In Vivo Assessment of Arsenic Bioavailability in Rice and Its Significance for Human Health Risk Assessment

BACKGROUND: Millions of people worldwide consume arsenic-contaminated rice; however, little is known about the uptake and bioavailability of arsenic species after arsenic-contaminated rice ingestion. OBJECTIVES: In this study, we assessed arsenic speciation in greenhouse-grown and supermarket-bought rice, and determined arsenic bioavailability in cooked rice using an in vivo swine model. RESULTS: In supermarket-bought rice, arsenic was present entirely in the inorganic form compared to greenhouse-grown rice (using irrigation water contaminated with sodium arsenate), where most (~ 86%) arsenic was present as dimethylarsinic acid (organic arsenic). Because of the low absolute bioavailability of dimethylarsinic acid and the high proportion of dimethylarsinic acid in greenhouse-grown rice, only 33 ± 3% (mean ± SD) of the total rice-bound arsenic was bioavailable. Conversely, in supermarket-bought rice cooked in water contaminated with sodium arsenate, arsenic was present entirely in the inorganic form, and bioavailability was high (89 ± 9%). CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that arsenic bioavailability in rice is highly dependent on arsenic speciation, which in turn can vary depending on rice cultivar, arsenic in irrigation water, and the presence and nature of arsenic speciation in cooking water. Arsenic speciation and bioavailability are therefore critical parameters for reducing uncertainties when estimating exposure from the consumption of rice grown and cooked using arsenic-contaminated water

Sociodemographic correlates of food habits among school adolescents (12–15 year) in north Gaza Strip

Background: There is little information about meal patterns and food consumption of adolescents in Palestine. The objective of this study was to describe the association between sociodemographic factors and food intake, and meal patterns among Palestinian school adolescents (12–15 year) in North Gaza Strip. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2002 comprising 944 subjects in 10 schools in Gaza city, Jabalia village and Jabalia refugee camp. Self-administered questionnaires were filled in by students and parents to obtain data on frequency of meals, food intake and sociodemographic characteristics. Results: High household socioeconomic status (SES) was associated with the increased number of meals and the increased intakes of many nutritious foods such as; animal food items, fruits and vegetables and dairy foods. The percentage of adolescents having breakfast daily of high and low SES was 74.5% vs 55% in boys and 65.6% vs 45% in girls. The percentage of girls with refugee status who had lunch was higher (90.2%) compared to the local citizen girls (83.9%), (p = 0.03). Girls were less likely to skip daily lunch (OR = 0.55, 95% CI = 0.36–0.87, p = 0.01) compared to boys. Risk of skipping lunch was three times higher among adolescents living in the village compared to Gaza well-off area (OR = 3.3, 95% CI = 1.72–6.31, p < 0.001). Adolescents who were having lunch daily were less likely to skip breakfast or dinner. Only 11.6% of boys and 16.2% of girls consumed fruits daily. In multivariate analysis, SES was positively associated with food frequency intake scores in both genders. Boys from the refugee camp and the village had a significant higher consumption of fruits and vegetables than boys from high and low income area in Gaza City, while it was the opposite in girls. Conclusion: Meal skipping is common, particularly among those of low SES and the intakes of many nutritious foods such as animal food items, fruits and vegetables and dairy foods seem to be low among adolescents of low SES. The results of this study could be used as an important baseline for future monitoring of the nutritional situation of adolescents.Abdallah H Abudayya, Hein Stigum, Zumin Shi, Yehia Abed and Gerd Holmboe-Ottese

The tale of TILs in breast cancer: A report from The International Immuno-Oncology Biomarker Working Group

The advent of immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) in modern oncology has significantly improved survival in several cancer settings. A subgroup of women with breast cancer (BC) has immunogenic infiltration of lymphocytes with expression of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1). These patients may potentially benefit from ICI targeting the programmed death 1 (PD-1)/PD-L1 signaling axis. The use of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) as predictive and prognostic biomarkers has been under intense examination. Emerging data suggest that TILs are associated with response to both cytotoxic treatments and immunotherapy, particularly for patients with triple-negative BC. In this review from The International Immuno-Oncology Biomarker Working Group, we discuss (a) the biological understanding of TILs, (b) their analytical and clinical validity and efforts toward the clinical utility in BC, and (c) the current status of PD-L1 and TIL testing across different continents, including experiences from low-to-middle-income countries, incorporating also the view of a patient advocate. This information will help set the stage for future approaches to optimize the understanding and clinical utilization of TIL analysis in patients with BC

A Genome-Wide Linkage Scan for Distinct Subsets of Schizophrenia Characterized by Age at Onset and Neurocognitive Deficits

As schizophrenia is genetically and phenotypically heterogeneous, targeting genetically informative phenotypes may help identify greater linkage signals. The aim of the study is to evaluate the genetic linkage evidence for schizophrenia in subsets of families with earlier age at onset or greater neurocognitive deficits.Patients with schizophrenia (n  =  1,207) and their first-degree relatives (n  =  1,035) from 557 families with schizophrenia were recruited from six data collection field research centers throughout Taiwan. Subjects completed a face-to-face semi-structured interview, the Continuous Performance Test (CPT), the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, and were genotyped with 386 microsatellite markers across the genome.A maximum nonparametric logarithm of odds (LOD) score of 4.17 at 2q22.1 was found in 295 families ranked by increasing age at onset, which had significant increases in the maximum LOD score compared with those obtained in initial linkage analyses using all available families. Based on this subset, a further subsetting by false alarm rate on the undegraded and degraded CPT obtained further increase in the nested subset-based LOD on 2q22.1, with a score of 7.36 in 228 families and 7.71 in 243 families, respectively.We found possible evidence of linkage on chromosome 2q22.1 in families of schizophrenia patients with more CPT false alarm rates nested within the families with younger age at onset. These results highlight the importance of incorporating genetically informative phenotypes in unraveling the complex genetics of schizophrenia

Diagnostic utility of snail in metaplastic breast carcinoma

Metaplastic breast carcinoma (MBC) is a rare subtype of breast cancer characterized by coexistence of carcinomatous and sarcomatous components. Snail is a nuclear transcription factor incriminated in the transition of epithelial to mesenchymal differentiation of breast cancer. Aberrant Snail expression results in lost expression of the cell adhesion molecule E-cadherin, an event associated with changes in epithelial architecture and invasive growth. We aimed to identify the utility of Snail, and of traditional immunohistochemical markers, in accurate MBC classification and to evaluate clinicopathologic characteristics and outcome

Environmental factors modulating the stability and enzymatic activity of the Petrotoga mobilis Esterase (PmEst)

Enzymes isolated from thermophilic organisms found in oil reservoirs can find applications in many fields, including the oleochemical, pharmaceutical, bioenergy, and food/dairy industries. In this study, in silico identification and recombinant production of an esterase from the extremophile bacteria Petrotoga mobilis (designated PmEst) were performed. Then biochemical, bioinformatics and structural characterizations were undertaken using a combination of synchrotron radiation circular dichroism (SRCD) and fluorescence spectroscopies to correlate PmEst stability and hydrolytic activity on different substrates. The enzyme presented a high Michaelis-Menten constant (KM 0.16 mM) and optimum activity at ~55°C for p-nitrophenyl butyrate. The secondary structure of PmEst was preserved at acid pH, but not under alkaline conditions. PmEst was unfolded at high concentrations of urea or guanidine through apparently different mechanisms. The esterase activity of PmEst was preserved in the presence of ethanol or propanol and its melting temperature increased ~8°C in the presence of these organic solvents. PmEst is a mesophilic esterase with substrate preference towards short-to medium-length acyl chains. The SRCD data of PmEst is in agreement with the prediction of an α/β protein, which leads us to assume that it displays a typical fold of esterases from this family. The increased enzyme stability in organic solvents may enable novel applications for its use in synthetic biology. Taken together, our results demonstrate features of the PmEst enzyme that indicate it may be suitable for applications in industrial processes, particularly, when the use of polar organic solvents is required