Mitigation of Mycotoxin Content by a Single-Screw Extruder in Triticale ( Wittmack).

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of extrusion processing parameters-moisture content ( = 20 and 24%), feeding rate ( = 20 and 25 kg/h), and screw speed ( = 300, 390 and 480 RPM), on the content of deoxynivalenol (DON), 15-Acetyl Deoxynivalenol (15-AcDON), 3-Acetyl Deoxynivalenol (3-AcDON), HT-2 Toxin (HT-2), tentoxin (TEN) and alternariol monomethyl ether (AME), using a pilot single-screw extruder in whole-grain triticale flour. The temperature at the end plate of the extruder ranged between 97.6 and 141 °C, the absolute pressure was from 0.

Pharmacology, Signaling and Therapeutic Potential of Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor 5 Negative Allosteric Modulators.

Metabotropic glutamate receptors are a family of eight class C G protein-coupled receptors regulating higher order brain functions including cognition and motion. Metabotropic glutamate receptors have thus been heavily investigated as potential drug targets for treating neurological disorders. Drug discovery efforts directed toward metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 5 (mGlu) have been particularly fruitful, with a wealth of drug candidates and pharmacological tools identified.

Serum Hepatocyte Growth Factor Concentration Correlates with Albuminuria in Individuals with Optimal Blood Pressure and Untreated Arterial Hypertension.

Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a protective factor against acute renal injury and chronic renal fibrosis. A positive correlation between HGF and blood pressure (BP) has been established. This study aimed to determine the association between serum HGF concentration and albuminuria in subjects with optimal blood pressure (OBP) and untreated arterial hypertension (UAH), as well as its association with BP levels, serum glucose levels, and inflammatory markers.

Editorial of Special Issue "Current Trends in Chemistry Towards Biology".

One of the definitions of chemical biology is that it is a scientific discipline spanning the fields of chemistry, biology, and physics; it primarily involves the application of chemical techniques, tools, analyses, and often compounds (also known as chemical probes), which are produced through synthetic chemistry, in order to study and manipulate biological systems [...

Estimated Pulse Wave Velocity and All-Cause and Cardiovascular Mortality in the General Population.

Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV), acknowledged as a reliable proxy of arterial stiffness, is an independent predictor of cardiovascular (CV) events. Carotid-femoral PWV is considered the gold standard for the estimation of arterial stiffness. cfPWV is a demanding, time consuming and expensive method, and an estimated PWV (ePWV) has been suggested as an alternative method when cfPWV is not available.

Multifunctional roles of γ-enolase in the central nervous system: more than a neuronal marker.

Enolase, a multifunctional protein with diverse isoforms, has generally been recognized for its primary roles in glycolysis and gluconeogenesis. The shift in isoform expression from α-enolase to neuron-specific γ-enolase extends beyond its enzymatic role. Enolase is essential for neuronal survival, differentiation, and the maturation of neurons and glial cells in the central nervous system.

Climate Change and Mycotoxins Trends in Serbia and Croatia: A 15-Year Review.

This review examines the 15-year presence of mycotoxins in food from Serbia and Croatia to provide a comprehensive overview of trends. Encompassing the timeframe from 2009 to 2023, this study integrates data from both countries and investigates climate change patterns. The results from Serbia focus primarily on maize and milk and show a strong dependence of contamination on weather conditions.

Taboo language across the globe: A multi-lab study.

The use of taboo words represents one of the most common and arguably universal linguistic behaviors, fulfilling a wide range of psychological and social functions. However, in the scientific literature, taboo language is poorly characterized, and how it is realized in different languages and populations remains largely unexplored. Here we provide a database of taboo words, collected from different linguistic communities (Study 1, N = 1046), along with their speaker-centered semantic characterization (Study 2, N = 455 for each of six rating dimensions), covering 13 languages and 17 countries from all five permanently inhabited continents.

Compensational role between cathepsins.

Cathepsins, a family of lysosomal peptidases, play a crucial role in maintaining cellular homeostasis by regulating protein turnover and degradation as well as many specific regulatory actions that are important for proper cell function and human health. Alterations in the activity and expression of cathepsins have been observed in many diseases such as cancer, inflammation, neurodegenerative disorders, bone remodelling-related conditions and others. These changes are not exclusively harmful, but rather appear to be a compensatory response on the lack of one cathepsin in order to maintain tissue integrity.

Aflatoxins in maize, milk and dairy products from Serbia.

This study presents data on the occurrence of aflatoxins B1, B2, G1 and G2 in maize and aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) in milk and dairy products from Serbia in 2022. A total of 100 maize samples were analysed using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry, while 107 cow and goat milk, besides dairy products were tested with an ELISA method. Aflatoxins contaminated 78% of the maize samples, with aflatoxin B1 as the most prevalent aflatoxin, also at the highest determined level.

Critical view on antimicrobial, antibiofilm and cytotoxic activities of quinazolin-4(3)-one derived schiff bases and their Cu(II) complexes.

A series of nine 2,3-disubstituted-quinazolin-4(3)-one derived Schiff bases and their three Cu(II) complexes was prepared and tested for their antimicrobial activities against reference strains ATCC 29213 and ATCC 29212 and resistant clinical isolates of methicillin-resistant (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant (VRE). All the substances were tested against HRa ATCC 25177, DSM 44162 and ATCC 700084. While anti-enterococcal and antimycobacterial activities were insignificant, 3-[()-(2-hydroxy-5-nitrobenzylidene)amino]-2-(2-hydroxy-5-nitrophenyl)-2,3-dihydroquinazolin-4(1)-one () and its Cu(II) complex () demonstrated bacteriostatic antistaphylococcal activity.

Reduction of Toxins via the Extrusion Processing of Whole-Grain Red Sorghum Flour.

This study delved into the impact of two extrusion processing parameters-screw speed ( at 400, 600, 800 RPM) and material moisture content in the extruder barrel ( at 12, 15, 18%) at constant feed rate (50 kg/h)-on reducing the content of alternariol (AOH), alternariol monomethyl ether (AME), tenuazonic acid (TeA), and tentoxin (TEN) in whole-grain red sorghum flour. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography combined with a triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer (UPLC-MS/MS) was employed for the determination of toxin levels. The extruder die temperature fluctuated between 136 and 177 °C, with die pressures ranging from 0.

Different glycosylation profiles of cystatin F alter the cytotoxic potential of natural killer cells.

Cystatin F, a cysteine peptidase inhibitor, is a potent modulator of NK cytotoxicity. By inhibiting granule-mediated cytotoxicity pathway, cystatin F induces formation of non-functional NK cell stage, called split-anergy. We show that N-glycosylation determines the localization and cellular function of cystatin F.

Moniliformin Occurrence in Serbian Maize over Four Years: Understanding Weather-Dependent Variability.

Moniliformin (MON) represents one of the most widespread emerging mycotoxins, whose presence in food and feed can potentially cause harmful effects on the health of both the public and animals. In order to investigate MON occurrence, a total of four hundred (n = 400) samples of unprocessed maize were sampled from different regions (Bačka, Banat, and Srem) of Serbia during a period of four years (2018-2021) and were analyzed using a validated liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method. The influence of regional differences and variations from year to year in terms of weather conditions on the occurrence of MON was also assessed.

Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment of Contracting COVID-19 Derived from Measured and Simulated Aerosol Particle Transmission in Aircraft Cabins.

Background: SARS-CoV-2 can be effectively transmitted between individuals located in close proximity to each other for extended durations. Aircraft provide such conditions. Although high attack rates during flights were reported, little was known about the risk levels of aerosol transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in aircraft cabins.

Climate Change-A Global Threat Resulting in Increasing Mycotoxin Occurrence.

During the last decade, scientists have given increasingly frequent warnings about global warming, linking it to mycotoxin-producing moulds in various geographical regions across the world. In the future, more pronounced climate change could alter host resilience and host-pathogen interaction and have a significant impact on the development of toxicogenic moulds and the production of their secondary metabolites, known as mycotoxins. The current climate attracts attention and calls for novel diagnostic tools and notions about the biological features of agricultural cultivars and toxicogenic moulds.

AIRR community curation and standardised representation for immunoglobulin and T cell receptor germline sets.

Analysis of an individual's immunoglobulin or T cell receptor gene repertoire can provide important insights into immune function. High-quality analysis of adaptive immune receptor repertoire sequencing data depends upon accurate and relatively complete germline sets, but current sets are known to be incomplete. Established processes for the review and systematic naming of receptor germline genes and alleles require specific evidence and data types, but the discovery landscape is rapidly changing.

Cathepsin inhibitors nitroxoline and its derivatives inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection.

The severity of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and the recurring (re)emergence of viruses prompted the development of new therapeutic approaches that target viral and host factors crucial for viral infection. Among them, host peptidases cathepsins B and L have been described as essential enzymes during SARS-CoV-2 entry. In this study, we evaluated the effect of potent selective cathepsin inhibitors as antiviral agents.

8-Hydroxyquinolylnitrones as multifunctional ligands for the therapy of neurodegenerative diseases.

We describe the development of quinolylnitrones (QNs) as multifunctional ligands inhibiting cholinesterases (ChEs: acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase-hBChE) and monoamine oxidases (hMAO-A/B) for the therapy of neurodegenerative diseases. We identified QN , a simple, low molecular weight nitrone, that is readily synthesized from commercially available 8-hydroxyquinoline-2-carbaldehyde. Quinolylnitrone has no typical pharmacophoric element to suggest ChE or MAO inhibition, yet unexpectedly showed potent inhibition of hBChE (IC = 1.

Sequential therapy with supercharged NK cells with either chemotherapy drug cisplatin or anti-PD-1 antibody decreases the tumor size and significantly enhances the NK function in Hu-BLT mice.

Introduction And Methods: In this study we report that sequential treatment of supercharged NK (sNK) cells with either chemotherapeutic drugs or check-point inhibitors eliminate both poorly differentiated and well differentiated tumors in humanized-BLT mice.

Background And Results: sNK cells were found to be a unique population of activated NK cells with genetic, proteomic, and functional attributes that are very different from primary untreated or IL-2 treated NK cells. Furthermore, NK-supernatant differentiated or well-differentiated oral or pancreatic tumor cell lines are not susceptible to IL-2 activated primary NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity; however, they are greatly killed by the CDDP and paclitaxel in in-vitro assays.

Peptidases: Role and Function in Health and Disease.

Peptidases represent a large family of hydrolases present in all living organisms, which catalyze the degradation of peptide bonds in different biological processes.

Impact of Climate Changes on the Natural Prevalence of Mycotoxins in Maize Harvested in Serbia and Croatia.

Ongoing climate change may affect the susceptibility of plants to attacks by pathogenic, mostly mycotoxigenic fungi with a consequent increase in the presence of mycotoxins. fungi represent one of the most important producers of mycotoxins, and are also important pathogens of agricultural crops. Therefore, the main aim of the study was to estimate the impact of weather parameters on the natural occurrence of mycotoxins, such as deoxynivalenol (DON), fumonisins B and B (FUMs), zearalenone (ZEN), T-2, and HT-2 toxins (T-2/HT-2) in maize samples harvested from two neighboring countries, Serbia and Croatia, during a four-year production period (2018-2021).