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An electronic cigarette is a rechargeable device that produces an inhaled aerosol containing varying levels of nicotine, and inorganic and organic toxicants and carcinogenic compounds. The aerosol is generated by heating a solution of propylene glycol and glycerin with nicotine and flavoring ingredients at a high temperature. The e-cigarette was developed and marketed as a safer alternative to the regular cigarette which is known to be injurious to human health. However, published studies suggest that the aerosol of e-cigarette can also have adverse health effects. The main objective of this review is to briefly describe some consequences of e-cigarette smoking, and to present data showing that the resulting increased oxidative stress and inflammation are likely to be involved in effecting to lung damage. Other organs are also likely to be affected. The aerosol contains varying amounts of organic and inorganic toxicants as well as carcinogens, which might serve as the source of such deleterious events. In addition, the aerosol also contains nicotine, which is known to be addictive. E-cigarette smoking releases these toxicants into the air leading to inhalation by nonsmokers in residential or work place areas. Unlike regular tobacco smoke, the long-term consequences of direct and secondhand exposure to e-cigarette aerosol have not been extensively studied but based on available data, e-cigarette aerosol should be considered harmful to human health.

Single-point mutation diseases in which substitution of one nucleotide with another in a gene occurs include familial Alzheimer's disease (fAD), familial Parkinson's disease (fPD), and familial Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease (fCJD) as well as Huntington's disease (HD), sickle cell anemia, and hemophilia. Inevitability of occurrence of these diseases is certain. However, the time of appearance of symptoms could be influenced by the diet, environment, and possibly other genetic factors. There are no effective approaches to delay the onset or progression of symptoms of these diseases. The fact that increased oxidative stress and inflammation significantly contribute to the initiation and progression of these point mutation diseases shows that antioxidants could be useful. The major objectives are (a) to present evidence that increased oxidative stress and chronic inflammation are associated with selected single-point mutation diseases, such as fAD, fPD, and fCJD, HD, sickle cell anemia, and hemophilia; (b) to describe limited studies on the role of individual antioxidants in experimental models of some of these diseases; and (c) to discuss a rationale for utilizing a comprehensive mixture of micronutrients, which may delay the development and progression of symptoms of above diseases by simultaneously reducing oxidative and inflammatory damages.Key teaching pointsSelected single-point mutation diseases and their pattern of inheritanceCharacteristics of each selected single-point mutation diseaseEvidence for increased oxidative stress and inflammation in each diseasePotential reasons for failure of single antioxidants in human studiesRationale for using a comprehensive mixture of micronutrients in delaying the onset and progression of single-point mutation diseases.

The effect of mulching and nutrition on the growth and yield of sweet basil was examined by experimenting with four mulch treatments, viz., without mulch, black plastic, silver plastic, and organic mulch combined with four different nutrient compositions, viz., a 100% recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF), a combination of 75% RDF with humic acid, 75% RDF with microbial consortia and 75% RDF, and humic acid and microbial consortia, which served as sixteen treatment combinations with 100% RDF without mulch as a control. Among the different treatments, mulch had a significant effect on growth and yield parameters, with black plastic mulch having the maximum plant height (88.20 cm), number of branches (14.95), plant spread (5415 cm2), stem diameter (12.64 mm), fresh herbage yield (24.55 t/ha) and dry herbage yield (8.72 t/ha). Thus, the study revealed that among the various mulch treatments, black plastic mulch significantly enhanced the growth and yield parameters of sweet basil, demonstrating its efficacy in promoting optimal plant development and productivity.

The appearance of excessive inflammatory activity is associated with onset of many disease states. Such non-productive responses are often the basis of the mortality consequent to incurring numerous disorders. The current outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by the virus "severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2" is a striking reflection of the inadequacy of current medical science to adequately address this issue. The usefulness of a range of materials of botanical origin in the attenuation of both chronic and acute inflammatory responses to various disease stressors is described. The properties of preparations of plant-based origin often parallel those of synthesized pharmacologics, but differ from them in some key respects. These differences can lead to more traditional preparations having distinct therapeutic advantages but also a number of specific shortcomings. The strengths and weaknesses of these materials are objectively contrasted with that of a more orthodox pharmacological approach. Each of these emphases in style has specific advantages and they should not be considered as competitors, but rather as accomplices in combating adverse states involving derangement of immune function.

This short overview focuses on the causation and treatment of type 2 diabetes (T2D). Emphasis is given to the historical basis of understanding this disease and the background leading to emergence of the central role of insulin. The strengths of insulin administration in the treatment of diabetes are profound, but these need to be balanced against several serious shortcomings of its extended use. Some alternative approaches to T2D management are considered. Insulin is no longer considered as the first choice for type 2 diabetes, and an expanding range of new therapeutic possibilities is emerging. While these may lack the potency of insulin, at a minimum, they allow a major reduction in the intensity of insulin use. In view of the rising worldwide incidence of this disease, it is imperative to develop safe and inexpensive means of limiting its potential for impairment of normal functioning.

Ebola virus (EBOV) causes a severe, often fatal disease in humans and nonhuman primates. Within the past decade, EBOV has caused two large and difficult-to-control outbreaks, one of which recently ended in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Bats are the likely reservoir of EBOV, but little is known of their relationship with the virus. We perform serial passages of EBOV in human and bat cells and use circular sequencing to compare the short-term evolution of the virus. Virus populations passaged in bat cells have sequence markers indicative of host RNA editing enzyme activity, including evidence for ADAR editing of the EBOV glycoprotein. Multiple regions in the EBOV genome appear to have undergone adaptive evolution when passaged in bat and human cells. Individual mutated viruses are rescued and characterized. Our results provide insight into the host species-specific evolution of EBOV and highlight the adaptive flexibility of the virus.

Hearing disorders constitute one of the major health concerns in the USA. Decades of basic and clinical studies have identified numerous ototoxic agents and investigated their modes of action on the inner ear, utilizing tissue culture as well as animal and human models. Current preventive and therapeutic approaches are considered unsatisfactory. Therefore, additional modalities should be developed. Many studies suggest that increased levels of oxidative stress, chronic inflammation, and glutamate play an important role in the initiation and progression of damage to the inner ear leading to hearing impairments. To prevent these cellular deficits, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory agents, and antagonists of glutamate receptor have been used individually or in combination with limited success. It is essential, therefore, to simultaneously enhance the levels of antioxidant enzymes by activating the Nrf2 (a nuclear transcriptional factor) pathway, dietary and endogenous antioxidant compounds, and B12-vitamins in order to reduce the levels of oxidative stress, chronic inflammation, and glutamate at the same time. This review presents evidence to show that increased levels of these cellular metabolites, biochemical or factors are involved in the pathogenesis of cochlea leading to hearing impairments. It presents scientific rationale for the use of a mixture of micronutrients that may decrease the levels of oxidative damage, chronic inflammation, and glutamate at the same time. The benefits for using oral administration of proposed micronutrient mixture in humans are presented. Animal and limited human studies indirectly suggest that orally administered micronutrients can accumulate in the inner ear. Therefore, this route of administration may be useful in prevention, and in combination with standard care, in improved management of hearing problems following exposure to well-recognized and studied ototoxic agents, such as noise, cisplatin, aminoglycoside antibiotics, and advanced age.

Transition-metal-doped semiconductor nanocrystals have received significant attention because of their attractive features deeming them invaluable in various technological fields including optoelectronics, bio-photonics, and energy conversion, to name a few. Of particular, these interests are two-dimensional materials with useful optical and magnetic properties combined with their large surface areas opening up new applications in biotechnology. These applications range from multimodal optical and magnetic bioimaging and sensing to measuring the weak magnetic field due to brain waves using their magneto-optic properties stemming from the exchange interaction between the transition metal dopants and the carrier spins. These magnetic 2D materials could also significantly advance the field of spintronics. In this work, we report on a study of the magnetic and magneto-optic properties of colloidal two-dimensional (2D) copper-doped CdSe nanoplatelets (NPLs) that are synthesized using a high-temperature colloidal technique. We carried out optical and circularly polarized magneto-photoluminescence spectrometry to investigate the magnetism in our solution-processed nanostructures doped with copper ion impurities. At cryogenic temperatures, two excitonic features are observed for doped NPLs, which are more prominent compared to the undoped NPLs. Furthermore, the excitonic circular polarization (CP) is recorded as a function of the applied magnetic field (B) and temperature (T). The detailed analysis provides a picture of the magneto-optical behavior of the doped 2D NPLs in the presence of paramagnetic copper ions. This work paves the way for significant advances in bio/nanophotonics where tunable optical and magnetic properties of doped nanoplatelets can be leveraged to make more efficient, flexible, and low-cost devices.

Prion diseases are a group of incurable infectious terminal neurodegenerative diseases caused by the aggregated misfolded PrPsc in selected mammals including humans. The complex physical interaction between normal prion protein PrPc and infectious PrPsc causes conformational change from the α- helix structure of PrPc to the β-sheet structure of PrPsc, and this process is repeated. Increased oxidative stress is one of the factors that facilitate the conversion of PrPc to PrPsc. This overview presents evidence to show that increased oxidative stress and inflammation are involved in the progression of this disease. Evidence is given for the participation of redoxsensitive metals Cu and Fe with PrPsc inducing oxidative stress by disturbing the homeostasis of these metals. The fact that some antioxidants block the toxicity of misfolded PrPc peptide supports the role of oxidative stress in prion disease. After exogenous infection in mice, PrPsc enters the follicular dendritic cells where PrPsc replicates before neuroinvasion where they continue to replicate and cause inflammation leading to neurodegeneration. Therefore, reducing levels of oxidative stress and inflammation may decrease the rate of the progression of this disease. It may be an important order to reduce oxidative stress and inflammation at the same time. This may be achieved by increasing the levels of antioxidant enzymes by activating the Nrf2 pathway together with simultaneous administration of dietary and endogenous antioxidants. It is proposed that a mixture of micronutrients could enable these concurrent events thereby reducing the progression of human prion disease.

Many studies show that daily consumption of high-fiber diet reduces the risk of developing kidney stones, inflammatory disease, colon cancer and other malignancies, obesity, type II diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Dietary fibers are non-digestible polysaccharides that are composed of complex carbohydrates. Based on their relative solubility in water, dietary fibers can be divided into insoluble and soluble forms. Soluble fibers absorb water to form a gel in the intestine. Soluble fibers with the exception of Psyllium are more readily fermentable by the colon probiotic bacteria than insoluble fibers. An important property of insoluble fibers is the ability to bind with carcinogens, mutagens, and other toxic chemicals that are formed during digestion of food, and eliminate them through the feces. Soluble fibers can be degraded to short-chain fatty acids, such as butyrate, propionate, and acetate by fermentation. This review discusses mechanisms of action of fibers and their beneficial effects on the GI tract as well as on other organs. Among short-chain fatty acids, butyrate has been most extensively studied and the effects of sodium butyrate on cell culture and animal models are discussed in order to emphasize its potential value in prevention of certain diseases.

Many studies show that daily consumption of high-fiber diet is associated with a reduced risk of developing kidney stones, inflammatory disease, colon cancer and other malignancies, obesity, type II diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Dietary fibers are non-digestible polysaccharides that are composed of complex carbohydrates. Based on their relative solubility in water, dietary fibers can be divided into insoluble and soluble forms. An important property of insoluble fibers is their ability to bind with carcinogens, mutagens, and other toxic chemicals that are formed during digestion of food and eliminate them through the feces. Soluble fibers can often be degraded to short-chain fatty acids, such as butyrate, propionate, and acetate by microbial fermentation. This review discusses mechanisms of action of fibers and their beneficial effects on the GI tract as well as on other organs. Among short-chain fatty acids, butyrate has been most extensively studied and the effects of sodium butyrate on cell culture and animal models are discussed in order to emphasize its potential value in prevention of certain diseases.