Monitoring of Non-Maximum-Residue-Level Pesticides in Animal Feed: A Study from 2019 to 2023.

Pesticides play a critical role in modern agriculture by protecting crops and ensuring higher yields, but their widespread use raises concerns about human health and environmental impact. Regulatory agencies impose Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs) to ensure safety, and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) assesses pesticide risks. This study monitored pesticide residues in 169 feed samples from Piedmont (Italy) collected between 2019 and 2023. Using GC-MS/MS, residues were found in 92% of animal-based and 70% of cereal-based feedstuffs. The most common pesticides in cereal-based feeds were pyrimiphos-methyl, deltamethrin, cypermethrin, azoxystrobin, and tetramethrin, and the pesticide synergist piperonyl-butoxide demonstrated a significant increase in contaminated samples in 2023. The lower concentrations in 2021 were likely due to COVID-19 impacts on pesticide availability. In animal-based feeds, common pesticides included deltamethrin, cypermethrin, and the pesticide synergist piperonyl-butoxide. The results highlight the pervasive presence of low-dose pesticide mixtures in feed and food chains, which could impact health, although do not pose acute risks. The study emphasizes the need for ongoing pesticide monitoring and awareness of the long-term effects of chronic pesticide exposure on animal, human, and environmental health.

Soy, Rice and Oat Drinks: Investigating Chemical and Biological Safety in Plant-Based Milk Alternatives.

During the last decades, plant-based milk has become very appreciated by consumers, becoming a staple ingredient, especially for alternative breakfasts. Milk contains lactose, which is a sugar hydrolysed by the lactase enzyme. Lactose intolerance and lactose malabsorption are very common food intolerances among individuals. However, a lot of consumers consider themselves as lactose intolerant on the basis of self-reported intolerance and start to avoid dairy products, ignoring that plant-based milk alternatives are not nutritionally comparable to animal milk, especially in terms of protein intake. The aim of this study is to grow folder knowledge of the security of plant-based drinks, helping competent authorities to issue a risk assessment and to apply national plans about consumer safety. Results show that proper sanitary practices, such as pasteurization, are necessary in plant-based milk alternatives as well as in dairy milk. Chemical analysis has highlighted that there are no pesticide risks for consumers.

The effect of pre-eclampsia on the levels of coagulation and fibrinolysis factors in umbilical cord blood of newborns.

The effect of pre-eclampsia on coagulation and fibrinolysis in newborns is still under investigation. We have evaluated several coagulation and fibrinolysis parameters in umbilical cord blood of 20 newborns from pre-eclamptic women and of 40 newborns from normotensive women with similar gestational age. Additionally, the presence of factor V Leiden and prothrombin G20210A mutation in cord blood has been assessed. Neonates from pre-eclamptic women exhibited significantly lower birth weight (2.48 +/- 0.92 versus 2.88 +/- 0.68 kg, P < 0.05) and were more frequently admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (45 versus 20%, P < 0.01) as compared with neonates from normotensive women. Cord blood protein C antigen and activated protein C resistance mean levels were slightly higher in the group of neonates from pre-eclamptic mothers. Fibrinogen levels were lower in this group as compared with control newborns (132.17 +/- 46.97 versus 156.08 +/- 49.58 mg%, P < 0.02), and unrelated to birth weight. No significant differences between cases and controls were found in plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 or tissue plasminogen activator cord blood levels. Heterozygous prothrombin 20210A was found in three newborns from normotensive mothers, whereas no factor V Leiden mutation was found in either group. In conclusion, pre-eclampsia seems to have only mild effects on coagulation and fibrinolytic factors in the cord blood of newborns. Since no excess of common polymorphisms predisposing to thrombosis was found in newborns from pre-eclamptic mothers, it is unlikely that the carriership status of these genetic defects of newborns influences the adverse pregnancy/neonatal outcomes.

Neonatal resuscitation by laryngeal mask airway after elective cesarean section.

The aim of this case-control study was to determine whether unplanned resuscitation using a laryngeal mask airway (LMA) is suitable for neonates delivered by elective cesarean section, a procedure known to carry a risk of inadequate physiological response to birth with a consequent adverse respiratory outcome. During a 3-year period, from January 1998 to December 2000, all newborns delivered by elective cesarean section at term were compared with the next infant born vaginally in the same maternity unit (level III center). The two groups were matched for gestational age >37 weeks. The requirement for resuscitation with positive-pressure ventilation (PPV) using either the LMA or an endotracheal tube (ETT), together with the occurrence of an adverse neonatal outcome, was recorded and analyzed in the cesarean section and vaginal delivery groups. During this time 1,284 at-term elective cesarean sections were performed. 3% (n = 43) of the cesarean section deliveries and 1.4% (n = 18) of the vaginal controls required PPV resuscitation by LMA or ETT, a significant difference (OR 1.26; 95% CI 2.38-5.1; p < 0.01). Of the cesarean section group requiring resuscitation, 30 neonates were managed with the LMA and 13 with the ETT, while in the control vaginal delivery group the numbers were 13 and 5, respectively. LMA use accounted of about 70% of the overall PPV resuscitations and was associated with a successful outcome in 42 of 43 cases. One case was unsuccessfully managed with the LMA, and the ETT subsequently used was effective. Moreover, the probability for the LMA-resuscitated newborns of both cesarean and vaginal groups to have a <5 Apgar score at 1 and 5 min, neonatal intensive care unit admission, and respiratory insufficiency requiring oxygen and intermittent mandatory ventilation was statistically lower than for the ETT group (p < 0.01). In conclusion, infants born by elective cesarean section at term are at increased risk of requiring PPV resuscitation as compared with those born by vaginal delivery. We have shown that about 70% of the neonates who required PPV resuscitation after elective cesarean section and vaginal delivery were arbitrarily treated with LMA by the attending anesthesiologist, without adverse negative respiratory outcome.

Relationship between neonatal leukemoid reaction and bronchopulmonary dysplasia in low-birth-weight infants: a cross-sectional study.

Leukemoid reaction in low-birth-weight (LBW) infants is a rare, recently documented phenomenon, implicated in the sequence of multiorgan inflammatory diseases of preterm infants. The aim of the present paper is to establish whether a neonatal leukemoid reaction is related to bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) development in LBW infants. The design was a case-controlled, retrospective study of all premature infants (born 40,000/mm 3. The relation between BPD occurrence and WBC counts was studied by Bayesian analysis, dividing WBC counts in 5 progressive bands of 10,000 WBC/mm 3, starting from <10,000 to >40,000/mm 3. Five of 50 BPD infants studied demonstrated WBC counts >40,000/mm 3, with an incidence of 10%, while no control preterm infants presented neonatal leukemoid reaction; the estimated number difference is statistically significant ( p <0.001). There was no other significant association demonstrated between maternal or neonatal variables and leukemoid reaction, including chorioamnionitis, sepsis, and the use of antenatal steroids. Our findings provide further data for the identification of prematures exposed to pro-inflammatory cytokines in utero; the injury responsible for BPD in a subset of prematures may begin with a transient leukemoid reaction.