While numerous changes in human lifestyle constitute modern life, our diet has been gaining attention as a potential contributor to the increase in immune-mediated diseases. The Western diet is characterized by an over consumption and reduced variety of refined sugars, salt, and saturated fat. Herein our objective is to detail the mechanisms for the Western diet’s impact on immune function. The manuscript reviews the impacts and mechanisms of harm for our over-indulgence in sugar, salt, and fat, as well as the data outlining the impacts of artificial sweeteners, gluten, and genetically modified foods; attention is given to revealing where the literature on the immune impacts of macronutrients is limited to either animal or in vitro models versus where human trials exist. Detailed attention is given to the dietary impact on the gut microbiome and the mechanisms by which our poor dietary choices are encoded into our gut, our genes, and are passed to our offspring. While today’s modern diet may provide beneficial protection from micro- and macronutrient deficiencies, our over abundance of calories and the macronutrients that compose our diet may all lead to increased inflammation, reduced control of infection, increased rates of cancer, and increased risk for allergic and auto-inflammatory disease.

/pdf/fast-food-fever-reviewing-the-impacts-of-the-western-diet-on-5abardyhy2.pdf

Fast food fever: reviewing the impacts of the Western diet on immunity

Environmental DNA (eDNA) is a powerful method for assessing the presence and distribution of invasive aquatic species. We used this tool to detect and monitor several invasive crayfishes Procambarus clarkii, Orconectes limosus and Pacifastacus leniusculus present in, or likely to invade, the ponds of the Brenne Regional Natural Park. A previous study showed that the eDNA method was not very efficient in detecting P. clarkii. In the present study, we explored new improvements in the detection of invasive crayfish. We designed specific primers for each crayfish species, and set up an experimental mesocosm approach to confirm the specificity of the primers and the sampling protocol. We analysed samples taken from ponds in 2014 and 2015. We compared two qPCR protocols involving either SybrGreen or TaqMan assays. Using these same primers, we were able to detect crayfish eDNA with both assays during the mesocosm experiment. However, crayfish from field samples could only be detected by performing qPCR with a SybrGreen assay. We successfully monitored the presence of three invasive species of crayfish using eDNA. This method is a powerful tool for establishing the presence or absence of invasive species in various freshwater environments.

Environmental DNA as an efficient tool for detecting invasive crayfishes in freshwater ponds

In recent years, much attention has been drawn to the exposure to bioaerosols in both occupational and indoor environments due to adverse effects on human health. Exposure to these agents may cause...

Assays and enumeration of bioaerosols-traditional approaches to modern practices

We investigated bacterial and fungal concentrations on cooling coils of commercial AC units and quantified associations between microbial loads and AC unit or building operational parameters. A field campaign was conducted to sample 25 AC units in the humid, subtropical climate of Southern CT, USA and 15 AC units in the hot-summer Mediterranean climate of Sacramento, CA, USA. Median concentrations (with interquartile range) of bacteria and fungi on the cooling coils were 1.2 × 107 (5.1 × 106 -3.9 × 107 ) cells/m2 and 7.6 × 105 (5.6 × 104 -4.4 × 106 ) spore equivalents (SE)/m2 , respectively. Concentrations varied among units with median unit concentrations ranging three orders of magnitude for bacteria and seven orders of magnitude for fungi. Controlled comparisons and multivariable regressions indicate that dominant factors associated with AC coil loading include the nominal efficiency of upstream filters (P = .008 for bacteria and P < .001 for fungi) and coil moisture, which was reflected in fungal loading differences between top and bottom halves of the AC coils in Southern CT (P = .05) and the dew points of the two climates considered (P = .04). Environmental and building characteristics explained 42% (P < .001) of bacterial concentration variability and 66% (P < .001) of fungal concentration variability among samples.

Building and environmental factors that influence bacterial and fungal loading on air conditioning cooling coils.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are low-molecular-weight organic compounds that easily evaporate at room temperature. Some Aspergillus VOCs are responsible for the characteristic musty odors associated with moldy environments while others play an important role in determining the palatability of fermented foods and drinks. Modern instrumentation using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry has improved our ability to characterize fungal VOC profiles and their analyses are important components of metabolomic studies. Aspergillus volatiles can be used as supplemental characters in chemotaxonomy. They provide a nondestructive strategy for detecting the presence of fungal growth. They have been used to discover cryptic molds in the indoor environments; to detect contamination of stored food crops; and are under investigation as a possible medical diagnostic tool for aspergillosis. Furthermore, there is growing recognition that fungal VOCs are vital molecules in mediating intra- and intercellular signaling, within and between organisms. Nevertheless, many gaps remain in our scientific understanding of VOCs from Aspergillus and other molds.

Fungal Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and the Genus Aspergillus

Currently, contamination of indoor environment by fungi and molds is considered as a public health problem. The monitoring of indoor airborne fungal contamination is a common tool to help understanding the link between fungi in houses and respiratory problems. Classical analytical monitoring methods, based on cultivation and microscopic identification, depend on the growth of the fungi. Consequently, they are biased by difficulties to grow some species on certain culture media and under certain conditions or by noncultivable or dead fungi that can consequently not be identified. However, they could have an impact on human health as they might be allergenic. Since molecular methods do not require a culture step, they seem an excellent alternative for the monitoring of indoor fungal contaminations. As a case study, we developed a SYBR® green real-time PCR-based assay for the specific detection and identification of Aspergillus versicolor, which is frequently observed in indoor environment and known to be allergenic. The developed primers amplify a short region of the internal transcribed spacer 1 from the 18S ribosomal DNA complex. Subsequently, the performance of this quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) method was assessed using specific criteria, including an evaluation of the selectivity, PCR efficiency, dynamic range, and repeatability. The limit of detection was determined to be 1 or 2 copies of genomic DNA of A. versicolor. In order to demonstrate that this SYBR® green qPCR assay is a valuable alternative for monitoring indoor fungal contamination with A. versicolor, environmental samples collected in contaminated houses were analyzed and the results were compared to the ones obtained with the traditional methods.

/pdf/development-and-performance-assessment-of-a-qualitative-sybr-57qe5zbnqh.pdf

Development and performance assessment of a qualitative SYBR® green real-time PCR assay for the detection of Aspergillus versicolor in indoor air

Exophiala jeanselmei is an opportunistic pathogenic black yeast growing in humid environments such as water reservoirs of air-conditioning systems. Because this fungal contaminant could be vaporized into the air and subsequently cause health problems, its monitoring is recommended. Currently, this monitoring is based on culture and microscopic identification which are complex, sometimes ambiguous and time-demanding, i.e., up to 21 days. Therefore, molecular, culture-independent methods could be more advantageous for the monitoring of E. jeanselmei. In this study, we developed a SYBR®green real-time PCR assay based on the internal transcribed spacer 2 from the 18S ribosomal DNA complex for the specific detection of E. jeanselmei. The selectivity (100 %), PCR efficiency (95.5 %), dynamic range and repeatability of this qPCR assay were subsequently evaluated. The limit of detection for this qPCR assay was determined to be 1 copy of genomic DNA of E. jeanselmei. Finally, water samples collected from cooling reservoirs were analyzed using this qPCR assay to deliver a proof of concept for the molecular detection of E. jeanselmei in environmental samples. The results obtained by molecular analysis were compared with those of classical methods (i.e., culture and microscopic identification) used in routine analysis and were 100 % matching. This comparison demonstrated that this SYBR®green qPCR assay can be used as a molecular alternative for monitoring and routine investigation of samples contaminated by E. jeanselmei, while eliminating the need for culturing and thereby considerably decreasing the required analysis time to 2 days.

/pdf/a-molecular-approach-for-the-rapid-selective-and-sensitive-3eod5msabm.pdf

A molecular approach for the rapid, selective and sensitive detection of Exophiala jeanselmei in environmental samples: development and performance assessment of a real-time PCR assay

Air pollution is one of the great problems of this century and it plays an important role in the increasing prevalence of chronic inflammatory problems in the upper airway in children. Since their lungs and immune system are not fully developed when exposure begins, newborns and children appear to be more sensitive to the effects of both outdoor and indoor air pollution. Furthermore, children spend most of their time indoors and are exposed more often to pollutants in indoor air. The link between health problems, chemical products and allergens (the latter mainly from cats and mites) has been extensively studied. Other important indoor contaminants are fungi, which are often present in damp buildings and can cause severe respiratory disease by producing spores, allergens, volatile irritant compounds and toxins. A proper identification of mould contamination of this kind is vital for correct diagnosis, treatment and the prevention of health problems, and improvements have been observed after the removal or cleaning of the contaminated materials and improvements to the ventilation of buildings. While a possible association between respiratory symptoms, such as rhinitis, and the presence of fungi in the indoor environment has been documented by several authors, other studies have observed no significant relationship. The development of standardised sampling, detection and diagnostic tests will be essential to understand the proper role of fungi in the indoor atmosphere and their impact on public health.

The role of indoor pollution in the development and maintenance of chronic airway inflammation in children.

Handle everyday research tasks with reliable, citation-backed results

Your personal Research Agent to handle research tasks with citation-backed results

Popular Tasks used by Researchers

How can I help with your research?

Meet SciSpace

Get more enhanced response by uploading the PDFs you want me to reference.

No relevant PDFs in your library

SciSpace is the AI research assistant for academics. Run systematic literature reviews on 280M+ papers, and write papers with cited sources. Trusted by 1M+ students, PhDs & researchers.

SciSpace | AI for Research

Analyze PDFs

Code & Manuscripts

Funding & Grants

Literature & Patents

Medical & Clinical Data

Systematic Review

Visualize & Present

Web & Data

Build a Google Scholar-like website for your research.

Build a website

Create charts and images for your research

Create a Chart

Write a paper for submission to a journal

Draft a manuscript

Patent Search

Design eye-catching scientific posters in minutes.

Scientific Poster Generation

Systematic Literature Review

One task is running at the moment. Your messages will be shown right after.

Drag and drop or click here to browse

Loved by <highlight>1 million+</highlight> researchers

Extract a list of specific topics and their sources from unstructured text

Topics

Compare and analyze relevant papers that matches with your search

Papers

Get insights from PDFs and bookmarked papers from your library

My library

Recent searches

Try searching for:

Catch AI-generated content in scholarly and non-scholarly content

{ai} Detector

Ai Writer

Get PDF Summaries, highlighted text explanations 

Chat with PDF

Effortlessly create in-text citations and bibliographies in APA and 2,500 other formats

Citation generator

Get explanations, summaries, and answers on academic papers

Ease up your research workflow with {scispace}'s cohort of exciting AI tools

Elevate your academic writing skills and convey your ideas the way you want

Paraphraser

Explore our range of reading and writing tools

Your file is being prepared and should be ready in a few minutes. If it's a large file, it might take a bit longer. You can close this window, and we'll email you the file when it's done.

You have reached a maximum limit of <strong>{limit}</strong> columns in the table. Remove at least <strong>1</strong> column to add or create another one.

C. Chasseur

Author Tools

Chat about Author

Papers

Development and performance assessment of a qualitative SYBR® green real-time PCR assay for the detection of Aspergillus versicolor in indoor air

A molecular approach for the rapid, selective and sensitive detection of Exophiala jeanselmei in environmental samples: development and performance assessment of a real-time PCR assay

The role of indoor pollution in the development and maintenance of chronic airway inflammation in children.