Soy isoflavones and their relationship with microflora: beneficial effects on human health in equol producers

The bioavailability of soy isoflavones depends on the composition of the microflora for each subject. Bacteria act on different isoflavones with increased or reduced absorption and cause biotransformation of these compounds into metabolites with higher biological activity. S-equol is the most important metabolite and only 25–65 % of the population have the microflora that produces this compound. The presence of equol-producing bacteria in soy product consumers means that the consumption of such products for prolonged periods leads to lower cardiovascular risk, reduced incidence of prostate and breast cancer, and greater relief from symptoms related to the menopause such as hot flushes and osteoporosis

Emerging Themes and Future Directions of Multi-Sector Nexus Research and Implementation

Water, energy, and food are all essential components of human societies. Collectively, their respective resource systems are interconnected in what is called the “nexus”. There is growing consensus that a holistic understanding of the interdependencies and trade-offs between these sectors and other related systems is critical to solving many of the global challenges they present. While nexus research has grown exponentially since 2011, there is no unified, overarching approach, and the implementation of concepts remains hampered by the lack of clear case studies. Here, we present the results of a collaborative thought exercise involving 75 scientists and summarize them into 10 key recommendations covering: the most critical nexus issues of today, emerging themes, and where future efforts should be directed. We conclude that a nexus community of practice to promote open communication among researchers, to maintain and share standardized datasets, and to develop applied case studies will facilitate transparent comparisons of models and encourage the adoption of nexus approaches in practice

Emerging Themes and Future Directions of Multi-Sector Nexus Research and Implementation

Water, energy, and food are all essential components of human societies. Collectively, their respective resource systems are interconnected in what is called the “nexus”. There is growing consensus that a holistic understanding of the interdependencies and trade-offs between these sectors and other related systems is critical to solving many of the global challenges they present. While nexus research has grown exponentially since 2011, there is no unified, overarching approach, and the implementation of concepts remains hampered by the lack of clear case studies. Here, we present the results of a collaborative thought exercise involving 75 scientists and summarize them into 10 key recommendations covering: the most critical nexus issues of today, emerging themes, and where future efforts should be directed. We conclude that a nexus community of practice to promote open communication among researchers, to maintain and share standardized datasets, and to develop applied case studies will facilitate transparent comparisons of models and encourage the adoption of nexus approaches in practice

Prevalence of pemphigus and pemphigoid autoantibodies in the general population

Background: Mucocutaneous blistering is characteristic of autoimmune bullous dermatoses (AIBD). Blisters are caused by autoantibodies directed against structural components of the skin. Hence, detection of specific autoantibodies has become a hallmark for AIBD diagnosis. Studies on prevalence of AIBD autoantibodies in healthy individuals yielded contradictory results. Methods: To clarify this, samples from 7063 blood donors were tested for presence of anti-BP180-NC16A, anti-BP230 and anti-Dsg1/3 IgG by indirect immunofluorescence (IF) microscopy using a biochip. Results: Cumulative prevalence of these autoantibodies was 0.9 % (CI: 0.7-1.1 %), with anti-BP180-NC16A IgG being most prevalent. Validation of IF findings using ELISA confirmed presence of autoantibodies in 7/15 (anti-Dsg1), 6/7 (anti-Dsg3), 35/37 (anti-BP180-NC16A) and 2/3 (anti-BP230) cases. Moreover, in 16 samples, anti-BP180-NC16A autoantibody concentrations exceeded the cut-off for the diagnosis of bullous pemphigoid. Interestingly, these anti-BP180-NC16A autoantibodies from healthy individuals formed immune complexes with recombinant antigen and dose-dependently activated neutrophils in vitro. However, fine-epitope mapping within NC16A showed a different binding pattern of anti-BP180-NC16A autoantibodies from healthy individuals compared to bullous pemphigoid patients, while IgG subclasses were identical. Conclusions: Collectively, we here report a low prevalence of AIBD autoantibodies in a large cohort of healthy individuals. Furthermore, functional analysis shows differences between autoantibodies from healthy donors and AIBD patients

Emerging Themes and Future Directions of Multi-Sector Nexus Research and Implementation

Water, energy, and food are all essential components of human societies. Collectively, their respective resource systems are interconnected in what is called the “nexus”. There is growing consensus that a holistic understanding of the interdependencies and trade-offs between these sectors and other related systems is critical to solving many of the global challenges they present. While nexus research has grown exponentially since 2011, there is no unified, overarching approach, and the implementation of concepts remains hampered by the lack of clear case studies. Here, we present the results of a collaborative thought exercise involving 75 scientists and summarize them into 10 key recommendations covering: the most critical nexus issues of today, emerging themes, and where future efforts should be directed. We conclude that a nexus community of practice to promote open communication among researchers, to maintain and share standardized datasets, and to develop applied case studies will facilitate transparent comparisons of models and encourage the adoption of nexus approaches in practice

To-syn-fuel project to convert sewage sludge in value-added products

The H2020 To-Syn-Fuel project aims to demonstrate a sustainable process able to transform waste biomass such as sewage sludge into renewable liquid fuels and hydrogen. The Thermo-Catalytic Reforming TCR\uae will be implemented in a new process integrated with hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) and pressure swing adsorption (PSA) technologies to convert a wide range of residual biomass into three main products: H2-rich synthesis gas, biochar and a liquid bio-oil that can be upgraded to green fuels capable of being used directly in automotive internal combustion engines without modification, as they fulfil EN fuel standards. In this project, the operational capacity of TCR is designed for up to 500 kg per hour of sewage sludge at a water content of 5-15%. The main purpose of this unit is the long-term operation of a pre-commercial demonstrator. This is the final step of development before the technology is reaches full commercial scale. This integrated unit is going to be commissioned in 2020 and operated from 2021 for up to 5,000 hours of operation and for the production of more than 200,000 liters of biocrude oil

Integrated cardiorespiratory changes induced by chemical stimulation of muscular receptors

Muscular exercise is accompanied by evident and perfectly matched cardiovascular and respiratory adjustments to avoid changes in arterial blood gases. The mechanisms responsible for this perfect regulation have not yet been defined. Our previous experimental investigations have shown that a consistent rate of cardiorespiratory reflex responses to exercise is caused by chemosensitive muscular receptors activation. The 2 different types of classical muscular exercise (rhythmic and isometric exercise) are joined with the 2 different patterns of cardiorespiratory reflex responses attributed in our opinion to the activation of 2 different kinds of muscle receptors (K and P). It has been observed that the increase in ventilation (VE), elicited by activation of both types of chemoreceptors during muscular experimental exercise is not accompanied by significant variations of partial pressure of CO2 (PaCO2) in the arterial blood (isocapnic hyperpnea). This suggest that muscular chemoreceptor activation during physical exercise determines an adequate cardiopulmonary matching. The main purpose of the present study has been to verify, in anesthetized rabbits, if also the chemical activation of muscular receptors was able to evoke reflexly an adequate degree of cardiopulmonary matching. The ventilation reflex changes and the concomitant variations of PaCO2 induced by injection of bradikinin (BK 250 ng) and hypertonic solutions (NaCl 10% 1 ml) in femoral artery have been evaluated in 10 anesthetized rabbits. The PaCO2 modifications observed during reflex hyperpnea have been compared with those recorded during hyperpnea induced by artificial ventilation