134 research outputs found
Toxicological screening and DNA sequencing detects contamination and adulteration in regulated herbal medicines and supplements for diet, weight loss and cardiovascular health
Use of herbal medicines and supplements by consumers to prevent or treat disease, particularly chronic conditions continues to grow, leading to increased awareness of the minimal regulation standards in many countries. Fraudulent, adulterated and contaminated herbal and traditional medicines and dietary supplements are a risk to consumer health, with adverse effects and events including overdose, drug-herb interactions and hospitalisation. The scope of the risk has been difficult to determine, prompting calls for new approaches, such as the combination of DNA metabarcoding and mass spectrometry used in this study. Here we show that nearly 50% of products tested had contamination issues, in terms of DNA, chemical composition or both. Two samples were clear cases of pharmaceutical adulteration, including a combination of paracetamol and chlorpheniramine in one product and trace amounts of buclizine, a drug no longer in use in Australia, in another. Other issues include the undeclared presence of stimulants such as caffeine, synephrine or ephedrine. DNA data highlighted potential allergy concerns (nuts, wheat), presence of potential toxins (Neem oil) and animal ingredients (reindeer, frog, shrew), and possible substitution of bird cartilage in place of shark. Only 21% of the tested products were able to have at least one ingredient corroborated by DNA sequencing. This study demonstrates that, despite current monitoring approaches, contaminated and adulterated products are still reaching the consumer. We suggest that a better solution is stronger pre-market evaluation, using techniques such as that outlined in this study
Toxicological screening and DNA sequencing detects contamination and adulteration in regulated herbal medicines and supplements for diet, weight loss and cardiovascular health
Use of herbal medicines and supplements by consumers to prevent or treat disease, particularly chronic conditions continues to grow, leading to increased awareness of the minimal regulation standards in many countries. Fraudulent, adulterated and contaminated herbal and traditional medicines and dietary supplements are a risk to consumer health, with adverse effects and events including overdose, drug-herb interactions and hospitalisation. The scope of the risk has been difficult to determine, prompting calls for new approaches, such as the combination of DNA metabarcoding and mass spectrometry used in this study. Here we show that nearly 50% of products tested had contamination issues, in terms of DNA, chemical composition or both. Two samples were clear cases of pharmaceutical adulteration, including a combination of paracetamol and chlorpheniramine in one product and trace amounts of buclizine, a drug no longer in use in Australia, in another. Other issues include the undeclared presence of stimulants such as caffeine, synephrine or ephedrine. DNA data highlighted potential allergy concerns (nuts, wheat), presence of potential toxins (Neem oil) and animal ingredients (reindeer, frog, shrew), and possible substitution of bird cartilage in place of shark. Only 21% of the tested products were able to have at least one ingredient corroborated by DNA sequencing. This study demonstrates that, despite current monitoring approaches, contaminated and adulterated products are still reaching the consumer. We suggest that a better solution is stronger pre-market evaluation, using techniques such as that outlined in this study
Central arterial stiffness is associated with structural brain damage and poorer cognitive performance: The ARIC study
Background Central arterial stiffening and increased pulsatility, with consequent cerebral hypoperfusion, may result in structural brain damage and cognitive impairment. Methods and Results We analyzed a crossâsectional sample of ARICâNCS(Atherosclerosis Risk in CommunitiesâNeurocognitive Study) participants (aged 67â90 years, 60% women) with measures of cognition (n=3703) and brain magnetic resonance imaging (n=1255). Central arterial hemodynamics were assessed as carotidâfemoral pulse wave velocity and pressure pulsatility (central pulse pressure). We derived factor scores for cognitive domains. Brain magnetic resonance imaging using 3âTesla scanners quantified lacunar infarcts; cerebral microbleeds; and volumes of white matter hyperintensities, total brain, and the Alzheimer disease signature region. We used logistic regression, adjusted for demographics, apolipoprotein E É4, heart rate, mean arterial pressure, and select cardiovascular risk factors, to estimate the odds of lacunar infarcts or cerebral microbleeds. Linear regression, additionally adjusted for intracranial volume, estimated the difference in logâtransformed volumes of white matter hyperintensities, total brain, and the Alzheimer diseasesignature region. We estimated the mean difference in cognitive factor scores across quartiles of carotidâfemoral pulse wave velocity or central pulse pressure using linear regression. Compared with participants in the lowest carotidâfemoral pulse wave velocity quartile, participants in the highest quartile of carotidâfemoral pulse wave velocity had a greater burden of white matter hyperintensities (P=0.007 for trend), smaller total brain volumes (â18.30 cm 3 ; 95% CI, â27.54 to â9.07 cm 3 ), and smaller Alzheimer disease signature region volumes (â1.48 cm 3 ; 95% CI, â2.27 to â0.68 cm 3 ). These participants also had lower scores in executive function/processing speed (ÎČ=â0.04 z score; 95% CI, â0.07 to â0.01 z score) and general cognition (ÎČ=â0.09 z score; 95% CI, â0.15 to â0.03 z score). Similar results were observed for central pulse pressure. Conclusions Central arterial hemodynamics were associated with structural brain damage and poorer cognitive performance among older adults
Impacto da adubação orgĂąnica sobre a incidĂȘncia de tripes em cebola.
Analisou-se a relação entre adubação orgĂąnica e a incidĂȘncia de Thrips tabaci Lind. em cebola (Allium cepa L), na EE de Ituporanga,entre agosto e dezembro de 1998. Os tratamentos foram determinados de acordo com a necessidade de N para a cultura pela anĂĄlise de solo. Empregou-se como fonte orgĂąnica diversos adubos fornecendo 75 Kg/ha de N (esterco suĂno; adubo Barriga Verde proveniente de esterco de aves; composto orgĂąnico; esterco de peru; hĂșmus); 37,5 Kg/ha de N (metade da dose normal com esterco de suĂno); as testemunhas foram adubação mineral fornecendo 30-120-60 kg/ha de N-P2O5-K2O e o dobro da dose (60-240-120 kg/ha de N-P2O5-K2O); e testemunha sem adubação. Nenhum tratamento apresentou incidĂȘncia de T. tabaci superior Ă testemunha sem adubo. A adubação mineral em relação Ă orgĂąnica nĂŁo favoreceu significativamente a incidĂȘncia de T. tabaci . O processo de conversĂŁo do manejo do solo da ĂĄrea experimental de convencional para orgĂąnico pode ter
favorecido a infestação similar do inseto entre tratamentos. No perĂodo de maior incidĂȘncia de T. tabaci, a relação com nutrientes foi descrita por um modelo envolvendo K/Zn, B e N de maneira positiva. A correlação entre nutrientes e T. tabaci nĂŁo foi linear na maioria
das avaliaçÔes. A adubação orgĂąnica pode substituir a adubação mineral na cultura da cebola, pois foi possĂvel atingir nĂveis de produtividade similares para ambos tratamentos
Governing Boards and Profound Organizational Change in Hospitals
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/69047/2/10.1177_107755878904600204.pd
Knowledge actors and the construction of new governing panoramas:The case of the European Commissionâs DG Education and Culture
RESUMO: Este artigo aborda o tema da governança da educação na Europa. Esse espaço da polĂtica tem sido dominado por grandes interesses e organizaçÔes transnacionais, entre as quais se destacam a Organização para a Cooperação e Desenvolvimento EconĂŽmico (OCDE) e a ComissĂŁo Europeia (CE). Este artigo procura explorar e explicar quais sĂŁo os efeitos constitutivos que as prĂĄticas sistemĂĄticas de 'medição' e de estandardização tĂȘm na intensificação da convergĂȘncia entre a Direção-Geral de Educação e Cultura da CE e a OCDE, a qual, por meio do PISA e de outros testes internacionais, tornou-se um ator influente na polĂtica educativa em uma escala global. O artigo pretende identificar os feitos do 'governo pelos nĂșmeros' nas interdependĂȘncias criadas entre as duas organizaçÔes internacionais
Identification of regulatory variants associated with genetic susceptibility to meningococcal disease
Non-coding genetic variants play an important role in driving susceptibility to complex diseases but their characterization remains challenging. Here, we employed a novel approach to interrogate the genetic risk of such polymorphisms in a more systematic way by targeting specific regulatory regions relevant for the phenotype studied. We applied this method to meningococcal disease susceptibility, using the DNA binding pattern of RELA - a NF-kB subunit, master regulator of the response to infection - under bacterial stimuli in nasopharyngeal epithelial cells. We designed a custom panel to cover these RELA binding sites and used it for targeted sequencing in cases and controls. Variant calling and association analysis were performed followed by validation of candidate polymorphisms by genotyping in three independent cohorts. We identified two new polymorphisms, rs4823231 and rs11913168, showing signs of association with meningococcal disease susceptibility. In addition, using our genomic data as well as publicly available resources, we found evidences for these SNPs to have potential regulatory effects on ATXN10 and LIF genes respectively. The variants and related candidate genes are relevant for infectious diseases and may have important contribution for meningococcal disease pathology. Finally, we described a novel genetic association approach that could be applied to other phenotypes
TRY plant trait database â enhanced coverage and open access
Plant traitsâthe morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plantsâdetermine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of traitâbased plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traitsâalmost complete coverage for âplant growth formâ. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and traitâenvironmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives
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