Assessment of Some Heavy Metals in Selected Cosmetics Commonly Sold in Katsina Markets and Their Human Health Risk

Cosmetic product protection is a serious concern because of the presence of heavy metals. Accumulation of these metals affect human body over a time. The study was aimed at assessing the levels of some toxic metals in different cosmetic products sold at different shops and markets in Katsina metropolis. The cosmetic items included nine face powder and nine lipsticks. The cosmetics were digested and analyzed for heavy metals (Ni, Cd, Cr and Pb) using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. Risk of this metals to the consumer was determine using systematic exposure dosage (SED), margin of safety (MoS), hazard quotient (HQ), hazard index (HI) and cancer risk (CR). The range of the concentration in face powder was 0.007-0.624±0.003-1.508 mg/kg. The concentration ranges in lipsticks was 0.012-0.036 ± 0.009-0.036 mg/kg. Lead has the highest concentration in face powder and chromium has the highest concentration range in lipstick, while cadmiun has the least concentration in both face powders and lipsticks. The concentration of all the heavy metals are below permissible limit. The Margin of Safety (MoS) values calculated for different metals were higher than the established safe standard by WHO except for Cr in face powders. The obtained SED values are much lower than PTDI. HQ values were within permissible limit indicating low risk of detrimental effect. HI value is greater than one in face powder and less than one in lipsticks. The carcinogenic risk (CR) estimated are within permissible limit except for Cd.

Evaluation of Self-Produced Phantom Usafulness for image Quality Control of Radiation Generator for Diagnosis

Background/Objectives: Quality control can improve the quality of medical care along with the stability of diagnostic X-ray generator. Regular quality control provides reliable quality control of the machine and maintains consistency of general imaging using radiation for efficient diagnosis. Methods/Statistical analysis: A phantom for quality control of diagnostic X-ray generator was produced using a 3D printer. Quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the phantom utility was conducted by modifying images acquired using S and D companies’ tools with Source to Image-Receptor Distance (SID) levels ranging between 130 cm and 180 cm. The evaluation indices were determined based on the analysis of field compliance, uniformity, low and high-contrast resolution, and linearity. Findings: The evaluation was conducted by acquiring and changing the radiographic image to SIDs between 130 cm and 180 cm using the indigenous phantom. The field compliance of S and D companies in terms of quantitative evaluation indices was both appropriate within ± 1% according to the SID change. To ensure a uniform SID 130 cm, the internal and external means of S company were 893 and 943, respectively, while those of the D company were 228.1 and 261.4, respectively. At an SID of 180 cm, the internal and external means of the S company were 928.1 and 958.4, respectively, while those of the D company were 257.2 and 299, respectively. A characteristic of the DR system was identified to ensure linearity, altered exposure dosage according to the step wedge height, and the difference in SI values according to the characteristics of the equipment and linearity. The qualitative evaluation indices were determined by identifying the size of the hole under high-contrast resolution up to 0.8㎜ and the bar size up to 1.6 lp/㎜. The low contrast resolution was evaluated with a C-D pattern, and at SID 130 cm, the S company scored 124.6 points and the D company 116 points, and at 180 cm, the S company scored 111.4 and the D company 104.6 points. Improvements/Applications: The utility of the homegrown phantom in quality control was confirmed for each index. The medical institutions are required to introduce quality control regulations for general image examination using radiation. It is helpful to efficiently manage old equipment and improve public health and medical care by linking with the health insurance fee.

Risk of incident dementia in late-life depression treated with antidepressants: A nationwide population cohort study

Background: Antidepressants are frequently used to treat depression in patients with dementia. In addition, late-life depression is associated with the incidence of subsequent cognitive impairment or dementia. However, the association between exposure to antidepressants in late-life depression and the development of incident dementia remains understudied. Methods: Through a population-based retrospective cohort design, data were extracted from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Dataset of medical claims registered from 1998–2013. We collected data of individuals who had received a new diagnosis of depression between 2000 and 2007. We excluded those who received a diagnosis of depression and were given antidepressants before 2000 and those younger than 60 years. The primary outcome was the occurrence of incident dementia. The time from the prescription of antidepressants or the diagnosis of depression until the outcome or the end of 2013 was calculated as the time to event. A total of 563,918 cases were included and were divided into either antidepressant users or antidepressant nonusers. Cox proportional hazards models were used to calculate the hazard ratio and 95% confidence interval. Results: Exposure to antidepressants did not increase the risk of dementia in patients with late-life depression at either a low exposure dosage (hazard ratio: 1.06, 95% confidence interval: 0.91–1.23) or a high exposure dosage (hazard ratio: 1.07, 95% confidence interval: 0.95–1.20). To confirm the validity of our results, we performed a sensitivity analysis and subgroup analysis, and the post-hoc results were consistent with the main results. Conclusion: Antidepressants did not increase the risk of incident dementia in patients with late-life depression.

Identifying Metabolic Perturbations and Toxic Effects of Rac-Metalaxyl and Metalaxyl-M in Mice Using Integrative NMR and UPLC-MS/MS Based Metabolomics

Although metabolic perturbations are sensitive indicators for low-dose toxic effects, the metabolic mechanisms affected by rac-metalaxyl and metalaxyl-M in mammals from a metabolic profiling perspective remain unclear. In this study, the metabolic perturbations and toxic effects of rac-metalaxyl and metalaxyl-M in mice were carefully investigated using integrative nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) based metabolomics. Histopathology, NMR-based untargeted urine profile, multivariate pattern recognition, metabolite identification, pathway analysis, UPLC-MS/MS based targeted serum amino acids, and tryptophan pathway analysis were determined after rac-metalaxyl and metalaxyl-M exposure, individually. Histopathology indicated that metalaxyl-M induced greater hepatocellular inflammatory, necrosis, and vacuolation in mice than rac-metalaxyl at the same exposure dosage. The metabolic perturbations induced by rac-metalaxyl and metalaxyl-M were directly separated using partial least-squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). Furthermore, metabolite identification and pathway analysis indicated that rac-metalaxyl mainly induced ten urine metabolite changes and four pathway fluctuations. However, metalaxyl-M induced 19 urine metabolite changes and six pathway fluctuations. Serum amino acids and tryptophan pathway metabolite changes induced by rac-metalaxyl and metalaxyl-M were also different even at the same exposure level. Such results may provide specific insight into the metabolic perturbations and toxic effects of rac-metalaxyl and metalaxyl-M, and contribute to providing available data for health risk assessments of rac-metalaxyl and metalaxyl-M at a metabolomics level.

Effect of Citrus reticulata Blanco Essential Oil on Cryptolestes ferrugineus (Stephens) Adults

ABSTRACT The rusty grain beetle, Cryptolestes ferrugineus (Stephens), is a major insect pest of stored products worldwide. In an effort to manage populations of C. ferrugineus in stored grains, the essential oil from Citrus reticulata Blanco peel was prepared by the Soxhlet method with anhydrous diethyl ether, and its contact activity, repellent activity, and fumigant activity were investigated against C. ferrugineus adults. C. reticulata peel essential oil had potent contact, repellent, and fumigant activity against C. ferrugineus adults, with activity significantly increasing with increasing exposure dosage during the same exposure time. Percent repellency values achieved >80.0% after 60 h of exposure. For contact toxicity, the corrected mortality of C. ferrugineus adults reached >99.0% after 48 h of exposure at the dosage of 2.0 μL/cm2. For fumigant toxicity, the corrected mortality of C. ferrugineus adults reached 89.0 and 100.0% at the dosages of 40 and 80 μL/L of air, respectively. These results suggest that the C. reticulata peel essential oil has strong potential for managing populations of C. ferrugineus in practice.