Does Cannabis Extract Obtained From Cannabis Flowers With Maximum Allowed Residual Level of Aflatoxins and Ochratoxin a Have an Impact on Human Safety and Health?

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate whether the cannabis extract obtained from cannabis flowers that contain the maximum allowed level of mycotoxins affects human safety and health. For that purpose, a novel liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the determination of aflatoxins and ochratoxin A (OchA) in cannabis extracts to demonstrate that this analytical method is suitable for the intended experimental design.Methods: Experimental design was done by adding maximum allowed concentration of aflatoxins (B1, B2, G1, G2) and OchA according to the European Pharmacopeia related to cannabis flowers. The concentration of aflatoxins and OchA was determined using the same LC/MS/MS analytical method in the starting material (dry flower) before preparing the spiked sample and after obtaining decarboxylated extract with ethanol 96%.Results: The results obtained indicate that aflatoxins and OchA, primarily added to the cannabis dried flowers, were also determined into the obtained final extract in amounts much higher (m/m) than in the starting plant material.Conclusion: With this experiment, we have shown that mycotoxins, especially aflatoxins, which are extremely toxic secondary metabolites, can reach critical values in cannabis extracts obtained from dry cannabis flowers with the maximum allowed quantity of mycotoxins. This can pose a great risk to consumers and their health especially to those with compromised immune systems.

Developing a database for Cs-137 radioactivity concentration and assessing residual levels in surface soils of Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, and Lang Son provinces

The radioactivity concentration of Cs-137 was determined in 826 soil samples collected from Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, and Lang Son. The residual levels of Cs-137 have also been assessed and compared with previous publications to obtain a trend in Cs-137 in the surface soil. The actual measured average of the residual level of Cs-137 in the soil samples collected in this study was 236±146 Bq/m2, while the value calculated using the publishedexperimental formula was 407±77 Bq/m2. The impact of Cs-137 deposition from the Fukushima nuclear accident (2011) in this area is confirmed to be negligible.

A Longitudinal and Gender Invariance Analysis of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire Across Ages 3, 5, 7, 11, 14, and 17 in a Large U.K.-Representative Sample

Developmental invariance is important for making valid inferences about child development from longitudinal data; however, it is rarely tested. We evaluated developmental and gender invariance for one of the most widely used measures of child mental health: the parent-reported Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Using data from the large U.K. population-representative Millennium Cohort Study ( N = 10,207; with data at ages 3, 5, 7, 11, 14, and 17 years), we tested configural, metric, scalar, and residual invariance in emotional problems, conduct problems, hyperactivity/inattention, prosociality, and peer problems. We found that the SDQ showed poor fit at age 3 in both males and females and at age 17 in males; however, it fit reasonably well and its scores were measurement invariant up to the residual level across gender at ages 5, 7, 11, and 14 years. Scores were also longitudinally measurement invariant across this age range up to the partial residual level. Results suggest that the parent-reported SDQ can be used to estimate developmental trajectories of emotional problems, conduct problems, hyperactivity/inattention, prosociality, and peer problems and their gender differences across the age range 5 to 14 years using a latent model. Developmental differences outside of this range may; however, partly reflect measurement differences.

Simultaneous determination of 13 mycotoxins in feedstuffs using QuEChERS extraction

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by various fungi and are known to have a significant negative impact on human and animal health. When feedstuffs are contaminated with mycotoxins, their toxicities may be caused a variety of diseases. In this study, the residual mycotoxins in feedstuffs were analyzed using LC–MS/MS incorporated with QuEChERS extraction. Analytical method validation was performed for LOD, LOQ, linearity, and recoveries with consideration of matrix effects prior to the residual analysis. They were all reached to the accepted range of validation level. Using 39 feedstuff samples (5 g) for mycotoxin analysis, nine samples were contaminated by four major mycotoxins such as fumonisin B1 (FB1), deoxynivalenol, fumonisin B2, and zearalenone. Among them, FB1 was detected at the highest concentration as 18.0943 mg/kg. The total sum of fumonisins in 39 samples did not exceed the maximum residual level (MRL) criterion set by Korean Food and Drug Administration. Altogether, intensive management of mycotoxins in Korean feedstuffs should be implemented with proper and routine monitoring, even their residual concentrations are not exceeded over the MRL levels because of high frequent detection found in this study.

Thermosonication for the Production of Sulforaphane Rich Broccoli Ingredients

A large proportion of broccoli biomass is lost during primary production, distribution, processing, and consumption. This biomass is rich in polyphenols and glucosinolates and can be used for the production of bioactive rich ingredients for food and nutraceutical applications. This study evaluated thermosonication (TS) (18 kHz, 0.6 W/g, 40–60 °C, 3–7 min) for the pre-treatment of broccoli florets to enhance enzymatic conversion of glucoraphanin into the bioactive sulforaphane. TS significantly increased sulforaphane yield, despite a decrease in myrosinase activity with increasing treatment intensity. The highest sulforaphane yield of ~2.9 times that of untreated broccoli was observed for broccoli thermosonicated for 7 min at 60 °C, which was 15.8% higher than the corresponding yield for thermal processing without sonication (TP) at the same condition. This was accompanied by increase in the residual level of glucoraphanin (~1.8 and 2.3 time respectively after TP and TS at 60 °C for 7 min compared to control samples) indicating that treatment-induced release of bound glucoraphanin from the cell wall matrix and improved accessibility could be at least partially responsible for the enhanced sulforaphane yield. The result indicates the potential of TS for the conversion of broccoli biomass into high sulforaphane broccoli-based ingredients.

Growth and Yield of Corn, Carrot and Onion Treated With Rock Phosphate Organic Fertilizer Grown in Standoff Soil Southern Alberta, Canada

An experiment was performed in Standoff, Southern Alberta to investigate resource cheap rock phosphate organic fertilizer application to corn, carrot and onion plots. The objective of the study was to ascertain effectiveness of rock phosphate organic fertilizer to support growth and yield of corn, carrot and onion crops grown in Southern Alberta. The varying levels of rock phosphate at 50 P kg/ha for Low P, 100 P kg/ha for High P and control were applied to corn, carrot and onion plots. These treatments were replicated three times, resulting into nine plants per crop. Agronomical parameters collected were subjected to analysis of variance using Duncan Multiple Range Test for separation of means. Result of the experiment indicated that Low P and High P favoured corn height and number of leaves but did not support other parameters measured due to inadequate rock phosphate applied. It was observed that rock phosphate influenced residual level of P after harvest of corn, carrot and onion. Onion plots had the highest P left in the soil than corn and carrot plots. This studies showed potential of rock phosphate in crop production, if apply in adequate amount and availability of soil moisture, as well as high residual P in the soil after harvest.

Monitoring of serum levels of infliximab and anti-infliximab antibodies and its role in optimizing therapy of inflammatory bowel disease in children

Objective. To evaluate the prognostic value of serum levels of infliximab (IFX) and anti-IFX antibodies for predicting treatment efficacy in children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Patients and methods. This study included 123 children with IBD (65 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and 58 patients with Crohn's disease (CD)) aged between 3 and 18 years. Children were examined upon the completion of an induction course of therapy and then after 1 year of therapy and between 1 and 3 years of treatment. The induction course was administered according to the scheme of 0–2–6 weeks; maintenance therapy was administered with 6-week and 8-week intervals. The residual level of IFX and the level of anti-IFX antibodies in serum were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results. We observed a significant increase in the IFX level during clinical remission of CD (remission – 5.21 [3.32; 7.43] μg/mL; exacerbation – 2.42 [0.42; 4.51] μg/mL, p = 0.001) and UC (remission – 4.57 [3.4; 6.74] μg/mL; exacerbation – 0.63 [0.4; 3.27] μg/mL, p = 0.000). ROC analysis demonstrated high accuracy of our model based on measuring residual IFX level for distinguishing between exacerbation and remission in both CD patients (AUC = 0.812) and UC patients (AUC = 0.851). The optimal minimum level of IFX for maintaining clinical remission was 3.7 μg/mL in children with CD and 3.4 μg/mL in children with UC. Anti-IFX antibodies were detected in 18% of patients; children with exacerbation were 4.7 times more likely to have detectable level of anti-IFX antibodies than those in clinical remission. Conclusion. Monitoring of serum levels of IFX and anti-IFX antibodies is a promising method for predicting treatment efficacy and its optimization in children with IBD. Key words: inflammatory bowel disease, tumor necrosis factor-α, infliximab, residual level of infliximab, anti-infliximab antibodies

Equivalent approaches to dealing with unobserved heterogeneity in cross-lagged panel models?

Panel models in structural equation modeling that combine static and dynamic components for investigating reciprocal relations while controlling for time-invariant unobserved heterogeneity are becoming increasingly popular. Recently, the Latent Curve Model with Structured Residuals and the Random-Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model were suggested as ‘residual-level’ versions of the more traditional Autoregressive Latent Trajectory and Dynamic Panel Models, respectively. Their main benefit is that they allow for a more straightforward interpretation of the trajectory factors. It is not widely known, however, that the residual-level models place potentially strong assumptions on the initial conditions, i.e., the process that was occurring before the observation period began. If the process under investigation is nonstationary (e.g., growing exponentially), has not been going on for long enough to reach equilibrium, or has been ‘knocked’ out of equilibrium, potentially due to an intervention, then the residual-level models are not appropriate. This is shown analytically and with demonstrations using real data. A simple amendment is suggested to relax the assumptions on the initial conditions while retaining the models’ beneficial aspects.

The level of residue of pesticides in vegetables by GC-MS, health risk and the negligence in implementation of policies, India

Background: Over the past years there has been an increase in the use of pesticides in vegetable farming developing countries. This study describes over spraying pesticide use among small-scale farmers in Jasra block of Allahabad district of Uttar Pradesh.Methods: The purpose of this study was proposed to determine the pesticide residual level in 120 vegetable samples like brinjal, lady finger, tomato, chili, cabbage analysed by (GC-MS) gas chromatography mass spectrophotometry technique. Assessing the health risk due to the daily consumption of contaminated vegetables Jasra block of Allahabad district.Results: Samples were contaminated with organophosphorus group namely chlorpyriphos in bringal 1.215 mg/kg, and less carbamate (carbaryl) from 0.025 mg/kg, ladyfinger with the concentration of chlorpyriphos 0.418 mg/kg carbaryl 0.092 with very less residue of dichlorvos 0.005, green chilli with the concentration of chloropyriphos 1.507 mg/kg. Carbaryl 0.033 mg/kg, tomato with the concentration of chlorpyriphos 1.631mg/kg followed by less carbaryl 0.026 mg/kg, malathione, 1.890 mg/kg followed by cabbage with the concentration of chlorphyriphos 1.907 mg/kg. And less carbaryl concentration was recorded 0.064 mg/kg.Conclusions: Five vegetable with pesticides residues, exceeding the maximum residue level (MRL) recommended by FSSAI, FAO/WHO. Farmers over spraying methods leads to acute diseases like respiratory tract infection, extreme weakness, and longer use pesticides exposure leads to chronic diseases like asthma, anxiety, depression, cancer, leukemia, allergies, nausea, vomiting, headache, blur vision, skin itching etc.to minimize the risk of diseases policy making and farmer protection standard and proper handling techniques, trained professionals to improve health safety.