Safety Risk Assessment Research Articles

Optimized Cultivation of Stropharia rugosoannulata Using Winter Jujube Wastes and Safety Risk Assessment of the Cultivated Mushrooms

Substantial agricultural waste, including winter jujube residues, pits, and sawdust, is generated during the planting and processing of winter jujubes. To recycle these wastes, they were used to cultivate Stropharia rugosoannulata. The nutrient composition, mineral elements, 179 pesticide residues, and heavy metals in the wastes and S. rugosoannulata were tested. Cultivating the liquid spawn of S. rugosoannulata with 40 g/L winter jujube residue as a substitute for glucose significantly increased the mycelial pellets’ biomass by 136%, resulting in more uniform pellets. Secondary strains of S. rugosoannulata were cultured using winter jujube pits, showing no significant difference in mycelial growth rate and vigor compared to the control (CK) across additive levels of 10%–30%. The fruit bodies of S. rugosoannulata cultivated with winter jujube sawdust exhibited no detectable pesticide residues and a lower heavy metal content than the allowable limits, with a protein content of 36.7 g/100 g. Additionally, the mineral element potassium surpassed sodium by over 200 times, rendering it a potassium-rich, low-sodium food source. Utilizing winter jujube wastes for S. rugosoannulata cultivation effectively repurposed these wastes through sustainable recycling. This approach not only reduces cultivation costs but also yields safe and nutritious edible fungal products.

An assessment of health, safety and environmental risk within higher academic institutions in Kashmir Valley

An assessment of health, safety and environmental risk within higher academic institutions in Kashmir Valley

Research hotspots and evolution trends of food safety risk assessment techniques and methods

AbstractFood safety incidents frequently occur in China and other countries. Food safety risk management has evolved from harm‐based to risk‐based approaches to control risks more scientifically and effectively. Risk assessment is at the core of risk control and provides a scientific basis for the development of risk management measures. Therefore, analyzing the research status and development trends of food safety risk assessment technologies and methods is important for improving food safety risk assessment and risk management. In this study, CiteSpace software was used to analyze a knowledge graph of popular research topics in the field of food safety risk assessment over the past 14 years, identify research keywords, and provide centrality statistics. Food safety risk assessments primarily focus on in vitro high‐throughput testing, computational toxicology, predictive microbiology, mechanistic research, and other technical methods. In the future, international coordination, cooperation, and cross‐integration of relevant disciplines should be strengthened, and research on and application of innovative technologies for food safety risk assessment should be promoted. Research on food safety risk assessment technologies and methods is in an active development stage and has good prospects for further exploration and application.

Stakeholder-led proactive risk assessment of medication safety in the pharmaceutical supply chain

Abstract Introduction In 2022/23, 1.08 billion medications were dispensed to patients using NHS England, at a cost of £19.04 billion1 . However, Elliot et al (2019)2 estimate every year there are 237 million medication errors at some point of the medication process, with a high associated cost. Increasingly, media is reporting medication shortages of critical medicines3 that can contribute to errors of omission. Medication errors suggests system, tasks and processes should be explored to understand if they have been poorly designed. This paper is a pre-Brexit study that examines the pharmaceutical supply chain with stakeholders. Aim To explore risk to medication safety in the pharmaceutical supply chain using qualitative interviews of stakeholders across the supply chain and proactive risk assessment method SHERPA (Systematic Human Error Reduction and Prediction Approach). Method 1. Qualitative interviews with process models System process models were developed (by literature, field observations and interviewees) and employed to elicit stakeholder perceptions about risk to medication safety in 31 qualitative interviews. Participants included pharmacists, wholesalers, pharmaceutical industry representatives, regulators and policymakers. Ethical approval was granted by Cambridge LREC to include healthcare professionals and 6 patients. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed using N-Vivo. 2. Focus group for SHERPA Six stakeholders participated in the SHERPA focus group4 , including pharmacists and representatives from pharmaceutical manufacturing and wholesale industries. Interview participants were invited and those that agreed, attended. The SHERPA template was completed by the group. The session was audio-recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed using N-Vivo. Results The system models led to a greater understanding of the current system ‘as-is’ and created an overview of the supply chain. SHERPA is a validated method and provided the rigour to risk assess the supply chain process and identify sources of risk. However, the error mode terminology required adjustment to healthcare. Across all supply routes, the main source of risk was failure to supply medicines that caused errors of omission and the risk of counterfeit medicines. Failure to supply resulted from shortages that take place from trading activities that result in stockpiling or exporting of medicines. A lack of robust regulation and parallel imports increased the risk of counterfeit medicines. Stakeholders highlighted deficiencies in the supply chain and poor performance of stakeholders, as medication safety concerns. In order of frequency, the deficiencies include fragmented supply chain; complacency by stakeholders; poor communication and integration across supply chain; and end-user often regarded as the pharmacist, rather than the patient. Discussion and conclusion From the findings, strategies emerged as possible solutions. These included communication of shortages in each component of supply chain; robust counterfeit strategies; use of technology (automation/digital tools); and re-design tasks and processes in dispensaries and wards. Staff training, education, and revalidation of stakeholders is vital. Key limitations in this study include biases that can occur from recruitment strategy and small sample size. The SHERPA method posed terminology problems. In conclusion, this multi-method approach reveals risk and possible solutions to improve safety and reduce cost in the NHS. It is clear this study needs to be repeated to understand the impact of Brexit and current reconfiguration of NHS.

Review on the Application of Living PSA in Nuclear Power

With the increasing standards of safety management in nuclear power plants, Living Probabilistic Safety Assessment (Living PSA) technology has begin to play an increasingly important role in their operation. This paper aims to provide an overview of the application and development of Living Probabilistic Safety Assessment (Living PSA) technology in nuclear power plant safety monitoring and risk assessment, examining the key technologies and future challenges. Initially, we summarize the current safety needs in regard to nuclear power, examine the policy on configuration risk management technology for nuclear power plants, and outline its importance and development process in nuclear power plant safety management. Subsequently, we discuss the basic principle of Living PSAs and the working method of risk monitoring based on Living PSAs, including information monitoring data collection, online identification, real-time model updating, and risk calculation. Within the Living PSA framework, model development is not merely about creating a theoretical or static representation; it is a dynamic and ongoing process that involves a deep understanding and precise simulation of the behavior of nuclear power plant systems and components. This represents the main research efforts in Living PSAs at present. Additionally, this paper identifies the key technologies of Living PSAs in an in-depth manner, such as the reliability-model-updating technology and model building in dynamic reliability analyses, including the fault tree model, multi-layer flow model, GO-FLOW model etc. The paper lists the work of some scholars in this area in recent years, which helps readers and researchers to clearly understand the current progress of Living PSA technologies in terms of model establishment and updating. Finally, the paper summarizes the challenges and future development of Living PSA and emphasizes the possible problems in data quality, human factor engineering, and the development of Living PSA technologies in the future. In the future, Living PSAs will provide more solid support for the realization of safer and more economical methods of operating nuclear power plants.

Visual aptasensor based on PtNPs/g-C3N4 and DNase I for the field detection of acetamiprid.

A visual aptasensor based on the combination of graphitic carbon nitride loaded with platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs/g-C3N4) and deoxyribonuclease I (DNase I) was developed for detecting acetamiprid. The prepared PtNPs/g-C3N4 exhibited excellent peroxidase (POD)-like activity, demonstrating the capacity to oxidize the colourless o-phenylenediamine (OPD) to produce the coloured product diaminophenazine (DAP) in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The DNA aptamer of acetamiprid can adsorb onto the surface of PtNPs/g-C3N4, thereby inhibiting its POD activity. The binding of acetamiprid to its aptamer results in the aptamer desorbing from the surface of PtNPs/g-C3N4 and subsequent digestion by DNase I. Ascribed to the synergistic effect of these factors, the aptasensor can achieve the rapid on-site detection of acetamiprid based on the acetamiprid-induced the colour change of the solution just with the smartphone. Furthermore, due to the remarkable fluorescence signal of DAP at 570nm, the aptasensor under fluorescence mode enables highly sensitive and quantitative detection of acetamiprid with a linear range of 1 ng/mL to 4µg/mL and a detection limit as low as 0.31 ng/mL.Theaptasensor has successfully realized the detection of acetamiprid in river water and cucumber samples, offering a novel perspective for the rapid assessment of environmental pollution and food safety risks associated with acetamiprid residues.

Modelling hemodynamics regulation in rats and dogs to facilitate drugs safety risk assessment.

Pharmaceutical companies routinely screen compounds for hemodynamics related safety risk. In vitro secondary pharmacology is initially used to prioritize compounds while in vivo studies are later used to quantify and translate risk to humans. This strategy has shown limitations but could be improved via the incorporation of molecular findings in the animal-based toxicological risk assessment. The aim of this study is to develop a mathematical model for rat and dog species that can integrate secondary pharmacology modulation and therefore facilitate the overall pre-clinical safety translation assessment. Following an extensive literature review, we built two separate models recapitulating known regulation processes in dogs and rats. We describe the resulting models and show that they can reproduce a variety of interventions in both species. We also show that the models can incorporate the mechanisms of action of a pre-defined list of 50 pharmacological mechanisms whose modulation predict results consistent with known pharmacology. In conclusion, a mechanistic model of hemodynamics regulations in rat and dog species has been developed to support mechanism-based safety translation in drug discovery and development.

Legal Standards for Selenium Enriched Foods and Agricultural Products: Domestic and International Perspectives.

Background/Objectives: Selenium is indispensable for human health, yet vast regions worldwide grapple with selenium-deficient soils, rendering dietary intake a critical avenue for supplementation. This narrative review aims to systematically examine and compare domestic and international regulations and standards related to selenium enrichment, providing insights to enhance regulatory frameworks and standardization within the selenium-enrichment industry. Methods: From June to September 2024, we conducted a comprehensive search of official websites belonging to international organizations (e.g., Codex Alimentarius Commission, European Union) and governmental agencies of countries such as China and the United States. Keywords, like "selenium enrichment", "selenium standards", and "selenium detection methods", were employed to identify pertinent regulations, standards, and guidelines encompassing intake benchmarks, detection methodologies, product specifications, technical guidelines for production, labeling requirements, and certification management norms. Results: Our analysis reveals several challenges within the current selenium-enriched regulatory and standardization systems, including inconsistent product determination criteria and limit settings, incomplete technical guidelines for selenium-enriched agricultural production, and a lack of unified regulations for labeling selenium-enriched agricultural products. Conclusions: These findings underscore the need for harmonization of standards and enhanced regulatory oversight. To address these issues, we recommend bolstering safety risk assessments for selenium-enriched agricultural products, establishing and refining a comprehensive standard system for selenium-enriched agriculture, and intensifying quality and safety supervision. This study offers a valuable reference for policymakers and stakeholders to promote the sustainable development of the selenium-enrichment industry.

Artificial Intelligence-Powered Risk Assessment in Supply Chain Safety

The increasing complexity and globalization of supply chains necessitate robust risk management strategies to ensure safety and resilience. Traditional risk assessment methods often fall short in dynamically adapting to the rapidly changing conditions and voluminous data inherent in modern supply chains. This study explores the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered risk assessment to address these limitations in the context of Malaysia's supply chain industry. By employing AI technologies such as machine learning, IoT, and predictive analytics, organizations can significantly enhance their risk management capabilities, improving predictive accuracy, real-time monitoring, and overall operational efficiency. Through a qualitative analysis involving in-depth interviews with supply chain managers, AI experts, and technology vendors, the study identifies the strategies employed for AI integration, the perceived effectiveness of these technologies, and the challenges faced in implementation. The findings highlight the importance of robust data governance, the development of explainable AI models, and continuous skill development to overcome barriers related to data quality, model interpretability, and high implementation costs. The study concludes with recommendations for fostering a safer and more resilient logistics environment in Malaysia, emphasizing the need for comprehensive AI adoption frameworks and scalable solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Food safety risk assessment in Vietnam - Current situation and way forward

Risk assessment is an important scientific step in risk-based food safety (FS) management that has been applied in many countries. In Vietnam, despite being regulated by law, risk assessment activities have not been widely implemented due to inadequate attention and limited resources, which reduces its roles in FS management. Several challenges of FS risk assessment in Vietnam are related to institutional organizations, data management, human resources, and the characteristics of the food supply chain. This article aims to review the progress of risk assessment activities in Vietnam. Different risk assessments have been conducted for various chemical hazards such as pesticides, mycotoxins, preservatives, heavy metals, and environmental residuals, whereas fewer risk assessments have been implemented for microbial hazards, which were mainly focused on common food poisoning pathogens, like Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus, and E. coli. This article also analyzes risk assessment models from countries and regions such as China, Japan, the United States, Europe, and ASEAN in order to identify the issues and challenges in Vietnam. Based on the review and analysis, we recommend that Vietnam take action to implement risk assessment activities as a tool for effective FS management.

Multisource information fusion for safety risk assessment in complex projects considering dependence and uncertainty.

The success of tunneling projects is crucial for infrastructure development. However, the potential leakage risk is particularly challenging due to the inherent uncertainties and fuzziness involved. To address this demanding challenge, a hybrid approach integrating the copula theory, cloud model, and risk matrix, is proposed. The dependence of multiple risk-related influential factors is explored by the construct of the copula-cloud model, and the diverse information is fused by applying the risk matrix to gain a crisp risk result. A case study is performed to test the applicability of the proposed approach, in which a risk index system consisting of nine critical factors is developed and Sobol-enabled global sensitivity analysis (GSA) is incorporated to investigate the contributions of different factors to the risk magnitude. Key findings are as follows: (1) Risk statuses of the studied three tunnel sections are perceived as under grade I (safe), II (low-risk), and III (medium-risk), respectively, and the waterproof material aspect is found prone to deteriorating the tunnel sections. Furthermore, the proposed approach allows for a better understanding of the trends in the risk statuses of the tunnel sections. (2) Strong interactions between influential factors exist and exert impacts on the final risk results, proving the necessity of studying the factor dependence. (3) The developed neutral risk matrix presents a strong robustness and displays a higher recognition capacity in risk assessment. The novelty of this research lies in the consideration of the dependence and uncertainty in multisource information fusion with a hybrid copula-cloud model, enabling to perform a robust risk assessment under different risk matrices with varying degrees of risk tolerance.

Harmful Microalgae Exhibit Broad Environmental Adaptability in High-Salinity Area Across the Dafengjiang River Estuary.

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) often occur in estuaries due to their unique environmental heterogeneity, posing significant environmental and human health risks. However, there is limited understanding of the community composition and community-level change points (thresholds) of harmful microalgae in subtropical estuaries. This study explored harmful microalgae community structure and thresholds in the Dafengjiang River estuary using a metabarcoding approach. The results revealed 63 harmful microalgae species, and major species included Guinardia flaccida, Prorocentrum cordatum, Thalassiosira punctigera, Pseudo-nitzschia galaxiae and T. gravida. Nonparametric change-point analysis and threshold indicator taxa analysis (TITAN) showed threshold responses of harmful microalgae community structure to ammonium (57.5-60 μg·L-1), total phosphorus (27.8-28.5 μg·L-1) and dissolved inorganic phosphorus (14.5-28 μg·L-1) along the salinity gradient. Wider environmental thresholds were also found in hypersaline areas. Additionally, Pyrodinium bahamense, Pfiesteria piscicida, Skeletonema tropicum and T. punctigera were sensitive to environmental changes and thus could be used as bioindicators. Overall, our study unveiled diverse abrupt transitions of harmful microalgal communities, providing a risk assessment for human health and ecological safety in subtropical estuary ecosystems.

Moving milk and shifting risk: A mixed methods assessment of food safety risks along informal dairy value chains in Kisumu, Kenya

Animal sourced foods (ASF) are important for global food security and in mitigating the impact of undernutrition. Across Sub-Saharan Africa, demand and urbanization continue to increase, creating a greater divide between farm-level production and consumption. Food safety residues including antibiotics and aflatoxin residues often originate at the production site, and risk can shift as milk is transported. In 2022, milk samples (n = 190) were collected from eight milk vendors in Kisumu, Kenya and tested for betalactams and aflatoxins with cut off values of 300 parts per billion (ppb) and 200 parts per trillion (ppt), respectively. Data was collected on the origin and containers of each sample, and the eight vendors responded to an open-ended questionnaire regarding the structure and challenges in their milk business.Aflatoxin residues were detected in 7 % (13/190) of samples with no samples (0/190) testing positive for antibiotic residues. Overall, 80 % samples were collected from metal transportation containers, and no milk containers >20 l tested positive for aflatoxins. The origin location(s) of milk was not significantly associated with residues (p = 0.44). Vendor questionnaire data were summarized into three themes: 1) Physical properties of milk are understood to influence quality, 2) Fluctuating availability of milk impacts profits and is the main influence on choice of supplier, and 3) Trust and rapport among value chain actors are key to mitigating business challenges.Our results indicate that farm-level practices around antibiotic use is not posing a major milk safety risk to urban consumers. Use of large 50-l containers for transporting milk may be protective as risk of aflatoxin residues is diluted below key thresholds. We recommend supporting existing relationships and identifying drivers that build trust among informal value chain actors which could strengthen collaboration and allow actors to move towards a shared goal of reliable and safe milk available for urban consumers.

Derivation of ecological safety thresholds and risk assessment of new SDHI fungicides in farmland system

Succinate dehydrogenase inhibitor (SDHI) fungicides have become some of the top-selling fungicides in recent years. As the utilization of these fungicides intensifies, the corresponding potential risks to the environment proportionately increase. However, there is still limited knowledge about their toxic effects on ecosystems. In this study, acute toxicity data from laboratory assessments of the springtail Folsomia candida, alongside collected data from terrestrial and aquatic non-target species, were utilized to construct a species sensitivity distribution (SSD) model for both terrestrial and aquatic non-target organisms. Subsequently, we derived ecological baseline values for diverse scenarios within ecosystems. The results indicated that benzovindiflupyr exhibited the highest 7-day median lethal concentration (7d-LC50) to Folsomia candida at 2.0 μg cm−2, while the toxicity levels of other SDHI fungicides varied, ranging from 99 to 304 μg cm−2. In agricultural environments, the Hazard Concentration for 5 % of species (HC5) values for fluxapyroxad, boscalid, sedaxane, and isopyrazam were determined to be 8.0, 1240, 12.97, and 25.37 g ha−1, respectively. In aquatic environments, the HC5 values for benzovindiflupyr, fluxapyroxad, boscalid, sedaxane, isopyrazam, and carboxin were 0.0013, 0.022, 1.76, 0.372, 0.013, and 0.161 mg L−1, respectively. In an evaluation of typical agricultural scenarios within China, SDHI fungicides were found to exert substantial ecological risks to terrestrial non-target fauna and aquatic ecosystems around agricultural fields. Specifically, isopyrazam and fluxapyroxad were identified as posing heightened ecological risks to Typhlodromus pyri and Aphidius rhopalosiphi. Moreover, the application of benzovindiflupyr, carboxin, isopyrazam, and fluxapyroxad in paddy field environments is associated with unacceptable risks to groundwater. The findings of this study contribute significantly to the environmental risk evaluation of SDHI fungicides within farmland system, thereby informing the development of policy frameworks for their scientifically grounded application.

Crisis preparedness exercise on food and feed safety for IPA beneficiaries 2024.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) within the framework of the Preparatory measures for the participation of IPA beneficiaries in the European Food Safety Authority 2023-2026 will organize a total of 3 crisis preparedness training events for the IPA countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo,* Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye). For 2024, EFSA requested to organise a simulation exercise focused on a multi-country incident related to biological risks in products of animal origin. The overall objectives of the training were: 1) to increase IPA countries' knowledge and understanding of crisis handling concepts and of EFSA's crisis handling procedures; 2) to improve preparedness and response planning for crisis situations in the domain of biological hazards; 3) to improve coherence, interoperability and coordination, to be prepared for communication and decision-making challenges in crisis situations. Working with the contractor Opera srl, EFSA organised a 2-day training on 26-27 June 2024 in Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina), attended by 24 participants (3 online) from 7 IPA countries, 2 representatives from EFSA and 1 representative from the hosting competent authority from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Participants were briefed on the IPA crisis preparedness training scheme, EFSA's crisis handling procedures, principles of crisis communication (remote mode), EFSA - ECDC Rapid Outbreak Assessment (remote mode), food safety risk assessment structures in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. Most of the workshop was dedicated to the simulation exercise, that was organized in a tabletop format, with injects describing an evolving food safety incident and a debriefing after each inject. During the exercise, 1 audio-conference meeting and a TV debate were simulated. The exercise was concluded with a brainstorming session between the tutors and participants. Three recommendations were done to improve the organization of future events. Six recommendations were given for the improvement of risk assessment, risk management and risk communication in IPA countries. The objectives were achieved, based on the results of the knowledge test and on the feedback provided by participants in the course evaluation questionnaire.

Plateau underground engineering geological safety risk assessment based on Bootstrap-SVM-BPNN

Plateau underground engineering geological safety risk assessment based on Bootstrap-SVM-BPNN

An estimation of the tower crane safety risk factors in the Vietnamese construction industry

The construction industry is among the riskiest sectors worldwide due to its involvement in complex and hazardous activities, primarily because of the use of tower cranes. Tower cranes are considered the most hazardous construction machinery, contributing to a high rate of serious accidents, including fatalities and disabling injuries, not only in Vietnam but also globally. In this paper, we identify and evaluate 42 tower crane safety risk factors specific to the Vietnamese construction industry based on their probability of occurrence, severity of impact, and associated risk levels. The paper reveals that the most probable risk factor is “Unfavorable winds (including intensity, direction, etc.)” with a mean value of 3.641. The factor with the highest severity is “Wire rope is broken” with a mean value of 4.179. Furthermore, the study shows that twenty-five out of forty-two (59.52%) factors present a moderate risk level, with a Relative Significant Index Score (RSIS) ranging from 8.019 to 13.047. Among these, the factor “Bad maintenance management of the tower crane and auxiliary aids” poses the highest risk level, with an RSIS value of 13.047. This paper aims to enhance the understanding oftower crane safety among subcontractors, government safety regulators, main contractors, maintenance personnel, and workers in the Vietnamese construction industry. Additionally, the methodology presented in this paper can be adapted for assessing safety risk factors in other industries within Vietnam.

Employing genome-wide association studies to investigate acid adaptation mechanisms in Listeria monocytogenes

Listeria monocytogenes is a critical foodborne pathogen known to develop adaptation traits in mildly acidic food processing environments. This study analyzed the genomic data of 49 strains derived from clinical and food sources, utilizing genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to explore the correlation between the genotypic and phenotypic traits of L. monocytogenes, thereby identifying the genetic determinants of its acid adaptation capability. The findings revealed no significant association between the collected acid adaptation genes and the bacterial growth parameters. The GWAS results indicated that numerous single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) sites were significantly correlated with the growth parameters of L. monocytogenes in a pH = 5.0 acidic environment, whereas the associations diminished as the pH approached neutrality at pH = 6.7. Analysis and annotation of synonymous mutation loci revealed that non-synonymous mutations primarily impact function. The phenotypes pH = 5.0, ΔpH (5.0–5.5), SNPλ, and SNPμmax show the strongest associations with non-synonymous mutation loci. The genes lmo0017, lmo1173, lmo0794, and lmo2783 are significant non-synonymous mutation loci influencing acid adaptation. These genes play critical roles in intracellular pH regulation, cell wall synthesis and environmental response control, directly or indirectly affecting bacterial acid tolerance. Future research could leverage existing data combined with machine learning and causal inference methods to further dissect the genotype-phenotype causal relationships, identifying causative genetic factors that govern the acid adaptation in L. monocytogenes, providing insights for risk assessment and management strategies in food safety.

A novel component separation method for deformation monitoring of rockfill dams

High dams are constructed in mountain valley areas with extremely complex geomorphologies, geologies, and operating environments. The dam body and foundation are subjected to large hydraulic loadings and high stress levels, where many factors affect the structural deformation of the dam, making dam safety monitoring and risk assessment difficult. Since dam deformation is critical for evaluating safe operation, a novel dam deformation monitoring model based on the component separation method is proposed, which can provide scientific significance and high application value for operational safety control. The deformation monitoring data include deformation caused by the water level, the temperature, and the time effect. The homologous monitoring sequence points are selected, and a safety monitoring model is proposed based on the physical causes and the independent component signal decomposition technology. First, the aging component can be extracted by using the correlation consistency of a specific measurement point, where the environment is almost the same at the same time of year, such as the temperature and the water level. Then, fast independent component analysis algorithm is applied to further extract the dam deformation induced by the water level and the temperature via correlation analysis. Finally, a deformation monitoring model based on the component separation can be successfully constructed by combining models of the three components. The proposed dam deformation model can overcome problems of large covariance of deformation component, large collinear interference of periodic component separation, and unstable separation. It is further applied to a high face rockfill dam, and the results shows that the multiple correlation coefficient is greater than 0.995 and the mean absolute percentage error is less than 1.37%, demonstrating the high accuracy and stable separation of the components produced by using this model.

Progress and prospects of safety assessment methods of medicinal and food homologous substances

Food and medicinal substances(FAMS) with both edible and medicinal uses have a long history in China, being an important part of China's excellent traditional culture and traditional Chinese medicine(TCM). The legal management of FAMS is in the form of catalogue, which has a history of nearly 40 years. More than 100 substances have been included in the China's FAMS catalogue. According to the Regulation of Food and Medicinal Substances Catalogue, safety assessment is a basis for substances to be included in the catalogue. The safety assessment of FAMS should follow the principles and requirements of food safety risk assessment. However, FAMS is a complex mixture, and the nature and data adequacy of the assessed substance should be comprehensively considered. Different eva-luation models and methods should be selected according to the principle of case analysis. With the development of next-generation technologies such as big data, artificial intelligence, high-throughput and high-content in vitro testing, and computational toxicology and the trend of increasing edible substances with medicinal effects applying for the inclusion in the China's FAMS catalogue, the methods of risk assessment are applied in the management of FAMS, novel food products, and local characteristic food products, playing a scientific role. This paper systematically reviews the methods, challenges, and prospects of safety assessment of FAMS.