Evaluation and Heavy Metal Concentration Assessment in Selected Brands of Infant and Toddler Food Types in Houston, Texas

Heavy metals and metalloids such as lead, cadmium, arsenic, nickel and zinc are an unavoidable contaminant of our ecosystem because of its natural occurrence They are also introduced into the environment anthropogenically through manufacturing, industrial agricultural processes which contaminates the food chain when taken up by food producing crops as a result of their presence in soil and water used in planting or feeding livestock. The adverse effects of these toxic elements have become a global threat to food security, particularly due to their inextricable association with human health. Exposure to environmental contaminants from daily diet is a major concern for all ages, although children are more vulnerable to their effects because they consume more food relative to their body weight and have underdeveloped nervous system. Exposure to toxic metals in children presents long-term health risks to growing infants and toddlers and have been linked but not limited to a variety of health issues such as disruptive behavior, neurological damage and attention deficit hyperactivity. A report recently released by the U.S House of Representatives in 2021, raised concerns about the dangerously elevated levels of heavy metals in baby food due to improper testing of raw ingredients used in making baby foods and finished baby food products and under-reporting by food manufacturers, of these high levels of toxicity which keeps toxic products on the market. Although, heavy metals can be found in some foods due to contaminated water and soil, their levels in foods, especially baby foods should be of great concern. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed daily permissible limits for some of these metals; however, a major challenge to this remains subpar testing practices, lenient self-regulating standards set by different food manufacturers where there are inconsistent and conflicting tolerable safe limit values set by various food agencies. The new U.S. FDA initiative, known as Closer to Zero Plan (C2Z) seeks to reduce to almost zero level, the toxic element exposures from foods eaten by babies and young children, therefore, this study was aimed at evaluating heavy metal concentrations in baby and toddler food products targeted at infant and toddler age groups produced by leading brands indicated in the report. Ten commercial baby foods from the top seven leading brands in the United States were purchased from a local store, representing six ingredient categories listed as a diary, fruit; leguminous vegetable; beef, chicken, root vegetable; or grains and evaluated for arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), Zinc (Zn) lead (Pb), Nickel (Ni), aluminum (Al) and chromium (Cr) in triplicates for heavy metal concentrations using the triple quadrupole inductively coupled mass spectrometry ) QQQ_ICP-MS), a tandem mass spectrometer method that has the capability of detecting analytes at lower detection limits. Nickel, Chromium and Zinc are vital in living organisms and necessary for metabolic and immune support while Arsenic, and Lead are non-essential but can be highly toxic even at extremely low concentrations of 0.005ug/g. In all the food types evaluated, aluminum (4.09 µg/g and 2.50 µg/g) and zinc (33.5 µg/g 69.5 µg/g, and 30.2 µg/g) were the most elevated in the infant food age group while lead and cadmium metals in all other food types were observed at levels not exceeding the tolerable limits except in rice cereal. The acceptable daily limits of Aluminum and Zinc are 1 µg/g /day and 0.3 µg/g /day. The mixed model generated for this analysis found significant differences in metal concentrations (F6,24=2.75, p=0.03). The overall average metal concentration in the food was 0.96 µg/g. No significant correlations were found between the packaging materials used and the observed metal concentrations (P \u3e0.05, Std error 1.94). Food products formulated from fruits and root tubers commonly referred to as plant-based food products, exhibited the highest concentrations of all tested heavy metals although none of the food labels reported the levels of heavy metal concentrations in the food products. Transparency in reporting toxic metal content on food labels will help consumers make an informed decision when purchasing these food products

Perineal hernia as a sequela of anal reconstruction surgeries in perianal Crohn\u27s disease

Perineal hernia is a rare complication of pelvic surgeries that can occur in patients with perianal Crohn\u27s disease (pCD) as a long-term outcome of surgeries for complex fistula treatment. We present a case of a symptomatic pCD male patient with multiple perianal surgeries who presents with anal pain, diarrhea, and discharge. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a perineal hernia in the ischioanal fossa violating the convergence of the left external sphincter complex. The hernia was treated with an open primary hernia repair via the perineal approach. It recurred after 3 months, and the patient underwent secondary hernia repair with gracilis muscle interposition and mesh placement. Unfortunately, this was complicated by superficial skin dehiscence and mesh extrusion, but the flap remained viable and the hernia repair was intact. Incidence, symptoms, risk factors, imaging findings, and management of perineal hernias are reviewed

Socialinio verslo atvejų įvertinimas Nigerijos kaimo vietovėse

Pirmojoje šio darbo dalyje paaiškintas teorinis socialinio verslo aspektas. Buvo akcentuojamas verslo vystymas ir kūrimas bei tai, kaip socialinio verslo sąvoka buvo naudojama palengvinti kai kurias visuomenės problemas akademinėje literatūroje. Pagrindinis socialinio verslo tikslas yra padaryti didelį poveikį visuomenei, aplinkai ir vietos bendruomenei. Antroje tyrimo dalyje aprašomos kai kurios socialinės problemos, būdingos Ekiti ir Osuno valstijoms. Aptariamos tokios problemos kaip skurdas, nedarbas ir aplinkos problemos. Taip pat nustatyta tinkama tyrimo metodika. Šis tyrimas buvo atliktas naudojant tiek kiekybinį, tiek kokybinį tyrimo metodą. Kokybinis metodas leido lanksčiai spręsti kai kurias socialines problemas. Kiekybinio tyrimo metodika buvo naudojama siekiant nustatyti Osuno valstybinio universiteto ir Federalinio universiteto „Oye-Ekiti“ studentų socialinio verslo supratimą. Buvo padaryta išvada, kad, nepaisant vyraujančių socialinių problemų Ekiti ir Osuno valstijoje, trūksta supratimo apie socialinio verslo sąvoką. Trečiojoje tyrimo dalyje išsamiai aptarti išoriniai veiksniai, į kuriuos reikia atsižvelgti kuriant socialinį verslą. Išorinei aplinkai analizuoti buvo naudojamas PEST modelis. Buvo išryškintos strategijos skatinti socialinį verslą Osuno ir Ekito valstijoje. Vieši pokalbiai ir simpoziumai yra viena iš priemonių skatinti socialinio verslo idėją Osuno ir Ekito valstijose. Socialinio verslo temų įtraukimas į studentų programą gali padėti studentams kurti novatoriškas idėjas, kaip išspręsti visuomenės problemas. Galiausiai toks verslas kaip prekyba tinkleliais, gautais nuo uodų, galėtų padėti sukurti darbo vietų ir sumažinti maliarijos žalą abiejose valstijose.The first part of this research explained the theoretical aspect of social business. Emphasis was placed on the development and creation of the business and how the concept of social business was used to alleviate some societal issues in a myriad of academic literatures. The main objective of social businesses is to generate a significant impact on society, the environment and the local community. The second part of the research describes some of the social problems’ peculiar to Ekiti and Osun state. Problems such as poverty, unemployment and environmental challenges are the issues discussed. Also, the appropriate research methodology was determined. This research was carried out using both the quantitative and qualitative research method. The qualitative method allowed the flexibility of addressing some social problems. The quantitative research methodology was used to ascertain the awareness of social business among students in Osun state university and Federal university Oye-Ekiti. It was inferred that there is lack of awareness on the concept of social business despite the prevailing social problems in Ekiti and Osun state The third part of the research discussed in the details the external factors to consider when creating a social business. The PEST model was used to analyse the external environment. Strategies to promote social business in Osun and Ekiti state was highlighted. Public talks and symposiums are one of the means to promote the concept of social business in Osun and Ekiti state. Also including the topics on social business in the curriculum of students can help the students develop innovative ideas to solving the societal problems. Finally, the business such as the trading of mosquito treated nets could help create jobs and reduce the scourge of malaria in the both states.Bioekonomikos plėtros fakultetasVerslo ir kaimo vystymosi tyrimų instituta