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Folic acid is a naturally occurring pteridine, which was originally isolated from plants. Folic acid (pteroyl-glutamic acid) is composed of pteridine (6-methylptero), p-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) and glutamic acid. Folic acid (folacin) is a compound of major importance for the proper functioning of the human body. Its adequate supply is essential for the proper course of many biochemical processes in the body, including the process of neural tube closure in the fetus, DNA and amino acid synthesis, growth of red blood cells, and the function of the nervous system. Folic acid is a compound of a high sensitivity to physical and chemical factors, and its bioavailability is limited by interactions with multiple food components. Therefore, folate deficiency is one of the most common deficiencies. This paper presents the structure and characteristics of folic acid as a pteridine, it also discusses dietary sources of folate and the effects of its deficiency.

Radiation-induced heterogeneous damage is the single largest source of failures seen in structural components in nuclear power reactors. Single crystal materials without grain boundaries, show considerable promise for overcoming this problem. In this work, such heterogeneous damage was further overcome in Ni x Fe 1- x single crystal alloys via a simple strategy of fine-tuning the composition. [001] Ni x Fe 1- x ( x = 0, 0.38 and 0.62 at%) single crystals prepared using the Bridgman method were irradiated over a wide fluence range (4 × 10 13 to 4 × 10 15 ions per cm 2 ). The irradiation-induced defect evolution was studied using Rutherford backscattering/channeling spectrometry, Monte Carlo simulations, transmission electron microscopy and nanoindentation. The results indicate an increased radiation tolerance of Ni 0.38 Fe 0.62 compared to pure Ni and Ni 0.62 Fe 0.38 . The structural analysis performed by transmission electron microscopy revealed that defects tend to agglomerate at one place in Ni and Ni 0.62 Fe 0.38 , while in Ni 0.38 Fe 0.62 no defect accumulation zone (characteristic damage peak) has been captured either at low or high fluence. Moreover, we found that the hardness change with the increase of Fe content is due to different arrangements of Fe atoms in the crystal structure, which influences the obtained mechanical properties of Ni x Fe 1- x in the pristine state and after ion implantation.

Introduction and Objective: Acrylamide (AA) is a carcinogenic and genotoxic food contaminant occurring in carbohydrate-rich foods produced at high cooking temperatures. The aim of the study was to determine the importance of AA exposure with respect to traditional food and to assess the associated risks., Material and Methods: 165 food samples were collected from local markets in Lesser Poland. The participants enrolled in the study were 500 residents: (males - 179, females - 321) who had purchased food from local markets. Exposure of the participants to AA was assessed by combining the analytical AA results with data on the individual consumption of traditional foods. Risk assessment of AA exposure from traditional foods was estimated and the margin of exposure (MOE) values were calculated., Results: The highest mean AA level was measured in pretzels (92 µg kg -1 ), followed by bagels (74.81 µg kg -1 ) and pork paté (59.56 µg kg -1 ). The average and 95th percentile values of AA exposure were 0.213 and 0.458 [µg kg -1 body weight (BW) day -1 ]. The calculated values of MOE for the average [798 and 2,019 for both benchmark dose lower confidence limit (BMDL) 0.17 and 0.43 mg kg -1 BW day -1 ] and 95th percentile AA exposure values (371 and 939 for both BMDL 0.17and 0.43 mg kg -1 BW day -1 ) suggest that there is a health concern with respect to adult residents., Conclusions: The results of the study confirm the general recommendation to the consumers, especially certain population groups, to eat a balanced healthy diet and to limit the amount of baked cereal products and fried products.