The Role of Yeasts as Biocontrol Agents for Pathogenic Fungi on Postharvest Grapes: A Review

In view of the growing concern about the impact of synthetic fungicides on human health and the environment, several government bodies have decided to ban them. As a result, a great number of studies have been carried out in recent decades with the aim of finding a biological alternative to inhibit the growth of fungal pathogens. In order to avoid the large losses of fruit and vegetables that these pathogens cause every year, the biological alternative's efficacy should be the same as that of a chemical pesticide. In this review, the main studies discussed concern Saccharomyces and non-Saccharomyces yeasts as potential antagonists against phytopathogenic fungi of the genera Penicillium and Aspergillus and the species Botrytis cinerea on table grapes, wine grapes, and raisins

Associations between Urinary, Dietary, and Water Fluoride Concentrations among Children in Mexico and Canada

Fluoride, which may be toxic to the developing brain, is added to salt in Mexico and drinking water in Canada to prevent dental caries. We compared childhood urinary fluoride (CUF) concentrations in Mexico City and Canada to characterize patterns of fluoride exposure in these two populations. We also examined associations of CUF with dietary and water fluoride levels in Mexico City and Canada respectively. We included 561 children (ages 4–6; mean age 4.8 years) from the Programming Research in Obesity, Growth, Environment, and Social Stress (PROGRESS) cohort in Mexico City, and 645 children (ages 2–6; mean age 3.7 years) from the Maternal–Infant Research on Environmental Chemicals (MIREC) cohort in Canada. We applied Spearman correlations, T-tests, ANOVA or covariate-adjusted linear regression to examine associations of CUF (mg/L; adjusted for specific gravity) with demographics and dietary or water fluoride concentrations. We used Welch equivalence testing to compare means across cohorts. Mean (SD) CUF was equivalent (t = 4.26, p < 0.001) in PROGRESS: 0.74 (0.42) and fluoridated Canadian communities: 0.66 (0.47), but lower in non-fluoridated Canadian communities: 0.42 (0.31) (t = −6.37, p < 0.001). Water fluoride concentrations were significantly associated with CUF after covariate adjustment for age and sex in MIREC (B = 0.44, 95% CI: 0.30, 0.59, p < 0.001). In contrast, daily food and beverage fluoride intake was not associated with CUF in PROGRESS (p = 0.82). We found that CUF levels are comparable among children in Mexico City and fluoridated Canadian communities, despite distinct sources of exposure. Community water fluoridation is a major source of fluoride exposure for Canadian children

Niveles de Plomo en Sangre en México y su Implicación para la Carga Pediátrica de la Enfermedad

Antecedentes: Aunque con la gasolina libre de plomo ha habido éxito en la reducción de la exposición, en México la exposición al plomo continúa amenazando la salud de millones, la mayoría debido a la greta (óxido de plomo) que se utiliza en la alfarería donde el plomo se mezcla con la comida. Objetivos: Se condujo una revisión histórica extensiva y un análisis de datos de niveles de plomo en sangre en poblaciones mexicanas. Se usó una media geométricamente calculada para evaluar el efecto del plomo en la carga de la enfermedad de la población infantil. Métodos: Una búsqueda bibliográfica extensiva identificó 83 artículos publicados de 1978 al 2010 con datos de NPS en poblaciones mexicanas representando 150 puntos de datos de más de 50,000 participantes de los estudios. Se categorizaron los valores de estas publicaciones en varias agrupaciones. Enseguida se calcularon las incidencias de enfermedad y los AVAD resultantes de estos NPS, usando las hojas de cálculo de carga de enfermedad de la OMS para el retraso mental ligero. Resultados: Al revisar los estudios relevantes, las medias geométricas de niveles de plomo en sangre en México para áreas urbanas y rurales fueron de 8.85 μg/dL y 22.24 μg/dL respectivamente. A partir de la introducción de la gasolina libre de plomo, la media en áreas urbanas fue de 5.36 μg/dL y se espera que el promedio en áreas rurales sea mayor. El límite máximo de niveles de plomo en sangre para los CDCDC de EUA en niños menores de 6 años es de 5 μg/dL y el promedio actual en EUA es 1.2 μg/dL. Nuestros resultados indican que más del 15% de la población experimentará un decremento de más de 5 puntos en el coeficiente intelectual (CI)) a raíz de la exposición al plomo. El análisis también nos lleva a creer que el plomo es responsable de 820,000 AVAD por retraso mental ligero provocado por el plomo en niños de 0 a 4 años. Conclusión: En México el plomo continúa amenazando la salud de millones y sigue siendo una causa significativa de discapacidad. Se necesitan intervenciones adicionales en la reducción o manejo de óxido de plomo para proteger la salud pública

Dietary Fluoride Intake Over the Course of Pregnancy in Mexican Women

Objective: To estimate dietary fluoride intake (F) over the course of pregnancy and the overall adjusted difference in dietary F intake by pregnancy stages and levels of compliance with dietary recommendations. Design: Secondary data analysis from a longitudinal pregnancy cohort study in a population exposed to fluoridated salt. Women were followed during the early, middle and late stages of their pregnancy (n 568). The dietary intake of recommended prenatal nutrients according to Mexican dietary guidelines and F intake (mg/d) was estimated with a validated FFQ. Data were summarised with descriptive statistics. Levels of F intake were compared with the USA’s Institute of Medicine adequate intake (AI) of 3 mg/d for pregnancy. Adjusted differences in F intake by pregnancy stages and levels of compliance with recommendations were estimated using random effects models. Setting: Mexico City. Participants: Women participating in the Early Life Exposures in Mexico to ENvironmental Toxicants (ELEMENT) project, from 2001 to 2003. Results: Median dietary F intake throughout pregnancy ranged from 0·64 (interquartile range (IQR) 0·38) in the early to 0·70 (IQR 0·42) in the middle, and 0·72 (IQR 0·44) mg/d in the late stage (0·01 mg F/kg per d). Corresponding adjusted intakes of F were 0·72 (95 % CI 0·70, 0·74), 0·76 (95 % CI 0·74, 0·77) and 0·80 (95 % CI 0·78, 0·82) mg/d. Women who were moderately and highly compliant with Mexican dietary recommendations ingested, on average, 0·04 and 0·14 mg F/d more than non-compliant women (P < 0·005). Conclusions: Dietary F intake was below current AI, was greater with the progression of pregnancy and in women who were moderately and highly compliant with dietary recommendations

Fluoride Content in Foods and Beverages From Mexico City Markets and Supermarkets

Background: Sources of fluoride exposure for Mexicans include foods, beverages, fluoridated salt, and naturally fluoridated water. There are no available data describing fluoride content of foods and beverages consumed in Mexico. Objective: To measure the content of fluoride in foods and beverages typically consumed and to compare their content to that of those from the United States and the United Kingdom. Methods: Foods and beverages reported as part of the Mexican Health and Nutrition Survey (n = 182) were purchased in the largest supermarket chains and local markets in Mexico City. Samples were analyzed for fluoride, at least in duplicate, using a modification of the hexamethyldisiloxane microdiffusion method. Value contents were compared to those from the US Department of Agriculture and UK fluoride content tables. Results: The food groups with the lowest and highest fluoride content were eggs (2.32 µg/100 g) and seafood (371 µg/100 g), respectively. When estimating the amount of fluoride per portion size, the lowest content corresponded to eggs and the highest to fast foods. Meats and sausages, cereals, fast food, sweets and cakes, fruits, dairy products, legumes, and seafood from Mexico presented higher fluoride contents than similar foods from the United States or the United Kingdom. Drinks and eggs from the United States exhibited the highest contents, while this was the case for pasta, soups, and vegetables from the United Kingdom. Conclusion: The majority of items analyzed contained higher fluoride contents than their US and UK counterparts. Data generated provide the first and largest table on fluoride content, which will be useful for future comparisons and estimations

Toddler temperament and prenatal exposure to lead and maternal depression

Background: Temperament is a psychological construct that reflects both personality and an infant’s reaction to social stimuli. It can be assessed early in life and is stable over time Temperament predicts many later life behaviors and illnesses, including impulsivity, emotional regulation and obesity. Early life exposure to neurotoxicants often results in developmental deficits in attention, social function, and IQ, but environmental predictors of infant temperament are largely unknown. We propose that prenatal exposure to both chemical and non-chemical environmental toxicants impacts the development of temperament, which can itself be used as a marker of risk for maladaptive neurobehavior in later life. In this study, we assessed associations among prenatal and early life exposure to lead, mercury, poverty, maternal depression and toddler temperament. Methods: A prospective cohort of women living in the Mexico City area were followed longitudinally beginning in the second trimester of pregnancy. Prenatal exposure to lead (blood, bone), mercury, and maternal depression were assessed repeatedly and the Toddler Temperament Scale (TTS) was completed when the child was 24 months old. The association between each measure of prenatal exposure and performance on individual TTS subscales was evaluated by multivariable linear regression. Latent profile analysis was used to classify subjects by TTS performance. Multinomial regression models were used to estimate the prospective association between prenatal exposures and TTS performance. Results: 500 mother-child pairs completed the TTS and had complete data on exposures and covariates. Three latent profiles were identified and categorized as predominantly difficult, intermediate, or easy temperament. Prenatal exposure to maternal depression predicted increasing probability of difficult toddler temperament. Maternal bone lead, a marker of cumulative exposure, also predicted difficult temperament. Prenatal lead exposure modified this association, suggesting that joint exposure in pregnancy to both was most toxic. Conclusions: Maternal depression predicts difficult temperament and concurrent prenatal exposure to maternal depression and lead predicts a more difficult temperament phenotype in 2 year olds. The role of temperament as an intermediate variable in the path from prenatal exposures to neurobehavioral deficits and other health effects deserves further study

Intermediate- and long-term associations between air pollution and ambient temperature and glycated hemoglobin levels in women of child bearing age

Background: Air pollution has been linked to obesity while higher ambient temperatures typically reduce metabolic demand in a compensatory manner. Both relationships may impact glucose metabolism, thus we examined the association between intermediate- and long-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ambient temperature and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), a longer-term marker of glucose control. Methods: We assessed 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month average air pollution and ambient temperature at 1-km2 spatial resolution via satellite remote sensing models (2013–2019), and assessed HbA1c at four, six, and eight years postpartum in women enrolled in the Programming Research in Obesity, Growth, Environment and Social Stressors (PROGRESS) cohort based in Mexico City. PM2.5 and ambient temperature were matched to participants’ addresses and confirmed by GPS tracker. Using linear mixed-effects models, we examined the association between 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month average PM2.5 and ambient temperature with repeated log-transformed HbA1c values. All models included a random intercept for each woman and were adjusted for calendar year, season, and individual-level confounders (age, marital status, smoking, alcohol consumption level, and education level). Results: We analyzed 1,265 HbA1c measurements of 484 women. Per 1 µg/m3 increase in 3-month and 6-month PM2.5, HbA1c levels increased by 0.28% (95% confidence interval (95 %CI): 0.14, 0.42%) and 0.28% (95 %CI: 0.04, 0.52%) respectively. No association was seen for 12-month average PM2.5. Per 1 °C increase in ambient temperature, HbA1c levels decreased by 0.63% (95 %CI: −1.06, −0.21%) and 0.61% (95 %CI: −1.08, −0.13%), while the 12-month average again is not associated with HbA1c. Conclusions: Intermediate-term exposure to PM2.5 and ambient temperature are associated with opposing changes in HbA1c levels, in this region of high PM2.5 and moderate temperature fluctuation. These effects, measurable in mid-adult life, may portend future risk of type 2 diabetes and possible heart disease