Protein Hydrolysates from Salmon Heads and Cape Hake By-Products: Comparing Enzymatic Method with Subcritical Water Extraction on Bioactivity Properties.

Fish by-products can be converted into high-value-added products like fish protein hydrolysates (FPHs), which have high nutritional value and are rich in bioactive peptides with health benefits. This study aims to characterise FPHs derived from salmon heads (HPSs) and Cape hake trimmings (HPHs) using Alcalase for enzymatic hydrolysis and Subcritical Water Hydrolysis (SWH) as an alternative method. All hydrolysates demonstrated high protein content (70.

Women in the field of multiple sclerosis: How they contributed to paradigm shifts.

History is full of women who made enormous contributions to science. While there is little to no imbalance at the early career stage, a decreasing proportion of women is found as seniority increases. In the multiple sclerosis (MS) field, 44% of first authors and only 35% of senior authors were female.

BASHY Dye Platform Enables the Fluorescence Bioimaging of Myelin Debris Phagocytosis by Microglia during Demyelination.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating disease of the central nervous system that is characterized by the presence of demyelinated regions with accumulated myelin lipid debris. Importantly, to allow effective remyelination, such debris must be cleared by microglia. Therefore, the study of microglial activity with sensitive tools is of great interest to better monitor the MS clinical course.

Improved Assessment of Overall Health in Variably Aged Murine Models of Multiple Sclerosis With a Novel Frailty Index Tool.

The experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) model is the most commonly used animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS). However, phenotypic characterization of mice based on the traditional 5-point clinical paralysis scale does not fully capture disease progression. The frailty index (FI) conceptualizes frailty as the accumulation of health deficits and it is widely used to assess overall health in aging humans and preclinical models.

Frailty-A promising concept to evaluate disease vulnerability.

With the emergence of diseases, people become frailer and are expected to be less tolerant of adverse outcomes. Frailty was first described to explain the variability in life expectancy in individuals of the same age. Nowadays, it is described as a syndrome and as a state.

Schistosomiasis and Infertility: What Do We Know?

There is increasing attention on the complex interactions occurring between schistosome parasites and their hosts. However, little is known about the occurrence, epidemiology, and mechanisms of schistosomiasis-associated infertility. In this article, we argue that an in-depth understanding of the interplay between parasites and the host endocrine system may significantly enhance current knowledge of infertility in infected individuals.

Secretome from SH-SY5Y APP cells trigger time-dependent CHME3 microglia activation phenotypes, ultimately leading to miR-21 exosome shuttling.

Exosome-mediated intercellular communication has been increasingly recognized as having a broad impact on Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathogenesis. Still, limited information exists regarding their "modus operandi", as it critically depends on exosomal cargo, environmental context and target cells. Therefore, a more thorough understanding of the role of exosomes from different cell types as mediators of neuroinflammation in AD context is a decisive step to open avenues for innovative and efficient therapies.

Priority Substances and Emerging Organic Pollutants in Portuguese Aquatic Environment: A Review.

Aquatic environments are among the most noteworthy ecosystems regarding chemical pollution due to the anthropogenic pressure. In 2000, the European Commission implemented the Water Framework Directive, with the aim of progressively reducing aquatic chemical pollution of the European Union countries. Therefore, the knowledge about the chemical and ecological status is imperative to determine the overall quality of water bodies.

Occurrence of persistent organic pollutants in sediments and biota from Portugal versus European incidence: A critical overview.

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are widespread compounds, such as organohalogenated compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and pesticides, which can be found in all types of environmental compartments. Their presence in the aquatic environment is a worldwide problem, with emphasis on sediments which act as depository and consequently as a source of hydrophobic, recalcitrant and harmful compounds. Besides, these pollutants might affect the reproduction and mortality of living organisms, diverging in their potential to bioaccumulate in tissues.

Occurrence of Natural Contaminants of Emerging Concern in the Douro River Estuary, Portugal.

Many studies demonstrated the presence of diverse environmental contaminants in the Douro River estuary, such as natural and synthetic estrogens, pharmaceuticals, industrial compounds and pesticides. This estuary is located between two densely populated cities and is highly impacted due to anthropogenic activities, such as industry and agriculture. Although the presence of mycotoxins and phytoestrogens, such as lignans and coumestrans, in the aquatic environment is reported by some authors, their occurrence in Portuguese waters was not investigated yet.

New trends in sample preparation techniques for environmental analysis.

Environmental samples include a wide variety of complex matrices, with low concentrations of analytes and presence of several interferences. Sample preparation is a critical step and the main source of uncertainties in the analysis of environmental samples, and it is usually laborious, high cost, time consuming, and polluting. In this context, there is increasing interest in developing faster, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly sample preparation techniques.

Enantiomeric fraction evaluation of pharmaceuticals in environmental matrices by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

The interest for environmental fate assessment of chiral pharmaceuticals is increasing and enantioselective analytical methods are mandatory. This study presents an enantioselective analytical method for the quantification of seven pairs of enantiomers of pharmaceuticals and a pair of a metabolite. The selected chiral pharmaceuticals belong to three different therapeutic classes, namely selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (venlafaxine, fluoxetine and its metabolite norfluoxetine), beta-blockers (alprenolol, bisoprolol, metoprolol, propranolol) and a beta2-adrenergic agonist (salbutamol).