This paper delves into the intersection of biomaterials and antibacterial agents, highlighting the importance of alginic acid-based biomaterials. We investigate enhancing antibacterial properties by functionalizing alginic acid with an ionic liquid and a potent chelating agent, tris(hydroxypyridinone) (THP). Initial functionalization with the ionic liquid markedly improves the material\'s antibacterial efficacy. Subsequent functionalization with THP further enhances this activity, reducing the minimum inhibitory concentration from 6 to 3 mg/mL. Notably, the newly developed dual-functionalized materials exhibit no cytotoxic effects at the concentrations tested, underscoring their potential for safe and effective antibacterial applications. These findings highlight the promising role of dual-functionalized alginic acid biomaterials in developing advanced antibacterial treatments.

The current environmental consciousness of the world\'s population encourages researchers to work on new materials that are environmentally benign and able to display the appropriate features for the needed application. To develop high-performing, inexpensive eco-materials, scientists have frequently turned to nature, attempting to mimic its processes\' excellent performance at a reasonable price. In this regard, we decided to focus on alginic acid (AA), a polysaccharide widely found in brown algae, and kojic acid (KA), a chelating agent fungi produces. This study proposes rapidly synthesizing a sustainable, biocompatible material (AK) based on AA and KA, employing chlorokojic acid (CKA). The material has a dual function: antibacterial activity on both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, without any cytotoxic action on human cells in vitro, and catalytic ability to convert CO2 into cyclic carbonates at atmospheric pressure, without solvents, with high yields, and without the use of metals. Furthermore, the material\'s insolubility in organic solvents allows it to be easily separated from the reaction product and reused for other catalytic cycles. Both applications have a key role in the medical and environmental fields, combating the outbreak of infections and providing an innovative methodology to fix the CO2 on specific substrates.

The instability of calcium tartrate (CaT) in wines occurs when the effective concentration of ions surpasses the solubility product, leading to the formation of CaT crystals. Unlike potassium hydrogen tartrate (KHT), temperature has little effect on the rate of CaT precipitation, making cold stabilization ineffective. Additives like metatartaric acid and carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) have been used to mitigate this problem, but metatartaric acid\'s effectiveness is limited due to hydrolysis. Additionally, potassium polyaspartate (KPA), commonly used as a KHT stabilizer, has been reported to reduce wine stability regarding CaT instability. Therefore, exploring alternative stabilization methods is crucial. Alginic acid, permitted as a processing aid in winemaking, can be an alternative to CMC and metatartaric acid due to its strong negative charge and ability to bind calcium ions. This study aimed to assess alginic acid\'s efficacy as a CaT stabilizer compared to CMC and investigate the impact of KPA on CaT instability. The results showed that KPA did not increase CaT instability and even improved its stability in some wines. Alginic acid outperformed both CMC and KPA in mitigating CaT instability, possibly due to its higher zeta potential and calcium ion complexation ability. This study is the first to investigate the use of alginic acid for CaT stability in wine.

Heteropolysaccharides are among the most widely distributed compounds in nature, acting as both tissue building blocks and as a source of nutrients. Their physicochemical and biological properties have been studied thoroughly; however, the microstructural properties of heteropolysaccharides are still poorly understood. This study aims to investigate the micro-structural peculiarities of agarose, gum arabic, hyaluronic and alginic acids by means of confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and cryogenic scanning electron microscopy (cryo-SEM). Herein, attention is paid to layered complexity of the microstructure differentiating surface, under surface, inner, and substrate interface layers. The scale and pattern of the polysaccharide\'s microstructure depend on the concentration, changing from lamellae to cell-like porous structures. This work provides the insight into micro- and nanoscale mechanisms of self-healing and substrate-induced reorganisation. Thus, investigation of the self-healing mechanism revealed that this diffusion-based process starts from the fibres, turning into lamellae, following by cell-like structures with smaller dimensions. Investigation of the substrate-induced reorganisation ability showed that nano-to-micro (scale) porous substrate causes reorganisation in the interface layer of the studied heteropolysaccharides. This work contributes to understanding the structural peculiarities of heteropolysaccharides by looking at them through a supramolecular, micro-level prism.

Liver diseases represent a considerable burden to patients and healthcare systems. Hydrogels play an important role in the engineering of soft tissues and may be useful for embedding hepatocytes for different therapeutic interventions or the development of in vitro models to study the pathogenesis of liver diseases or testing of drugs. Here, we developed two types of hydrogels by crosslinking hydrazide-functionalized gelatin with either oxidized dialdehyde hyaluronan or alginate through the formation of hydrazone bonds. Gel formulations were studied through texture analysis and rheometry, showing mechanical properties comparable to those of liver tissue while also demonstrating long-term stability. The biocompatibility of hydrogels and their ability to host hepatocytes was studied in vitro in comparison to pure gelatin hydrogels crosslinked by transglutaminase using the hepatocellular line HepG2. It was found that HepG2 cells could be successfully embedded in the hydrogels, showing no signs of gel toxicity and proliferating in a 3D environment comparable to pure transglutaminase cross-linked gelatin hydrogels used as control. Altogether, hydrazide gelatin in combination with oxidized polysaccharides makes stable in situ gelling systems for the incorporation of hepatocytes, which may pave the way for use in liver tissue engineering and drug testing.

Polymannuronic acid (PM) is an alginate oligosaccharide derived from brown algae with a characterized structure and excellent biological activities. Herein, mice were given different doses of PM through 30-day-long-term intragastric administration, and the contents of the jejunum, ileum, and colon were analyzed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing technology for microbial diversity, and relevant experiments were verified according to the analysis results so as to comprehensively evaluate the effects of PM on the intestinal flora. The PM (400 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg) could regulate the microflora balance at the phylum level and increase the microflora richness in the jejunum, ileum, and colon of the mice. The PM could induce more strains that are negatively correlated with Escherichia, thereby reducing the relative abundance of Escherichia. Analysis of bacterial function showed that high and low doses of PM could promote lipid metabolism in the bacterial communities. Moreover, the PM could reduce serum total cholesterol and cholesterol ester levels in a concentration-dependent manner. High-dose PM could lead to colonic intestinal inflammation by increasing the relative abundance of multiple bacterial groups in the jejunum, ileum, and colon. Moreover, high-dose PM could increase lipopolysaccharide-binding protein and interleukin-1β levels. Therefore, the dose of PM plays an important role in its efficacy, and its biological activity is dosedifferent.

OBJECTIVE: The objective was to gain knowledge about how external inspections following serious incidents are played out in a Norwegian hospital context from the perspective of the inspectors, and whether stakeholders\' views are involved in the inspection.
METHODS: Based on a qualitative mixed methods design, 10 government bureaucrats and inspectors situated at the National Board of Health Supervision and three County Governors in Norway, were strategically recruited, and individual semi-structured interviews were conducted. Key official government documents were selected, collected, and thematically analyzed along with the interview data.
RESULTS: Our findings overall demonstrate two overarching themes: Theme (1) Perspectives on different external inspection approaches of responding and involving stakeholders in external inspection following serious incidents, Theme (2) Inspectors\' internal work practices versus external expectations. Documents and all participants reported a development towards new approaches in external inspection, with more policies and regulatory attention to sensible involvement of stakeholders. Involvement and interaction with patients and informal caregivers could potentially inform the case complexity and the inspector\'s decision-making process. However, stakeholder involvement was sometimes complex and challenging due to e.g., difficult communication and interaction with patients and/or informal caregivers, due to resource demands and/or the inspector\'s lack of experience and/or relevant competence, different perceptions of the principle of sound professional practice, quality, and safety. The inspectors considered balancing the formal objectives and expectations, with the expectations of the public and different stakeholders (i.e. hospitals, patients and/or informal caregivers) a challenging part of their job. This balance was seen as an important part of the continuous development of ensuring public trust and legitimacy in external inspection processes.
CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that the regulatory system of external inspection and its available approaches of responding to a serious incident in the Norwegian setting is currently not designed to accommodate the complexity of needs from stakeholders at the levels of hospital organizations, patients, and informal caregivers altogether. Further studies should direct attention to how the wider system of accountability structures may support the internal work practices in the regulatory system, to better algin its formal objectives with expectations of the public.

Recycling saline wastewater for agricultural irrigation offer a promising solution to address both water scarcity and anthropogenic pollution. However, organic-inorganic fouling in saline wastewater irrigation systems (SWIS) poses significant technical and economic challenges. Traditional chemical biocides are currently insufficient for controlling composite organic-inorganic fouling and may pose environmental hazards. This study proposed a greener approach using organic acid (OA) fertilizers to alleviate organic-inorganic fouling in agricultural SWIS. The treatment performances were assessed employing four types of OA fertilizers (i.e., humic acid, alginic acid, nucleotide, and ammonia acid) and a negative control. Results showed that three types of OA, i.e., alginic acid, nucleotide, and ammonia acid, effectively reduced the total SWIS fouling content by 11.2%-57.4%, whereas humic acid exacerbated fouling by 11.2%-57.4%. Specifically, all types of OA significantly mitigated the content of inorganic fouling (precipitates and silicates) by 10.7%-42.3% by forming loosed and sparser structures. However, OA exhibited minimum effects on controlling silica fouling. Meanwhile, except the humic acid, other types of OA decreased the total content of organic fouling by 17.2%-39.5% by reducing the content of humic substances and building block fractions. In addition, the significant binary interactions of organic-inorganic fouling indicated the active role of calcium silica and biomineralization fouling. These findings provide insight into the development of appropriate and eco-friendly antifouling strategies for SWIS, with implications for recycling and reusing saline wastewater.

Ascophyllum nodosum is a brown seaweed common in Arctic tidal waters. We have collected A. nodosum samples from the Barents Sea (BS), Irminger Sea (IS), and Norwegian Sea (NS) in different reproductive stages and have evaluated their biochemical composition, radical scavenging potential, and health risks. The total content of dominating carbohydrates (fucoidan, mannitol, alginate, and laminaran) ranged from 347 mg/g DW in NS to 528 mg/g DW in BS. The proportion of two main structural monosaccharides of fucoidan (fucose and xylose) differed significantly between the seas and reproductive phase, reaching a maximum at the fertile phase in the BS sample. Polyphenols and flavonoids totals were highest in NS A. nodosum samples and increased on average in the following order: BS < IS < NS. A positive correlation of free radical scavenging activity for seaweed extracts with polyphenols content was observed. The concentration of elements in A. nodosum from the Arctic seas region was in the following order: Ca > Mg > Sr > Fe > Al > Zn > As total > Rb > Mn > Ba > Cu > Co. Seaweeds from BS had the lowest metal pollution index (MPI) of 38.4. A. nodosum from IS had the highest MPI of 83. According to the calculated target hazard quotient (THQ) and hazard index (HI) values, Arctic A. nodosum samples pose no carcinogenic risk to adult and child health and are safe for regular consumption. Our results suggest that the Arctic A. nodosum has a remarkable potential for food and pharmaceutical industries as an underestimated source of polysaccharides, polyphenols, and flavonoids.

Alginate-based materials have gained significant attention in the medical industry due to their biochemical properties. In this article, we aimed to synthesize Cotton-Alginate-Copper Composite Materials (COT-Alg(-)Cu(2+)). The main purpose of this study was to assess the biochemical properties of new composites in the area of blood plasma coagulation processes, including activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), prothrombin time (PT), and thrombin time (TT). This study also involved in vitro antimicrobial activity evaluation of materials against representative colonies of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and antifungal susceptibility tests. The materials were prepared by immersing cotton fibers in an aqueous solution of sodium alginate, followed by ionic cross-linking of alginate chains within the fibers with Cu(II) ions to yield antimicrobial activity. The results showed that the obtained cotton-alginate-copper composites were promising materials to be used in biomedical applications, e.g., wound dressing.