Detection of boldenone, its sulfate and glucuronate forms, androstadienedione, cortisol, cortisone, prednisolone, prednisone and dexamethasone in bovine bile and urine by LC-MS/MS: preliminary results.

The European Union regulations ban or regulate the use of substances with hormonal action. There are, however, some detectable steroids in biological matrices from cattle to which no administration were made. These are the so called “grey-zone” or “pseudoendogenous” substances (endogenously produced under certain circumstances). The administration of boldenone and androstadienedione to cattle is forbidden both for therapeutic or growth promotion purposes, while therapeutic use of prednisolone is permitted. The control of the use of these substances is hampered by their pseudoendogenous nature. We made a comparison between analyses performed on the classical matrix urine with bile (a novel matrix) from the same animals, with the aim to determine the better matrix for the above mentioned steroids. We tested the synthetic corticosteroid dexamethasone, too. The preliminary results do not show any difference between the two matrices, as concern the pseudoendogenous substances. The data about dexamethasone were instead very promising about the use of bile. The detection frequency and concentration levels were, in fact, higher in bile than in urine from the same animals

Quality Traits of Medical Cannabis sativa L. Inflorescences and Derived Products Based on Comprehensive Mass-Spectrometry Analytical Investigation

Cannabis sativa L. has been cultivated throughout the world for industrial and medical purposes and is the most controversial plant ever exploited, with considerable discrepancies in the praise and disapproval it receives. Medical Cannabis prescriptions are on the increase in several countries where its therapeutic use is authorised due to its positive role in treating several pathologies even if it represents a multifaceted reality in terms of application. There are at least 550 identified compounds in C. sativa L., including more than 100 phytocannabinoids and 120 terpenes. The chemical complexity of its bioactive constituents highlights the need for standardised and well-defined analytical approaches able to characterise plant chemotype and herbal drug quality as well as to monitor the quality of pharmaceutical cannabis extracts and preparations. This research highlights the potential of using different analytical procedures involving the combination of headspace-solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) coupled to GC–MS and accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) coupled to high resolution mass-spectrometry (HPLC-Q Orbitrap®) for the in-depth profiling of quality traits in authorised medical varieties of Cannabis sativa L. flos (Bediol®) and corresponding macerated oil preparations. This approach could add new knowledge to the field of “omic” analytical applications which are fundamental nowadays for Cannabis used for therapeutic remedies

Gene expression profiles among murine strains segregate with distinct differences in the progression of radiation-induced lung disease.

Molecular mechanisms underlying development of acute pneumonitis and/or late fibrosis following thoracic irradiation remain poorly understood. Here, we hypothesize that heterogeneity in disease progression and phenotypic expression of radiation-induced lung disease (RILD) across murine strains presents an opportunity to better elucidate mechanisms driving tissue response toward pneumonitis and/or fibrosis. Distinct differences in disease progression were observed in age- and sex-matched CBA/J, C57L/J and C57BL/6J mice over 1 year after graded doses of whole-thorax lung irradiation (WTLI). Separately, comparison of gene expression profiles in lung tissue 24 h post-exposure demonstrated \u3e5000 genes to be differentially expressed (P\u3c0.01; \u3etwofold change) between strains with early versus late onset of disease. An immediate divergence in early tissue response between radiation-sensitive and -resistant strains was observed. In pneumonitis-prone C57L/J mice, differentially expressed genes were enriched in proinflammatory pathways, whereas in fibrosis-prone C57BL/6J mice, genes were enriched in pathways involved in purine and pyrimidine synthesis, DNA replication and cell division. At 24 h post-WTLI, different patterns of cellular damage were observed at the ultrastructural level among strains but microscopic damage was not yet evident under light microscopy. These data point toward a fundamental difference in patterns of early pulmonary tissue response to WTLI, consistent with the macroscopic expression of injury manifesting weeks to months after exposure. Understanding the mechanisms underlying development of RILD might lead to more rational selection of therapeutic interventions to mitigate healthy tissue damage

Izbor genotipova paradajza na tolerantnost prema suši

Screening collections aimed to make the selection of genotypes tolerant to drought in the vegetative stage of intensive growth of plants, which would start the program selection to obtain recombinant genotypes according to the abiotic factor. The criteria for screening were the diversity of genotypes for the number of sheets of the first flower branches and number of flower branches into the optimal mode of irrigation regime and reduced by 40 % . On the basis of the analysis genotypes: the number of leaves to the first floral branch G 106, 114, 121 and 122 ( 0 % ), and genotype G102, 114, and 125 for the characteristic number of lateral branches.Paradajz je široko prilagođen različitim podnebljima gajenja, međutim, njegov rast i razviće je prilično osetljiv na različite uslove spoljne sredine, uključujući salinitet, sušu, vlagu, ekstremne temperature, mineralne toksičnosti, kao i zagađenje životne sredine. Postoji ograničenje genetske varijacije za abiotičku toleranciju na stres u okviru kultivisanih vrsta i većina komercijalnih sorti se smatraju umereno do veoma osetljive na različite vrste stresa. Ispitivanje je izvršeno na 11 genotipa paradajza poreklom iz populacije domaćih i odomaćenih genotipova prikupljenih iz Srbije, a pripadaju kolekciji paradajza Instituta za povrtarstvo u Smederevskoj Palanci. Skrining kolekcije imao je za cilj da se izvrši izbor genotipova tolerantnih na sušu u vegetativnoj fazi intenzivnog porasta biljaka, čime bi se započeo program selekcije na dobijanje rekombinovanih genotipova prema ovom abiotskom faktoru. Kriterijumi za skrining bili su divergentnost genotipova za broj listova do prve cvetne grane i broj cvetnih grana u: optimalnom režimu navodnjavanja i redukovanom režimu za 40%. Na osnovu izvedenih analiza izdvojeni su genotipovi: za broj listova do prve cvetne grane G 106, 114, 121 i 122 (0%), kao i genotipovi G102, 114, i 125 za osobinu broja bočnih grana koji će predstavljati bazu za dobijanje rekombinovanih genotipova i početak selekcije na otpornost na sušu

Quality Traits of "Cannabidiol Oils": Cannabinoids Content, Terpene Fingerprint and Oxidation Stability of European Commercially Available Preparations

Cannabidiol (CBD)-based oil preparations are becoming extremely popular, as CBD has been shown to have beneficial effects on human health. CBD-based oil preparations are not unambiguously regulated under the European legislation, as CBD is not considered as a controlled substance. This means that companies can produce and distribute CBD products derived from non-psychoactive hemp varieties, providing an easy access to this extremely advantageous cannabinoid. This leaves consumers with no legal quality guarantees. The objective of this project was to assess the quality of 14 CBD oils commercially available in European countries. An in-depth chemical profiling of cannabinoids, terpenes and oxidation products was conducted by means of GC-MS and HPLC-Q-Exactive-Orbitrap-MS in order to improve knowledge regarding the characteristics of CBD oils. Nine out of the 14 samples studied had concentrations that differed notably from the declared amount, while the remaining five preserved CBD within optimal limits. Our results highlighted a wide variability in cannabinoids profile that justifies the need for strict and standardized regulations. In addition, the terpenes fingerprint may serve as an indicator of the quality of hemp varieties, while the lipid oxidation products profile could contribute in evaluation of the stability of the oil used as milieu for CBD rich extracts

Uv light impact on phthalates migration from children's toys into artificial saliva

Phthalates has been widely used in children?s toys as plastic plasticizers and softeners. Therefore, attention should be paid to plastic toys, especially those that children can put in their mouths. In this paper quantification of five phthalates: DMP, DnBP, BBP, DEHP and DnOP in plastic toys, as well as irradiation of toys with UV light was performed. After sample preparation and development of the liquid?liquid phthalate extraction method from artificial saliva phthalate quantitative determination using the GC?MS technique was performed. The mean recovery value for DEHP is 77.03?2.76 %. The determination of phthalate in the recipient models (artificial saliva and n-hexane) was performed after 6, 15 and 30 days of the migration test using the GC?MS technique. Based on the known mass % DEHP in the analyzed toys, the percentage of phthalate migration from each analyzed toy to the recipient model after 6, 15 and 30 days of the migration test was calculated. The results show that there is no significant migration of DEHP into artificial saliva, due to high polarity of the recipient (artificial saliva is polar), unlike n-hexane where the migration of DEHP is significant because it is a non-polar solvent

Quality traits of saffron produced in Italy: geographical area effect and good practices

Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is the most expensive spice in the world and is used in food, cosmetic and dyeing industries. Considering that the production of saffron is increasingly widespread in medium-small Italian farms as well as the scarceness of information and studies regarding the quality of the saffron produced in Italy, the principal aim of this study was to investigate the quality of Italian saffron. Qualitative analysis was conducted in accordance with ISO 3632 1,2:2010-2011 considering 484 samples collected over four years (2015-2018). In particular, moisture content, aroma strength (safranal), colouring strength (crocin) and flavour strength (picrocrocin) were assessed for each sample, and whether spice quality varied according to the geographical area where the spice was produced was also investigated. Qualitative analysis showed that the majority (84-93%) of the samples analysed are of the first quality category, regardless of the year of production. Moisture content and colouring strength are the factors that influence the quality of the spice most. Principal component analysis showed that quality is not influenced by the geographical area where the spice was produced. Finally, some best agricultural practices to obtain a high quality saffron spice are reported

EGFR mutation testing from pleural effusions of non-small cell lung cancer patients at the institute for oncology and radiology of Serbia

Background: The use tumor-derived cell-free DNA extracted from body fluids is being evaluated for genetic testing in lung cancer. The aim of this study was to explore the feasibility and utility of implementation of EGFR molecular testing from pleural effusions in non-small cell lung cancer in the clinical diagnostics workflow.// Patients and methods: This study included patients diagnosed with primary lung adenocarcinoma in the period July 2016 to June 2023. EGFR mutation testing was performed by qPCR (Cobas®) and dPCR. Testing was performed from 211 plasma samples when tissue was unavailable at diagnosis, and from 301 plasma samples and 18 pleural effusions at progression on first/second generation of EGFR TKIs. Descriptive methods of statistical analysis were used to summarize the sample data. Fisher's exact test, McNemar's test, Cohen's kappa tests were used for statistical analyses. Two-sided p-values <0.05 were considered statistically significant.// Results: A significantly higher detection rate of the T790M mutation in pleural effusion was obtained compared to blood (50% and 20%, p=0.047). When comparing the detection success rate of the resistant T790M mutation in pleural effusion and blood, a statistically significant difference was obtained in favor of pleural effusion (50% vs. 21.87%, p=0.01).// Conclusions: Superior performance of pleural effusions compared to blood plasma was shown both in the analysis of success rate and in the detection of the resistant T790M mutation, at progression on EGFR TKIs. Pleural effusion should be considered in this setting whenever available, especially in countries with limited health resources