ABSTRACT
Clove (Syzygium aromaticum) is a spice globally used as a food preservative and for medical applications. Nowadays, S. aromaticum is cultured in several parts of the world. S. aromaticum is rich in phenolic constituents (i.e., eugenol and eugenol acetate) and possesses the potential for food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and agricultural applications. Eugenol is a major bioactive constituent of S. aromaticum oil recovered from buds and leaves. Eugenol biological traits have been well-investigated, including analgesic, antiinflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anticancer effects. The health-promoting activities of clove are higher than several vegetables, fruits, and spices. Eugenol (C10H12O2) is considered safe as a food additive and is used to protect food from microorganisms and as a fumigant and pesticide. In addition, it is included in many dental formulations and helps with enhanced skin permeation of drugs. This handbook aims to establish a multidisciplinary discussion on the development of S. aromaticum phytochemistry, technology, processing, agricultural practices, functional traits, health-enhancing potential, mechanism of action, and toxicity as well as food and nonfood uses. The studies reported in this project confirm the functional applications of S. aromaticum as a medicinal plant, standing out for the significance of its novel applications. © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Tufa-depositing streams provide great microhabitat complexity and are therefore inhabited by various periphytic phagotrophic organisms such as ciliates and amoeboid protists. Recent removal of invasive plant species Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swinge from the Skradinski buk tufa barrier (Krka National Park, Croatia) resulted in changes in the barrier hydromorphology including the reactivation (revitalization) of dry streams. The objective of this study was to investigate: (1) the taxonomic and functional response of periphytic ciliates and amoeboid protists to stream revitalization by comparing taxonomic (i.e., abundance, species richness and diversity) and functional (i.e., functional diversity) metrics between revitalized (N) and control sites (C) during 1 and 2-months immersion period; (2) which environmental and (3) periphyton-associated factors shape the taxonomic and functional metrics and to what extent; (4) how duration of immersion affects taxonomic and functional metrics at revitalized sites. Our results showed that taxonomic and functional metrics of ciliates and amoeboid protists responded to the prevailing conditions characteristic of revitalized tufa-depositing streams: changing hydrology (occasional high flow or drought), soil drainage, and extensive inorganic matter, i.e., tufa deposition, although their responses were somewhat different. The two assemblages also showed different responses of taxonomic and functional metrics with respect to immersion duration: while the taxonomic and functional diversity of ciliates at N sites increased with longer immersion, indicating niche diversification, those of amoeboid protists hardly changed with time. Our results suggest that a comprehensive analysis of taxonomic and functional metrics of ciliates and amoeboid protists could be a good proxy for assessing revitalization of tufa-depositing streams. However, the temporal component should always be considered when conducting such studies, as the colonization processes of ciliates and amoeboid protists are quite complex, especially in tufa-depositing streams.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Yellow fever virus (YFV) is an arbovirus that, despite the existence of a safe and effective vaccine, continues to cause outbreaks of varying dimensions in the Americas and Africa. Between 2017 and 2019, Brazil registered un unprecedented sylvatic YFV outbreak whose severity was the result of its spread into zones of the Atlantic Forest with no signals of viral circulation for nearly 80 years. METHODS: To investigate the influence of climatic, environmental, and ecological factors governing the dispersion and force of infection of YFV in a naïve area such as the landscape mosaic of Rio de Janeiro (RJ), we combined the analyses of a large set of data including entomological sampling performed before and during the 2017-2019 outbreak, with the geolocation of human and nonhuman primates (NHP) and mosquito infections. RESULTS: A greater abundance of Haemagogus mosquitoes combined with lower richness and diversity of mosquito fauna increased the probability of finding a YFV-infected mosquito. Furthermore, the analysis of functional traits showed that certain functional groups, composed mainly of Aedini mosquitoes which includes Aedes and Haemagogus mosquitoes, are also more representative in areas where infected mosquitoes were found. Human and NHP infections were more common in two types of landscapes: large and continuous forest, capable of harboring many YFV hosts, and patches of small forest fragments, where environmental imbalance can lead to a greater density of the primary vectors and high human exposure. In both, we show that most human infections (~ 62%) occurred within an 11-km radius of the finding of an infected NHP, which is in line with the flight range of the primary vectors. CONCLUSIONS: Together, our data suggest that entomological data and landscape composition analyses may help to predict areas permissive to yellow fever outbreaks, allowing protective measures to be taken to avoid human cases.