Quantitative determination of four mycotoxins in cereal by fluorescent microsphere based immunochromatographic assay.

BACKGROUND: Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by fungi, which have serious effects on humans and animals. In this study, we selected the monodispersed polystyrene fluorescent microspheres with good luminescence performance and strong stability as markers to conjugate with four mycotoxins antibodies for preparing fluorescent probes. We have developed a fluorescent microsphere based immunochromatographic assay (FMICA) to detect sensitively and quickly zearalenone (ZEN), aflatoxin B1 (AFB1 ), fumonisin B1 (FB1 ), and ochratoxin A (OTA) in cereal. RESULTS: Under optimal experimental conditions, the procedure of this method can be completed within 10 min. The limit of detection (LOD) of FMICA for ZEN, AFB1 , FB1 , and OTA is 0.072, 0.093, 0.32, and 0.19 µg L-1 , respectively. And FMICA has good specificity and no cross-reactivity with other mycotoxins. Four mycotoxins in naturally contaminated cereal samples (corn, rice, and oat) are detected by this method, and the results are highly consistent with that of ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). CONCLUSION: The developed FMICA has good accuracy, high sensitivity, simplicity, convenience, rapidity, and low cost, and it could be employed for sensitive and quantitative detecting of mycotoxins in cereal on-site. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Hierarchical Carbon Nanocages as Superior Supports for Photothermal CO2 Catalysis.

The exploitation of hierarchical carbon nanocages with superior light-to-heat conversion efficiency, together with their distinct structural, morphological, and electronic properties, in photothermal applications could provide effective solutions to long-standing challenges in diverse areas. Here, we demonstrate the discovery of pristine and nitrogen-doped hierarchical carbon nanocages as superior supports for highly loaded, small-sized Ru particles toward enhanced photothermal CO2 catalysis. A record CO production rate of 3.1 mol·gRu-1·h-1 with above 90% selectivity in flow reactors was reached for hierarchical nitrogen-doped carbon-nanocage-supported Ru clusters under 2.4 W·cm-2 illumination without external heating. Detailed studies reveal that the enhanced performance originates from the strong broadband sunlight absorption and efficient light-to-heat conversion of nanocage supports as well as the excellent intrinsic catalytic reactivity of sub-2 nm Ru particles. Our study reveals the great potential of hierarchical carbon nanocages in photothermal catalysis to reduce the fossil fuel consumption of various industrial chemical processes and stimulates interest in their exploitation for other demanding photothermal applications.

Born or not: A moderated mediation model of the relationship between work-family conflict and female employees' wellbeing based on fertility intention during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The previous academic research on work-family conflict mainly focused on the relevant elements in the work field. This study concludes that elements of the family domain have a significant impact on the relationship between work-family conflict and employee wellbeing. Female employees' perceptions of wellbeing largely depend on their willingness to have children when they take on family roles. During COVID-19, employees had more time to fulfill both work and family roles in the family sphere due to the epidemic blockade, the contribution of the female employee's significant other (husband) in family matters had a significant impact on Fertility intention. This study using SPSS 24.0 AMOS 20.0 and M plus 7.4 statistical analysis tools to test the proposed hypotheses. In the paired data of 412 working female employees and husbands of Chinese dual-earner families with different occupational backgrounds, hypothesis testing results support that female employees' work → family conflict is negatively related to female employees' fertility intentions, and female employees' fertility intentions are positively related to wellbeing; female employees' family → work conflict is negatively related to female employees' wellbeing; husband's flexible work stress is negatively related to husband's share of housework; husband's share of housework moderated the front, rear and overall mediating effects by the fertility intention. When formulating policies, the managers should consider not only the direct effects of policies, but also the indirect effects that policies may have on other family members of employees. Managers should develop management policies during an epidemic that are more responsive to the actual needs of employees during an epidemic. The management of female employees should give due consideration to the family status of female employees and the enterprises should recognize the importance of childcare for female employees.

A fluorescence immunoassay based on GSH destroying MnO2@QDs for the simultaneous ultrasensitive detection of four mycotoxins in cereals.

A novel fluorescence immunoassay based on MnO2 nanoflowers loading multicolor quantum dots and glutathione destroying MnO2 nanoflowers to release quantum dots combined with magnetic separation is developed for rapid, ultra-sensitive, and simultaneous quantitative detection of ochratoxin A, aflatoxin B1, fumonisin B1, and zearalenone in cereal samples. The test linear range of assay is from 0.001 to 200 µg L-1. The limit of detection for ochratoxin A, aflatoxin B1, fumonisin B1, and zearalenone is 0.0001 µg L-1, 0.0001 µg L-1, 0.0003 µg L-1, and 0.0001 µg L-1, respectively. The simultaneous detection of four mycotoxins can be achieve within 30 min. The test results of four mycotoxins in the incurred corn, rice, and oat samples have been confirmed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry, the differences between results are considered no significantly different (p > 0.05). This multiplexed test scheme has provided a potential analysis strategy for multiple food risk factors.