Issue 2 - "Update on adverse respiratory effects of indoor air pollution" Part 1): Indoor air pollution and respiratory diseases: A general update and a Portuguese perspective.

Objective: To quantify the impact of different air pollutants on respiratory health based on robust estimates based on international data and to summarise the evidence of associations between indoor exposure to those pollutants and respiratory morbidity in the Portuguese population.

Results: Several systematic reviews and meta-analyses (MA) at the world level demonstrate the impact of indoor air quality on respiratory health, with indoor particulate matter and gasses exerting a significant effect on the airways. Volatile organic compounds (VOC) have been related to asthma and lung cancer.

Issue 1 - "Update on adverse respiratory effects of outdoor air pollution" Part 2): Outdoor air pollution and respiratory diseases: Perspectives from Angola, Brazil, Canada, Iran, Mozambique and Portugal.

Objective: To analyse the GARD perspective on the health effects of outdoor air pollution, and to synthesise the Portuguese epidemiological contribution to knowledge on its respiratory impact.

Results: Ambient air pollution has deleterious respiratory effects which are more apparent in larger, densely populated and industrialised countries, such as Canada, Iran, Brazil and Portugal, but it also affects people living in low-level exposure areas. While low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), are particularly affected, evidence based on epidemiological studies from LMICs is both limited and heterogeneous.

Chemical characterization and bioactive potential of Thymus×citriodorus (Pers.) Schreb. preparations for anti-acne applications: Antimicrobial, anti-biofilm, anti-inflammatory and safety profiles.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Thymus × citriodorus (Pers.) Schreb. is an interspecific hybrid between Thymus pulegioides and Thymus vulgaris, known for its pharmacological activities as diaphoretic, deodorant, antiseptic and disinfectant, the last mostly related with its antimicrobial activity.

Ecotoxicity of plant extracts and essential oils: A review.

Plant-based products such as essential oils and other extracts have been used for centuries due to their beneficial properties. Currently, their use is widely disseminated through a variety of industries and new applications are continuously emerging. For these reasons, they are produced industrially in large quantities and consequently they have the potential to reach the environment.

Frailty syndrome, biomarkers and environmental factors - A pilot study.

Frailty is an age-related syndrome expected to increase over the next decades. This syndrome has been identified to be the most common condition leading to disability, institutionalisation and death in the elderly. The aim of this pilot study is to investigate a possible link between frailty status, biomarkers and environmental exposures.

A circular toxicity approach to isoprostanes: From markers of oxidative stress, to epidemiological warning systems and agents of aquatic toxicity.

Isoprostanes (IsoPs) are a class of oxidation products naturally formed in vivo that are indicative of endogenous oxidative stress. In individuals with chronic and oxidative stress related diseases, IsoPs are increased to pathological levels. Since they are excreted through urine into sewage systems, IsoPs can be detected in wastewater treatment plants' (WWTPs) effluents and thus can be used to evaluate the health status of a given population.

Ecotoxicological evaluation of electrochemical oxidation for the treatment of sanitary landfill leachates.

In this study, the efficiency of electrochemical oxidation to treat a sanitary landfill leachate was evaluated by the reduction in physico-chemical parameters and in ecotoxicity. The acute toxicity of the sanitary landfill leachates, before and after treatment, was assessed with the model organism Daphnia magna. Electrochemical oxidation treatment was effective in the removal of organic load and ammonium nitrogen and in the reduction of metal ions concentrations.

Acute phase proteins response in cats naturally infected by hemotropic mycoplasmas.

Information about the acute phase proteins (APP) response in cats naturally infected with hemoplasmas and in cats co-infected with different species of hemoplasmas is lacking. This study evaluated serum amyloid A (SAA), haptoglobin (Hp) and albumin in 48 cats naturally infected with hemoplasmas, including 25 with Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum and 23 co-infected with different hemoplasmas agents; and in 10 healthy control cats. Infected cats had significantly higher Hp and lower albumin than controls.

Levels of TBT and other selected organotin compounds in duplicate diet samples.

Organotin compounds (OTs) are ubiquitous contaminants with a broad range of applications ranging from biocides and pesticides to catalysts for the production of polyurethane foams and silicones. The deleterious effects of some OTs (particularly tributyltin - TBT) upon wildlife and experimental animals are well documented and include endocrine disruption, immunotoxicity, neurotoxicity, genotoxicity and metabolic dysfunction in which obesity is included. However, virtually no data on the current human exposure levels is available.

Lead in duplicate diet samples from an academic community.

Lead is a naturally occurring element that with the advent of the industrial era became a serious environmental and public health issue. Leaded gasoline, lead based paints, use of lead in plumbing and water pipes, ceramics with lead-containing glazes and tobacco smoke are potential sources of lead exposure for humans. Despite these multiple sources, food is still considered the most important one for the general non-smoking population.

Urine protein-to-creatinine concentration ratio in samples collected by means of cystocentesis versus manual compression in cats.

Objective-To compare urine protein-to-creatinine concentration (UPC) ratios in samples collected by means of cystocentesis versus manual compression in cats. Design-Evaluation study. Animals-43 client-owned cats requiring urinalysis.

Biomonitoring of several toxic metal(loid)s in different biological matrices from environmentally and occupationally exposed populations from Panasqueira mine area, Portugal.

In the Panasqueira mine area of central Portugal, some environmental media show higher metal(loid) concentrations when compared with the local geochemical background and the values proposed in the literature for these environmental media. In order to evaluate the effect of the external contamination on selected indexes of internal dose, As, Cd, Cu, Cr, Fe, Hg, Mg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, S, Se, Si, and Zn were quantified by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry in blood, urine, hair and nail samples from individuals environmentally (N = 41) and occupationally exposed (N = 41). A matched control group (N = 40) was also studied, and data from the three groups were compared.

Metal(loid) levels in biological matrices from human populations exposed to mining contamination--Panasqueira Mine (Portugal).

Mining activities may affect the health of miners and communities living near mining sites, and these health effects may persist even when the mine is abandoned. During mining processes various toxic wastes are produced and released into the surrounding environment, resulting in contamination of air, drinking water, rivers, plants, and soils. In a geochemical sampling campaign undertaken in the Panasqueira Mine area of central Portugal, an anomalous distribution of several metals and arsenic (As) was identified in various environmental media.

A feeding inhibition based prediction of the toxic effect of dissolved metal mixtures upon Echinogammarus marinus (Crustacea: Amphipoda) at field relevant concentrations across a latitudinal gradient.

Risk assessment of metals in the environment is performed mainly with toxicity evaluations on single metals, which is largely inadequate since these substances occur in mixtures. The development of models predicting combined toxic effects on the basis of the concentration-response relationships of individual compounds has emerged as an answer. In the present study, metal effects on post-exposure anorexia (the concept of FdC(50)--concentration causing 50% of feeding inhibition--is implemented) in Echinogammarus marinus, a widely distributed gammarid amphipod, were assessed and compared with modelled ones obtained through the application of the concentration addition (CA) model, which represents a reasonable worst-case scenario for the risk assessment of metal mixtures.

Amphipod susceptibility to metals: cautionary tales.

Heavy metals accumulated by aquatic crustaceans in environmental studies are normally investigated using the whole body burden, with little regard paid to uptake in different tissues, to potential gender of life stage differences, or to the influence of nutrition on the test organism. This is likely to give erroneous conclusions for a dose-response relationship within the toxicity test and potentially lead to wrong conclusions for the ecological risks of metals where species may have higher sensitivities with gender and life stage than indicated or that functionally metals may be sequestered into parts of the body so are not bioavailable. This could lead to under-estimation or over-estimation of the toxicity of metals, respectively, inaccuracy of metal budget calculations and evaluation of trophic transfers of metals.

Amphipod intersex, metals and latitude: a perspective.

Intersexuality has been widely reported in crustaceans with several mechanisms being directly or indirectly held responsible for its occurrence, amongst which pollution. No mechanistic relationship between metals and intersex has ever been established. Also the incidence of intersex in populations of the same invertebrate species in a latitudinal gradient has never been studied so far.

Fucus spp. as a mercury contamination bioindicator in costal areas (Northwestern Portugal).

Mercury has been considered as one of the most important pollutants in coastal and estuarine areas. Efforts have been made to detect, as early as possible, the effects of this and other metals in several species. Macroalgae, particularly Fucus spp.

Acute effects of 3,4-dichloroaniline on biomarkers and spleen histology of the common goby Pomatoschistus microps.

The aromatic amine 3,4-dichloroaniline (DCA) is a model environmental contaminant, precursor for synthesis and degradation product of several herbicides, which is commonly found in European estuarine ecosystems. In this work, the possibility of using biochemical and histological markers to assess sub-lethal effects of DCA in natural populations of Pomatoschistus microps juveniles was investigated. Alterations on the activities of the enzymes acetylcholinesterase (AChE), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) and histological alterations on spleen were investigated after 96 h of exposure to sublethal concentrations of DCA (0.