and chemical properties than the surface enamel. Gingival recession is the main causal factor of root caries and dentine hypersensitivity. Age‐related changes in dentine include the formation of secondary dentine and the reduction in tubular lumen diameter (dentine sclerosis), which lead to a reduction in the volume of the pulp chamber. In addition to the reduction in the volume of pulp chamber, changes to the dental pulp also include dental pulp calcifications. The age‐related physiological changes to the teeth should be carefully distinguished from pathological changes, especially when they induce pain or a negative impact on the oral health‐related quality of life (OHRQoL) of the older individuals. Therefore, regular oral examinations coupled with early preventive measures should aim at maintaining oral health until old age.
Synopsis
Nowadays, the consumers around the world are increasingly focused on health and beauty. The renewed consumer interest in natural cosmetic products creates the demand for new products and ...reformulated others with botanical and functional ingredients. In cosmetic products, essential oils (EOs) play a major role as fragrance ingredients. They can optimize its proprieties and preservation, as well as the marketing image of the final product. Microencapsulation of EOs can protect and prevent the loss of volatile aromatic ingredients and improve the controlled release and stability of this core materials. The importance of EOs for cosmetic industry and its microencapsulation was reviewed in this study. Also a briefly introduction about the preparation of microparticles was presented. Some of the most important and usual microencapsulation techniques of EOs, as well as the conventional encapsulating agents, were discussed. Despite the fact that microencapsulation of EOs is a very promising and extremely attractive application area for cosmetic industry, further basic research needs to be carried out, for a better understanding of the biofunctional activities of microencapsulated EOs and its release modulation, as well as the effects of others cosmetic ingredients and the storage time in the microparticles properties.
Résumé
De nos jours, les consommateurs du monde entier sont de plus en plus focalisés sur la santé et la beauté. L'intérêt renouvelé des consommateurs dans les produits cosmétiques naturels crée la demande pour de nouveaux produits et d'autres reformulés avec des ingrédients botaniques et fonctionnelles. Dans les produits cosmétiques, les huiles essentielles jouent un rôle majeur comme ingrédients de parfum. Ils peuvent optimiser ses propriétés et la préservation, ainsi que l'image de la commercialisation du produit final. La micro‐encapsulation d'huiles essentielles peut protéger et prévenir la perte d'ingrédients aromatiques volatils, d'améliorer la libération contrôlée et la stabilité de ce noyau matériaux. L'importance des huiles essentielles pour l'industrie cosmétique et sa micro‐encapsulation ont été examinées dans le présent document. Également une brève introduction de la préparation de microparticules a été présentée. Certaines des techniques de micro‐encapsulation les plus importantes et habituelles d'huiles essentielles, ainsi que les agents d'enrobage classiques ont été examinées. Malgré le fait que la micro‐encapsulation d'huiles essentielles est un domaine très prometteur et très attrayant pour l'application par l'industrie cosmétique, la recherche fondamentale doit être effectuée pour une meilleure compréhension des activités biofonctionnelles d'huiles essentielles micro‐encapsulées et de la modulation de relargage, ainsi que les effets des autres ingrédients cosmétiques et le temps de stockage dans les propriétés des micro‐particules.
Summary
Objective
The goal of this study was to evaluate the influence of high‐intensity interval training (HIIT) on anthropometric variables in adults afflicted with overweight or obesity and to ...compare the effects with those of moderate‐intensity continuous training.
Methods
A computer literature search was performed for HIIT intervention studies that evaluated anthropometric variables in adults afflicted with overweight or obesity.
Results
Of the 857 articles retrieved in the electronic search, 48 met the inclusion criteria. The analyses demonstrated that HIIT was effective in decreasing body mass (−1.45 kg 95% CI: −1.85 to −1.05 kg), body mass index (−0.44 kg m−2 95% CI: −0.59 to −0.30 kg m−2), waist circumference (−2.3 cm 95% CI: −3.1 to −1.4 cm), waist/hip ratio (−0.01 95% CI: −0.02 to −0.00), body fat percentage (−1.29% 95% CI: −1.70% to −0.87%) and abdominal visceral fat area (−6.83 cm2 95% CI: −11.95 to −1.71 cm2). When considering equalization between the two methods (energy expenditure or workload matched), no differences were found in any measure except body mass (for which HIIT was superior).
Conclusions
High‐intensity interval training and moderate‐intensity continuous training results were similar, particularly when equalization between the two methods was considered. Thus, HIIT can be used as a secondary method for the treatment of obesity in adults.
A wide range of rhizosphere diazotrophic bacteria are able to establish beneficial associations with plants, being able to associate to root surfaces or even endophytically colonize plant tissues. In ...common, both associative and endophytic types of colonization can result in beneficial outcomes to the plant leading to plant growth promotion, as well as increase in tolerance against biotic and abiotic stresses. An intriguing question in such associations is how plant cell surface perceives signals from other living organisms, thus sorting pathogens from beneficial ones, to transduce this information and activate proper responses that will finally culminate in plant adaptations to optimize their growth rates. This review focuses on the recent advances in the understanding of genetic and epigenetic controls of plant-bacteria signaling and recognition during beneficial associations with associative and endophytic diazotrophic bacteria. Finally, we propose that “soil–rhizosphere–rhizoplane–endophytes–plant” could be considered as a single coordinated unit with dynamic components that integrate the plant with the environment to generate adaptive responses in plants to improve growth. The homeostasis of the whole system should recruit different levels of regulation, and recognition between the parties in a given environment might be one of the crucial factors coordinating these adaptive plant responses.
Natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES) have shown to be promising sustainable media for a wide range of applications. Nonetheless, very limited data is available on the properties of these solvents. ...A more comprehensive body of data on NADES is required for a deeper understanding of these solvents at molecular level, which will undoubtedly foster the development of new applications. NADES based on choline chloride, organic acids, amino acids and sugars were prepared, and their density, thermal behavior, conductivity and polarity were assessed, for different NADES compositions. The NADES studied can be stable up to 170°C, depending on their composition. The thermal characterization revealed that all the NADES are glass formers and some, after water removal, exhibit crystallinity. The morphological characterization of the crystallizable materials was performed using polarized optical microscopy which also provided evidence of homogeneity/phase separation. The conductivity of the NADES was also assessed from 0 to 40°C. The more polar, organic acid-based NADES presented the highest conductivities. The conductivity dependence on temperature was well described by the Vogel–Fulcher–Tammann equation for some of the NADES studied.
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•Natural deep eutectic solvents were synthesized.•Physical properties, such as density, viscosity and polarity were determined.•The systems were characterized in terms of thermal analysis.•Morphological analysis was carried out by polarized light microscopy.•Conductivity measurements were performed and the systems fully characterized.
Pathological pain can be initiated after inflammation and/or peripheral nerve injury. It is a consequence of the pathological functioning of the nervous system rather than only a symptom. In fact, ...pain is a significant social, health, and economic burden worldwide. Flavonoids are plant derivative compounds easily found in several fruits and vegetables and consumed in the daily food intake. Flavonoids vary in terms of classes, and while structurally unique, they share a basic structure formed by three rings, known as the flavan nucleus. Structural differences can be found in the pattern of substitution in one of these rings. The hydroxyl group (-OH) position in one of the rings determines the mechanisms of action of the flavonoids and reveals a complex multifunctional activity. Flavonoids have been widely used for their antioxidant, analgesic, and anti-inflammatory effects along with safe preclinical and clinical profiles. In this review, we discuss the preclinical and clinical evidence on the analgesic and anti-inflammatory proprieties of flavonoids. We also focus on how the development of formulations containing flavonoids, along with the understanding of their structure-activity relationship, can be harnessed to identify novel flavonoid-based therapies to treat pathological pain and inflammation.
During the necropsies of Iberian hares obtained in 2018/2019, along with signs of the nodular form of myxomatosis, other unexpected external lesions were also observed. Histopathology revealed ...nuclear inclusion bodies in stromal cells suggesting the additional presence of a nuclear replicating virus. Transmission electron microscopy further demonstrated the presence of herpesvirus particles in the tissues of affected hares. We confirmed the presence of herpesvirus in 13 MYXV-positive hares by PCR and sequencing analysis. Herpesvirus-DNA was also detected in seven healthy hares, suggesting its asymptomatic circulation. Phylogenetic analysis based on concatenated partial sequences of DNA polymerase gene and glycoprotein B gene enabled greater resolution than analysing the sequences individually. The hare' virus was classified close to herpesviruses from rodents within the Rhadinovirus genus of the gammaherpesvirus subfamily. We propose to name this new virus Leporid gammaherpesvirus 5 (LeHV-5), according to the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses standards. The impact of herpesvirus infection on the reproduction and mortality of the Iberian hare is yet unknown but may aggravate the decline of wild populations caused by the recently emerged natural recombinant myxoma virus.
Brazil nut tree (Bertholletia excelsa) is native of the Amazon rainforest. Brazil nuts are consumed worldwide and are known as the richest food source of selenium (Se). Yet, the reasoning for such Se ...contents is not well stablished. We evaluated the variation in Se concentration of Brazil nuts from Brazilian Amazon basin, as well as soil properties, including total Se concentration, of the soils sampled directly underneath the trees crown, aiming to investigate which soil properties influence Se accumulation in the nuts. The median Se concentration in Brazil nuts varied from 2.07 mg kg−1 (in Mato Grosso state) to 68.15 mg kg−1 (in Amazonas state). Therefore, depending on its origin, a single Brazil nut could provide from 11% (in the Mato Grosso state) up to 288% (in the Amazonas state) of the daily Se requirement for an adult man (70 μg). The total Se concentration in the soil also varied considerably, ranging from <65.76 to 625.91 μg kg−1, with highest Se concentrations being observed in soil samples from the state of Amazonas. Se accumulation in Brazil nuts generally increased in soils with higher total Se content, but decreased under acidic conditions in the soil. This indicates that, besides total soil Se concentration, soil acidity plays a major role in Se uptake by Brazil nut trees, possibly due to the importance of this soil property to Se retention in the soil.
•Not all Brazil nuts are selenium-rich.•Se levels in soils from Amazon region are below the toxic level.•Se content in Brazil nuts are influenced by soil pH.•Se contents in Brazil nuts varied widely among and within tree populations.
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