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Cactus species are plants that grow in the arid and semiarid regions of the world. They have long fascinated the attention of the scientific community due to their unusual biology. Cactus species are used for a variety of purposes, such as food, fodder, ornamental, and as medicinal plants. In the last regard, they have been used in traditional medicine for eras by the ancient people to cure several diseases. Recent scientific investigations suggest that cactus materials may be used as a source of naturally-occurring products, such as mucilage, fiber, pigments, and antioxidants. For this reason, numerous species under this family are becoming endangered and extinct. This review provides an overview of the habitat, classification, phytochemistry, chemical constituents, extraction and isolation of bioactive compounds, nutritional and pharmacological potential with pre-clinical and clinical studies of different Cactus species. Furthermore, conservation strategies for the ornamental and endangered species have also been discussed.

The efficacy of a novel photochemical method for generating chlorine dioxide (photoClO

) was evaluated against human noroviruses (HuNoV) surrogate, bacteriophage MS2, and Clostridium difficile endospores.

Chlorine dioxide was generated by mixing 1% sodium chlorite with 10 parts-per-million (ppm) Eosin Y and irradiating with a photo-activator-excitable light. PhotoClO

efficacy was assessed against bacteriophage MS2 and C. SANT-1 clinical trial difficile endospores in suspension, on hard surfaces and greenhouse conditions under soiled and unsoiled conditions. The estimated effective photoClO

produced and consumed was 20·39±0·16ppm at a rate of 8·16ppm per min in a 1% sodium chlorite solution. In suspension, MS2 phage was reduced by 3·35 and >5·10 log

PFU per ml in 120 and 90min, with and without soil, respectively. At the same time, when dried on stainless steel surface, MS2 phage was reduced by >4·53 log

PFU per carrier in 30min under both conditions. On the other hand, C. difficile endospores in suspension were reduced by 2·26 and 3·65 log

CFU per ml in 120min with and without soiling, respectively. However, on stainless steel surface, maximal reductions of the C. difficile endospores were 0·8 and 1·5 log

CFU per carrier with and without soiling, respectively, and a maximal reduction of 2·97 log

CFU per carrier under greenhouse conditions at 24 h.

Overall, photoClO

showed promise as a technology to control HuNoV contamination on environmental surfaces but requires further optimization and testing against C. difficile endospores.

Results from this investigation will serve as a model for how to generate and quantify photoClO

and how to appropriately evaluate this new class of disinfectants against environmentally resilient pathogens viruses and bacterial endospores.

Results from this investigation will serve as a model for how to generate and quantify photoClO2 and how to appropriately evaluate this new class of disinfectants against environmentally resilient pathogens viruses and bacterial endospores.

How does our personality relate to the ways in which we judge right from wrong? Drawing on influential theories of moral judgment, we identify candidate traits that may be linked with inclinations toward (a) consequentialist judgments (i.e., those based on the outcomes of an action) and (b) deontological judgments (i.e., those based on the alignment of an action with particular moral rules).

Across two studies (total N=843) we examined domains and aspects of the Big Five in relation to inclinations toward consequentialist and deontological judgments.

In both studies, we found a unique association between intellect (curiosity, cognitive engagement) and consequentialist inclinations, in line with the view that deliberative cognitive processes drive such inclinations. We also found a consistent unique association between politeness (respectfulness, etiquette) and deontological inclinations, in line with the view that norm-adherence drives such inclinations. Neither study yielded a significant unique relation between deontological inclinations and compassion (sympathy, empathic concern)-or any other emotion-infused trait (e.g., Neuroticism)-as would be expected based on emotion-centered views of deontological moral judgment.

These findings have implications for theories of moral judgment, and reveal how our personality may guide our approach to questions of ethics and morality.

These findings have implications for theories of moral judgment, and reveal how our personality may guide our approach to questions of ethics and morality.Doctor shopping enables subjects to receive more than the prescribed dose out of any medical management, which suggests a search for high doses and makes doctor shopping a relevant proxy for misuse and potential abuse. Therefore, this study aimed to identify and characterize profiles of subjects with doctor-shopping behavior for methylphenidate in the entire French population. This study is a cross-sectional study of doctor-shopping behavior for methylphenidate in France, in 2016, using the Système national des données de santé, and accounting for overlapping prescriptions. Subjects who obtained >840 mg by doctor shopping were defined as subjects with heavy doctor-shopping behavior, and subjects who obtained >0 mg and ≤840 mg by doctor shopping were defined as subjects with light doctor-shopping behavior. A total of 63 739 subjects were included, and received 339.6 kg of methylphenidate. Among them, 216 (0.3%) subjects had heavy doctor-shopping behavior, and 313 (0.5%) subjects had light doctor-shopping behavior. Compared with subjects with light doctor-shopping behavior, subjects with heavy doctor-shopping behavior were older (64% of 30- to 49-year-old subjects vs. 77% of ≤17-year-old subjects; P less then 0.001), received more concomitant dispensings of antipsychotics (37% vs. 26%; P = 0.008) and opioid maintenance treatments (50% vs. 6%; P less then 0.001), and had more prescribers (4 [IQR = 2-5] vs. 2 [IQR = 2-3]; P less then 0.001). In the French context where prescription and dispensing of methylphenidate are highly regulated and methylphenidate is much less used than in other countries, these results are a warning signal to avoid trivializing methylphenidate in adults.