Simultaneous Determination of Aflatoxin B1 and Aflatoxin M1 in Food Matrices by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay

Aflatoxins are a class of highly toxic chemical contaminants occurring in food. Consumption of aflatoxin-contaminated food can lead to harmful effects on human health. A rapid and reliable analysis of aflatoxins in food is crucial. In this study, we generated a broad–specific monoclonal antibody (MAb) 3 C10 against aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁). The MAb 3 C10 binds specifically to AFB₁ and AFM₁ and has a IC₅₀ of 0.13 μg L^?1 for AFB₁ and 0.16 μg L^?1 for AFM₁. Furthermore, the MAb showed high cross-reactivity to AFB₂, AFG₁, and AFG₂. To enable simultaneous AFB₁ and AFM₁ detection in different food matrices, an indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (icELISA) based on MAb 3 C10 has been developed and optimized. In addition, the extraction methods of different food matrices (peanut, corn, soybean, wheat flour, rice, soy sauce, vinegar, wine, raw milk, pure milk, skimmed milk, and yogurt) were established. The average recovery ranged from 73 to 121 %, with relative standard deviation values less than 15 %. The limit of detection was 0.52?+?0.36 μg kg^?1 (mean?+?3SD) for AFB₁ in eight agricultural products and 0.031?+?0.015 μg kg^?1 (mean?+?3SD) for AFM₁ in four dairy products. The sensitivity of icELISA was below the limit set by the European Commission for aflatoxin detection in different food matrices and similar to LC–MS/MS method. We demonstrate a rapid, simple, and reliable method for simultaneous screening of AFB₁ and AFM₁ in different food matrices.     

Abstraction-guided synthesis of synchronization

We present a novel framework for automatic inference of efficient synchronization in concurrent programs, a task known to be difficult and error-prone when done manually. Our framework is based on abstract interpretation and can infer synchronization for infinite state programs. Given a program, a specification, and an abstraction, we infer synchronization that avoids all (abstract) interleavings that may violate the specification, but permits as many valid interleavings as possible. Combined with abstraction refinement, our framework can be viewed as a new approach for verification where both the program and the abstraction can be modified on-the-fly during the verification process. The ability to modify the program, and not only the abstraction, allows us to remove program interleavings not only when they are known to be invalid, but also when they cannot be verified using the given abstraction. We implemented a prototype of our approach using numerical abstractions and applied it to verify several example programs.     

Characterisation of hydrogels and aerogels as carriers for sea buckthorn pomace extract

In this study, aerogels were prepared from kognac glucomannan (KG) or whey proteins loaded with bioactive sea buckthorn pomace extract. KG was diacetylated with Na₂CO₃ (0.1; 0.2; 0.3; 0.4 m ) resulting hydrogel formation that were further freeze-dried to obtain an aerogel structure. Whey protein aerogels were prepared by removing pore fluid from alcogels using supercritical CO₂ drying. Produced aerogels evaluated for microstructure, porosity, specific surface area, absorption capacity, encapsulation efficiency and antioxidant capacity of the extract. It was found that higher concentration of alkali induced higher hardness, resilience and elastic modulus values. It was also obtained that pores in the konjac glucomannan aerogels were irregular in shape and a decrease in total pore volume (0.026 to 0.019 cc/g) and surface area (12.39 to 11.40 m²/g) after increasing the carbonate concentration was observed. These aerogels were found to have better encapsulation efficiency properties for sea buckthorn pomace extract (17 to 20%) in comparison to whey protein aerogels (0.05 to 0.36%). Overall, the KG aerogels show potential for applications in the food industry as a carrier of bioactive sea buckthorn pomace extract, while whey proteins must be used in combination with other biopolymers to enhance their bioactive compound loading capacity.     

Cellular and Molecular Nature of Fragmentation of Human Embryos

Embryo fragmentation represents a phenomenon generally characterized by the presence of membrane-bound extracellular cytoplasm into the perivitelline space. Recent evidence supports the cellular and molecular heterogeneity of embryo fragments. In this narrative review, we described the different embryo fragment-like cellular structures in their morphology, molecular content, and supposed function and have reported the proposed theories on their origin over the years. We identified articles related to characterization of embryo fragmentation with a specific literature search string. The occurrence of embryo fragmentation has been related to various mechanisms, of which the most studied are apoptotic cell death, membrane compartmentalization of altered DNA, cytoskeletal disorders, and vesicle formation. These phenomena are thought to result in the extrusion of entire blastomeres, release of apoptotic bodies and other vesicles, and micronuclei formation. Different patterns of fragmentation may have different etiologies and effects on embryo competence. Removal of fragments from the embryo before embryo transfer with the aim to improve implantation potential should be reconsidered on the basis of the present observations     

Exploring Aβ Proteotoxicity and Therapeutic Candidates Using Drosophila melanogaster

Alzheimer’s disease is a widespread and devastating neurological disorder associated with proteotoxic events caused by the misfolding and aggregation of the amyloid-β peptide. To find therapeutic strategies to combat this disease, Drosophila melanogaster has proved to be an excellent model organism that is able to uncover anti-proteotoxic candidates due to its outstanding genetic toolbox and resemblance to human disease genes. In this review, we highlight the use of Drosophila melanogaster to both study the proteotoxicity of the amyloid-β peptide and to screen for drug candidates. Expanding the knowledge of how the etiology of Alzheimer’s disease is related to proteotoxicity and how drugs can be used to block disease progression will hopefully shed further light on the field in the search for disease-modifying treatments.     

Photodegradation of three stormwater biocides

Photodegradation of carbendazim, diuron and terbutryn was investigated at controlled laboratory conditions under UV light and under natural sunlight. Demineralized water and two different waters from stormwater retention ponds were used. An observed decline in biocide concentration was related to the accumulated light energy during the degradation time. Diuron and terbutryn were degradable under UV light following 1^st order degradation kinetics, while no significant decrease of carbendazim was observed throughout the duration of experiments. Photodegradation of diuron and terbutryn was slightly faster in demineralized water compared with pond water. The outdoors experiments showed limited degradation of the compounds for the duration of the test (8–17 days). The results emphasize the importance of water type, the wavelength and energy of the light when investigating pollutant’s photo fate. Also, this study indicates that photodegradation is not a major process contributing to the removal of carbendazim, diuron and terbutryn in stormwater retention ponds.     

Kinetics of formation of graded layers on cemented carbides: Experimental investigations and DICTRA simulations

Kinetics of formation of fcc-free layers on Co-W-Ti-Ta-Nb-C-N cemented carbides was investigated by experimental methods and DICTRA simulations. The layer formation obeys a parabolic law, indicating a diffusion-controlled process. For DICTRA simulations, the influence of the mobilities for all diffusing elements in the liquid binder phase at the sintering temperature was investigated. The best agreement between experimental and simulations was obtained considering that the mobility of all metallic elements is two times slower compared with the mobility of the non-metallic elements.