Identification and Characterization of mRNA Biomarkers for Sodium Cyanide Exposure

Biomarkers in exposure assessment are defined as the quantifiable targets that indicate the exposure to hazardous chemicals and their resulting health effect. In this study, we aimed to identify, validate, and characterize the mRNA biomarker that can detect the exposure of sodium cyanide. To identify reliable biomarkers for sodium cyanide exposure, critical criteria were defined for candidate selection: (1) the expression level of mRNA significantly changes in response to sodium thiocyanate treatment in transcriptomics results (fold change > 2.0 or <0.50, adjusted p-value < 0.05); and (2) the mRNA level is significantly modulated by sodium cyanide exposure in both normal human lung cells and rat lung tissue. We identified the following mRNA biomarker candidates: ADCY5, ANGPTL4, CCNG2, CD9, COL1A2, DACT3, GGCX, GRB14, H1F0, HSPA1A, MAF, MAT2A, PPP1R10, and PPP4C. The expression levels of these candidates were commonly downregulated by sodium cyanide exposure both in vitro and in vivo. We functionally characterized the biomarkers and established the impact of sodium cyanide on transcriptomic profiles using in silico approaches. Our results suggest that the biomarkers may contribute to the regulation and degradation of the extracellular matrix, leading to a negative effect on surrounding lung cells.

Evaluation of Lactose Oxidase as an Enzyme-Based Antimicrobial for Control of L. monocytogenes in Fresh Cheese

Listeria monocytogenes is a ubiquitous pathogen that can cause morbidity and mortality in the elderly, immune compromised, and the fetuses of pregnant women. The intrinsic properties of fresh cheese—high water activity (aW), low salt content, and near-neutral pH—make it susceptible to L. monocytogenes contamination and growth at various points in the production process. The aim of this study was to investigate the ability of lactose oxidase (LO), a naturally derived enzyme, to inhibit the growth of L. monocytogenes in fresh cheese during various points of the production process. Lab-scale queso fresco was produced and inoculated with L. monocytogenes at final concentrations of 1 log CFU/mL and 1 CFU/100 mL. LO and LO sodium thiocyanate (TCN) combinations were incorporated into the milk or topically applied to the finished cheese product in varying concentration levels. A positive control and negative control were included for all experiments. When L. monocytogenes was inoculated into the milk used for the cheese-making process, by day 28, the positive control grew to above 7 log CFU/g, while the 0.6 g/L treatment (LO and LO + TCN) fell below the limit of detection (LOD) of 1.3 log CFU/g. In the lower inoculum, the positive control grew to above 7 log CFU/g, and the treatment groups fell below the LOD by day 21 and continued through day 28 of storage. For surface application, outgrowth occurred with the treatments in the higher inoculum, but some inhibition was observed. In the lower inoculum, the higher LO and LO-TCN concentrations (0.6 g/L) reduced L. monocytogenes counts to below the LOD, while the control grew out to above 7 log CFU/g, which is a >5 log difference between the control and the treatment. These results suggest that LO could be leveraged as an effective control for L. monocytogenes in a fresh cheese.

A Brief Review of Fly-ash Based Geopolymer Concrete

Geopolymer concrete can be the future of the conventional concrete and it can be used as replacement agent instead of conventional concrete in construction work along with that the GPC is eco friendly in nature as it does not emits CO2 in atmosphere so it is helpful to reduce the Greenhouse effect. The material used for the manufacturing of GPC are Binder’s and Actuators. Birder’s are obtained from the thermal power plant also known as fly ash and actuator consist of the sodium silicate and sodium hydroxide, calcium chloride, sodium thiocyanate, potassium thiocyanate, etc. By combing these acceleration and Binder’s with other concrete material the process of Geopolymeration starts. The objective of these study is to give a detailed review on the geopolymer concrete mix design, compressive behavior, flexural and split tensile behavior and chemical acid resistance when immersed in sopheric acid and nitric acid by using various research paper and the test result difference of conventional concrete and geopolymer concrete. Based on that a review is prepared.