Aptamer-Based Extraction of Ergot Alkaloids from Ergot Contaminated Rye Feed

Ergot alkaloids are mycotoxins which can be found in food based on cereal-crops, due to a contamination of plants by fungi of the genus Claviceps. The ingestion of ergot contaminated cereal crops can lead to a severe poisoning known as ergotism. For food and feed safety purposes, the extraction of ergot alkaloids from ergot contaminated flour was investigated. For the specific recognition of ergot alkaloids, DNA aptamer ligands specially selected for ergot alkaloids were grafted onto silica gel in order to construct a specific solid phase extraction system. The aptamer-functionalized silica gels were used to extract ergot alkaloids from a contaminated rye feed sample. The presence of ergot alkaloids eluted from the aptamer-functionalized silica gels was analyzed using LC-QTOF-MS. By using this simple system, it was possible to specifically extract ergosine, ergokryptine and ergocornine from an ergot contaminated rye feed sample. This aptamer-based extraction tool shows the applicability of aptamers for the specific extraction of toxins or natural compounds from turbid matrices in a one-step procedure.

Residential energy transition and chronic respiratory diseases

Obtaining clean energy is of prime importance for planetary health and sustainable development.We aimed to assess the association between residential energy transition and the risk of chronic respiratory diseases.Using data from the Global Health Observatory and Global Burden of Diseases,Injuries,and Risk Factors Study,we delineated the spatial distribution and temporal trends of the population using clean fuels for cooking at a global scale.In the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study,we performed rigorous and well-structured multistage analyses incorporating both cross-sectional and prospective data analyses to examine the associations between solid fuel use,residential energy transition,duration of solid fuel use,and the risk of chronic respiratory diseases.Despite great progress,huge disparities in access to clean energy persist globally.Residential energy transition was associated with a lower risk of chronic respiratory diseases.In the period of 2011–2013,compared with persistent solid fuel users,both participants who switched from solid to clean fuels(adjusted risk ratio[RR]0.78,95%confidence interval[CI]0.62–0.98)and persistent clean fuel users(adjusted RR 0.71,95%CI 0.57–0.89)had significantly lower risk of chronic respiratory diseases(p<0.001 for trend).Consistent associations were observed in the period of 2011–2015 and 2011–2018.Household energy transition from solid to clean fuels could reduce the risk of chronic respiratory diseases.This is a valuable lesson for policy-makers and the general public to accelerate energy switching to alleviate the burden of chronic respiratory diseases and achieve health benefits,particularly in low-and middle-income countries.

Development of an analytical method based on solid-phase extraction and LC-MS/MS for the monitoring of current-use pesticides and their metabolites in human urine

Pyrethroids,organophosphorus pesticides and fipronil have been listed as priority chemicals in human biomonitoring studies because of their wide use and potential health effects in humans.The determination of 13 pesticides,including pyrethroids(deltamethrin,cypermethrin,permethrin,cyfluthrin,bifenthrin),organophosphorus(chlorpyrifos,chlorpyrifosmethyl,and malathion),fipronil,neonicotinoids(imidacloprid,acetamiprid and thiacloprid)and triazole(prothioconazole),together with 13 corresponding metabolites in human urine samples was achieved by solid-phase extraction and analysis by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry.All targeted compounds,except malathion dicarboxylic acid,were measured with a mean within-accuracy(n=5)of 71%–114%(RSD:1%–14%)and between-run(n=15)accuracy of 80%–118%(RSD:2%–14%).Limits of quantitation of the targeted analytes ranged from 0.1 to 16 pg/m L.The detection result of urine samples from 25 volunteers indicated that the detection frequencies of 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol(median:448 pg/m L),6-chloropyridine-3-carboxylic acid(median:193 pg/m L),2-methyl-3-phenylbenzoic acid(median:181 pg/m L),3-phenoxybenzoic acid(median:99 pg/m L),2-isopropyl-6-methyl-4-pyrimidinol(median:77 pg/m L),cyfluthrin(median:59 pg/m L),cis-3-(2,2-dichlorovinyl)-2,2-dimethylcyclopropanecarboxylic acid(cis-DCCA,median:53 pg/m L),trans-DCCA(median:25 pg/m L),prothioconazole(median:21 pg/m L),imidacloprid(median:7 pg/m L),and prothioconazole-desthio(median:1 pg/m L)were>50%.The obtained results show that the validated method is suitable for the human biomonitoring of these currentuse pesticides and their metabolites.

Occurrence of emerging flame retardants from e-waste recycling activities in the northern part of Vietnam

This study investigated the contamination status of 21 emerging flame retardants(FRs)in soils(n=32)and river sediments(n=8)from an e-waste recycling(EWR)site in the northern part of Vietnam.Among analyzed FRs,higher levels of decabromodiphenyl ethane(DBDPE)(NDe4200 ng/g dw),1,2-bis-(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy)ethane(BTBPE)(NDe350 ng/g dw)and Dechlorane Plus isomers(DPs)(NDe65 ng/g dw)were found in soils near EWR workshops and open burning places.The highest concentrations of DBDPE(20 ng/g dw),BTBPE(5.7 ng/g dw)and DPs(6.7 ng/g dw)were also detected in sediments collected from the middle of the EWR site.The levels decreased concomitantly with increasing distance from the EWR site.These results indicate that these FRs were released to the surrounding environment from improper recycling activities,such as manual dismantling of devices and open burning of e-wastes.Moreover,the estimated daily intakes of those FRs via soil ingestion were approximately ten times higher for children than adults.To our knowledge,this is a first comprehensive study on characterization of soil and sediment contamination by a series of emerging FRs at an EWR site in Vietnam.

Monitoring the levels of brominated and organophosphate flame retardants in passenger cars:Utilisation of car air filters as active samplers

Filters in residential and office air conditioning(A/C)systems have been used as sampling devices for monitoring different pollutants.However,cabin air filters(CAFs)in the A/C system of passenger cars have not been utilised for this purpose.In this study,we collected22 used CAFs from passenger cars in Hanoi,Vietnam to analyse for 8 polybrominated diphenyl ethers(PBDEs)and 10 organophosphate esters(OPEs).All the analytes were detected in more than 50%of samples with the exception of BDE153 and BDE154.The average concentrations of∑10OPEs and∑8 BDEs in the captured dust were 2600 and 40 ng/g,respectively with Tris(1-chloro-2-propyl)phosphate(TCIPP)and BDE209 as the dominant congener in OPE and BDE groups,respectively.CAFs are a potential tool to qualitatively assess the levels of semi-volatile chemicals in suspended dust in cars as a screening step for exposure assessment of those chemicals.

Sampling strategy for estimating human exposure pathways to consumer chemicals

Human exposure to consumer chemicals has become a worldwide concern.In this work,a comprehensive sampling strategy is presented,to our knowledge being the first to study all relevant exposure pathways in a single cohort using multiple methods for assessment of exposure from each exposure pathway.The selected groups of chemicals to be studied are consumer chemicals whose production and use are currently in a state of transition and are;per-and polyfluorinated alkyl substances(PFASs),traditional and“emerging”brominated flame retardants(BFRs and EBFRs),organophosphate esters(OPEs)and phthalate esters(PEs).Information about human exposure to these contaminants is needed due to existing data gaps on human exposure intakes from multiple exposure pathways and relationships between internal and external exposure.Indoor environment,food and biological samples were collected from 61 participants and their households in the Oslo area(Norway)on two consecutive days,during winter 2013-14.Air,dust,hand wipes,and duplicate diet(food and drink)samples were collected as indicators of external exposure,and blood,urine,blood spots,hair,nails and saliva as indicators of internal exposure.A food diary,food frequency questionnaire(FFQ)and indoor environment questionnaire were also implemented.Approximately 2000 samples were collected in total and participant views on their experiences of this campaign were collected via questionnaire.While 91%of our participants were positive about future participation in a similar project,some tasks were viewed as problematic.Completing the food diary and collection of duplicate food/drink portions were the tasksmost frequent reported as“hard”/“very hard”.Nevertheless,a strong positive correlation between the reported total mass of food/drinks in the food record and the total weight of the food/drinks in the collection bottles was observed,being an indication of accurate performance of the participants despite the challenges of the sampling campaign.