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In recent years, there has been a growing demand for high-quality sunscreens that combine high efficacy with ecological characteristics. This trend has led to an increased use of triazine compounds, which represent an emerging class of UV filters. While it is well-established that sunscreens can have significant environmental impacts, there is limited data on the degradation of triazine UV filters, despite available information on their environmental persistence, particularly in relation to disinfection processes. This study investigates the chemical fate of ethylhexyl triazone (EHT) under chlorination conditions, typical of swimming pools. Twelve disinfection byproducts (DBPs) were isolated and fully identified using nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrometry, with three of these byproducts being identified for the first time. DBP1-DBP12 were isolated at relative percentages of 1.26, 9.68, 1.05, 0.42, 0.84, 3.37, 3.58, 1.89, 0.84, 1.47, 0.42, and 0.63. Additionally, a mechanism for their formation was proposed. The ecotoxicological assessment of EHT and of byproducts (DBP1-DBP4) was conducted using acute, sub-chronic or chronic toxicity tests in producers and primary consumers of the freshwater trophic chain. The organisms included the alga Raphidocelis subcapitata, the rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus, the crustacean anostracan Thamnocephalus platyurus and the benthic ostracod Heterocypris incongruens. EHT caused a lethal median concentration in rotifers, with values in the range of tens of mg/L. EHT, DBP1, and DBP4 exhibited sub-chronic effects in ostracods at concentrations in the μg/L range, with EC50s of 210, 9, 20 μg/L, respectively. Rotifers were slightly affected by DBP3 with a chronic EC50 of 200 μg/L. Algae were not affected by either EHT or byproducts., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This study aims to investigate the environmental fate of irbesartan when subjected to activated percarbonate treatment. The investigation delves into the formation of disinfection byproducts (DBPs) and evaluates their toxicity, and it seeks to draw comparisons with outcomes from treatment with sodium hypochlorite, already characterized in previous findings. The proposed treatment indicates the formation of at least 11 DBPs - eight identified for the first time - which have been isolated by various chromatographic techniques, identified by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Mass Spectrometry studies and for which a mechanism has been proposed to elucidate their formation. To evaluate irbesartan's biological impact during treatment with sodium percarbonate (SPC), a toxicity study of the DBPs was conducted using Daphnia magna, Aliivibrio fischeri, and Raphidocelis subcapitata, three model organisms. The ecotoxicity was evaluated using the Ecological Structure-Activity Relationships (ECOSAR) computer program and compared with experimental results. Compared to chlorination treatment, a lower mineralization percentage (-43 %) and amount of DBPs at least twice higher were observed. Toxicity assessment highlighted that DBPs formed during SPC treatment were more toxic than those from chlorination. ECOSAR predicted toxicity aligned with experimental findings. Additionally, the DBPs exhibited varying levels of toxicity, primarily attributable to the presence of aromatic and hydroxyl groups in their chemical structure, indicating that SPC treatment is not suitable for treatment of irbesartan polluted waters., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Different food price sources and dietary assessment tools may impact the estimation of diet costs and hamper our understanding of the relationship between diet costs and dietary intakes., Objectives: We aimed to investigate the effect of 3 diet cost derivation methods, with increasing numbers of food prices and geographic specificity, holding consistent the dietary assessment tool, on the estimation of diet costs overall and by food group., Methods: We matched 24-h dietary recall data from the 2015 Canadian Community Health Survey-Nutrition (CCHS-N) to food price data from 3 Canadian Consumer Price Index (CPI) food price lists; national short list, national long list, and provincial long list. We compared the daily ($/day) and energy-adjusted ($/2000 kcal) diet costs overall and by food groups for the overall population (4+), children (4-18), and adults (19+)., Results: The proportion of dietary intakes (grams) that were covered by CPI prices significantly increased from the national short list to the national long list but did not significantly differ from the national long list to the provincial long list. The national short list resulted in the highest daily and energy-adjusted diet costs overall. No difference in diet costs was noted between the national and provincial long lists. Diet costs for 4 food groups-additions, sweets, fruits, and vegetables, which were poorly covered by the national short list-significantly differed using the national and provincial long lists. All 3 diet cost methods were significantly correlated with energy intakes; however, a strong/very strong correlation was detected for children, and a weak/moderate correlation for adults., Conclusions: The choice of food price data may introduce bias in the diet cost estimate, as well as limiting our understanding of how individuals allocate their diet costs. Refinement of diet cost estimation methodology and measures can strengthen future studies of how consumers allocate their purchases to their diets., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest The authors report no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

In recent years, the environmental impact of pharmaceutical residues has emerged as a pressing global concern, catalyzed by their widespread usage and persistence in aquatic ecosystems. Among these pharmaceuticals, acyclovir (ACV) stands out due to its extensive prescription during medical treatments for herpes simplex virus, chickenpox, and shingles, as well as its heightened usage amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. ACV is excreted largely unchanged by the human body, leading to significant environmental release through wastewater effluents. The urgency of addressing ACV's environmental impact lies in its potential to persist in water bodies and affect aquatic life. This persistence underscores the critical need for effective degradation strategies that can mitigate its presence in aquatic systems. This study focuses on employing sodium hypochlorite as an oxidative agent for the degradation of ACV, leveraging its common use in wastewater treatment plants. Our research aims to explore the kinetics of ACV degradation, identify and characterize its degradation byproducts, and optimize the conditions under which complete degradation can be achieved. By assessing the efficiency of sodium hypochlorite in real wastewater samples, this study seeks to provide practical insights into mitigating ACV contamination in aquatic environments. The novelty of this research lies in its comprehensive approach to understanding the degradation pathways of ACV and evaluating the feasibility of using sodium hypochlorite as a sustainable solution in wastewater treatment. By addressing the environmental concerns associated with ACV and offering practical solutions, this study contributes to the broader goal of sustainable pharmaceutical waste management and environmental stewardship.

Losartan, an angiotensin II receptor antagonist frequently detected in wastewater effluents, poses considerable risks to both aquatic ecosystems and human health. Seeking to address this challenge, advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) emerge as robust methodologies for the efficient elimination of such contaminants. In this study, the degradation of Losartan was investigated in the presence of activated peroxymonosulfate (PMS), leveraging ferrous iron as a catalyst to enhance the oxidation process. Utilizing advanced analytical techniques such as NMR and mass spectrometry, nine distinct byproducts were characterized. Notably, seven of these byproducts were identified for the first time, providing novel insights into the degradation pathway of Losartan. The study delved into the kinetics of the degradation process, assessing the degradation efficiency attained when employing the catalyst alone versus when using it in combination with PMS. The results revealed that Losartan degradation reached a significant level of 64%, underscoring the efficacy of PMS/Fe(II) AOP techniques as promising strategies for the removal of Losartan from water systems. This research not only enriches our understanding of pollutant degradation mechanisms, but also paves the way for the development of sustainable water treatment technologies, specifically targeting the removal of pharmaceutical contaminants from aquatic environments.

The potential for healthier consumer food substitutions is an important factor in the study of food environments, dietary choices, and population nutrition promotion. The burden of diet-related non-communicable diseases is unevenly distributed across Canada and variation in the food environment sub-nationally may be an important explanation. We used population-based 24 h dietary recall data from the 2015 Canadian Community Health Survey-Nutrition for Canadian adults ( n  = 13 919) to examine dietary intakes of two food group pairings (whole grains/refined grains and legumes/red meats) where consumer substitutions have been recognized to be of importance in promoting healthy and sustainable population diet. We used an ANOVA followed by pairwise comparisons with Bonferroni correction to estimate differences in intakes between provinces for daily weight and proportion of total energy consumed. Based on the Global Burden of Disease Study, Canadians consumed below the average daily requirements of legumes and whole grains and well above the required range of red meat, suggesting room for broad improvements to population diet. Findings also demonstrate that there is potential for targeted shifts in dietary intakes among non-consumers of certain foods (e.g., legumes). This study may inform intervention development for the consumer nutrition environment including food accessibility and affordability to reduce non-communicable disease risk., Competing Interests: The authors declare there are no competing interests.

Mozambique does not have a tradition of farming Coffea arabica or Coffea canephora, the two species that dominate the worldwide coffee market. However, native coffee plants have been growing spontaneously and in some cases cultivated in the Ibo and Quirimba islands in the north of the country and Inhambane province in the south. Historically there has been confusion over the precise taxonomic classification of these indigenous coffee plants, with different botanists identifying the species as C. racemosa, C. zanguebariae or various synonyms of both. The present research aims to clarify the subject and provide new information on these little-described coffee species which may prove valuable as new breeding material for future cultivars, something that is sorely needed to face the present and future challenges of coffee production. Leaf samples were collected from 40 accessions from Ibo Island, Quirimba Island and Inhambane province. The samples were sequenced by whole-genome technology and WGS reads were filtered to identify relevant SNP variants. Diversity among the samples was assessed by PCA, and a phylogenetic tree including several Coffea species was built using additional data available in public databases. Experimental data confirm the presence of C. zanguebariae as the only coffee species present in both Ibo and Quirimba Islands, while it appears that C. racemosa is exclusive to the southern Inhambane province. The present research provides the most detailed analysis so far on the genetic identity of the traditional Mozambican coffee crops. This is the prerequisite for undertaking further scientific studies on these almost unknown coffee species and for starting agronomic development programs for the economic revival of Ibo and Quirimba islands based on coffee cultivation. Furthermore, these species could provide much-needed genetic material for the breeding of new hybrids with the two main commercial coffee species., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company.)

In recent years, the antihypertensive drug Valsartan (VAL) has been detected in surface waters up to concentrations of 6300 ng/L, due to its high consumption and its mostly unchanged excretion. Moreover, wastewater treatment plants fail to completely mineralize/transform it, as evidenced by findings of up to 3800 ng/L in some effluents. In this paper, the possible degradation of VAL was evaluated through Fenton-like reaction with activation of peroxymonosulfate in the presence of Fe(II) under neutral conditions. Fourteen degradation byproducts were isolated and completely identified by both nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrometry, five of which were discovered for the first time, and a mechanism of their formation was proposed. Furthermore, the potential acute and chronic toxicity of valsartan and its byproducts in the aquatic environment were evaluated in key organisms of the freshwater trophic chain belonging to producers and consumers, the alga Raphidocelis subcapitata and the rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus, respectively. Acute effects occurred at concentrations in the order of tens/hundreds of mg/L, far from those of environmental concern. As regards chronic effects, algae were not particularly affected by the parent compound and its derivatives, while rotifers were less affected by derivatives (effective concentrations at units/tens of μg/L) compared to valsartan (effective concentrations at hundreds of ng/L)., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Purpose: To evaluate the accuracy of a static computer-assisted implant surgery (s-CAIS) system across different private practices., Methods: This retrospective clinical study was based on data retrieved from 21 patients who received 61 implants between 2018 and 2020 in 3 private practices run by surgeons with extensive experience with s-CAIS. All patients were treated using the same s-CAIS system, planning software, template manufacturing process, and surgical guides. The standard tessellation language (STL) file of the intraoral scan of the fixture taken immediately after implant placement was matched with that of the preoperative plan for comparisons of preoperative and planned implant positions with postoperative and actual implant positions. The study outcomes were linear and angular deviations between the planned and actual implant positions., Results: No surgical or postsurgical complications occurred. The overlap of the two STL files resulted in a mean angular deviation of 2.94° The mean linear deviation at the implant shoulder was 0.73 mm, and that at the apex was 1.06 mm. The mean vertical deviations at the implant shoulder and the apex were 0.29 mm and 0.01 mm, respectively., Conclusion: All cases showed satisfactory accuracy within the limits of this study (small number of patients and retrospective design). These results might be related to the use of a standardized digital workflow by experienced operators., Statement of Clinical Relevance: The study shows that careful control of each step, from data acquisition to final execution, is key for the accuracy of stent-guided systems., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors report no conflicts of interest related to the present study. Despite the software for the implant planning was made available for free for the purpose of this study, and Alice Sormani is an employee of 3Diemme srl, the material and the clinical data obtained here belong only to the surgeons (Fabrizia Luongo, Giuseppe Luongo, Henriette Lerner and Camilla Gesso) who performed the surgeries, who basically did not receive any grant or funds, or any other form of financial support for the implementation of this study., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)