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Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is defined as the spontaneous development of itchy hives and/or angioedema due to known or unknown causes that last for at least 6 weeks. At any given time, CSU is believed to affect 0.5-1% of the global population. Omalizumab (a recombinant, humanized anti-immunoglobulin-E antibody) is the only approved treatment for antihistamine refractory CSU. However, ~ 30% of patients remain symptomatic at licensed doses of omalizumab 150 mg and 300 mg, even after a treatment period of over 6 months. In the recent years, there have been several studies on updosing of the drug, suggesting that the individualized approach for urticaria treatment with omalizumab is useful. In this article, we provide an overview of these studies and the real-world data on omalizumab updosing as it became necessary to obtain complete CSU symptom control in a proportion of patients. Published observational studies (from June 2003 to October 2019) on the updosing of omalizumab in CSU were identified using PubMed and Ovid databases. Reports mainly show that updosing/dose adjustment evaluated with the assessment of disease activity (Urticaria Activity Score) and control (Urticaria Control Test) achieves better clinical response to omalizumab with a good safety profile in a pool of patients with CSU. These real-world data will provide an overview of updosing of omalizumab in CSU and aid in setting informed clinical practice treatment expectations.The ubiquitous access by patients to online information about health issues is disrupting the traditional doctor-patient relationship in fundamental ways. The knowledge imbalance has shifted and the last nails are being hammered into the coffin of medical paternalism. Ready access to Dr Google has many positive aspects but the risk of undiscerning acceptance by patients of unscientific, out-of-date or biased information for their decision-making remains. In turn this may feed into the content of the legal duty of care for doctors and contribute to a need for them to inquire sensitively into the sources of information that may be generating surprising or apparently illogical patient treatment choices. In addition, patients, those related to patients, and others have the potential to publish on the Internet incorrect and harmful information about doctors. A number of influential decisions by courts have now established the legitimacy of medical practitioners taking legal proceedings for defamation and injunctive relief to stop vituperative and vindictive online publications that are harming them personally, reputationally and commercially. Furthermore, disciplinary accountability has been imposed on doctors for intemperate, disrespectful online postings. All of these factors are contributing to a disruptive recalibration of the dynamics between doctors and their patients.Bacteriocins are peptides of ribosomal synthesis that are active against bacteria related to the producing strain. They have been widely used in the food industry as biopreservatives. The generation of hybrid peptides by combining the genes that encode two different bacteriocins has made it possible to study the mechanisms of action of the bacteriocins that compose them and also develop new peptides with improved biotechnological applications. Hybrid bacteriocins may be obtained in several ways. In our laboratory, by combining enterocin CRL35 and microcin V (Ent35-MccV), we obtained a broad-spectrum peptide that is active against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Ent35-MccV is sensitive to the action of intestinal proteases and is heat resistant, which makes it a good candidate for use as a biopreservative. For this reason, the peptide was tested in skim milk and beef burgers as food models. We also obtained more potent variants of the hybrid by modifying the central amino acid of the hinge region that connects the two bacteriocins. This review also discusses future applications and perspectives regarding the Ent35-MccV and other hybrid peptides.Key Points• Ent35-MccV is a new broad-spectrum bacteriocin.• The mechanism of action of bacteriocins can be studied using hybrid peptides.• Genetic engineering allows obtaining improved bacteriocin derivatives.• Hybrid peptides can be used in the food, pharmaceutical, and veterinary applications.Mining in Colombia affects 488,672 ha (298,391 in coal mining and 190,281 in gold mining). However, Colombia has insufficient studies on mining and its repercussions, which limits estimates of mining impacts on ecosystems and the human population. Due to the rise of mining activities in Colombia, the negative impacts generated by coal and Hg will also continue to increase. This review analyzes national information levels on coal and Hg in island/coastal/marine as well as freshwater ecosystems and human groups using fishery resources as a framework. This is because fish are the main source of animal protein in marine coastal-island and mainland communities. Here, 15 of 32 Colombian departments have records on total mercury (THg) in water, sediments, fish, and human communities. Around 205 ton/year of mercury is discharged into the ecosystem. In human hair for example (15.3 to 50.15 μg/g), mercury exceeds the international maximum levels allowed (ILA) and the national standard (5.0 μg/g). Mercury levels in freshwater fish show 3.3 μg/g of THg and levels in marine and coastal-island fish are 1.2 μg/g THg exceeding the ILA (0.5 μg/g) standard for fish that will be consumed. Streptozocin in vitro Carnivorous species have a THg between 0.04 and 2.55 μg/g suggesting bioaccumulation and magnification of heavy metals. These findings were then compared with available international information.Heavy metal contamination is a global issue, where the prevalent contaminants are arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr)(VI), mercury (Hg), and lead (Pb). More often, they are collectively known as “most problematic heavy metals” and “toxic heavy metals” (THMs). Their treatment through a variety of biological processes is one of the prime interests in remediation studies, where heavy metal-microbe interaction approaches receive high interest for their cost effective and ecofriendly solutions. In this review, we provide an up to date information on different microbial processes (bioremediation) for the removal of THMs. For the same, emphasis is put on oxidation-reduction, biomineralization, bioprecipitation, bioleaching, biosurfactant technology, biovolatilization, biosorption, bioaccumulation, and microbe-assisted phytoremediation with their selective advantages and disadvantages. Further, the literature briefly discusses about the various setups of cleaning processes of THMs in environment under ex situ and in situ applications.