Search Results (862)

Urban Park vegetation plays a crucial role in mitigating air pollution by serving as a natural sink for gaseous and particulate pollutants, thereby enhancing the ecological sustainability of cities. Identifying tree species with high tolerance to air pollution is therefore essential for effective urban park planning and management in highly polluted urban environments. This study evaluated the air pollution tolerance of selected tree species commonly found in urban parks of Kandy City, Sri Lanka, using the Air Pollution Tolerance Index (APTI). Five tree species—Terminalia catappa (Indian almond), Cassia fistula (golden shower tree), Pongamia pinnata (Indian beech), Madhuca longifolia (butter tree), and Tabebuia rosea (pink poui)—were assessed at two urban park locations representing contrasting pollution levels, identified based on ambient SO₂, NO₂, and PM_2.5 concentrations. APTI was calculated using four leaf biochemical parameters: pH, ascorbic acid content, relative water content, and total chlorophyll content. Leaf samples were collected from ten replicates of each species at both sites. Madhuca longifolia exhibited the highest APTI values (17.06 at the HP site and 25.17 at the LP site), followed by Cassia fistula, Terminalia catappa, Tabebuia rosea, and Pongamia pinnata. These findings suggest that the identified species, particularly Madhuca longifolia and Cassia fistula, are well-suited for urban greening and can contribute to mitigating air pollution impacts. However, these findings are constrained by a single cross-sectional sampling term, limited species screening, sequential data collection variances, and fixed mathematical equations. Consequently, future research should implement continuous multi-station monitoring arrays, expand species diversity, establish localized biochemical weightings, and initiate long-term multi-seasonal tracking to resolve temporal dynamics in tropical urban ecosystems. Full article

Aim: To evaluate the status of the nutritional management of diet-treated IEM in Brazil from the perspectives of healthcare professionals, patients, and families. Methods: Data were collected through two nationwide digital questionnaires administered to healthcare professionals involved in dietary management (n = 37) and to patients and caregivers (n = 278), addressing professional training, workload, access to resources, treatment adherence, and socioeconomic factors. Results: Healthcare professionals from 20 out of the 26 Brazilian states participated, most of them female (81%) and dietitians (81%). Although more than half had over 10 years of experience, 59% considered their training insufficient to work with IEM. Only 19% reported exclusive dedication to the field, and 54% were the sole professional responsible for dietary prescriptions at their center. Weekly workload dedicated to IEM varied widely. Among the patients and families, phenylketonuria (60.4%) and glycogen storage disease (25.9%) were the most frequent conditions. Higher educational level and longer time since diagnosis were associated with a better understanding of dietary management (p < 0.05). Among patients on protein-restricted diets, most reported regular use of protein substitutes, although 92% reported poor palatability and 36% reported supply problems. Access to special low-protein foods was limited, and over half of the families reported some level of food insecurity. Conclusions: Significant systemic, logistical, and socioeconomic barriers to optimal dietary management of IEM persist in Brazil, highlighting the need for strengthened public policies, professional training, and equitable access to dietary resources. Full article

Lithium carbonate is a cornerstone therapy for bipolar disorder, typically administered long-term, which necessitates strict control of elemental impurities beyond the quantification of the active ingredient. While previous studies focused on lithium concentration and dosing accuracy, this study characterized the unique inorganic signatures and evaluated the toxicological implications of reference, similar, and generic lithium carbonate formulations marketed in Brazil. Seven commercial brands were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP OES). Elemental concentrations (mg/kg) ranged as follows: As (0.50–0.62), Pb (0.39–0.57), Se (0.80–1.01), Cr (detected in one similar formulation at 0.18), Fe (<LOD–0.86), Mg (8.10–14.65), K (1.18–4.2), Mn (0.072–0.40), and P (24.3–74.4), while Cd, Cu, and Zn were below detection limits. Statistical analysis (p < 0.05) demonstrated significant inter-manufacturer differences, indicating that pharmaceutical equivalence does not imply inorganic identity. Despite this variability, all formulations complied with ICH Q3D (R2), USP <232>, and Brazilian Pharmacopoeia limits. Under maintenance doses of 600–1200 mg/day, daily exposure remained well below Permitted Daily Exposure thresholds; the cumulative Hazard Index was <0.02, and Incremental Lifetime Cancer Risk (5.46 to 6.80 × 10⁻⁶) was within safe levels. These findings confirm that while distinct elemental signatures exist, the medications are toxicologically safe for chronic therapy. Full article

Anatomical, chemical, and physical properties are critical for optimizing bamboo applications. This study evaluated the radial variability of these properties in four bamboo species (Guadua chacoensis, Dendrocalamus strictus, Bambusa nutans, and Dendrocalamus asper) to assess their potential as sustainable raw materials. Anatomical analysis revealed significant radial gradients: fiber wall thickness and lignin content peaked in the peripheral region (e.g., 30.40% lignin in D. strictus), while carbohydrate content was highest in the central region (69.15% in D. asper). Basic density varied radially, with the highest values in G. chacoensis (835 kg/m³) and B. nutans (858 kg/m³). Principal Component Analysis (PCA) identified density and chemical composition as key discriminators among species. Dendrocalamus strictus emerged as the most promising species for biochar production, exhibiting high gravimetric yield (31.14%), thermal stability, and a mesoporous structure (120.154 m²/g surface area). The biochar’s high elemental carbon (89.66%), calculated fixed carbon (84.97%), crystallinity index (30.16%), and low volatile content (6.83%) suggest potential for use as a soil conditioner for carbon sequestration, although direct agronomic validation (e.g., soil, plant, or microbial assays) is still required. A techno-economic assessment (TEA) demonstrated its commercial viability, projected a profit of approximately US$ 89/ton and US$ 1107/hectare per year under a 3-year rotation cycle, assuming a unified market price of US$ 120/ton. This estimate is preliminary and does not include sensitivity analysis, which is suggested for future work. This study underscores D. strictus as a dual-purpose resource, combining ecological benefits (e.g., soil enhancement) with economic feasibility, advancing sustainable agro-industrial applications of bamboo. Full article

Strawberry preservation remains a critical challenge due to rapid postharvest microbial spoilage. This study investigated the preservative efficacy of Cinnamomum cassia and Punica granatum peel aqueous extracts, prepared via spray drying, on strawberries over 5 days of storage, with a specific focus on their regulatory impact on the fruit surface microbiome. Preservation tests demonstrated that the C. cassia extract was more effective in reducing visible mold development. High-throughput sequencing revealed that the C. cassia treatment reshaped microbial community structures, decreasing the relative abundance of spoilage-associated bacteria and the primary pathogenic fungus Botrytis (94.37%), while enriching potentially beneficial or antagonistic genera such as Sphingobium (28.72%), Sphingomonas (9.52%), and Cladosporium (0.62%). Using a probability threshold of 0.7, 121 compounds were identified as potential active candidates from a library of 675 C. cassia constituents. These compounds predominantly have a molecular weight between 100 and 250 and are characterized by prevalent functional groups including alkene (49.60%), hydroxyl (38.80%), and benzene rings (36.40%). In vitro antibacterial assays confirmed the inhibitory activity of vanillin and its isomers, validating the reliability of the computational predictions. These findings suggest that the preservative mechanism of C. cassia is likely mediated by the collective action of a multi-component matrix that modulates the microecological balance on the fruit surface, rather than the isolated effect of a single compound. This integrated approach provides an effective framework for developing plant-derived preservation strategies by combining microbiome dynamics with machine learning. Full article

The tumor microenvironment of breast cancer presents high complexity and resistance to conventional therapies. Ferroptosis, a programed cell death that is dependent on iron and characterized by lipid peroxidation, arises as a promising therapeutic goal. This scoping review mapped evidence on the exogenous use of iron and selenium, in conventional or nano-particulated forms, in the modulation of ferroptosis as therapeutic strategy for breast cancer treatment, identifying knowledge gaps and opportunities for future research. We performed a scoping review and the methodology followed the guidelines of the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) and PRISMA-ScR. We made a systematic search in five data bases (Embase, Lilacs, PubMed (MEDLINE), Scopus, and Web of Science) between the years 2012 and 2025. Among 2.723 identified publications, we selected 48 studies. The results revealed predominance of nanoplatforms of iron (97.9%), focused on the Fenton reaction. The modulation of selenium for inactivation of GPX4 was shown to be effective, though still little-explored (n = 1). We evidenced that the induction of ferroptosis potentializes tumor immunogenicity and the effectiveness of combined therapies. We conclude that the field is under development; thus, the diversification of metabolic targets and trials of chronic toxicity are fundamental steps for future clinical research. Full article

The world’s energy matrix faces challenges in replacing fossil fuels and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Pellet production is effective for the correct disposal of agricultural waste through the production of biofuels. The objective of this work was to produce and characterize pellets from blends of pine and coffee straw residues, in addition to their compliance with ISO 17225-6/2021. The biomasses were subjected to analysis of dry and wet base moisture, bulk density, upper and lower calorific value (HCV and LCV dry), immediate, structural and elemental chemistry, chloride content, and thermogravimetric behavior. The pellets were produced in nine blends with the Amandus Kahl pellet mill, model 14-175, being submitted to analysis of productivity, moisture in dry and wet base, HCV and LCV dry, chloride, immediate chemistry, hardness, diameter and length, durability and percentage of fines, the analyses were compared by the Scott-knott test at the level of 95% probability. The blends that presented the best overall performance were 100% pine and a mixture of 87.5% pine and 12.5% coffee straws, especially for the higher calorific value (20.65 and 20.65 MJ/kg), moisture (8.98 and 9.17%), and ash (0.22 and 1%), but had limitations regarding mechanical durability (96.74 and 97.12%). The use of blends in pellet production is promising to promote the sustainable use of agricultural waste and the generation of clean energy. Full article

Landslides are among the most destructive geological hazards in Malaysia, especially in mountainous and forested areas. Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imagery offers high spatial resolution and flexible data capture, but deep learning performance is highly sensitive to training hyperparameters. In this study, the TransU-Net model for UAV-based landslide detection was adopted and a systematic ablation study on learning-rate and epoch settings using a coarse-to-fine tuning strategy. The Berembun Forest Reserve dataset was first used to determine the optimal training configuration. Then, the optimised configuration was tested on multiple UAV sub-datasets in the CAS Landslide dataset to evaluate performance stability under different terrain properties and spatial resolutions. The optimised configuration yielded the best F1-score (0.9598) and IoU of 0.9507 on the Berembun Forest Reserve dataset, and consistently high F1-scores across the evaluated CAS Landslide sub-datasets. Qualitative visualisation analysis also revealed good spatial correspondence between the predicted segmentation masks and the ground-truth annotations. Variations in Intersection over Union (IoU) values were mainly associated with boundary delineation uncertainty rather than severe misclassification. Overall, the results show that the performance of UAV-based landslide segmentation can improve by systematic hyperparameter tuning, and the optimised TransU-Net configuration under the evaluated terrain conditions yields promising results. Full article

Insects, such as the Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata) and the armyworm (Mythimna unipuncta), and nematodes, including the root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne incognita) and the pine wood nematode (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus), are major agricultural pests. Essential oils (EOs) from aromatic plants are promising botanical pesticides due to their bioactivity. This study evaluated the in vitro effects of EOs from Origanum vulgare, Thymus vulgaris, Ocimum gratissimum, Mentha pulegium, and Cinnamomum cassia, and their main compounds (carvacrol, thymol, eugenol, pulegone, and trans-cinnamaldehyde, respectively), on acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and α- and β-glucosidases using crude enzyme extracts. All EOs inhibited AChE, with no significant effects on glucosidases. M. pulegium EO showed the strongest inhibition in C. capitata (IC₅₀ = 0.022 mg/mL) and B. xylophilus (IC₅₀ = 0.1209 mg/mL), while C. cassia EO was most effective against M. unipuncta (IC₅₀ = 0.0020 mg/mL) and M. incognita (IC₅₀ = 0.0197 mg/mL). In silico analysis revealed selective inhibition of insect AChE by EO-derived compounds, with insignificant effects on electric eel AChE, supporting species-specific interactions. These findings highlight EOs as selective, neurotargeting, and sustainable alternatives to synthetic pesticides. Full article

Tear staining is a common yet often underestimated condition in dogs that affects appearance and may reflect underlying disease. This study evaluated dietary supplementation with the traditional Chinese herbs Chrysanthemum morifolium (CM), Cassia semen (CS), and Poria cocos (PC) in dogs predisposed to tear staining and investigated potential mechanisms. Forty Poodle and Bichon dogs were fed diets supplemented with 0.5% CM, CS, or PC. Tear staining indices were measured biweekly, together with blood indicators of iron status, immune and inflammatory markers, and antioxidant capacity. All three supplements reduced tear staining (p < 0.05), as shown by lower scores and shorter stain length versus control. CM and PC improved iron status and porphyrin metabolism by increasing serum iron and ferritin and modulating δ-aminolevulinic acid and porphobilinogen deaminase. They also enhanced humoral immunity and antioxidant status by increasing serum immunoglobulins, reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines, and moderately improving antioxidant activities. CM and PC increased fecal Allobaculum abundance, which correlated with tear staining indices and porphyrin-related measures. In conclusion, CM, CS, and PC are promising dietary strategies for reducing tear staining in dogs, with CM and PC possibly acting via Allobaculum-associated modulation of iron and porphyrin metabolism, while improving iron status, immunity, and antioxidant defense. Full article

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is characterized by progressive nigrostriatal degeneration and striatal dysfunction, yet its metabolic remodeling remains incompletely defined. Here, untargeted GC–MS metabolomics was used to investigate the effects of standardized Brazilian green propolis on the striatal metabolic profile in the 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) rat model. Discriminant metabolites, including suberic acid, gluconic acid, heptadecane, and tartaric acid, distinguished experimental groups, capturing key features of the metabolic response to dopaminergic injury and treatment. Suberic acid emerged as a prominently modulated metabolite, potentially linked to alterations in lipid catabolism associated with mitochondrial–peroxisomal pathways. Propolis treatment attenuated the elevation of suberic acid, accompanied by a reduction in gluconic acid levels, suggesting a metabolic profile linked to pathways involved in redox balance and glucose handling. Given previous reports identifying heptadecane as a hydrocarbon constituent of volatile propolis fractions, complementary GC-Q-TOF analyses demonstrated that heptadecane was absent from the administered extract, despite its consistent association with propolis-treated groups. Metabolic changes were accompanied by attenuation of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurodegeneration and improved motor performance. Together, these findings delineate a striatal metabolic signature associated with Brazilian green propolis and identify suberic acid as a key metabolite linked to neuroprotection in experimental Parkinsonism. Full article

Background/Objectives: Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue is widely used in pathology and molecular diagnostics, yet its variable quality can critically influence the accuracy of sequencing-based analyses. This study investigated pre-analytical and analytical factors that can affect exome sequencing performance in a Brazilian multicenter cohort of patients with breast cancer and prostate adenocarcinoma. Methods: Tumor samples were reviewed for diagnostic confirmation, and those with a minimum cellularity of 20% underwent DNA extraction, fluorometric quantification, fragmentation analysis, and exome sequencing. Pre-analytical parameters, including tumor content, DNA yield, and fragmentation profile, were recorded and correlated with sequencing results. Results: Only 36.7% of all analyzed samples (163/444) generated valid whole-exome sequencing data, corresponding to 55.6% of those that proceeded to sequencing (163/293). Although 94.5% of specimens met the minimum ≥20% cellularity threshold and 66.0% advanced to sequencing, a substantial proportion failed to yield usable exome data. Successful sequencing was associated with shorter storage durations (p < 0.001) and superior analytical parameters (higher autosomal coverage, longer read lengths, lower duplication rates, and higher target coverage at ≥500× and ≥100×; p < 0.001). Detailed fixation-related variables (e.g., formalin type, fixation time, ischemia time) were not consistently available across centers, representing a major limitation for causal interpretation of pre-analytical effects. Conclusions: Our study identified a high failure rate in sequencing archival tissue, highlighting the need to prioritize more recently collected specimens and refine standardized sample handling protocols to maintain DNA integrity. These improvements are essential for optimizing sequencing workflow performance and feasibility in real-world settings. Full article

During the Brazilian summer, from 29 December 2024, to 6 March 2025, a large cluster of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) outbreaks was reported along the coast of São Paulo State, Brazil, peaking in January 2025. Overall, 55 outbreaks involving 755 cases were officially notified, while more than 76,000 medical consultations for AGE were recorded across the region during the same period. A total of 50 stool samples were analyzed by RT-qPCR for group A rotavirus (RVA) and norovirus (NoV). NoV was detected in 27 samples (54.0%), confirming it as the main etiological agent, while RVA was identified in one sample (2.0%). Among NoV-positive cases, genogroup II (GII) predominated (59.0%), followed by genogroup I (GI) (19.0%) and mixed infections (22.0%). Genomic sequencing successfully genotyped 23 strains (95.8%), revealing six distinct genotypes. The recombinant GII.17[P17] was predominant (48.0%), followed by GI.3[P3], GI.3[P13], GI.5[P5], GII.4 Sydney_2012[P16], GII.3[P30], as well as mixed infections. No enteric viruses were detected in drinking water. However, seawater samples showed high concentrations of NoV GI and GII (up to 10⁴ GC L⁻¹) at beaches unsuitable for bathing. Wastewater surveillance revealed high viral loads, particularly NoV GII (up to 10⁸ GC L⁻¹), consistent with reported cases. To our knowledge, this is the first report in Brazil of a NoV-associated AGE outbreak investigated through an integrated approach combining clinical, environmental, and epidemiological surveillance data. Findings highlight genotype diversity and reinforcing the importance of integrated surveillance. Full article

Significant amounts of food waste come from fruit processing, causing economic and environmental impacts. The waste generated is a valuable source of compounds due to its concentration of nutrients, such as dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals, lipids with mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids, and bioactive compounds. Despite the nutritional and functional qualities of the waste, it is still commonly discarded and underutilized, demonstrating the importance of studying it. The selected fruits described in this study are widely consumed by various populations around the world and are used at an industrial scale. The objective of this review is to discuss the use of seeds from grapes, passion fruit, melon, watermelon, papaya, guava, raspberry, and pomegranate and their benefits for human consumption. The seeds stand out for the possibility of oil extraction, creating a sustainable and healthy mode of production. Due to their nutritional composition rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, they have been shown to be beneficial to health, promoting development, strengthening the immune system, and promoting the growth and maintenance of cell membranes, cardiovascular benefits, and antimicrobial and antioxidant activity, in addition to innovation in the cosmetics sector and applicability as biofuel. Therefore, the exploitation of this type of by-product shows promise in the search for alternative sources of vegetable oils and bioactive compounds with high added nutritional value and potential nutraceutical application, helping to increase the value of food waste and thus contributing to a better use of plant resources. Full article