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\"Environmental pollution has become a problem worldwide. This book contains the cutting-edge technologies to dissipate hazardous pollutants through bio and nanotechnologies described in four sections and 18 chapters. The first section named 'The polluted environment' shows the current situation of pollution in the world, which is facing an uncontrolled emission of hazardous contaminants. The second section named 'Bioremediation' discuss updated information regarding the main biotechnologies and the use of autochthonous, introduced, or genetically modified organisms to dissipate pollutants. The third section named 'Bio or Nanoremediation' shows pioneering strategies to synthesize metal-, carbon-based, smart, or green nanomaterials and their use in bio or nanoremediation, while the molecular farming and their impact in bio or nanoremediation is also discussed. The fourth section named 'Bio and Nanoremediation working together for better performance' explain the mains chemical and biochemical processes involved in degradation of hazardous contaminants through bio and nanoremediation, and exhibit state-of-the-art strategies regarding the environmental remediation by novel nanomaterials working together with bacteria, fungi or plants at high-degradation rates of hazardous contaminants. An up to date book for undergraduate or postgraduate students, and scientists or researchers involved in nanoscience, nanotechnology, and bioremediation technology as well as those researchers that solving environmental problems regarding the management and degradation of pollutants that jeopardize the human and environmental health and hamper the pursuit of the sustainable development goals\"-- Provided by publisher.

With increasing population, there is growing concern for food security in urban areas. Though, urban gardening has gained popularity, several studies have found higher concentrations of contaminants in urban soils, especially heavy metals, often at toxic levels, which pose a potential risk for human health. Moreover, heavy metal polluted sites have been strongly associated with areas populated by low-income families, newcomers and racial minorities. In this study, heavy metals in the soils of community gardens in the city of Guelph, ON were examined as a case study and their relationship with vulnerable populations. We analyzed soil samples at two depths for a range of heavy metals and characterized their spatial patterns to see if they were related to disadvantaged communities. We estimated the pollution levels using two index-based approaches and assessed their potential risk for human health, although concentrations of most heavy metals were below the limits established by Canadian regulations, metals like Cd, Pb, Se and Zn exhibited a mild degree of pollution, whereas As exhibited a severe degree. Their association with vulnerable populations were weak, but hotspots were mainly located in low-income areas. This case study provides scientific evidence that could help to expand our understanding around the interconnection between pollution and poverty/racial inequality. Also the importance of generating strategies for the protection of human health and sustainable soil management practices in urban areas where food for human consumption is grown.

Background Evidence suggests that participation in physical activity may support young people’s current and future mental health. Although previous reviews have examined the relationship between physical activity and a range of mental health outcomes in children and adolescents, due to the large increase in published studies there is a need for an update and quantitative synthesis of effects. Objectives The objectives of this study were to determine the effect of physical activity interventions on mental health outcomes by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis, and to systematically synthesize the observational evidence (both longitudinal and cross-sectional studies) regarding the associations between physical activity and sedentary behavior and mental health in preschoolers (2–5 years of age), children (6–11 years of age) and adolescents (12–18 years of age). Methods A systematic search of the PubMed and Web of Science electronic databases was performed from January 2013 to April 2018, by two independent researchers. Meta-analyses were performed to examine the effect of physical activity on mental health outcomes in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-RCTs (i.e. quasi-experimental studies). A narrative synthesis of observational studies was conducted. Studies were included if they included physical activity or sedentary behavior data and at least one psychological ill-being (i.e. depression, anxiety, stress or negative affect) or psychological well-being (i.e. self-esteem, self-concept, self-efficacy, self-image, positive affect, optimism, happiness and satisfaction with life) outcome in preschoolers, children or adolescents. Results A total of 114 original articles met all the eligibility criteria and were included in the review (4 RCTs, 14 non-RCTs, 28 prospective longitudinal studies and 68 cross-sectional studies). Of the 18 intervention studies, 12 (3 RCTs and 9 non-RCTs) were included in the meta-analysis. There was a small but significant overall effect of physical activity on mental health in children and adolescents aged 6–18 years (effect size 0.173, 95% confidence interval 0.106–0.239, p  < 0.001, percentage of total variability attributed to between-study heterogeneity [ I 2 ] = 11.3%). When the analyses were performed separately for children and adolescents, the results were significant for adolescents but not for children. Longitudinal and cross-sectional studies demonstrated significant associations between physical activity and lower levels of psychological ill-being (i.e. depression, stress, negative affect, and total psychological distress) and greater psychological well-being (i.e. self-image, satisfaction with life and happiness, and psychological well-being). Furthermore, significant associations were found between greater amounts of sedentary behavior and both increased psychological ill-being (i.e. depression) and lower psychological well-being (i.e. satisfaction with life and happiness) in children and adolescents. Evidence on preschoolers was nearly non-existent. Conclusions Findings from the meta-analysis suggest that physical activity interventions can improve adolescents’ mental health, but additional studies are needed to confirm the effects of physical activity on children’s mental health. Findings from observational studies suggest that promoting physical activity and decreasing sedentary behavior might protect mental health in children and adolescents. PROSPERO Registration Number: CRD42017060373.

To assess the association between having suffered a fall in the month prior to interview and long-term overall survival in nursing-home residents. Retrospective cohort study conducting an overall survival follow-up of 689 representative nursing-home residents from Madrid, Spain. Residents lived in three types of facilities: public, subsidized and private and its information was collected by interviewing the residents, caregivers and/or facility physicians. Residents contributed to follow-up time from their baseline interviews until death or being censored at the end of the 5-year follow-up period. The association between suffering a fall during the month prior to interview and long-term overall survival was analyzed using Cox proportional hazards models. To adjust for potential confounders we used progressive adjusted models. We then repeated the analyses with severity of the fall (no fall, non-severe, severe) as the main independent variable. After a 2408 person-year follow-up (median 4.5 years), 372 participants had died. In fully-adjusted models, residents who had suffered any kind of fall in the previous month showed virtually the same survival rates compared to non-fallers (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.03; 95% CI = 0.75-1.40). There was a weak graded relationship between increased fall severity and survival rates for the non-severe fall group (HR = 0.92; 95% CI = 0.58-1.45) and the severe fall group (HR = 1.36; 95% CI = 0.73-2.53) compared with residents who had not suffered any kind of fall. The hazard ratios for severe falls were higher in men, residents with less comorbidity, fewer medications, and those functionally independent. We found no associations between having suffered a fall in the month prior to interview and long-term survival; neither did we find a marked association when severity of fall was accounted for in the whole population. In some subgroups, however, the results merit further scrutiny.

The environment which living organisms inhabit is not constant and many factors, such as light, temperature, and food availability, display cyclic and predictable variations. To adapt to these cyclic changes, animals present biological rhythms in many of their physiological variables, timing their functions to occur when the possibility of success is greatest. Among these variables, many endocrine factors have been described as displaying rhythms in vertebrates. The aim of the present review is to provide a thorough review of the existing knowledge on the rhythms of the endocrine system of fish by examining the hormones that show rhythmicity, how environmental factors control these rhythms and the variation in the responses of the endocrine system depending on the time of the day. We mainly focused on the hypothalamic–pituitary axis, which can be considered as the master axis of the endocrine system of vertebrates and regulates a great variety of functions, including reproduction, growth, metabolism, energy homeostasis, stress response, and osmoregulation. In addition, the rhythms of other hormones, such as melatonin and the factors, produced in the gastrointestinal system of fish are reviewed.

Type II radio bursts arise due to shocks typically driven by coronal mass ejections (CMEs). When these shocks propagate outward from the Sun, their associated radio emissions drift down in frequency as excited particles emit at the local plasma frequency, creating the usual type II patterns. In this work, we use dynamic spectra from the Wind/WAVES Thermal Noise Receiver (TNR) to identify type II radio emissions in the kilometric wavelength range (kmTIIs, f < 300  kHz ) between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2012, i.e., over a solar cycle. We identified 134 kmTII events and compiled various characteristics for each of them. The finding of 45 kmTII events not reported by the official Wind/WAVES catalog (based on RAD1 and RAD2 data) is particularly important. We search for associations with interplanetary structures and analyze their main characteristics to reveal distinctive attributes that may correlate with the occurrence of kmTII emission. We find that the fraction of interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs) classified as magnetic clouds (MCs) that are associated with kmTIIs is roughly similar to that of MCs not associated with kmTIIs. Conversely, the fraction of ICMEs with bidirectional electrons is significantly larger for those ICMEs associated with kmTIIs (74% vs. 48%). Likewise, on average, ICMEs associated with kmTIIs are 23% faster. The disturbance storm time (Dst) mean value is almost twice as large for kmTII-associated ICMEs, indicating that they tend to produce intense geomagnetic storms. In addition, the proportion of ICMEs producing moderate to intense geomagnetic storms is twice as large for the kmTII-associated ICMEs. After this investigation, TNR data proved to be valuable not only as complementary data for the analysis of kmTII events but also for forecasting the arrival of shocks at Earth.

A bstract We study two- and three-meson systems composed either of pions or kaons at maximal isospin using Monte Carlo simulations of lattice QCD. Utilizing the stochastic LapH method, we are able to determine hundreds of two- and three-particle energy levels, in nine different momentum frames, with high precision. We fit these levels using the relativistic finite-volume formalism based on a generic effective field theory in order to determine the parameters of the two- and three-particle K-matrices. We find that the statistical precision of our spectra is sufficient to probe not only the dominant s -wave interactions, but also those in d waves. In particular, we determine for the first time a term in the three-particle K-matrix that contains two-particle d waves. We use three N f = 2 + 1 CLS ensembles with pion masses of 200, 280, and 340 MeV. This allows us to study the chiral dependence of the scattering observables, and compare to the expectations of chiral perturbation theory.

A bstract In this work, we use an extension of the quantization condition, given in ref. [ 1 ], to numerically explore the finite-volume spectrum of three relativistic particles, in the case that two-particle subsets are either resonant or bound. The original form of the relativistic three-particle quantization condition was derived under a technical assumption on the two- particle K matrix that required the absence of two-particle bound states or narrow two- particle resonances. Here we describe how this restriction can be lifted in a simple way using the freedom in the definition of the K-matrix-like quantity that enters the quantization condition. With this in hand, we extend previous numerical studies of the quantization condition to explore the finite-volume signature for a variety of two- and three-particle interactions. We determine the spectrum for parameters such that the system contains both dimers (two-particle bound states) and one or more trimers (in which all three particles are bound), and also for cases where the two-particle subchannel is resonant. We also show how the quantization condition provides a tool for determining infinite-volume dimer- particle scattering amplitudes for energies below the dimer breakup. We illustrate this for a series of examples, including one that parallels physical deuteron-nucleon scattering. All calculations presented here are restricted to the case of three identical scalar particles.

Multi-enzymatic cascades with enzymes arranged in close-proximity through a protein scaffold can trigger a substrate channeling effect, allowing for efficient cofactor reuse with industrial potential. However, precise nanometric organization of enzymes challenges the design of scaffolds. In this study, we create a nanometrically organized multi-enzymatic system exploiting engineered Tetrapeptide Repeat Affinity Proteins (TRAPs) as scaffolding for biocatalysis. We genetically fuse TRAP domains and program them to selectively and orthogonally recognize peptide-tags fused to enzymes, which upon binding form spatially organized metabolomes. In addition, the scaffold encodes binding sites to selectively and reversibly sequester reaction intermediates like cofactors via electrostatic interactions, increasing their local concentration and, consequently, the catalytic efficiency. This concept is demonstrated for the biosynthesis of amino acids and amines using up to three enzymes. Scaffolded multi-enzyme systems present up to 5-fold higher specific productivity than the non-scaffolded ones. In-depth analysis suggests that channeling of NADH cofactor between the assembled enzymes enhances the overall cascade throughput and the product yield. Moreover, we immobilize this biomolecular scaffold on solid supports, creating reusable heterogeneous multi-functional biocatalysts for consecutive operational batch cycles. Our results demonstrate the potential of TRAP-scaffolding systems as spatial-organizing tools to increase the efficiency of cell-free biosynthetic pathways. Multi-enzymatic cascades benefit from precise nanometric organization but achieving this using available scaffolds is challenging. Here the authors present strategy for organizing multienzymatic systems using a protein scaffold based on TRAP domains, and demonstrate improved catalytic output.

Biocatalysis is a key technology enabling plastic recycling. However, despite advances done in the development of plastic-degrading enzymes, the molecular mechanisms that govern their catalytic performance are poorly understood, hampering the engineering of more efficient enzyme-based technologies. In this work, we study the hydrolysis of PET-derived diesters and PET trimers catalyzed by the highly promiscuous lipase B from Candida antarctica (CALB) through QM/MM molecular dynamics simulations supported by experimental Michaelis–Menten kinetics. The computational studies reveal the role of the pH on the CALB regioselectivity toward the hydrolysis of bis-(hydroxyethyl) terephthalate (BHET). We exploit this insight to perform a pH-controlled biotransformation that selectively hydrolyzes BHET to either its corresponding diacid or monoesters using both soluble and immobilized CALB. The discoveries presented here can be exploited for the valorization of BHET resulting from the organocatalytic depolymerization of PET. Plastic-degrading enzymes can be utilized for plastic recycling. Here, QM/MM molecular dynamics and experimental Michaelis–Menten kinetics provide insight into PETase/MHTase activities of the lipase B from Candida antartica .