Food adulteration and traceability tests using stable carbon isotope technologies

Due to the fractionation of stable carbon isotopes in plant photosynthesis, bio-decomposition processes, environmental factors, plant physiology, geographical factors, climatic conditions and agricultural practices, different foods exhibit significant differences in stable carbon isotope ratios. Therefore, stable carbon isotope ratio analysis (SCIRA) presents an effective tool for detecting food adulteration and food traceability control. In addition, stable carbon isotopes can frequently be used as markers to identify veterinary drug residues, pesticide residues and toxic substances remaining in foods by isotope dilution mass spectrometry (IDMS). The emphasis of this review, which will help readers to modify stable carbon isotope technologies more easily and extend their application in adulteration and traceability for foods, is on the characteristics of various instruments and the data processing methods in SCIRA and IDMS technologies. The latest research is also reviewed and highlighted. This paper reviews potential applications of these technologies to improve current food detection and protect consumers’ rights

Formulation Optimization and Quality Analysis of Moringa Seed Multigrain Bread Based on Fuzzy Mathematics

In order to meet people's demand for nutritious food, bread was taken as a carrier, and fuzzy mathematics and sensory evaluation method were adopted. Based on sensory score, the recipe of Moringa seed multigrain bread was optimized by single factor and orthogonal experiment. On this basis, the physicochemical and bacteriostatic characteristics of Moringa seed multigrain bread were analyzed. The results showed that the order of Moringa seed multigrain bread was as follows: Moringa seed supplemental level>Job's barley supplemental level>red bean supplemental level>sweet potato supplemental level. The optimal formula of moringa seed multigrain bread was as follows: Milk content 34%, butter content 7.5%, whole egg content 40%, yeast content 0.8%, white sugar content 5.1%, Moringa seed content 2.6%, sweet potato content 2.1%, red bean content 1.6%, and Job's barley content 2.1%. The fuzzy mathematical sensory score of the bread under this formula was the highest (86.35), and the bread was full flavour, soft and palpable. The peroxide value, acid value and total number of colonies were all in line with national standards, and the protein content was 5.6 g/100 g higher than that of ordinary bread. After storage for 5 days, the increase of acid value of Moringa seed multigrain bread (25%) was less than that of regular bread (40%), and the increase of peroxide value (20%) was also lower than that of regular bread (73.7%). Meanwhile, the number of bacterial colonies in regular bread was 3 times higher than that in Moringa seed multigrain bread, which indicated that Moringa seed multigrain bread had certain rancidity delay and antibacterial effect. The results of this study could provide useful reference for the development of Moringa seed multigrain products

Glacial Area Changes in the Ili River Catchment (Northeastern Tian Shan) in Xinjiang, China, from the 1960s to 2009

The Ili River originates in the Tian Shan Mountains of Northwest China before flowing into Kazakhstan and Lake Balkash. Melting snow and ice are its major contributors. We analyzed glacial changes in the upper Ili River basin between the 1960s and 2007/2009 using topographic maps and satellite imagery from a Landsat TM. The relationships between glacial changes and glacial size, topographic factors, and debris cover were examined. Our results found that total glacial area decreased by 485 ± 177.3 km2 (24.2% ± 8.8%) during the study period, and there were no advancing glaciers. Additionally, 331 glaciers disappeared and 18 disintegrated into two or three smaller glaciers. This study demonstrated a linear relationship between glacial area change and elevation. Changes in glaciers smaller than 1 km2 were affected by both glacial size and topographic factors, while larger ones were affected by size only. Area losses in debris-covered glaciers were smaller by 2.5% to 7.5% compared to clean ice of the same size in this basin. As in other glaciated regions, glacial retreat in the Ili River basin is attributed to global warming. The slightly increasing precipitation over the study period could not offset the ice melting

High expression of ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme 2C (UBE2C) correlates with nasopharyngeal carcinoma progression

BACKGROUND: Overexpression of ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme 2C (UBE2C) has been detected in many types of human cancers, and is correlated with tumor malignancy. However, the role of UBE2C in human nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is unclear. In this study, we investigated the role of aberrant UBE2C expression in the progression of human NPC. METHODS: Immunohistochemical analysis was performed to detect UBE2C protein in clinical samples of NPC and benign nasopharyngeal tissues, and the association of UBE2C expression with patient clinicopathological characteristics was analyzed. UBEC2 expression profiles were evaluated in cell lines representing varying differentiated stages of NPC and immortalized nasopharyngeal epithelia NP-69 cells using quantitative RT-PCR, western blotting and fluorescent staining. Furthermore, UBE2C was knocked down using RNA interference in these cell lines and proliferation and cell cycle distribution was investigated. RESULTS: Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that UBE2C protein expression levels were higher in NPC tissues than in benign nasopharyngeal tissues (P<0.001). Moreover, high UBE2C protein expression was positively correlated with tumor size (P=0.017), lymph node metastasis (P=0.016) and distant metastasis (P=0.015) in NPC patients. In vitro experiments demonstrated that UBE2C expression levels were inversely correlated with the degree of differentiation of NPC cell lines, whereas UBE2C displayed low level of expression in NP-69 cells. Knockdown of UBE2C led to significant arrest at the S and G2/M phases of the cell cycle, and decreased cell proliferation was observed in poorly-differentiated CNE2Z NPC cells and undifferentiated C666-1 cells, but not in well-differentiated CNE1 and immortalized NP-69 cells. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that high expression of UBE2C in human NPC is closely related to tumor malignancy, and may be a potential marker for NPC progression

An Intragenic SRF-Dependent Regulatory Motif Directs Cardiac-Specific microRNA-1-1/133a-2 Expression

Transcriptional regulation is essential for any gene expression including microRNA expression. MiR-1-1 and miR-133a-2 are essential microRNAs (miRs) involved in cardiac and skeletal muscle development and diseases. Early studies reveal two regulatory enhancers, an upstream and an intragenic, that direct the miR-1-1 and miR-133a-2 transcripts. In this study, we identify a unique serum response factor (SRF) binding motif within the enhancer through bioinformatic approaches. This motif is evolutionarily conserved and is present in a range of organisms from yeast, flies, to humans. We provide evidence to demonstrate that this regulatory motif is SRF-dependent in vitro by electrophoretic mobility shift assay, luciferase activity assay, and endogenous chromatin immunoprecipitation assay followed by DNA sequence confirmation, and in vivo by transgenic lacZ reporter mouse studies. Importantly, our transgenic mice indicate that this motif is indispensable for the expression of miR1-1/133a-2 in the heart, but not necessary in skeletal muscle, while the enhancer is sufficient for miR1-1/133a-2 gene expression in both tissues. The mutation of the motif alone completely abolishes miR-1-1/133a-2 gene expression in the animal heart, but not in the skeletal muscle. Our findings reveal an additional architecture of regulatory complex directing miR-1-1/133a-1 gene expression, and demonstrate how this intragenic enhancer differentially manages the expression of the two miRs in the heart and skeletal muscle, respectively

Association between per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and risk of hypertension: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundExisting evidence indicates that exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) may increase the risk of hypertension, but the findings are inconsistent. Therefore, we aimed to explore the relationship between PFASs and hypertension through this systematic review and meta-analysis.MethodsWe searched PubMed, Embase, and the Web of Science databases for articles published in English that examined the relationship between PFASs and hypertension before 13 August 2022. The random effects model was used to aggregate the evaluation using Stata 15.0 for Windows. We also conducted subgroup analyses by region and hypertension definition. In addition, a sensitivity analysis was carried out to determine the robustness of the findings.ResultsThe meta-analysis comprised 15 studies in total with 69,949 individuals. The risk of hypertension was substantially and positively correlated with exposure to perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) (OR = 1.31, 95% CI: 1.14, 1.51), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) (OR = 1.16, 95% CI: 1.07, 1.26), and perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS) (OR = 1.04, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.09). However, perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) exposure and hypertension were not significantly associated (OR = 1.08, 95% CI: 0.99, 1.17).ConclusionWe evaluated the link between PFASs exposure and hypertension and discovered that higher levels of PFOS, PFOA, and PFHxS were correlated with an increased risk of hypertension. However, further high-quality population-based and pathophysiological investigations are required to shed light on the possible mechanism and demonstrate causation because of the considerable variability.Systematic review registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/ PROSPERO, registration number: CRD 42022358142