Phenolic Compounds and Bacteriocins: Mechanisms, Interactions, and Applications in Food Preservation and Safety.

Beneficial properties of different natural antimicrobials are topics of scientific curiosity for improving safety and extending the shelf life of food commodities. In this regard, phenolic compounds, natural molecules known for their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties can be right choice. Moreover, bacteriocins, antimicrobial peptides produced by various microorganisms, capable of inhibiting the growth of other bacteria, particularly closely related species can be genuine alternative.

Enhanced Photocatalytic Efficiency Through Oxygen Vacancy-Driven Molecular Epitaxial Growth of Metal-Organic Frameworks on BiVO.

Efficient charge separation at the semiconductor/cocatalyst interface is crucial for high-performance photoelectrodes, as it directly influences the availability of surface charges for solar water oxidation. However, establishing strong molecular-level connections between these interfaces to achieve superior interfacial quality presents significant challenges. This study introduces an innovative electrochemical etching method that generates a high concentration of oxygen vacancy sites on BiVO surfaces (Ov-BiVO), enabling interactions with the oxygen-rich ligands of MIL-101.

Prenatal couple relationship satisfaction, romantic attachment, and childbirth-related posttraumatic stress symptoms.

Background: Traumatic childbirth can lead to childbirth-related posttraumatic stress symptoms (CB-PTSS). Although underexplored, prenatal couple relationship satisfaction and romantic attachment orientations are modifiable factors that may increase or mitigate the risk of CB-PTSS after a traumatic childbirth experience.

Objectives: This study examined (1) the associations between prenatal couple relationship satisfaction and romantic attachment, traumatic childbirth and CB-PTSS; (2) whether prenatal couple relationship satisfaction moderates the association between traumatic childbirth and CB-PTSS; and (3) whether the interaction between prenatal couple relationship satisfaction and romantic attachment moderates the association between traumatic childbirth and CB-PTSS.

Production of nondairy fermented products with chestnut puree as substrate and milk kefir grains or two lactic acid bacteria.

This work aimed to study the production, for the first time, of three fermented products of chestnut puree (CP) with milk kefir grains, a higher nisin-producing (Lactococcus (L.) lactis CECT 539) and a higher lactic acid-producing (Lactobacillus (Lb.) casei CECT 4043) lactic acid bacteria (LAB).

Miyazaki syndrome.

Miyazaki syndrome is a rare complication in patients with ventricular shunts, characterised by cervical myelopathy from cerebrospinal fluid overdrainage. Here we report a case of a young woman with a history of hydrocephalus who had a ventricular shunt placed in infancy, presenting to our department with signs and symptoms of myelopathy due to overshunting. This diagnosis is challenging because of the frequent absence of typical signs of intracranial hypotension, leading to delays in treatment, which carries the risk of potentially devastating consequences.

Anticancer efficacy of thiazole-naphthyl derivatives targeting DNA: Synthesis, crystal structure, density functional theory, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics studies.

Two newly synthesized ligands, 1-((2-(4-(4-methoxyphenyl)thiazol-2-yl)hydrazono)methyl)naphthalen-2-ol (HL1) and 1-((2-(4-(naphthalen-1-yl)thiazol-2-yl)hydrazono)methyl)naphthalen-2-ol (HL2) were characterized using spectroscopy and single X-ray crystallography. Both belong to triclinic systems with space groups P21/c (HL1) and P-1 (HL2), exhibiting planar structures. Biological assays revealed significant antitumor activity, with HL2 showing significant antitumor activity against HepG2 cells (IC: 3.

Temporal Trends and Outcomes of Rotational Atherectomy: A Single-Centre Experience.

Introduction And Objectives: Rotational atherectomy (RA) is widely used for the management of calcified coronary stenoses. However, there is limited data on its use, trends, and outcomes. We sought to report our twelve-year experience with RA and explore the trends and outcomes of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with this device.

Understanding the determinants and outcomes of education in pulmonary rehabilitation: moving towards person-centered care.

Topic Importance: Education and psychosocial support are essential components of pulmonary rehabilitation (PR). However, the delivery of education often follows a one-size-fits-all approach, with individual factors that influence learning rarely considered. Moreover, education-related outcomes are frequently overlooked in PR assessments, and inconsistent use of these outcomes has limited our understanding of the impact of education on people with chronic respiratory diseases.

"The doctor will see you now… but not for long": Linking physicians' racial attitudes and patients' discrimination experiences to racial disparities in the duration of medical consultations.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between non-Black physicians' racial attitudes, Black patients' discrimination experiences, and consultation duration in diverse clinical settings.

Methods: Secondary analyses were conducted on data from three prior studies involving non-Black primary care physicians (Study 1: n = 14, Study 2: n = 5) and their Black patients (Study 1: n = 118, Study 2: n = 31), as well as 15 non-Black oncologists and their 72 Black patients (Study 3). Data included physician and patient surveys, along with video-recorded consultations.

Toxicity assessment of airborne ultrafine particles: Role of transport emissions.

Airborne quasi-ultrafine particle samples were collected from different outdoor sites in Barcelona (NE Spain, 35 samples) and the Valencia subway (about 400 km south of Barcelona, 3 samples). Locations and schedules were designed to cover cold and warm seasons and to represent the impact of different types of transport (cars, trains, ships, and planes). Extracts from PTFE filters (methanol:dichloromethane 1:2) were used to test toxic effects in human cell lines (Induction of reactive oxygen species, inflammatory response) and in zebrafish embryos (expression of xenobiotic response-related genes, cyp1a1, gsa1 and hao1).

Terrestrial nanoparticles and geospatial optics: Implications for environmental impact from anthropogenic contaminants in the Caribbean region.

Atmospheric contaminants from natural processes and anthropogenic activities pose a major problem to the environment. Here we analyze the dynamics of atmospheric and terrestrial contaminant concentrations in sediments containing chemical elements, such as nanoparticles (NPs) and ultrafine particles in hydrological sources of the Caribbean region of Colombia. Terrestrial sediments were collected from 2022 to 2024, and quantified for major chemical elements in the form of NPs and ultrafine particles in runoff receiving areas along the banks of Colombia's Ciénaga Grande in Santa Marta Bay, on the Isla de Salamanca.

Controlling As, Cd, and Pb bioaccumulation in rice under different levels of alternate wetting and drying irrigation with biochar amendment: A 3-year field study.

One challenging task to produce rice that comply with the increasing demanding regulations, is to reduce, simultaneously, grain bioaccumulation of As, Cd, and Pb. A 3-year field experiment was conducted in a Mediterranean environment, to evaluate the effects on As, Cd, and Pb bioaccumulation in rice grain, of the adoption of two levels of alternate wetting and drying (AWD) irrigation conditions: moderate and intensive (reflooding at -20 kPa and -70 kPa soil matric water potential, respectively), relative to the traditional permanent flood irrigation. Plots were prepared with or without a one-time holm oak biochar application (35 Mg ha), in the first year of the study.

Gender effects of nanoplastics and emerging contaminants mixtures in Mytilus galloprovincialis.

The reproduction of mussels occurs within the water column, and if gametogenesis is successful, gametes are exposed to the surrounding contaminants. Nanoplastics and other emerging contaminants have been gaining vast attention; however, their effects on the reproductive tissues of mussels with sex differentiation are scarce. Here, the effects of polystyrene nanoparticles (50 nm; 10 µg/L), the cytotoxic drug 5-fluorouracil (10 ng/L), and a mixture of the two were evaluated in the gonads of Mytilus galloprovincialis after a 21-day exposure for a multi-biomarker assessment, and after 28 days for the accumulation of nanoplastics.

Prevalence of Lp(a) in a real-world Portuguese cohort: implications for cardiovascular risk assessment.

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major cause of mortality worldwide, necessitating more refined strategies for risk assessment. Recently, lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] has gained attention for its distinctive role in atherosclerosis, yet its prevalence and impact for cardiovascular risk assessment are not well-documented in the Portuguese population. This study aimed to characterize Lp(a) levels in a real-world Portuguese cohort, investigating its prevalence and association with CVD risk.

Beyond image: evaluating the perceived effectiveness of workplace mental health programs in the insurance sector.

Background: Mental health programs in the workplace have gained increasing attention as organizations strive to support employee well-being. However, the effectiveness and reception of these initiatives from the employee perspective still need to be studied.

Methods: A qualitative study used 30 semi-structured interviews with individuals from large insurance companies in Portugal.

A comparative study of two data-driven modeling approaches to predict drug release from ER matrix tablets.

The pharmaceutical industry is striving to develop innovative and promising tools, increasingly embracing new data-driven approaches, to understand, improve and accelerate the drug product development process. While extended release (ER) oral formulations offer a number of advantages, including maintenance of therapeutic drug levels, a reduction in dosing frequency, and minimization of side effects, achieving consistent drug release profiles remains a significant challenge. As a critical attribute for drug absorption into systemic circulation, in vitro dissolution testing represents a time-consuming and complex method for the evaluation of such formulations.

The impact of community pharmacies on equity in access to professional rapid antigen testing for SARS-CoV-2 in Portugal.

Introduction: Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, various public health measures were adopted to reduce the transmission risk, including the full reimbursement of SARS-CoV-2 professional rapid antigen detection tests (Ag-RDT) conducted in clinical pathology laboratories, community pharmacies (CPs), and other authorized entities. This study aimed to assess the impact of integrating CPs into the Portuguese National Health Service (NHS) testing strategy on the capacity of professional Ag-RDT delivery, and to compare the equity in testing access with and without CPs participation.

Methods: This analytical cross-sectional study assessed the impact of adding CPs into the testing strategy based on two main outcomes by municipality: (i) average distance (in Kilometres) of the population to the nearest Ag-RDT site; and (ii) the average number of weekly hours available to testing per 1,000 inhabitants, as of January 31, 2022.

Up-front resection for hepatocellular carcinoma: Assessing futility in the preoperative setting.

Objective: We sought to develop a predictive model to preoperatively identify patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) at risk of undergoing futile upfront liver resection (LR).

Methods: Patients undergoing curative-intent LR for HCC were identified from a large multi-institutional database. Futile LR was defined by death or disease recurrence within six months postoperatively.

Organ-on-a-chip: Quo vademus? Applications and regulatory status.

Organ-on-a-chip systems, also referred to as microphysiological systems (MPS), represent an advance in bioengineering microsystems designed to mimic key aspects of human organ physiology and function. Drawing inspiration from the intricate and hierarchical architecture of the human body, these innovative platforms have emerged as invaluable in vitro tools with wide-ranging applications in drug discovery and development, as well as in enhancing our understanding of disease physiology. The facility to replicate human tissues within physiologically relevant three-dimensional multicellular environments empowers organ-on-a-chip systems with versatility throughout different stages of the drug development process.

Efficacy, safety, and patient-reported outcomes across young to older age groups of patients with HR+/HER2- advanced breast cancer treated with ribociclib plus endocrine therapy in the randomized MONALEESA-2, -3, and -7 trials.

Background: Ribociclib + endocrine therapy (ET) showed significant progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) benefits in the MONALEESA trials in patients with HR+ /HER2 - advanced breast cancer (ABC). We report efficacy, safety, and patient-reported outcomes (PROs) across age groups, including older patients, in these trials.

Methods: Data from the MONALEESA-2, -3, and -7 trials for pre- and postmenopausal patients receiving first-line treatment for ABC were pooled and analyzed by age (<65y, 65-74y, and ≥75y).

Mapping out strategies to further develop human-relevant, new approach methodology (NAM)-based developmental neurotoxicity (DNT) testing.

On occasion of the DNT5 meeting in Konstanz, Germany (April-2024), participants brainstormed on future challenges concerning a regulatory implementation of the developmental neurotoxicity (DNT) in vitro test battery (DNT-IVB). The five discussion topics below outline some of the key issues, opportunities and research directions for the next several years: (1) How to contextualize DNT hazard with information on potential maternal toxicity or other toxicity domains (non-DNT)? Several approaches on how to use cytotoxicity data from NAMs were discussed. (2) What opportunities exist for an immediate or near-future application of the DNT-IVB, e.

Intranasal administration of antiseizure drugs using new formulation trends: one step closer to reach clinical trials.

Introduction: Although there are numerous options for epilepsy treatment, its effective control continues unsatisfactory. Thus, search for alternative therapeutic options to improve the efficacy/safety binomial of drugs becomes very attractive to investigate. In this context, intranasal administration of antiseizure drugs formulated on state-of-the-art nanosystems can be a promising strategy.