Biomedical Spectroscopy and Imaging - Volume 10, issue 1-2

Authors: Haris, Parvez I. | Signes-Pastor, Antonio | Cascio, Claudia | Brima, Eid I. | Bsher, Aisha | Salem, Almokhtar | Jenkins, Richard O.

Article Type: Obituary

Keywords: Chemistry, bioanalysis, arsenic, water, environment, biomonitoring

DOI: 10.3233/BSI-210209

Citation: Biomedical Spectroscopy and Imaging, vol. 10, no. 1-2, pp. 1-8, 2021

Authors: Al-Rmalli, Shaban W. | Jenkins, Richard O. | Watts, Michael J. | Haris, Parvez I.

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Exposure to As from drinking water and its impact on the health of the Bangladeshi population has received much attention. However, very little information is available regarding As exposure through consumption of fish, which is the main source of animal protein for the majority of Bangladeshis. In this study, concentrations of As, Cd, Pb, Mn Se and Zn in different types of fish, consumed by Bangladeshis, were determined using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry. Daily intakes of the toxic elements As, Cd and Pb through fish consumption were estimated to be 31.8, 0.4 and 4.8 μ g/day, respectively. Hilsa (Tenualosa …ilisha ) contained the highest concentrations of total As (mean ± SD was 2.55 ± 1.3 mg/kg; n = 15 ) among the fish analysed. However, toxic inorganic As species were not detected. The dominant As species in Hilsa fish were: dimethylarsenic acid, arsenobetaine and arsenosugars, at 69, 11 and 20% of total As, respectively. The high concentration of Cd detected in Hilsa eggs (average 278 ± 518 μ g/kg; range 7.4–1725 μ g/kg; n = 10 ) is of concern since this may have harmful effects on the development of embryos and lead to a decline in the Hilsa population or the quality of the fish. It can also be harmful to those who consume Hilsa eggs on a regular basis. Selenium was found to be highest in Shoal (Micropterus cataractae ) fish and a type of small fish, and lowest in Mrigal (Cirrhinus cirrhosis ). Small fish species contained Mn and Zn at 7.1- and 4.3-fold higher concentrations, respectively, compared to big fish species. Keski (Corica soborna ), a small fish species, contained by far the highest concentrations of Mn (52 mg/kg) and Zn (140 mg/kg), although the concentration of As (1.4 mg/kg) in this fish was lower than that of several other fish species. Small fish species are often consumed whole, including the bones, and therefore the essential trace elements present are potentially bioavailable for cellular metabolism. Our study shows that the Bangladeshi population can easily meet their daily requirement of Se and Zn from consumption of fish such as Shoal fish (Se and Zn), Hilsa fish (Se and Zn) and Keski fish (Se and Zn). Consumption of small fish (such as Keski) and big fish (such as Hilsa) from Bangladesh can provide valuable sources of essential trace elements as part of a balanced diet and thus negate the need for supplements and biofortification of certain foods. Ours is a small study and a detailed total dietary intake and human biomonitoring studies, that includes coverage of different socio-economic groups, are needed in Bangladesh before giving people supplements or biofortified foods. Show more

Keywords: Bangladeshi diet, Hilsa, Keski, fish, eggs, arsenic, selenium, zinc, cadmium, lead, manganese, arsenic speciation, toxic and essential elements

DOI: 10.3233/BSI-210212

Citation: Biomedical Spectroscopy and Imaging, vol. 10, no. 1-2, pp. 9-26, 2021

Authors: Brindha, M. | Seshadri, N.P. Guhan | Periyasamy, R.

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Background and Objective: Diabetic problems are more common in the lower extremity and linked with high mortality rate which affects public health system. The present study focused on monitoring the changes in tissue oxygenation concentrations using Near infrared spectroscopy system along with temperature and hardness of the foot tissues. Methods: Control subjects (without diabetes) and diabetic patients without neuropathy were selected for this study and three standard foot risk areas were considered. Standard induced ischemic stimulus was given to assess the response of the designed system and to analyze the changes in oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin levels during venous …occlusion. Results: Results showed significant differences in the tissue oxygenation index value in all three standard areas where oxygenation value at the foot areas were significantly low (p < 0.05 ) in diabetic group as compared to control group. Also, significant difference were found in tissue hardness value when comparing between groups, where the diabetic group had significantly high (p < 0.05 ) tissue hardness at area 5 and area 8 as compared to control groups. Conclusion: Therefore, the present study concludes that high tissue hardness had significant effect on tissue oxygenation index that affects vascular circulation and this condition could be assessable using NIRS technique in order to find risky areas at the foot sole. Show more

Keywords: Diabetes, near-infrared spectroscopy, plantar foot complications, foot ulcers, tissue oxygenation index

DOI: 10.3233/BSI-210211

Citation: Biomedical Spectroscopy and Imaging, vol. 10, no. 1-2, pp. 27-36, 2021

Authors: Haris, P.I. | Hering, J.A.

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Besides NMR and X-ray crystallography, FTIR and CD spectroscopy are widely considered to be useful for determining protein secondary structure. These techniques can be used to obtain data in few minutes, using small quantities of proteins, which make them amenable for proteomics research. Here we explore the possibility of using artificial intelligence techniques to simultaneously analyse both FTIR and CD spectroscopic data for an identical set of proteins. Neural network analysis was carried out on normalised regions of FTIR (1700-1600 cm−1 ) and CD (180-259 nm) spectral data both with and without boxcar averaging in order to quantify the average length and …percentages of secondary structures. A hybrid genetic algorithm/neural network approach, that automatically selects structure-sensitive wavelength/frequency, was used for the quantification of the protein secondary structure. Using this algorithm we also successfully identified the region of the CD spectrum that contains the most structure-sensitive information. This was located between 214-251 nm, suggesting that this region alone may be sufficient to rapidly determine the secondary structure content from CD spectral data. Overall, CD spectroscopic analysis produced better results compared to FTIR spectroscopy when selected wavelengths were used, although FTIR was better when the entire region between 1700-1600 cm−1 (FTIR), and 180-259 nm (CD), was subjected to neural network analysis. Application of Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) with fuzzy subtractive clustering for the analysis of the spectral data led to a slightly better prediction of the average helix/sheet length for FTIR spectroscopy compared to CD. Our findings reveal the potential of using artificial intelligence techniques for not only extracting structural information but also for better understanding of the relationship between complex spectral data and biologically important information. Show more

Keywords: Artificial intelligence, FTIR, CD, spectroscopy, secondary structure, protein

DOI: 10.3233/BSI-210210

Citation: Biomedical Spectroscopy and Imaging, vol. 10, no. 1-2, pp. 37-43, 2021