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Trends in Environmental Analytical... Jun 2024High resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) has become an important tool in environmental and food safety analysis. This review highlights how HRMS has been used to analyze...
High resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) has become an important tool in environmental and food safety analysis. This review highlights how HRMS has been used to analyze chemical contaminants in fish. Measuring and documenting chemical contaminants in fish serves not only as an indicator of environmental conditions but can also monitor the health of these animals and help protect an important source of human food. The incidence and significance of contaminants including veterinary drugs, human drugs and personal care products, pesticides, persistent organic pollutants, per- and poly fluorinated substances, and marine toxins will be reviewed. The advantage of HRMS over traditional MS is its ability to expand the number of compounds that can be detected and identified. This is true whether HRMS is used for targeted analytes, or more broadly for suspect screening and nontargeted analyses. The classes of compounds, types of fish or seafood, options for data acquisition and analysis, and reports of unexpected findings from recent HMRS methods for chemical contaminants in fish are summarized.
PubMed: 38957876
DOI: 10.1016/j.teac.2024.e00227 -
ISME Communications Jan 2024Constitutive mixoplankton-plastid-bearing microbial eukaryotes capable of both phototrophy and phagotrophy-are ubiquitous in marine ecosystems and facilitate carbon...
Constitutive mixoplankton-plastid-bearing microbial eukaryotes capable of both phototrophy and phagotrophy-are ubiquitous in marine ecosystems and facilitate carbon transfer to higher trophic levels within aquatic food webs, which supports enhanced sinking carbon flux. However, the regulation of the relative contribution of photosynthesis and prey consumption remains poorly characterized. We investigated the transcriptional dynamics behind this phenotypic plasticity in the prasinophyte green alga Based on what is known of other mixoplankton species that cannot grow without photosynthesis (obligate phototrophs), we hypothesized that uses phagotrophy to circumvent the restrictions imposed on photosynthesis by nutrient depletion, to obtain nutrients from ingested prey, and to maintain photosynthetic carbon fixation. We observed an increase in feeding as a response to nutrient depletion, coinciding with an upregulation of expression for genes involved in essential steps of phagocytosis including prey recognition, adhesion and engulfment, transport and maturation of food vacuoles, and digestion. Unexpectedly, genes involved in the photosynthetic electron transfer chain, pigment biosynthesis, and carbon fixation were downregulated as feeding increased, implying an abatement of photosynthesis. Contrary to our original hypothesis, our results therefore suggest that depletion of inorganic nutrients triggered an alteration of trophic behavior from photosynthesis to phagotrophy in . While this behavior distinguishes from other groups of constitutive mixoplankton, its physiological response aligns with recent discoveries from natural microbial communities. These findings indicate that mixoplankton communities in nutrient-limited oceans can regulate photosynthesis against bacterivory based on nutrient availability.
PubMed: 38957873
DOI: 10.1093/ismeco/ycae083 -
Frontiers in Nutrition 2024The term emotional eating (EE) describes the tendency to eat as an automatic response to negative emotions and has been linked to anxiety and depression, common symptoms...
INTRODUCTION
The term emotional eating (EE) describes the tendency to eat as an automatic response to negative emotions and has been linked to anxiety and depression, common symptoms among the university population. The EE tendencies have also been associated with excessive internet use and an increase in alcohol intake among young university students.
METHODS
The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between the tendency towards EE and other health-compromising behaviors, such as excessive internet use or high alcohol intake. Additionally, it aims to investigate the association of these risky behaviors with the participants' performance level in a virtual reality (VR) task that assesses their executive functioning, and to assess impulsivity and levels of anxiety and depression.
RESULTS
The results associate EE with excessive internet (r = 0.332; < 0.01). use but not with alcohol consumption. Alcohol consumption was not associated with anxiety, depression, or impulsivity, but it was related to altered executive functions in the VR task: flexibility and working memory explained 24.5% of the variance. By contrast, EE and internet overuse were not related to executive function but were associated with impulsivity, depression, and anxiety. Impulsivity and depressive symptoms accounted for 45% of the variance in EE. Depression, trait anxiety and impulsivity explained 40.6% of the variance in internet overuse.
DISCUSSION
The results reveal distinct patterns of psychological and neuropsychological alterations associated with alcohol consumption compared to emotional eating (EE) and excessive internet use. These findings underscore significant differences in the contributing factors between addictions and other substance-free addictive behaviors. For a deeper understanding of the various contributing factors to EE in college students, further research is recommended.
PubMed: 38957869
DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2024.1400815 -
Frontiers in Nutrition 2024Though considerable studies suggesting connections between micronutrients and pregnancy complications, current evidence remains inconsistent and lacks causative...
BACKGROUND
Though considerable studies suggesting connections between micronutrients and pregnancy complications, current evidence remains inconsistent and lacks causative confirmation. Our study aimed to explore the causal links between them with a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis.
METHODS
Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) data for circulating micronutrients were sourced from GWAS Catalog consortium and PubMed, while data for pregnancy outcomes, including gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), gestational hypertension (GH), spontaneous abortion (SA), preterm birth (PTB), and stillbirth (SB), were retrieved from the UK Biobank and FinnGen consortia. Causal effects were appraised using inverse variance weighted (IVW), weighted median (WM), and MR-Egger, followed by sensitivity analyses and meta-analysis for validation.
RESULTS
Genetically predicted higher vitamin E (OR = 0.993, 95% CI 0.987-0.998; = 0.005) levels were inversely associated with SA risk. Consistent results were obtained in meta-analysis (OR = 0.99, 95% CI 0.99-1.00; = 0.005). Besides, a potential positive causality between genetic predisposition to vitamin B12 and SB was identified in both IVW (OR = 0.974, 95% CI 0.953-0.996; = 0.018) and WM analysis (OR = 0.965, 95% CI 0.939-0.993; = 0.013). However, no causal relationships were observed between other analyzed circulating micronutrients and pregnancy complications.
CONCLUSION
This study offers compelling evidence of causal associations between circulating levels of vitamins E, B12 and the risk of SA and SB, respectively. These findings are pivotal for pregnancy complications screening and prevention, potentially guiding clinical practice and public health policies toward targeted nutritional interventions.
PubMed: 38957867
DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2024.1334974 -
Frontiers in Nutrition 2024The relationship between dietary factors and hernias is currently unclear.
BACKGROUND
The relationship between dietary factors and hernias is currently unclear.
METHODS
The UK Biobank was used to extract dietary factors that were used as exposures, including intake of alcohol, non-oily fish, beef, fresh fruit, oily fish, salad/raw vegetables, dried fruit, coffee, cereal, salt, tea, water, cooked vegetables, cheese, Lamb/mutton, pork, poultry, processed meat, and bread. The FinnGen biobank was used to obtain GWAS data on hernias as outcomes. The main analysis of this study was performed using the weighted median, MR-Egger, and IVW methods. Cochran's Q test was utilized to assess heterogeneity. To find potential outliers, the MR-PRESSO method was used. Leave-one-out analysis was employed to assess the IVW method's robustness.
RESULTS
Alcoholic consumption per week (OR: 0.614; = 0.00614) reduced the risk of inguinal hernia. Alcohol intake frequency (OR: 1.309; = 0.0477) increased the risk of ventral hernia (mainly including incisional hernia and parastomal hernia). The intake of non-oily fish (OR: 2.945; = 0.0214) increased the risk of inguinal hernia. Salt added to food (OR: 1.841; = 0.00267) increased the risk of umbilical hernia. Cheese intake (OR: 0.434; = 0.000536) and dried fruit intake (OR: 0.322; = 0.00716) decreased the risk of ventral hernia, while cooked vegetable intake (OR: 4.475; = 0.0380) increased the risk of ventral hernia. No causal relationships were found with hernias from other dietary factors.
CONCLUSION
Inguinal, umbilical, and ventral hernias are all related to dietary factors.
PubMed: 38957866
DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2024.1265920 -
Ghana Medical Journal Dec 2023Idiopathic focal unilateral skull thinning is a rare finding. An explanation, such as trauma or disease, can often be found. However, in some cases, no explanation is...
UNLABELLED
Idiopathic focal unilateral skull thinning is a rare finding. An explanation, such as trauma or disease, can often be found. However, in some cases, no explanation is forthcoming, and thus, we must look further into their history for a possible cause. The case of a nine-year-old boy with a crescent-shaped unilateral parietal bone thinning and a history of ventouse-assisted birth is presented. The lesion matches a ventouse's typical location, shape, and size. Thus, with the support of one other reported similar case, we hypothesise this may be the origin. We present the case of a crescent-shaped lesion matching the imprint of a ventouse in a child with a concordant history. This finding is put in the context of similar reports in the literature, and we believe that this report provides further evidence of this obscure phenomenon.
FUNDING
None declared.
Topics: Humans; Male; Parietal Bone; Child; Diagnosis, Differential; Tomography, X-Ray Computed
PubMed: 38957854
DOI: 10.4314/gmj.v57i4.10 -
Ghana Medical Journal Dec 2023To determine the prevalence and severity of anaemia and assess the relationship between dietary lifestyle, hypoalbuminaemia, and anaemia of older persons.
OBJECTIVES
To determine the prevalence and severity of anaemia and assess the relationship between dietary lifestyle, hypoalbuminaemia, and anaemia of older persons.
DESIGN
A cross-sectional hospital-based study.
SETTING
This study was conducted in the General Outpatient Clinic, the primary care unit of Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital in Kano, Nigeria.
PARTICIPANTS
A total of 378 patients aged ≥ 60 years who presented to the General Out-patient Clinic.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Prevalence and severity of anaemia, relationship between anaemia and hypoalbuminaemia, and dietary lifestyle of the participants.
RESULTS
A total of 348 respondents completed the study. The mean age of respondents was 67.83 ±7.53 years, with female (60.9%) predominance. The prevalence of anaemia and hypoalbuminaemia were 42.2% and 17.8%, respectively. Hypoalbuminaemia (β=0.335, 95%CI=0.131-0.229, <0.001), long duration of comorbidities (β= -0.179, 95%CI= -0.165-0.047, <0.001), one full meal/day (β=0.130, 95%CI=0.224-1.879, =0.013), and low monthly income (β=0.122, 95%CI=0.179-1.543, =0.026) were the predictors of anaemia among the older persons in this study.
CONCLUSION
This study revealed a high prevalence of anaemia among older adults. The identified predictors, such as hypoalbuminaemia, long duration of comorbidities, reduced food intake and low monthly income, will be useful in developing guidelines and strategies for managing the condition in primary care settings and other similar sites.
FUNDING
None declared.
Topics: Humans; Female; Nigeria; Male; Aged; Hypoalbuminemia; Cross-Sectional Studies; Middle Aged; Anemia; Prevalence; Primary Health Care; Life Style; Diet; Aged, 80 and over
PubMed: 38957852
DOI: 10.4314/gmj.v57i4.7 -
Conservation Physiology 2024Forest fragmentation and edge effects are two major threats to primate populations. Primates inhabiting fragmented landscapes must survive in a more degraded...
Forest fragmentation and edge effects are two major threats to primate populations. Primates inhabiting fragmented landscapes must survive in a more degraded environment, often with lower food availability compared to continuous forests. Such conditions can have deleterious effects on animal physiological health, yet some primates thrive in these habitats. Here, we assessed how forest fragmentation and associated edge effects impact three different components of physiological health in a nocturnal primate community in the Sahamalaza-Iles Radama National Park, northwest Madagascar. Over two periods, 6 March 2019-30 October 2019 and 10 January 2022-17 May 2022, we collected data on body condition, fur condition scores and ectoparasite prevalence for 125 , 51 , 27 and 22 individuals, and we compared these metrics between core and edge areas of continuous forest and fragmented forest. Body condition scores for all species varied between areas, with a positive response to fragmentation and edge effects observed for and and a negative response for and . Fur condition scores and ectoparasite prevalence were less variable, although and had a significantly negative response to fragmentation and edge effects for these two variables. Interestingly, the impacts of fragmentation and edge effects on physiological health were variable-specific. Our results suggest that lemur physiological responses to fragmentation and edge effects are species-specific, and body condition, fur condition and ectoparasite prevalence are impacted in different ways between species. As other ecological factors, including food availability and inter/intraspecific competition, likely also influence physiological health, additional work is required to determine why certain aspects of lemur physiology are affected by environmental stressors while others remain unaffected. Although many nocturnal lemurs demonstrate resilience to fragmented and degraded habitats, urgent conservation action is needed to safeguard the survival of their forest habitats.
PubMed: 38957844
DOI: 10.1093/conphys/coae042 -
JAAD International Sep 2024
PubMed: 38957840
DOI: 10.1016/j.jdin.2024.03.018 -
JAAD International Sep 2024
PubMed: 38957839
DOI: 10.1016/j.jdin.2024.03.029