The threshold of toxicological concern (TTC) has been used for the safety assessment of packaging migrants and flavouring agents that occur in food. The approach compares the estimated oral intake ...with a TTC value derived from chronic oral toxicity data for structurally-related compounds. Application of the TTC approach to cosmetic ingredients and impurities requires consideration of whether route-dependent differences in first-pass metabolism could affect the applicability of TTC values derived from oral data to the topical route. The physicochemical characteristics of the chemical and the pattern of cosmetic use would affect the long-term average internal dose that is compared with the relevant TTC value. Analysis has shown that the oral TTC values are valid for topical exposures and that the relationship between the external topical dose and the internal dose can be taken into account by conservative default adjustment factors. The TTC approach relates to systemic effects, and use of the proposed procedure would not provide an assessment of any local effects at the site of application. Overall the TTC approach provides a useful additional tool for the safety evaluation of cosmetic ingredients and impurities of known chemical structure in the absence of chemical-specific toxicology data.
•Combustion of woody biomass in commercial stoves.•Chemical-physical characterization of UFPs (diameter <100nm).•Genotoxicological evaluation in A549cell line.•Correlation between with UFP ...characteristics, combustion conditions and toxicity.
In this paper, results on the potential toxicity of ultrafine particles (UFPs d<100nm) emitted by the combustion of logwood and pellet (hardwood and softwood) are reported. The data were collected during the TOBICUP (TOxicity of BIomass COmbustion generated Ultrafine Particles) project, carried out by a team composed of interdisciplinary research groups. The genotoxic evaluation was performed on A549 cells (human lung carcinomacells) using UFPs whose chemical composition was assessed by a suite of analytical techniques. Comet assay and γ-H2AX evaluation show a significant DNA damage after 24h treatment. The interpretation of the results is based on the correlation among toxicological results, chemical-physical properties of UFPs, and the type and efficiency conditions in residential pellet or logwood stoves.
Acerentulus panamensissp. nov. from the tropical forest of the Gigante Peninsula of Barro Colorado Nature Monument (9°06’N, 79°54’W – Panama) is described. The new species belongs to the cunhai group ...being characterized by a short sensillum a not reaching the base of seta γ3 and by sensillum b shorter than c. Acerentulus panamensissp. nov. is close to A. gerezianus da Cunha, 1952, A. ladeiroi Da Cunha, 1950, A. omoi Imadaté, 1988 and A. catalanus Condé, 1951. It differs from the first species by the absence of seta Pc on sternite VII, by the chaetotaxy of tergites II–V (6/16 in the new species and 8/14 in A. gerezianus), by the longer foretarsal sensillum e and by shorter sensilla f and a’. Finally, in Acerentulus panamensissp. nov. sensillum a’ is at the same level of t1 closer to the base of tarsus than in A. gerezianus. In A. ladeiroi, the chaetotaxy of tergites II–V is 8/14 (as in A. gerezianus). Moreover, A. ladeiroi is distinguishable from the new species by shorter foretarsal sensilla e and t2, by a longer sensillum f, and by a longer sensillum a’ placed distally to t1. The new species differs from A. omoi by the absence of seta Pc on sternite VII, by the porotaxy of sternites I–III, and by the longer foretarsal sensillum e and shorter sensillum b. Acerentulus panamensissp. nov. differs from A. catalanus by the chaetotaxy of tergites II–V, by the shorter sensilla a, b and f, and by the number of teeth of comb VIII (11–12 vs 7–8).https://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:19B1F711-95B9-47DA-8157-98327ADEF104
Previous meta-analyses regarding the performance of interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs) for tuberculosis diagnosis in children yielded contrasting results, probably due to different ...inclusion/exclusion criteria.
We systematically searched PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane databases and calculated pooled estimates of sensitivities and specificities of QuantiFERON-TB Gold In Tube (QFT-G-IT), T-SPOT.TB, and tuberculin skin test (TST). Several sub-analysis were performed: stratification by background (low income vs. high income countries); including only microbiological confirmed TB cases; including only studies performing a simultaneous three-way comparison of the three tests, and including immunocompromised children.
Overall, 31 studies (6183 children) for QFT-G-IT, 14 studies (2518 children) for T-SPOT.TB and 34 studies (6439 children) for TST were included in the analyses. In high income countries QFT-G-IT sensitivity was 0.79 (95%IC: 0.75-0.82) considering all the studies, 0.78 (95%CI:0.70-0.84) including only studies performing a simultaneous three-way comparison and 0.86 (95%IC 0.81-0.90) considering only microbiologically confirmed studies. In the same analyses T-SPOT.TB sensitivity was 0.67 (95%IC 0.62-0.73); 0.76 (95%CI: 0.68 to 0.83); and 0.79 (95%IC 0.69-0.87), respectively. In low income countries QFT-G-IT pooled sensitivity was significantly lower: 0.57 (95%IC:0.52-0.61), considering all the studies, and 0.66 (95%IC 0.55-0.76) considering only microbiologically confirmed cases; while T-SPOT.TB sensitivity was 0.61 (95%IC 0.57-0.65) overall, but reached 0.80 (95%IC 0.73-0.86) in microbiologically confirmed cases. In microbiologically confirmed cases TST sensitivity was similar: 0.86 (95%IC 0.79-0.91) in high income countries, and 0.74 (95%IC 0.68-0.80) in low income countries. Higher IGRAs specificity with respect to TST was observed in high income countries (97-98% vs. 92%) but not in low income countries (85-93% vs. 90%).
Both IGRAs showed no better performance than TST in low income countries.
•The safety assessment of low-calorie sweeteners.•The aspartame regulatory history.•Low calorie sweeteners and cancer: epidemiological evidence.
Aspartame is a synthetic sweetener that has been used ...safely in food for more than 30years. Its safety has been evaluated by various regulatory agencies in accordance with procedures internationally recognized, and decisions have been revised and updated regularly. The present review summarizes the most relevant conclusions of epidemiological studies concerning the use of low-calorie sweeteners (mainly aspartame), published between January 1990 and November 2012. In the Nurses’ Health study and the Health Professionals Followup study some excess risk of Hodgkin lymphoma and multiple myeloma was found in men but not in women; no association was found with leukemia. In the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study, there was no association between aspartame and haematopoietic neoplasms. US case-control studies of brain and haematopoietic neoplasms also showed no association. The NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study and case-control studies from California showed no association with pancreatic cancer, and a case-control study from Denmark found no relation with breast cancer risk. Italian case-control studies conducted in 1991–2008 reported no consistent association for cancers of the upper aerodigestive tract, digestive tract, breast, endometrium, ovary, prostate, and kidney. Low calorie sweeteners were not consistently related to vascular events and preterm deliveries.
The sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) is crucial for contraction and relaxation of the mammalian cardiomyocyte, but its role in other vertebrate classes is equivocal. Recent evidence suggests differences ...in SR function across species may have an underlying structural basis. Here, we discuss how SR recruitment relates to the structural organization of the cardiomyocyte to provide new insight into the evolution of cardiac design and function in vertebrates.
Deepwater Horizon crude oil is comprised of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons that cause a number of cardiotoxic effects in marine fishes across all levels of biological organization and at different ...life stages. Although cardiotoxic impacts have been widely reported, the mechanisms underlying these impairments in adult fish remain understudied. In this study, we examined the impacts of crude oil on cardiomyocyte contractility and electrophysiological parameters in freshly isolated ventricular cardiomyocytes from adult mahi-mahi (Coryphaena hippurus). Cardiomyocytes directly exposed to oil exhibited reduced contractility over a range of environmentally relevant concentrations (2.8–12.9 μg l–1∑PAH). This reduction in contractility was most pronounced at higher stimulation frequencies, corresponding to the upper limits of previously measured in situ mahi heart rates. To better understand the mechanisms underlying impaired contractile function, electrophysiological studies were performed, which revealed oil exposure prolonged cardiomyocyte action potentials and disrupted potassium cycling (9.9–30.4 μg l–1∑PAH). This study is the first to measure cellular contractility in oil-exposed cardiomyocytes from a pelagic fish. Results from this study contribute to previously observed impairments to heart function and whole-animal exercise performance in mahi, underscoring the advantages of using an integrative approach in examining mechanisms of oil-induced cardiotoxicity in marine fish.
The design of the MEG II experiment Baldini, A. M; Baracchini, E; Bemporad, C ...
The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields,
05/2018, Volume:
78, Issue:
5
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
The MEG experiment, designed to search for the Formula omitted decay, completed data-taking in 2013 reaching a sensitivity level of Formula omitted for the branching ratio. In order to increase the ...sensitivity reach of the experiment by an order of magnitude to the level of Formula omitted, a total upgrade, involving substantial changes to the experiment, has been undertaken, known as MEG II. We present both the motivation for the upgrade and a detailed overview of the design of the experiment and of the expected detector performance.
Environmental fluctuation during embryonic and fetal development can permanently alter an organism's morphology, physiology, and behaviour. This phenomenon, known as developmental plasticity, is ...particularly relevant to reptiles that develop in subterranean nests with variable oxygen tensions. Previous work has shown hypoxia permanently alters the cardiovascular system of snapping turtles and may improve cardiac anoxia tolerance later in life. The mechanisms driving this process are unknown but may involve epigenetic regulation of gene expression via DNA methylation. To test this hypothesis, we assessed in situ cardiac performance during 2 h of acute anoxia in juvenile turtles previously exposed to normoxia (21% oxygen) or hypoxia (10% oxygen) during embryogenesis. Next, we analysed DNA methylation and gene expression patterns in turtles from the same cohorts using whole genome bisulfite sequencing, which represents the first high-resolution investigation of DNA methylation patterns in any reptilian species.
Genome-wide correlations between CpG and CpG island methylation and gene expression patterns in the snapping turtle were consistent with patterns observed in mammals. As hypothesized, developmental hypoxia increased juvenile turtle cardiac anoxia tolerance and programmed DNA methylation and gene expression patterns. Programmed differences in expression of genes such as SCN5A may account for differences in heart rate, while genes such as TNNT2 and TPM3 may underlie differences in calcium sensitivity and contractility of cardiomyocytes and cardiac inotropy. Finally, we identified putative transcription factor-binding sites in promoters and in differentially methylated CpG islands that suggest a model linking programming of DNA methylation during embryogenesis to differential gene expression and cardiovascular physiology later in life. Binding sites for hypoxia inducible factors (HIF1A, ARNT, and EPAS1) and key transcription factors activated by MAPK and BMP signaling (RREB1 and SMAD4) are implicated.
Our data strongly suggests that DNA methylation plays a conserved role in the regulation of gene expression in reptiles. We also show that embryonic hypoxia programs DNA methylation and gene expression patterns and that these changes are associated with enhanced cardiac anoxia tolerance later in life. Programming of cardiac anoxia tolerance has major ecological implications for snapping turtles, because these animals regularly exploit anoxic environments throughout their lifespan.
The analysis of a combined data set, totaling 3.6 × 10(14) stopped muons on target, in the search for the lepton flavor violating decay μ(+) → e(+)γ is presented. The data collected by the MEG ...experiment at the Paul Scherrer Institut show no excess of events compared to background expectations and yield a new upper limit on the branching ratio of this decay of 5.7 × 10(-13) (90% confidence level). This represents a four times more stringent limit than the previous world best limit set by MEG.
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