This eBook is a collection of articles from a Frontiers Research Topic. Frontiers Research Topics are very popular trademarks of the Frontiers Journals Series: they are collections of at least ten articles, all centered on a particular subject. With their unique mix of varied contributions from Original Research to Review Articles, Frontiers Research Topics unify the most influential researchers, the latest key findings and historical advances in a hot research area! Find out more on how to host your own Frontiers Research Topic or contribute to one as an author by contacting the Frontiers Editorial Office: frontiersin.org/about/contact

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Analytical chemistry is bound to face growing challenges in the future, especially for the quantification of trace analytes in complex matrices. Although the development of increasingly sensitive and specific instrumental techniques has achieved remarkable results, sample preparation is still a fundamental step, often limiting the whole workflow. In the context spawned by the recent international environmental policies that are responsive to the rapport of human activities with the surrounding environment, chemistry cannot hesitate to give its contribution. Almost pioneeringly, in analytical chemistry, we have been talking for some time about “green analytical chemistry”, its guiding principles, and the development of eco-friendly analytical approaches. However, the new and still open challenge is advance not only in eco-compatibility but mainly in eco-sustainability, rooting the future of analytical chemistry in new perspective aimed at minimizing the environmental impact of the analytical process by placing environmental cost as a priority aim on par with analytical performance. This is the reprint of a Special Issue that includes contributions focused on the progress in analytical chemistry based on the arguments previously raised and discussed, with a particular reference to eco-compatibility and eco-sustainability. The contributions include the development of low environmental impact methods and/or techniques or their applications.

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Iodine, a key component of thyroid hormones, is considered an essential micronutrient for proper health at all life stages. Indeed, an inadequate dietary intake of iodine is responsible for several functional and developmental abnormalities. The most serious consequences of iodine deficiency include hypothyroidism, early abortion, low birth weight, preterm delivery, neurocognitive impairment, and mental retardation. On the other hand, the consequences of mild-to-moderate iodine deficiency, such as goiter, are less well understood but represent an important priority for research and public health practice. Over the last several decades, many countries across the globe have introduced mandatory salt iodization programs, which have dramatically reduced the number of iodine-deficient countries. However, despite substantial progress worldwide, mild-to-moderate deficiency is still prevalent even in many developed countries. Thus, the ongoing monitoring of the population iodine status remains crucially important, and attention may need to be paid to vulnerable life stage groups.

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Brazil, the largest country in Latin America, is a multicultural country with abundant biodiversity, forests, and water sources. The country has experienced rapid urbanization and industrialization in recent decades, creating considerable social and economic progress. However, countless environmental and occupational risks that follow unregulated development still threaten the health of exposed children and adults from urban and rural areas. Despite a complex scenario of exposure to multiple contaminants, studies on the impacts on human health and well-being are sorely needed. Thus, building up comprehensive evidence on environmental and occupational health in Brazil is crucial to improving practices and policies toward stronger social development. This Special Issue comprises cutting-edge epidemiological, clinical, and experimental studies, as well as literature reviews on all aspects of environmental and occupational health in Brazil. Studies on children, adults, and vulnerable populations related to toxicology, epidemiology, and public policies are especially welcomed. Manuscript topics include, but are not limited to, the adverse health effects of physical, chemical, and biological risks; exposure to air, water, soil and food pollution; metals and pesticides; organic solvents; dust; and climate change.

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It was recently reported that pollution was responsible for 9 million premature deaths in 2015, making it the world's largest environmental risk factor for disease and premature death. Human and industrial activities generate various forms of residual wastes and by-products in a solid, liquid, or gaseous state. Waste generation starts with simple processes such as living, eating, and breathing. Managing waste and minimizing associated environmental impacts have become more challenging as worldwide populations and economies continue to grow. Once these hazardous chemicals are present in the environment, people can become exposed to them. Human health can be influenced by many factors, including exposure to physical, chemical, biological, and radiological contaminants in the environment.This reprint comprises research papers related to the aspects of environmental exposure to multiple toxic chemicals and human health. The manuscripts are focused on toxicology, biomonitoring, exposure and risk assessment, and endocrine disruptors.

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Obesity represents the most prevalent metabolic disease in the world, posing a significant public health threat. Obesity shortens life expectancy by increasing the risk of developing comorbidities such as type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease. A better understanding of the ethiopathology of excess adiposity represents the pillar on which to base the effective management of obesity. In this sense, this reprint expands our knowledge about the wide array of drivers that can facilitate or contribute to the development of obesity. Moreover, some of the latest progress made in lifestyle, pharmacological and surgical approaches in the treatment of obesity are summarised. Novel concepts regarding the different obesity phenotypes, the use of telemedicine for the treatment of overweight and obesity, or the use of personalised avatars in the management of obesity are also reviewed. This reprint will be of interest for specialists in Endocrinology and Nutrition, but also for any individual interested in health issues related to nutrition.

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Europe’s zero-pollution agenda should depart from an understanding of how the European citizens’ bodies are polluted by synthetic chemicals and prioritize the reduction of the chemical body burden and associated health impacts. In this context, Human Biomonitoring (HBM) is an important and valuable tool for assessing the internal exposure of humans resulting from aggregated exposure to chemicals. Though many obstacles still hinder the use of HBM data, the growing availability of HBM data offers an opportunity for improving and refining Human Risk Assessment. This Special Issue intends to illustrate, using case studies, how HBM data could be used to better estimate internal exposure and resulting risks. Case studies on exposure from consumer products (cosmetic products, non-food products, etc.) or exposures via food or water in the general population or among workers contributed to better identifying the obstacles hindering a broader use of HBM data in RA. A better understanding of population exposure and the exposure of vulnerable groups against health-based human biomonitoring guidance values also provides the basis for effective risk management to reduce impacts on health. I would like to thank all the authors for submitting their original contributions to this Special Issue. We greatly appreciate the support of all the reviewers who spent time evaluating and improving the quality of the manuscripts. I would also like to thank the editors of Toxics for their kind invitation and Selena Li of the Toxics Editorial Office for her invaluable support.

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Steroids are essential hormones that regulate biological processes across their lifespan. Steroid hormone production and action must be tightly controlled otherwise there can be detrimental effects on physiological function leading to disease. This reprint contains original and review articles by experts at the cutting edge of their fields published in a Special Issue on the “Molecular mechanisms of steroid hormone biosynthesis and action” of the International Journal of Molecular Sciences. The topics include: 1) Steroid hormone biosynthesis, including substrate availability, mechanism of steroidogenic enzyme action, and the impact of mutations; 2) Molecular and cellular regulation of steroidogenesis, including steroidogenic cell response to hormone stimulation, signaling pathways, kinases, transcription factors, and gene expression; 3) Molecular mechanisms of endocrine disruptor action on steroidogenic cells; and 4) New tools and approaches to detect and study steroid hormones.

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Coastal ecosystems are dynamic, complex, and often fragile transition environments between land and oceans. They are exclusive habitats for a broad range of living organisms, functioning as havens for biodiversity and providing several important ecological services that link terrestrial, freshwater, and marine environments. Humans living in coastal zones have been strongly dependent on these ecosystems as a source of food, physical protection against storms and advancing sea, and a range of human activities that generate economic income. Notwithstanding, the intensification of human activities in coastal areas of the recent decades, as well as the global climatic changes and coastal erosion processes of the present, have had detrimental impacts on these environments. Maintaining the structural and functional integrity of these environments and recovering an ecological balance or mitigating disturbances in systems under the influence of such stressors are complex tasks, only possible through the implementation of monitoring programs and by assessing their environmental quality. In this book, distinct approaches to environmental quality monitoring and assessment of coastal environments are presented, focused on abiotic and biotic compartments, and using tools that range from ecological levels of organization to the sub-organismal and the ecosystem levels.

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Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is one of the most common adverse medical conditions that occurs during pregnancy, and its prevalence is rising as part of a diabetes pandemic. Nutrition plays a key role in GDM, whether (1) as part of an ‘unhealthy’ diet, which contributes to its cause, or (2) as part of changes in dietary intake, which act as the frontline treatment for GDM (sometimes supplemented with exercise and pharmacological intervention). Dietary changes, therefore, can alter the risk of developing GDM in the first place, and once GDM has emerged during pregnancy, dietary changes can mitigate the risk of developing GDM-related complications, such as macrosomia, respiratory distress, hypoglycemia and jaundice in the neonate, pre eclampsia, increased need for caesarean section and placental abruption in the mother. In this Special Issue, we aim to highlight the role of nutrition in the aetiology of GDM, whether directly or indirectly through weight gain and obesity, and in its role as a GDM treatment to lower hyperglycemia and the risk of the aforementioned complications.

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This eBook is a collection of articles from a Frontiers Research Topic. Frontiers Research Topics are very popular trademarks of the Frontiers Journals Series: they are collections of at least ten articles, all centered on a particular subject. With their unique mix of varied contributions from Original Research to Review Articles, Frontiers Research Topics unify the most influential researchers, the latest key findings and historical advances in a hot research area! Find out more on how to host your own Frontiers Research Topic or contribute to one as an author by contacting the Frontiers Editorial Office: frontiersin.org/about/contact

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Testicular cancer (TC) is the most common cancer in males aged 20-40 years, with a worldwide incidence of 7.5 per 100,000, but the rates vary considerably between countries and ethnic groups and there is evidence also for an increasing incidence in last decades. About 95% of all TCs are represented by testicular germ cell tumors (TGCTs), which include seminoma and non-seminoma histological types. It is generally assumed that the development of TGCT is under endocrine control. In particular, unbalanced androgen/estrogen levels and/or activity are believed to represent the key events for TGCT development and progression. Furthermore, recent evidence has suggested genetic association of TGCT with variations in genes involved in hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis and steroidogenic enzymes. This recent evidence expands the current knowledge on the role of genetic contribution in testicular cancer susceptibility, and supports the hypothesis that variations in hormone metabolism genes might change the hormonal environment implicated in testicular carcinogenesis. Therefore, hormonal carcinogenesis is an important and controversial area of current research in TGCT, and further attention is given to genetic factors influencing hormone-related cancer risk. The genetic component to TGCT is in general strong. In fact, although environmental factors clearly contribute to TGCT development (and probably to its increasing incidence in some geographical areas), the proportion of TGCT susceptibility accounted for by the genetic effects is estimated at 25%. TGCT has high familial risks compared with most other cancer types that are generally no more than two-fold: brothers of individuals with TGCT have an 8- to 12-fold increased risk of disease, and sons of affected individuals have a 4- to 6-fold increased risk. Despite this strong familial relative risk, early results from linkage studies identified a limited relationship with genetic factors, suggesting that TGCT is a genetically complex trait. However, more recently, four genome-wide association studies (GWAS) from the UK and USA have reported association of TGCTs with six new loci (KITLG, SPRY4, BAK1, DMRT1, TERT, and ATF7IP). The strongest association for TGCT susceptibility was found for SNPs in KITLG (ligand for the membrane-bound receptor tyrosine kinase KIT) gene with a greater than 2.5-fold increased risk of disease per major allele, which is the highest reported for any cancer to date. These studies are being now replicated by other researches and attention is given to the relationship between these genetic variations, TGCT risk and frequently associated anomalies of the reproductive tract, such as cryptorchidism and infertility. Finally, over the past few decades, TCGT research has focused also on external environmental causes acting mainly as endocrine disrupters of androgen and oestrogen pathways, even during the foetal development of the testis. It is well known that the testicular dysgenesis syndrome (TDS) hypothesis, proposed ten years ago, suggests that disturbed testicular development in fetal life may result in one or more of four disorders postnatally, named cryptorchidism, hypospadias, poor semen quality, and TGCT. These four disorders are therefore considered as one clinical entity and are linked together by epidemiological and pathophysiological relations. The relative contribution of genetics and environment in TGCT development, and the interactions between endocrine disruptors and variations in genes involved in hormonal carcinogenesis is therefore another interesting area of research.

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The comparative approach takes advantage of the biological diversity to select the most appropriate model organism to tackle a scientific question. Comparisons between the endocrine and nervous systems accross species have yielded major breakthroughs in endocrinology and neurobiology. For instance: a number of mammalian peptide hormones and neuropeptides have been originally identified in fish or amphibians; studies conducted in a sea slug founded the cellular and molecular basis of learning and memory; observations of neurogenesis in the forebrain of songbirds led to the discovery of adult neurogenesis in the mammalian brain. These examples illustrate the remarkable contribution of the comparative approach for the advancement of neuroendocrinological concepts.The present e-book is a unique collection of research articles and reviews that provide a representative overview of the latest developments in comparative endocrinology and neurobiology.

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The development of effective treatment methods or the synthesis of new effective adsorbents capable of selective sorption of toxic substances is now of great importance. This reprint contains articles focused on wastewater treatment containing heavy metal ions, and hormones from synthetic and real solutions using different types of adsorbent, such as synthetic ion exchangers, natural and synthetic aluminosilicates, zeolites, magnetic multiwall carbon nanotubes, biosorbents, imprinted polymers, and magnetic adsorbents, as well as cost estimation of activated carbon production from waste nutshells by physical activation could be found.

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