Uptake and in-vitro bioaccessibility of toxic metals in cocoa beans: Human health risks.

Cocoa-growing areas in Ghana have experienced a rise in mining activities affecting cocoa cultivation and increased concentrations of potentially toxic metals in the soil, which can accumulate in cocoa beans. This study evaluated potential toxic metal contamination in cocoa beans and soils from cocoa farms in mining and non-mining areas in Ghana. We used X-ray fluorescence and an ICP-MS to determine metal concentrations, and a Zeeman mercury analyzer to determine mercury.

Soil-to-plant transfer factors of uranium and thorium in mining and non-mining districts of Ghana.

The activity concentrations of natural radionuclides in water, soil, cassava, cocoyam and yam grown in two mining districts and a non-mining district in Ghana were determined using a high-resolution gamma spectroscopy system with high-purity germanium detector. The estimated absorbed dose for soil from Amansie, Konongo, and Mampong were 206 nGy/h, 224 nGy/h and 198 nGy/h, respectively, which were all above 60 nGy/h set by the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation. The soil-to-plant transfer factors (TF) for ³⁸U, ³Th, and ⁴⁰K ranged from 0.

Information overload and parental perspectives on information provided to parents/carers of paediatric patients undergoing elective surgical procedures.

When parents are expected to play a significant role in the management of their children's health perioperatively, information overload for parents could have particularly detrimental consequences. Our study investigated information communication and overload in 380 parents of children undergoing any elective surgical procedure at our institution. Participants completed an online questionnaire and were asked to respond to a newly designed Information Overload scale based on a modified 5 item Cancer Information Overload Scale and an 8-item atrial fibrillation information overload scale.

The age-dependent development of abnormal cardiac metabolism in the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α-knockout mouse.

Background And Aims: Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) is crucial for regulating cardiac β-oxidation in the heart, liver, and kidney. Ageing can induce cardiac metabolic alterations, but the role of PPARα has not been extensively characterised. The aim of this research was to investigate the role of PPARα in the aged heart.