Species identification of botanical products is a crucial aspect of research and regulatory compliance; however, botanical classification can be difficult, especially for morphologically similar species with overlapping genetic and metabolomic markers, like those in the genus Ocimum. Untargeted LC-MS metabolomics coupled with multivariate predictive modeling provides a potential avenue for improving herbal identity investigations, but the current dearth of reference materials for many botanicals limits the applicability of these approaches. This study investigated the potential of using greenhouse-grown authentic Ocimum to build predictive models for classifying commercially available Ocimum products.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA variety of techniques have been developed to extract hemp phytochemicals for research and consumption. Some of the most common processes in the industry include supercritical CO extraction, hydrodistillation, and solvent-based (ethanol) extractions. Each of these processes has the potential to differentially extract various phytochemicals, which would impact their efficacy, tolerability, and safety.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDeployment of ultracold atom interferometers (AI) into space will capitalize on quantum advantages and the extended freefall of persistent microgravity to provide high-precision measurement capabilities for gravitational, Earth, and planetary sciences, and to enable searches for subtle forces signifying physics beyond General Relativity and the Standard Model. NASA's Cold Atom Lab (CAL) operates onboard the International Space Station as a multi-user facility for fundamental studies of ultracold atoms and to mature space-based quantum technologies. We report on pathfinding experiments utilizing ultracold Rb atoms in the CAL AI.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChemical pesticides help reduce crop loss during production and storage. However, the carbon footprints and ecological costs associated with this strategy are unsustainable. Here, we used three in vitro models to characterize how different species interact with two aflatoxin producers, and , to help develop a climate-resilient biological control strategy against aflatoxigenic species.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEthnopharmacological Relevance: African wormwood (Artemisia afra Jacq. ex Willd.) has been used traditionally in southern Africa to treat illnesses causing fever and was recently shown to possess anti-tuberculosis activity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: A substantial proportion of patients undergoing hemodialysis carry in their noses, and carriers are at increased risk of bloodstream infections. Our pragmatic clinical trial implemented nasal povidone-iodine (PVI) decolonization for the prevention of bloodstream infections in the novel setting of hemodialysis units.
Objective: We aimed to identify pragmatic strategies for implementing PVI decolonization among patients in outpatient hemodialysis units.
There is a growing interest in the use of medicinal plants to treat a variety of diseases, and one of the most commonly used medicinal plants globally is The two most abundant cannabinoids (Δ-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol) have been governmentally approved to treat selected medical conditions; however, the plant produces over 100 cannabinoids, including cannabichromene (CBC). Although the cannabinoids share a common precursor molecule, cannabigerol, they are structurally and pharmacologically unique. These differences may engender differing therapeutic potentials.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIncreases in botanical use, encompassing herbal medicines and dietary supplements, have underlined a critical need for an advancement in safety assessment methodologies. However, botanicals present unique challenges for safety assessment due to their complex and variable composition arising from diverse growing conditions, processing methods, and plant varieties. Historically, botanicals have been largely evaluated based on their history of use information, based primarily on traditional use or dietary history.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhys Rev Lett
February 2024
American ginseng, a highly valuable crop in North America, is susceptible to various diseases caused by fungal pathogens, including spp., spp., and spp.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe capability to reach ultracold atomic temperatures in compact instruments has recently been extended into space. Ultracold temperatures amplify quantum effects, whereas free fall allows further cooling and longer interactions time with gravity-the final force without a quantum description. On Earth, these devices have produced macroscopic quantum phenomena such as Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs), superfluidity, and strongly interacting quantum gases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: We measured contact patterns using social contact diaries for 157 U.S. long-term care facility employees from December 2020 - June 2021.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTuberculosis, caused by (Mtb), is a deadly and debilitating disease globally affecting millions annually. Emerging drug-resistant Mtb strains endanger the efficacy of the current combination therapies employed to treat tuberculosis; therefore, there is an urgent need to develop novel drugs to combat this disease. is used traditionally in southern Africa to treat malaria and recently has shown anti tuberculosis activity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDiet-derived aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) ligands have potential to maintain gut health. However, among the myriad bioactive compounds from foods, identifying novel functional ligands which would significantly impact gastrointestinal health is a challenge. In this study, a novel AHR modulator is predicted, identified, and characterized in the white button mushroom ().
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Selection of marker compounds for targeted chemical analysis is complicated when considering varying instrumentation and closely related plant species. High-resolution gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), via orbitrap detection, has yet to be evaluated for improved marker compound selection.
Objective: This study directly compares high- and low-resolution GC-MS for botanical maker compound selection using Ocimum tenuiflorum L.
Mass spectrometry metabolomics has become increasingly popular as an integral aspect of studies to identify active compounds from natural product mixtures. Classical metabolomics data analysis approaches do not consider the possibility that interactions (such as synergy) could occur between mixture components. With this study, we developed "interaction metabolomics" to overcome this limitation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCannabis is a complex biosynthetic plant, with a long history of medicinal use. While cannabinoids have received the majority of the attention for their psychoactive and pharmacological activities, cannabis produces a diverse array of phytochemicals, such as terpenes. These compounds are known to play a role in the aroma and flavor of cannabis but are potent biologically active molecules that exert effects on infectious as well as chronic diseases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAntimicrob Steward Healthc Epidemiol
October 2021
Objectives: To estimate prior severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection among skilled nursing facility (SNF) staff in the state of Georgia and to identify risk factors for seropositivity as of fall 2020.
Design: Baseline survey and seroprevalence of the ongoing longitudinal Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) Prevention in Nursing Homes study.
Setting: The study included 14 SNFs in the state of Georgia.
Objective: The objective of this review is to develop a definition of biofortification through the synthesis of food biofortification publications and to document the breadth of the research on this topic.
Introduction: Biofortification of a food source is a human health intervention. Due to the varying definitions of this concept, biofortification can be difficult to describe.
Radioactive contamination of the Pacific Ocean following the Fukushima nuclear accident has raised public concern about seafood safety, particularly in coastal Indigenous communities. To address this, Health Canada and partners have collected and analyzed a total of 621 samples of commonly consumed salmon, ground fish, and shellfish from the Canadian west coast from 2011 to 2018. While the vast majority of the Cs and Cs levels were below the Minimum Detectable Concentration (MDC, typically 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Estimate incidence of and risks for SARS-CoV-2 infection among nursing home staff in the state of Georgia during the 2020-2021 Winter COVID-19 Surge in the United States.
Design: Serial survey and serologic testing at 2 time points with 3-month interval exposure assessment.
Setting And Participants: Fourteen nursing homes in the state of Georgia; 203 contracted or employed staff members from those 14 participating nursing homes who were seronegative at the first time point and provided a serology specimen at second time point, at which time they reported no COVID-19 vaccination or only very recent vaccination (≤4 weeks).