Closed injuries and abdominal wounds have always been a difficult surgical problem. The presence of many vital organs in the abdominal cavity, the specifics of their anatomical structure, vascular architectonics, and innervation, the immediate proximity of intestinal contents rich in pathogenic flora, and the presence of organs producing extremely active enzymes lead to massive internal bleeding, rapid development of peritonitis, and irreversible changes in organs and tissues. The problem of modern diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to abdominal trauma is very relevant and requires detailed coverage. This book provides a comprehensive overview of the different types of abdominal trauma and their treatment.

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Once viewed solely as fat storage cells, adipocytes and their adipokines have now been proven to be central for human health. Understanding that overweight and obesity may increase the risk for various diseases requires detailed characterization of adipokine function. Weight gain, weight regain, and fasting affect adipocyte health and accordingly their secretome. Different adipose tissue deposits exist and they vary in cellular composition and function. The evidence is strong of a role of adipokines in cancer, reproductive function, neurological diseases, cardiovascular diseases ,and rheumatoid arthritis. Adipokines are considered useful biomarkers for adipose tissue and metabolic health, and may be used as diagnostic tools in rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, or sepsis. This book contains 10 original articles and 9 review articles focusing on these bioactive peptides. Several articles deal with chemerin, an adipokine discovered more than 20 years ago. Data so far have resulted in promising insights related to its biological function. We are only beginning to understand the multiple roles of chemerin, the mechanisms regulating its activity, and the signaling pathways used by this chemokine. Adipokine receptor agonists and antagonists may result in the formulation of novel drugs and ultimately may lead to new therapeutic targets to be used in clinical practice.

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The aim of this Special Issue is to provide a broad view on the studies that focus on the anatomical field, and to stimulate a holistic and humanistic perspective, taking into account the innumerous connections between the history of anatomy and the recent advances of this discipline. Multidisciplinary approaches related to anatomy include historical aspects, morphological techniques, anatomical education, and comparative and veterinary anatomy. Anatomical variations, advances in imaging techniques, and surgical implications are also considered. Leading experts in the morphological field provide their research findings, opinions, and novel perspectives. In line with this purpose, we try to find new stimuli and resources in the modern era, in order to interpret a constructive role for the ancient history of anatomy in the medicine of the future.

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Advances in Peptide and Peptidomimetic Design Inspiring Basic Science and Drug Discovery is a book dedicated to Prof. Victor J. Hruby on the occasion of his 80th birthday. This book includes twenty contributions from authors representing diverse multidisciplinary fields of scientific expertise, and is focused on the extraordinary potential of peptides and peptidomimetics as a surging therapeutic modality and as tools for basic research and technology development.

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The second edition of this Special Issue, entitled “Antimicrobial and Anti-Infective Activity of Natural Products”, contains 12 research and 2 review articles. They present recent advancements in the discovery of bioactive compounds from plants, essential oils, and microbial metabolites. These contributions discuss the mechanisms of action, highlighting anti-virulence strategies, biofilm inhibition, and immunomodulatory effects. Furthermore, this collection explores synergistic associations with conventional antibiotics and integrates in silico, in vitro, and in vivo evidence. This volume provides critical insights into the clinical prospects of natural products in combating the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance.

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This Antimicrobial Prescribing and Stewardship Issue (volume 1) consist of manuscripts, including original research, review articles, case series, and opinion papers for topics related to antimicrobial (antibiotic, antifungal) stewardship, including: Disease-based/organism-based antimicrobial stewardship;Diagnostic stewardship;Influence of antimicrobial utilisation changes in antimicrobial resistance;Impact of antimicrobial stewardship on quality performance measures and patient outcomes;Novel antimicrobial stewardship education and training approaches or interventions aimed at the public and/or healthcare workers;Behavioural change approaches to antimicrobial stewardship;Collaborative practice agreements in antimicrobial stewardship;Antimicrobial stewardship in special populations (e.g., paediatrics, geriatrics, emergency medicine, hematology/oncology);Tackling AMR through antimicrobial stewardship in low- and middle-income countries;Antimicrobial stewardship for animal health;Antimicrobial stewardship in alternative settings (e.g., community practice, long-term care, and resource-limited small and rural hospitals);Antimicrobial use and stewardship in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic;Global collaborations to tackle AMR through antimicrobial stewardship.

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This reprint is an excellent collection of articles that deal with difficult-to-treat infections in the ICU environment. Multiresistant bacteria and fungi create severe treatment problems to the physician charged with their care. We hope that this book will help everyday dilemmas and add useful information on difficult topics.

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Antimicrobial use is one of the main drivers of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a crisis threatening modern medicine. To combat and reverse AMR, finding determinants of resistance development/antibiotic use, identifying the target points of interventions, and implementing antibiotic stewardship measures are crucial. This Special Issue disseminates a wide variety of research conducted by various study designs and diverse settings and populations. It includes studies: Focusing on the role of antibiotics/antibacterials on specific diseases; Reporting the effect of antibiotic stewardship interventions on different outcomes; Describing the quality of prophylactic antibiotic use in a patient-specific population; Identifying determinants of antibiotic use in the elderly or resistance development in specific bacteria; Introducing a novel reporting tool for auditing antibiotic dispensing practice.

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Antioxidants are a point of focus for different research fields due to their potential oxidative stress prevention and multiple biological properties, potentiating several industrial applications. This reprint provides new insights into the antioxidant properties of foods and natural products, important structural features and the mechanisms of action of antioxidants and pro-oxidants, as well as antioxidants and pro-oxidants' potential health-promoting effects.

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Autophagy (“auto-digestion”), a lysosome-dependent process, degrades and turns over damaged or senescent organelles and proteins. Autophagy is a highly regulated process that impacts several vital cellular responses, including inflammation, cell death, energy metabolism, and homeostasis of organelles (mitochondria and others). Although the role of autophagy in the maintenance of tissue homeostasis is well documented, its role during tissue injury and regeneration is still emerging. In this Special Issue on “Autophagy in Tissue Injury and Homeostasis”, we focus on the roles of autophagy in systemic, specific tissue (organs/cells) injury or organ failure associated with sepsis, inflammation, metabolic disorder, toxic chemicals, ischemia-reperfusion injury, hypoxic oxidative stress, tissue fibrosis, trauma, and nutrient starvation. The knowledge gained from the identification and characterization of new molecular mechanisms will shed light on biomedical applications for tissue protection through the modulation of autophagy.

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By joining the two previous editions, this Special Issue completes the trilogy of Special Issues entitled "Biological and Pharmacological Activity of Plant Natural Compounds", which deal with the properties and effects of phytonatural products in preclinical models. This third edition has also remained focused on their therapeutic potential, with the aim of increasing and contributing to the expansion of our scientific knowledge on plants in human health. We hope readers will enjoy this Special Issue as much as the previous publications.

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This book provides important and updated information on current research devoted to urinary biomarkers. Urinary biomarkers are characteristics that can be objectively measured and evaluated as indicators of normal biological or pathogenic processes of pharmacological responses to therapeutic intervention.

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The number of patient health data has been estimated to have reached 2314 exabytes by 2020. Traditional data analysis techniques are unsuitable to extract useful information from such a vast quantity of data. Thus, intelligent data analysis methods combining human expertise and computational models for accurate and in-depth data analysis are necessary. The technological revolution and medical advances made by combining vast quantities of available data, cloud computing services, and AI-based solutions can provide expert insight and analysis on a mass scale and at a relatively low cost. Computational intelligence (CI) methods, such as fuzzy models, artificial neural networks, evolutionary algorithms, and probabilistic methods, have recently emerged as promising tools for the development and application of intelligent systems in healthcare practice. CI-based systems can learn from data and evolve according to changes in the environments by taking into account the uncertainty characterizing health data, including omics data, clinical data, sensor, and imaging data. The use of CI in healthcare can improve the processing of such data to develop intelligent solutions for prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up, as well as for the analysis of administrative processes. The present Special Issue on computational intelligence for healthcare is intended to show the potential and the practical impacts of CI techniques in challenging healthcare applications.

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Supporting initiation, development and resolution of appropriate immune responses is key to survival. Many nutrients and dietary components have been purported to have a role in supporting optimal immune function. This is vital throughout the life course, from the development and programming of the immune system in early life, to supporting immunity and reducing chronic inflammation in older people. In this special issue of Nutrients, we examine the evidence for the role of diet and dietary components in promoting protective immunity.

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Dual specificity phosphatases (DUSPs) constitute a heterogeneous group of protein tyrosine phosphatases with the ability to dephosphorylate Ser/Thr and Tyr residues from proteins, as well as from other non-proteinaceous substrates including signaling lipids. DUSPs include, among others, MAP kinase (MAPK) phosphatases (MKPs) and small-size atypical DUSPs. MKPs are enzymes specialized in regulating the activity and subcellular location of MAPKs, whereas the function of small-size atypical DUSPs seems to be more diverse. DUSPs have emerged as key players in the regulation of cell growth, differentiation, stress response, and apoptosis. DUSPs regulate essential physiological processes, including immunity, neurobiology and metabolic homeostasis, and have been implicated in tumorigenesis, pathological inflammation and metabolic disorders. Accordingly, alterations in the expression or function of MKPs and small-size atypical DUSPs have consequences essential to human disease, making these enzymes potential biological markers and therapeutic targets. This Special Issue covers recent advances in the molecular mechanisms and biological functions of MKPs and small-size atypical DUSPs, and their relevance in human disease.

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This Reprint aims to immerse the readers into the latest frontiers of cutting-edge investigations regarding bioactive compounds and nutraceuticals. It explores their use in biotechnological approaches, biomedical applications, the discovery of novel bioactive natural products, the role of these products on food structure, and their potential physiological effects on human nutrition. Additionally, it discusses the use of in vitro and in vivo bioactivity research involving cell lines and animal models as exemplars of human physiology.

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This Reprint aims to immerse the readers into the latest frontiers of cutting-edge investigations regarding bioactive compounds and nutraceuticals. It explores their use in biotechnological approaches, biomedical applications, the discovery of novel bioactive natural products, the role of these products on food structure, and their potential physiological effects on human nutrition. Additionally, it discusses the use of in vitro and in vivo bioactivity research involving cell lines and animal models as exemplars of human physiology.

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The cytoplasm of Gram-negative bacteria is bound by three layers: an inner membrane, a layer of peptidoglycan, and an outer membrane. The outer membrane is an asymmetric lipidic bilayer, with phospholipids on its inner surface and lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) on the outside, with the latter being the major component of the outer leaflet and covering nearly three-quarters of the total outer cell surface. All LPSs possess the same general chemical architecture independently of bacterial activity (pathogenic, symbiotic, commensal), ecological niche (human, animal, soil, plant, water), or growth conditions. Endotoxins are large amphiphilic molecules consisting of a hydrophilic polysaccharide component and a covalently bound hydrophobic and highly conserved lipid component, termed lipid A (the endotoxin subunit). The polysaccharide component can be divided into two subdomains: the internal and conserved core region as well as the more external and highly variable O-specific chain, also referred to as the O-antigen due to its immunogenic properties. LPSs are endotoxins, one of the most potent class of activators of the mammalian immune system; they can be released from cell surfaces of bacteria during multiplication, lysis, and death. LPS can act through its biological center (lipid A component) on various cell types, of which macrophages and monocytes are the most important.

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Recent advancements have resulted in improved diagnosis and management of patients who present with shock in clinical practice. Shock can lead to decreased tissue perfusion and thus decreased oxygenation, resulting in poorer outcomes. Timely diagnosis and appropriate interventions are crucial to break the cascade of events and thus improve outcomes in patients with shock. This book presents a comprehensive overview of shock, including information on its etiology, detection, and management.

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