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Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a complex illness with both hereditary and environmental components. Globally, in 2019, 18 million people had RA. RA is characterized by persistent inflammation of the synovial membrane that lines the joints, cartilage loss, and bone erosion. Phenolic molecules are the most prevalent secondary metabolites in plants, with a diverse spectrum of biological actions that benefit functional meals and nutraceuticals. These compounds have received a lot of attention recently because they have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, and anti-rheumatoid activity by modulating tumor necrosis factor, mitogen-activated protein kinase, nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells, and c-Jun N-terminal kinases, as well as other preventative properties. This article discusses dietary polyphenols, their pharmacological properties, and innovative delivery technologies for the treatment of RA, with a focus on their possible biological activities. Nonetheless, commercialization of polyphenols may be achievable only after confirming their safety profile and completing successful clinical trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Delivering the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires leaders to navigate different fields and work across public, private, and plural sectors. Higher education (HE) is positioned uniquely to bring disciplines together and convene leaders from business, government, and civil society by designing customized learning encounters. Here we explore the creation and delivery of a change program for leaders concerned with the SDGs based on a framework for understanding and shifting underlying relationships – termed here, agreement structures. Informed by meta-analysis of cases integrating social and technical innovations, an immersive personalized sustainability learning program was designed and offered in a university setting in summer 2019 in Spain. Drawing from academia (students and faculty), business and local government, learning experiences were co-created to help shift the paradigm for creating change among people, place, and planet. Making explicit agreement structures influenced learning design and enabled the co-creation of a customized cross-disciplinary, cross-sectoral program for leaders concerned with fulfilment of the SDGs. Exploiting the unique convening and integrating power of HE, the SDGs provided a shared narrative around which the faculty could communicate and bring their unique perspectives to co-create the program. Focused on accelerating multi-actor partnerships for delivery of the SDGs, the program focused on enabling a shift in underlying agreement structures necessary for local-global collaboration and transformation. The study describes a program that made conscious the relationships that need shifting to fulfil the SDGs and offers new insights to leverage the convening power of HE to contribute towards fulfilment of the SDGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: COVID-19 vaccination in Brazil has been performed mostly with CoronaVac (Sinovac), ChAdOx1-S (AstraZeneca-University of Oxford) and BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) vaccines. The titers of IgG antibodies reactive to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein correlate with vaccine efficacy. Studies comparing vaccine immunogenicity in a real-world scenario are lacking. (2) Methods: We performed a population-based study to analyze the immunoglobulin G response to different COVID-19 vaccines. Citizens older than 18 years (n = 2376) provided personal data, a self-declaration of any previous COVID-19 positive tests and information regarding COVID-19 vaccination: the vaccine popular name and the date of each dose. Blood samples were collected and the levels of IgG reactive to SARS-CoV-2 antigens were determined and compared between different vaccine groups. (3) Results: The seroconversion for anti-spike IgG achieved > 95% by February 2022 and maintained stable until June 2022. Higher anti-spike IgG titers were detected in individuals vaccinated with BNT162b2, followed by ChAdOx1-S and CoronaVac. The anti-spike IgG response was negatively correlated with age and interval after the second dose for the BNT162b2 vaccine. Natural infections boosted anti-spike IgG in those individuals who completed primary vaccination with ChAdOx1-S and CoronaVac, but not with BNT162b2. The levels of anti-spike IgG increased with the number of vaccine doses administered. The application of BNT162b2 as a 3rd booster dose resulted in high anti-spike IgG antibody titers, despite the type of vaccine used during primary vaccination. (4) Conclusions: Our data confirmed the effectiveness of the Brazilian vaccination program. Of the vaccines used in Brazil, BNT162b2 performed better to elicit anti-spike protein IgG after primary vaccination and as a booster dose and thus should be recommended as a booster whenever available. A continuous COVID-19 vaccination program will be required to sustain anti-spike IgG antibodies in the population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medicinal plants have been used for centuries as an essential part of folk medicine. In recent times, they have been the target of numerous scientific studies due to their effectiveness against several pandemic diseases, such as cancer, cardiovascular, and neurological disorders. Among them, fruits and vegetables have been intensively studied because of their richness in bioactive compounds, mainly phenolics and carotenoids. Prunus avium Linnaeus (L.) vegetal parts (e.g. stems, leaves, and flowers) are a good example of parts of a plant rich in bioactive compounds. They have numerous technological applications; however, currently, they are mostly used as fertilizers and infusions. According to current knowledge, there are now studies regarding the composition and biological properties of cherry trees vegetal parts, which report that they are a rich source of a wide variety of nutritive compounds, such as vitamins, minerals, among others, as well as non-nutritive bioactive constituents like phenolic compounds. Phenolic acids and flavonoids are denominated as plant secondary metabolites, which have shown several health benefits when included in the human diet, particularly antioxidant, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, anti-neurodegenerative, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and anti-cardiovascular effects. The purpose of this review is to present an overview of the beneficial medicinal effects of leaves, flowers, and stems of the cherry tree P. avium, giving emphasis to its phenolic compounds as health promotors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For a long time fruits and vegetables have been the target of many studies and have been greatly promoted due to their nutritional value and abundance of bioactive compounds, known for their protective effects. The peach has been part of the human diet for hundreds of years, being a very common fruit consumed worldwide. It is very rich in phytochemicals like phenolic compounds, carotenoids, vitamins, volatiles and organic acids. Phenolics, carotenoids and vitamins are known for their antioxidant properties. They exert a number of beneficial effects on cells through free radical scavenging and by participating in cells' signaling pathways. The phenolic compounds in peach-like quercetin, catechins and cyanidin derivatives have been found to play important roles due to their antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties. Evidence has risen about their preventive effects on multiple chronic and age-related diseases such as diabetes, obesity, hypertension, inflammation, cardiovascular, neurodegenerative and oncologic diseases. A variety of studies have focused on testing and determining the phenolic content of peach extracts, which have shown great potential as free-radical scavengers and providing protection against several chronic/age-related diseases. In this review we will present the peach as a potential medicinal food, giving emphasis to its phenolic compounds as health promotors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]