Efficient remediation of water pollutants requires the continuous development of new technologies. Magnetic biochars offer a sustainable solution by combining the high adsorptive capacity of biochar with easy adsorbent recovery. However, the main existing methods for synthesizing magnetic carbons have some disadvantages, such as obtaining materials with a poor magnetic response or with less surface area available for the adsorption of contaminants. Thus, there is an evident need to develop new methods for the synthesis of magnetic carbons. This study presents an innovative approach to obtaining a magnetic nanocomposite (MNC). Initially, chemically activated biochar (ACP) was produced from the pyrolysis of green coconut husks (GCH). Subsequently, an oleic acid-coated magnetite colloid was employed to incorporate magnetic nanoparticles into the porous structure of ACP. Two additional magnetic carbons were prepared using co-pyrolysis of GCH or GCH biochar, both impregnated with FeCl3 solution, for performance comparison. Characterization of MNC revealed a high BET surface area (1019 m(2).g(-1)) and favorable magnetism (11.2 +/- 1.1 emu.g(-1)). The MNC exhibited similar or superior adsorption capacities for caffeine (153 mg.g(-1)) and salicylic acid (203 mg.g(-1)) when compared to the other materials. These findings highlight the ability of this innovative process to provide a material with good magnetic properties and concomitantly high surface area, resulting in a promising adsorbent for the removal of contaminants from water.

Vacuum Membrane Dryers (VMDrs) are new membrane operations designed for the recovery of dry compounds from aqueous feeds. In this work, VMDrs development and application were reviewed and discussed. Flat and capillary membrane modules with feed recirculation and in static configuration (feed in contact with one side of the membrane without recirculation) were compared. VMDRs in static configuration were applied to the treatment of aqueous suspensions of 10 wt.% polystyrene microparticles (size ranging from 0.3 ?m to 7 ?m) at 30°C and 4 mbar, and to the treatment of aqueous solutions of caffeine (concentration ranging from 0.1 wt.% to 0.3 wt.%) at 45°C and 4 mbar. In both cases, a 0.2 ?m polypropylene flat membrane was used. Dry solids (polystyrene) and crystals (caffeine) were obtained, together with distillates free of solids and crystals. For the two case studies, the drying efficiency and main differences were underlined. Finally, benefits of VMDrs and further research needed were presented.

The plant association of Populus alba L. 'Villafranca', Brassica oleracea var. acephala sebellica (kale), and B. oleracea var. capitata 'sonsma' (cabbage) was exposed to Zn, Cd, and exogenous caffeine (CFN)-contaminated water under growth chamber conditions. In the short term of treatment (15 days), poplar increased the root dry biomass (+ 25%) and decreased the chlorophyll content in new leaves (- 32%), compared to control. On the contrary, cabbage decreased the root dry biomass, enhancing the shoot dry biomass (+ 50%). Heavy metals were mainly concentrated in plant roots and in poplar reached the highest concentrations of 705 ± 232.6 and 338 ± 85.5 ?g g DW for Zn and Cd, respectively. The ability of poplar to accumulate more Zn and Cd than kale and cabbage in plant biomass was confirmed by heavy metal contents, following the order: poplar > kale = cabbage. However, poplar and Brassica sp. association was very useful for Zn and Cd decontaminations as reported by the bioconcentration factors (> 1). The concentration of CFN was below 2.4 ng g FW in poplar and 7.4 ng g FW in Brassica species, suggesting the caffeine uptake and degradation by plant association. Under our experimental conditions, the removal efficiency of the system was upper to 79%, indicating the capability of Populus-Brassica association to efficiently remove Zn, Cd, and CFN from mixed inorganic-organic-contaminated water in short term.

Mixed inorganic and organic contaminations are one of the main challenges in phytoremediation, due to the higher complexity derived by pollutant interactions and the increase of phytotoxicity. The cultivation of fast-growing poplars for removing contaminants from water could be a low-cost and flexible choice. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the tolerance of a poplar species (Populus alba'Villafranca' clone) to irrigation with water contaminated with zinc (Zn) and caffeine (CFN). Poplars were maintained in hydroponic and exposed to four different treatments (Control, CFN, Zn and Zn + CFN) over 7 days. Poplar showed a good tolerance to Zn and CFN treatments, without any symptom of phytotoxicity. However, the type of treatment affected the contaminant dynamics in the plant-water system and a pollutant partitioning was observed among organs, with a higher accumulation of Zn in root (472 +/- 128.7 mg kg(- 1)DW) and CFN in shoot (30 +/- 4.5 mu g g(- 1)FW). Under mixed condition, the CFN uptake significantly increased in root (+ 40%) and stem (+ 28%) while the Zn concentration decreased in leaves (-19%). A focus on the potential role of natural resistance-associated macrophage proteins (NRAMPs) in divalent metal transport has been performed. A down-regulation ofNRAMP1.3was detected in roots of plants exposed to CFN treatment in relation to an increase of Mn concentration. Data confirmed the suitability ofPopulus albafor the remediation of multi contaminated water.

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Vacuum Membrane Distillation (VMD) was applied in two production lines of the coffee industry: the concentration of the coffee extract and the dehydration and recovery of caffeine. Experiments were carried out by using a commercial flat microporous membrane made of polypropylene (0.2 ?m pore size). Both systems worked with a vacuum value of 4 mbar, while the temperature was fixed at 45 °C and at 27 °C for the caffeine recovery and the coffee extract concentration, respectively. Starting from an extract of 13 wt%, it was possible to concentrate it up to the values needed for the instantaneous/soluble coffee production, while dry caffeine was recovered from a 0.1-0.3 wt% aqueous feed. In both case studies, a pure distillate stream, able to be re-used in the plant, was obtained.

Background: Caffeine represents the most used psychoactive drug in the world acting through different mechanisms of action and on several molecular targets. It exerts an anti-cancer role in glioblastoma multifonne (GBM). This neoplasia is characterized by extensive hypoxic foci triggering hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) expression. Among these factors, HIF-1 alpha performs a crucial role in the induction of vascular endothelium growth factor (VEGF), a key player in angiogenesis and cell migration.

Coffee drinking seems to have several beneficial effects on health outcomes. However, the effect on hepatic steatosis, depending on a high alcohol consumption (AFLD, alcoholic fatty liver disease) or on metabolic factors (non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, NAFLD), is still equivocal. Thus, we aimed to explore the potential association between coffee consumption and the presence and severity of hepatic steatosis in people with NAFLD or AFLD. In this cross-sectional study, coffee drinking was recorded using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire, and categorized as yes vs. no and as 0, 1, 2, >=3. The degree of fatty liver was assessed through a standardized ultrasound examination (score 0 to 6, with higher values reflecting higher severity). Liver steatosis was classified as NAFLD or AFLD on daily alcohol intake >30 g/day for men and >20 g/day for women. This study included 2819 middle-aged participants, the great majority were coffee drinkers (86.1%). After adjusting for 12 potential confounders, drinking coffee was not associated with decreased odds for NAFLD (n = 916) (odds ratio, OR = 0.93, 95% confidence intervals, CI: 0.72-1.20) or AFLD (n = 276) (OR = 1.20, 95% CI: 0.66-2.0). The consumption of coffee (categorized as yes vs. no), or an increased consumption of coffee were not associated with the presence of mild, moderate or severe liver steatosis in either NAFLD or AFLD. In conclusion, coffee intake was not associated with any lower odds of hepatic steatosis in either non-alcoholic or alcoholic forms in this large cohort of South Italian individuals.

Several studies have demonstrated that the most effective way to control eutrophication is to reduce phosphorus input at the scale. Water quality monitoring programs need to separately evaluate the different polluting sources to provide a suitable estimate of their relative contributions and thus accurately prioritize possible restoration actions. Urban area cases, where a portion of untreated wastewater is often discharged directly into receiving surface waters by combined sewer overflows (CSOs) during rain events, remain unsolved. In this context, an urban watershed located in Northern Italy with 60 CSOs has been chosen as a case study, and four rainy events have been hourly monitored. The proposed monitoring program consists of the combined use of caffeine and turbidity to estimate the volume and phosphorus load spilled into the river from the CSOs, respectively. Caffeine proved to be a suitablemolecule to quantify the volume of wastewater discharged into water bodies, based on a per capita caffeine load of 10.8 mg inhab(-1) d(-1), estimated in the present work. This research showed that, on average, more than half of the total phosphorus loads transported by the river is due to the CSO discharges (56.5%). The knowledge of the prevailing responsibility of the CSO discharges for the Lambro River quality allows prioritizing effective restoration actions.

Although MDMA (3,4-methylendioxymethamphetamine, ecstasy) neurotoxicity in serotonin neurons is largely recognized in a wide variety of species including man, neurotoxicity in dopamine (DA) neurons is thought to be species-specific. MDMA is mainly consumed by adolescents, often in conjunction with caffeine (Energy Drinks) and this association has been reported to exacerbate MDMA toxic effects. In order to model these aspects of MDMA use, vis-à-vis their impact on DA neurons, we investigated the effects of adolescent exposure to low doses of MDMA (5 mg/kg for 10 days), alone or in combination with caffeine (10 mg/kg) on neuronal and functional DA indices and on recognition memory in adult rats. MDMA reduced density of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) positive neurons in the ventral tegmental area and in the substantia nigra pars compacta, and immunoreactivity of TH and DA transporter in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) shell and core, and caudate-putamen. This same treatment caused a reduction of basal dialysate DA in the NAc core. MDMA-pretreated rats also showed behavioral sensitization to a MDMA challenge at adulthood and potentiation of MDMA-induced increase of dialysate DA in the NAc core, but not in the NAc shell. In addition, MDMA-treated rats displayed a deficit in recognition memory. Caffeine co-administration did not affect the above outcomes. Our results show that adolescent exposure of rats to low doses of MDMA induces long-lasting and widespread reduction of DA neurons indicative of a neurotoxic effect on DA neurons and suggestive of a degeneration of the same neurons.

Rationale Rats emit 50-kHz ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) in response to pleasurable stimuli, and these USVs are considered a tool for investigating reward and motivation. Objectives This study aimed to clarify how activity of adenosine A2A receptors, which modulate reward and motivation, influences 50-kHz USV emission in rats. Methods Rats received one of the following treatments in a test cage: (1) acute administration of the A2A receptor agonist CGS 21680 (0.05-0.2 mg/kg, i.p.) during social interactions; (2) long-term amphetamine (1 or 2 mg/kg, i.p.) or morphine (7.5 mg/kg, s.c.) administration on alternate days, alone or with CGS 21680, followed after 7 days of discontinuation by test cage re-exposure, to assess drug-conditioning effects, and thereafter drug challenge; (3) acute administration of the D1/D2 receptor agonist apomorphine (4 mg/kg, i.p.), alone or with CGS 21680; and (4) long-term administration of the nonselective A1/A2A receptor antagonist caffeine (15 mg/kg, i.p.), on alternate days. USVs and locomotor activity were evaluated throughout the treatments. Results CGS 21680 attenuated 50-kHz USV emission stimulated by social interactions, amphetamine, apomorphine, and morphine, and rats administered CGS 21680 with amphetamine or morphine emitted fewer conditioned 50-kHz USVs upon test cage re-exposure, compared with rats administered amphetamine or morphine alone. Moreover, CGS 21680 administration prevented long-term changes in locomotor activity in amphetamine- and morphinetreated rats. Finally, caffeine had no effect on 50-kHz USVs. Conclusions These results indicate that activation of A2A receptors attenuates 50-kHz USV emission in rats and further elucidate how these receptors modulate the motivational properties of natural and pharmacological stimuli

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Caffeine, the most widely consumed psychostimulant drug, acutely stimulates motor behaviour and enhances dopamine agonists actions whilst chronically it induces tolerance to either caffeine- or dopamine agonist-induced motor activating effects. The present study examined whether subchronic caffeine administration (15 mg=kg, on alternate days for 14 days) induces enduring modifications in caffeine- and amphetaminemediated motor activity. To this end, motor activation and rotational behaviour stimulated by either caffeine or D-amphetamine (0.5, 2 mg=kg), given 3 days after the last caffeine administration, were evaluated in neurologically intact and unilaterally 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned rats respectively. Subchronic caffeine resulted in an increase in caffeine-induced motor and turning behaviour. Furthermore, caffeine pretreatment potentiated the motor effects of amphetamine in both intact and 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned rats. These results suggest that subchronic caffeine treatment results in an enhancement of its motor stimulant effects, rather than in tolerance, and induces neuroadaptive facilitatory changes in dopamine transmission.

L'invenzione riguarda la scoperta dell'azione nematostatica e nematocida esercitata dalla caffeina (1,3,7-trimethylxanthina). La scoperta di quest'attività da parte di una sostanza di origine naturale, disponibile in gran quantità come sottoprodotto industriale o di sintesi, e suscettibile d'impiego nei settori della protezione biologica delle piante e della lotta contro i nematodi, ne consente un uso nuovo, nonché nuove applicazioni di ordine fitoiatrico, che sono oggetto di rivendicazione. L'azione contro i nematodi fitoparassiti non era precedentemente nota. Sulla base dell'attività sperimentale realizzata, il brevetto presenta rivendicazioni per: i) uso per l'azione nematocida contro nematodi fitoparassiti del genere Meloidogyne; ii) uso per l'azione nematostatica e di contenimento delle popolazioni di nematodi fitoparassiti nel terreno; iii) applicazione per la lotta nematocida nell'agricoltura tradizionale, biologica e organic farming; iv) uso come coadiuvante o ammendante in formulati di altra composizione ad azione nematocida.

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The effects of caffeine, a naturally occurring stimulant, on the brain and plasma concentrations of neuroactive steroids were examined in the rat. A single intraperitoneal injection of caffeine induced dose- and time-dependent increases in the concentrations of pregnenolone, progesterone, and 3alpha- hydroxy-5alpha-pregnan-20-one (allopregnanolone) in the cerebral cortex. The increases were significant at a caffeine dose of 25 mg/kg and greatest (+188, +388, and +71%, respectively) at a dose of 100 mg/kg in rats killed 30 min after caffeine administration. Caffeine also increased the plasma concentrations of pregnenolone and progesterone with a dose-response relation similar to that observed in the brain, whereas the caffeine-induced increase in the plasma concentration of allopregnanolone was maximal at a dose of 50 mg/kg. Caffeine increased the plasma concentration of corticosterone, but it had no effect on the brain or plasma concentrations of 3alpha,21-dihydroxy-5alpha- pregnan-20-one and dehydroepiandrosterone. Moreover, the brain and plasma concentrations of pregnenolone, progesterone, and allopregnanolone were not affected by caffeine in adrenalectomized-orchiectomized rats. These results suggest that neuroactive steroids may modulate the stimulant and anxiogenic effects of caffeine. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Inc.