Heavy metals and trace minerals in commonly available shark species from North East Arabian Sea: A human health risk perspective.

Shark is a seafood commodity that is a good source of minerals and accumulates heavy metals and trace elements through biomagnification, which can pose health risk if taken above the permissible limit. A study was conducted on commonly landed eleven shark species (Scoliodon laticaudus, Rhizopriodon oligolinx, Sphyrna lewini (CR), Carcharhinus macloti, Carcharinus limbatus, Carcharhinus amblyrhynchoides, Carcharhinus sorrah, Carcharinus falciformes(VU), Glaucostegus granulatus, Chiloscyllium arabicum, Loxodon macrorhinus) and analyzed for their heavy metal content, Hazard Index, Total Hazard Quotient, Metal Pollution Index, and also calculated the health risk associated with the consumption. Most of the heavy metals and trace minerals were found to be within the acceptable limit. The Targeted Hazard Quotient (THQ) and the Hazard Index (HI) of all the species except two were less than 1 (HI ≤ 1.0). The Metal Pollution Index (MPI) is showing either no impact or very low contamination. An overall study on hazard identification and health risk characterization in terms of heavy metals shows contamination of some heavy metals in sharks, but there is no potential human health risk associated with consumption.

Numerical Analysis of Non-Fourier Model-Based Bio-Heat Transfer in the Laser-irradiated Axisymmetric Living Tissue.

The current work is related to the numerical investigation of non-Fourier heat transfer inside the short-pulsed laser-irradiated axisymmetric soft tissue phantom. It utilizes the modified discrete ordinate method to solve the transient radiative transfer equation (TRTE) for determining the intensity field. The laser energy absorbed by the soft tissue phantom behaves like a source in the Fourier/non-Fourier heat conduction model based-bio-heat transfer equation (BHTE), which is solved by employing the finite volume method (FVM) to determine the temperature distribution. Despite the prevalent use of non-Fourier BHTE for this purpose, a second law analysis is considered crucial to detect any potential anomalies. Equilibrium entropy production rates (EPR) are initially computed based on classical irreversible thermodynamics (CIT), which may yield negative values, possibly contravening the second law. Consequently, the EPR based on CIT is adjusted using the extended irreversible thermodynamics (EIT) hypothesis to ensure positivity. After that, the current research findings are compared with the results from the literature, and found good agreement between them. Then, the independent study is performed to select the optimum grid size, control angle size, and time step. A comparative analysis of results between the traditional Fourier and non-Fourier models has been performed. The impact of different parameters on the temperature fields and EPRs, is discussed. The effect of the optical properties of the inhomogeneity on the temperature distribution has been investigated. This study may help to enhance the effectiveness of the laser-based photo-thermal therapy.

Scope and challenges of seaweed utilization in food and nutraceutical industry in India: a review.

Seaweeds are an excellent source of unique antioxidant phytochemicals, dietary fibres, essential amino acids, vitamins, polyunsaturated fatty acids and minerals. The presence of such structurally diverse and high value bioactive compounds has led to popularization of seaweed as functional food ingredient in global health supplement market. India, with a long coastline of 8100 km and exclusive economic zone of 2.17 million km2, is rich in diverse seaweed resources belonging to almost 700 species. However, food and nutraceutical application of Indian seaweed is highly constrained. Apart from Kappaphycus alvarezii, there is no systematic commercial cultivation of seaweed in India. The regulatory framework for use of seaweed as food is still developing and consumer acceptance is still low. However, there is a timely and renewed interest from different government agencies and research organisations to develop a thriving food and nutraceutical industry using India's vast seaweed resources. The review briefly describes the nutritional and functional food potential of the seaweed and goes on to discuss the scope of seaweed utilization in food and nutraceutical industry in India. Further, the review has identified the regulatory challenges and quality control requirements for use of seaweeds in food and nutraceuticals.

Authentication of the species identity of squid rings using UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap MS/MS-based lipidome fingerprinting and chemoinformatics.

Species mislabeling of commercial loliginidae squid can undermine important conservation efforts and prevent consumers from making informed decisions. A comprehensive lipidomic fingerprint of Uroteuthis singhalensis, Uroteuthis edulis, and Uroteuthis duvauceli rings was established using high-resolution mass spectrometry-based lipidomics and chemoinformatics analysis. The principal component analysis showed a clear separation of sample groups, with R2X and Q2 values of 0.97 and 0.85 for ESI+ and 0.96 and 0.86 for ESI-, indicating a good model fit. The optimized OPLS-DA and PLS-DA models could discriminate the species identity of validation samples with 100 % accuracy. A total of 67 and 90 lipid molecules were putatively identified as biomarkers in ESI+ and ESI-, respectively. Identified lipids, including PC(40:6), C14 sphingomyelin, PS(O-36:0), and PE(41:4), played an important role in species discrimination. For the first time, this study provides a detailed lipidomics profile of commercially important loliginidae squid and establishes a faster workflow for species authentication.

AMR Threat Perception Assessment of Heterotrophic Bacteria From Shrimp Aquaculture Through Epidemiological Cut off Values.

BACKGROUND: Emergence and dissemination of antibiotic resistance is one of the major risks associated with the rampant usage of antibiotics in food-producing animals including aquaculture. OBJECTIVE: To determine Epidemiological Cut-OFF (ECOFF) values of heterotrophic bacterial populations from shrimp culture environments against five different antibiotics. METHODS: In this present study, bacterial samples were isolated from Penaeus vannamei culture environment in different locations of Andhra Pradesh, which is the aquaculture hub of India. The bacterial isolates were assessed for antibiotic resistance towards five antibiotics belonging to different classes (oxytetracycline, chloramphenicol, erythromycin, ciprofloxacin, and co-trimoxazole) by the disc diffusion method. Determination of Epidemiological Cut-OFF (ECOFF) values and analysis by employing normalized resistance interpretation (NRI) was carried out. RESULTS: The most dominant bacterial populations from shrimp culture were Vibrio spp. (pathogenic bacteria) followed by Bacillus spp. (probiotic bacteria). The bacterial isolates showed highest resistance towards oxytetracycline (overall 23.38%) and in location L6 (59.4%) followed by co-trimoxazole (31.1%). ECOFF values calculated by employing NRI showed that the disc diffusion data were distributed in a normalized manner. The maximum ECOFF value was obtained for ciprofloxacin (23.32 mm), while the minimum value was observed for oxytetracycline (9.05 mm). The antibiotic resistant phenotypes showed that the majority of the heterotrophic bacterial isolates (>60%) belonged to the non-wild type phenotype and primarily towards oxytetracycline (90%). CONCLUSION: The presence of non-wild antibiotic-resistant phenotypes of heterotrophic bacterial populations (which include not only pathogenic bacteria but also probiotic bacteria) indicates that shrimp culture ponds may be a reservoir for drug-resistant bacteria and there is a greater risk associated with transmission of resistant genes across bacterial flora. HIGHLIGHTS: NRI analysis of antibiotic disc diffusion data of heterotrophic bacterial populations in shrimp aquaculture environments revealed that majority of them belonged to non-wild type (90%) paticularly to oxytetracycline in comparison to other studied antibiotics (chloramphenicol, erythromycin, ciprofloxacin and co-trimoxazole).

Emergence of multidrug resistant, ctx negative seventh pandemic Vibrio cholerae O1 El Tor sequence type (ST) 69 in coastal water of Kerala, India.

Seventh pandemic Vibrio choleare O1 El Tor strain is responsible for the on-going pandemic outbreak of cholera globally. This strain evolved from non-pathogenic V. cholerae by acquiring seventh pandemic gene (VC 2346), pandemic Islands (VSP1 and VSP2), pathogenicity islands (VP1 and VP2) and CTX prophage region. The cholera toxin production is mainly attributed to the presence of ctx gene in these strains. However, several variants of this strain emerged as hybrid strains or atypical strains. The present study aimed to assess the aquatic environment of Cochin, India, over a period of 5 years for the emergence of multidrug resistant V. cholerae and its similarity with seventh pandemic strain. The continuous surveillance and monitoring resulted in the isolation of ctx negative, O1 positive V. cholerae isolate (VC6) from coastal water, Cochin, Kerala. The isolate possessed the biotype specific O1 El Tor tcpA gene and lacked other biotype specific ctx, zot, ace and rst genes. Whole genome analysis revealed the isolate belongs to pandemic sequence type (ST) 69 with the possession of pandemic VC2346 gene, pathogenic island VPI1, VPI2, and pandemic island VSP1 and VSP2. The isolate possessed several insertion sequences and the SXT/R391 family related Integrative Conjugative Elements (ICEs). In addition to this, the isolate genome carried virulence genes such as VgrG, mshA, ompT, toxR, ompU, rtxA, als, VasX, makA, and hlyA and antimicrobial resistance genes such as gyrA, dfrA1, strB, parE, sul2, parC, strA, VC1786ICE9-floR, and catB9. Moreover, the phylogenetic analysis suggests that the isolate genome is more closely related to seventh pandemic V. cholerae O1 N16961 strain. This study reports the first incidence of environmental ctx negative seventh pandemic V. choleare O1 El Tor isolate, globally and its presence in the aquatic system likely to induce toxicity in terms of public health point of view. The presence of this isolate in the aquatic environment warns the strict implementation of the epidemiological surveillance on the occurrence of emerging strains and the execution of flagship program for the judicious use of antibiotics in the aquatic ecosystem.

Pharmacokinetics of amikacin in plasma of healthy goats after intravenous injection once daily for three days / 대한수의학회지

Amikacin is a semisynthetic derivative of kanamycin and primarily active against aerobic Gram-negative-pathogens with limited activity against Gram-positive bacteria. Meager study was reported on pharmacokinetic data on multi-days administration of amikacin. Hence, pharmacokinetics study was done in five clinically healthy goats (n = 5), after intravenous bolus injection of amikacin sulfate at the dose rate of 10 mg/kg body weight daily for three consecutive days. The amikacin concentrations in plasma and pharmacokinetics-parameters were analyzed by using microbiological assay technique and noncompartmental open-model, respectively. The mean peak plasma concentrations (Mean +/- SD) of amikacin at time zero (Cp0) was 114.19 +/- 20.78 and 128.67 +/- 14.37 microg/mL, on day 1st and 3rd, respectively. The mean elimination half-life (t(1/2)ke) was 1.00 +/- 0.28 h on day 1st and 1.22 +/- 0.29 h on day 3rd. Mean of area under concentration-time curve (AUC(0-->infinity)) was 158.26 +/- 60.10 and 159.70 +/- 22.74 microg.h/mL, on day 1st and 3rd respectively. The total body clearance (ClB) and volume of distribution at steady state (Vdss) on day 1st and 3rd were ClB = 0.07 +/- 0.02 and 0.06 +/- 0.01 L/h.kg and Vdss = 0.10 +/- 0.03 and 0.11 +/- 0.05 L/kg, respectively. No-significant difference was noted in both drug-plasma concentration and pharmacokinetics-parameters, respectively. Amikacin concentration in plasma was found higher up-to 4 h and 6 h onward on down-ward trends favour to reduce toxicity. Which also support the pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic way of dosing of aminoglycosides and hence, amikacin may be administered 10 mg/kg intravenously daily to treat principally Gram-negative pathogens and limitedly Gram-positive-pathogens.