In this work, a procedure using solid phase microextraction in combination with capillary electrophoresis was developed for the determination of oxytetracycline in milk samples. The method involves ...the synthesis of poly(1-allyl-3-methyl imidazolium) chloride film on a stainless-steel bar via electropolymerization and its use as an adsorbent for oxytetracycline (OT) by an ionic exchange mechanism. The coated fiber is then immersed in milk samples for retention of oxytetracycline residues, followed by elution, drying, and reconstitution before analysis with capillary electrophoresis. The proposed method achieves a limit of detection of 70 µg L
¹ with adequate precision and uncertainty, making this methodology appropriate for the determination of OT in milk samples. The method was applied to the pre-concentration and quantification of oxytetracycline in ten commercial milk samples. Two tested samples were positive for the presence of oxytetracycline but the concentration was below the maximum residue limit according to the international normative standard. The proposed methodology was evaluated according to the Eco-Scale approach, and the total score of 51 indicated that the methodology proposed is both green and acceptable despite the multi-stage character. SPME-CE methodology allows us to perform the sample pre-treatment and determination of OT in an effective and greener way, decreasing the number of steps during the analysis and the generation of waste.
The decline of honey bee populations significantly impacts the human food supply due to poor pollination and yield decreases of essential crop species. Given the reduction of pollinators, research ...into critical landscape components, such as floral resource availability and land use change, might provide valuable information about the nutritional status and health of honey bee colonies. To address this issue, we examine the effects of landscape factors like agricultural area, urban area, and climatic factors, including maximum temperature, minimum temperature, relative humidity, and precipitation, on honey bee hive populations and nutritional health of 326 honey bee colonies across varying landscapes in Mexico. DNA metabarcoding facilitated the precise identification of pollen from 267 plant species, encompassing 243 genera and 80 families, revealing a primary herb‐based diet. Areas characterized by high landscape diversity exhibited greater pollen diversity within the colony. Conversely, colonies situated in regions with higher proportions of agricultural and urban landscapes demonstrated lower bee density. The maximum ambient temperature outside hives positively correlated with pollen diversity, aligning with a simultaneous decrease in bee density. Conversely, higher relative humidity positively influenced both the bee density of the colony and the diversity of foraged pollen. Our national‐level study investigated pollen dietary availability and colony size in different habitat types, latitudes, climatic conditions, and varied levels and types of disturbances. This effort was taken to gain a better insight into the mechanisms driving declines in honey bee populations. This study illustrates the need for more biodiverse agricultural landscapes, the preservation of diverse habitats, and the conservation of natural and semi‐natural spaces. These measures can help to improve the habitat quality of other bee species, as well as restore essential ecosystem processes, such as pollination and pest control.
This study investigates how landscape diversity and climatic factors affect the populations and nutritional health of honey bee colonies in Mexico. It was found that greater landscape diversity correlates with higher pollen diversity, while areas with more agriculture and urbanization show lower bee densities. The results underscore the importance of preserving diverse habitats to support bee health and, by extension, human food security.
Specialty oils differ in fatty acid, phytosterol and antioxidant content, impacting their benefits for cardiovascular health. The lipid (fatty acid, phytosterol) and antioxidant (total phenolics, ...radical scavenging capacity) profiles of grapeseed (GSO), corn (CO) and coconut (CNO) oils and their physiological (triacylglycerides, total and HDL-cholesterol and antioxidant capacity (FRAP) in serum and fatty acid and phytosterol hepatic deposition) and genomic (HL, LCAT, ApoA-1 and SR-BP1 mRNA hepatic levels) responses after their sub-chronic intake (10% diet for 28 days) was examined in healthy albino rats. Fatty acid, phytosterol and antioxidant profiles differed between oils (
≤ 0.01). Serum and hepatic triacylglycerides and total cholesterol increased (
≤ 0.01); serum HDL-Cholesterol decreased (
< 0.05); but serum FRAP did not differ (
> 0.05) in CNO-fed rats as compared to CO or GSO groups. Hepatic phytosterol deposition was higher (+2.2 mg/g;
≤ 0.001) in CO- than GSO-fed rats, but their fatty acid deposition was similar. All but ApoA-1 mRNA level increased in GSO-fed rats as compared to other groups (
≤ 0.01). Hepatic fatty acid handling, but not antioxidant response, nor hepatic phytosterol deposition, could be related to a more efficient reverse-cholesterol transport in GSO-fed rats as compared to CO or CNO.
Exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is a risk factor for human health. Workers are a vulnerable group due to their high exposure and therefore require special attention to mitigation ...measurements; however, some groups of workers are especially vulnerable, precarious workers. The objective of this research was to evaluate mixtures of hydroxylated PAHs (OH-PAHs) in precarious workers in Mexico. The following activities were evaluated: (i) brickmakers (TER), stonemasons (ESC), indigenous workers (TOC) and mercury miners (CAM). Ten OH-PAHS were analyzed: 1-hydroxynaphtalene and 2-hydroxynaphtalene; 2-,3- and 9-hydroxyfluorene; 1-,2-,3- and 4-hydroxyphenanthrene; and 1-hydroxypyrene in urine by GC-MS, chemical fingerprints of the sites were established by multivariate analysis. One hundred forty-nine precarious workers participated in the study. The populations presented total OH-PAHs concentrations of 9.20 (6.65–97.57), 14.8 (9.32–18.85), 15.7 (6.92–195.0), and 101.2 (8.02–134.4) μg/L for CAM, ESC, TER, and TOC, respectively (median (IQR)). The results of the multivariate analysis indicate that the indigenous population presented a different fingerprint compared to the three scenarios. The chemical fingerprints among the brickmakers and mercury mining population were similar. The results of the concentrations were similar and in some metabolites higher than workers in occupations classified as carcinogenic by the IARC; therefore, the control of exposure in these occupations acquires great importance and surveillance through biological monitoring of OH-PAHs should be applied to better estimate exposure in these working populations.
Residual biomass is a renewable resource with attractive characteristics to produce energy and biofuels. Diverse studies have stated that residual biomass used for biofuels and energy production can ...contribute partially to solve the energy demand problem, decreasing fossil fuels carbon emissions. Most works have focused on developing new technologies, processes, and processing systems based on biomass. Other works have addressed the supply chain-planning problem to determine optimal locations considering diverse objectives. A third group of works have proposed schemes based on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to determine suitable locations in different types of systems. Nevertheless, works capable to combine the advantage of GIS, mathematical programming, and process design have not been properly conducted. Therefore, this paper presents a sequential approach for the optimal planning of a residual biomass processing system. The methodology considers selecting potential locations through a multicriteria methodology based on GIS. Also, this paper proposes a mathematical programming approach for the optimal planning of a residual biomass processing system, which considers as input the locations predefined by GIS methodology, as well as six potential products, six processing routes, and eight raw materials. The mathematical programming approach consists of mass balances to obtain the interconnections between the different supply chain nodes, as well as constraints to model the considered technologies involving capital investment and production costs. The GIS approach was applied to a case study in Mexico, which produced 764 harvesting sites and 334 processing plants for all considered residual biomass types. The optimization approach conducted used 33 processing plants, 467 harvesting sites, and 2 products from 3 biomass types in order to determine the final supply chain topology. Results show that the proposed methodology is a useful tool to determine the optimal supply chain topology during the decision process.
A simple, fast and efficient on-line pre-concentration method (large-volume sample stacking) by capillary electrophoresis was proposed for determination of azo dyes residues (allura red AR, sunset ...yellow SY and tartrazine TAR) in water samples. Pre-concentration variables involved in the system were optimised using of a Box-Bhenken design. Under the optimal conditions: injection time 150.0 s, pre-concentration time 120.0 s and reverse potential −8.0 kV, the proposed methodology improved the analytical sensibility achieving limits of detection of 21.0-41.4 µg L
−1
with enrichment factors of 82.1-210.8 fold. The large-volume sample stacking-capillary electrophoresis method was validated and applied to determine azo dyes residues in 20 water samples (bottled, spring and tap water). Two samples were positive for sunset yellow and tartrazine with a concentration of 25.3 and 30.2 µg L
−1
and % RSD less than 10.0% in all cases.
Summary
Tropical fruits are rich in antioxidant and anticancer phytochemicals, but their nutraceutical potential could be enhanced by drying technologies. Mango cv. Ataulfo, papaya cv. Maradol and ...pineapple cv. Esmeralda ripe pulps were freeze‐dried (−42 °C, 0.12 torr, 48 h) and their physicochemical and phytochemical profile, radical scavenging and antiproliferative capacity evaluated. The content of soluble solids, phenolic compounds and ascorbic acid was higher in mango (16.1oBrix, 9.9 mg GAE per g and 9.6 mg g−1) than in papaya/pineapple, but the later had more flavonoids (0.45 ± 0.05 mg QE per g). A fruit‐specific phenolic profile was detected by HPLC‐ESI‐QTOF‐MS, being shikimic (mango), chlorogenic (papaya), and protocatechuic (pineapple) acids the most abundant. Mango was the strongest radical scavenger and showed antiproliferative capacity (IC50, μg mL−1) in RAW 264.7 (100.7), HeLa (193.1) and L929 (138.5) cell lines. Papaya and pineapple extracts showed no antiproliferative activity. Freeze‐dried mango is a ready‐to‐eat functional food with better cancer preventing properties than papaya or pineapple.
Freeze‐dried mango has better cancer preventing properties than papaya or pineapple.
Common polymorphisms in the fat mass and obesity‐associated gene (FTO) have shown strong association with obesity in several populations. In the present study, we explored the association of FTO gene ...polymorphisms with obesity and other biochemical parameters in the Mexican population. We also assessed FTO gene expression levels in adipose tissue of obese and nonobese individuals. The study comprised 788 unrelated Mexican‐Mestizo individuals and 31 subcutaneous fat tissue biopsies from lean and obese women. FTO single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs9939609, rs1421085, and rs17817449 were associated with obesity, particularly with class III obesity, under both additive and dominant models (P = 0.0000004 and 0.000008, respectively). These associations remained significant after adjusting for admixture (P = 0.000003 and 0.00009, respectively). Moreover, risk alleles showed a nominal association with lower insulin levels and homeostasis model assessment of B‐cell function (HOMA‐B), and with higher homeostasis model assessment of insulin sensitivity (HOMA‐S) only in nonobese individuals (P dom = 0.031, 0.023, and 0.049, respectively). FTO mRNA levels were significantly higher in subcutaneous fat tissue of class III obese individuals than in lean individuals (P = 0.043). Risk alleles were significantly associated with higher FTO expression in the class III obesity group (P = 0.047). In conclusion, FTO is a major risk factor for obesity (particularly class III) in the Mexican‐Mestizo population, and is upregulated in subcutaneous fat tissue of obese individuals.
Dietary fiber (DF) is a major substrate for the gut microbiota that contributes to metabolic health. Recent studies have shown that diet–metabolic phenotype effect might be related to individual gut ...microbial profiles or enterotypes. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine whether microbial enterotypes modify the association between DF intake and metabolic traits. This cross-sectional study included 204 children (6–12 years old) and 75 adults (18–60 years old). Habitual DF intake was estimated with a Food Frequency Questionnaire and biochemical, clinical and anthropometric data were obtained. Gut microbiota was assessed through 16S sequencing and participants were stratified by enterotypes. Correlations adjusting for age and sex were performed to test the associations between dietary fiber components intake and metabolic traits. In children and adults from the Prevotella enterotype, a nominal negative correlation of hemicellulose intake with insulin and HOMA-IR levels was observed (p < 0.05), while in individuals of the other enterotypes, these associations were not observed. Interestingly, the latter effect was not related to the fecal short-chain-fatty acids profile. Our results contribute to understanding the enterotype influence on the diet–phenotype interaction, which ultimate could provide evidence for their use as potential biomarkers for future precision nutrition strategies.
Childhood obesity has been related to metabolic syndrome and low-grade chronic inflammation. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of physical activity intensities and practice on inflammation, ...endothelial damage, and cardiometabolic risk factors in children. There were 513 participants, aged 6-14 years, recruited for the study. Physical activity was measured by accelerometry, and the children were classified into four groups according to quartiles of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) practice as very low active, low active, moderate active, and high active. Anthropometric measures, blood pressure, and plasma metabolic and proinflammatory parameters were analyzed. Very low active group presented a worse lipid profile and higher insulin, leptin, adiponectin, resistin, matrix metallopeptidase-9, and tissue plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, while lower levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha, Type 1 macrophages, and interleukin 8 than high-active children. Regression analyses showed that a higher MVPA practice was associated with lower levels of triacylglycerols (β: -0.118; p = .008), resistin (β: -0.151; p = .005), tPAI (β: -0.105; p = .046), and P-selectin (β: -0.160; p = .006), independently of sex, age, and body mass index (BMI). In contrast, a higher BMI was associated with higher levels of insulin (β: 0.370; p < .001), Homeostasis Model Assessment (β: 0.352; p < .001), triacylglycerols (β: 0.209; p < .001), leptin (β: 0.654; p < .001), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (β: 0.182; p < .001), Type 1macrophages (β: 0.181; p < .001), and tissue plasminogen activator inhibitor (β: 0.240; p < .001), independently of sex, age, and MVPA. A better anthropometric, metabolic, and inflammatory profile was detected in the most active children; however, these differences were partly due to BMI. These results suggest that a higher MVPA practice and a lower BMI in children may lead to a better cardiometabolic status.
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