Research Publications (Food Safety)

Similar to other cnidarians such as stony corals, the upside-down jellyfish (Cassiopea spp.) lives in endosymbiosis with dinoflagellates of the family Symbiodiniaceae. These jellyfish have been described as invasive species and are now found circumtropically in coastal marine environments.

We have investigated if EWH could counteract or prevent cardiovascular damage induced by high level of Cd exposure in rats. Male Wistar rats were treated for 14 days with: (A) Untreated - intraperitoneal (i.p.) injections of distilled water and tap water by gavage; (B) Cd − 1 mg/kg of bw/day of CdCl2 (i.p.) and tap water by gavage; (C) EWH – distilled water (i.p.) and 1 mg/kg/day of EWH by gavage; (D) CdEWH – both treatments.

This study used the sexually mature Chinese mitten crabs as the research object, and the total arsenic and six major species were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HPLC-ICP-MS). The influence of three common cooking methods on the forms of arsenic and content in different edible parts of crabs were explored.

Grapevine is one of the economically most important quality crops. The monitoring of the plant performance during the growth period is, therefore, important to ensure a high quality end-product. This includes the observation, detection, and respective reduction of unhealthy berries (physically damaged, or diseased). At harvest, it is not necessary to know the exact cause of the damage, but rather if the damage is apparent or not.

The integration of phytoremediation and biostimulation can improve pollutant removal from the environment. Plant secondary metabolites (PSMs), which are structurally related to xenobiotics, can stimulate the presence of microbial community members, exhibiting specialized functions toward detoxifying, and thus mitigating soil toxicity.

Natural resistance-associated macrophage protein (NRAMP) genes encode proteins with low substrate specificity, important for maintaining metal cross homeostasis in the cell. The role of these proteins in tobacco, an important crop plant with wide application in the tobacco industry as well as in phytoremediation of metal-contaminated soils, remains unknown. Here, we identified NtNRAMP3, the closest homologue to NRAMP3 proteins from other plant species, and functionally characterized it.

Glutathione S-transferases (GST) are involved in the detoxification of exogenous chemicals including lead (Pb). Using data from 344 pairs of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) cases and age- and sex-matched typically developing (TD) controls (2–8 years old) from Jamaica, we investigated the interaction between three GST genes and ASD status as determinants of blood Pb concentrations (BPbCs). We found that ASD cases had lower geometric mean BPbCs than TD children (1.74 vs.

In CD-1 mice, gestational-only exposure to cadmium (Cd) causes female-specific hepatic insulin resistance, metabolic disruption, and obesity. To evaluate whether sex differences in uptake and changes in essential metal concentrations contribute to metabolic outcomes, placental and liver Cd and essential metal concentrations were quantified in male and female offspring perinatally exposed to 500 ppb CdCl2.

Lead is a nonessential metal and may be a coexposure in welding fumes. Preclinical data indicate lead may affect iron regulation. The current study investigated blood lead concentrations and their association with brain iron accumulation in workers with chronic welding fume exposure, with a focus on iron-rich subcortical regions of the cerebellum and basal ganglia. Occupational exposure, whole blood metal, and brain MRI data were obtained from 29 controls and 42 welders.

by Priyashi Rao, Dweipayan Goswami, Rakesh M. Rawal Since its origin, the emergence of vector-borne infections has taken a toll on incalculable human lives. The use of chemical insecticides is one of the early known methods of vector control and although their use is still a prevalent way to combat insect population sadly the perils of insects related transmission still persists.

Cadmium (Cd) accumulation in lettuce causes a large amount of yield loss during industry. Although many studies report that exogenous melatonin helps to alleviate the Cd stress of lettuce, the molecular mechanism for how plant tissue responds to Cd treatment is unclear.

Arsenic was known as human carcinogen. It was therefore of great importance to better understanding the release behavior of arsenic in soils for managing and controlling the potential risks of smelter contaminated sites.

Short-term assessment of adverse effects is essential for populations exposed to higher risk of environmental pollution. This study presents the time course of physiological and morphological changes attributed to cadmium, emphasizing age-linked differences in the susceptibility of photosynthetic apparatus of Spirodela polyrhiza fronds exposed to different cadmium concentrations.

The persistence of erythrocytes infected with Plasmodium falciparum gametocytes in the bloodstream is closely related to the modulation of their mechanical properties. New drugs that increase the stiffness of infected erythrocytes may thus represent a novel approach to block malaria parasite transmission. The phosphodiesterase inhibitor tadalafil has been shown to impair the ability of infected erythrocytes to circulate in an in vitro model for splenic retention.

Recent reports of resistance to artemisinin-based combination drugs necessitate the need to discover novel antimalarial compounds. The present study was aimed at identifying novel antimalarial compounds from natural product libraries using computational methods. Plasmodium falciparum is highly dependent on the pyrimidine biosynthetic pathway, a de novo pathway responsible for the production of pyrimidines, and the parasite lacks the pyrimidine salvage enzymes. The P.

Aims:This study aimed to compare the concentrations of heavy metals in reindeer and cow meat and offal originating from the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Northwestern Russia, and to assess the risk to the health of the indigenous population associated with heavy metal intake due to the consumption of reindeer and cow.Methods:Lead, cadmium, mercury, and arsenic concentrations were measured in 39 muscle, 15 liver, and 14 kidney samples from reindeer and 33, 18, and 12 corresponding samples from cow

Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, Accepted Article. Background Arsenic (As) may represent a risk for crop yield quality and human health since it may accumulate in the edible plant organs with the potential of determining acute or chronic toxic effects in varied segments of the population. Management of soil fertility through compost has proven to be a valuable practice for increasing and maintaining soil organic matter, with nutritional benefits for crops.

by Seishiro Hirano, Osamu Udagawa Promyelocytic leukemia (PML) proteins are involved in the pathogenesis of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). Trivalent arsenic (As3+) is known to cure APL by binding to cysteine residues of PML and enhance the degradation of PML-retinoic acid receptor α (RARα), a t(15;17) gene translocation product in APL cells, and restore PML-nuclear bodies (NBs). The size, number, and shape of PML-NBs vary among cell types and during cell division.

Cadmium (Cd) pollution poses a serious threat to agricultural production and paddy field fauna.

Today, tattooing has become very popular among people all over the world. Tattooists, with the help of tiny needles, place tattoo ink inside the skin surface and unintentionally introduce a large number of unknown ingredients.

This study investigated the release of dissolved organic matters (DOMs) from biochar under DC electric field and the roles of the released DOMs on the removal of heavy metal lead (Pb) from the soil coupled with electrokinetic (EK) remediation.

In order to effectively control the excessive use of organic arsenic reagents in livestock and poultry products, there is an urgent need to develop a method for rapid detection of multiple organic arsenic reagents. In this study, two haptens were designed and derivatized around the structural formula of roxarsone, and a highly-sensitive group-selective mAb 3F2 was prepared, which can simultaneously detect roxarsone, 4-aminophenylarsonic acid, 2-aminophenylarsonic acid and phenylarsonic acid.

by Mu-Xuan Wang, Hong-Wei Qin, Chao Liu, Shen-Ming Lv, Jia-Shu Chen, Chun-Gu Wang, Ying-Ying Chen, Jia-Wei Wang, Jin-Yue Sun, Zhi-Xin Liao Xanthine oxidase (XO) is a key enzyme in the generation and development of hyperuricemia. Thiazolidine-2-thione, a typical heterocyclic compound, have been widely used in the field of drug synthesis.

An increasing number of studies have clarified that ferroptosis plays a vital role in neurodegenerative diseases, which is characterized by the accumulation of Fe2+, lipid peroxidation, and alteration of mitochondrial structure. However, whether ferroptosis is involved in nerve injury caused by lead exposure remains unclear. In this study, HT22 cells and mice were treated with lead acetate to investigate the role of ferroptosis in lead neurotoxicity.

Arsenic is widely present in nature and is a class I carcinogen confirmed by the World Health Organization and the International Agency for Research on Cancer. The liver is responsible for biotransformation in the body and is one of the major organs where arsenic accumulates in the body, but the mechanisms of arsenic-induced abnormal DNA damage repair pathways in the liver are still unclear.