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Exploring Innovations and Key Insights in Healthcare
Cortes, Arthur R. G.; Henriques, Bruno; Sarmento, Bruno; Rodrigues, Célia Fortuna; Souza, Júlio C. M.; Tiritan, Maria Elizabeth; Brito, Nuno VieiraOn behalf of the Editorial Team of Scientific Letters, we are pleased to announce the publication of the third issue. The 2024 edition of Scientific Letters presents a diverse array of research that highlights significant advancements in health, dentistry, and clinical treatments.
Enantiomeric profiling of ketamine in street samples for recreational use
Varela, Inês; Milhazes, Nuno; Martins, Daniel; Gonçalves, Virgínia; Tiritan, Maria Elizabeth; Ribeiro, CláudiaBackground: While ketamine (KET) has gained increasing scientific attention for its novel therapeutic applications, there has also been a parallel global rise in its non-medical, recreational use. [1]. Due to its effects on the central nervous system—such as dissociation, perceptual alterations, and its well-known anesthetic properties—KET is frequently used recreationally for its psychoactive effects. [2]. As ...
Microbiome adaptation of aerobic granular sludge allows process resilience duri...
Miranda, Catarina; Maia, Alexandra S.; Tiritan, Maria Elizabeth; Castro, Paula M. L.; Amorim, Catarina L.Coastal wastewater treatment plants often face multiple stressors (e.g., pharmaceuticals and oscillating seawater levels) simultaneously, and their combined effects on biological treatment systems are still largely underestimated. In this study, an aerobic granular sludge (AGS) reactor was challenged over a four-month period with wastewater that had daily fluctuations in seawater content (7.5 to 22.5 g/L) and o...
Wastewater stressors shape the microbiome of aerobic granular sludge
Miranda, Catarina; Maia, Alexandra S.; Tiritan, Maria Elizabeth; Amorim, Catarina L.; Castro, Paula M. L.Aerobic granular sludge (AGS) is a revolutionary biological treatment technology, which, due to its competitive advantages, has been increasingly implemented in full-scale wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). WWTPs are frequently challenged by multiple stressors, including pharmaceuticals and fluctuating salinity, which not only increase the complexity of wastewater but also impair the biological treatment perf...
Enantiomeric biodistribution and toxicity of 3-chloromethcathinone (3-CMC) in W...
Langa, Ivan; Rocha-Pereira, Carolina; Milhazes, Nuno; Dias da Silva, Diana; Domingues, Susana; Silva, Paula; Barbosa, Joana; Faria, JulianaBackground: There has been a surge in global attention to New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) [1]. Synthetic cathinones stand out as a widely consumed NPS class. Notably, 3-chloromethcathinone (3-CMC) accounted for over 34% of NPS seizures in 2021 [2], which underscores concerns regarding its consumption and health effects. Of note, 3-CMC is chiral and mostly sold as a racemate. As human metabolism and pharm...
Evaluation of antitumor activity of xanthones conjugated with amino acids
Barbosa, Flávia; Araújo, Joana; F. Gonçalves , Virgínia M.; Palmeira, Andreia; Cunha, Andrea; A. Silva, Patrícia M.; Fernandes, Carla; Pinto, MadalenaBackground: Cancer is a complex disease characterized by several alterations that confer on the cells, the capacity to proliferate uncontrollably and to resist cellular death. Multiresistance to conventional chemotherapy drugs is often the cause of treatment failure; thus, the search for natural products or their derivatives with therapeutic action is essential. Chiral derivatives of xanthones (CDXs) have ...
Sublethal enantiotoxicity of MDMA on the development, teratogenicity, genotoxic...
Ribeiro, Ondina; Félix, Luís; Ribeiro, Cláudia; Gonçalves, Virgínia; Tiritan, Maria Elizabeth; Soares Carrola, JoãoBackground: Chiral psychoactive substances (PAS) as amphetamine-like substances are among the main group of drugs seized in Europe. The increased attractiveness of these drugs resulted in their widespread occurrence in the environment raising concern about their possible hazardous effects to non-target organisms [1, 2]. PAS metabolism in humans and biodegradation in wastewater treatment plants is stereosel...
Evaluation of oxidative stress and apoptosis responses in zebrafish (Danio reri...
Ribeiro, Ondina; Félix, Luís; Ribeiro, Cláudia; Tiritan, Maria Elizabeth; Carrola, João SoaresBackground: The emergence of new psychoactive substances (NPS) in the worldwide drug market raises huge concerns over public health, drug policy and environmental adverse effects [1]. Butylone (BTL) is a synthetic chiral cathinone [2] reported in wastewater effluents and despite its increasing presence in freshwater ecosystems, no studies were found on the BTL toxic evaluation in fish, including the well-known ...
Butylone effects on swimming behaviour and biochemical parameters on Daphnia magna
Carvalho, Ana Rita; Gonçalves, Virgínia M. F.; Tiritan, Maria Elizabeth; Carrola, João Soares; Castro, Bruno; Ribeiro, Ana Rita Lado RibeiroBackground: Psychoactive substances (e.g. cathinones) may be detected in environmental samples, posing risks to wildlife and human health [1, 2]. Butylone (BTL) is a chiral synthetic cathinone available as a racemate [1]. Nevertheless, both human metabolism and biodegradation at wastewater treatment plants may be enantioselective causing changes in its enantiomeric fraction (EF) [2]. Therefore, enantiomers may ...
Development and validation of an on-line SPE coupled to liquid chromatography w...
Prost-Tournier, Oséa; Rocha, Lígia; Pinho, Teresa; Tiritan, Maria Elizabeth; Gonçalves, VirgíniaBackground: Resin-matrix composites, commonly used in dentistry, often contain derivatives of Bisphenol A (BPA) such as Bisphenol A-Diglycidyl Methacrylate and Bisphenol A-Dimethacrylate in their organic matrix composition [1]. Although BPA is not a direct ingredient of these composites, it may be present as a contaminant or degradation product, potentially released into the oral cavity following dental restora...