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The safety level and impacts of bioaccumulation of Cd, Hg and Pb various fish samples were determined in the present study. The accurate determination of the concentration of metals in fish samples is necessary due to the health risks associated with the bioaccumulation of heavy metals in the human system through the ingestion of contaminated fish samples. AAS analysis was employed after microwave-assisted wet acid digestion. The results showed that frozen tuna has the highest concentration of mercury (157.09 ± 23.04 µg/kg), that is in line with the pattern of heavy metal accumulation of in fishes. Non-predatory fish samples, including bata (0.87 ± 0.01 µg/kg) and chapil (0.06 ± 0.01 µg/kg), had lower mercury levels. In all samples, the amount of Pb was lower than the level of Hg. Merluccius pacifia had the highest concentration of Pb (27.08 ± 0.00 µg/kg), whereas salmon (1.33 ± 0.15 µg/kg) and and basa fillets (1.51 ± 0.72 µg/kg) had the lowest concentrations of Pg. Cadmium was found to absent in all the fish samples examined. The results of the present study showed that environmental exposure and proximity to industrial effluents have impacts on the bioaccumulation of heavy metals. It was also observed that removing organs that have the potential to bioaccumulate heavy metals is one way to prevent heavy metal contamination, through appropriate handling and preparation techniques. The concentration of Pb and Hg were found below the EU limit. Mercluccius pacifica had the highest THQ for Pb (1.4), whereas tuna had the highest THQ for Hg (84.82). THQ greater than 1 for Hg was surpassed by more than 10 species, suggesting a health risk.

Living organisms require specific levels of heavy metals. However, excessive exposure to heavy metals, which accumulate in plants over time, can damage cells and organs. Due to these harmful effects, heavy metal toxicity has become a significant concern. In this context, as part of the development of mango mistletoe leaf herbal products, this study aims to measure the concentrations of Pb, Cu, Fe, Zn, and Cr in mango mistletoe leaf extracts using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS). This technique detects heavy metals based on their unique absorption of electromagnetic radiation at specific wavelengths. To conduct this analysis, samples were prepared by wet destruction with HNO 3 and HCl (1:3), followed by digestion at 150°C to isolate the atoms. The results showed average concentrations of Pb (0.615 ± 0.045 mg/kg), Cu (0.168 ± 0.007 mg/kg), Fe (0.492 ± 0.063 mg/kg), Zn (0.243 ± 0.010 mg/kg), and Cr (0.156 ± 0.011 mg/kg). Notably, the highest average was for Pb (0.615 ± 0.045 mg/kg), followed by Fe (0.492 ± 0.063 mg/kg) and then Zn (0.243 ± 0.010 mg/kg). In conclusion, the herbal tea made from mistletoe leaves remains within the safety limits set by the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency.

This study aimed to assess the concentrations of cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni) and lead (Pb) in the tissues of fish collected from the lower reach of the Kelantan River, Malaysia. Fishes were collected using gill nets during the dry and wet seasons. A total of 78 individual fish were caught and comprised 6 families, 11 genera and 13 species. The dorsal muscle was analysed using a graphite furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (AAS). The mean concentration of Cd in Chitala chitala (0.076 mg/kg) was above the critical limit values of the European Commission (EC), World Health Organization (WHO) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The mean concentrations of Cd in Barbonymus gonionatus and Tachysurus maculatus were already at the level of concern, whereas the other species were approaching the limits of permissible levels. No fish samples were found to have a Ni level higher than the permissible limit of 0.5-0.6 mg/kg set by the WHO (1985). Osteochilus hasseltii (0.169 mg/kg) and T. maculatus (0.156 mg/kg) showed high Pb concentrations. The concentrations of heavy metals were found to be elevated in the wet season (p<0.05). Omnivorous fish were detected with elevated concentrations of Cd and Ni, whereas carnivorous fish had the highest concentration of Pb. The concentrations of Cd and Pb in fish tissues were positively correlated with fish weight (p<0.05). This study determined that the fish species caught in the Kelantan River were contaminated with non-essential metals (Cd, Ni and Pb). Nevertheless, the heavy metal concentration in the fish tissues, with the exception of C. chitala, O. hasseltii and T. maculatus, did not exceed the EC, FAO, Malaysian Food Act (MFA) or WHO guidelines.

Metabolic reprogramming has been widely recognized as a hallmark of malignancy. The uptake and metabolism of amino acids are aberrantly upregulated in many cancers that display addiction to particular amino acids. Amino acids facilitate the survival and proliferation of cancer cells under genotoxic, oxidative, and nutritional stress. Thus, targeting amino acid metabolism is becoming a potential therapeutic strategy for cancer patients. In this review, we will systematically summarize the recent progress of amino acid metabolism in malignancy and discuss their interconnection with mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) signaling, epigenetic modification, tumor growth and immunity, and ferroptosis. Finally, we will highlight the potential therapeutic applications.

A facile, selective and sensitive method was devised for the Fe3+ quantification in low volume samples, such as bovine serum based on suspended droplet microextraction (SDME). Various process parameters such as concentrations of acid (1.5% hydrochloric acid), complexing agent (0.7% ammonium thiocyanate), quaternary ammonium salt (0.2% Aliquat 336) and extracting solvent (500 µL octanol) were optimised. Ammonium thiocyanate forms water soluble, red coloured, anionic ferric thiocyanate complex [Fe(SCN)6]3− with Fe3+ ions released from the iron–protein complex under an acidic medium. Negatively charged [Fe(SCN)6]3− complex forms hydrophobic ion associate Fe(SCN)63−–Aliquat 33633+ with hydrophilic NH4+ head groups of Aliquat 336 and drives out the formed micelle from aqueous solution along with the iron complex. After stirring, ion associate bonded micelles are separated into a hanging micro droplet of octanol. Red coloured ferric thiocyanate complex in a suspended droplet is solubilised in methanol and Fe3+ concentration in serum samples is obtained by recording the spectrophotometric absorbance at 505 nm. The recoveries ranged from 96.2%–98.8% with relative standard deviation (RSD) (%) values from 1.4% to 5.0% at 100–400 ng/mL confirming interference free quantification at optimised conditions. The developed method was linear over the range of 20–1000 ng/mL of Fe3+ with a limit of detection of 2.4 ng/mL for the serum matrix. The developed method is applied to various bovine serum samples and Fe3+ concentration values ranged from 62.7 to 1582.5 ng/mL. The obtained values were in accordance with the results obtained from the electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry at 99% confidence level using t‐test indicating the accuracy of the developed method. The proposed procedure offers various advantages such as enhanced sensitivity of the spectrophotometer towards iron determination, low‐cost complexing agent, low sample volume, metal and biological interference free, simplicity and selectivity. Thus, the developed method can be an alternative to the routine spectrophotometric analysis of low volume samples such as serum and other biological fluids.

Honey is both a complex food and medicine as well as a healthy alternative to refined sugar. Besides a complex mixture of carbohydrates, honey contains other minor substances which may threaten human health in excess concentrations. Several environmental conditions can affect the quality of honey. This research paper aims to measure the degree of heavy metals (Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd), Zinc (Zn), and Copper (Cu)) in some polyfloral honey from an industrial area of Romania, considered to be one of the most polluted regions in Eastern Europe. The samples were collected from six stationary apiaries and analysed using the atomic absorption spectrometry method. The content of Pb was higher in the sampling areas exposed directly to the polluted air masses. Cd concentration decreases exponentially while Cu concentration increases as the distance from the source of pollution increases. The checking of the quality of polyfloral honey from local producers is imperative because this product is intended to be consumed by the beekeeper’s family or the local community without being sold to an authorised processor. The results of the study can help to set a threshold for the concentration of Pb and Cd in honey marketed in the European Union.

The use of open-source software is crucial for the digitalization of manufacturing, including the implementation of Digital Twins as envisioned in Industry 4.0. This research paper provides a comprehensive comparison of free and open-source implementations of the reactive Asset Administration Shell (AAS) for creating Digital Twins. A structured search on GitHub and Google Scholar was conducted, leading to the selection of four implementations for detailed analysis. Objective evaluation criteria were defined, and a testing framework was created to test support for the most common AAS model elements and API calls. The results show that all implementations support at least a minimal set of required features while none implement the specification in all details, which highlights the challenges of implementing the AAS specification and the incompatibility between different implementations. This paper is therefore the first attempt at a comprehensive comparison of AAS implementations and identifies potential areas for improvement in future implementations. It also provides valuable insights for software developers and researchers in the field of AAS-based Digital Twins.

This research investigates the migration of metals from stainless steel containers used for patient food in hospitals. The study evaluates the risk associated with metal migration from stainless steel containers sourced from four hospitals in Bangkok: A, B, C and D hospitals, including both new and previously unused containers. Experiments were conducted at 25°C and 70°C, revealing average migration levels of 0.0532 ± 0.0196 mg/cm2 and 0.0949 ± 0.0131 mg/cm2, respectively. Specific migration of iron (Fe), nickel (Ni), and chromium (Cr) was measured using Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (GF – AAS). At 25°C, the average migration levels were 4.2704 ± 0.3662 μg/cm2 for Fe, 2.0649 ± 3.0914 μg/cm2 for Ni, and 0.0065 ± 0.0153 μg/cm2 for Cr. At 70°C, these levels were 3.9714 ± 0.6777 μg/cm2 for Fe, 1.8815 ± 1.9336 μg/cm2 for Ni, and 0.0038 ± 0.0018 μg/cm2 for Cr. For the unused stainless steel containers, the migration levels were significantly lower (p<0.05). Based on the standards set by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), the metal migration levels observed in this study are within safe limits, ensuring the safety of stainless steel containers for food use.

Even as artificial agents (AAs) become more prevalent in service encounters, customers continue to express generally unfavorable views of their creativity, which can lead to negative service evaluations. Drawing on anthropomorphism and group stereotyping literature, the authors propose a trait transference effect from human employees to AAs in dyadic service teams. The results of five studies confirm that an anthropomorphized (vs. nonanthropomorphized) AA paired with a creative employee boosts service evaluations, both attitudinal and behavioral. Anthropomorphism induces greater perceived entitativity of the AA–employee dyad, prompting customers to transfer the creativity exhibited by the employee to the AA and perceive the AA as more creative. This transference effect is attenuated when the temporal stability of the dyad is low, customers’ lay beliefs about group entitativity are challenged, or customers have utilitarian consumption goals. These results contribute novel insights about AAs in service teams, with compelling practical implications.

Industry 4.0 supports the vision of networked machines in decentralized production plants across the value chain. Hence, it requires highly connected partners exchanging relevant data about products, processes, and production resources. This paper proposes the usage of data spaces and digital twins to enable this Industry 4.0 vision and investigates the building blocks to realize a data space for Industry 4.0, e.g., the integration of digital twins inside the data space based upon the latest specification of the Industry 4.0 Asset Administration Shell. A prototypical implementation shows the feasibility of storing product carbon footprints inside a digital twin and sharing it over a data space with other partners.