scholarly journals Reality Check: Experimental Studies on Microplastics Lack Realism

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (18) ◽  
pp. 8529
Author(s):  
Judith S. Weis ◽  
Karl H. Palmquist
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Aquatic Organisms ◽  
Model Systems ◽  
Toxic Chemicals ◽  
Laboratory Studies ◽  
Physical Damage ◽  
Critical Studies ◽  
Reality Check

Environmental microplastics are gaining interest due to their ubiquity and the threat they pose to environmental and human health. Critical studies have revealed the abundance of microplastics in nature, while others have tested the impacts of these small plastics on organismal health in the laboratory. Yet, there is often a mismatch between these two areas of research, resulting in major discrepancies and an inability to interpret certain findings. Here, we focus on several main lines of inquiry. First, even though the majority of environmental microplastics are plastic microfibers from textiles, laboratory studies still largely use spherical microbeads. There are also inconsistencies between the measurements of microplastics in the environment as compared to the concentrations that tend to be used in experimental studies. Likewise, the period of exposure occurring in experimental studies and in the environment are vastly different. Lastly, although experimental studies often focus on a particular subset of toxic chemicals present on microplastics, textile microfibers carry other dyes and chemicals that are understudied. They also cause types of physical damage not associated with microspheres. This review will analyze the literature pertaining to these mismatches, focusing on aquatic organisms and model systems, and seek to inform a path forward for this burgeoning area of research.

scholarly journals N-Acetylcysteine (NAC): Impacts on Human Health

Antioxidants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 967
Author(s):  
Micaely Cristina dos Santos Tenório ◽  
Nayara Gomes Graciliano ◽  
Fabiana Andréa Moura ◽  
Alane Cabral Menezes de Oliveira ◽  
Marília Oliveira Fonseca Goulart
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Therapeutic Potential ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Primary Role ◽  
Necrosis Factor Alpha ◽  
Biochemical Basis ◽  
Tnf Α ◽  
Factor Alpha ◽  
Anti Inflammatory

N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is a medicine widely used to treat paracetamol overdose and as a mucolytic compound. It has a well-established safety profile, and its toxicity is uncommon and dependent on the route of administration and high dosages. Its remarkable antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capacity is the biochemical basis used to treat several diseases related to oxidative stress and inflammation. The primary role of NAC as an antioxidant stems from its ability to increase the intracellular concentration of glutathione (GSH), which is the most crucial biothiol responsible for cellular redox imbalance. As an anti-inflammatory compound, NAC can reduce levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukins (IL-6 and IL-1β) by suppressing the activity of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB). Despite NAC’s relevant therapeutic potential, in several experimental studies, its effectiveness in clinical trials, addressing different pathological conditions, is still limited. Thus, the purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of the medicinal effects and applications of NAC to human health based on current therapeutic evidence.

Understanding microplastics, and visual art as a method of communication: scientific poster versus painting

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Peters
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Visual Art ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Toxic Chemicals ◽  
Secondary Research ◽  
Effective Form ◽  
Scientific Poster ◽  
Scientific Topic

<p>This multidisciplinary dissertation investigates in detail, visual art as a method of communication, in particular about a scientific topic: microplastics and human health. Primary and secondary research conducted suggest that microplastics have potential to cause health problems in humans due to the leaching of toxic chemicals and that over 8% of an educated western sample had never heard of microplastics before. Over 30% of participants reported that a painting was a more effective form of communication about microplastics and human health than a scientific poster on the same topic, opening areas for further study into the value and process of communication through visual art.</p>

scholarly journals The Geometric Framework for Nutrition: New Insights Into How What We Eat Affects How We Age

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 845-845
Author(s):  
Alan Cohen ◽  
David Raubenheimer
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Caloric Restriction ◽  
Brain Aging ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Geometric Framework ◽  
Complex Interactions ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Nutritional Needs ◽  
Biology Of Aging

Abstract The geometric framework for nutrition (GFN) is an approach to understanding the effect of nutrition considering multiple nutrients simultaneously. Originally developed in experimental studies of insects to model how nutritional needs evolve depending on ecological context, and since extended to many taxa including non-human primates in the wild, the technique is increasingly applied to understand human health and aging. Here, we invite four varied talks showcasing the flexibility and potential of this approach from the basic biology of aging to observational human studies and clinical trials. D. Raubenheimer will give an overview of the method, its history, and its applications in aging and human health. D. Wahl will present results showing how GFN can help develop diets that recapitulate caloric restriction and its effects on brain aging. S. Das will show how GFN can be used to improve the feasibility of caloric restriction in humans without compromising its effects. Finally, A. Cohen will present results showing how GFN can be deployed in an epidemiological context and used to characterize complex interactions among large numbers of nutrients in determining health. Together, these results show that a simplistic conception of nutrition as calories is far from sufficient to understand its effects on health and aging. Evolution has shaped the nutritional needs of each species for its environment, with appropriate levels of flexibility. GFN provides an approach to capture the relevant nuance, with the results presented at this symposium but scratching the surface. Nutrition Interest Group Sponsored Symposium.

scholarly journals Ecological Immunology of mosquito-malaria interactions: Of non-natural versus natural model systems and their inferences

Parasitology ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 136 (14) ◽  
pp. 1935-1942 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. TRIPET
Keyword(s):  
Immune Responses ◽  
Population Biology ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Model Systems ◽  
Ecological Immunology ◽  
Experimental Systems ◽  
Evolutionary Context ◽  
And Function

SUMMARYThere has been a recent shift in the literature on mosquito/Plasmodium interactions with an increasingly large number of theoretical and experimental studies focusing on their population biology and evolutionary processes. Ecological immunology of mosquito-malaria interactions – the study of the mechanisms and function of mosquito immune responses to Plasmodium in their ecological and evolutionary context – is particularly important for our understanding of malaria transmission and how to control it. Indeed, describing the processes that create and maintain variation in mosquito immune responses and parasite virulence in natural populations may be as important to this endeavor as describing the immune responses themselves. For historical reasons, Ecological Immunology still largely relies on studies based on non-natural model systems. There are many reasons why current research should favour studies conducted closer to the field and more realistic experimental systems whenever possible. As a result, a number of researchers have raised concerns over the use of artificial host-parasite associations to generate inferences about population-level processes. Here I discuss and review several lines of evidence that, I believe, best illustrate and summarize the limitations of inferences generated using non-natural model systems.

scholarly journals The Gut Microbiome and Xenobiotics: Identifying Knowledge Gaps

2020 ◽  
Vol 176 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vicki L Sutherland ◽  
Charlene A McQueen ◽  
Donna Mendrick ◽  
Donna Gulezian ◽  
Carl Cerniglia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Gut Microbiome ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Drug Efficacy ◽  
Model Systems ◽  
Microbial Composition ◽  
Breakout Group ◽  
Data Gaps ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
And Function

Abstract There is an increasing awareness that the gut microbiome plays a critical role in human health and disease, but mechanistic insights are often lacking. In June 2018, the Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI) held a workshop, “The Gut Microbiome: Markers of Human Health, Drug Efficacy and Xenobiotic Toxicity” (https://hesiglobal.org/event/the-gut-microbiome-workshop) to identify data gaps in determining how gut microbiome alterations may affect human health. Speakers and stakeholders from academia, government, and industry addressed multiple topics including the current science on the gut microbiome, endogenous and exogenous metabolites, biomarkers, and model systems. The workshop presentations and breakout group discussions formed the basis for identifying data gaps and research needs. Two critical issues that emerged were defining the microbial composition and function related to health and developing standards for models, methods and analysis in order to increase the ability to compare and replicate studies. A series of key recommendations were formulated to focus efforts to further understand host-microbiome interactions and the consequences of exposure to xenobiotics as well as identifying biomarkers of microbiome-associated disease and toxicity.

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