This open access book is an integrated historical and philosophical investigation of several problematic situations that emerge from diverse areas of medical practice. These include (but are not limited to): Paying less attention to patients who are suffering with symptoms because no identifiable pathological lesion or pathophysiological process can be found. Paying too much attention to patients who are not suffering with symptoms because pathological lesions or pathophysiological processes have been found. The tendency to understand patients at risk of developing pathology as being diseased. The tendency to disregard the importance of wider societal consequences of definitions of disease and health. The book shows that many of these problems are related to what disease and health are considered to be and argues that these problems can be addressed by reconsidering the concepts of health and disease employed in practice. It argues for a pragmatic reconceptualization of health and disease that allows clinicians, researchers, and lay people to understand health and disease in many ways, depending on the specific context in which they find themselves and the problems they are trying to solve. In doing so, authors are careful to show how this pragmatism does not endorse “silly” forms of relativism, in which knowledge is reduced to belief or to whatever people find expedient to believe. This work is relevant for philosophers and historians a well as for doctors, health policy makers and other health professionals because it addresses problems sourced from medical practice, albeit using philosophical and historical methods.

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Among the strategies for reducing the negative effects on the environment affected by the uncontrolled consumption and low potential for the recovery of conventional plastics, the synthesis of new biodegradable and recyclable plastics represents one of the most promising methods for minimizing the negative effects of conventional non-biodegradable plastics. The spectrum of existing biodegradable materials is still very narrow. Therefore, to achieve greater applicability, research is being carried out on biodegradable polymer mixtures, the synthesis of new polymers, and the incorporation of new stabilizers for thermal degradation, alongside the use of other additives such as antibacterials or new and more sustainable plasticizers. Some studies analyze direct applications, such as shape memory foams, new cartilage implants, drug release, etc. The reader can find several studies on the degradation of biodegradable polymers under composting conditions. However, novel bacteria that degrade polymers considered non-biodegradable in other, unusual conditions (such as conditions of high salinity) are also presented.

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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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Aging of unicellular and multicellular eukaryotic organisms is a convoluted biological phenomenon, which is manifested as an age-related functional decline caused by progressive dysregulation of certain cellular and organismal processes. Many chronic diseases are associated with human aging. These aging-associated diseases include cardiovascular diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic kidney disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, sarcopenia, stroke, neurodegenerative diseases (including Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and Huntington’s diseases), and many forms of cancer. Studies in yeast, roundworms, fruit flies, fishes, mice, primates, and humans have provided evidence that the major aspects and basic mechanisms of aging and aging-associated pathology are conserved across phyla. The focus of this International Journal of Molecular Sciences Special Issue is on molecular and cellular mechanisms, diagnostics, and therapies and diseases of aging. Fifteen original research and review articles in this Special Issue provide important insights into how various genetic, dietary, and pharmacological interventions can affect certain longevity-defining cellular and organismal processes to delay aging and postpone the onset of age-related pathologies in evolutionarily diverse organisms. These articles outline the most important unanswered questions and directions for future research in the vibrant and rapidly evolving fields of mechanisms of biological aging, aging-associated diseases, and aging-delaying therapies.

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Data on nutritional status of human populations are periodically needed, as well as their relationships with anthropometry, body composition, body image and energy expenditure, and also with health lifestyle outcomes. All these parameters contribute jointly to give a complete knowledge on dietary and lifestyle habits, and hence how to proceed to improve it in order to enjoy an optimal healthy status. So, you are kindly invited to submit proposals for manuscripts that fit the objectives and the topics of this Nutrients Special issue.The aim of this proposed Nutrients Special Issue on ""Anthropometry, Body Composition and Resting Energy Expenditure in Humans"" is to publish selected papers detailing specific aspects of anthropometric, body composition and energy expenditure data in human populations and their relationships with nutritional status, as well as nutritional surveys and trials that examine measured differences or changes in these parameters are also cordially invited.

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This book collects some recent scientific data on the role of polyphenols in various pathological contexts, ranging from viral infection to metabolic or chronic disorders such as diabetes and renal fibrosis. The included studies showed both in vitro and in vivo evidence concerning positive effects of polyphenols in inflammation, apoptosis, and oxidative stress. The investigated molecules include: verbascoside from Olea europea, curcumin from Curcuma longa, phenolic acids from Antirhea borbonica, and phlorotannins from marine algae. Finally, the main flavonoids present in the human diet and their anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer roles were also discussed. The scientific data confirm the importance of the plant kingdom, both marine and terrestrial, in the search for new compounds with potential benefits for humans.

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“Antioxidant Activity of Polyphenolic Plant Extracts” is a collection of scientific articles regarding polyphenols, that is, substances occurring naturally in plants and exhibiting many beneficial effects on human health. Among polyphenols’ interesting biological properties, their antioxidant activity is considered the most important. This book brings together experts from different research fields on topics related to polyphenols, such as their isolation and purification, assessment of their antioxidant activity, prevention from oxidative stress-induced diseases and use as food additives. The polyphenols used in the present studies are derived from a great variety of plants, ranging from well-known species to rare ones that are only found in specific regions. Moreover, some of the studies provide evidence that polyphenols may be used for the prevention and treatment of common diseases such as diabetes mellitus, Alzheimers’ disease, cardiovascular and intestinal diseases. Importantly, in several of the studies “green extraction methods” for the isolation of polyphenols were developed using modern technologies, where few or no organic solvents were used, in order to minimize environmental and health impacts.

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Antioxidants are one of the most sought-after biological compounds of interest to both scientific and nonscientific communities. The term gained popularity with the advent of identifying these compounds as having the ability to maintain health and wellness by combating against pathways leading to non-communicable diseases. This book covers several aspects of antioxidants—mechanisms of action, assays of measuring potency, sources, and even methods of isolation and identification. While it may seem these aspects have been covered in depth in several publications before this, this book intends to be positioned as an update, especially since the area of antioxidant research is as dynamic as ever. There are several chapters that might be of interest to health buffs, specifically those who are quite keen on maintaining health and wellness.

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Aging is a complex, only partially understood process, and is a key risk factor in the development of noncommunicable ailments that greatly impact human quality of life. One of the causes of most age-related diseases is an imbalance in the oxidation-reduction reactions, with the accumulation of reactive species, which are major contributors to cellular senescence. The book contributes to the knowledge connected to the prevention or treatment of these pathological conditions. It focuses on the mechanisms by which oxidative stress and inflammatory factors could cause the genesis and progression of age-associated diseases, and on new strategies for delaying and altering aging.

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Antioxidants in food have a dual role; on the one hand, they preserve the quality and shelf life of food products; on the other hand, they function as an external aid, helping to defend our living cells from the threat of oxidative stress. Therefore, foods rich in antioxidants are a useful tool to reduce morbidity and prevent degenerative diseases. Consequently, research related to antioxidants is continually growing. This book brings together 21 articles regarding the latest advances in the most relevant fields of food antioxidant research; from the identification and characterization of new active components, to their molecular mechanisms and the scientific evidence of their clinical use and effectiveness.

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In recent years, great attention has been paid to polyphenols due to their positive effects on health. One of the most widely-studied phenolic compounds is resveratrol. This molecule, which is naturally present in some foods, shows beneficial effects on various physiological and biochemical processes, thus representing a potential tool for the prevention or the treatment of diseases highly prevalent in our society. Several of these beneficial effects have been observed in human beings, but others only in pre-clinical studies so far, and therefore, it is mandatory to continue with the scientific research in this field. Indeed, new knowledge concerning these issues could enable the development of novel functional foods or nutraceuticals, incorporating resveratrol, suitable for preventing or treating diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, obesity, dislipemia, insulin resistance and diabetes, liver diseases, etc.

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Shortlisted for the RHS First Book Prize 2026 Ghana’s twentieth century was one of dramatic political, economic, and environmental change. Sparked initially by the impositions of colonial rule, these transformations had significant, if rarely uniform, repercussions for the determinants of good and bad nutrition. All across this new and uneven polity, food production, domestic reproduction, gender relations, and food cultures underwent radical and rapid change. This volatile national history was matched only by the scientific instability of nutritional medicine during these same years. Moving between the dry Northern savannah, the mineral-rich and food-secure Southern rainforest, and the youthful, ever-expanding cities, Between Feast and Famine is a comparative history of nutrition in Ghana since the end of the nineteenth century. At the heart of this story is an analysis of how an uneven capitalist transformation variously affected the lives of women and children. It traces the change from sporadic periods of hunger in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, through epidemics of childhood malnutrition during the twentieth century, and into emergent epidemics of diet-related non-communicable disease in the twenty-first century. Employing a novel, critical approach to historical epidemiology, John Nott argues that detailing the co-production of science and its subjects in the past is essential for understanding and improving health in the present.

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Global health, conceived as a discipline, aims to train, research and respond to problems of a transboundary nature, in order to improve health and health equity at the global level. The current worldwide situation is ruled by globalization, and therefore the concept of global health involves not only health-related issues, but also those related to the environment and climate change. Therefore, in this Special Issue, the problems related to global health have been addressed from a bibliometric approach in four main areas: environmental issues, diseases, health, education and society.

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Medicinal plants and natural products have played a central role in therapeutics, being considered the origin of Pharmacy and Pharmacology. Plants are still a source in nature to obtain and isolate molecules with pharmacological applications (drug discovery), but can also be used as herbal medicinal products in traditional or complementary medicine.In addition, the WHO has launched a Traditional Medicine Strategy (2014–2023), including herbal medicines as medicinal therapies, with the aim to ensure the quality, safety, proper use, and effectiveness of traditional medicines, among other objectives.This is a reprint of articles from the Special Issue on “Bioactivity of Medicinal Plants and Extracts” published online in the open access journal Biology. This reprint includes a collection of original research and review articles on new advances in the development and application of bioactive compounds and extracts from plant matrices.

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The great advances in information technology (IT) have implications for many sectors, such as bioinformatics, and has considerably increased their possibilities. This book presents a collection of 11 original research papers, all of them related to the application of IT-related techniques within the bioinformatics sector: from new applications created from the adaptation and application of existing techniques to the creation of new methodologies to solve existing problems.

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The use of medical devices (e.g., catheters, implants, and probes) is a common and essential part of medical care for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. However, these devices quite frequently lead to the incidence of infections due to the colonization of their abiotic surfaces by biofilm-growing microorganisms, which are progressively resistant to antimicrobial therapies. Several methods based on anti-infective biomaterials that repel microbes have been developed to combat device-related infections. Among these strategies, surface coating with antibiotics (e.g., beta-lactams), natural compounds (e.g., polyphenols), or inorganic elements (e.g., silver and copper nanoparticles) has been widely recognized as exhibiting broad-spectrum bactericidal or bacteriostatic activity. So, in order to achieve a better therapeutic response, it is crucial to understand how these infections are different from others. This will allow us to find new biomaterials characterized by antifouling coatings with repellent properties or low adhesion towards microorganisms, or antimicrobial coatings that are capable of killing microbes approaching the surface, improving biomaterial functionalization strategies and supporting tissues’ bio-integration.

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The enormous importance of free radical chemistry for a variety of biological events, including ageing and inflammation, has attracted a strong interest in understanding the related mechanistic steps at the molecular level. Modelling the free radical chemical reactivity of biological systems is an important research area. When studying free-radical-based chemical mechanisms, biomimetic chemistry and the design of established biomimetic models come into play to perform experiments in a controlled environment that is suitably designed to be in strict connection with cellular conditions. This Special Issue gives the reader a wide overview of biomimetic radical chemistry, where molecular mechanisms have been defined and molecular libraries of products are developed to also be used as traces for the discovery of some relevant biological processes. Several subjects are presented, with 12 articles and 6 reviews written by specialists in the fields of DNA, proteins, lipids, biotechnological applications, and bioinspired synthesis, having “free radicals” as a common denominator.

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Biopharmaceutical and pharmaceutical manufacturing are strongly influenced by the process analytical technology initiative (PAT) and quality by design (QbD) methodologies, which are designed to enhance the understanding of more integrated processes. The major aim of this effort can be summarized as developing a mechanistic understanding of a wide range of process steps, including the development of technologies to perform online measurements and real-time control and optimization. Furthermore, minimization of the number of empirical experiments and the model-assisted exploration of the process design space are targeted. Even if tremendous progress has been achieved so far, there is still work to be carried out in order to realize the full potential of the process systems engineering toolbox. Within this reprint, an overview of cutting-edge developments of process systems engineering for biopharmaceutical and pharmaceutical manufacturing processes is given, including model-based process design, Digital Twins, computer-aided process understanding, process development and optimization, and monitoring and control of bioprocesses. The biopharmaceutical processes addressed focus on the manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals, mainly by Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, as well as adeno-associated virus production and generation of cell spheroids for cell therapies.

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Biosocial Worlds presents state-of-the-art contributions to anthropological reflections on the porous boundaries between human and non-human life – biosocial worlds. Based on changing understandings of biology and the social, it explores what it means to be human in these worlds. Growing separation of scientific disciplines for more than a century has maintained a separation of the ‘natural’ and the ‘social’ that has created a space for projections between the two. Such projections carry a directional causality and so constitute powerful means to establish discursive authority. While arguing against the separation of the biological and the social in the study of human and non-human life, it remains important to unfold the consequences of their discursive separation. Based on examples from Botswana, Denmark, Mexico, the Netherlands, Uganda, the UK and USA, the volume explores what has been created in the space between ‘the social’ and ‘the natural’, with a view to rethink ‘the biosocial’. Health topics in the book include diabetes, trauma, cancer, HIV, tuberculosis, prevention of neonatal disease and wider issues of epigenetics. Many of the chapters engage with constructions of health and disease in a wide range of environments, and engage with analysis of the concept of ‘environment’. Anthropological reflection and ethnographic case studies explore how ‘health’ and ‘environment’ are entangled in ways that move their relation beyond interdependence to one of inseparability. The subtitle of this volume captures these insights through the concept of ‘health environment’, seeking to move the engagement of anthropology and biology beyond deterministic projections. ; Biosocial Worlds brings together state-of-the-art contributions to critical anthropological reflection on, and ethnographic exploration of, human and non-human life in the light of our changing understandings of biology and what it means to be human.

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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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In 2011, carbohydrates provided 63% of the dietary energy intake to the world’s population. Historically, carbohydrate-rich diets have been associated with good health and longevity but there has been a move away from traditional carbohydrate-rich diets, with refined carbohydrate taking much criticism for contributing to non-communicable disease. The aim of this Special Issue is to discuss the appropriate use of environmentally sustainable carbohydrate-rich foods in the modern diet in developing and developed countries in the context of prevention and treatment of non-communicable disease.

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The purpose of this Special Issue, “The Role of Nutrition in Cardiometabolic Health: Experimental, Clinical, and Community-Based Evidence”, is to publish a focused, coherent, impactful, and well-cited volume on how nutrition influences diverse cardiometabolic risk factors. Cardiometabolic diseases such as coronary heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and obesity are the leading causes of death worldwide. In recent years, dietary habits have shifted all over the globe. At the same time, a constantly growing body of evidence demonstrates the role of caloric intake and dietary composition as determinants of cardiometabolic health. A suboptimal diet predisposes to a myriad of cardiometabolic risk factors such as impaired glucose metabolism, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and high blood pressure. The goal of this Special Issue is to provide rigorous evidence from novel experimental and observational studies that support the association between dietary factors and cardiometabolic risk and evaluate the diverse diet-related risk pathways.

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The present Special Issue will lead you to discover the association between cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, through update reviews and original articles exploring the pathophysiological mechanisms underpinning this association and describing the latest results in term of cardiovascular event prevention. An interesting scientific journey that reflects the recent advances in pharmacological treatments and interventional procedures.

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The cells of the immune system are lymphocytes (T-cells, B-cells and NK (natural killer) cells), neutrophils, eosinophils, and monocytes/macrophages. This book is an overview of some types of these cells and their role in recognizing and/or reacting against foreign material. The immune system is characterized by collaboration between cells and proteins. The development of all cells of the immune system begins in the bone marrow with a hematopoietic stem cell. Two chapters deal with neutrophils, three chapters with T-cells, four chapters with eosinophils, and other chapters review the immunomodulation of macrophages, the role of transcription factor KLF4 in regulating plasticity of myeloid-derived suppressor cells, immune reconstitution after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, and role of sorption detoxification in the therapy of acute radiation sickness.

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This book collects 17 original research papers and 9 reviews that are part of the Special Issue “Cellular Oxidative Stress”, published in the journal Antioxidants. Oxidative stress on a cellular level affects the function of tissues and organs and may eventually lead to disease. Therefore, a precise understanding of how oxidative stress develops and can be counteracted is of utmost importance. The scope of the book is to emphasize the latest findings on the cellular targets of oxidative stress and the potential beneficial effect of antioxidants on human health.

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This book provides an overview of some of the latest developments in the medical sciences, with particular emphasis on the experimental and theoretical aspects of modern medicine. In recent years, researchers working in applied health sciences have been able to identify diseases indicated by chemokines. Among the topics discussed in this book are chemokines affecting platelet functions, cytokine levels, and oxidative stress parameters in COVID-19, chemokines at the intersection of diabetes-tuberculosis synergy, chemokines in periodontal diseases, pathogenic links between hepato-digestive disorders and periodontal conditions, and IL-inflammatory carcinogenesis. Other areas included are the role of 23 receptor gene variations, the relationship between interleukin‑5 Receptor polymorphism, and immunological parameters in children with asthma. The book’s primary target audience includes students, researchers, medical practitioners, dentists, pharmacologists, and professionals interested in related fields. The book has been written by expert international scientists active in research in the health and applied sciences. We hope it will increase scientists’ knowledge of the complexity of some medical approaches, and encourage both professionals and students to devote part of their future research to understanding the mechanisms and applications of chemokines.

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Refrigeration, air conditioning, and heat pumps (RACHP) have an important impact on the final energy uses of many sectors of modern society, such as residential, commercial, industrial, transport, and automotive. Moreover, RACHP also have an important environmental impact due to the working fluids that deplete the stratospheric ozone layer, which are being phased out according to the Montreal Protocol (1989). Last, but not least, high global working potential (GWP), working fluids (directly), and energy consumption (indirectly) are responsible for a non-negligible quota of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the atmosphere, thus impacting climate change.

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The huge prevalence of type 2 diabetes is a leading human and economic concern worldwide. The diagnosis code of type 2 diabetes includes multiple clinical phenotypes showing different degrees of obesity, fat distribution patterns, types of dyslipidemia, and characteristics of insulin resistance syndrome. In addition, subjects with type 2 diabetes could develop different clinical trajectories, with age being a critical factor in progression. The chronic complications of type 2 diabetes are a major cause of mortality and disability, and are ranked in the top places in western countries’ scores. The pathophysiological heterogeneity of type 2 diabetes is not captured by the current classifications and guidelines. The potential for diabetes progression and complications developing is different depending on the type 2 diabetes cluster, which is mostly regardless of the degree of glycemic control. However, the impact on quality and life expectancy with the current therapeutic approach is not always the same for every individual. Clinical research is the key to reducing the burden of diabetes. New basic, digital, and clinical approaches are obtaining useful knowledge and designing more individualized interventions to prevent, track, and treat diabetic complications. This Special Issue is a clear reflection of this methodological evolution.

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