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Oceanic environments are one of the largest sources of bioactive molecules, due to the high degree of biodiversity and the innumerable ecological relationships established between macro and microorganisms found in the different ecosystems of these complex environments. Marine organisms are being studied increasingly because they are considered important producers of biologically active peptides. Peptides extracted from marine sources have different functions and structures, when compared to peptides isolated from terrestrial sources, considering the different adaptive pressures undergone by these organisms throughout the evolutionary process. Most bioactive compounds isolated from marine environments are obtained from symbiont microorganisms. Of these microorganisms, bacteria are an important source of bioactive peptides, isolated by metagenomic studies from complex gene networks expressed under marine conditions. Several peptides have been shown to have biotechnological properties such as antimicrobial, antitumor, antihypertensive, anticoagulant, anti-fouling, and antioxidant activity and can be used in the pharmaceutical and food industries. This review article aims to provide an overview of peptides of biotechnological importance, isolated from different phyla of marine organisms, examining the relationship between structure and function of some of these peptides, as well as the ways of extracting, purifying and prospecting new peptides by traditional methods of isolation or sequence analysis in databases. It also intends to list the peptides that are already being produced and used by the industry, in its various branches, and their current state in the market and in clinical tests.

Background: Preschool children are in a period of rapid physical and psychological development, and improving their level of physical fitness is important for their health. To better develop the physical fitness of preschool children, it is very important to understand the behavioral attributes that promote the physical fitness of preschool children. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of and the differences between different physical exercise programs in improving preschool children’s physical fitness. Methods: A total of 309 preschool children aged 4–5 years were recruited from 5 kindergartens to participate in the experiment. They were cluster-randomly allocated into five groups: basic movements (BM) group, rhythm activities (RA) group, ball games (BG) group, multiple activities (MA) group, and control (CG) group. The intervention groups received designed physical exercise programs with a duration of 30 min 3 times per week for 16 weeks. The CG group received unorganized physical activity (PA) with no interventions. The physical fitness of preschool children was measured using the PREFIT battery before and after the interventions. One-way analysis of variance, a nonparametric test; generalized linear models (GLM); and generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) were used to examine differences during the pre-experimental stage among groups and to assess the differential effects of the intervention conditions on all outcome indicators. The intervention condition models were adjusted for potential confounders (baseline test results, age, gender, height, weight, and body mass index) explaining the main outcome variance. Results: The final sample consisted of 253 participants (girls 46.3%) with an average age of 4.55 ± 0.28 years: the BG group (n = 55), the RA group (n = 52), the BM group (n = 45), the MA group (n = 44), and the CG group (n = 57). The results of the generalized linear mixed model and generalized linear model analyses indicated significant differences for all physical fitness tests between groups, except for the 20 m shuttle run test and the sit-and-reach test after the interventions. Grip strength was significantly higher in the BG and MA groups than in the BM group. The scores for standing long jump were significantly higher in the MA group than in the other groups. The scores for the 10 m shuttle run test were significantly lower in the BG and MA groups than in the CG, BM, and RA groups. The scores for skip jump were significantly lower in the BG and MA groups than in the RA group. The scores for balance beam were significantly lower in the BG and MA groups than in the RA group and significantly lower in the BG group than in the BM group. The scores for standing on one foot were significantly higher in the BG and MA groups than in the CG and RA groups and significantly higher in the BM group than in the CG group. Conclusions: Physical exercise programs designed for preschool physical education have positive effects on the physical fitness of preschool children. Compared with the exercise programs with a single project and action form, the comprehensive exercise programs with multiple action forms can better improve the physical fitness of preschool children.

Given the superiorities in catalytic stability, production cost and performance tunability over natural bio-enzymes, artificial nanomaterials featuring enzyme-like characteristics (nanozymes) have drawn extensive attention from the academic community in the past decade. With these merits, they are intensively tested for sensing, biomedicine and environmental engineering. Especially in the analytical sensing field, enzyme mimics have found wide use for biochemical detection, environmental monitoring and food analysis. More fascinatingly, rational design enables one fabrication of enzyme-like materials with versatile activities, which show great promise for further advancement of the nanozyme-involved biochemical sensing field. To understand the progress in such an exciting field, here we offer a review of nanozymes with multiple catalytic activities and their analytical application prospects. The main types of enzyme-mimetic activities are first introduced, followed by a summary of current strategies that can be employed to design multi-activity nanozymes. In particular, typical materials with at least two enzyme-like activities are reviewed. Finally, opportunities for multi-activity nanozymes applied in the sensing field are discussed, and potential challenges are also presented, to better guide the development of analytical methods and sensors using nanozymes with different catalytic features.

Background: Evidence shows that physical exercise promotes preschoolers’ fundamental movement skills (FMSs) and physical fitness (PF). However, studies that assess the effectiveness of different types of physical exercise interventions to improve FMSs and PF in preschool children remain scarce. To explore and compare the effectiveness of different physical exercise on FMSs and PF, interventions comprising ball games (BGs), rhythm activities (RAs), basic movements (BMs), and a combination of all related activities (multiple activities, MAs) will be conducted among preschoolers. Methods: A single-blind, five-arm, cluster-randomized trial will be conducted in kindergarten in Shanghai, China. In total, 300 healthy preschoolers, aged 4 to 5 years, will be randomized to four intervention groups (BG, RA, BM, or MA) and one control group (unorganized physical activities). Four intervention groups will receive three 30-min lessons weekly for 16 weeks. At the baseline, the end of the 16-week intervention, and the 6-month follow-up after the end of the intervention, the primary outcomes (FMSs and PF) and physical activity (PA), and sociodemographic and anthropometric data will be assessed. Discussion: This study will provide vital information regarding the effect of different physical exercise interventions on preschool children’s FMSs and PF, PA, and the potential interactions between these domains. The most effective intervention strategy can be generalized to kindergarten and other preschool educational institutions in practice to promote preschoolers’ development of FMSs and PF. Conclusions: This study protocol aims to provide a method to solve the problem of “how to arrange physical exercise and which kind of physical exercise program can promote FMS and PF better in preschool children”.

Nanozyme‐based antibacterial therapy is limited by inefficient single‐component nanozymes and complex infection microenvironments. A mild near infrared‐I (NIR‐I) photothermal‐enhanced nanozyme catalytic system is developed using polymyxin B‐modified trimetallic nanoparticles (AuMnCu) embedded in a smart hydrogel (AMCB‐FTB) formed by 3‐formylphenylboronic acid (FPBA), tobramycin (TOB), and tannic acid (TA). The AuMnCu nanozymes exhibit self‐switching multi‐enzyme activity, generating ROS for bacterial killing in non‐NIR mode while scavenging ROS and producing oxygen post‐disinfection to alleviate oxidative stress and hypoxia, promoting wound healing. Under NIR‐I irradiation, mild hyperthermia (≈44.3 °C) further boosts catalytic activity, enhancing sterilization. The AMCB‐FTB hydrogel is injectable, pH‐/temperature‐responsive, and releases tobramycin/tannic acid in acidic infection microenvironments, synergizing with photothermal therapy (PTT) and nanozyme activity for potent antibacterial effects. In vitro and in vivo studies confirm AMCB‐FTB's programmable antibacterial, anti‐inflammatory, and pro‐regenerative functions via microenvironment self‐regulation. RNA sequencing analysis confirm that AMCB‐FTB combined with NIR disrupts bacterial energy metabolism, protein synthesis, and lipid pathways, effectively suppressing survival, motility, biofilm formation, and virulence. This work reports a microenvironment‐responsive hydrogel with enzyme‐mimetic ROS modulation properties, providing a novel pathway to develop thermal‐enhanced catalytic materials for refractory diabetic wounds and infectious diseases. A microenvironment‐responsive hydrogel is developed incorporating polymyxin B‐modified AuMnCu nanozymes and dual drugs (tannic acid and tobramycin). At infection sites, it generates ROS, releases drugs responsively, and enhances mild photothermal action to disrupt bacterial redox balance. After disinfection, it self‐switches to scavenge ROS, reduce hypoxia, and stimulate angiogenesis, enabling precise and programmed repair of infected wounds.

Policy responses to population ageing have focused on lengthening working lives, overlooking inequalities in older adults’ participation in unpaid activities. This paper examines participation in paid and unpaid activities between the ages of 55 and 70 to answer two questions: how do people navigate pathways of paid work, informal care, volunteering, civic participation and housework in mid to later life?; and how do these pathways relate to gender, socio-economic and health inequalities? Two-staged latent class analysis was used to identify activity pathways using data from the British Household Panel Survey (1996–2008). Multinomial logistic models assessed associations between latent pathways and socio-demographic and health characteristics. Three pathways were observed: full-time work to low activity (49%), part-time and in-home work (34%) and multiple activities (16%). Aside from retirement from full-time work, the pathways of participation in paid and unpaid activities were characterised by continuity; substitution between different forms of paid and unpaid work was not observed. Participation in multiple paid and unpaid activities was more common for respondents in better health and of higher socio-economic status. Since the promotion of paid work and volunteering in later life may mainly benefit individuals in advantaged circumstances, policies should avoid taking a blanket approach to encouraging participation in multiple activities, a key component of active ageing.

Since the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), little is known about whether changes in HIV-1 mortality and morbidity rates have been sustained. We aimed to assess possible changes in these rates across Europe. We analysed data for 9803 patients in 70 European HIV centres including ones in Israel and Argentina. Incidence rates of AIDS or death were calculated for overall and most recent CD4 count in 6–monthly periods and in three treatment eras (pre-HAART, 1994–1995; early-HAART, 1996–1997; and late-HAART, 1998–2002). The incidence of AIDS or death fell after September, 1998, by 8% per 6–month period (rate ratio 0·92, 95% CI 0·88–0·95, p<0·0001). When AIDS and death were analysed separately, the incidence of all deaths during the late-HAART era was significantly lower than that during the early-HAART era in patients whose latest CD4 count was 20 cells/μL or less (0·43, 0·35–0·53, p<0·0001), but at higher CD4 counts, did not differ between early-HAART and late-HAART. Incidence of AIDS was about 50% lower in late-HAART than in early-HAART, irrespective of latest CD4 count (p<0·0001). In multivariate Cox's models, with early-HAART as the reference, there was an increased risk of AIDS (relative hazard 1–39; 95% CI 1–16–1–67, p=0·0004) and all deaths (1–29; 1–08–1–56, p=0·0065) in the pre-HAART era, and a reduced risk of AIDS (0·62; 0·50–0–77, p<0·0001) and all deaths (0·66; 0·53–0·82, p=0·0002) in the late-HAART era. The initial drop in mortality and morbidity after the introduction of HAART has been sustained. Potential long-term adverse effects associated with HAART have not altered its effectiveness in treating AIDS.

A survey conducted by the World Health Organization and the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease in 35 geographic sites revealed that drug-resistant tuberculosis was ubiquitous. 1 , 2 That survey did not include temporal changes in the prevalence of resistance to antituberculosis drugs, since data were available for only one year from each of the sites surveyed. In some countries with high burdens of tuberculosis, such as China, India, and Russia, surveys were conducted only in one administrative unit, if at all. 3 The global survey has now been expanded to assess trends and provide a more representative estimate of the . . .

In the past 50 years, the proliferation of antimicrobial agents for use in humans and animals has placed an unprecedented selective pressure on microorganisms. 1 Drug resistance in patients with Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection became apparent soon after the introduction of effective antituberculosis agents. 2 – 5 It was not until the early 1990s, however, when outbreaks of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis were reported in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in the United States and Europe, 6 – 16 that the problem received international attention. Spontaneous mutations leading to drug resistance occur rarely in M. tuberculosis, and multidrug regimens can prevent the emergence of clinical drug . . .

Preterm birth is a common cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. An extensive body of evidence indicates that infection is associated with preterm delivery and with low birth weight of the infant. 1 Chorioamnionitis is strongly correlated with preterm delivery 2 , 3 and the failure of tocolytic-drug therapy. 4 Evidence of infection, manifested by the presence of organisms or inflammatory cytokines in the amniotic fluid or chorioamniotic membranes, 3 – 5 commonly accompanies preterm labor and preterm premature rupture of membranes, particularly at the earliest gestational ages. Most microorganisms found in the amniotic fluid and placenta are thought to come from the vagina, especially among . . .