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In the current context of concern for the improvement and protection of environmental conditions, emphasis is placed on the provision of non-toxic, eco-friendly, renewable biomaterials to replace established chemical substances. Lythri herba is the aerial part of the plant species Lythrum salicaria L., known in the scientific literature especially for its content of tannins and total polyphenols, which highlight its antioxidant, hemostatic, antibacterial and antidiarrheal properties. Chitosan is a biopolymer widely used in industry and medicine due to its abundance in nature, its biodegradability, lack of toxicity and the ease with which it can be transformed into several basic forms (hydrogel, membrane, sponge). The aqueous solutions and membranes obtained in this study by merging these two natural resources were biologically tested in terms of genotoxicity (SOS-Chromo assay), hemolytic activity, thrombin generation activity and bacterial adhesion to reveal outwardly the lack of these properties and their use for medical purposes. The results of the current study attest to the absence of mutagenic and slight hemolyzing properties, thus supporting the possibility of using this extract and membrane in medical and pharmaceutical therapeutic practice. The surface parameters of membranes were examined and important influences at thrombin activity were found. Also, bacterial adhesion results showed a correlation between Lythri herba and chitosan concentrations and membranes’ appearances (swelling, stability). The results show that the membranes could be a promising material for biomedical applications.

The Tranq drog represents the new combination of substances at increased risk of abuse (fentanyl/fentanyl analogs and xylazine) currently affecting states such as Puerto Rico, the United States, and Canada. This type of drug is responsible for both the occurrence of necrotizing infected ulcers at the injection site of users, as well as the ineffectiveness of the antidote naloxone in treating overdoses and the lack of testing for xylazine detection. Public Health Departments in the US are conducting an ongoing battle to inform the public of the existence of xylazine as a prevalent contaminant in street drugs and to educate in first aid measures to limit adverse effects and deaths occurring post Tranq use. This paper aimed to warn of the new urgent public health challenge emerging among American drug users, responsible for the highest overdose mortality rates at this time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemicals reaching the human body can affect the endocrine system by inducing hormone agonist or antagonist effects or by altering hormone synthesis reactions. Exposure to the body can be either through ingestion or inhalation (food, drinking water, air) or through direct contact with certain substances in general use (industry, cosmetics, etc.). The human health problems identified and associated with endocrine disrupters are mainly related to dysfunctions of the reproductive system or lipid metabolism. Also, exacerbating exposure can lead to irreversible changes at the molecular level and carcinogenesis. Worryingly, it can have long-term consequences through changes in genetic and epigenetic regulatory pathways. Legislation at the European level seeks to harmonize ways of protecting human health through regulations related to basic research, environmental risk assessment, promotion of sustainable development, protection of vulnerable ecosystems, and continuous information and updating of risk data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human genetic diversity is shaped by both demographic and biological factors and has fundamental implications for understanding the genetic basis of disease. Understanding how some genes influence the manifestation of SARS-CoV-2 viral infection, is a desideratum of modern approaches to personalized therapy. With genome-wide prediction of individual pharmacological response this information can be used to obtain new pharmacological targets, and with them new active substances. All this information reinforces the concept of customized medicine, a concept that was utopian for a while, but with technological advances in molecular analysis, this concept is starting to become a reality. This study is a short review highlighting the main components of the genetic variations in the relationship between the virus and the host organism. Individual variations of genes and their proteins expressions are also a key component in the process of understanding induced immunity after disease as well as after vaccination. Genetics of human cell membranar systems used for virus integrations host and genetics of human intracellular signalling are short presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pandemic promoted the need to understand evolutionary principles to solve aspects of human behavior that hinder biomedical innovation and the application of public health services, behaviors that denote insecurity, mistrust and reluctance towards vaccines. Estimating the efficacy of the vaccine (VE) against COVID-19 is essential to assess population protection levels and future booster dose needs to cope with the re-emergence of epidemic waves. This minireview aimed to investigate the relationships between the time course of global SARS-CoV-2 infections (as assessed by case rate and mortality rate) and the development of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination campaigns and post-vaccination follow-up, respectively. The World Health Organization convened the Technical Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution to develop guidance on how best to estimate Strategies for the prevention and control of COVID-19. These detailed overviews of the processes followed, the data used and the methods applied were provided from studies found in the scientific literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]