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Due to its location on West Coast of Africa, Cape Verde is highly influenced by Sahara Desert dust events being an optimum place to observe and study the African aeolian aerosol. During 2011, particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter lower than 10 μm (PM) was sampled in Santiago Island and its chemical composition was evaluated by k-instrumental neutron activation analysis ( k-INAA) and particle induced X-ray emission (PIXE). This study showed the existence of a seasonal intrusion of dust from Africa (that occurred from October to March) characterized by significant increases of PM, mineral elements and anthropogenic particles concentrations. In 2011, the PM health-based air quality guidelines defined by WHO, EU and USEPA were exceeded. Cape Verde PM composition was characterized essentially by high concentrations of elements originating from the soil (Ca, Ce, Co, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Rb, S, Sc, Si, Sm, and Ti) and sea (Br, Cl, and Na); and low concentrations of anthropogenic elements (As, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Sb, V, and Zn). k-INAA and PIXE were fundamental tools for the determination of airborne chemical elements in Cape Verde. Their multi-elemental capabilities in association with low detection limits made it possible to determine the majority of the element concentrations of environmental interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Portuguese INAA laboratory processes approximately one thousand of multi-matrix samples per year, generating fifteen thousands of results in the same period, using the k methodology. In order to ensure that the data produced meets the require quality any sample analysed is processed together with a reference material. Therefore, every year a large amount of results of many reference materials are generated. This work analysed a large database created with the results from the reference materials irradiated in the period 2009-2013. Zeta-scores were calculated and different control charts were created as function of the time period, irradiated mass, reference material and operator. The objective of this work was to recognise human errors, to identify deficiencies in the protocols and to improve the quality of the results generated by the laboratory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objective: While impact of heat exposure on human health is well-documented, limited research exists on its effect on kidney disease hospital admissions especially in Texas, a state with diverse demographics and a high heat-related death rate. We aimed to explore the link between high temperatures and emergency kidney disease hospital admissions across 12 Texas Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) from 2004 to 2013, considering causes, age groups, and ethnic populations., Methods: To investigate the correlation between high temperatures and emergency hospital admissions, we utilized MSA-level hospital admission and weather data. We employed a Generalized Additive Model to calculate the association specific to each MSA, and then performed a random effects meta-analysis to estimate the overall correlation. Analyses were stratified by age groups, admission causes, and racial/ethnic disparities. Sensitivity analysis involved lag modifications and ozone inclusion in the model., Results: Our analysis found that each 1 °C increase in temperature was associated with a 1.73 % (95 % CI [1.43, 2.03]) increase in hospital admissions related to all types of kidney diseases. Besides, the effect estimates varied across different age groups and specific types of kidney diseases. We observed statistically significant associations between high temperatures and emergency hospital admissions for Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) (3.34 % (95 % CI [2.86, 3.82])), Kidney Stone (1.76 % (95 % CI [0.94, 2.60])), and Urinary Tract Infections (UTI) (1.06 % (95 % CI [0.61, 1.51])). Our research findings indicate disparities in certain Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs). In Austin, Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas metropolitan areas, the estimated effects are more pronounced for African Americans when compared to the White population. Additionally, in Dallas, Houston, El Paso, and San Antonio, the estimated effects are greater for the Hispanic group compared to the Non-Hispanic group., Conclusions: This study finds a strong link between higher temperatures and kidney disease-related hospital admissions in Texas, especially for AKI. Public health actions are necessary to address these temperature-related health risks, including targeted kidney health initiatives. More research is needed to understand the mechanisms and address health disparities among racial/ethnic groups., 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 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

For over a century, ecotoxicological studies have reported the occurrence of hormesis as a significant phenomenon in many areas of science. In plant biology, hormesis research focuses on measuring morphological, physiological, biochemical, and productivity changes in plants exposed to low doses of herbicides. These studies involve multiple features that are often correlated. However, the multivariate aspect and interdependencies among components of a plant system are not considered in the adopted modeling framework. Therefore, a multivariate nonlinear modeling approach for hormesis is proposed, where information regarding correlations among response variables is taken into account through a variance-covariance matrix obtained from univariate residuals. The proposed methodology is evaluated through a Monte Carlo simulation study and an application to experimental data from safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) cultivation. In the simulation study, the multivariate model outperformed the univariate models, exhibiting higher precision, lower bias, and greater accuracy in parameter estimation. These results were also confirmed in the analysis of the experimental data. Using the delta method, mean doses of interest can be derived along with their associated standard errors. This is the first study to address hormesis in a multivariate context, allowing for a better understanding of the biphasic dose-response relationships by considering the interrelationships among various measured characteristics in the plant system, leading to more precise parameter estimates., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Marcelo de Almeida Silva reports financial support was provided by National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq, Brazil). Deoclecio Jardim Amorim reports financial support was provided by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES, Brazil)., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Glyphosate application, even in low doses, changes the metabolism of crops. This research aimed to evaluate the effects of glyphosate low doses and sowing season on metabolic changes of early-cycle common beans. Two experiments were conducted in the field, one in the winter season and one in the wet season. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design consisting of the application of glyphosate low doses [0.0, 1.8, 7.2, 12.0, 36.0, 54.0, and 108.0 g acid equivalent (a.e.) ha -1 ] in the phenological stage V4 with four replications. In the winter season, glyphosate and shikimic acid were increased five days after the application of treatments. In contrast, the same compounds increased only at doses of 36 g a.e. ha -1 and above in the wet season. The dose of 7.2 g a.e. ha -1 increased phenylalanine ammonia-lyase and benzoic acid in the winter season. The doses of 54 and 108 g a.e. ha -1 increased benzoic acid, caffeic acid, and salicylic acid. Our study indicated that glyphosate low doses increase the concentration of shikimic, benzoic, salicylic and caffeic acid, PAL and tyrosine. There was no reduction in aromatic amino acids and in secondary compounds from the shikimic acid pathway.

Emerging contaminants such as nanoplastics (NPs), as well as manufacturing by-products such as plasticizers, have gained global attention and concern due to their limited biodegradability and their potential impact on human health, in particular the effects on respiratory tissue. In parallel, in vitro cell culture techniques are key to the assessment and characterization of toxic effects and cellular mechanisms in different types of tissues and should provide relevant information to understand the hazardous potential of these emergent contaminants. This systematic review presents the main results on the current knowledge of the effects of NPs and plasticizers on lung cells, as assessed with the use of in vitro cell culture techniques. From the selected studies ( n = 10), following the PRISMA approach, it was observed that cell viability was the most frequently assessed endpoint and that most studies focused on epithelial cells and exposures to polystyrene (PS). It was observed that exposure to NPs or plasticizers induces cytotoxicity in a dose-dependent manner, regardless of the size of the NPs. Furthermore, there is evidence that the characteristics of NPs can affect the toxic response by promoting the association with other organic compounds. As such, further in vitro studies focusing on the combination of NPs with plasticizers will be essential for the understanding of mechanisms of NPs toxicity.

According to the WHO, air quality affects around 40 million people, contributing to around 21,000 premature deaths per year. Severe respiratory diseases, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, can be promoted by air pollution, which has already been documented; this is one of the reasons why air quality is a very relevant factor for human health and well-being. Aerosols are an aggregation of solid or liquid particles dispersed in the air and can be found in the form of dust or fumes. Aerosols can be easily inhaled or absorbed by the skin, which can lead to adverse health effects according to their sizes that range from the nanometre to the millimetre scale. Based on the PRISMA methodology and using the Rayyan QCRI platform, it was possible to assess more than four hundred research articles. This systematic review study aimed to understand the impact of particles on pulmonary endothelial cells, namely particulate matter in different sizes, cigarette smoke, diesel exhaust particles and carbon black. The main conclusions were that particles induce multiple health effects on endothelial cells, namely endothelial dysfunction, which can lead to apoptosis and necrosis, and it may also cause necroptosis in lung structure.

The SAVING project aimed to create a sustainable and active aging program to promote the transition to sustainable aging in residential structures for the elderly (RSEs), developing research activities to apply the best strategies and good practices regarding the promotion of an active, healthy, and sustainable aging regarding social, economic, environmental, and pedagogic aspects. All this innovative methodology was built on a living-lab approach applied in one RSE, that was used as a case study. The results showed that the creation of the SAVING Brigade allowed not only increased reflection and mutual learning, but also created better conditions to face uncertainties and obstacles. Moreover, the use of indicators supported the basic themes and enabled comparison with other studies, between institutions or programs. Finally, the Action Plan acted as a tool for the development of previously defined strategies. It is possible to conclude that the breadth of the concept of quality of life encompasses the physical health of the individual, their psychological state, their social relationships, their perceptions, and the relationship with the characteristics of the context in which they are inserted. Therefore, active, sustainable, and healthy aging should be the goal.

Changes in photosynthetic machinery can induce physiological and biochemical damage in plants. Low doses of glyphosate have been shown to exert a positive effect in mitigating the deleterious effects of water deficit in plants. Here, the physiological and biochemical mechanisms of safflower plants (Carthamus tinctorius L.) were studied under conditions of water deficit mediated by the attenuating effect of low-dose glyphosate. The plants were divided into two groups of water regimes in soil, without water deficit (-10 kPa) and with water deficit (-70 kPa), and were exposed to different concentrations of glyphosate (0, 1.8, 3.6, 7.2, 18, 36, 72, 180, 360, and 720 g a.e. ha -1 ). Evident protective responses at the physiological and biochemical levels were obtained after applying low doses of glyphosate to plants under water deficit, with a limiting dose for the occurrence of hormesis (LDS) = 72 g a.e. ha -1 . The water deficit in plants resulted in hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) accumulation and consequently lipid peroxidation (LPO) associated with the accumulation of shikimic acid and glyphosate in plants, which triggered an increase in the activity of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) that act by dismuting the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), maintaining, and/or increasing the maximum quantum efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm), effective quantum yield of photosystem II (ΦPSII), electron transport rate (ETR), photochemical extinction coefficient (qP), and non-photochemical extinction coefficient (NPQ). APX appears to be the main enzyme involved in eliminating H 2 O 2 . Low doses of glyphosate act as water deficit ameliorators, allowing the plant to maintain/increase metabolism at physiological and biochemical levels by activating antioxidant enzymes in the dismutation of ROS in safflower plants., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declared that they have no conflicts of interest to this work. The authors declare that they do not have any commercial or associative interest that represents a conflict of interest in connection with the work submitted., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The management of sugarcane ripening is essential to ensuring the supply of high-quality raw material for the sugar-alcohol industry; chemical ripeners are frequently used to accelerate sucrose accumulation in the stalks during harvesting. The potential ripening effect of a low dose of glyphosate was evaluated in sugarcane, along with its impact on productivity and sprouting in the next crop cycle. A field experiment was conducted in 2015 and 2016 using a randomized block design with eight replicates in a split-plot scheme, with the following treatments: (1) control with only water application, (2) glyphosate at a low dose of 1.8 g a.e. ha -1 (corresponding to 0.005 L ha -1 of the commercial product (cp)), and (3) glyphosate at the commercially recommended dose for a ripener at 180 g a.e. ha -1 (corresponding to 0.50 L ha -1 of the cp) applied at 60, 45, 30, and 15 days before harvest (DBH). The harvest was performed on May 25, 2016 (0 DBH), and a total of five periods were evaluated. This study showed that the application of a hormetic dose of glyphosate to stimulate sugarcane ripening is promising, despite the limited duration of the effect. The application of the hormetic dose (1.8 g a.e. ha -1 ) at 30 DBH improved the technological quality of sugarcane in terms of Brix% juice, pol% cane, purity% juice, moisture% cane, reducing sugars, total reducing sugars, and total recoverable sugar. Additionally, it increased pol productivity, and did not affect ratoon sprouting in the subsequent cycle. Thus, this study provides a strategy for ripening management with a low environmental impact for sugarcane producers through a low (hormetic) dose of glyphosate., 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 © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Fear extinction (FExt) is used to treat patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, fear related to traumatic events can be persistent and return even after successful extinction. The neurochemical control of extinction seems to be performed by several neurotransmitters, including dopamine (DA), through D1 and D2 receptors. Recently, we showed that intranasally applied DA (IN-DA) facilitated the FExt, but the mechanisms by which it promoted this effect are still unknown. This study focused on investigating whether these effects are mediated by the action of DA on D2-like receptors since these receptors seem to be related to neurochemical and molecular changes underlying extinction. Also, we investigated whether IN-DA treatment would affect conditioned fear-induced antinociception (Fear-IA). Rats treated with IN-DA (1 mg/kg) twenty-five minutes after sulpiride (SUL; 40 mg/kg, i.p., D2-antagonist) were subjected to the extinction of contextual fear. IN-DA applied before the extinction session induced the FExt and prevented Fear-IA. These effects were impaired by pre-treatment with SUL, suggesting that the IN-DA effects are mediated by DA on D2-like receptors. SUL per se also facilitated the FExt but did not affect Fear-IA. These data suggest IN-DA as a promising pharmacological tool to supplement the psychotherapy of patients suffering from PTSD., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Glyphosate application, even in low doses, changes the nutrient composition of crops. The objective of this research was to evaluate the effects of low doses of glyphosate and the sowing season on the macronutrient and micronutrient contents of early cycle common beans. Two experiments were conducted in the field, namely one in the winter season and one in the wet season, using the early cycle common bean cultivar IAC Imperador. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design consisting of the application of low doses of glyphosate [0.0, 1.8, 7.2, 12.0, 36.0, 54.0, and 108.0 g acid equivalent (a.e.) ha -1 ] in the phenological stage V 4 with four replications. Environmental conditions, such as air temperature, interfered with the response of early cycle common beans to low doses of glyphosate. In the winter season, doses of 7.2 g a.e. ha -1 and 36.0 g a.e. ha -1 increased the nutrient composition in the bean leaves, whereas only the Cu content increased in the grains by the dose of 1.8 g a.e. ha -1 . In the wet season, there was no increase in the nutrient composition in the bean leaves. The Cu, Zn, Mn, and Fe contents in the grains increased with from the dose of 12 g a.e. ha -1 to above the amount normally observed in common beans, thereby improving the nutritional quality of the food. Our study indicated that low doses of glyphosate alter the nutrient composition of common beans, whereas environmental conditions interfere with the response of common beans to low doses of glyphosate., 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 © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)