Phosphorus sorption characteristics and interactions with leaf litter‑derived dissolved organic matter leachate in iron‑rich sediments of a sub‑tropical ephemeral stream

This study investigated the infuence of dissolved organic matter (DOM) additions on phosphate sorption kinetics of iron-rich sediments (39–50% hematite and goethite) from an ephemeral stream in the arid Pilbara region of sub-tropical northwest Australia. While phosphate sorption in stream sediments is known to be strongly infuenced by sediment mineralogy as well as interactions with DOM, the mechanisms and signifcance of DOM on P-release from sediments with high sorption capacities, are largely undescribed. We assessed phosphorus (P) sorption behaviours by adding a range of solutions of known inorganic P concentrations that were amended with variable loadings of DOM derived from leachates of leaf litter to sediments from stream pools during the non-fowing phase. We compared the sorption capacity of the sediments and concurrent changes in DOM composition measured using fuorescence spectroscopy. We show that the low-dose DOM addition (~ 4 mg L−1 DOC) had the efect of reducing sediment P adsorption capacity, while for the high-dose DOM addition (~ 45 mg L−1 DOC), it was increased. The high-dose DOM was similar to pore water DOC and likely saturated sediment surface adsorption sites and produced P–OM–Fe complexes. This resulted in increased removal of P from solution. Sediment P sorption characteristics were well ftted to both Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm models regardless of DOC concentration. Langmuir P sorption maxima ranged from 0.106 to 0.152 mg g−1. General P sorption characteristics of these iron-rich sediments did not difer among pools of contrasting hydrological connectivity. Our results show how humic-rich DOM can modulate the sediment P availability in dryland streams. Unravelling the complexities of P availability is of particular significance to further our understanding of biogeochemical processes in aquatic ecosystems where P often acts as a limiting nutrient

Addressing potential conflict using participatory mapping: Collection of forest foods from timber trees around industrial concessions in Cameroon

Extensive areas of Africa's humid tropical lowland forests have been allocated to timber concessions, but are also inhabited by villagers who obtain resources from the forest. Approximately 61% of timber species in the Congo Basin also yield locally used non-timber forest products (NTFP). Among these are fruits and oil from Moabi (Baillonella toxisperma), and edible caterpillars from Sapelli (Entandrophragma cylindricum), and Tali (Erythrophleum suaveolens). Participatory mapping was used to understand whether logging affects the availability of these food resources to men and women in villages near timber concessions in two areas of Cameroon. Mapping of collection trees and interviews of 20 male and 20 female collectors, in four villages near two logging concessions, showed that during 1-day collecting trips people walk an average of 2.7 km (± 1.42) to trees where they collect these resources. Food resources are typically collected by both men and women, but men travel further to specific trees, sometimes combining this with hunting excursions further into the forest. Only 14% of the collection trees were located within the logging concessions. However, 72% of Sapelli, 81% of Moabi, and 100% of Tali trees from which food resources were collected were larger than their legal felling diameters, meaning that logging could jeopardize the supply of foods from these species. Prioritizing food values over timber values of trees within a certain radius of villages, and excluding them from logging, would safeguard villagers' access to these food resources. Already, negotiations between villagers and concessionaires have been successful. Many of the mapped collection trees occurred in agroforestry areas delineated by the concessionaire for the use of villagers; another concessionaire had suspended felling of Moabi trees in response to requests by the villagers. However, an extensive and expanding local logging sector on community forests and other lands outside of industrial timber concessions means that conflicts are arising even within villages or settlements, between individuals who seek to obtain either a one-time financial windfall from felling a tree (usually a male interest); or ensure ongoing periodic harvests of foods (typically a priority of women, but also of local Baka pygmies)

Willingness to Use the Internet to Seek Information on HIV Prevention and Care among Men Who Have Sex with Men in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Background: In Vietnam, men who have sex with men (MSM) are highly affected by HIV and need new targeted HIV prevention strategies. Objectives: To assess the willingness to use the Internet to seek information on HIV prevention and care and associated factors among MSM in Ho Chi Minh City. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 2012. Participants were recruited using a convenience sampling method in venues most frequented by MSM and completed a self-administered questionnaire. Logistic regression models were performed to estimate factors associated with the willingness to use the Internet to seek information on HIV prevention and care. Results: A total of 358 MSM were approached for the survey and 222 questionnaires (62.0%) were eligible for analyses. Overall, 76.1% of the respondents reported that they were willing to use the Internet to seek information on HIV prevention and care. A number of male partners in last year less than or equal to 3 (Adjusted Odds Ratio: 3.07, 95% Confidence interval: 1.40–6.73), a history of STI screening (4.10, 1.02–16.48) and HIV testing (3.23, 1.20–8.64) and having ever sought a male sexual partner through the Internet (3.56, 1.55–8.18) were significantly positively associated with the willingness to use the Internet to seek information on HIV prevention and care. Conclusion: The MSM interviewed in Ho Chi Minh City reported a high willingness to use the Internet to seek information on HIV prevention and care. In a context where new media are increasingly considered as promising options for reaching this HIV risk group, further research should be conducted on developing and testing tailored online tools adapted to the needs of Vietnamese MSM

Functional foods based on the recovery of bioactive ingredients from food and algae by-products by emerging extraction technologies and 3D printing

Financiado para publicación en acceso aberto: Universidade de Vigo/CISUG3D food printing is an emerging technology developed to facilitate the life of consumers and food enterprises. This technology allows to obtain any type of new foods according to our wishes. It is possible to develop a food with the exact nutritive value necessary for our body, with the most benefiting nutrients we want, or without any ingredients that we have an allergy, and even predict or personalize the taste, the color, the shape, and the size of a food. Therefore, 3D food printing is considered a promising strategy for developing healthy foods. On the other hand, many foods enterprises release high amounts of waste from their processing activities. These wastes contain many bioactive ingredients such as polyphenols, carotenoids, vitamins, minerals, fibers, unsaturated fatty acids, among others, which have physiological and health benefits. Similarly, several bioactive compounds have been identified in algae. They can be extracted by conventional methods with solvents such as water, ethanol, methanol, chloroform, acetone, and many others, but with some limits like environmental contamination, human toxicity, and low extraction rate. For these reasons, it will be interesting to use emerging extraction technologies to recover bioactive compounds and use them in a 3D food printer to make functional foods that can bring a targeted health benefit to consumers

Bioactive compounds of Verbascum sinuatum L.: health benefits and potential as new ingredients for industrial applications

Verbascum sinuatum (V. sinuatum) is a plant belonging to the Scrophulariaceae family that has been used as an ingredient in traditional medicine infusions for the treatment of many diseases. The aerial part of this plant is a source of bioactive compounds, especially polyphenols and iridoids. Moreover, antioxidant activity studies have shown that V. sinuatum phenolic and flavonoid composition is higher than those in other plants of the same genus. V. sinuatum bioactive compound composition could vary according to the harvesting location, growing conditions of the plants, sample preparation methods, type and concentration of the extraction solvent, and the extraction methods. The obtention of these compounds can be achieved by different extraction techniques, most commonly, maceration, heat assisted extraction, and infusion. Nevertheless, since conventional extraction techniques have several drawbacks such as long times of extraction or use of large amounts of solvents, the use of green extraction techniques is suggested, without affecting the efficiency of the extraction. Moreover, V. sinuatum bioactive compounds have several biological activities, such as antioxidant, anticancer, cardiovascular, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, and neuroprotective activities, that may be increased by encapsulation. Since the bioactive compounds extracted from V. sinuatum present good potential as functional food ingredients and in the development of drugs or cosmetics, this review gives an approach of the possible incorporation of these compounds in the food and pharmacological industries.MICINN | Ref. RYC-2017-22891Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED481B-2021/152Argentinean Agency for the Scientific and Technological Promotion | Ref. PICT (2020)/1602Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED431F 2020/1

Implementation of big data analytics tool in a higher education Institution

In search of intelligent solutions that could help improve teaching in higher education, we discovered a set of analyzes that had already been discussed and just needed to be implemented. We believe that this reality can be found in several educational institutions, with paper or mini-projects that deal with educational data and can have positive impacts on teaching. Because of this, we designed an architecture that could extract from multiple sources of educational data and support the implementation of some of these projects found. The results show an important tool that can contribute positively to the teaching institution. Effectively, we can highlight that the implementation of a predictive model of students at risk of dropping out will bring a new analytical vision. Also, the system’s practicality will save managers a lot of time in creating analyzes of the state of the institutions, respecting privacy concerns of the manipulated data, supported by a secure development methodology.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Profiling of Phenolic Compounds in Citrus Flowers and Their Biological Activities

Citrus, a genus of flowering plants in the Rutaceae family, holds substantial market importance as a crop worldwide. After prolonged periods of breeding and extensive hybridization, numerous species have emerged, each possessing a unique metabolism that produces a diverse array of secondary metabolites. It is important to note that phenolic compounds, in particular phenols and flavonoids, are among the most important secondary metabolites in Citrus flowers. These chemical compositions of Citrus flowers differ depending on various factors, such as variety, fruit maturity, environmental conditions, storage conditions, and extraction methods. Nevertheless, phenolic compounds extracted from Citrus flowers are well-recognized for their bioavailability characteristics and exhibit numerous health-promoting effects, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and antibacterial activities in humans. The information contained in this document provides a comprehensive summary of the latest investigations conducted on the subject matter. The aim is to thoroughly comprehend the biological functions of the bioactive compounds in the Citrus flowers and their potential impacts on various biological systems, shedding light on their potential therapeutic applications.The research leading to these results was supported by MICINN, supporting the Ramón y Cajal grant for M.A. Prieto (RYC-2017-22891) that supports the contract of P. Garcia-Oliveira, and by Xunta de Galicia, supporting the program EXCELENCIA-ED431F 2020/12 and EXCELENCIA-ED431F 2022/01 that supports the work of J. Echave, the post-doctoral grants of L. Cassani (ED481B-2021/152) and M. Fraga-Corral (ED481B-2019/096) and the pre-doctoral grant of M. Carpena (ED481A 2021/313).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Characterization of Phenolic Compounds of Arnica montana Conventional Extracts

Arnica montana L. (Asteraceae family) is a plant commonly used in traditional medicine, and several reports have characterized this plant’s bioactivities, especially its phenolic compounds. These compounds are well known for their numerous beneficial biological properties. Consequently, industry stakeholders from the feed, food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical sectors are seeking extracts rich in phenolic compounds, which could be interesting for the development of bio-based applications. The objective of the present study was to characterize the phenolic profile of this species to lay the groundwork for further optimization studies to obtain the highest amount of phenolic compounds. Therefore, A. montana was extracted with an ethanol/water ratio of 80:20 (v/v) at room temperature for 1 h, and phenolic compounds were identified and quantified through UPLC (HPLC Dionex Ultimate 3000) with a mass detector (TSQ Quantis). In the extract, phenolics belonging to different groups were identified, namely eriodictyol-O-glucuronide (flavanone), hispidulin and luteolin (flavones), kaempferol and 6-methoxykaempferol, (flavonols), p-coumaric, feruloylquinic, caffeoylquinic, and dicaffeoylquinic isomers (hydroxycinnamic acids). However, only four of them could be quantified: kaempferol and the three hydroxycinnamic acids. The total phenolic content (mg/g of dry sample) was estimated to be 27.34 mg/g, with the most prevalent compounds being the dicaffeoylquinic acids (accounting for 79.5% of the total phenolics). It has been demonstrated that dicaffeoylquinic acids present anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities, which have been linked to several beneficial effects. Thus, obtaining phenolic-rich extracts of A. montana may allow us to exploit this plant’s significant biological properties, and it could be a new ingredient for developing new applications in the nutraceutical, cosmetic, and/or pharmaceutical industries.The research from which these results were derived was supported by MICINN via the Ramón y Cajal grant for M.A. Prieto (RYC-2017-22891) and the contract for P. Garcia-Oliveira, by the European Union through the “NextGenerationEU” program (supporting the “Margarita Salas” grant awarded to P. Garcia-Perez). The authors would like to thank the EU and FCT for supporting the programs UIDB/50006/2020; UIDP/50006/2020; LA/P/0008/2020 and the Ibero-American Program on Science and Technology (CYTED—GENOPSYSEN, P222RT0117).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Bioactive Compounds of Verbascum sinuatum L.: Health Benefits and Potential as New Ingredients for Industrial Applications

Verbascum sinuatum (V. sinuatum) is a plant belonging to the Scrophulariaceae family that has been used as an ingredient in traditional medicine infusions for the treatment of many diseases. The aerial part of this plant is a source of bioactive compounds, especially polyphenols and iridoids. Moreover, antioxidant activity studies have shown that V. sinuatum phenolic and flavonoid composition is higher than those in other plants of the same genus. V. sinuatum bioactive compound composition could vary according to the harvesting location, growing conditions of the plants, sample preparation methods, type and concentration of the extraction solvent, and the extraction methods. The obtention of these compounds can be achieved by different extraction techniques, most commonly, maceration, heat assisted extraction, and infusion. Nevertheless, since conventional extraction techniques have several drawbacks such as long times of extraction or use of large amounts of solvents, the use of green extraction techniques is suggested, without affecting the efficiency of the extraction. Moreover, V. sinuatum bioactive compounds have several biological activities, such as antioxidant, anticancer, cardiovascular, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, and neuroprotective activities, that may be increased by encapsulation. Since the bioactive compounds extracted from V. sinuatum present good potential as functional food ingredients and in the development of drugs or cosmetics, this review gives an approach of the possible incorporation of these compounds in the food and pharmacological industries