Migration of Styrene in Yogurt and Dairy Products Packaged in Polystyrene: Results from Market Samples.

The European Food Safety Authority is re-evaluating styrene for assessing the safety of food contact materials (FCM) such as polystyrene (PS) and started a systematic review of the data on migration levels in food. A restriction for styrene is expected in the near future. The main food contact application of PS is dairy packaging, mainly at refrigerated storage.

Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor/Tropomyosin Receptor Kinase B Signaling Controls Excitability and Long-Term Depression in Oval Nucleus of the BNST.

Dysregulation of proteins involved in synaptic plasticity is associated with pathologies in the CNS, including psychiatric disorders. The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), a brain region of the extended amygdala circuit, has been identified as the critical hub responsible for fear responses related to stress coping and pathologic systems states. Here, we report that one particular nucleus, the oval nucleus of the BNST (ovBNST), is rich in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB) receptor.

On the objectivity, reliability, and validity of deep learning enabled bioimage analyses.

Bioimage analysis of fluorescent labels is widely used in the life sciences. Recent advances in deep learning (DL) allow automating time-consuming manual image analysis processes based on annotated training data. However, manual annotation of fluorescent features with a low signal-to-noise ratio is somewhat subjective.

Evidence for impaired extinction learning in humans after distal stress exposure.

Stressful or traumatic events can be risk factors for anxiety or trauma- and stressor-related disorders. In this regard, it has been shown that stress affects aversive learning and memory processes. In rodents, stress exposure 10 days prior to fear acquisition impairs fear extinction.

Siloxane in baking moulds, emission to indoor air and migration to food during baking with an electric oven.

Linear and cyclic volatile methylsiloxanes (l-VMS and c-VMS) are man-made chemicals with no natural source. They have been widely used in cosmetics, personal care products, coatings and many other products. As a consequence of their wide use, VMS can be found in different environmental media, as well as in humans.

Rapid identification of polystyrene foam wastes containing hexabromocyclododecane or its alternative polymeric brominated flame retardant by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy.

The brominated flame retardant hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD) was added to Annex A of the list of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) of the Stockholm Convention. Thus, production and use of HBCDD will be banned, and the recycling of HBCDD-containing foam waste will be restricted. In reaction a special polymeric brominated flame retardant (PolyFR) was developed to replace HBCDD in expanded and extruded polystyrene foams for building and construction applications.

Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances in consumer products.

Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are used in a wide range of products of all day life. Due to their toxicological potential, an emerging focus is directed towards their exposure to humans. This study investigated the PFAS load of consumer products in a broad perspective.

Impact of industrial production and packaging processes on the concentration of per- and polyfluorinated compounds in milk and dairy products.

Perfluorinated alkylated compounds (PFAA) have been identified in milk and dairy products at sub ppb levels, however, knowledge on the impact of industrial milk processing on PFAA levels is rare. This study examined industrial milk processing first by analytical screening of products of a cooperating dairy, which varied in kind and number of processing steps. Second, amounts of PFAA in raw milk, cream, skim milk, butter milk, and butter were mass balanced in industrial production.

Detection of fluorotelomer alcohols in indoor environments and their relevance for human exposure.

Fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOH) are important precursors of perfluorinated carboxylic acids (PFCA). These neutral and volatile compounds are frequently found in indoor air and may contribute to the overall human exposure to per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS). In this study air samples of ten workplace environments and a car interior were analysed.