Exposure Assessment of Essential and Potentially Toxic Metals in Wheat-Based Sweets for Human Consumption: Multivariate Analysis and Risk Evaluation Studies.

In recent years, there has been a growing concern about the negative impact of unforeseen contaminants such as metals in commonly consumed food items, which pose a threat to human well-being. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to evaluate the levels of these contaminants to guarantee the safe consumption of these food items. The goal of the current research is to determine the levels of essential (EMs: Mg, Ca, Mn, Fe, Co, Cu, and Zn) and potentially toxic metals (PTMs: Al, Cr, Ni, As, Cd, and Pb) in various brands of wheat-based sweets. One hundred samples were collected and analysed via flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Also, the current study was to investigate the distribution, correlation, and multivariate analysis of 13 metals (Mg, Ca, Mn, Fe, Co, Cu, Zn, Al, Cr, Ni, As, Cd, and Pb). Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA) were used to interpret the metals' association. The concentration (mg/kg) ranges of EMs were, in order, Mg (12.70-65.67), Ca (24.02-209.12), Mn (1.32-9.61), Fe (4.55-111.23), Co (0.32-8.94), Cu (2.12-8.61), and Zn (2.60-19.36), while the concentration (mg/kg) ranges of PTMs were, in order, Al (0.32-0.87), Cr (0.17-5.74), Ni (0.36-1.54), Cd (0.16-0.56), and Pb (0.14-0.92), and As was not detected in any sample under investigation. The HCA data revealed that Co, Al, and Ni form clusters with other metals. Sweets are prepared at high temperatures, and the elevated temperatures can increase the likelihood of Ni and Al leaching from stainless steel. Tolerable dietary intake (TDI) values for Ni were higher than the values established by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The CR value found for the Ni and Cr was at the threshold level of cancer risk, if an amount of 25 g were to be used over a lifetime. In a nutshell, this study highlights the monitoring of EM and PTM levels in wheat-based sweets, and from a food safety perspective, the study is important for consumers of wheat-based sweets.

Heavy metals mitigation and growth promoting effect of endophytic Agrococcus terreus (MW 979614) in maize plants under zinc and nickel contaminated soil.

Introduction: Heavy metals such as iron, copper, manganese, cobalt, silver, zinc, nickel, and arsenic have accumulated in soils for a long time due to the dumping of industrial waste and sewage. Various techniques have been adapted to overcome metal toxicity in agricultural land but utilizing a biological application using potential microorganisms in heavy metals contaminated soil may be a successful approach to decontaminate heavy metals soil. Therefore, the current study aimed to isolate endophytic bacteria from a medicinal plant (Viburnum grandiflorum) and to investigate the growth-promoting and heavy metal detoxification potential of the isolated endophytic bacteria Agrococus tereus (GenBank accession number MW 979614) under nickel and zinc contamination. Methods: Zinc sulfate and nickel sulfate solutions were prepared at the rate of 100 mg/kg and 50 mg/kg in sterilized distilled water. The experiment was conducted using a completely random design (CRD) with three replicates for each treatment. Results and Discussion: Inoculation of seeds with A. tereus significantly increased the plant growth, nutrient uptake, and defense system. Treatment T4 (inoculated seeds), T5 (inoculated seeds + Zn100 mg/kg), and T6 (inoculated seeds + Ni 100 mg/kg) were effective, but T5 (inoculated seeds + Zn100 mg/kg) was the most pronounced and increased shoot length, root length, leaf width, plant height, fresh weight, moisture content, and proline by 49%, 38%, 89%, 31%, 113%, and 146%, respectively. Moreover the antioxidant enzymes peroxidase and super oxidase dismutase were accelerated by 211 and 68% in contaminated soil when plants were inoculated by A. tereus respectively. Similarly the inoculation of A. tereus also enhanced maize plants' absorption of Cu, Mn, Ni, Na, Cr, Fe, Ca, Mg, and K significantly. Results of the findings concluded that 100 mg/kg of Zn and Ni were toxic to maize growth, but seed inoculation with A. tereus helped the plants significantly in reducing zinc and nickel stress. The A. tereus strain may be employed as a potential strain for the detoxification of heavy metals.

Effect of sodium alginate supplementation on weight management and reproductive hormones in polycystic females.

Dietary fiber is getting attention these days due to its tendency to improve the reproductive performance in human beings. Sodium alginate (SA) is one of the natural dietary fibers. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of SA on serum insulin, blood sugar, lipid profile, estrogen and testosterone in polycystic (PCOS) females. A single in vivo trial was conducted on thirty adult PCOS females (25 ± 5 years old) with a body mass index (BMI) of 27.5 ± 3.5 kg m-2. Blood samples of all PCOS females were drawn for the initial biochemical analysis and considered as the negative control (NC). A complete randomized design was used to divide the NC group into three equal subgroups (n = 9) i.e. SA3: with 0.03 g; SA6: with 0.06 g per kg body weight per day of sodium alginate; the positive control (PC): metformin 500 mg day-1 for 60 days (two months). A significant reduction (p < 0.05) in the body weight, BMI, blood sugar, serum insulin, lipids and testosterone was observed, while a significant incremental effect (p < 0.05) was observed in the high-density lipoprotein level. The percentages of some physical parameters were also improved like obesity, menstrual cycle, physical activity, psychological issues and hirsutism. Therefore, the study concluded that SA exhibited therapeutic potential for weight management and the improvement of serum testosterone in PCOS females.

Relationship between Lipoprotein(a) and cardiovascular risk factors-data from 4602 participants of the ELITE study.

Lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) is becoming increasingly important as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Since no effective therapy currently exists other than lipid apheresis, the recommendation remains to optimally adjust all other cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF). In a Northwest German population study, the frequency of elevated Lp(a) levels and all other CVRF was investigated. The aim was to investigate whether individuals with elevated Lp(a) levels were also more likely to have other CVRFs. To date, 4602 individuals have been enrolled in the study, and blood pressure, weight, lipids, diabetes, medications, and pre-existing conditions were recorded in addition to Lp(a). In addition, questionnaires assessed physical activity, psychological stress, depression, and brain dysfunction. All participants received detailed individual recommendation about their CVRF and its treatment. In the further follow-up of 5 years, it will be examined how persons with elevated Lp(a) implemented these recommendations in comparison with participants without elevated Lp(a). The first group Lp(a) <75 nmol/L consisted of 3550 (80.2%), the Lp(a) 75-120 nmol/L group of 341 (7.4%) and the Lp(a) >120 nmol/L of 538 (11.7%). 81.6% of all participants had one or more CVRF. Age, sex, and prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, smoking, obesity, and exercise did not differ among the 3 groups. As expected, LDL-Cholesterol was significantly elevated in the Lp(a) >120 nmol/L group despite significantly more frequent use of statins. Significantly more often hypertensive patients were found in the Lp(a) >120 nmol/L group who were inadequately controlled by medication and significantly less often persons without further CVRF. No differences existed in the frequency of psychological stress, depression, and mild cognitive impairment. CVRF occur with comparable frequency in individuals with elevated Lp(a) levels. However, individuals with Lp(a) above 120 nmol/L were more likely to have poorly controlled blood pressure, elevated LDL-C, and less likely to have no other risk factors. This underlines that in case of Lp(a) elevation all further CVRF should be intensively adjusted, especially in case of strongly elevated values >120 nmol/L. However, these recommendations have not been adequately implemented in clinical care in this population to date.

Bacillus pumilus induced tolerance of Maize (Zea mays L.) against Cadmium (Cd) stress.

Heavy metals contaminate the soil that alters the properties of soil and negatively affect plants growth. Using microorganism and plant can remove these pollutants from soil. The present investigation was designed to evaluate the induced effect of Bacillus pumilus on maize plant in Cadmium (Cd) contaminated soil. Three different concentrations of Cd (i.e. 0.25, 0.50 and 0.75 mg kg-1) were applied in soil under which maize plants were grown. The germination percentage, shoot length, leaf length, number of leaves, root length, fresh weight and nutrient uptake by maize plant were determined. The experiment was conducted by using complete randomized design (CRD) with three replicates. The result indicated that germination percentage, Shoot length, leaf length, root length, number of leaves, and plant fresh weight were reduced by 37, 39, 39, 32 and 59% respectively at 0.75 mg kg-1 of CdSO4 concentration but when maize seeds inoculated with Bacillus pumilus significantly increased the germination percentage, shoot length, leaf length, number of leaves, plant fresh weight at different concentrations of CdSO4. Moreover, the plant protein were significantly increased by 60% in T6 (0.25 mg kg-1 of CdSO4 + inoculated seed) and Peroxidase dismutase (POD) was also significantly higher by 346% in T6 (0.25 mg kg-1 of CdSO4 + inoculated seed), however, the Superoxide dismutase (SOD) was significantly higher in T5 (0.75 mg kg-1 of CdSO4 + uninoculated seed) and was 769% higher as compared to control. The Cd contents in Bacillus pumilus inoculated maize roots and shoots were decreased. The present investigations indicated that the inoculation of maize plant with Bacillus pumilus can help maize plants to withstand Cd stress but higher concentration of Cd can harm the plant. The Bacillus pumilus has good potential to remediate Cd from soil, and also have potential to reduce the phyto availability and toxicity of Cd.

Biological activities of three medicinal plants from district Mirpur, AJK, Pakistan.

Present research work was aimed to investigate the biological activities i.e. antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, cytotoxic and antitumor activities of crude methanolic extract of Anagallis arvensis L., Butea monosperma (Lam.) Kuntze and Coronopus didymus (L.) Pers. against Gram positive strains (Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus) and gram negative strains (Vibrio cholera, Enterobacter aerogenes, Klebsiella pneumonia, Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Escherichia coli) were screened. Best activity was observed against K. pneumonia and S. aureus by A. arvensis compared with other strains. Butea monosperma exhibited considerable activity against S. aureus, V. cholera, E. aerogenes and K. pneumonia compared with other strains. Methanolic extract of A. arvensis L. inhibited fungal growth against A. niger up to 30.2%. B. monosperma inhibited the growth of A. niger up to 43.5% and against A. fumigatus 27.3%. C. didymus inhibited the A. fumigates up to 27.3% and against A. niger, it inhibited 48%. Brine shrimps lethality bioassay was used to evaluate the cytotoxic activity and LD50 value was calculated by using probit analysis. Potato disc bioassay was designed to screen antitumor activity and data was analyzed by one way ANOVA.

Truncation of the E3 ubiquitin ligase component FBXO31 causes non-syndromic autosomal recessive intellectual disability in a Pakistani family.

In this study, we have performed autozygosity mapping on a large consanguineous Pakistani family segregating with intellectual disability. We identified two large regions of homozygosity-by-descent (HBD) on 16q12.2-q21 and 16q24.1-q24.3. Whole exome sequencing (WES) was performed on an affected individual from the family, but initially, no obvious mutation was detected. However, three genes within the HBD regions that were not fully captured during the WES were Sanger sequenced and we identified a five base pair deletion (actually six base pairs deleted plus one base pair inserted) in exon 7 of the gene FBXO31. The variant segregated completely in the family, in recessive fashion giving a LOD score of 3.95. This variant leads to a frameshift and a premature stop codon and truncation of the FBXO31 protein, p.(Cys283Asnfs*81). Quantification of mRNA and protein expression suggests that nonsense-mediated mRNA decay also contributes to the loss of FBXO31 protein in affected individuals. FBXO31 functions as a centrosomal E3 ubiquitin ligase, in association with SKP1 and Cullin-1, involved in ubiquitination of proteins targeted for degradation. The FBXO31/SKP1/Cullin1 complex is important for neuronal morphogenesis and axonal identity. FBXO31 also plays a role in dendrite growth and neuronal migration in developing cerebellar cortex. Our finding adds further evidence of the involvement of disruption of the protein ubiquitination pathway in intellectual disability.