Climate Change and Aflatoxin in Corn

The possible impacts of climate change on field crop production are many; however, most attention to date has been paid to projecting locational effects on yield and commercial viability (e.g., Zhao et al. 2017). But an altered climate will also have more nuanced effects through impacts on grain composition, safety, and quality. Our interest here is in how changing summertime weather patterns in the US central Corn Belt can provide an opening for increased aflatoxin damage in corn

Bt corn and cotton planting may benefit peanut growers by reducing aflatoxin risk

Decades of studies have shown that Bt corn, by reducing insect damage, has lower levels of mycotoxins (fungal toxins), such as aflatoxin and fumonisin, than conventional corn. We used crop insurance data to infer that this benefit from Bt crops extends to reducing aflatoxin risk in peanuts: a non-Bt crop. In consequence, we suggest that any benefit–cost assessment of how transgenic Bt crops affect food safety should not be limited to assessing those crops alone; because the insect pest control offered by Bt crops affects the food safety profile of other crops grown nearby. Specifically, we found that higher Bt corn and Bt cotton planting rates in peanut-growing areas of the United States were associated with lower aflatoxin risk in peanuts as measured by aflatoxin-related insurance claims filed by peanut growers. Drought-related insurance claims were also lower: possibly due to Bt crops' suppression of insects that would otherwise feed on roots, rendering peanut plants more vulnerable to drought. These findings have implications for countries worldwide where policies allow Bt cotton but not Bt food crops to be grown: simply planting a Bt crop may reduce aflatoxin and drought stress in nearby food crops, resulting in a safer food supply through an inter-crop “halo effect.”This article is published as Yu, J., Hennessy, D.A. and Wu, F. (2024) Bt corn and cotton planting may benefit peanut growers by reducing aflatoxin risk. Plant Biotechnol. J., https://doi.org/10.1111/pbi.14425. © 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made

Climate change will increase aflatoxin presence in US Corn

The impacts of climate change on agricultural production are a global concern and have already begun to occur (Kawasaki 2018 Am. J. Agric. Econ. 101 172–92; Ortiz-Bobea et al 2021 Nat. Clim. Change 11 306–12), with major drivers including warmer temperatures and the occurrence of extreme weather events (Lobell and Field 2007 Environ. Res. Lett. 2 014002; Challinor et al 2014 Nat. Clim. Change 4 287; Rosenzweig et al 2001 Glob. Change Hum. Health 2 90–104; Schlenker and Roberts 2009 Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 106 15594–8; Lobell et al 2014 Science 344 516–9; Ortiz-Bobea et al 2019 Environ. Res. Lett. 14 064003). An important dimension of the climate change-crop yield relationship that has often been overlooked in the empirical literature is the influence that warming temperatures can have on plant damage arriving through biotic channels, such as pest infestation or fungal infection (Rosenzweig et al 2001 Glob. Change Hum. Health 2 90–104). Aflatoxins are carcinogenic chemicals produced by the fungi Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus, which commonly infect food crops. Currently, in the United States, aflatoxin is a perennial contaminant in corn grown in the South, but rare in the Corn Belt and northern states. Climate change may expand aflatoxin's geographical prevalence, however; because hot, dry summers promote aflatoxin accumulation. Here we model aflatoxin risk as a function of corn plant growth stages and weather to predict US regions with high aflatoxin risk in 2031–2040, based on 16 climate change models. Our results suggest that over 89.5% of corn-growing counties in 15 states, including the Corn Belt, will experience increased aflatoxin contamination in 2031–2040 compared to 2011–2020. Interestingly, the results are spatially heterogeneous and include several southern counties expected to have lower aflatoxin risk, because the causative fungi become inactivated at very high temperatures.This article is published as Yu, Jina, David A. Hennessy, Jesse Tack, and Felicia Wu. "Climate change will increase aflatoxin presence in US Corn." Environmental Research Letters 17, no. 5 (2022): 054017. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/ac6435. © 2022 The Author(s). Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI

Molecular architecture and functional dynamics of the pre-incision complex in nucleotide excision repair.

Nucleotide excision repair (NER) is vital for genome integrity. Yet, our understanding of the complex NER protein machinery remains incomplete. Combining cryo-EM and XL-MS data with AlphaFold2 predictions, we build an integrative model of the NER pre-incision complex(PInC). Here TFIIH serves as a molecular ruler, defining the DNA bubble size and precisely positioning the XPG and XPF nucleases for incision. Using simulations and graph theoretical analyses, we unveil PInCs assembly, global motions, and partitioning into dynamic communities. Remarkably, XPG caps XPDs DNA-binding groove and bridges both junctions of the DNA bubble, suggesting a novel coordination mechanism of PInCs dual incision. XPA rigging interlaces XPF/ERCC1 with RPA, XPD, XPB, and 5 ssDNA, exposing XPAs crucial role in licensing the XPF/ERCC1 incision. Mapping disease mutations onto our models reveals clustering into distinct mechanistic classes, elucidating xeroderma pigmentosum and Cockayne syndrome disease etiology

Molecular Architecture and Functional Dynamics of the Pre-Incision Complex in Nucleotide Excision Repair

Nucleotide excision repair (NER) is vital for genome integrity. Yet, our understanding of the complex NER protein machinery remains incomplete. Combining cryo-EM and XL-MS data with AlphaFold2 predictions, we build an integrative model of the NER pre-incision complex(PInC). Here TFIIH serves as a molecular ruler, defining the DNA bubble size and precisely positioning the XPG and XPF nucleases for incision. Using simulations and graph theoretical analyses, we unveil PInC\u27s assembly, global motions, and partitioning into dynamic communities. Remarkably, XPG caps XPD\u27s DNA-binding groove and bridges both junctions of the DNA bubble, suggesting a novel coordination mechanism of PInC\u27s dual incision. XPA rigging interlaces XPF/ERCC1 with RPA, XPD, XPB, and 5\u27 ssDNA, exposing XPA\u27s crucial role in licensing the XPF/ERCC1 incision. Mapping disease mutations onto our models reveals clustering into distinct mechanistic classes, elucidating xeroderma pigmentosum and Cockayne syndrome disease etiology

Methylcap-Seq Reveals Novel DNA Methylation Markers for the Diagnosis and Recurrence Prediction of Bladder Cancer in a Chinese Population

PURPOSE: There is a need to supplement or supplant the conventional diagnostic tools, namely, cystoscopy and B-type ultrasound, for bladder cancer (BC). We aimed to identify novel DNA methylation markers for BC through genome-wide profiling of BC cell lines and subsequent methylation-specific PCR (MSP) screening of clinical urine samples. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: The methyl-DNA binding domain (MBD) capture technique, methylCap/seq, was performed to screen for specific hypermethylated CpG islands in two BC cell lines (5637 and T24). The top one hundred hypermethylated targets were sequentially screened by MSP in urine samples to gradually narrow the target number and optimize the composition of the diagnostic panel. The diagnostic performance of the obtained panel was evaluated in different clinical scenarios. RESULTS: A total of 1,627 hypermethylated promoter targets in the BC cell lines was identified by Illumina sequencing. The top 104 hypermethylated targets were reduced to eight genes (VAX1, KCNV1, ECEL1, TMEM26, TAL1, PROX1, SLC6A20, and LMX1A) after the urine DNA screening in a small sample size of 8 normal control and 18 BC subjects. Validation in an independent sample of 212 BC patients enabled the optimization of five methylation targets, including VAX1, KCNV1, TAL1, PPOX1, and CFTR, which was obtained in our previous study, for BC diagnosis with a sensitivity and specificity of 88.68% and 87.25%, respectively. In addition, the methylation of VAX1 and LMX1A was found to be associated with BC recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: We identified a promising diagnostic marker panel for early non-invasive detection and subsequent BC surveillance

Development of an Automatic Dishwashing Robot System

Proceedings of The 2009 IEEE International Conference on Mechatronics and Automation, August 9 - 12, Changchun, Chin

Factors associated with nosocomial SARS-CoV transmission among healthcare workers in Hanoi, Vietnam, 2003

BACKGROUND: In March of 2003, an outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) occurred in Northern Vietnam. This outbreak began when a traveler arriving from Hong Kong sought medical care at a small hospital (Hospital A) in Hanoi, initiating a serious and substantial transmission event within the hospital, and subsequent limited spread within the community. METHODS: We surveyed Hospital A personnel for exposure to the index patient and for symptoms of disease during the outbreak. Additionally, serum specimens were collected and assayed for antibody to SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) antibody and job-specific attack rates were calculated. A nested case-control analysis was performed to assess risk factors for acquiring SARS-CoV infection. RESULTS: One hundred and fifty-three of 193 (79.3%) clinical and non-clinical staff consented to participate. Excluding job categories with <3 workers, the highest SARS attack rates occurred among nurses who worked in the outpatient and inpatient general wards (57.1, 47.4%, respectively). Nurses assigned to the operating room/intensive care unit, experienced the lowest attack rates (7.1%) among all clinical staff. Serologic evidence of SARS-CoV infection was detected in 4 individuals, including 2 non-clinical workers, who had not previously been identified as SARS cases; none reported having had fever or cough. Entering the index patient's room and having seen (viewed) the patient were the behaviors associated with highest risk for infection by univariate analysis (odds ratios 20.0, 14.0; 95% confidence intervals 4.1–97.1, 3.6–55.3, respectively). CONCLUSION: This study highlights job categories and activities associated with increased risk for SARS-CoV infection and demonstrates that a broad diversity of hospital workers may be vulnerable during an outbreak. These findings may help guide recommendations for the protection of vulnerable occupational groups and may have implications for other respiratory infections such as influenza

Incident dementia in kidney transplantation recipients: a matched comparative nationwide cohort study in South Korea

Background Recent studies have shown that patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) are at elevated risk of dementia. However, whether kidney transplantation (KT) lowers the risk for incident dementia remains unclear. Methods From the Korean National Health Insurance Service database, we identified incident KT recipients aged ≥40 years without any history of dementia between 2007 and 2015. We also established a pair of age-, sex-, and inclusion year-matched control cohorts of patients with incident dialysis-dependent ESRD and members of the general population (GP) without a history of dementia, respectively. Cases of incident all-cause dementia, including Alzheimer disease (AD), vascular dementia (VD), and other kinds of dementia, were obtained from baseline until December 31, 2017. Results We followed 8,841 KT recipients, dialysis-dependent ESRD patients, and GP individuals for 48,371, 28,649, and 49,149 patient-years, respectively. Their mean age was 52.5 years, and 60.6% were male. Over the observation period, 55/43/19 KT recipients, 230/188/75 dialysis-dependent ESRD patients, and 38/32/14 GP individuals developed all-cause dementia/AD/VD. The risks of incident all-cause dementia, AD, and VD in KT recipients were similar to those in GP (hazard ratio: 0.74 [p = 0.20], 0.74 [p = 0.24], and 0.59 [p = 0.18], respectively) and significantly lower than those in dialysis-dependent ESRD patients (hazard ratio: 0.17 [p < 0.001], 0.16 [p < 0.001], and 0.16 [p < 0.001], respectively). Older age and diabetes mellitus at the time of KT were risk factors for incident all-cause dementia and AD in KT recipients. Conclusion This is the first study to show a beneficial impact of KT on incident dementia compared to dialysis dependency