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Irish Journal of Medical Science Feb 2024In recent years, triglyceride-glucose index (TyG) was a new indicator of insulin resistance, and it has been widely reported that it may be associated with serum...
BACKGROUND
In recent years, triglyceride-glucose index (TyG) was a new indicator of insulin resistance, and it has been widely reported that it may be associated with serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) concentrations.
AIMS
We intended to investigate the possible connection between serum PSA concentration and the TyG index.
METHODS
This is a cross-sectional study of adults with complete data on TyG and serum PSA concentrations (ng/ml) from the NHANES, 2003-2010. The TyG index is obtained by the formula below: TyG = Ln [triglycerides (mg/dL) × fasting glucose(mg/dL)/2]. Multivariate regression analysis and subgroup analysis were used to examine the connection between the TyG index and serum PSA levels.
RESULTS
Multiple regression analysis of the weighted linear model showed that individuals with a higher TyG index had lower PSA levels. Subgroup analyses and interaction tests showed no apparent dependence on age, race/ethnicity, BMI, household income ratio, education level, and marital status on this negative association (all interactions p > 0.05).
CONCLUSIONS
TyG index is related to lower serum PSA concentrations in adult men from the USA. Further comprehensive prospective studies are needed to confirm our findings.
Topics: Male; Adult; Humans; United States; Glucose; Prostate-Specific Antigen; Blood Glucose; Triglycerides; Cross-Sectional Studies; Nutrition Surveys; Insulin Resistance; Risk Factors; Biomarkers
PubMed: 37340224
DOI: 10.1007/s11845-023-03431-5 -
Environmental Pollution (Barking, Essex... Mar 2024Biosolids are rich in organic matter and other nutrients that contribute to environmental and agricultural sustainability by improving soil textural and biological...
Biosolids are rich in organic matter and other nutrients that contribute to environmental and agricultural sustainability by improving soil textural and biological properties and enhancing plant growth when applied to agricultural crops. Land application of biosolids encourages resource recovery and circumvents drawbacks associated with landfilling or incineration. However, biosolids contain numerous chemicals at trace levels, and quantitative analysis of such mixtures in this complex matrix is crucial for understanding and managing application risks. There are currently few analytical methods available that are capable of extracting and quantifying a large range of the emerging contaminants found in biosolids. In this study, a simplified, rapid, and robust method of analysis was developed and validated for a high-priority organic contaminant mixture of 44 endocrine disrupting compounds known to occur in biosolids. Analytes consisted of chemicals from many classes with a wide range of physiochemical properties (e.g., log K values from -1.4 to 8.9). The biosolids extraction and cleanup protocol was validated for 42 of the targeted compounds. The UPLC-MS parameters were validated for all 44 organic contaminants targeted for study. From the two batches of biosolids tested using this analytical method, most of the targeted contaminants (86%) were detected with 100% frequency at concentrations ranging from 0.036 to 10,226 μg/kg dw. Performance results highlighted that internal standards alone could not negate biosolids matrix effects; thus, internal standards and the standard addition method were used for residue quantification. This was the first study to detect and quantify 6PPD-q in biosolids, and the first to quantify lidocaine and 11 other chemicals in biosolids using a single analytical method. This method may be expanded for analysis of additional chemicals in biosolids and comparable matrices.
Topics: Biosolids; Environmental Monitoring; Soil Pollutants; Chromatography, Liquid; Tandem Mass Spectrometry; Soil
PubMed: 38346636
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2024.123517 -
Journal of Hazardous Materials Sep 2023In recent years, the number of publications on nano- and microplastic particles (NMPs) effects on freshwater organisms has increased rapidly. Freshwater crustaceans of... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
In recent years, the number of publications on nano- and microplastic particles (NMPs) effects on freshwater organisms has increased rapidly. Freshwater crustaceans of the genus Daphnia are widely used in ecotoxicological research as model organisms for assessing the impact of NMPs. However, the diversity of experimental designs in these studies makes conclusions about the general impact of NMPs on Daphnia challenging. To approach this, we systematically reviewed the literature on NMP effects on Daphnia and summarized the diversity of test organisms, experimental conditions, NMP properties and measured endpoints to identify gaps in our knowledge of NMP effects on Daphnia. We use a meta-analysis on mortality and immobilization rates extracted from the compiled literature to illustrate how NMP properties, study parameters and the biology of Daphnia can impact outcomes in toxicity bioassays. In addition, we investigate the extent to which the available data can be used to predict the toxicity of untested NMPs based on the extracted parameters. Based on our results, we argue that focusing on a more diverse set of NMP properties combined with a more detailed characterization of the particles in future studies will help to fill current research gaps, improve predictive models and allow the identification of NMP properties linked to toxicity.
Topics: Animals; Plastics; Microplastics; Water Pollutants, Chemical; Daphnia; Fresh Water; Ecotoxicology
PubMed: 37348369
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.131839 -
Food Research International (Ottawa,... Mar 2024In the past years, the European Union (EU) has added edible insects to the list of novel foods, allowing an increasing number of insect-based products into the European... (Review)
Review
In the past years, the European Union (EU) has added edible insects to the list of novel foods, allowing an increasing number of insect-based products into the European market. With insects gaining more popularity in the Western world, it is crucial to investigate their chemical food safety. This study aimed at investigating possible isotopic patterns in different edible insect species (n = 52) from Asia, Africa and Europe using stable isotope ratio analysis (SIRA) to provide a framework for future investigations on food authenticity and traceability. Additionally, complementary mass-spectrometric screening approaches were applied to gain a comprehensive overview of contamination levels of current-use pesticides (CUPs) in edible insects, to assess their chemical food safety. SIRA revealed significant differences between countries in δC- (p < 0.001) and δN- (p < 0.001) values. While it was not possible to distinguish between individual countries using principal component analysis (PCA) and linear discriminative analysis (LDA), the latter could be used to distinguish between larger geographical areas (i.e. Africa, Europe and Asia). In general, African samples had a more distinct isotopic profile compared to European and Asian samples. When comparing the isotopic compositions of samples containing pesticides with samples with no detected pesticides, differences in sulphur compositions could be observed. Additionally, LDA was able to correctly classify the presence of pesticides in a sample with 76% correct classification based on the sulphur composition. These findings show that SIRA could be a useful tool to provide a framework for future investigations on food authenticity and traceability of edible insects. A total of 26 CUPs were detected using suspect screening and an additional 30 CUPS were quantified using target analysis, out of which 9 compounds had a detection frequency higher than 30%. Most detected pesticides were below the maximum residue levels (MRLs) for meat, suggesting low contamination levels. However, dichlorvos and fipronil could be detected in the same order of magnitude as the MRLs, even in samples purchased in Europe. These findings indicate a limited chemical risk for edible insects regarding pesticide contamination. Nevertheless, the study also highlights that further and more extensive investigations are needed to give a comprehensive assessment of the chemical risk of edible insects as a novel food source in Europe. With insects recently being potentially more incorporated into daily diets, more attention should be paid to possible chemical hazards to accurately assess their risk and to ensure food safety.
Topics: Animals; Edible Insects; Pesticides; Food; Food Safety; Insecta; Sulfur
PubMed: 38342520
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2024.114020 -
Environmental Science & Technology Jul 2023Soot from jet fuel combustion in aircraft engines contributes to global warming through the formation of contrail cirrus clouds that make up to 56% of the total...
Soot from jet fuel combustion in aircraft engines contributes to global warming through the formation of contrail cirrus clouds that make up to 56% of the total radiative forcing from aviation. Here, the elimination of such emissions is explored through N injection (containing 0-25 vol % O) at the exhaust of enclosed spray combustion of jet fuel that nicely emulates aircraft soot emissions. It is shown that injecting N containing 5 vol % of O enhances the formation of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that adsorb on the surface of soot. This increases soot number density and volume fraction by 25 and 80%, respectively. However, further increasing the O concentration to 20 or 25 vol % enhances oxidation and nearly eliminates soot emissions from jet fuel spray combustion, reducing the soot number density and volume fraction by 87.3 or 95.4 and 98.3 or 99.6%, respectively. So, a judicious injection of air just after the aircraft engine exhaust can drastically reduce soot emissions and halve the radiative forcing due to aviation, as shown by soot mobility, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, nitrogen adsorption, microscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis (for the organic to total carbon ratio) measurements.
Topics: Soot; Hydrocarbons; Aircraft; Aviation; Vehicle Emissions
PubMed: 37406187
DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c01048 -
The Science of the Total Environment Jun 2024Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by fungi and identified as contaminants in animal feed. They have potentially harmful effects, including carcinogenicity,... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by fungi and identified as contaminants in animal feed. They have potentially harmful effects, including carcinogenicity, mutagenicity, and repro-toxicity in animals and humans. As a result of climate change, there is the potential for a change in the prevalence and concentration of mycotoxins in animal feed components. This necessitates an assessment of the present and emerging threats to the food supply chain from mycotoxins. This systematic review and meta-analysis study synthesised studies on mycotoxin contamination and prevalence in cattle feed components. The studies were collected from scientific databases Web of Knowledge, Scopus, and Embase between 2011 and 2022. The meta-analysis synthesised 97 studies on the prevalence and the concentration of aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, fumonisin and T-2/HT-2 toxins in feed components. Aflatoxin was highly prevalent (59 %), with a concentration of 2.58-3.92 μg kg in feed components. Ochratoxin A had a global prevalence of 31 % with a concentration of 5.56-12.41 μg kg. Deoxynivalenol had a global concentration of 233.17-327.73 μg kg and a prevalence of 74 %. Zearalenone had a prevalence of 70 % and a concentration of 42.47-66.19 μg kg. The concentration and prevalence of fumonisins was 232.19-393.07 μg kg and 65 %, respectively. The prevalence and concentration of T-2/HT-2 toxins were 45 % and 23.54-35.12 μg kg, respectively. The synthesised concentration of the mycotoxins in the overall feed components was lower than the regulated and guidance values set by the European Union. However, in a few cases, the 95th percentile exceeded these concentration values due to high levels of uncertainty attributed to lower sample size, and thus, need to be considered while conducting risk assessments. The study highlights climates and regions likely to be conducive to the emergence of mycotoxin risk, especially considering the potential influences of climate change.
Topics: Animal Feed; Mycotoxins; Animals; Food Contamination; Cattle; Aflatoxins
PubMed: 38608906
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172323 -
Nutrients May 2024Meat and meat products are among the most nutrient-dense food sources in the human diet [...].
Meat and meat products are among the most nutrient-dense food sources in the human diet [...].
Topics: Humans; Nutritive Value; Meat; Meat Products; Diet; Animals
PubMed: 38794684
DOI: 10.3390/nu16101446 -
Occurrence of fungi and mycotoxins in herbal medicines and rapid detection of toxin-producing fungi.Environmental Pollution (Barking, Essex... Sep 2023Contamination from external hazardous materials may greatly influence the safety and efficacy of herbal medicines. This paper aimed to evaluate the levels of...
Contamination from external hazardous materials may greatly influence the safety and efficacy of herbal medicines. This paper aimed to evaluate the levels of contamination by mycotoxins and toxigenic fungi in herbal medicines and establish a rapid method for detecting toxin-producing fungi. Herein, 62.92%, 36.25%, and 64.17% of herbal medicines were contaminated by aflatoxins (AFs), ochratoxins, and fumonisins, respectively. Aspergillus (43.77%), Fusarium (5.17%), and Cladosporium (4.46%) were the three predominant genera. Spearman's correlation results showed that Aspergillus and Fusarium were significantly and positively correlated with mycotoxin content (R > 0.5, P < 0.05). In addition, 323 fungal strains were isolated from herbal medicines, and 20 species were identified, mainly belonging to Aspergillus and Penicillium. Analysis of potential mycotoxin-producing fungi showed that Aspergillus flavus can produce AFs, and Aspergillus ochraceus and Aspergillus niger can produce ochratoxin A (OTA). Multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction showed that A. flavus harbored AF synthesis genes (aflR), and A. ochraceus and A. niger harbored OTA synthesis genes (aoksl). With these synthesis genes, 67.07% and 37.20% of 164 herbal medicines were positive for toxigenic genes. Furthermore, an excellent correlation was found between the above gene copies and mycotoxin content (R = 0.99). Our results confirmed the high detection rate of mycotoxins in herbal medicines and identified pivotal AF- and OTA-producing fungi. In conclusion, this paper provided the contamination status of fungi and mycotoxins in herbal medicines and established a rapid method for detecting toxigenic fungi.
Topics: Mycotoxins; Fungi; Aflatoxins; Fumonisins; Plant Extracts; Food Contamination
PubMed: 37343918
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.122082 -
ACS Sensors Nov 2023Breath analysis is emerging as a universal diagnostic method for clinical applications. The possibility of breath analysis is being explored vigorously using different...
Breath analysis is emerging as a universal diagnostic method for clinical applications. The possibility of breath analysis is being explored vigorously using different analytical techniques. We have designed and assembled a multiwavelength UV photoacoustic spectroscopy (PAS) sensor for the said application. To optimize laser wavelength for sample excitation, photoacoustic signals from disease and normal conditions are recorded with different laser excitations (213, 266, 355, and 532 nm) on exhaled breath samples. Principal component analysis (PCA) of the PA signals has shown that 213, 266, and 355 nm laser excitations are suitable for breath analysis, with reliable descriptive statistics obtained for 266 nm laser. The study has, therefore, been extended for breath samples collected from asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and normal subjects, using 266 nm laser excitation. PCA of the PA data shows good classification among asthma, COPD, and normal subjects. Match/No-match study performed with asthma, COPD, and normal calibration set has demonstrated the potential of using this method for diagnostic application. Sensitivity and specificity are observed as 88 and 89%, respectively. The area under the curve of the ROC curve is found to be 0.948, which justifies the diagnostic capability of the device for lung diseases. The same samples were studied using a commercial E-Nose, and the measurement outcome strongly supports the PAS results.
Topics: Humans; Volatile Organic Compounds; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive; Asthma; ROC Curve; Spectrum Analysis
PubMed: 37871260
DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.3c01316 -
Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety Jan 2024A thorough understanding of the degradation of chemical biomarkers in wastewater after the sampling is critical in the surveillance of illicit drug use based on the...
A thorough understanding of the degradation of chemical biomarkers in wastewater after the sampling is critical in the surveillance of illicit drug use based on the back-calculation technique. Herein, three temperatures, eight groups of matrices, and acidification were applied to simulate the preservation condition of 21 illicit drugs, their metabolites, and cotinine for a 240-day stability study. It was proved that the temperature, matrices, and acidification play vital roles in their stability in wastewater. Most of them demonstrated high stability (transformation rates < 20%) during room temperature for 45 days, and the transformation rates decreased while the storage temperature reduced. The stability of the target compounds such as cocaine (COC), 6-monoacetylmorphine (6-MAM), and amphetamine (AM) is influenced by matrices. Acidification prevented the majority of analytes from transforming, making it a feasible solution for preservation after sampling. A model that combined the effects of temperature and matrix was developed to back-calculate the concentration of target compounds during the postsampling process. The feasibility of this model was validated by correcting the loss of COC and 6-MAM from 24.2% and 16.2% to 2.98% and 2.77%. This study simulated a typical large-scale sampling and storage scenario. The effect of the temperature, pH, and matrix on in-sample stability and the postsampling analysis of selected target compounds was investigated for the first time in this study.
Topics: Wastewater; Illicit Drugs; Cotinine; Amphetamine; Cocaine; Water Pollutants, Chemical
PubMed: 38176186
DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2023.115900